gregladen | February 24, 2009Why did humans evolve hairlessness? Hair (fur) protects mammals from heat and cold, what would be the benefit from losing this asset?
I think the most commonly held theory is that fur works on quadrupeds, but once you stand upright, it is less effective, and less fur works better. For later time periods, clothing works better than fur because it is more adaptable. Consider that whatever fur-based system human ancestors had was based on needs in the tropics where it does not get that cold, so it is not hard to imagine that clothing is much more effective.
Recent studies of body parasites…
gregladen | February 24, 2009
Why did the evolution of a large brain happen only once (among mammals, and in particular, primates?)
Larger brains have evolved a number of times. It seems that there has been a trend over several tens of millions of years of evolution of larger brains in various clades, such as carnivores and primates. There is probably a kind of arms race going on among various species in which a larger brain is an asset.
However, as you imply, a really large brain (like the extraordinarily large human brain) seems to be very rare. One of the reasons for this is that there are at least two major kinds…
gregladen | February 23, 2009My student, Marta, exploded the other day.
She was sitting there in class two weeks ago and exploded. She does not know that I know this, but I noticed it happen. Since she was sitting, as usual, in the front row, and it was all in her face, the other students did not see it but I definitely did.
By "exploding" in this case I mean that her brain suddenly filled with unanswered questions, which she then started sending me in frantic emails. Many of these questions are about things we will eventually get to in class, but some are on issues that we won't touch on at all. I decided, and I…
gregladen | February 23, 2009It is almost Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. One thing this means that US citizens and I'd bet some Canadians will be receiving the annual Brown Recluse Spider Warnings via Email. In order to reduce the negative effects of this email spamish meme, I hereby inoculate you. If you get the email, which usually comes with dire warnings and lots of photographs of bad things happening to people's flesh allegedly because of a recluse spider bite, just delete it.
Look at this map and read the caption:
This map is based on data collected by arachnologists and is provided courtesy of Rick…
gregladen | February 22, 2009Item one: How to wash a cat.
Item Two: From Slashdot ... Steve Ballmer says Apple must switch to more open model. HAHAHAHAHAAHAHH. Zap!
gregladen | February 22, 2009"The large print giveth, the small print taketh away. Microsoft, which recently laid off 1400 employees, is now claiming that some of those lucky schmoes were inadvertently overpaid on their severance package. A letter from the company, which was subsequently circulated on the internet, states: 'We ask that you repay the overpayment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to you.' Microsoft has confirmed the authenticity of the letter, but it's not known what the amounts in question are, or how many of the 1400 were affected."
slashdot
(This is snidely whiplash, in case you didn't know.)
gregladen | February 22, 2009... At sixteenth. Barack Obama was number 1, edging out Jesus who was forced into the number two spot.
God, the omniscient entity hisself, came in 11th, sandwiched between Mother Teresa and Hillary Clinton. Don't think about that to closely.
source
The poll results, from Kos:
casiopea's diary :: ::
The results are in:
President Obama
Jesus Christ
Martin Luther King
Ronald Reagan
George W. Bush
Abraham Lincoln
John McCain
John F. Kennedy
Sully, the hero of the Hudson
Mother Teresa
God
Hillary Clinton
Billy Graham
FDR
Gandhi
Colin…
gregladen | February 22, 2009This story:
10 tornadoes confirmed in Ga., including one with winds topping 160 mph
Ten tornadoes, one packing winds of more than 160 mph, touched down in parts of Georgia on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said Friday.
The storms caused an estimated $25 million in insured losses, said John W. Oxendine, the state's insurance commissioner.
"I spent some time surveying damage and talking to residents in Jasper, Putnam and Hancock Counties" on Friday, Oxendine said in statement. "I believe claims will easily reach $25 million. Actual losses are much higher when you consider things like…
gregladen | February 22, 2009Rick Santelli = Asshole. (There, I said it.) Here.
NPR blows it with Michael Egnor: Say It Ain't So, NPR! at Digital Cuttlefish.
gregladen | February 22, 2009I know we've had a lot of ups and downs, but I wanted to wave hello and say "We'll have a hamburger today in your honor!"
Details at Paul's blog.
gregladen | February 21, 2009I know every computer box needs a CD/DVD reader in order to boot the thing up under adverse conditions (and your system should always be set up so that you can do this, by the way!). But as a matter of actual functionality, maintaining a current and high-functioning version of this sort of device, or two or more of them especially, built into the box is usually a bad idea for me. My computer boxes are not ever conveniently located. For my main computer, I can reach the off on switch with my toe, which is how I start up the machine. (The button is not needed to turn it off, of course.) So…
gregladen | February 21, 2009... on the economy. And some other related topics. (Darwin and human evolution at 16 minutes.)
gregladen | February 21, 2009 ... more like Verizon Without a Net Math ...
I would like to have seen a calculation of how far off these were in dollars per week. Canadian dollars, I suppose.
The fact that the rates quoted are almost always an order of magnitude or two lower than the actual rates would strongly suggest that as a class, Verizon Wireless customers are being robbed intentionally by the corporation. It would seem that these service personnel are being trained to lie. Otherwise, there would be a more even distribution of incorrect statements. Am I wrong?
But wait, there's more:
Verizon, Don't Waste…
gregladen | February 20, 2009
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