gregladen | August 28, 2010Then I saw this:
Courtesy oif Dynamics of Cats:
If you have any questions about this, don't ask me, as him.
gregladen | August 27, 2010Wanted; A storage container for data media (cd's, dvd's, SD cards, etc.) that is not made of materials that seem to be even more delicate, subject to weathering, and flamable than the data medium itself.
See the whole "WANTED" list here.
gregladen | August 27, 2010With each new drop of information spilled by the media, the case seems clearer that Hauser made up data. As Nicholas Wade reports, this would potentially be "the unforgivable sin."
"Given the published design of the experiment, my conclusion is that the control condition was fabricated," said Gerry Altmann, the editor of the journal Cognition, in which the experiment was published.
...
"There is a difference between breaking the rules and breaking the most sacred of all rules," said Jonathan Haidt, a moral psychologist at the University of Virginia. The failure to have performed a…
gregladen | August 27, 2010A recent paper provides the groundwork to establish a way for exercise to diminish appetite. Or, more likely, for sedentary behavior to increase appetite.
It is well known that exercise burns calories. Personally, I think that's overrated: Strength building raises your metabolic demand, and THAT burns calories. But that is not the main topic at hand. New research indicates that exercise also increases the sensitivity of neurons that are related to the control of the feeling of satiation. Therefore, you feel full rather than hungry sooner and/or more often.
In rodents. So far.
The…
gregladen | August 27, 2010The Center for Inquiry in Amherst NY has come out against the mosque. I've been pretty much avoiding this topic (not for any particularly good reason) other than to note the gagging teabaggers beating up on non-pink people that they assume are Kaaaaiiiiliiii terrorists or something.
But DuWayne Brayton posted a link, with commentary, to the CFI's statement on the mosque, and, I find myself respectfully disagreeing with DuWayne and going in with the CFI on this one.
Religion did this. The terrorist attack was a religious event. I don't want a mosque or a temple or a church or community…
gregladen | August 27, 2010The question is being asked, Will Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Widen Health Inequalities? in a Policy Forum essay in the OpenAccess Journal PLoS Medicine.
Here is the executive summary from the article:
The primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is dependent on the effective reduction of the major risk factors for CVD, particularly tobacco control and a healthier diet.
The high-risk approach to prevent CVD typically involves population screening. Those exceeding a risk threshold are then given lifestyle advice and/or tablets to reduce blood cholesterol and blood pressure.…
gregladen | August 27, 2010I just thought I'd pass on this letter from Rush Holt to Nancy Pelozi and Steny Hoyer:
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer:
In light of the troubling ruling this week that blocks federal funding for stem cell research, I am writing to request respectfully that you bring the bipartisan Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2009, H.R 873, or similar legislation to the floor of the House for a vote at the soonest possible date.
As a scientist, I was honored to attend the White House Ceremony where President Obama signed the executive order lifting the eight year ban on federal…
gregladen | August 27, 2010Here's a pretty picture from the Atlantic:
That, dear reader, is what an active hurricane season looks like.
The stuff you see on the left, near Louisiana and across Florida to the Atlantic, is is just crappy weather.
Near the middle of the picture, you can see a very nicely formed hurricane, and that's Danielle. Danielle is a strong hurricane, Category Four and is getting stronger. Sustained winds are near 135 MPH (214 KPH) with higher gusts. By tomorrow at this time, if not later today, Danielle could become a Category Five storm. Bermuda will be experiencing dangerous surf, and…
gregladen | August 27, 2010Check out the Furious Purpose blog, written by a long time denizen of the Internet, yet newish blogger, written by ...
...an overworked emergency room doctor, a father and citizen, and I blog infrequently about stuff that interests me.This might include things like Health, Politics, Religion, and whatever tickles my fancy !
I have a particular interest in issues related to public health including health politics, the role of religion in public life, and rationalism/skepticism.
I'll leave it to you to go find the post that focuses on yours truly, but really, the rest of the blog is quite…
gregladen | August 26, 2010
Hey, if the media gets this, what do you think will happen?
The YouTube video comes with this text:
A man walks through the crowd at the Ground Zero protest and is mistaken as a Muslim. The crowd turns on him and confronts him. The man in the blue hard hat calls him a coward and tries to fight him. The tall man who I think was one of the organizers tried to get between the two men. Later I caught up with the man who's name is Kenny. He is a Union carpenter who works at Ground Zero. We discussed what a scary moment that was for him. I told him that I hoped it did not ruin his day.
gregladen | August 26, 2010Jim Emery's series is complete, and you should look through it. I find it interesting that he speaks about the "Macaca moment" and all that entails, given the current situation in the Minnesota Governor's race.
Jim's posts describe what it was like to be in the communications division of a major congressional campaign:
Inside the Political Process: Jim Emery and the Madia Campaign
Inside the Political Process: The Role of Communication
Inside the Political Process: Framing the Debate
Inside the Political Process: Epilog
gregladen | August 26, 2010I've become very interested in Minnesota history, and by interested I mean annoyed in many cases. The first thing white Minnesotans did was to exploit the Indians. The second thing they did was to throw the Indians out, move them to reservations, kill them, and otherwise treat them very poorly. Meanwhile, they got going on the process of cutting down 90 percent of the trees in the state. Even New York State, where I grew up, did not have such wanton destruction of the forests, and Whitie had two hundred more years to do it there. They also killed off most of the wolves. Oh, and both…
gregladen | August 25, 2010In addition to a serious neck wound, Ahmed H. Sharif suffered cuts to forearms, face and one hand while trying to fend off Enright, prosecutor James Zeleta said while arguing against bail.
Enright had asked Mr. Sharif if he was a Muslim, and when he responded in the affirmative, Enright yelled some Arabic words, and told him to "consider this a checkpoint" while he attacked him with a Leatherman or similar tool weapon.
Enright volunteered for Intersections International, a group that promotes interfaith dialogue and has supported a controversial proposed mosque near ground zero.
...
Sharif…
gregladen | August 25, 2010Earl, previously known as tropical depression 07, is now Tropical Storm Earl, and is cranking up through this 'middle school' phase of the cyclone life cycle so quickly that by the time you read this Earl might be a hurricane. Or in his case, a himicane.
This is the fifth tropical storm of the current season. Earl is expected to encounter few of the effects that tend to attenuate hurricanes, and global-warming cooked seas over the coming hours. The storm will likely reach hurricane status by Friday. By Monday the storm's center will be north of the Antilles and veering to the north or…
gregladen | August 25, 2010As I predicted earlier today, various journalists are taking up the theme that "Darwin was wrong" because he did not predict that niches into which organisms evolved would be a major controlling feature in the overall pattern of evolution.
But of course, he did, and the new research being referred to does not "disprove darwin."
At least the piece I'm referring to here takes a somewhat tongue in cheek attitude towards the story.
"Survival of the fittest," the Darwinian theory that has been absorbed as scientific fact for the last 150 years, has finally been disproven. A new study published…
gregladen | August 25, 2010In which an actual living person, instead of just the ashes of TV actors, will be launched into space.
Here's a picture of the rocket and it's friend, the submarine:
Our mission is very simple. We are working towards launching a human being into space.
This is a non-profit suborbital space endeavor lead by Kristian von Bengtson and Peter Madsen, based entirely on sponsors and volunteers.
Click here to find out more, and if you like, give them money.