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Props to me

By the end of today, we will have over 200,000 visits to Evolving Thoughts. That's in not quite two years, ever since PZ Myers outed me back in June 2004. On average around 5000 visits and 8000 page reads a week. Assuming nobody visits more than once a day, that's a thousand readers. PZ might sneer at such low figures, but then I don't try to earn a second income from blogging, and besides, I try to steer clear of politics, which is where the audience is. So to you faithful 1000, thanks! Most philosophers would kill for an audience of that size.

So it's somewhere between Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, and getting worse

The situation in Japan is looking dire. Workers have been evacuated for their safety from one of the failing nuclear plants, setting the stage for a possible meltdown. There have been more explosions, and more venting of radiation. Another unit, Unit 4, which was not one of the plants that was highly stressed in the earthquake, is now on fire. I'm going to be going to bed soon. I have a grim feeling about the news I'll be waking up to. But I figured I'd better create a space here for the overnight discussion of the doomful news coming out of Japan.

Neural prosthetics are now a reality

The most recent issue of Nature has a paper by the Donoghue lab at Brown about their project implanting an ensemble of electrodes into the motor cortex of a paraplegic. Signals from the electrodes were decoded and used to run a computer program so the patient can literally move the cursor with their mind. This is really incredible stuff. The day is rapidly approaching when we can really help these people. You can read the article, but the most interesting part is the videos available (without a subscription) here. My favorite is a game of Pong. Hat-tip: Mind Hacks (by one of the authors…

Hello from Mexico City!

I have arrived after a long, long series of flights, and have already experienced wonderful Mexican hospitality and Negro Modelo, many thanks to the gang from Masa Critica, so all is right in the world. It's not too late to show up, you can register at the door, just come on out to the Hotel Fiesta Inn Centro Histórico and join us at 8 tomorrow morning for Primer Coloquio Mexicano de Ateísmo. There will be live internet streaming of some of the talks, so let's hope more of the Spanish-speaking world takes advantage of this event, too. La fe NO mueve montañas, la ciencia sí!

links for 2007-10-09

The five best and worst sites, Part IV I was relieved to see we weren't one of the "worst" sites... Vote for the Winner of the 2007 Blogging Scholarship I'm not picking any favorites, other than to note that fellow ScienceBlogger Shelley Batts is in the running. Hammers and Distributed Memory "There is no single place of our brain where we will find an entry with the word hammer followed by a neat dictionary definition of what a hammer is." Diet Education Had No Long Term Impact On Childhood Obesity Can nurture save you from your own genes? Genes, environment and depression

Quick links from around the web

Chris Chatham on the relationship between psychology and neuroscience Why healthy people call in sick for work Excellent long analysis of Isabel Peretz's "The Nature of Music from a biological perspective" For the attention-impaired: Excellent, shorter analysis of the above analysis Hey, we've got something to say about Peretz, too! More discussion on the nature of music Related but different: Figure out how to quantify people's tastes and win a million bucks Update: A bonus link, which offers some support for something my 14-year-old son has been saying for a long time: The Daily Show just…

Cyclone George Takes a Wrong Turn

Earlier today, it looked like we were going to have a very intense cyclone off the northwestern coast of Australia. Now it looks worse: Cyclone George has turned south and is expected to strike the Pilbara region somewhere between Onslow and Port Hedland in the next 24 to 36 hours. A lot now depends on how much George intensifies before landfall. The numbers in the image above, from the Bureau of Meteorology, are on the Australian scale. The current prediction is for a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, but intensity prediction is tricky and not that reliable....

Back Into the Vortex

Dear Friends: I've been having a massively fun time blogging like hell these past few weeks. It feels like old times. However, I now have to go (kicking and screaming) back to work for a bit, to put finishing touches on Storm World. The idea is to be at least mostly done with various editing minutiae before I ship off to San Francisco on Thursday. So, I'm declaring blog hiatus for a brief few days, much as I hate doing it...but I'll be back soon. I hope to blog from San Francisco and Chicago, actually, if I can. Wish me luck....

Chris Update

This storm is intensifying more than expected. Winds are at 60 mph already. Meanwhile--and I know it's dangerous to do this, but I will do so anyway--there's certainly a distinct possiblity that this one could end up in the Gulf. Of course, uncertainties in the long range forecast are massive. P.S.: For more on this storm, check out this great website from the University of Wisconsin... P.P.S.: Just noticed that the NHC's forecast wind speeds now take Chris up to 65 knots over the 72 hour period. If that's right--a big if--then this will be our season's first hurricane....

Must-Read Article of the Day

It's by Matthew Nisbet, and it's about the changing politics of the stem cell issue in the wake of the Hwang scandal. The gist: The public had grown quite supportive of embryonic stem cell research, but the 2004 electoral campaign polarized the issue, and now the Korean fraud story has potential to turn opinion the other way. The data are troubling enough that Nisbet concludes with the suggestion that "perhaps the focus on funding stem cell research in science-friendly states remains a best strategy for stem cell proponents." Read the whole article. P.S.: Potentially contrary data comes in…

Tracks and Traces 04.19.10

Ask a Biologist is back! Go check it out at the new website. There's a new T. rex in town, plus other cool science news. (Not Exactly Rocket Science) Cobra rib muscles were co-opted to flare their hoods (ht @friendsofdarwin) Julia got an awesome Camarasaurus tattoo. Check it out! An amazing photo of a South Korean warship being raised from the depths. Sometimes you photograph the bear, sometimes the bear runs over and steals your camera equipment (ht @NerdyChristie) Bloggers vs. journalists (AGAIN *headdesk*) (by @mjrobbins) The Thai Elephant Orchestra (via @edyong209) A…

I'm not nagging, am I? It's time for Donors Choose!

I just have to remind everyone now and then that we are trying to raise money for science education in the public schools, and I do have a donation page where you can pick specific grant applications you like and give them your cash. If you're feeling competitive, there's also a leaderboard page where you can see the contributions made by other science blogs. Pharyngula is leading, of course, but I'm feeling lonely…I seem to be the only participant from Seed Media so far. You might think about doing some nagging yourself and tell those other ScienceBlogs to get in the act and join the group.

George Will is Not Entitled to His Own Facts

Over at Wonk Room, Brad Johnson is trying to get responses from the Post about why George Will is allowed to ignore fact and reality, and why the Post won't run a correction of his errors. It's pretty pathetic. The great conservative "intellectual"--Will--is apparently unaccountable. And you wonder why newspapers are failing today. I think we need them desperately--see this Paul Starr cover story of the latest New Republic--but when the Washington Post acts in such a boneheaded manner in defending one of its columnists' egregious errors, it's hard to feel too bad for them.

Your Most Memorable Science Policy Stories?

Science Progress has just announced their most popular features of 2008: Some of them dealt with major controversies over political interference with science at the Environmental Protection Agency, the teaching of creationism, and women's access to reproductive health services. Others tackled challenges of a networked world, or considered how policy can better harness the talents of a burgeoning scientific workforce. It's worth a read so go see what made the list (you might even recognize a couple of the authors). Still, I'm most interested to hear from readers... What would you rank as the…

A Few Good Men For Obama's Transition

Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the fourth-ranking House Democrat and a close friend of Mr. Obama's from Chicago, has been offered the job of chief of staff, and although he was said to be concerned about the effects on his family and giving up his influential role on Capitol Hill, many Democrats said they expected him to accept it. Mr. Obama named John D. Podesta, the former Clinton White House chief of staff, to lead his transition team along with Valerie Jarrett, a longtime adviser, and Pete Rouse, his Senate chief of staff. Read on at NYTimes...

Sizzle Gets Rave Review in Variety

The "two cultures" effect that we're seeing with the responses to Sizzle continues: Now the famed industry rag Variety loves the film that has many scientists scratching their heads (or worse). From the Variety reviewer: The film emerges, more skillfully than "Flock of Dodos," as an exceedingly clever vehicle for making science engaging to a general audience, and also presents climate-change science in a more complex light than the overtly partisan "An Inconvenient Truth." Does the film perpetrate stereotypes? Variety: Silpa and Clark push the flaming-queen stereotype right to the edge…

Science And The City

From the Washington Post: NEW YORK, May 28 -- Some of the nation's leading scientists, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top science adviser, today sharply criticized the diminished role of science in the United States and the shortage of federal funding for research, even as science becomes increasingly important to combating problems such as climate change and the global food shortage. Sounds familiar...ScienceDebate2008 anyone? New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the city's science summit yesterday, calling science "just as exciting, just as cool, just as cutting-edge"…

BBC News: China 'Now Top Carbon Polluter'

According to the BBC News, China has already overtaken the US as the world's 'biggest polluter.' Dr. Max Auffhammer, lead researcher on an upcoming report in next month's Journal of Environment Economics and Management, explained his projections assume that the Chinese government's recent aggressive energy efficiency program would fail and called figures for emissions growth 'truly shocking.' "But there is no sense pointing a finger at the Chinese. They are trying to pull people out of poverty and they clearly need help. "The only solution is for a massive transfer of technology and wealth…

"Central pressure is measured in millibars, not megabytes"

Yesterday, though I didn't get the chance to blog it, my latest Science Progress column went up. Entitled "Just Coasting," it's about the vulnerability of the US gulf states to climate change, and how government agencies are consistently failing to do their job to prepare us for it. The quotation in the title is, by far, my favorite part of the piece. It's from the National Academy of Sciences, critiquing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' garbling of hurricane science in a draft report on the vulnerability of New Orleans. Megabytes? Can you believe that? You can read the entire item here.

Coming Soon: Green Porno season 2

You may recall that last December I shared a clip or two from Isabella Rossellini's delightful short film series on the mating habits of insects called "Green Porno." Some viewers were fascinated, others horrified, but regardless of your reaction you might be interested to know that on April 1st Rossellini will be back with a slew of new shorts for the second season of Green Porno. Whereas the original run focused on insects the new season will feature sea creatures. (Among the episodes are "Why Vagina", "Whale", and "Angler".) Here is a promotional clip for the upcoming shorts; I can't…

Robert Sapolsky on religion

Studying for finals has kept me pretty busy lately, but during a break from stressing myself out over trig I stumbled across something interesting. Presented below is a short interview in which Robert Sapolsky discusses religion, particularly why people might believe the things they do. You'll have to turn your speakers up because he is very soft-spoken, but it is certainly worth a look; If you haven't heard of Sapolsky before, I can't recommend his writings enough. A Primate's Memoir, in particular, is one of the best books I have ever read (as well as making me more fond of baboons…

Photo of the Day #844: Gorilla

A female lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), photographed at the Bronx Zoo. A note about "Photo of the Day": I recognize that this daily feature has not been as exciting lately. I often visit zoos, museums, and other places rich in photo ops throughout the year, but during the past several months my opportunities to do so have been limited. I have therefore had to mine my stores for miscellaneous photos from previous trips which I have not posted before, but I am hoping to get back out to take some fresh shots sometime around my birthday at the end of the month. Thank you for your patience.

A Gelada Takes a Drink

I have been a little tied up with other writing duties today, so in lieu of a "normal" post here is another snapshot from my trip to the Bronx Zoo last weekend. It is of a young male gelada baboon (Theropithecus gelada) that came down to the moat to drink. He had just been involved in a major altercation. The entire troop went running after another young male who had gotten a little too close to a female spoken for by a larger male. The "fight" was more of a chase than anything else, though, and soon afterward most of the geladas went back to what they do best; eating grass.

Life Under The Sea

We've been hearing lots in the news about Aquarius - America's Innerspace Station, so I call this photo 'Friends in Low Places. It comes courtesy of my pals at the National Marine Sanctuaries Program. (You may remember these are the very same folks that hosted Capitol Hill Oceans Week in June). Check out my post at Correlations for details on Aquarius and more cool photos from NMSF and you'll understand why this research is yet another reason I love marine biology. For who knows what we'll discover as we continue to explore life under the sea...

Get Flock of Dodos on DVD!

In my public talks, I often mention Randy Olson's wonderfully funny and humane documentary Flock of Dodos--and the many lessons it hold for those of us seeking to defend the teaching of evolution and to explain science to those unfamiliar with it. Yet too often, the audience has responded with a blank stare--they obviously haven't seen the documentary yet. But now, finally, Flock of Dodos is available on DVD. If you haven't seen it yet, you simply must acquire a copy. Just click on the DVD image--and in the process, help prevent science and critical thinking from going extinct!

Talk Tomorrow in D.C.; Next Week, the National Hurricane Conference in NOLA

It's probably a bit late for this notification, but I'm giving a public talk tomorrow: Washington, DC Lecture at "Restoring Scientific Integrity" Conference Saturday, March 31 10:00 AM-12:00 PM Center for Inquiry D.C. 621 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. $ 10.00, RSVP required Washington, DC 20003 (202) 546-2330 Sorry about the ten bucks, it's not my decision. Then after that, I'm off to New Orleans for a week to visit the folks and attend the National Hurricane Conference. It's a big deal, obviously, that it's being held there. I'll be blogging from on site, as time and technology permits....

Estonia has atheists!

Hooray! The land of Karl Ernst von Baer is full of skeptics and atheists! By the way, I'm getting flooded with email from all around the world with people requesting acknowledgment of their godless community. I'm trying to spread them out — if I put up a solid wall of "X has atheists!" posts, the effect will be diluted and people won't actually visit your site — and I'm also getting an awful lot of them that are getting lost in the deluge. If you sent me a notice, give it a few days, and if it still doesn't appear, send me another email…I'll get to it eventually.

Foreign Policy: A Suggestion

Turkey is considering adding the letters "Q," "W," and "X" to their alphabet.  The idea is that it would appease the Kurds.   href="http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=127794"> class="detaybaslik-font">Gov’t reform envisages including X, Q, W in Turkish alphabets Changing the Turkish alphabet to include the letters Q, W and X to appease Turkey's Kurds, who have previously faced prosecution for using these letters, might be amongst the "surprise reforms," mentioned by Foreign Minister Ali Babacan earlier this week, says a senior official from the…

Psychology Group Scuttles Proposed Ban on Aiding Military Interrogations

Hard to know what to make of href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3499544">this.  The American Psychological Association considered a proposal to ban participation in military interrogations.  Specifically, APA members would have been prohibited from assisting in interrogations "in which detainees are deprived of adequate protection of their human rights." The APA national meeting is being held in San Fransisco this year.  In a session 19 August 2007, they chose not to ban all participation.  Instead, they adopted a substitute motion.   href="http://www.apa.org/governance/…

DonorsChoose 2008: Sad Engineers :(

Our DonorsChoose blogger challenge ends on Friday, and we've still got a couple of projects left to fund in our challenge. Yes, we've added a few along the way, but there's still a few of Alice's original picks that have been sitting there all month just waiting for your $. You're making Alice a sad engineer. And not just Alice, Academic Crossroads has also been waiting to see these projects funded, and even put a plea on her blog. Both of these projects have gone from 0% funded to well on their way to realization, but they each need <$250 to complete and make a difference in the lives of…

I just gotta say...

... now that I live on the western edge of a time zone, I regularly have to get up before the sun rises. These days that are approaching the equinox, when the sine function of daylight hours has a steep slope, the time of sunrise seems to really change a lot from day to day. Today's the first time I had to have breakfast with the light on. While I love fall, this makes me feel winter isn't far behind. Sunny breakfasts will be relegated to the weekends, and my sleep will be bracketed by darkness, which makes me feel I'm not sleeping enough. (Which maybe I'm not anyway.) *Sigh.*

For sale on eBay: A nuclear missile base

The former Larsen Air Force Base Complex 1A Titan ICBM Facility is listed on eBay. The facility comes complete with 16 underground buildings, including three 160 ft. tall missile silos, three 4-storey terminal equipment buildings, two antenna silos and a 100 ft. diameter control dome building. That amounts to 45,000 square feet of useable space, excluding tunnels. The facility is situated on a 57-acre site in Central Washington, between Moses Lake and Ricksville - that's just 10 minutes away from Interstate 90. It could be yours for a mere $1.5m. (A downpayment of $300,000 is required.) (…

OECD report on education in the industrialized world

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has just published its annual Education at a Glance report. The survey includes statistics on enrolment and completion rates for primary, secondary and tertiary education from the 30 OECD member countries, including the numbers of students completing each level of education, the proportions of national wealth and of public and private investment spent on education. It also summarizes trends in tertiary education, such as the numbers of women entering university, percentages of university graduates by subject, and numbers of…

"Anatomy as Art" auction at Christie's

  These illustrations by Jacques Fabien Gautier d'Agoty are part of a collection which is to be auctioned off at Christie's in New York on October 5th. The auction, which is called Anatomy as Art: The Dean Endell Medical Collection, has 229 lots, including the first edition of De Humani Corporis Fabrica, by Andreas Vesalius, estimated at $200,000- $300,000. The illustrations above are from lots 85 and 91, which together have estimates of $80,000- $120,000. Illustrations by both Vesalius and d'Agoty were used by Jessica for 3 of my beautiful rotating custom headers. (Via Morbid…

Posthumous ArXiv Posting

Hm, today we seem to have a posting from beyond the grave, arXiv:1003.2133: Proof of the Ergodic Theorem and the H-Theorem in Quantum Mechanics Authors: John von Neumann Abstract: It is shown how to resolve the apparent contradiction between the macroscopic approach of phase space and the validity of the uncertainty relations. The main notions of statistical mechanics are re-interpreted in a quantum-mechanical way, the ergodic theorem and the H-theorem are formulated and proven (without "assumptions of disorder"), followed by a discussion of the physical meaning of the mathematical conditions…

Florida Will Not Change Manatee Status

Some good news for the Florida manatee: We just learned today that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) deferred the manatee's status change from Endangered to Threatened. They also directed their staff to undertake a review of the flawed state classification system for ALL imperiled species. Citing the need for a better method to estimate the manatee population and the record 417 manatee deaths in 2006, Governor Charlie Crist asked the FWC to reject the status change and the Commissioners complied. ''We need to protect these gentle creatures,'' said Governor Crist in…

Wanna See My Mug(s)? You Got It...

Everyone's baring their souls.....oh i mean mugs, so thought i'd contribute. This is the mug I was drinking out of at lab. Not really sure where it came from, except that those are suppost to be hair cells on the mug. Hair cell for comparison: More below the fold...... Got this one in Tong Li, China the first time I went there. It has a nifty ceramic tea strainer and lid. I used to work in the New College admissions office and picked up this in my tenue there. Transparent mugs are rare and its funny how much I love this mug because of that.

"High as a kite" wallabies to blame for Tasmanian crop circles

This may be the best BBC story EVER. Seriously: Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite", a government official has said."We have a problem with wallabies entering poppy fields, getting as high as a kite and going around in circles," Lara Giddings told the hearing. "Then they crash," she added. "We see crop circles in the poppy industry from wallabies that are high." I have nothing to add. At a complete loss here. I can't even come up with a bad pun. PS - Oops, I forgot to say this was courtesy of reader Jake! Thanks Jake…

DC Event: Picturing Climate Change

This Tuesday, April 7, the Koshland Science museum in DC is hosting a book talk: Join NASA scientist Gavin Schmidt and accomplished photographer Joshua Wolfe as they demonstrate how photographs can illustrate the effects of global warming more poignantly than any temperature graph or chart. The two will show photos and satellite images of retreating glaciers, sinking villages in Alaska's tundra, and drying lakes from their new book, Climate Change: Picturing the Science. They will also discuss how scientists gather climate data and come up with cutting-edge research findings. RSVPs are…

What should we call the new exhibit at the Creation "Museum"?

Answers in Genesis has done something really stupid (I know, that's no surprise). The Creation "Museum" has some new exhibit, and they're trying to come up with a name for it. With a poll. And here's the best thing: it's on facebook, and it's a poll in which you can suggest names. It's up over 30 suggestions now, and most of them are making fun of the thing. Go ahead and add your own ideas, but vote for a good one, too: so far, "From Ignorance to Stupidity…a Journey" is leading in the mocking names, so I suggest we all throw our votes behind that one.

For teens: "Is my. . . you know. . . normal?"

Bravo to the Brits' Channel 4 for coming up with this series of videos, which addresses kids' inevitable questions about whether their bodies (breasts, acne, periods, sex, penises, etc.) are normal. The take-home message of these educational videos? Almost certainly you are normal, so don't be ashamed of your body. And don't let embarrassment stop you from being honest with your doctor or asking questions. It's refreshing to see internet videos depicting genitalia that AREN'T porn. Who knew they even existed? I just hope enough people eventually link to them that they'll show up in a Google…

Frog skeleton necklace & other naturalist-themed jewelry at Catbird

Here's a big time want: a sterling silver necklace cast from a frog spine and skull, by Elizabeth Knight. Wow. You can find it at Catbird! While you're there, check out Knight's spin on pearl earrings (the pearls are held by skeletal frog hands!), the 14K paired ant necklace by Jezebel, which I like even better than the skeleton (but it's way more expensive) and Cloven Hoof's Cleopatra jewel beetle necklace. Yes, they're all pretty pricey, but their brass monocle necklace is a sexy-naturalist (or librarian) option for only $22. Via the catbird blog - highly bookmarkable for all…

lullabies made of old poetry

In this TED clip, Natalie Merchant sings haunting arrangements of old poetry from her new album, Leave Your Sleep (2CD). If you have limited time, skip ahead to about 8:00 for the beautiful ee cummings poem "maggie and milly and molly and may", followed by the gently rebellious "if no one ever marries me" by Laurence Alma-Tadema (who never did marry), and then "Margaret" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. I'd forgotten how moving Merchant's voice is. I'll definitely be ordering this one when it's released. Watch an interview with Natalie Merchant about this project at Granta.

BioE blast from the past: A year ago this week. . .

I blogged about Lisa Black's steampunk heart: Fixed Heart offal with mixed metal components Lisa Black, 2008 I blogged about New Zealand artist Lisa Black before, but I can't get over this great piece of hers. What does it signify? Does it represent the gradual replacement of the natural world around us with technology, to the point where our own bodies become artificial? Is it critiquing the reductionist tendencies of neurobiologists who believe our deepest emotions are complex but purely chemical reactions? Is it a steampunk Valentine? I don't know, and I don't really care - it's just cool…

Now, THIS could be steampunk

From iO9: the trailer for "The Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec," a new film directed by Luc Besson (the Fifth Element), which appears to be about a female French Indiana Jones in period costumes. With a dinosaur. Adèle Blanc-Sec - Le film-annonce. sur Yahoo! Vidéo iO9 promises that "a pterodactyl threatens steampunk Paris," and I certainly hope the film's got steampunk garnishes, although the usual trappings of steampunk aren't readily apparent in this trailer. But even if the only steampunky thing about it is the locomotive scene, it is certainly more steampunk than a Cheez Whiz TV tube…

Folksy Fruits in Opal Orchard: a classic children's hallucination book

A Journey Round My Skull uncovered this DISTURBING children's book about anthropogenic talking fruit who appear to be suffering from a contagious respiratory disease. I'm not sure why I find it so disturbing, but I do. It makes me feel like I'm on some sort of mind-altering substance. (I know many children's books can have that effect - and the Spongebob movie, too - but for some reason this fruit book is just creepier than usual). Is anyone else reminded of Henry Darger's work? Check out more illustrations at A Journey Round My Skull. You can use them to frighten vegetarian children.

Alert: This print is endangered

The Endangered Species Print Project has a clever approach to conservation: a series of limited-edition prints depicting endangered species, with the number of prints correlating with the number of individuals left in the wild. For this sunlight-saturated Panamanian Golden Frog by Jenny Kendler, that's a wild population/print run of only 100. All the proceeds from print sales go to Project Golden Frog. (For other species, proceeds go to a conservation group helping that particular species). Artists Jenny Kendler and Molly Schafer created the project, and maintain a detailed blog on…

1994 vs. 2006

There's an interesting statistical comparison between the 1994 Republican victory and the 2006 Democratic victory at the Columbia stats blog. From the post: The Democrats' victory in the 2006 election has been compared to the Republicans' in 2004. But the Democrats actually did a lot better in terms of the vote. The Democrats received 56% of the average district vote for the two parties in 2006, whereas the Republicans only averaged 51.6% in 1994. The post also has some comments, and links to papers, discussing the fact that Democrats got a higher percentage of the vote (nationwide) than…

Just Science

This isn't technically about science, but I wanted to remind everyone that the week of science challenge has begun (as of yesterday), and the Just Science webpage is aggregating the feeds of all the participating blogs. So if you're interested in reading a bunch of science blogging, including some by science blogs you probably haven't come across before, then head on over to the website. UPDATE: Since I was suggesting you go read the feeds from all the participants, it would have been smart for me to link to the feed site. It's here. I'm sorry, I'm still learning about these newfangled…

The Prophet

This article in the Onion was supposed to be a satire of the 2001 Bush inaugural speech.  It was not satire.  It was prophetic: Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over' January 17, 2001 | Issue 37â¢01 WASHINGTON, DC-Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over." ... It is true, almost every word of it.  Except he hasn't succeeded with ANWR.  Not for…