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Pluto: A Modest Proposal

Ok, time to stop the madness. I propose consistent, competing definitons of planets; one leave Pluto in, the other not. Up or down vote. The IAU now has a competing resolution that looks likely to delete Pluto as a planet, and the original IAU resolution is being voted on piecewise - which will likely leave an inconsistent mess. As opposed to... So here is a serious proposal; no more messing around, no more pretending to find artificial consistency from some favourite corner of microphysics (much as I like the dynamical definition.... it is actually quite stupid). Proposal: 1) a planet is…

I feel all dirty now

So, I popped down to the campus bookstore and browsed C*u*ters latest tome on the "Church of Liberalism"... A large part of the book is regurgitated crap from the intelligent design moron crowd, which PZ has dissected along with several other netizens. Most of the rest is the usual incoherent lunatic ravings about sex, crime and war. So... what about "their own cosmology"? Well, I was a bit disappointed, it is there in the preamble, but then nada. Not in the index, couple of contextless asides on how "well at least relativity has experimental evidence", and a rambling listing of "famous…

How Do You Make One Chicken Feed 11 People?

p>There are a number of possible answers to that question, but my current summer favorite is chicken-tortilla soup.  You can do this with bones, bones and meat, a whole chicken, stock and some breasts, whatever you have, but since we have some smaller whole chickens available from some roosters that went in the freezer and need using up, that's what we are doing.   Make a big pot of chicken broth with bones or a whole chicken.  10 quarts is good.  12 might be safer, though ;-). Sautee onions, carrots, some peppers if you have them, maybe a finely diced sweet potato or two and fresh chiles…

Narrow Breeding Criteria Strike Again...

From Agrilife, apparently we're going to spend 3 million bucks to confirm the obvious - if you only breed for one thing, maximum milk production, you will be casting a lot of other critical traits to the winds: “Fertility is a critical component of efficient dairy production,” Pinedo said. “Failure to attain and maintain a timely pregnancy is a major reason for production loss in dairy herds. Consequences of low fertility include a reduced percentage of cows at the early stages of lactation, increments in insemination costs, premature culling and delayed genetic progress. “The decline in…

Ready for Anything

Are we facing Snowpocalypse this weekend?  Rest assured, your blogiste is ready.  Ok, sorta ready, since I'm working on my book I have to rely on husband, Phil-the-housemate and children to move a buttload of wood inside, and we do have to pick up more baby formula, but otherwise, we're ready to hunker down here and toast marshmallows while the world undergoes...what exactly? Current forecasts place the total amount somewhere between 2.6 and 29.3 inches. Such is the maddening, exhilarating unpredictability of weather patterns on this rock-and-lava spinning blueberry we call home. ...The third…

What are You Doing this Winter?

I love winter.  Or rather, I love it until about the end of February, at which point I want spring to come.  But right now I'm enjoying cozy days in front of the fire (actually, I'm finishing a book, so mostly they are freezing days up in my chilly office, but since this is book #5 written at least partly over a cold season, I'm used to it - at least I now the fire is there ;-))), knitting, waiting for my seed order to come, thinking up other things to put on a few additional seed orders (Brad sent me a link to this wonderful resource if you are looking for something specific - Mother Earth…

A victory for rationalism in California

Guest Blogger Danio: Stand up and cheer for the academic standards at UC, and the LA Federal Judge whose ruling on accrediting courses taught in Christian schools upholds these standards. A federal judge in Los Angeles has thrown out the remaining claims of Calvary Chapel Christian School, which sued the University of California alleging university officials rejected some courses for credit because of their Christian viewpoint. What a bunch of sticklers those UC guys are! In order to qualify as an accepted college preparatory course, the UC standards require the course content to be largely…

F keys

Most universities have both office specific keys and more general "master keys", I have observed a curious trend among those keys. The "F" keys - those that open only the inner sanctum of faculty offices, closed seminar rooms and coffee supply cupboards - as opposed to the more general building keys, or keys for student offices - are "pointier", and this means they are far superior for opening bottles. Using keys to open bottles, specifcially beer bottles, is an old survival skill from student days; particularly useful now that it is almost impossible to travel with tools, like bottle…

ACS or STIS

ACS or STIS asks the Astro Dyke You vote. Good question, says the Space Telescope Users Committee, in an e-mail. Which would you rather have back? The Advanced Camera for Surveys or Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph The former produced some of the most fantastic pictures ever taken, the latter is a broad band high resolution spectrograph that is very scientifically productive. The new instruments going up are Cosmic Origins Spectrograph - a medium resolution fixed aperture UV spectroscope, and Wide Field Camera 3 - a broad band moderately wide field camera. COS is definitely not a STIS…

Bush ehr?

Curious, the Iranian news agency say the Bushehr nuclear reactor is to be operational (but not fueled) on tuesday and that the fuel is to be delivered within two weeks!, but... MEN claims Russia is co-ordinating with the US to delay startup of Bushehr (there's been this weird dispute where the Russians claim the Iranians have not paid for construction and the Iranians claim they did - cheque got lost in the post?) and the Moscow Times claims talks over the funding dispute have collapsed and that fueling is now delayed beyond Sept 2007 with no delivery this month. Weird, something going on…

iPod iChing - AAS 007

Friday again. And still not snowing. We ask the iPod: what wonders can we expect from the Great Gathering of Astronomers next week? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh. The Covering: Wari Featuring Saian Supa Crew - Alpha Blondy The Crossing: Slá í Gegn - Stuðmenn The Crown: Aisle of Plenty - Genesis The Root: Waiting for the Worms - Pink Floyd The Past: Færeyjarblús - Bubbi Morthens The Future: One Part Be My Lover - Bonnie Raitt The Questioner: Longview - Green Day The House: Careless Whisper - George Michael The Inside: Play that Funky Music - Wild Cherry The Outcome: Days Like These -…

iPod iChing - CPT and top formation

Seasonal friday, and we ask the iPod - what is the meaning of the lone top quark discovery at Fermilab? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh. The Covering: Cold and Bitter Tears - Billy Bragg The Crossing: Let It Snow - traditional The Crown: La serenade interrompue - Claudio Arrau The Root: Spanish Castle Magic - The Jimi Hendrix Experience The Past: Novelty - Joy Division The Future: Ég hlakka svo til - Svala The Questioner: Walz of the Snowflakes The House: Lion Rock - Culture The Inside: Core N'Grato - Three Tenors The Outcome: Lil' Jack Slade - Dixie Chicks Er, it will snow? As…

Quake in Hawaii - How is Mauna Kea?

Magnitude 6.6 earthquake on Big Island. Sounds like Kona and Waikiki got the brunt of it. Anyone heard if there is damage on the mountain? All the telescopes ok? The Keck mountain web site seems to be down. UPDATE: sounds like minor telescope drive/mount damage at Keck 2 - see Brad Holden's comment. No injuries, Keck 1 looks ok, Keck 2 is down for a few days at least (and there is the issue of flights in and out of the island...). No word on UK or Japanese observatories, or CFHT. Am figuring they're in similar shape to Keck. Hope they had earthquake restraints on their mounts. CHFT web…

House Appropriations

House appropriations committee reported out the Science etc bill. JWST remains deleted; armchair quantum wires are in... Here we go. Next step. House appropriations committee approved the report of the subcommittee on Science etc for 2012 appropriations. Bill was essentially unchanged, with minor amendments. 0.1% was shaved off everyone and given to NOAA. JWST remains CUT CUT CUT! And McCollum (D) put in two amendments prohibiting funding for corps convicted of felonies or owing taxes - that could have interesting consequences, wonder who that is aimed at. Anyway, Sen. Mikulski put out…

iPod iChing: Jimmy Who? Space Telescope

Well, that was exciting. So, it is friday again, and we're keeping this here blog limping along through gratuitous lite blogging, again, as we welcome the iPod iChing to the Five'n'Dime... So, no offence NASA, the much jinxed Next Generation Space Telescope has kinda been stuck out there on its own in the NASA Science Directorate, almost like an invitation... So, Oh Mighty iPod One: what will become of the James Webb Space Telescope in these uncertain times? Whoosh goes the iPod. Whoosh. The Covering: Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys The Crossing: The First Day of Spring - Noah and the Whale…

Presidential Question Time

There was a truly weird advert or contributed op-ed on the radio a couple of days ago. Some conservative anti-tax guy, and a left-wing editor had joined in calling for a US "Question Time", a la the UK "Question Time" in Parliament. ie the President doing questions and answers with Congress, formally. Inspired, in part, I suspect, by Obama's performance against the congressional republicans in a question and answer session, though conservative dude brought out the old teleprompter canard against Obama in explaining why he thought it was a good idea. There is just one slight problem: "…

AAS: the Swag

The primary reason to go to the big annual society meetings is, of course the hot science results networking for jobs schmoozing with your peeps The Swag! Yes, that is why we go. The NASA Space Calendars, the Hubble Mission buttons, the institutional logo USB sticks, the 3-D bookmarks, and, of course, the legendary High Energy Astrophysics Red and Black pens. But each year there are one or two inspired surprise original Swag. Who can forget the Lockheed Lunar Stress Ball? The foam space shuttle? The photometrically accurate B,V,R ruler set? This year the fancy Swag was definitely the…

In my opinion...

What would you do about Yoo at UC? Brad deLong contemplates a moral issue - can a colleague's tenure be challenged for his actions outside academia, and if so in what circumstances. At issue is Prof Yoo's long classified memo from the Department of Justice offering legal rationale for torture based on a theory of unitary executive. The memo is, by all accounts, shoddy at best, profoundly dishonest at worst. It also appears, to a non-lawyer, to subvert the Constitution of the United States and to act to actively undermine the Federal Government. It is not against academic principles to argue…

geek alert

I had a minor geek spree this week, not entirely sucessfully Got a "personal certificate" (X.509 2048 bits) from Thawte - they give personal certs out for free, to sustain a pool of interested customers for their commerical business - quick google suggested they were trustworthy, if anyone knows they're not, let me know. Anyway, piece of cake to install - use Firefox to signup and download a certificate. Back it up into a .p12 file, then have Mac Mail search for it and import it. Voila, unbreakable encryption, unless someone has a robust multibit quantum computer, or unless thawte put a…

astrobiology 2.0

I gather NASA has discovered web 2.0 and social networking. From a series of very interesting conversations I've had recently had, there is both growing awareness of a semi-official NASA presence in web 2.0 realms, and an interest in making this permanent and official. My first reaction was to go back and flick through my old copy of True Names Hah feds, you'll never take Mr Slippery alive! There is an astrobioblog, which is moribund, usual problem in "official blog" creation. There was at some point an official LISA blog, but I can't even find it anymore. - Contrast with Keith Cowing's…

Academic Pleasures

What are your true, academic, pleasures? Sean is disgusted at the lameness of academic guilty pleasures Chad gets in on the action also... I'm not into guilt, and there are real academic pleasures; emotional states that come with the job. We should revel in them. The rarest and greatest pleasure: the rush of comprehending in an instant, finally, a very very hard previously unsolved problem. Realising later that there are some technical details to work out, does not detract from that momentary pleasure. Sometimes the details can become a life's work. Observing something new, interesting and…

OH NOES! SPIRCHUL WARFARE!

Great. It just gets more and more insane. It seems that while McCain's side knows how to do 'spiritual warfare', Obama has all the witches on his side. Minutes ago I spoke with friend Dr. Norman G. Marvin, M.D. and he is so concerned at what he has learned about Barack Obama's family in Kenya that he is calling a special prayer meeting in his home to pray against the witchcraft curses attempted by them against John McCain and Sarah Palin. Dr. Marvin sent me the below e-mail from Flo Ellers. Flo is credentialed with the International Fellowship of Ministries which is based in Washington…

subprime 1.6 mile high

I've spent the last couple of weeks at the Aspen Center for Physics. As always, it has been productive and a pleasure, but I noticed one big change as I was puttering around town. Real Easte Sales down 38%! The Aspen housing market is outrageously high, and prices go up double digit percentages almost every year. But, this year I noticed a lot of "for sale" signs wandering around, in neighbourhoods where in past years houses just did not stay on the market long enough for signs to go up. Now, the caveat is that it is a small market, so there are large Poisson fluctuations in sales. But, for…

string theology

I was discussing the "Landscape" in string theory, as it relates to modern cosmology in class, and the students first reaction was: "what is all the fuss about"? It seemed a bit mystifying to them that the community was having such angst over the issue. So... I was trying to explain the metaphysical and philosophical angles, and why it got people agitated, and made the natural, if potentially ill-advised, comparison with religion. This was one of these issues, said I, which seem terribly important at the time to the participants, but, no doubt, will seem all very silly in the future, much as…

God grants tenure

Some clown at one of the ID blogs is making an incredibly stupid argument. She is claiming that my statement that I would not vote to give tenure to someone incompetent enough to support Intelligent Design creationism as a science is a violation of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991 because, as Judge Jones has ruled, ID is founded on a specific religious view. She seems to think that demanding some standards in the review process is equivalent to excluding all religious people…which has some interesting implications. She must assume that the level of idiocy we see in the creationist crowd…

KITP: more the merrier

lovely day, here at the beach we have a busy week, the start of a busy month we'll be doing multiple populations in depth, again, and yet more on IMBH this morning we contemplate, via Mario, whether globulars occupy a fundamental plane like galaxies, maybe even the same plane log(Re) = 1.24 log(σ) + 0.33 SBe - 8.895 (for galaxies) refs Djorgovski 1995 and Pasquato & Bertin 2008 1.24? 1.24! Observers are soooooooo silly sometimes. Clearly it must be 5/4 and 1/3 I mean 31/25 is just a silly number. There is still a fundamental plane though P&B have somewhat different slope and a zero…

The Feast of Most Holy St Thorlacius

Happy Feast of Saint Thorlacius. Again. I hope everyone got some "cured" skate! It is the reason for the season, the excuse for all Manly Men, and Women, to go somewhere suitable (like the garage, your uncle's house, or a restaurant desperate enough to put up with the smell and serve the stuff) and eat the food traditional to this Eve of of the Day of the Advent of Yule. Þorlákur, is the patron saint of Iceland, in what is a truly novel game of Thor's - to have one of his own be the patron Saint. His feast has been celebrated on this day for 809 years, by law. Party on. Tindaskata - from…

The Evolution of Academia

Students become like their advisors. In academic style, in mannerism, or maybe just their irrational passion for raquetball. Why is this? Sincere form of flattery? Memetic transmission? Or, something more insidious... I have before noted that the descendancy of graduate students from their advisors, and lo their advisors before them, is one of the few good examples of Lamarckian evolution It is an amusing conceit. The students, maybe subconsciously, adapting their advisors mannerisms, style, approach to science etc. But, as this came up over coffee in snowy Ohio, a very clever friend of mine…

It All Makes Sense Now ..

tags: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, books A reader sent a link to this cartoon that you might enjoy. Image: source [larger]. Anyway, I know that the < sarcasm alert > entire blogosphere has been deeply deeply concerned whether I finally located a copy of the last Harry Potter book, and whether I had to sell my first-born parrot to get it < / sarcasm alert >, so I will let you know that I am 300 pages into the book, that I am reading this one slowly, savoring it, because it is the last time I will be able to peek in to Harry's, Hermione's and Ron's lives. This book is…

Just Some Random Thoughts About Writing ..

tags: writing, monomyth As you know, I have been doing a tremendous amount of reading these past six months, which is one reason I have not published as many book reviews as usual on my blog. But throughout this intensive crash course in reading, I have noticed that there is truly nothing new under the sun in the world of writing. What I mean is this; in all of your own literary journies, have you ever noticed how all writing, whether it is non-fiction, fiction, poetry, articles and essays, or even blog writing, basically tells the same story, although usually from a different angle? Okay, I…

Half-Cooked Lobster the Result of a Rare Mutation

tags: lobster, two-toned lobster Two-toned lobster. Image: National Geographic. Last week, an unusual two-toned lobster was captured off Newport, RI. This lobster is so rare that a person only has between a 1 in 50 million to 100 million chance of capturing one. By comparison, the odds of finding a blue lobster are about 1 in four million. However, despite these incredibly long odds, one just like it was captured in Maine in 2006 -- an indication of the number of lobsters that are taken every year? Basically, the color of a lobster's shell is a mix of yellow, red, and blue, a combination…

Mystery Bird: Forster's Tern, Sterna forsteri

tags: Forster's Tern, Sterna forsteri, birds, nature, Image of the Day [Mystery bird] Forster's Tern, Sterna forsteri, photographed at Robbins Park, Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 12 June 2008 [larger view]. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Read how to identify this species below .. Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes: A pretty picture, and well composed; with the bird's head turned haughtily towards the observer, we can't see the exact…

Some Home Improvements Are Deceptive

As I left my apartment today to come to my coffee shop where I do much of my writing, there were two workmen dangling in the doorway, making improvements to the entryway. Since the landlord has already increased my rent (illegally, might I add) for reasons that have never been explained (he refuses to acknowledge my written letters to him, and he also refuses to speak to me on the phone or to answer my voicemails), this development sent a wave of terror over me -- I mean, I nearly barfed because I was so afraid. Why? I am afraid because landlords in NYC who are seeking to turn their rent-…

Birdbooker Report 16

tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. New and Recent Titles: Gallagher, Tim. Falcon Fever: A Falconer in the Twenty-first Century. 2008. Houghton Mifflin. Hardbound: 326 pages. Price: $25.00 U.S. [Amazon: $15.00]. SUMMARY: The authors recounts some of his…

Birdbooker Report 14

tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Rodd, Tony and Jennifer Stackhouse. Trees: A Visual Guide. 2008. University of California Press. Hardcover: 304 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S. [Amazon: $19.77]. SUMMARY: A nicely illustrated introduction to the biology…

Another Reason I Don't Keep a Gun in the House

tags: Another Reason I Don't Keep a Gun in the House, Billy Collins, poetry "A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful implanted in the human soul." -- Johann Wolfgang Goethe. I received so many poetry suggestions from you that I decided to continue to publish poetry on my site once per week for you to enjoy. One of my SB colleagues, John Lynch, posts a poem every Friday (here's his poetry archives), so I will post a poem on Wednesday at 10 am ET, as long as…

Pathogens Causing HoneyBee Deaths?

tags: honeybees, insects, agribusiness, colony collapse disorder, CCD Domestic honeybee, Apis mellifera. Image: Scott Bauer, USDA, ARS. Contrary to what the cell phone alarmists would have you believe, a team of scientists recently identified a virus and a parasite that might be the cause of the recent and sudden collapse of honeybee colonies throughout the United States and Europe. The team, from Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and University of California San Francisco, used a new technology, the Integrated Virus Detection System (IVDS), which was designed for military use to rapidly…

Sumatran Striped Rabbit Spotted

Since tomorrow is Easter, I think a story about rabbits is appropriate: I'll bet that none of you knew that there are striped rabbits in the world, and I'll bet that none of you have heard of the Sumatran striped rabbit, Nesolagus netscheri (pictured right). This is because the Sumatran striped rabbit is one of the rarest species of rabbit in the world. It has only been seen three times in the last 35 years. The Sumatran Striped Rabbit -- also known as the Sumatra Short-eared Rabbit or Sumatran Rabbit -- is found only in forest in the Barisan Mountains in western Sumatra, Indonesia. It is…

Global Warming Threatens Natural Wonders

Some of the world's greatest natural treasures are threatened with extinction due to global warming, said an international environmental group, the World Wide Fund for Nature. According the WWFN, These natural treasures include such wonders as the Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon rain forests and the unique ecosystem of the Mexican desert. The environmental group, which is observing the climate change conference in Brussels, issued a list of 10 regions suffering serious damage from global warming, and where it has projects to limit further damage or to help people adapt to new conditions. "What…

It's Not Easy Being Green

Today's view out the windows of my new neighborhood coffee shop. It's cold outside today, and snow is predicted overnight, with snow and sleet tomorrow morning. GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view]. I am not sure if you've noticed or not, but I've been having a rough time leaving my apartment these past few weeks, which has affected my writing. Even though I've tried to keep my mind focused on books and DVDs and my own book ideas, and I've tried to write about them, I've been so unable to concentrate and I am so uncomfortable with being away from my apartment that I've just been rather ..…

That inhuman monolith

Several months ago, we witnessed a tragic spectacle in the news: a nine-year old Brazilian girl was raped, became pregnant, and got an abortion…and the Brazilian Catholic church responded by excommunicating all the participants. One cleric in Rome, Monsignor Rino Fisichella, said the church had been insensitive, but no one in the hierarchy stepped forward to outright condemn the heartlessness of the church's stance and the unfairness of the policy. We now have an official document from the Catholic church clearly stating their position. Anyone involved in an abortion for any reason is to be…

Once again I say, 'Thank you Hawthorn Tree'

tags: birds, House finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, ornithology, Image of the Day Male house finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, in a hawthorne tree in Central Park, near the Metropolitan Musum of Art. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger size]. The photogrpaher writes: For a few weeks I have consistently found a small flock of House Finches near the playground adjacent to the southeastern edge of the Metropolitan Museum of Art between East 80th and 79th streets close to Fifth Avenue. The playground has a decorative entrance known as the Levy Gate upon which a prominent but tasteful…

Destroying beauty because you can afford it

The bluefin tuna is being grossly overfished, and is on its way to extinction. The reason? Fishermen can sell a single bluefin for $173,000. At first thought, you might feel like blaming the greedy fishermen (and I think there is some fault there), but here's an article that assigns the blame more appropriately: fault the rich assholes who regard paying an obscene price for a small bite to be part of the cachet of the fish. "People believe in their hearts that a piece of raw fish is worth $600. And one of the main reasons that it's worth $600 is because you can't afford it and I can't, but…

CNN Projects PreacherMan Republican Winner of Iowa Caucus

tags: Iowa caucus news, politics, Huckabee, Republican Is this an indication of the deep chasm that separates Americans today? With 86% of precincts reporting; Mike Huckabee 34% Mitt Romney 25% Apparently, his former prochoice and "don't ask, don't tell" positions really hurt him. Fred Thompson 14% John McCain 13% Ron Paul 10% Rudy Guiliani 4% 112,000 Republicans turned out for the Iowa caucus tonight -- less than 10% of the state's registered voters (89,000 turned out in 2000). Huckabee had fairly even support across all groups, which included evangelicals, home schoolers and other…

More About Books in General

tags: books, book reviews Thanks to you, I read a LOT of books (and watch a few DVDs as well), but end up reviewing approximately one in four (or is it one in five?) of all books I read (and rarely review any DVDs that I watch). This doesn't seem right, even though I have had the great pleasure to read so many wonderful books, both gifts from my readers and review copies provided by publishers. Unfortunately, if I reviewed every good book that I've read this past few years, I would not write anything on my blog except book reviews. So to address that sad situation, I have decided to add a…

Birdbooker Report 72

tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books "How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird literature." --Edgar Kincaid The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and…

Antarctica in Five Minutes

tags: Antarctica, environment, nature, streaming video This is a video of a trip to Antarctica, including some lovely images of seals, penguins, gulls and other seabirds and breaching humpback whales! [4:48] Thanks to one of my readers, I learned recently that Quark Expeditions is searching for an Official Blogger to join a voyage to Antarctica. To select this person, they are asking blog writers to enter a competition where the public votes for whom they think would be best for the job. I am a wonderful candidate for this job as the official blogger for Quark Expeditions because I have…

A Year on Ice: Antarctica Time Lapse

tags: Antarctica, environment, nature, streaming video As an introduction to my special plea to you, my readers, I want to share this astonishing time-lapse video filmed in Antarctica, in and around McMurdo Station and Scott Base [6:17] Thanks to one of my readers, I learned recently that Quark Expeditions is searching for an Official Blogger to join a voyage to Antarctica. To select this person, they are asking blog writers to enter a competition where the public votes for whom they think would be best for the job. Quite honestly, I think I am the best person in the world to act as the…

The Canadian reviews trickle in

You may have heard that Expelled opened in Canada this week…but it's not off to a soaring start. The first reviews are coming in, and I am encouraged by the opening line of this one: "I found this film so distasteful I hestitate to dignify it with even a thumbnail review." Also noteworthy: the reviewer interviewed the awful Ben Stein about it. I interviewed Ben Stein for a Newsmaker item in this week’s Maclean’s, and he did acknowledge the debt his film owes to Michael Moore. "We were greatly influenced by him," he said. "He showed you can make a documentary on a political subject and make…

Dissing people in U.S. who need food assistance

Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich likes to pump himself up by picking on other people. Several weeks back his target was "children in the poorest neighborhoods." Now it's people who receive food assistance. Others have checked his claims about President Obama being the "food stamp President," but Gingrich also suggested that if you are on food stamps, you aren't earning a paycheck. According to data assembled by the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, however, a hefty portion of households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are…