tqa | April 22, 2009
There are two pictures in today's installment. Both were taken just a few minutes ago. The second is a close-up of the area circled in red in the first picture.
I know a picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words, but right now the only one that springs to mind is "poignant". Actually, "oops" would be appropriate, too. So would "Just call me Charlie Brown." Not to mention "Damn, I didn't know it would fly that high." And, of course, "I guess I owe my son a new airplane now."
tqa | April 22, 2009
Unless you've been asleep for the last couple of days, you've probably heard that our government apparently wiretapped a member of Congress a few years back. According to the reports, the National Security Agency captured Representative Jane Harman (D-CA) engaging in a quid-pro-quo agreement with a pro-Israeli lobbyist where Harman would try to get the government to go easy on some accused Israeli spies, while the lobbyist would work to get Harman appointed to chair the Intelligence Committee.
Harman has vigorously denied the reports, and there's been a great deal of speculation about the…
tqa | April 22, 2009
Just in case you forgot (I did, somehow), today is Earth Day. The best bloggy way I can think of to celebrate Earth Day is to start a new meme. This one is on Earth Day resolutions.
I'd like you to take a minute or two to come up with three things that you can do to be more environmentally friendly. The first should be something that's small, and easy to do. The second should be more ambitious - something you'll try to do, but might not manage to pull off. The third should be something you can do to improve something you're already doing.
I'll start:
Small: From now on, all laundry will…
tqa | April 21, 2009
âIt is known that there are an infinte number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely products of a deranged imagination.â
Douglas Adams
tqa | April 21, 2009
Earlier today, a team of researchers lead by noted exoplanet hunter Michel Mayor announced a pair of blockbuster discoveries - the lowest mass planet yet discovered orbiting another star, and a new analysis suggesting that another, previously discovered planet is orbiting that same star within the theoretical "habitable zone" where liquid water can exist. Both of these discoveries are huge, but for different reasons.
The small planet, now known as Gliese 581 e, may weigh in at only about 1.9 Earth masses. That makes it the smallest exoplanet yet discovered. Gliese 581 is a red dwarf star…
tqa | April 20, 2009
I introduced my daughter to a cinematic gem today:
"How can you close me up? On what grounds?"
"I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here."
Casablanca
tqa | April 20, 2009
Over the last few days, there has been a fair amount of discussion about the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act (HR 669). Some of that has occurred in the comments on my blog post on the subject, and quite a bit more over at GrrlScientist's blog. So far, I haven't seen anything that leads me to change my view that the bill is, on the whole, a good piece of legislation.
There are two main objections that I've seen that I'd like to specifically look at. The first is the possible impact that the bill would have on breeding species for conservation purposes. The second involves the…
tqa | April 20, 2009
This is what I get for not reading my own blog - for some reason, the Quote and Picture of the Day posts for the last few days went missing on me. (Apparently, my software thought that it's entitled to the same time off that I am.) Picture of the Day will resume later today; Quote of the Day will pick up again tomorrow.
tqa | April 17, 2009
According to Matt Nisbet, the third ethical imperative when framing science is accuracy. Accuracy is important, he argues, because those who fail to accurately convey what's known about a subject risk losing the trust of their audience.
Also according to Matt Nisbet, a new Pew survey shows that Evangelicals are "little different from [the] rest of [the] public" when it comes to acceptance of manmade climate change. Evangelicals are 13% less likely to accept that humans are causing global warming as the population as a whole, no other group is less likely to accept manmade warming than they…
tqa | April 16, 2009
After reading the torture memos, this quote seems somewhat apropos:
The great thing about being the only species that makes a distinction between right and wrong is that we can make up the rules for ourselves as we go along.
Douglas Adams
Last Chance to See
tqa | April 16, 2009
I just finished reading the torture memos that were released today. I cannot remember ever in my life being as ashamed of my country as I am at this moment. The contents of the memos are so insanely wrong that I'd like to believe that they're fiction, but they're clearly not. While I understand President Obama's desire to move forward, I am appalled by his decision to rule out prosecutions for anyone who relied on the excuse that these memos said that what they were doing was OK.
Of course, prosecutions aren't the only possible consequences, and there are some disciplinary options that the…
tqa | April 16, 2009
This one falls into the "silly-looking things we do in the name of science" category:
This picture was taken when I was helping a fellow grad student out with her project. She was banding and taking a blood sample from the Laysan Albatross that had been sitting on that nest. My job was to stand still and cast enough of a shadow to keep direct sunlight from overheating the egg until the bird was back on the nest.
tqa | April 15, 2009
Because it's not too late to file yet if you're not on the East Coast:
I AM DEATH, NOT TAXES. I TURN UP ONLY ONCE.
Terry Pratchett
Feet of Clay
tqa | April 15, 2009
GrrlScientist and I are typically on the same side of issues, but this time that's not the case. She is very concerned about some of the implications of a bill that's currently making its way through the House of Representatives, and I think that the same bill is a good one that deserves to pass. The bill in question - House Resolution 669 - is intended to help keep new invasive species from becoming established in the United States.
After reading Grrl's post, I don't think that our disagreement stems from any difference of opinion about the science that's involved. I'm reasonably sure…
tqa | April 14, 2009
Over at Majikthise, Lindsay Beyerstein has a post up that takes a look at the Navy's handling of the attempted piracy/hostage standoff involving the captain of the Maersk Alabama. She makes some good points at the beginning and end of the article, but I think she misses to point a bit in the middle.
At the start of the article, she writes:
I'm relieved that the Navy SEALs rescued the American hostage from Somali pirates. Their skill and professionalism was indeed impressive.
But really... Two days after the rescue, the banner headline on the front page of the Washington Post should not…
tqa | April 13, 2009
Maurice J. Minnifield, our generous host, friend, and employer. I'm sure I join everyone in saying thank you for these very fine eats and drinks. You are a real American. You're an ex-marine and astronaut, you are America. You're rich, you're rapacious, you're progress without a conscience, paving everything in its path. You're 5% of the earth's population, yet consuming 25% of the earth's natural resources. You pay a lot of taxes, you do a lot of charity work--most of it is tax deductible, but your heart is in the right place. One thing's for certain, you have impeccable taste in the booze…