tqa | August 13, 2008
I used to have a hard time explaining the anger, resentment, and hostility that many scientists feel toward the big academic publishing houses. It's been getting easier, though. Recent events have, unfortunately, provided people with an experience that makes it easier to relate to what the academic community has been going through.
Gas prices are going up. You've been combining trips, cutting your milage as much as you can, driving a more efficient vehicle, and your fuel costs are still going up. You drive home from work, stopping along the way to put $30+ dollars worth of gas into the 10…
tqa | August 12, 2008
Update: 13 Aug. I've added a new post that I think provides a clearer explanation for the reason that this sort of behavior is such an irritant when it comes from a company like Elsevier.
Like most bloggers, I have an ego. I'm not mentioning that by way of apology, but as an explanation for why I was browsing through my sitemeter statistics last Friday. Every now and then, I head over to sitemeter, call up the view that lets me see what websites referred people to my page. If I see a link that's coming from a source I don't recognize, I browse over and look to see what people are saying…
tqa | August 11, 2008
This should come as no surprise, coming as it does on the heels of last week's revelation that the Bush Administration is planning to change the federal definition of abortion in an effort to make it easier for our homegrown religious extremists to deny women their right to good reproductive healthcare: we've just learned that the Bush administration is proposing rule changes that will eviscerate the Endangered Species Act.
This is no joke. The National Wildlife Federation has a pdf of the leaked proposal, and their own analysis of the proposed changes. I've looked at the proposal, and NWF…
tqa | August 11, 2008
The initial phase of the California Creationist Lawsuit is over, and quality education is the decisive winner. Kevin Vicklund has Judge Otero's decision, as well as a very nice analysis of the ruling up over at his blog. If you've been following the case closely, you can probably jump right over there for the details. If you haven't been tracking the events closely, or want a quick review of the case, keep reading. I'm going to go over the history first, then I'll talk a bit about what Friday's decision means, and what is likely to happen with the case in the future.
The lawsuit (ACSI v.…
tqa | August 10, 2008
The American Men's 4x100 freestyle relay team just gave the French a very painful lesson in why it's really not a good idea to talk smack:
"The Americans?" Bernard recently told the sports newspaper L'Equipe, "We're going to smash them. That's what we came for."
Bousquet looked at members of the United States team in the ready room Sunday and saw a few cracks. "They didn't look at us, although usually they do," he said. "We could sense that they were a little bit afraid."
The American Response? Beautiful.
tqa | August 8, 2008
The camera at the opening ceremonies just captured our President, sprawled in his chair, binoculars dangling limply from one hand, looking blankly out in space, and generally appearing to be thoroughly bored. That appearance was not dispelled when he looked at his watch. Way to represent us to the world, Bushie.
Update: Daily Kos has the video up for those of you who missed it.
tqa | August 8, 2008
As I mentioned earlier, the current issue of Nature has a perspectives article by Donald Berry, a statistician at the MD Anderson Cancer Center that addresses problems with the current system for testing athletes. I more or less agree with the overall conclusion of the article - there needs to be more detailed scientific study of the tests that are used to see if athletes are using banned substances. Unfortunately, I don't think the entire article was as solid, or as well justified, as his conclusion. In particular, I think he seriously overstates the possibility of false positives.
Berry…
tqa | August 8, 2008
The latest issue of the journal Nature has two articles (an editorial and a perspectives piece) on the topic of drug testing for athletes. Both the editors and Donald Berry (the author of the perspectives article) argue for the need for both more scientific testing to support standards for athletic drug screening and for more openness in the process.
From the editorial:
Nature believes that accepting 'legal limits' of specific metabolites without such rigorous verification goes against the foundational standards of modern science, and results in an arbitrary test for which the rate of…
tqa | August 6, 2008
Sometimes the only thing that separates comedy from tragedy is the involvement of an actual living human being.
That certainly seems to be the case where today's military commission verdict in the trial of Salim Hamdan. Despite having the advantages of what we must, for the lack of a better word, call a legal system that was set up to give the prosecution the edge, despite the admission of hearsay evidence, despite the use of material taken from interviews that didn't come within a light year of the Miranda guidelines, and despite the use of secret prosecution testimony, the prosecution…
tqa | August 6, 2008
Don't get me wrong. Living on base has some huge advantages for military families. The kids are around other kids who also move a lot. My wife can bike to work (on days when she doesn't walk). There are good recreational facilities available close to the house, both for us and the kids. On the whole, it's a good deal - especially for the price.
But there are also some disadvantages. There are a lot of training programs here, and quite a few of the classes get to do their physical training together, as a unit, under the gentle direction of their instructors. Early this morning, a couple of…
tqa | August 4, 2008
There have been a number of indications that the Associated Press isn't being as neutral in the election as we would expect from a major media outlet. At an event in April, two Associated Press employees gave McCain a box of donuts and a cup of coffee - both prepared to his tastes - while the Chairman of the AP asked Obama a question about Afghanistan, where "Obama bin Laden is still at large". Concerns have been raised regarding AP campaign coverage of Iraq and health care, among other issues. The hypothesis that there might be a solid pro-McCain bias at the AP has received additional…
tqa | July 31, 2008
Apparently, the Bush administration has come up with another way to attack reproductive rights. The department of Health and Human Services has come up with a draft regulation that changes a number of definitions in an effort to make it easier for people to refuse to provide people with abortions, or birth control, or even with a referral to another provider who would be willing to provide these services.
The regulation is ostensibly intended to ensure that federally funded programs do not discriminate against people or institutions that have religious objections to abortion. This is a…
tqa | July 31, 2008
Every now and then I'm reminded of just how awesome the world we live in is. Today's reminder came during a walk on the beach, as I watched a young osprey hunting for lunch just offshore.
I had my camera, and was able to get a few pictures of the dive and catch. One's above the fold, and there are a few more below. As always, you can click on the pictures to see a larger version.
tqa | July 30, 2008
My scientific background leaves me more inclined to trust laboratory results than people, and I'm no more inclined to give athletes the benefit of the doubt in doping cases than anyone else who's been paying attention over the last couple of decades. When I heard that Jessica Hardy had tested positive for a banned substance at the Olympic Trials, and most likely will not get to swim in the olympics, I wasn't really surprised. Swimming hasn't been plagued with the same sort of doping scandals that other sports have seen, but it would be shocking if there weren't at least a few cheaters out…
tqa | July 29, 2008
UAlbany off party school list -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY
The school that I started my very long undergraduate career at is no longer one of the top party schools in the country. But the food still sucks.
The World's Fair : Hopefully, the start of a definitive list of things to avoid at all cost when speaking publicly.
David Ng's got a list of things to not do when giving a talk. It's cool. And it keeps getting longer. It's worth a read, and I bet you can come up with something to contribute, too.
The Great Beyond: California clamps down on ships' sulphur
I've got mixed…
tqa | July 28, 2008
My Liberal Identity:
You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.
Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com
and what kind of Liberal are you?
(via The Greenbelt)
tqa | July 28, 2008
BBC NEWS | Americas | US man charged for shooting mower
"It's my front yard, and I'll shoot if I want to, shoot if I want to, shoot if I want to. You would shoot too, if it broke down on you."
Strange Maps
A pretty cool blog that Wired's Geek Dads just pointed me to.
Industry Gushed Money After Reversal on Drilling - washingtonpost.com
The real payoff for McCain's drilling flip-flop didn't come at the pump.
tqa | July 23, 2008
Video: Escaped chimp disarms zookeeper | Environment | guardian.co.uk
Title says it all.
Feministe » More On Medical Battery
Yet another case of a surgeon going just a little bit beyond the procedure he had the patient's consent for.
Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Idiot of the Century?
To answer Ed's question, No. I'm sure that there's been someone dumber than this schmoe. I just can't think of an example.
tqa | July 22, 2008
Mingle2 - 9 Reasons Not to Date a Tyrannosaurus Rex
Cute. Not very cute, but cute.
Leo Hickman: Ofcom's verdict on Channel 4 will feed the conspiracy theorists | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
He's right, but that's why they're conspiracy theorists.
The Beagle Project Blog: Lonesome George not so lonesome
A very endangered species gets a boost, as the sole surviving male finally figures out what his job really is.
Science To Life : 6 years, 3 letters-The end of graduate school
Go say congrats to Scienceblogs' Karen Ventii!
Greg Laden's Blog : John McCain Kicks Librarian Out
Go…
tqa | July 21, 2008
The Darwin Diet | Science | guardian.co.uk
I'm not sure I'd try any of those diets out, but I'm not a fan of Atkins, either.
The rise of the urban shepherd | Society | The Guardian
At least one municipality in the UK is turning to sheep to help with park upkeep (but watch your step in the meadows). I'd love to see this kind of thing happen in the US. New York might not be the best starting point, though. Those squirrels are pretty t
KHNL NBC 8 Honolulu Hawaii |California container fee could hurt Hawaii consumers
A move by California to tax incoming shipping containers as part of an…