Search Content

Displaying results 51001 - 51050 of 87947

Minnesota does the right thing

California may inspire a whole series of legislative actions. Minnesota has introduced a bill similar to California's. The Marriage and Family Protection Act was introduced by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, on Friday. The bill would make marriage a gender-neutral proposition in Minnesota, allowing same-sex couples to marry. It would also protect religious institutions that have moral objections to same-sex marriage from being compelled to perform such ceremonies. I love the title of the bill — that will have the wingnuts chewing their tongues in a…

More money than sense

This loon, Gerry Rzeppa, has made a challenge to Richard Dawkins. All Dawkins has to do is show up on a stage with Rzeppa, listen to him read from his children's book for about ten minutes, and answer one simple question…and Rzeppa will hand over $64,000 (if he even has it). I don't think Dawkins should do it, since it's like taking advantage of the mentally deficient, but then… I read the book. Yeesh. You'd have to pay me more than that to get me to sit through that Vogon poetry again.

Vote for Shelley! (Blogging Scholarships)

As you may have heard from some of the other ScienceBlogs, our SciBling Shelley Batts, of [Retrospectacle](http://www.scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/) is competing for a scholarship being given to bloggers. Shelley's a great writer, and on her way to becoming a great scientist. Please head over to the [Blogger Scholarships voting](http://www.scholarships-ar-us.org/blog/2006/10/31/vote-for-the-winner-o…), take a look at the finalist, and if you agree with us SBers that Shelley deserves to be the winner, put in a vote for her!

We need MORE FROGS

Welcome to one of those annoying teaser posts - I'd post something substantive, if only I had the time. But I don't. The adjacent photo shows Pristimantis charlottevillensis, a strabomantid from Tobago that was named in 1995. Believe it or don't, strabomantids are sometimes known as squatting prophet frogs. The group was only named in 2008, and was previously included within the hyloid group Brachycephalidae [previously discussed here]. The photo was taken by John C. Murphy and is used with his kind permission. Hey - how do people get those open thread things going?

Yummy Old Spice Man Delivers Marriage Proposal

tags: Yummy Old Spice Man Delivers Marriage Proposal, television, celebrity gossip, humor, funny, comedy, Old Spice Man, Man on a Horse, Isaiah Mustafa, streaming video This video is totally cheesy, except for a couple things: first, the impetus for it was a tweet from a guy asking the Old Spice Man to deliver a marriage proposal to his girlfriend and second, well, it features another look at the very yummy Old Spice Man, Isaiah Mustafa. This sweet video is a perfect blend of romantic cheese, humor and good old-fashioned lust. I wish I had a marriage proposal delivered by him .. squeeeeee!!

Foosball Fever

tags: Foosball Fever, Foosball, table football, Nokia, film, filmmaking, innovation, technology, wow, television, streaming video This video is amazing! It captures an amazing series of foosball matches, complete with all the wacky new tricks that were done. Plus, after the main video is over, you are presented with a clickable menu of embedded video links you can choose from, like slo-mo captures of how the tricks were done, behind the scenes footage, etc. All in all, this one video is a very cool innovation for foosball fans, video aficionados and technophiles!

Mystery Bird: Short-tailed Albatross, Phoebastria albatrus

tags: Short-tailed Albatross, Steller's Albatross, Phoebastria albatrus, Diomedea albatrus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Short-tailed Albatross, also known as Steller's Albatross, Phoebastria (Diomedea) albatrus photographed on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge -- one of the most remote coral atolls on earth -- a US territory in the north Pacific Ocean [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joe Fuhrman. I encourage you to purchase images from this professional photographer. NOTE: Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification…

Mystery Bird: Gilded Flicker, Colaptes chrysoides

tags: Gilded Flicker, Colaptes chrysoides, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Female Gilded Flicker, Colaptes chrysoides, photographed sitting on top of a blooming Saguaro cactus on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Terry Sohl, 8 May 2008 [larger view]. You are encouraged to purchase photographs from this photographer. I am happy to email his contact information to you. Canon 20D, 400 5.6L. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.

Mystery Bird: African Spoonbill, Platalea alba

tags: African Spoonbill, Platalea alba, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] African Spoonbill, Platalea alba, photographed in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Dan Logen, 22 January 2010 [larger view]. Nikon D300, 600 x 1.4, ISO 1000, 1/4000, f/9 Exp comp -1.3 As an added bonus, can you tell me about this bird's feeding habits, just from looking at it? Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.

How to Build Your Own Self Playing Harmonica

tags: Self Playing Harmonica, music, music video, DIY, computer printer, harmonica, vacuum cleaner, Instructibles, Stupid Inventions, streaming video There are lots of different types of Self-Playing Instruments, but the folks at Stupid Inventions wanted to create something new so they decided to build the Self Playing Harmonica. Made from an old printer and a vacuum cleaner, the Self-Playing Harmonica will play different songs based on the image you print. You can learn more about this and find step-by-step instructions for constructing your own self-playing harmonica at Instructibles.

Science Cafe, Raleigh: Gene-Environment Interactions

From SCONC: Tuesday, March 24 6:30-8:30 pm Science Cafe, Raleigh: Gene-Environment Interactions EPA statistician and geneticist David Reif discusses the interplay between our genes and the environment. What does our shared evolutionary history have to do with common, complex diseases? How might genetics shape differential susceptibility to the multitude of chemicals--both manufactured and natural--present in the environment? How do modern lifestyles impact the evolutionary process? Tir Na Nog, 218 South Blount Street, Raleigh, NC, 919.833.7795 RSVP to katey.ahmann@ncmail.net

Drinking Liberally...in Morris!

We become more cosmopolitan day by day. As of tomorrow, our fair city will have its very own Drinking Liberally chapter (it's even on the map!). I can walk to it, instead of driving for three hours. Here's the info: When: Thursday, May 18, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 or whenever. Where: Old #1 in Morris, near the horseshoe-shaped part of the bar. Why: To have a relaxed, informal place for progressive political discussion and socializing. For more information, visit drinkingliberally.org, or contact local host Jeff Lamberty (Lambo) at morris@drinkingliberally.org.

Scienceblogs.com on NYTimes

If you go to the Science page of New York Times, starting today, you will see on the right side, just below the "Most popular" box a brand new widget - "Selected Posts From Sb Scienceblogs" that looks like this: Soon, we'll reciprocate the link by linking to NYTimes science content as well. A nice way for old media and new media to integrate with each other, send readers to each other and educate the general audience about the difference in format, form, style, voice and quality between the old and new media. Everybody wins.

AP: Stupid, it hurts!

Associated Press is going to go extinct, due to being incorrigibly idiotic. In the era of blogs, Creative Commons licences, Open Source, Open Access... they are working actively at stopping traffic to their site!!! How much more stupid can they be? And the way they try to bully everyone around about this, I say...let them have it: never, ever link to their stories again - they are stolen stories to begin with, so take a couple of minutes to find the originals that AP stole from, then link to the original. Let the AP die.

Yes, Seasonal Affective Disorder is real

No matter how cutesy the acronim SAD is. Joseph reports on a study that links SAD to serotonin. But serotonin itself may not be necessary to understand how SAD works, though an intimate link between serotonin and melatonin (the former is the biochemical precursor of the latter) suggests that serotonin should be looked at in this context. Also, if you suffer from SAD you should be very careful preparing for your long-distance travel: getting jet-lagged may trigger a bout of a few days of depression regardless of the time of year.

Congratulations to Rob!

My SciBling Rob Knop is leaving the academic circus for a cool job: designing Universes or some such astronomical stuff on Second Life. Just as he is about to leave his University, though, he got a nice parting gift from the academic world for his work on the expansion of the Universe - the Gruber Prize in Cosmology. Please go and say Hello and Congratulations to Rob! Related: Farewell and Hail Science blogger (and soon to be former academic) shares Gruber Prize. Is getting tenure Mission Impossible? Kudos for Rob I have shilled

Science Cafe in Raleigh - Teenage Brains

Science Cafe on Teenage Brains : Teenagers sometimes act as though they were from a different planet. On Tuesday February 19, the Museum of Natural Sciences will host a science cafe entitled "Altered States: Inside the Teenage Brain" at Tir Na Nog in Raleigh at 6:30p.m. The session will be led by Wilkie Wilson, Duke professor and director of BrainWorks, a program for brain research and education. Wilson studies the effects of drugs on learning and memory, and has helped write several books on teenage drug use. RSVP to Katey Ahmann by Monday, February 18.

New on....

....Scienceblogs.com Busy today. What are the others writing about? Abel Pharmboy and DrugMonkey discuss the causes of death of Heath Ledger. Nature had some articles about ScienceDebate 2008 and got it all wrong. I agree with what John Lynch wrote. PhysioProf explains the brave new world of NIH Grants - not what I remember from the times of plentiful funding. Angry Toxicologist on animal testing. Obligatory Reading of the Day: Janet on the project of being a grown-up scientist. The awesomest movie of a gigantic shark. Shelley and Steve are Of Two Minds...

Conference pictures

Well, just below, I posted all of my pictures from the Conference. If you have some of your own, please upload them to the Facebook group and on Flickr. Tag the Flickr photos with the "scienceblogging.com" tag and then look around all the pictures and identify the people, tag them (on Facebook) or give their names (URLs as well) in the comments. As I am exhausted and this takes some time to do, you are welcome to ID the people in my pictures in the comments on my posts as well...

How did Dawkins react to the news that the Oklahoma legislature wanted to outlaw him?

With humor, of course. Here's the opening of his talk at the University of Oklahoma last night. He also responded by donating funds from the RDF to Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education…which brings up an important point. There are lots of smart Oklahomans who are really angry at the stupidity of these ignorant legislators. Listen to the audience in the video clip, too: they are laughing at the creationist clowns. Keep laughing. And vote the fools out of office. Oklahoma can be a state standing up for reason.

Weekend!

Wow - this was a busy and exhausting week! But Trackbacks are in place and (mostly) working. I did not even have time to unpack everything from last weekend's pseudo-move - the house is nice and clean but still looks like a war-zone. And tomorrow I am teaching Lab 3 (out of 4) in the morning and going to a wedding in the afternoon. Sunday is the beginning of the Foodblogging event and I'll also meet some science bloggers in the evening. Blogging? Backburner until Monday, most likely.... In the meantime, learn how to draw a magpie.

Less you sleep, craziest the dreams!

There is an intriguing article in Scientific American about the consequences of sleep deprivation. When the brain is finally allowed to catch up with sleep, it tries to make-up for the loss of slow-wave sleep, but it also tries to make up for the loss of REM sleep as well - by making it more intense! As a result, the dreams are like scenes from something like "Jumanji" - wild animals running around and other crazy stuff. A very good article about various ideas on the function of sleep and dreams.

RIP: George Folkerts (November 26, 1938 - December 14, 2007)

George Folkerts was one of those naturalists of the 'old school', interested in everything and excited about learning and sharing the knowledge throughout his life. He died on Friday, suddenly and unexpectedly, at the end of a typically busy day at Auburn University. Anne-Marie was his student, one of thousands who had the privilege to learn from and with Folkerts, and one of those who now has to carry on his work. She wrote about him in two very touching posts: Huge loss on many levels and Classifying grief.

Danionella dracula

One of the evolutionary peculiarities of my favorite lab animal, the zebrafish, and of cypriniform fishes in general, is that they lack teeth. They lost them over 50 million years ago, and don't even form a dental lamina in development. So this photo of a cypriniform, Danionella dracula, gave me a bit of a start beyond just the nice fangs and the ghoulish name. The story doesn't give much detail, but I'm going to have to look into this. Those are not true teeth, but spiny outgrowths of bone directly from the jaws.

Next: Harvard

This is where I will be next: "Publishing in the New Millennium: A Forum on Publishing in the Biosciences" Friday, November 9, 1:00 - 6:00 pm TMEC Walter Amphitheater, Harvard Medical School 260 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115 www.harvardpublishingforum.com This is a student-organized conference that will convene experts from across the world to discuss the state of publishing in the biological sciences. If you are coming, let us know through Facebook. Or e-mail me and let's get together on that day, or the previous afternoon, or the following morning.

Call For Submissions: Tangled Bank

Alright everyone, the day that we all have been waiting for has finally arrived; my turn has finally come to host Tangled Bank! This means that I am now requesting submissions from all of you, faithful and new readers alike. I am specifically seeking submissions about nature, science and medicine. I am requesting you to get your submissions in early because I have a court date on the 14th, so the earlier you get your submissions to me, the more likely they will be included and, after a thoughtful reading, well-represented to the public.

From the Mouths of Babes

Below the fold is a video that is meant to be provocative. On one hand, I agree with what the kid is saying, but on the other hand, I find it repulsive that the adults involved with the making of this video are comfortable with using a kid to say such things. Why hide behind a kid? Why not take credit for your own opinions and words? Rhetorical response from Bill O'Reilly ... *yawn* .. why wouldn't he just ignore this, instead of drawing more attention to the video by ranting about it?

I Was Dugg!

Normally, I receive somewhere between 900-2500 hits per day (green on above graph) with slightly more than like twice as many page views (purple on above graph), but last week, one of my articles from nearly a year ago about global warming was Dugg, producing nearly 50,000 hits in the span of a single day! This graph shows you what those stats look like when compared to my normal traffic -- which I thought was respectable (well, sorta). Now, if only I could keep my traffic at such enormous levels, I'd be so happy!

Wasp

A small wasp washing its face. The photo was taken on the path that runs behind the photographer's house. Image: miz_geek. I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited. . tags: wasp, insect,nature, entomology, zoology

Desert Tortoise

One of the Arizona desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii that the photographer is a care taker of. It is probably Aphrodite. Image: Mark Newton. I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited. . tags: tortoise, reptile, nature, zoology

Fiery Skipper

Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus. W. 11th St. Park Butterfly Garden, Houston, Texas. 28 October 2006 Image: Biosparite. I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited. . tags: butterfly, Fiery Skipper, Lepidoptera, zoology

Quail Hunting School

Like most Americans, I was losing sleep because I realized that Dick Cheney was roaming the countryside, fully armed and seething with rage while inebriated, with the single-minded goal of murdering innocent domestic quail and guilty lawyers. But then a friend sent me to the Quail Hunting School. This is the same hunting school that Dick Cheney graduated from. The specific advantage of this particular hunting school is it teaches hunters how to do their dirty deeds under real life circumstances instead of under the utopian conditions of hunting while sober.

BioLogos sans Collins

Francis Collins will be stepping down from his role at the BioLogos Foundation, as part of the process of becoming the head of the NIH. This is only a minimal step, however, and it really doesn't address any of my objections to the guy. The foundation and its web site will still be going on, and you know that once he finishes his tenure at NIH, he'll just step back into it. I'm more concerned about whether he'll be injecting religion into his politics on the job.

More Turtles Yoga-ing in Central Park

tags: Painted Turtle, Red-eared Slider, reptile, Image of the Day Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [Wallpaper size] The Photographer writes: But Hold On! As the camera pulls away from these two subjects it reveals three turtles are actually in attendance at this yoga session. The third practitioner is also a Red-eared Slider. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come? I surely will be keeping my eye and camera out for an even larger yoga class should I find it. Until my next report please remember: don't strain and remember to breath.

What Happened to Birds in the News?

As you no doubt have noticed, Birds in the News has not made its usual appearance today at noon. The reason is that I was unable to find any wifi hotspots from Friday afternoon onwards, until today when I returned to the library. As a result, I didn't have a chance to write this week's issue of Birds in the News. I was only able to access the internet -- twice -- this past weekend for approximately five minutes each time, but that is all. Birds in the News requires four hours to finish each issue. So please accept my apologies.

A Spot of Red

tags: Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Image of the Day Male Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, feeds his chick in Central Park, NYC. [song link] I found this pair about twenty feet away from the nest site. I have been observing the progress of the nest and was delighted to find at least two of the three nestlings had fledged successfully. Should you find this inspirational I would hope you will demonstrate some restraint and not try it yourself at home with a significant other. I would strongly recommend you leave it to the professionals. Image: Bob Levy [much larger…

Pro Sessions at Soho's Apple Store in NYC

You are all invited to NYC's Apple Store (in Soho) for a free a "Pro Session" panel discussion with some of us ScienceBloggers. This session will be a conversation about the convergence of science, technology, and culture and will discuss how blogging is driving the global dialogue on scientific topics. We'll talk about what's top of mind from global warming to science education and why science literacy is more important than ever. What: Apple Pro Session panel with ScienceBloggers Date: Wednesday, 1 October 2008 Time: 7 - 8pm ET Location: 103 Prince Street [map].

Painting The Sky

tags: ornithology, birds, avian, National Geographic Painting the Sky A brilliant blur as it plucks a butterfly from the air, the European bee-eater, Merops apiaster, leads a colorful life on three continents. Image: Jözsef L. Szentpéteri/National Geographic [larger view]. My contact, an editor at National Geographic, just sent me a link to a story and photoessay that details the courtship and breeding of European Bee-eaters, Merops apiaster. The story is fascinating and well-worth reading and the photographs, as always for National Geographic, brings tears of wonder to one's eyes.

Carnivalia

Blog carnivals are a great way to see a wide variety of ideas and opinions on a variety of subjects. So here's a few newly published blog carnivals for you to peruse; Total Mind and Body Fitness, issue 67. Review Bloggers Carnival, 27th edition. This blog carnival focuses on any sort of review, from product reviews to book reviews. I'll bet you can guess which sort of thing I reviewed for this carnival .. Carnival of Finance issue 21. This is a huge blog carnival, filled with all sorts of money advice.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill interrupted bluefin tuna spawning

According to a new paper showing temporal and spatial patterns of migratory routes and spawning grounds of bluefin tuna, they were in the Gulf of Mexico spawning at the moment the oil well exploded and all that oil started gushing out (and then dispersed with toxic chemicals). Nobody is fishing there now, and no professional media or amateur reporting or photography are allowed, but I am assuming some of the radiotransmitters in some of the individuals may still be operational and that data from the area, during the spill, will become available in the future.

I and the Bird #19 Available

I managed to get wireless access from the courthouse, yippee! So I am checking in to let you know that the blog carnival, I and the Bird, issue #19, is now available. It is hosted by my blog pal, Bora, author of Science and Politics. This carnival focuses on the best writing about birds and bird watching in the blogosphere that has been recently published and it is jam packed with all sorts of fascinating articles. Bora was so kind as to include a piece (well, a rant, actually) that I wrote, too! tags: blog carnival

I Should Be A Therapist!

Okay, you can stop laughing now, even though I agree with you that the title for this entry is rather amusing. This quiz is made even more hilarious if you knew the reason for my partial hiatus from my blog. Anyway, feel free to share your results and comments on this quiz below the fold. You Are 85% Grown Up, 15% Kid Your emotional maturity is fully developed, and you have an excellent grasp on your emotions. In fact, you are so emotionally mature - you should consider being a therapist! How Emotionally Mature Are You?

Science and Soccer

For those of you who are following the World Cup, I ran across an article this morning at that has quite a few links that describe the science of World Cup soccer. Linked from this article are interesting studies showing that teams who wear red uniforms are most likely to win, that winning is great but losing is safer for the fans, and that "heading the ball" is associated with an increased risk of motor neuron disease. Read this article for these and more interesting reports of soccer-based or inspired research. . tags: science, soccer, research

NASA: the times they are a changin'

There is a new head of Research and Analysis in NASA's science directorate Dr Yvonne Pendleton out of NASA Ames astrobio takes over SARA at HQ She wants to hear from people about R&A issues, general concerns, the specific issues still go to program officers. Non-responsive program officers are a general concern, apparently (mine are all very nice and responsive, really). She is also going to meetings: AAS, Bioastro, DPS and AGU to actually tell people what is going on. Er, wow. That is good. I hope that is good, if not, then it is very brave...

Intractable problems?

So, what are the intractable problems in science? Which scientific open issues or problems are we limited in making further progress in, right now, because the problem is technically too hard? Where we simply do not know what to do, or how to make further progress, through lack of technical ability in actually approaching the problem and its solution; as distinct from resource limited problems which we could solve if we had bigger telescopes or accelerators, or more grad students or faster computers, or simply more money over more time?

Imminence of the Eschaton IX: Google iiinnnn Space!

NASA and Google announce a formal relationship (from NASAwatch) Google is God. Do no evil. Best of all, Google is much prompter and more efficient about disbursing payment... ...hey, that gives me an idea. Use google rank to allocated PI funds! Dood. Entirely different ways to game the system! ...Among the details of this new cooperative project, Google will be contributing funding to support NASA employees - and not just at ARC - but at other NASA centers as well... I wonder if Sergei likes Alien Life? Maybe his cousin David could prevail upon him...

Rumbles under the Ice

Ruh-roh. Katla is rumbling a bit. Historically, Katla tends to erupt 1-2 years after any eruption in Eyjafjallajökull. Katla eruptions are also, historically, very nasty, very dangerous and likely to have wide (continental scale) impacts. But not always. Katla is the primary motivator for Iceland's rather excellent Civil Defence System. From vedur.is Earthquakes in last 48 hours under Mýrdalsjökull. Definitely something stirring under there. Will need to keep an eye on that, could go burp. Or not. h/t Lára Hanna PS: Jón Frímann is local and on it

this is so wrong

Prof Henry Gates' account of his arrest the police report hm, lose a few billion from the endowment and all of a sudden there is no respect the accounts are surprisingly consistent, but Prof Gates made one major mistake: Skip, dood, you were in China and didn't stay for the eclipse!?! what were you thinking... oh, and sorry about the way the police treated you, bit of an overreaction there by the sound of it PS: just in case anyone is confused by who I think overreacted: Nightmare on Ware Street

carrier watch watch

The Yorkshire Ranter avoids the topic of rugby, but does summarises the current strategic situation - the US carrier groups are refurbishing (well, the Kitty Hawk just left harbour for fall deployment and exercises in the west pacific, and the Enterprise is "on station" but not listed in the Persian Gulf or Arabian Sea, so I'm guessing in harbour picking up stores). Nothing happening there. Don't know where Cheney gets his bluster from. The US is just not positioned to do anything silly before spring, makes the rhetoric coming out look kinda impotent.

Grand Slam

Congratulations to the IPCC and Al Gore for the Nobel Peace Prize So, Attenborough Award, Oscar, Emmy and Nobel in one year. Not bad for a Harvard grad. Wonder what he will do next? PS: hey I got one right... I suppose there is no hope now of the US joining the rest of the world in making Nobel prize winnings exempt from income tax...? ok, I think Scalia has taken the SCOTUS supermacy over international rulings thing too far and they leaked the ruling to the White House - can't trust anyone