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Scribbling in the Margins

Perfectionism is the least of the behaviors that are encouraged in art but need to be set aside if the artist wants to be fully accepted in "polite society." Artists need the obsessiveness to see a project through with little feedback (or despite feedback). They need enough pride to believe that their ideas are worth executing. They need to be mercurial enough to suit their thinking to a new and very different project from their last. They need to ask uncomfortable questions and set aside polite fictions. They need to be willing to upset people. They need to be willing to manipulate their…

Peace Breaks Out in Congo

.. now, this is not a Congo Memoir. And it may be a distraction more than a reality. We'll have to see.... BUKIMA, Congo -- Jean-Marie Serundori's eyes light up when he sees his old hulk of a friend Kabirizi. War, displacement and bloodthirsty rebels had gotten between them. But for the first time in years, this section of a venerated Congolese national park is rebel-free. Government wildlife rangers, like Mr. Serundori, are firmly in control -- for the moment. And Kabirizi, a 500-pound silverback gorilla with a head as big as an engine block, seems to be flourishing in his kingdom of…

George Washington, Colin Powell and Bill Clinton Tied in Poll!

... At sixteenth. Barack Obama was number 1, edging out Jesus who was forced into the number two spot. God, the omniscient entity hisself, came in 11th, sandwiched between Mother Teresa and Hillary Clinton. Don't think about that to closely. source The poll results, from Kos: casiopea's diary :: :: The results are in: President Obama Jesus Christ Martin Luther King Ronald Reagan George W. Bush Abraham Lincoln John McCain John F. Kennedy Sully, the hero of the Hudson Mother Teresa God Hillary Clinton Billy Graham FDR Gandhi Colin…

People acting squirrelly

So the other day, my sister and brother in-law were visiting from California, and at one point got talking about these people who were dressing in "squirrel suits" and jumping off buildings and some of the cliffs out there. So, I imagined what I would think most people imagined. Crazy people dressing up as giant squirrels (maybe some of them dressed up as chipmunks or rabbits or whatever) and climbing around and jumping off things. Like squirrels do. But apparently they were talking about something else. Something that you have to be a bit squirrelly to do, but not exactly squirrel-…

Teachers Under Fire

There IS a conspiracy ... If you analyze the language that is bandied about by the creationist children and parents, it is clear that they are all on the same page. They are getting their information from their local creationist group, or their pastor, or particular internet sites. If fighting evolutionary biology in schools was ever determined by the courts to be a political act (which it is) there are probably a lot of churches that would have their IRS tax status yanked! This Year in Review post is one of my favorites, and indeed has been passed around among US Public School teachers and…

Actor Cuts Own Throat On Stage: Real Knife Substituted For Stunt Knife

An actor narrowly escaped death after slashing his throat on stage with a real knife, instead of a blunt stage-prop blade. Daniel Hoevels slumped to the floor with blood pouring from his neck during a performance at Vienna's Burgtheater. ... The real-life drama happened last weekend during a performance of Friedrich Schiller's play Mary Stuart,... Mr Hoevels's character was supposed to commit suicide and the actor used what he thought was a blunt prop weapon. ... The audience is said to have applauded what they thought was a stunning special effect, and only realised something was wrong when…

Carnivalia!!!

Linnaeus' Legacy No. 14: A Carnival of Diversity Encephalon 60, A Neuroscience Blog Carnival Hourglass VI: A carnival of biogerontology Grand Rounds 5:12 - Healthcare Reform Q&A Carnival of Homeschooling #154: Anniversary Gifts Christmas Recipes Carnival of the Recipes Carnival of Cinema: A Smorgasbord! Carnival of Politics Edition #21 93rd Make It From Scratch Carnival The December Oekologie will be hosted HERE by yours truly. I've already got an excellent selection of entries, but there is still time to send in yours if you hvae not already. What is Oekology? "Oekologie is a…

"Resolving Pathways of Functional Coupling in Human Hemoglobin Using Quantitative Low Temperature Isoelectric Focusing of Asymmetric Mutant Hybrids

Vince LiCata, a biochemist at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, won this category with the help of his graduate students. The foursome danced a slow and graceful double pas de deux, representing the interaction of pairs of hemoglobin molecules from his 1990 Johns Hopkins University Ph.D. thesis, "Resolving Pathways of Functional Coupling in Human Hemoglobin Using Quantitative Low Temperature Isoelectric Focusing of Asymmetric Mutant Hybrids." To study these molecules, LiCata had to cool them down and take pictures of them, a technique that was mirrored onstage by a long-bearded Old Man…

A Linux Laptop The Size of your Ear.

IMOVIO launched today a smaller alternative to a subnotebook -- much smaller. The new iKIT is about the size of a PDA from ten years ago, but has a QWERTY keyboard and connects to the Internet at 3G speeds via your cell phone or Wi-Fi. The $175 Linux-based system has a Webcam built in, as well as a range of applications, including Web browsing, e-mail and IM. It can connect to the Internet using a standard Wi-Fi connection, or it can use your cell phone's mobile broadband connection via Bluetooth. The company is currently pitching it to mobile network operators and retail stores. Details…

Midnight Snack Time

I'm back from HQ and I must say phone banking is both frustrating and rewarding. Let me tell you some facts about Minnesota's third congressional district: 1) Nobody is home. Well, OK, that's one fact, but a very solid one. But seriously, Starting tomorrow and for ten days hence, Madia HQ has some super hot technology to make the phone calling more effective and efficient. If you've thought of putting in some volunteer time for Madia in the MN 3rd district, make contact with your contact and book a time! Madia is a great guy, but he's starting to get a bit spooky with this technology…

Olympic Moment: 1964 South Africa Banned

On this day in 1964... South Africa has been barred from taking part in the 18th Olympic Games in Tokyo over its refusal to condemn apartheid. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the decision in Lausanne, Switzerland, after South Africa failed to meet an ultimatum to comply with its demands by 16 August. The IOC originally withdrew South Africa's invitation to Japan during the winter games in Innsbruck, Austria. It said the decision could be overturned only if South Africa renounced racial discrimination in sport and opposed the ban in its own country on competition between…

LOL Scientist: Georges Lemaitre

with a little thingie over the 'i' ... which I won't attempt in Movabletype. George Lemaitre was the priest and scientist who proposed the BIg Bang (though it was not called that then) theory. By the way, for those of you now interested in this discussion of removing the phrase "Darwinism" from our vocabulary, you may find it interesting that "The Big Bang" was originally a non-complementary term used to describe this theory, by its detractors. Lemaitre prenumberated Hubble's Law, and applied General Relativity to the Universe. He also did important theoretical work work with the…

Joe Barr, Linux evangelist and writer: exit(0)

Joe died yesterday. Joe Barr (October 19, 1944 - July 11, 2008) was an editor and writer for the SourceForge sites Linux.com and IT Manager's Journal. A former programmer, Barr had worked on everything from microcomputers like the TRS-80 Model I to IBM mainframes with acres of DASD, writing code in more than a dozen languages, including RPG II, 370 ALC, COBOL, BASIC, TIBOL, MASM, and C. Much of that experience coming in his 13 years with Ross Perot's EDS.[citation needed] As a writer, Barr first gained notoriety and, according to Ziff-Davis' Spencer F. Katt, a cult-like following for his zine…

Two New Additions To the Family

I'm finally home again after all my recent travels. Back to back math conferences is fun, but also a bit stressful and tiring. While I was away, my extended family welcomed two new additions: Meet William and Charlotte. Charlotte is the one with the white detailing. My brother and sister-in-law just adopted them from a local shelter. Actually, that picture looks a bit like a two-headed cat, so here's another one: Looks like they've taken over the really important room. The word is that William and Charlotte have settled in quickly to their new home and are getting along fine…

Don't look to god for help, Racine

You've turned your back on him. Racine, Wisconsin has joined the heathen ranks of communities that have erected godless holiday displays in the public square. It's cute and simple, a pyramid with atheist/secular quotations written on it. The blog entry describing it is amusing in its feeble attempts to distance itself from the vulgar monument to unbelief. It reassures us that there are many, many churches in Racine, and the atheists are few in number, less than a dozen. We are too a devout and faithful community, please don't smite us because of the evil minority, God! The pitiful excuses…

The Antarctica Files: Back!

Hi guys! I am officially back from Antarctica. I do not want to be. I didnt want to leave. Normally I am very much an 'Oklahoma' girl-- mountains are pretty, but they make me claustrophobic. Oceans do too. I like plains. Horizon going to forever in every direction. But I never got sick of the mountains in Antarctica. And I miss the ocean. I miss being on the water. I cried on the way home. Not hard, but every time a plane took off and I was a little further away, I would tear up. But it was like visiting Narnia. You cant stay. You can probably never go back. And it wouldnt be the same…

Star Wipe. 3:38. Not joking.

Star Wipe Lisa: OK, I finished editing the gardening sequence. . . Homer: OK, from here we star wipe to a glamour shot of Flanders paying his bills, then we star wipe to Flanders brushing his teeth. . . Lisa: Dad, there are other wipes besides star wipes. . . Homer: Why eat hamburger when you can have steak? Lisa: I'm taking my name off this thing. OMFG YOU GUYS! Lenny Horowitz has figured out our Swine Flu master plan!!!! 1. Release genetically engineered H1N1 virus onto humanity. 2. Kill lots of people. 3. ??? 4. PROFIT!! And we would have gotten away with it too, if it werent for you…

First Birmingham. Then... THE WORLD!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! England's second-largest city has decided to drop apostrophes from all its street signs, saying they're confusing and old-fashioned. Soon Ill control everything... My wish is your command! BWAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!! In her best-selling book "Eats, Shoots and Leaves," Lynne Truss recorded her fury at the title of the Hugh Grant-Sandra Bullock comedy "Two Weeks Notice," insisting it should be "Two Weeks' Notice." "Those spineless types who talk about abolishing the apostrophe are missing the point, and the pun is very much intended," she wrote. Its not about being right. It…

The Big Monty Hall Book!

Well, I finished the first draft of the big Monty Hall book this past week. Still need to make some diagrams, and there's probably a fair amount of rewriting in my future, but the “words from nothing” phase is now over. Yay! If anyone would care to give me some feedback, here is the first chapter. And also the bibliography for the book, to make the citations work out properly. I'm already aware of a number of typos, but don't hesitate to point them out anyway. I'm more interested in what people think of the tone and the style. Or anything else it occurs to you to comment on.

Uncertain Dots 17

After a bit of a hiatus because of scheduling issues, Rhett and I are back to talk about... stuff. Mostly summer classes, World Cup soccer, and Twitter. Also, how we've each gotten a blog comment from Neil deGrasse Tyson. Miscellaneous links: -- My long-ago book review and Rhett's more recent complaint about Cosmos, where we each had a brush with scientific celebrity. -- My silly cat tweet that's generated a huge amount of traffic: Busy day at Schroedinger Industries... RT @EmrgencyKittens: How to organize your cats. pic.twitter.com/z3QS0fnSdL — Chad Orzel (@orzelc) June 24, 2014 -- Rhett's…

Olympic Physics Chat

I spent a while on Friday morning talking about the physics of the Olympics with a couple of science classes in Tennessee and Lawrence Norris from the National Society of Black Physicists, organized by Adam "@2footgiraffe" Taylor. This was done via a Google hangout, so the video is recorded on YouTube: The recording seems to have mostly remained on my video feed, which is a little unfortunate. Lawrence didn't have a camera, though, so he's a disembodied voice. I liked the first question-- "What Olympic event involves the least physics?"-- though it's a tricky one to answer. Anyway, it was a…

Grammar Nerd Poll

This has nothing to do with the substance of Steve Benen's post about conservative preparations for judicial confirmation hearings, but the quote he used from a New York Times article is the proximate cause for this Grammar Nerd Poll: What is the plural of "memorandum"? A) "Memorandums" B) "Memoranda" C) "More than one memorandum" D) Some other option I will explain in the comments Leave your answer in the comments. Bonus nerd points for spotting the egregious grammar error in the text of the post. (I don't know what the egregious grammar error in the post is, but by the Iron Laws of the…

Links for 2010-10-07

Career Advice: Rules for Science Job Talks - Inside Higher Ed "4. Give a strong, conceptually oriented introduction. Be as brief as possible while still making all of your points. Be sharp at the beginning. Remember the 20 Minute Rule: You should show a data slide no more than 20 minutes into your talk (or your audience has the right to get up and walk out!)." (tags: science biology academia presentations inside-higher-ed jobs) AIP Journals - 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics Everything you might want to read about this year's Nobel Prize in Physics, and then some. For free from AIP. (tags:…

Musical Poll: Ten Years, Ten Songs

Everybody with an opinion seems to be doing a decadal wrap-up of one sort or another, but I'm too tired to do anything serious. So, I'll let you do it for me: here's a list of ten songs that are, in my mind, inextricably bound up with the events of the decade. Which of them do you like the best? Which of these songs of 2000-2009 is your favorite?(survey) I'm not claiming that these are necessarily the best songs of the decade-- some of them aren't even the best song on their album-- but these are songs that, years from now, I'll hear and it will instantly be 200x in my head. Which ought to…

Ask a Physicist's Dog

The scheduled release of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is three months from today. This is, as you most likely know, a book based on the frequent conversations Emmy and I have about physics: To mark the pre-anniversary, Emmy has decided to use social media to showcase her physics knowledge: She's answering physics questions on Twitter. Post a question, tag it #dogphysics, and she'll answer it there. If you've got a philosophical objection to Twitter, you can leave a comment here, and get your answer via the Twitter link above. So, if you've got a question about physics that you've been…

Shinto Love God

I'm kicking myself for not using this as a filler post a couple of weeks back when it was Easter: This is from one of the shrines at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto-- the temple with the gigantic wooden platform looking out over the city. The sign at the lower right identifies it: This stuatue is called "okuninushino-mikoto." A Japanese god who is in charge of love and good matches The rabbit beside him is a messenger of the god. Emmy grumbles that the divine rabbit has a certain Donnie Darko quality to it, but I think she's just jealous that she doesn't have a four-foot-high bunny to play with.

Happy Easter

Today is Easter Sunday, which I will be celebrating in the traditional manner: by, um, driving across half of New York and Pennsylvania... OK, maybe that's not the usual tradition... I'm giving a talk tomorrow at Bucknell, so I need to get to Lewisburg, PA tonight. This will allow me to stop through Scenic Whitney Point and see my family, though, so I will get a little traditional Easter stuff in. Anyway, for those who celebrate it, Happy Easter. For those who don't, have a nice Sunday. I've scheduled a couple of things to keep you amused tomorrow, but otherwise, don't expect much from me…

Wanted: fire ant stories

The folks at the wildlife film company Ammonite are gearing up to do a documentary about ants and are looking for a few good stories about fire ants.  Here's the announcement: We are looking at is the growing success of the non-native (Exotic) Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta). We'd like to hear from people who live, (or once lived) in an area with a significant fire ant population. Have you been affected by these ants? Do you have any strong feelings about them? If you have anything to say on the subject please send an email to info@ammonite.co.uk with Fire Ants in the subject box

Forelius Flying

Yesterday's unexpectedly intense monsoon storms brought several inches of rain and flash floods to Tucson.  Many of our desert ants cue their mating flights with the onset of the summer rains, and this morning the Forelius were flying, congregating in dense swarms that twirled and twisted above the desert floor. Males emerge from the nest, ready to go: photo details: (flight photos) Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens on a Canon 20D ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/800sec exposure (close-ups) Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens on a Canon 20D ISO 100, f/13, 1/250sec exposure, twin flash diffused through tracing…

Bora leaves ScienceBlogs with superb history and analysis of science blogging

With great sadness, I announce that my colleague, Bora Zivkovic (aka Coturnix), is departing from ScienceBlogs. However, his long-awaited analysis of the Pepsigate #sbfail episode is superb and he provides an unparalleled history of science blogging, its relationship with the legacy media, and his views of the future. He ends on an optimistic note, so I hope that his leaving the network is a GoodThing for both him and his family. Bora has been and will continue to be a great blog mentor. I am most fortunate to know him in real life as well. I can't help thinking that this is another nail in…

Oiled wildlife response course - Key West

For our readers in the Lower Keys anticipating full landfall of the BP oil plume, Florida Keys Community College is continuing with their leadership in preparing concerned citizens for the inevitable impact on the ecosystem. From today's oil spill update page of the Key West Citizen newspaper: Oiled wildlife response course When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Where: Florida Keys Community College, College Road, Stock Island Cost: $100 per person Prerequisite: Four-hour Marine Oil Spill Cleanup course Information/Registration: Cathy Torres at 305-809-3250 If you haven't already taken…

Another Minnesota embarrassment

It's state representative Mike Beard. Republican. Christian. Moron. He thinks we don't have to worry about natural resources. God is not capricious. He's given us a creation that is dynamically stable. We are not going to run out of anything. Nuclear war and the death of a few hundred thousand people? Whatever. Get over it. How did Hiroshima and Nagasaki work out? We destroyed that, but here we are, 60 years later and they are tremendously effective and livable cities. Yes, it was pretty horrible. But, can we recover? Of course we can. No, he's not from the same district as Michele Bachmann…

"Genomics" vs "Proteomics" game wrecks havoc on facilties.

This just in. Looks like the supply and management staff for the Genomics and Proteomics teams are causing some headaches for the venue organizers. "Basically, too much hardware," as one onlooker commented. And too much indeed. It appears that with all of the high throughput robotics hardware being wheeled in, the equipment has actually spilled over into a neighbouring court - specifically, the one that was to host the "Photosynthesis" vs "Respiration" game. "I can't believe the amount of crap they hauled in. How many $%&*# mass-specs do you need to play basketball?" said a…

Tree paints masterpiece (seriously)

Image resulting from tree "painting" by Douglas-fir for two minutes Nalini Nadkarni, a tree canopy researcher and a National Geographic regular, was kind enough to let me publish this interest piece that looks at the intersection of science and arts. In essense, she explores the notion that lack of empathy for flora such as trees, is partially mitigated by its stationary status, and so goes on to explore whether how mobile trees actually are. To do this, she essentially adheres a paintbrush to a twig on a branch, and places a canvas in proximity. What's produced is essentially a "painting…

Arizona K-12 system dying the death of 4500 cuts

The Arizona Education Association is reporting that nearly 4,500 K-12 teachers and other personnel have been pink-slipped for the next school year. What is truly worrying about this is that it is based on reports from only 36 of the 220 districts statewide and more layoffs are inevitable. You may remember that Republican lawmakers called for drastic cuts instead of raising taxes (which haven't been raised state-wide in 20 years). I hope they are happy. For some context, you need to remember that Arizona before the cuts spent less than almost every state in the Union on education while being…

Lying about reading

Apparently 65% of Britons have lied about reading certain books in an effort to impress others. The top ten books not read but claimed to have been read were: 1984 - George Orwell (42 percent) War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (31) Ulysses - James Joyce (25) The Bible (24) Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (16) A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking (15) Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie (14) In Remembrance of Things Past - Marcel Proust (9) Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama (6) The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins (6) Iâm willing to admit to having read Orwell, Joyce (but…

Einstein's God

A new letter has surfaced from Einstein which would appear to once and for all clarify his views on theism. Writing to Eric Gutkind (Jan 3rd 1954), Einstein states: The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this. Later in the letter he describes religions as "an incarnation of the most childish superstitions." So once again, I think we can classify Einstein’s "God" as the God of…

No Trail Email

From the annals of high idiocy, I enjoyed this sequence of emails at BofA: "Unfortunately it's screw the shareholders!!" Charles K. Gifford wrote to a fellow director in an e-mail exchange that took place during the call. "No trail," Thomas May, that director, reminded him, an apparent reference to the inadvisability of leaving an e-mail thread of their conversation. ... Shortly after Mr. May's remark about an e-mail trail, Mr. Gifford said his comments were made in "the context of a horrible economy!!! Will effect everyone." "Good comeback," Mr. May replied. You have to give Mr. Gifford at…

Astrometry Finds Planet

It seems that astrometry has finally succeeded at detecting a planet. A star and its planets perform a complex dance as they move through space. In astrometry planet hunting one looks for a planet by looking for the "wobble" of a star as it moves across the sky. This is contrast with the two other methods used to detect planets around stars, which use radial velocity or transits to detect the planets. Now it seems that a team from JPL has used a series of measurements over 12 years to detect a Jupiter sized planet tugging on its star, VB 10. The wobble in this case is a movement of about…

ACM Classic Books

Via Michael Nielsen's friendfeed, I am led to ACM Classic Books Series. If you've got ACM subscription access, some of the book are even in electronic form. Cool. I love the introduction to "The Computer and the Brain" by John von Neumann: Since I am neither a neurologist nor a psychiatrist, but a mathematician, the work that follows requires some explanation and justification. It is an approach toward the understanding of the nervous system from the mathematician's point of view. However, this statement must immediately be qualified in both of its essential parts. I feel like I need to…

Hawking To Fall Into the Blackberry Hole?

Rumors have been spreading that Stephen Hawking might be considering moving to the Perimeter Institute. These rumors have been officially denied. The real story here, however is not about Hawking relocating, but whether Stephen Hawking has turned into an experimental physicist and is testing the black hole information paradox by throwing himself into the Blackberry hole. I mean, if Hawking can visit for one month, and then escape from the Perimeter Institute, then I think we can conclude that the unitarity of quantum theory is safe. However, if Hawking get's sucked in, I myself will worry…

No Dice?

From a New York Times article describing the Nature Theater of Oklahoma's production of "No Dice:" "Poetics," for example, was choreographed using dice. Each face on the die represented one of six possible gestures, and each appendage -- two arms, two legs and the head -- got its own roll of the dice. Dice determined where the actors stand and for how long. There are four actors in "Poetics," but, alas, no such thing as a four-sided die. So, to determine who did what, the directors used a dreidel. No such thing as a four sided dice? Obviously no one among the choreographers has played…

Revkin and Olson on Framing and Climate Communication

Over at the NY Times' Dot Earth, Andrew Revkin has started a conversation with readers on the merits of framing as applied to climate change communication. Revkin takes as a point of departure the Seed magazine roundtable on the issue published a few weeks back. Revkin adds to the mix another voice on the matter, scientist-turned-filmmaker Randy Olson. In his remarks excerpted by Revkin, Olson correctly points out that it's not just the frame but also the source--or the spokesperson--that matters. The full range of comments from readers is well worth reading. I weighed in with my own response…

Uh-oh. Double trouble!

Ricky Santorum has us scientists down cold. Most scientists unfortunately, those that certainly are advocating for this [embryonic stem cell research], and many others feel very little moral compulsion. It's a utilitarian, materialistic view of doing whatever they can do to pursue their desired goals. So, you see, scientists are amoral, with nothing to hold them back from pursuing their dreams of unbridled, raging power. I'm sure if we asked Li'l Ricky about atheists, he'd turn pale and tell us all kinds of horror stories. Atheist scientists, of course, are absolutely the worst. Watch out—…

The Grinch plus Star Wars plus Science Budget Cuts plus Santa equal...

... well this. This being the (now pretty much) annual SCQ Christmas offering from structural biochemist and playwright, Vince LiCata. NARRATOR: Every Who Down in U-ville Liked their research a lot... FACULTY: (pipeting): I sure like research a lot. I love running gels, I get bored when I'm not. NARRATOR: But the Pinch Who lived just North of U-ville Most certainly, did not. FACULTY: Now, who wouldn't love labwork? I'm sure I don't know. They'd have to be a real jerk, Or perhaps a bit slow. He sings: Fah who for-aze Dah who dor-aze Welcome Research Come this way Fah who for-aze Dah who dor-…

#8: Alternative Sponsors (Ten Best of the Decade from Half of the World's Fair)

For a year or so, we had the privilege at the World's Fair to garner our own sponsors, corporate and otherwise, so as not to rely on money from Dow Chemical or Shell, money that Seed Media Group was all too willing to take. In the end, we had nine separate alternative sponsors, each coming with its own tale to tell about the morally tenuous, environmentally destructive activities of Dow Chemical. The first ran in May 2007, the last in April 2008. Below are all the sponsors together, a class photo of sorts. The evidence of Dow's debased policies that went with some of these ads:…

Drinks! Vancouver! ScienceBlogs!

Just a reminder that Jennifer and I will be hosting drinks at Koerner's pub this evening. We'll be there from about 6pm on. Come on out on Seed's dime - should be fun. And just in case, you don't know what we look like, Jennifer has her picture on her blog, and I look like this in the hands of a professional photographer (the columns are more apt to be upright in the hands of unprofessional photographers). To give us a bit of a sense of the "how manys" it would be great if you can leave a comment below, or better yet, place a notch in our FaceBook event page.

Patagonian Volcano Meets Thunder and Lightning

A former student sent along these fascinating images. The e-mail said: "Tons of dust and ash from the eruption of the Chaitin volcano poured into the night sky just as an electric storm passed overhead. The resulting collision created a spectacular sight as lightning flickered around the dust cloud amid the orange glow of the volcano. The eruption was all the more spectacular because the Chaitin volcano, 800 miles (1,290km) south of Santiago, has been dormant for hundreds - if not thousands of years." Apparently, this happened in May. (The note didn't say who took these, so I don…

A List of how Science will kill us all.

Humour piece by Patrick Francis. Good stuff, and a list that includes "Global Warming", as well as the "Swiss" Here's an excerpt: Disease Bacteria are catching on to the whole antibiotic thing and they are doing something about it: evolving! Antibiotics are pretty much the cornerstone of our modern medical system and without them we're helpless. And this is coming at a really bad time what with crazy pig-viruses, bird flus and SARS type things coming at us with, judging from the media, ever increasing frequency. It's going to be like 14th century Europe all over again except with facebook…

Sustainable Building Practices and Gingerbread Houses. All entries are in...

This is too cool. Dave S. over at terry.ubc.ca launched a sustainable gingerbread house contest in mid December and in the span of a less than three weeks, was able to cull a total of 19 entries (plus one latecomer). Anyway, here's one by Anne from Inkling, but see all of them at this easy to peruse link. See the mother load (all 85 photographs at this Flickr portal). Thanks to everyone that played. We're currently working on luring some luminary judges (3 for 4 so far), and will get back to you regarding the winners. You know, this was so cool, I think a Science Scout badge is in order…