gregladen | September 9, 2009Is that a lot or a little?
PAX organizers say they have confirmed nearly 100 cases of H1N1 virus infections, or swine flu, in the wake of the Seattle videogame convention, which drew approximately 75,000 gamers to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center between Sept. 4 and 6.
source
So, that's about one tenth of one percent of the people reporting likely swine flue (H1N1). That would be a very mild flu season, but since its a weekend and not a season, it may be a large number. On the other hand, small samples are highly variable. What you'd need to do is to find ten or twenty…
gregladen | September 9, 2009Here's the whole thing:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
John Dingell's Wikipedia page is here.
gregladen | September 9, 2009My friend Virginia Hughes is asking this question on her blog pursuant to a conference she is going to. She has a survey she'd like people to take. The survey takes about 15 seconds so please go and help her out.
For background: Virginia was the blog herder for Scienceblogs.com for a while. She's quite a good science writer and has a blog you should put on your RSS thingie.
gregladen | September 9, 2009The following video is mercifully missing its sound. Go to 1 minute and start watching there.
From the youtube site:
At 2:00 in the morning, five guys broke into the Marlton, New Jersey Apple Store and in 31 seconds flat they leave with 23 MacBook Pros, 14 iPhones and 9 iPod touches.
gregladen | September 9, 2009Did you need proof that the Right Wing is stocked with nefarious morons? And I'm not sure which word to emphasize, nefarious or moron. Both, I guess.
About a year ago today was the Republican National Convention, and at that time (and prior, during, and after) numerous arrests were made under Patriot-Act spawn laws of people who did little more than attempt vigorous protest, plan vigorous protest, or in some cases, randomly blunder into town at the wrong moment.
Most charges were dropped (but not all ... we hopefully await that event in about a month) and law suits that have great promise…
gregladen | September 9, 2009a repost
Fossils of a newly discovered species of dinosaur -- a 10-meter-long, elephant-weight predator -- were discovered in 1996 along the banks of Argentina's Rio Colorado, and are now being reported after a long period of careful study. This dinosaur dates to about 85 million years (which falls within the Cretaceous period).
Perhaps the most interesting feature of Aerosteon riocoloradensis is that it demonstrates the evolution of a bird-like respiratory system in an animal that is definitely not bird-like in most other ways. Indeed, the authors of this paper imply that this dinosaur'…
gregladen | September 9, 2009Barach Obama could stumble in drunk and spend a half hour picking his nose and it would be better than what we are used to.
gregladen | September 8, 2009There is a story written in ancient Chinese documents that goes something like this:
The Emperor has become enraged at a peasant who committed a misdemeanor. The Emperor has unjustifiably beheaded the peasant.
The Emperor has asked the court historian (me) to remove the previous reference to his inappropriate rage. I have refused.
(slight change in calligraphic style)
The Emperor, who previously unjustly removed the head of a man for a minor crime, has unjustly removed the head of the previous historian. I am the new historian.
The Emperor on seeing my previous entry has asked me to remove…
gregladen | September 8, 2009Nye ran afoul of the faithful by remarking that it is not true that the moon generates its own light as opposed to reflecting light. This contradicted Genesis 1:16, which says quite clearly (if only Nye bothered to read it) that "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars." Fortunately, there were educated people in the audience who proceeded to boo Nye and walk out. One woman with three children reportedly screamed "We believe in God!" while storming out.
Details here.
gregladen | September 8, 2009Then it will probably veer north, spin down, and by the end of the weekend be a bit wet spot in the middle of nowhere.
But, I thought you'd enjoy a picture of this tropical storm itting rignt now closer to West Africa than any other continental region.
gregladen | September 8, 2009Well, actually, a bunch of questions, and its about fund raising.
If memory serves (memory enhanced by little birds that tell me things), it is in the fall that many Sciencebloggers engage in the DonorsChoice 2009 fund raising effort.
Last year was my first opportunity to do this, having joined scienceblogs during the previous effort rather than before. I chose to not engage in this activity last year for a few reasons, but mainly because of the election. I assumed that there were limited funds "out there" (in YOUR pockets) and I felt that if I was going to push for people dropping silver…
gregladen | September 8, 2009I'm an anthropologist and a biologist, so really, I have no problem with the idea of a "placebo effect" in which people become convinced that they are being given an effective treatment and thus, because of that thought in their mind, improve.
Editorial Note: I'm classifying this post as a "falsehood" because it does fit nicely with that series, though this was not on the original list of falsehoods. Also note, this is a hastily dashed off first draft, so please be ruthless in your comments so I may move ever towards the unattainable perfection.
I doubt very much that this works for many…
gregladen | September 8, 2009The next version of the Linux Kernel will be very noticeably faster on computers with limited memory.
Most "improvements" of certain unnamed operating systems (such as Microsoft Windows) involve more demand on hardware, so upgrades slow your computer down and eventually you have to throw it out and buy a new one.
It is not the primary objective for Linux to make each major improvement include improved rather than degraded performance, but it is a side effect of excellent OpenSource engineering.
The latest?
Currently desktop software slows down when its path jumps to a part of the code…
gregladen | September 8, 2009A three year old study has resurfaced on the blogosphere with this recent mention on the daily atheist. The study (cited below) is here, and the older commentary is here.
Since this is still utterly relevant, I thought I'd make it the subject of a post. I don't think there is anything in it that is not absolutely current.
I guess, I have to be honest with my 14 year old daughter. No, Julia, you are never going to be president. Or even mayor. Because as far as I can tell you are an atheist. If you took up some religion and made it look like you were sincere, then maybe. Otherwise,…
gregladen | September 8, 2009The claim was recently made that Placebos are getting more effective. That would be like water getting less wet. It makes no sense. White Coat Underground dismantled that claim (see that post for the original claim) but I mention it here because Slashdot has now picked up the story. So lookout. Oh, Slashdot, it was dumb to pick up this story.
Slashdot's summary, wirtten by Scuttle Monkey:
Wired is reporting that the well-known "placebo effect" seems to be increasing as time goes on. Fewer and fewer medications are actually making it past drug trials since they are unable to show…
gregladen | September 7, 2009An Irish astronomy group is calling for help in tracing the origin of a huge explosion in the skies over the country on Thursday evening.
Astronomy Ireland said it was currently investigating the explosion, which occurred at 2100 BST.
A spokesman said the most likely explanation was a space rock or satellite crashing into the atmosphere.
My work here is done. Details at the BBC
gregladen | September 7, 2009In a remarkably rich haul from just five weeks of exploration, the biologists discovered 16 frogs which have never before been recorded by science, at least three new fish, a new bat and a giant rat, which may turn out to be the biggest in the world.
Story here.
Hat tip: Ana
gregladen | September 7, 2009She wore pants.
A Sudanese woman has been jailed for a month after refusing to pay a fine for "dressing indecently" by wearing trousers, her lawyers say.
Lubna Ahmed Hussein did not want to "give the verdict any legitimacy" by paying the fine of about $200 (£122), her lawyer, Nabil Adib, told the BBC.
Ms Hussein, a journalist in her 30s, could have been given up to 40 lashes.
Before the verdict, she had said she wanted her trial to become a test case for women's rights, correspondents say.
Ms Hussein had resigned from her job at the UN, which would have given her immunity.
More here.