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Monday Link Dump

Merry Monday. Links fahr ya. Science: Pet frogs linked to salmonella outbreak Hospitals Could Stop Infections by Tackling Bacteria Patients Bring In, Studies Find No, I'm not a millionaire either To Media Covering Science: An Open Letter How a psychiatrist can write 100,000 prescriptions a year, and what that means for primary care Legislative Mandates for NIH Grant Awards Other: My rant against big media political "blogs" by way of "Black Tuesday" coverage Why America Needs Trains Next stop: Yemen Walk Away From Your Mortgage! That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood. Bubbles…

Friday Links

Happy Friday. I didn't get too sozzled at this years's Christmas Party. How about you? Science: What Was Popular Mechanics Thinking? Trash or treasure? The price of junk mail Mild pandemic? Bite your tongue. Other: Why won't the Washington Post run a response to Sarah Palin? Why James Chartrand Wears Women's Underpants Venomous responsibility THE SOURCE OF THE DEFICIT MESS.... How Banks Fleece the Unemployed What we have here is a failure to communicate Doing Less With Less: What Are You Willing to Give Up from Journalism? Why Progressives Would Be "Batshit Crazy" To Listen to Nate Silver…

Some Friday Links

This will keep you busy this weekend. Science first: Ten Five reasons clumsy excuses to exclude viruses from the tree of life Vaccine Denial = Scientific Illiteracy Hyping Health Risks When the outbreaks begin, they'll start in California Anti-Vaccination Stupidity, Expertise, and Feeling "Empowered" by Risking Kids Lives Framing and ethics (part 3). We Need to Bring Back the OTA Other: Cheating is the system, or how my phone bill woes demonstrate what destroyed the economy Lions, Tigers, and Crowds 23andMe targeting pregnant women using "mommy bloggers" Support children, support the DREAM…

First day in Ireland!

And what have I accomplished? Thanks to Steve and Dierdre Metzler, who gave me a tour of the local pubs and restaurants, I have learned something important. Guinness in Ireland is a completely different beast from Guinness anywhere else; here, it's a silky smooth ambrosia with not a hint of bitterness. It went down so easy I could have easily slid 3 or 4 of them down my throat, but given my current sleep-derived state, I restrained myself to one. Of course, then we had to follow up with Irish coffee, and yeah, in a few minutes my head will touch the pillow and I will be spending an evening…

Placebocide!

Oh, no. I'm flying off to the UK tomorrow, and I've just learned that all my favoritest, bestest people there are going to kill themselves just 8 hours from now (uh, remember, correlation is not causation…I'm sorta sure it's not because I'm coming to visit.) What they're all going to do is go down to their local pharmacy and overdose on those ever-so-potent homeopathic "remedies" they're selling. I may be tripping over heaps of corpses on the sidewalks there. I wonder if there are homeopathic cures for jetlag? Can I pick up 1023 pills to get a molecule or two of something useful?

Links 11/16/10

Cloudy, gray. Maybe some links will help? Science: The likelihood of pollen from GE cotton causing harm to the environment is about as likely as a poodle escaping into the wild Empiric antibiotics in the ICU Study shows reusable bags contain high levels of lead content Other: Money and the Midterms: Are the Parties Over? Interview with Thomas Ferguson Straight Talk In Troubled Times 2 Dems claim Arianna Huffington stole website idea (Considering Peter Daou is one of the plaintiffs, this could get very interesting) TSA Backlash week Schools missing mark on MCAS (it seems impossible to expect…

Links 10/31/10

Happy Halloween! Links for you. Science: The Rare Mountain Mammoth Domesticating the Fennec: Dog Domestication 2.0? The Allais Paradox Other: The Myth of the Bad Teacher Hard questions loom for patronage 'king': Investigations are swirling around Representative Thomas Petrolati, a legislative leader with huge sway over Probation Department hiring and a history of acting as if ordinary rules do not apply to him. Boot the Blue Dogs The Myth of Charter Schools Behind the Washington Consesus on School Reform Is the Washington Consensus on Poverty GOP House Candidate Jesse Kelly Says 'It's Our…

Carnivalia

Here's a new blog carnival for you to read, this time, a new one for me (and possibly the last time this blog carnival will be published) -- the Fabulous! blog carnival, which is "all about appearances". Despite its hedonistic theme, there is a story there that is interesting; the "Stylish First Ladies" entry that you might find interesting and perhaps educational as well. Here's a science-y blog carnival, Linnaeus' Legacy, for you to enjoy. This blog carnival is packed with all sorts of science-y goodness for you to learn from and enjoy. And here's another great blog carnival, the Carnival…

Iceland: Land of Contrasts

tags: Iceland, nature, Eva Sturm, Sigur Ros, streaming video This spectacular video focuses on Iceland. Land of contrasts: Hot water and Ice, situated in the North Atlantic, right above the mid-ocean ridge that separates America and Europe. [6:12] Iceland from Eva Sturm. The cinematographer writes: Shooting was done in two stays (2 weeks each) in 2005 & 2006 (both in September) with a result of 15 hours of footage. Camera was a SONY Z1. I used some COKIN semi-grey Filters extensivley to get the sky as dark as I wanted it to be. Almost no color correction was done in the post, but the…

Fire in the Sky

tags: National Geographic, 2008 International Photography Contest, lightning, nature, image of the day Image: Mitchell Krog, South Africa [larger view]. My friends at National Geographic have provided permission for me to share some of the images from their recent 2008 International Photography Contest. Nature Honorable Mention. The photographer writes; Our first electric storm of summer 2007 set alight the grasslands, causing the orange glow to the right of the photo, which is commonly mistaken as a sunset or digital manipulation. I rushed out with my camera and had a 15 to 20 minute…

WNYC Street Shots with Bruce Gilden

tags: photography, NYCLife, NYC Life, cultural observation, Bruce Gilden, Street Shots, WNYC, streaming video Watching this video makes me feel like I am walking on "my" streets once more alongside this photographer. It reminds me of how much I miss my beautiful and vibrant home, NYC. Although I will admit that, as a former NYC "street photographer" myself, I find it amazing that he can photograph people without getting punched in the nose or having someone stomp on his camera. Even though I photographed flowers, more than once, I was told I was "not allowed" to photograph them .. um, why…

God is Mad!

tags: comedy, humor, funny, fucking hilarious, self parody, wingnuts, hate group, religion, cults, institutionalized mind-control, Westboro Baptist Church, streaming video If this video doesn't scare you, then this piece of information might: this video is by the Westboro Baptist Church hate group of Topeka, Kansas. After you see the title of their homepage, I think you'll start wondering about these people and whether their "God is Love." This group of religious wingnuts and haters also enjoys protesting at pop concerts, Kansas City Chiefs football games, the funerals of soldiers and of…

Birds of a Feather Strum Together

tags: comedy, humor, funny, fucking hilarious, birds, streaming video This particular exhibit is a living art piece made up of 40 zebra finches jamming on electric guitars and cymbals at the Barbican, in London. The artist, Boursier-Mougenot creates a walk-though aviary for a flock of zebra finches, furnished with electric guitars and other musical instruments. As the birds go about their routine activities, perching on or feeding from the various pieces of equipment, they create a captivating, live soundscape. This video is cute, because it shows a female zebra finch, building a nest on the…

Lunch in Helsinki, 4

tags: food, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Lunch in Helsinki, Finland, as I walked to Seurasaari. Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image) As you can see from this amazing lunch, I am a piscivore, when not constrained by finances. Dessert in Helsinki, Finland, as I walked to Seurasaari. Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image) This picture didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but I am sharing it to let you know that my affections can be bought: chocolate (preferably dark chocolate) or licorice (preferably not too salty) will do…

TEDTalks in the Field: Nicholas Negroponte takes OLPC to Colombia

tags: TEDTalks, laptops, future success, Nicholas Negroponte, streaming video (TED follows Nicholas Negroponte to Colombia as he delivers laptops inside territory once controlled by guerrillas. His partner? Colombia's Defense Department, who see One Laptop per Child as an investment in the region. This project will have a bigger and more lasting effect on the damages created by poverty, destitution, crime and violence in the world than any other single thing I can think of -- how about you? [6:31] TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference,…

What's wrong with those Canadians?

There is a site promoting some Canadian blog awards, which says they are "celebrating the best in the Canadian blogosphere." Good premise, especially since they have a sci/tech section — maybe I can find some more worthy Canadian science blogs. What do I find? No Sandwalk. No Recursivity. No Genomicron. The best Canadian science blogs that I read are unrepresented there, and instead, they've got Climate Audit, a climate change denialist blog, and three blogs from Denyse O'Leary's link farm. I don't think these guys have a clue about good science. Don't bother to vote on this one. (via…

Tonight!

I'm getting some email from local people wanting to get together while I'm here in LA. The best opportunity is tonight (Friday, 26 September), when I'll be speaking downtown at Libros Revolución, at 312 W. 8th St (between Broadway & Hill streets). We're scheduled to start at 7:00pm, but due to the curiously static nature of evening traffic in LA, we'll probably offer a little leeway and may start a little later than that…and of course, if you can't make even our delayed starting time, I'll be hanging about afterwards, probably seeking out some nearby watering hole. So come whenever!

Friday Fun: Responsible, Thoughtful Nation Decides To Ignore Ch**lie Sh**n Situation

Please, can we just move on. From The Onion, Responsible, Thoughtful Nation Decides To Ignore Ch**lie Sh**n Situation. Calling the situation "none of our business" and "not worth a second of our time, quite frankly," a responsible and thoughtful U.S. populace uniformly decided this week to ignore Ch**lie Sh**n's recent outbursts, saying they had far more important things to focus on than a sitcom actor's personal troubles..."Not only have I chosen to ignore Mr. Sheen, but thankfully so has the American media, which has once again shown journalistic decency by only reporting the news that…

Quick Picks on ScienceBlogs

It's the latest and the greatest of them all! Jake Young reports breaking news from the AP: President Bush does veto the stem cell bill Dr Free-Ride follows up on a story about allegations of widespread plagiarism in the Engineering Department at Ohio University Shelley Batts on New Orleans doctors being prosecuted for second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of hospital patients during Hurricane Katrina Chad Orzel chimes in to the growing debate about the future of nuclear energy in America Orac punches some holes in a study blaming iPods and cell phones for a rise in autism…

Friday Fun: "Seek Funding" Step Added To Scientific Method

From the "so funny it hurts" file.... ‘Seek Funding’ Step Added To Scientific Method PARIS—In an effort to modernize the principles and empirical procedures of examining phenomena and advancing humanity’s collective knowledge, the International Council for Science announced Thursday the addition of a “Seek Funding” step to the scientific method. .... “Next, scientists simply modify their study’s goals to align with the vision of potential funders and wait for several months to hear back. At this point—should this step be successful, of course—they can move on to the experimental stage, and…

Presents for moi!

I just received a big ol' mailing tube in the division office. The office staff made a little joke about how they'd rather I didn't open it there, just in case (the Catholics will be so happy — they've managed to instill fear in uninvolved innocents), so they missed out — it was a beautiful print, all for me. Thank you! I also received another present, a wonderfully warm hoodie with an exceptionally cute bit of art on the front. He's squinking hearts! And aren't I adorable in it? No name was on the package, and there was just a note that revealed that the source was from France. C'est…

Pro forma announcement of a pointless change elsewhere

What I suspect is the most popular Intelligent Design site on the net (which is not saying much at all), uncommondescent.com, is getting a bit of a shake-up. Bill Dembski is stepping away from it, DaveScot is no longer a moderator, they're adding paypal donation buttons…well, OK. I'm feeling ho-hum about it all. Once upon a time, I'd check in weekly to see what flavor of nonsense they were promoting, but increasingly I've found that I simply don't care what the kooks were saying. It's become a nice self-constructed ghetto for the irrelevant lunatics, with the virtue that I can easily ignore…

Teasing out the signal from the noise

The pseudoskeptical argument goes something like this: the last decade hasn't been significantly warmer than the previous decade, so global warming has stopped. And because the causes of anthropogenic climate change have not stopped, the link between fossil fuel combustion and global warming is therefore broken. This is, of course, complete nonsense. The video above from the good people at Skeptical Science should be widely disseminated. I have little to add, other than to emphasize we always have to take the long and truly global view, one that takes into account that most of the Earth's…

Michael Mann cleared ... again

Penn State's internal investigation into climatologist Michael Mann's integrity is over. The conclusion: The Investigatory Committee, after careful review of all available evidence, determined that there is no substance to the allegation against Dr. Michael E. Mann, Professor, Department of Meteorology, The Pennsylvania State University. More specifically, the Investigatory Committee determined that Dr. Michael E. Mann did not engage in, nor did he participate in, directly or indirectly, any actions that seriously deviated from accepted practices within the academic community for proposing,…

No, you're doing it wrong

Don't do this. Don't steal crackers. During mass at around 9 AM, Ricci accepted a wafer on the Communion line, but "walked away without taking the communion into his mouth." After refusing a priest's requests to "accept" the wafer, If he'd just stopped there, all would be well, but then he did this: Ricci "turned to the priest and grabbed a handful of the wafers from the plate and attempted to leave" St. Martin de Porres Church, according to the report. Sorry, but that is unacceptable. Blasphemy is something you can feel free to do on your own, but not when you're disrupting other people'…

A fusion of science, technology, policy and design for a new kind of green

Conservation Remix was an event with a mission—to foster creative thinking about the big environmental issues of our time. The organizers aimed to broaden the definition of what it means to be “green”. For one thought-provoking day, innovators in diverse fields connected science, engineering, business, architecture, and design to peer ahead to a sustainable future. At Conservation Remix, last saturday in Seattle, we heard from inspiring, thoughtful, and remarkable people about ideas that can truly change the world. Cassandra Profita and I were two of the many people Tweeting at Saturdays’…

Bill Gates on how organic farming and "GMOs" can preserve the environment and feed people

Bill Gates had a lot of thoughtful things to say about technology and social innovation at the recent Techonomy conference, including a nice plug for Tomorrow's Table! "There's a lot of great thinking [from both the GMO and organic communities], which lead to things you should care about-preserving the environments and feeding people with a decent diet." Video: Reinventing Capitalism: How to jumpstart what the marketplace can't Speaker: Bill Gates, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Interviewed by Brent Schlender http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid87735931001?bclid=87675… The…

Celebrating Role Models in Science & Engineering: Karin Muraszko!

Karin Muraszko – Pediatric Neurosurgeon --The first and only female to head an academic  neurosurgery department in the U.S. --Successfully handles her demanding surgical schedule despite having spina bifida (curvature of the spine) Of the approximately 4,920 neurosurgeons in the United States today, only about 5.6 percent – or 277 – are women. Discover one of the female pioneers in this field and her work as a leading pediatric neurosurgeon to treat children suffering from disorders and injuries to the brain and spinal cord.  Moreover, learn how she herself has dealt with a spinal…

The Buzz: Rocky Planet Found In Gliese System

Swiss astronomers recently discovered the small exoplanet, Gliese 581 e, calculated to have a minium mass less than twice that of our own dear planet. This planet resides within the same solar system as Gliese 581 d, which scientists speculate could be capable of supporting life. "With a minimum age of these planets of 7 billion years, you can bet that if life did form there, it's probably awfully interesting by now," ventured ScienceBlogger Ethan Siegel from Starts With a Bang. Related ScienceBlogs Posts: Say Hello to my Little Rocky Friend! Two Earth Mass Planet "It's Life, Jim, But Not…

The Buzz: UCLA Pro-Test Rally a Success

Hundreds of research supporters rallied on UCLA's campus Wednesday to protest acts of terrorism directed at scientists by animal rights activists. The event, organized by the UCLA chapter of Pro-Test, a group founded in Oxford, England to support animal testing for the pursuit of science, drew an estimated 800 people to the rally. A simultaneous anti-research rally only drew about 30 people. For continued discussion on the rally, ScienceBlogger DrugMonkey has an open discussion thread on his blog. Related ScienceBlogs Posts: Scientists and Supporters Rally Against Animal Rights Extremism at…

The Buzz: Senate Holds Delay Holdren and Lubchenco Confirmations

The confirmation of two of President Obama's top science advisers was delayed yesterday as several senators placed anonymous holds on what was expected to be a quick vote. John Holdren and Jane Lubchenco, Obama's nominees to head the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, respectively, were first blocked by a hold from Senator Robert Menendez (D–N.J.), for reasons unrelated to the nominees themselves. But new reports emerged later that Menendez was not the only senator to place a hold. John D. Rockefeller IV (D–W.Va.),…

The Buzz: NIH Stimulus Debate

Last weekend, a letter from acting NIH director Raynard S. Kington was distributed to NIH investigators and began making the rounds in the blogosphere as well. The letter detailed specific plans for the $8.2 billion of NIH funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus package. ScienceBloggers immediately expressed fear that a dramatic increase in funding could lead to a repeat of the 1990s "lost generation" crisis, when young scientists attracted by generous grants found themselves without career opportunities when funding failed to keep pace with demand. A lively…

Reader Poll: Arthur C. Clarke's Three Wishes

On March 19, the prolific British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke died at age 90. At his 90th birthday party, in December, Clarke made three wishes: for the world to embrace cleaner energy resources, for a lasting peace in his adopted home, Sri Lanka, and for evidence of extraterrestrial beings. So...Which of Clarke's three wishes do you think will happen first? Click Here for PollOnline Surveys | Web Poll | Email MarketingView MicroPoll Want to know the results? We'll publish them exclusively in next week's ScienceBlogs Weekly Recap—the fun e-newsletter that brings you the top…

Open Thread: Lab Confessions

Behind the scenes, a few ScienceBloggers have recently confessed some tenure-risking transgressions in the laboratory. (Just think of all the mischief to be had with dry ice, helium tanks, liquid nitrogen, or an autoclave...) Which makes us wonder: What's the most embarrassing or over-the-top thing you've ever done in a lab? (Or in a lab coat?) (Or in a cold room?) (Or while wearing lab safety goggles?) Needless to say, this post doesn't mean that ScienceBlogs editorial endorses any kind of unscrupulous behavior. In other words, have fun sharing stories, but don't try this at home! Or in…

DonorsChoose in Doonesbury

I'm a couple days late on this—PZ, as usual, was quicker on the draw—but the always-prescient Doonesbury name-checked DonorsChoose on September 9. Long-time ScienceBlogs readers might remember that around this time last year, the bloggers organized a funding drive through DonorsChoose that netted almost $35,000 for under-funded projects in public school science teachers' classrooms. This year, they're going to be doing it again. As if a nod from Doonesbury weren't seal of approval enough, DonorsChose recently took second place in the American Express Members Project, in which individuals…

Hey, Bellingham, you still have time!

Gordy Slack is going to be doing a reading from his book on the Dover trial today, at 4:00, on the Western Washington University campus. If you want more drama, there will also be a panel discussion tomorrow, Wednesday, at 6pm. Slack, will be there, as will Josh Rosenau of the NCSE and TfK, and for hilarious comedy relief…Casey Luskin, mindless attack mouse of the Discovery Institute. Don't miss it for the laughs. I just got word that you get a third shot at Slack. He's speaking in 234 Biology at 4pm on 29 October on "Do Neo-Creationists get anything right?" I'm guessing the answer will be "…

Excellence in Environmental Engineering Awards Luncheon and Conference Wednesday!

Don't miss the 2010 Excellence in Environmental Engineering Awards Luncheon and Conference Wednesday, April 28th at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, from 11:30 am to 4:45 pm. The keynote speaker is Major General Jeffrey Talley, Ph.D., P.E., Chair and Professor, Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Southern Methodist University. His topic is "Building Communities, Baghdad and Beyond." A Technical Conference w/Q&A of five outstanding presentations follows the luncheon and recognition of individual and project awards. The package price including reception and plated…

World Science

* Monkeys using perfume? Study investigates: Some wild spider monkeys dab on a chewed-leaf paste that may act as a sort of cologne, researchers say. * Red wine ingredient found to boost endurance: A substance earlier linked to long life in animals, also "re-programs" muscle to double endurance, a mouse study indicates. * Neanderthal DNA partially sequenced: Scientists have preliminarily mapped out when the stocky human cousins diverged from our species. * 'Dark energy' an age-old phenomenon, study finds: A weird force pushing our universe outward has existed since near the beginning,…

Does anyone know this jellyfish by name?

A reader from the UK sent me these lovely photos that he took of a jellyfish and asked for my help in identifying it. Unfortunately, while I'm pretty good with bacteria, plants, and tropical fish, my taxonomy skills don't go much farther unless I have a sample of DNA. These photos were taken at La-Manga off the coast of southern Spain. My Sciblings have guessed: Rhizostoma, Stomolophus meleagris, or Mastigas If you know, we'd all appreciate an answer in the comments. And if you don't know about much jellyfish, RPM at evolgen would like your help answering a different reader's question…

Careers in biotechnology, part V. Bioinformatics in an academic lab

In this, and the next post in this series, I want to answer some of the questions that came up in the comments. One of the commenters on part II wrote that: For most academic biology groups, however, being a bioinformatics specialist is a dead end job! People in these roles may or may not be PhDs, but they end up in fouth author hell - always the fourth author on hundreds of papers - which cuts no ice when it comes to institutional promotion boards. Of course, he didn't ask for my opinion about this, but I'll share it anyway. And I want to hear from you. Do you think this is a fair…

Credit Card Coke Machines!

Oh-oh! As if I needed yet another way to mess up my credit rating! Now, they are rolling out Coke machines that take credit cards! The way I drink Coke, this is a path to sure bankrupcy! I always wanted to install a sink in my kitchen with three faucets: cold water, hot water and cold Coke, piped in straight from the nearest Coke factory. As much Coke as I have consumed to date, the CocaCola company should just provide me with free Coke (and free delivery) for the rest of my life - I deserve it - I singlehandedly kept their company afloat over all these years. Thus, there is no need to…

Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: US late night TV as seen in Oz

We rarely put up the same thing twice here. Part of the fun is finding new absurdities. But by accident we again ran across this classic from the Australian Chaser's War on Everything and I laughed all over again. I know we did it before (2007), but the YouTube video was taken down. Luckily we found another one. Anyway, we've had a lot of new people come to the site since the swine flu virus decided we humans would make a suitable place to take up residence, so there's a good chance most readers didn't see it the first time. Even if you did, it's still funny. Or maybe it isn't:

Dependence Day: we're all singing from the same score

I don't know what's going to happen with swine flu. I do know that if there is a nasty flu season we'll all get through it better if we help each other, not run from each other. It's national independence day in the US, so I thought this clip of the crowd singing the National Anthem (hat tip, Paul Rosenberg at Open Left) at Boston's Fenway Park (home field of the Boston Red Sox baseball team) was appropriate. It was Disability Awareness Day and to recognize it the anthem was being sung by a handicapped youngster. When he got nervous, the entire ball park came to his rescue:

Annals of McCain - Palin, XL: is there a plumber in the house?

While Barack Obama continues to draw huge crowds (tens of thousands, sometimes over 100,000), John McCain's are more modest. Yesterday he had an estimated 6000 in Ohio. Never mind that 4,000 were bused in from local school districts, including the aptly named 2500 Defiance School District. I'm sure they were most interested. One person who apparently was too busy to make it, though, was Joe the Plumber. I guess he forgot to RSVP: hat tip Robert Arena, AmericaBlog and DailyKos This might be hopeful economic news, however. The first sign of a recession is when you can get your plumber to come…

There were no riots, however

For the first time ever, my talk at UCF actually had protestors. Here's photographic evidence: They were just lining the sidewalk at the entrance to the hall where I spoke, silently playing with their rosary beads. We invited them in, but none bothered — they quietly disappeared sometime around the time it started. We also had a couple of security guards sitting in the back of the room, whether to make sure the rowdy atheists didn't do something evil or to protect us from the fierce horde of prayerful Catholics, I don't know. I'm flattered. Thank you, devout true believers of Florida — you…

Another job ad

If you are idle, retired or rich, if you live in (or are willing to move to) Oakland, California, if you have decent computer skills and if you want to help fight against Creationism, then this job is perfect for you: From the National Center for Science Education: Information technology technician needed by the National Center for Science Education, a nonprofit organization that defends the teaching of evolution in the public schools, to maintain and expand NCSE's web presence, including maintenance of hardware platforms, determining software needs, and overseeing migration of content to a…

E.O. Wilson wins 2007 TED Prize - watch his acceptance speech

2007 TED Prize winner E.O. Wilson on TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talks: As E.O. Wilson accepts his 2007 TED Prize, he makes a plea on behalf of his constituents, the insects and small creatures, to learn more about our biosphere. We know so little about nature, he says, that we're still discovering tiny organisms indispensable to life; and yet we're steadily, methodically, vigorously destroying nature. Wilson identifies five grave threats to biodiversity (a term he coined), and makes his TED wish: that we will work together on the Encyclopedia of Life, a web-based compendium of…

How to put a vampire to rest

Too busy these days to blog much or even read blogs much, so I missed the news on Balkan blogs and only today, several days later, I got the news from PZ. A guy, just to be sure no resurrection ever happens, drove a three-foot stake through the heart of the dead and burried body of Slobodan Milosevic. Keep in mind that Milosevic was born and was buried in Pozarevac, in Eastern Serbia, the part of the world which invented the myth of vampires (the old Vlad is in the neighborhood, just over the Danube). The word "vampire" is, as far as I know, the only English word of Serbian origin.

Another crazy Catholic doctrine

Would you believe that indulgences are back? Do a little dance, say a little mumbo-jumbo, and the Catholic church will declare that you will get time off from your sentence in purgatory after death. How do they know? And what if they're wrong? I'd be very annoyed if I juggled beads for hours and hours and then found out that the High Supreme Cosmic Jailer only gave time off for life minutes spent smelling flowers or something. Oh, well, at least they aren't selling get-out-of-purgatory-free cards just yet. When that happens, we'll have to go through another 30 Years War, and once was enough.

Conference Pictures 2 - Saturday morning

More pictures under the fold (until my batteries died). Again, tell me if I misidentified or non-identified somebody: Abel PharmBoy Abel again Amy Hughes Bill Hooker Bill Hooker, Zuska, Janet D. Stemwedel, Dave and Greta Munger Christina Lenis Chen (left) of DESTINY (science-teaching bus) and Claire Edwards (right) from the American Physiological Association. Liz (Pump Handle) and Corie (Nature) Kelly Rae Chi Paul Jones and some of the swag (before we had to add a second table to accomodate all of it) Paul Jones again. Rob Knop Robert Peterson More swag More pictures:…