gregladen | September 11, 2009Well, we don't know because the necessary detailed information has not been released. I do not personally know the Caster Semenya story, medically or biologically speaking, but there has been a lot of discussion and apparently wild speculation on this, and I may have a thing or two to help clarify.
If the reports we are hearing are true, Semenya is fairly likely to be an individual with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. This may be wrong. So, I'll tell you a little about AIS and then you can disconnect your knowledge of AIS from Semenya, or connect it up, as appropriate, later on.
It has…
gregladen | September 11, 2009
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gregladen | September 11, 2009Well, not really, but it is an excellent refresher on Genesis. Well, not really it's .... well just watch it:
gregladen | September 11, 2009The last wild Fiji petral specimen collected, an albatross-like bird (as petrels tend to be) that spends much of its time over the open sea, was collected in 1855 fro Gau Island, Fiji.
It didn't really go extinct, because in 1984 one was caught on Gua, photographed, and set free. Subsequently, possible Fiji petrel sightings have occurred now and then, mostly of disoriented or lost immature birds that showed up in one village or another.
So, as you can see, calling this bird truly extinct was never really appropriate, but it was listed as one of nearly 200 birds that may or may not have…
gregladen | September 11, 2009Her point is, and she's right, that there really is not any longer a difference between the extremists and the Republicans.
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gregladen | September 11, 2009Think back to the last time you had a bad coughing fit. It's gross, but think about the saliva and the mucus. Think about the last time you threw up. Now imagine all that together, along with gasping for air-and not being able to swallow.
And then go read this.
gregladen | September 10, 2009... (which means, in ADL, "Science For the People") ... is up and running at Southern Friedd Science.
gregladen | September 10, 2009This is really, really funny:
Well, actually, it's not even a little funny...
... Well, actually, the punchline is the funniest thing I've see yet this year. I can hardly type I'm laughing so hard.
Hat Tip Science Lover
gregladen | September 10, 2009Read the following text. As you read it, try to empty your mind. When you encounter grammatical errors or jargon that is impossible to understand, do not try to translate what you are reading. Rather, become one with the obscurity. Read slowly, thoughtlessly, with emptiness of purpose, as though the words were entering your eyes, traveling through your head, and leaving through your ears. The ultimate understanding will be achieved when you reach the end of the abstract and have understood nothing:
... a repost ...
Recent neuroimaging studies have identified a set of brain regions that…
gregladen | September 10, 2009Australian scientologists have proposed that anonymity and criticism be eliminated from the intertubes. According to the scientologists:
Since January 2008, the Church of Scientology has been subjected to a continuing campaign of violence and abuse from a hate group calling themselves 'Anonymous'. This entity has been described as a group of "cyber terrorists" as its actions have previously focused on Internet harassment and other crimes. However, in the last 13 months they have also (i.e. as well as their internet based assaults) committed acts of harassment and criminal offences "in real…
gregladen | September 10, 2009
Zoom into a Leafby Weird_Weird_Science
Hat Tip Grrrl, and you should GO HERE AND VOTE
gregladen | September 10, 2009Repost
Life Science Teachers: Take special note!
This is not yet an error in the mainstream press, but there is an error afoot, currently represented in the widely read slashdot, which I imagine will propagate. The purpose of this post is to alert you to this problem and prepare you for the occasion when you run into a wackaloon creationist waving their arms around and screaming "Carbon dating does not work! It's been proven." This story also has a Global Warming Denialism component.
What I'm going to do here is give you the basic facts, then the misinterpreted text.
We start with the…
gregladen | September 10, 2009More than 200 people remain missing in Sierra Leone a day after a boat capsized, killing at least 8, police said on Thursday.
Police official Ibrahim Samura said most of the passengers onboard were schoolchildren returning from holidays in the West African nation.
more
The typical "third world" transport is overloaded. It could be a bike, a car, a truck, an airplane or a ferry. This is one of the greatest contrasts you see when you move from such a region to the US (and were not protected as a tourist often is) .... zillions of large cars driving around with one person per car is an…
gregladen | September 10, 2009... And he has apologized. He actually called the White House to apologize, and the apology was accepted by a high ranking staff member and presumably conveyed to the president.
I just saw him speak of the "apology." If that was an apology, I'm the Queen of England.
NBC report below the fold.
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What do you think. Do we still take him down?
gregladen | September 10, 2009Rob Miller is running against Republican Joe Wilson. Who's that? He's the guy who yelled "you lie" at Obama on international TV.
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gregladen | September 10, 2009OK, folks, were taking this MoFo down next election.
Joe Wilson (that is not his real name, by the way) is the member of Congress who interrupted President Obama's speech last night with a shout of "You Lie!!!"
Now, there are those of you who will say "Well, at least he wasn't being civil! That would have really been a conversation stopper!" but you would be missing the point. Which is, in carrying out that act, Joe Wilson made himself into a symbol of the teabagging astroturfing right wing anti-woman, anti-gay Republicans/Libertarians. He's not just a bad Congressperson any more. He'…