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The Mystery of the Returned Boat Motor widens

First there was the question of Goldilocks, a Very Cold Winter Night, And a Strange Sense of Empty-ness. Then, there was The Mystery of The Returned Outboard Motor. Which turned into The Mystery of the Missing Boat Motor Deepens. Then there was the complexification described in What makes a perfect day at the lake?. And now, I have received the strangest email: Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2009 12:45:14 -0700 (PDT) From:BLANKED OUT To: greg@gregladen.com Subject: oder......... My name is Rev BLANKED OUT.  and I am sending you an email regarding an order of some Out Board Motto.I will like you to e-…

Going Rogue: An American Life

Going Rogue: An American Life is the name of Sarah Palin's new book, due out on November 17th. Here's the publisher's summary: From her humble beginnings to her time in the spotlight as the first female Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin has led an extraordinary life. Going Rogue will recount her political experiences, her time as Mayor of Wasilla and as the first female governor of Alaska, as well as her rapid rise on the national stage during the 2008 campaign. Additionally, she'll share insights into the personal challenges she's faced including balancing her time as a…

The Mystery of the Missing Boat Motor Deepens

... or, maybe gets shallower. I'm not sure. This is a follow-up on "Goldilocks, a Very Cold Winter Night, And a Strange Sense of Empty-ness" which was followed by "The Mystery of The Returned Outboard Motor". More information has come in. The following note was transmitted from the people who had stayed at the cabin during the week the motor mysteriously reappeared: ... I am anxious to tell you about the 4 pound bass I caught off the dock ... bla bla bla ... if you go up this weekend, you will notice an extra boat motor in your new storage building. We went for a walk up the driveway…

Hey, this Joachim Bublath guy is good!

A reader pointed me to this German documentary (with English subtitles) on evolution and creationism—it has a nice 10 minute primer on mechanisms and evidence for evolution (with evo-devo, especially of fruit flies and zebrafish, prominently mentioned, appropriately enough for the country of Christiane Nusslein-Volhard). There's also a segment on creationism that is a bit lacking in nuance—they are all lumped together as young earth creationists—which is the kind of opening creationists use to disavow association with those other kooks, while glossing over the foolishness they do believe.…

Massey Energy: "If you attend the funeral of your co-workers, you're fired"

... if you take time off from work to do so. Nice. Massey Energy told employees that if they miss work to attend the funerals they would be fired, workers said. A Massey worker, who did not give his name because he is afraid of losing his job, said that his coworkers were outraged that they were not given time off to mourn their friends and brothers. The WSWS spoke to workers and relatives outside a local market. Chuck Smith, an unemployed miner with seven years work underground, said Massey's decision to force miners to work during the funerals was a calculated move. "What would it look like…

Understanding Scientific Terms About Climate Change

An item from the Union of Concerned Scientists: Certainty vs. Uncertainty Understanding Scientific Terms About Climate Change Uncertainty is ubiquitous in our daily lives. We are uncertain about where to go to college, when and if to get married, who will play in the World Series, and so on. To most of us, uncertainty means not knowing. To scientists, however, uncertainty is how well something is known. And, therein lies an important difference, especially when trying to understand what is known about climate change. In science, there's no such thing as absolute certainty. But, research…

UK anti-Semitism at record high

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK set a new high in 2009, the most since records began, according a report released on Friday. This is from the Jerusalem Post. The increase in antisemetic acts has been attributed at least in part to the aftermath of the December 27, 2008 Israeli military campaign in Gaza known as Operation Cast Lead "The increase in anti-Semitic incidents recorded by CST in the early part of last year is deeply troubling and I want to be unequivocal today; I am a proud friend of Israel and welcome a robust debate about how we ensure both a secure Israel and a…

Louisiana Heading For Creationism Law

By a vote of 94-3, Louisiana's House of Representatives today passed an academic freedom bill that would protect teachers and school districts who wish to promote critical thinking and objective discussion about evolution and other scientific topics. There was no vocal opposition, and the floor speech by Rep. Frank Hoffman made clear that the bill was about science, not religion. "This bill promotes good science education by protecting the academic freedom of science teachers," said Dr. John West, Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs at Discovery Institute. "Critics who claim…

Beware and get ready, my U.K. readers, part 3: The credulous media coverage of David Kirby's visit has begun

I figured it was coming, although I didn't think it would come this far before David Kirby's impending visit to the U.K., but I guess that's the fruit of his being invited by a woo-loving Lord to give a briefing at Parliament. This time it comes in the form of an article in the Daily Telegraph entitled MMR: The Debate That Won't Go Away. David Kirby's there in full force, making up numbers about mitochondrial disorders as he's been doing all along. There are also credulous references to Jenny McCarthy and the "Green Our Vaccines"/"too many too soon" toxin gambit, to the horrible monkey study…

The consequences of not vaccinating

In case you haven't heard it enough on this blog and elsewhere: Antivaccination lunacy has consquences. In the UK, measles cases have jumped to a record high: The number of measles cases in England and Wales jumped more than 30% last year to the highest level since records began in 1995. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) recorded 971 cases during the year - up from 740 in 2006. The agency issued a warning last summer urging parents to get their children immunised with the MMR jab. Experts have repeatedly stressed that public concerns about the safety of the jab have no foundation. As I've…

The candidates on banking regulation and race

...in 1908!!!! I debated the fit for this post on this blog vs. my own, and decided that it belongs here for about five or six reason that you can figure out for yourself. Science News has put up a site that shows numerous images from the presidential election of 100 years ago, including actual sound of the candidates stating their position on key issues! The candidates were recorded on the brand new "Edison Phonograph" (which I think did not play Blue Ray but was pretty good anyway). We hear William Jennings Bryan discussing banking regulation, and we heqar William Howard Taft on "Rights…

Hidden Killers

Image source: Virgin Media Sandtiger shark (Carcharias taurus) pups emerge from the womb as experienced killers. Since they develop teeth and the ability to swim while still in the womb, the strongest embryo will actually kill and eat its siblings (embryophagy) and their yolk sacs. This ensures that the surviving embryo has sole access to the unfertilized eggs that are continuously produced by the mother. Since they have two uteri, these sharks give birth to two live offspring whereas other shark species with less intrauterine killing instincts may deliver a brood of up to a dozen or so. In…

Marmots Benefit from Climate Change?

In the spirit of discussing the effects of climate change, I thought it only appropriate to mention the findings of a recent article by Ozgul et al., published in Nature. The findings of this particular study point to global warming offering a distinct advantage for yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventis) whose populations have been increasing over the last 10 years. Climate change has resulted in an earlier arousal from hibernation and animals that are giving birth earlier in than previous years, which has promoted larger body masses prior to entering hibernation. This increase in body…

One more thing about yesterday's USA Today article

Something else is bothering me about yesterday's USA Today article Science vs. politics gets down and dirty. It's the implication that scientists are speaking out because of political bent. Science policy professor Daniel Sarewitz of Arizona State University in Tempe says: "I think the opportunity to use science as a political tool against Bush has been irresistible -- but it is very dangerous for science, and for politics. You can expect to see similar accusations of the political use of science in the next regime." [...] And because polls show that scientists tend to be Democrats, Sarewitz…

(Not) Coming this Summer: An Inconvenienced Superman

In attempts to find climate changing culprits aside from greenhouse gases, numerous suggestions have been made. Some have been plausible but didn't match the data. Others were dubious. One, however, is downright devious. We're talking, of course, about Lex Luthor. The plays on "Inconvenient Truth" keep coming. In the tradition of "Brokeback to the Future" and "Must Love Jaws," some bright folks have mashed up the theatrical trailers for "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Superman Returns." Throw in a few Al Gore overdubs and you get "An Inconvenienced Superman," a movie where Lex Luthor is the…

Live from the World Science Festival!

Want to go to the World Science Festival, but can't bum a ride to New York City? Your favorite program is already sold out? You want to be there for the suspense and drama of the 2010 Kavli Laureates announcement Thursday morning, but you've run out of sick-day excuses at work? Well, buck up, the WSF has your back. For the first time, the World Science Festival is streaming events live (and in stunning quality), as part of a joint webcast with the folks at Livestream. Customizable widgets and live forums integrated with Twitter and Facebook top off the experience and allow creative science…

Golf clubs are dangerous weapons

McIntosh BC, Strugar J, Narayan D. Traumatic frontal bone fracture resulting in intracerebral pneumocephalus. J Craniofac Surg. 2005 May;16(3):461-3. Some college-aged kid got smacked in the face with a golf club, breaking a bunch of stuff that required a fair bit of surgery to repair. Kid shows up a couple of weeks later leaking spinal cord juice from his nose and complaining of headache. He is diagnosed with intracerebral pneumocephalus (IP), which is doctor-speak for having air inside your brain. Back to the OR he goes, where they somehow get the air out of his brain. Perhaps…

Thought Experiment

I'd like to replicate an experiment I recently read about in Harvard Psychologist Daniel Gilbert's new book Stumbling On Happiness, a philosophical tract masquerading as a self-help book. Despite residing in the nose bleed section of the ivory tower, Gilbert is a lucid, common-sense thinker with some truly worthwhile insights regarding the human temperament. We'll delve into some of them at a later date. In the meantime, I wanted to give you a taste of the kind of "AHA" moments the book delivers. Here's what you have to do:1) Imagine you're going to have a spaghetti dinner tomorrow night. 2…

Epistle from an Undisclosed Vacation

I never thought it would happen, but here we are. I can smell the ocean, hear the wind in the coconut palms. My arms are leaden from swimming, my shoulders reddened by the sun. A little while ago, I was body surfing. When you catch a wave---really catch it---you are weightless, and it is magnificent. But even the missed waves have their surprises. A large breaker sneaked up behind me, brown with sand, capped with white, and tried to take me. It could have---if the ocean wants someone, it will take them. But it didn't, and after it passed, it left a pool of calm. Out of this pool…

Sanity vs Insanity: cage match at HuffPo

I love Icelandic names. Just reading them makes me think of Vikings and valkyries. One name that I can't get out of my head right now is "Iris Erlingsdottir". She's an Icelandic journalist who put up a pro-vaccine piece on Huffington Post. Not only is the piece pro-vaccine, but it is quite critical of her fellow HuffPo blogger "Dr." Jenny McCarthy, the actress who, after having a child and doing a lot of googling, decided that vaccines are evil. She is so convinced of the danger of vaccine that she explicitly wishes our children to suffer from vaccine-preventable diseases to try to prove…

DonorsChoose---guess what? Michigan's economy still sucks

You guys have been fantastic. You've helped fully fund several programs now. Donations have reflected my readership---individual donations have ranged from a few dollars to a few hundreds of dollars. Every single dollar helps, and no contribution is too small (but homeopathic giving is discouraged). So why don't you click over and consider sending a couple of bucks to a cool project? I'm especially fond of this one; only $291.00 left to fully fund language aids for deaf kids. How 'bout a challenge? Let's try to fund this one project today. We have the rest of the month to finish the…

Lottâs blogroll

Kevin Baker observes that Lott has removed Baker from his blogroll, presumably because Baker has described Lott as the pro-gun version of Michael Bellesiles. This fits in with Lott's practice of not linking to criticism, which suggests that he thinks his position is a weak one. Rather than link to crticism and refute it he tries to pretend that it does not exist. Even when he does respond to criticism I make here, he does not link or correctly inform his readers what the source of the criticism is, instead claiming that someone emailed it to him. (For…

BMI TMI update #4

So, not so bad so far today, after an imperfect weekend. The weekend was full of swimming and biking, but also food. I didn't eat too many things that were "empty" of nutrients, but I consumed more mass than I'd hoped too. Today, I'm not doing too badly. Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with a cup of spinach and a couple of pinches of Romano cheese 1/2 cup shredded wheat with 1/4 cup milk A little over 300 calories Lunch: A "cobb" salad from the hospital: fresh greens, some shredded cheese, boiled chicken breast, tomatoes, bacon bits and a tablespoon of fat free italian. Best guess, about 380-…

Good news

evolgen reports that that Specter-Harken amendment to restore some of the cuts to the NIH budget and provide a modest increase necessary to prevent the our biomedical research effort from slowly eroding. Support was broad, and it was bipartisan. (No doubt it doesn't hurt that this is an election year.) However, this is just the first step. The House still has to vote on the Department of Health and Human Services budget, and then there will be a House-Senate conference committee. To preserve the progress made, we'll have to turn our attention to the House. I'll keep an eye out for when this…

African traditional healers and AIDS

Recently, the BBC posted an article soliciting opinions about whether African traditional or alternative medicines have a role in combatting AIDS. Not surprisingly there were a lot of credulous responses saying yes, but one response was more on target: BBC, this question "Can herbal medicine combat Aids?" to me is a big joke. HIV death rate in Africa is growing at an alarming rate. If herbalists have power to cure people with HIV, why should they let the continent suffer? I have a number of old schoolmates who were affected by virus, their families took them away from town to villages…

Truth in Science?

The Pagan Prattle has an article about the infection of the UK with a rather American sounding version of creationism/ID. It sounds as if the response has ranged from dismissal to dithering avoidance, so it doesn't seem to be a big threat (yet—these nasty little strains can expand into chronic virulence fairly easily), so the most interesting thing, I thought, was some terminology. There is an air of superficial plausibility about this, which is apparent in four lesson plans on Irreducible Complexity (Intelligent Design's catchphrase), the Fossil Record, Homology and Natural Selection. As a…

Orac knows science, skepticism, and critical thinking

Here is the second in a series of links to essential classic Respectful Insolence from Orac's old blog. In a continuing series of posts, for the benefit of new readers (and a trip down memory lane for old readers), I now present: The Galileo Gambit What is a theory? Breast cancer "dormancy" Public speaking "Short scientific talks for dummies" I guess this is what passes for creationist "humor" 80 years later, nothing has changed Get me a barf bag! The Virgin Mary appears A field guide to biomedical meeting creatures, part 1: Any questions? (Also see part 2: Poster time!) Professor Rubinstein…

Sad News

From Kieran Healy I learn that Otis Dudley Duncan has died. It was Duncan who started the investigation into John Lott's mysterious survey. When Duncan first contacted me with his concerns, I found it almost impossible to conceive that someone would fabricate a survey rather then admitting to a careless error, but Duncan's insight into human nature has proven to be much better than mine. Although he preferred to stay out of the limelight, Duncan gave me the benefit of his wisdom on the Lott affair. If my writings on Lott's mysterious survey have been astute,…

How James Inhofe Speaks Science

In a segment from the recent Frontline special "Hot Politics," GOP pollster Frank Luntz explains his 1997/1998 memo that became the playbook for how conservatives like President Bush and Senator James Inhofe redefined climate change as really a matter of "scientific uncertainty" and "unfair economic burden." (Luntz says he has since changed his views on climate change.) We detail the strategy and its impact on public opinion in our Framing Science thesis and in our talks as part of the Speaking Science 2.0 tour. Below you can watch a clip of Senator Inhofe's appearance on Fox & Friends…

Better late than never...again

Whoa. How did I miss this? Maybe it was all the other stuff going on last week, such as the Sarah Hershberger case, multiple updates on Stanislaw Burzynski, and Katie Couric's sort-of apology about her awful segment on HPV vaccines. So much stuff was going on that I forgot that December 11 was my nine year blogiversary. Yes, nine years ago on that day, the wonder (or at least obnoxiousness) that was Orac was born (or at least stolen from an obscure 30 year old British SF show). Since I was so exhausted last night that I fell asleep on the couch with my wife and my dog, I figure I might as…

Roots Coming Home to Roost

Many years ago a couple of researchers (Hatley and Kappleman) suggested omnivory, including eating of roots, to be a common theme in the adaptations we see in bears, humans, and pigs. Some years later, Richard Wrangham and I independently and for different reasons came to the idea that roots are potentially important in human evolution, so we collaborated on a paper suggesting this. Subsequently, bits and pieces of data have been accumulating to support this hypothesis (the "root hypothesis"). And here, Jim Moore of San Diego, is reporting on living chimps eating roots in a relatively…

X-Ray Poetry

Well after that mRNA song, I got wind that there is an x-ray crystallography poem floating out there. So we searched, and searched. Finally undercover agents from the Steitz lab emailed the sought-out credo to our contacts. Allegedly, this poem was composed by Bernard Rupp, who teaches a famed crystallography course. So without further ado, here it is: This is my x-ray machine. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My x-ray machine is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my x-ray machine is useless. Without my x-ray machine, I am…

Rare Pink Katydids

The Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans just bred these rare pink katydids and I find them captivating/delicious. Pink Katydid Facts: ⢠The parental katydids, both pink, were brought to Audubon Insectarium during the summer of 2008 as donations by visitors. ⢠The pink katydids were sent off to Cokie Bauder, Manager of Animal Collections at the Insectarium's Insect Rearing Facility, for supervision and care. ⢠The pink katydids are oblong-winged katydids, Amblycorypha oblongifolia. ⢠This unusual katydid coloration was first written about in a scientific article in 1878. ⢠The first…

Tribal Villagers Express Concern About Nautilus Mining

Readers probably know by now I am skeptical of Nautilus Mining's commitment to the conservation of the deep ocean. They are currently poised to begin large-scale mining efforts with a bus-sized ROV off extinct hydrothermal vent chimneys off Papua New Guinea. This week 2000 tribe members from Bagabag Island urged the government to put end to exploration and mining on the seabed in a paid advertisement in the national paper. In the piece they voiced their frustrations and absolute disgust over the manner in which the provincial and national governments have issued license to Nautilus Minerals…

Ron Jon Should Fund Geologists

Image from surfersvillage.com.  Surfer catching wave at Mavericks If you want to know where the good surf spots are sure you could ask your local bro', or you could gather some geologist and map the seafloor at high resolution. Sure the first might cost you at most a cigarette and beer while the latter requires a multiyear grant that rivals the budget of a third world country. I still vote for the mapping. Those of you who surf already know about the Mavericks a big wave break off Half Moon Bay in Central Cali. The spot attracts only the best riders where waves can crest…

Praxis #1

Bora has the first edition of Praxis. I think this carnival will quickly become one of the most important monthly collection of blog posts, covering topics that is about science: "If it is "Life in Academia", then pretty much everything on science blogs is eligible and the effect is diluted. If we narrow it down to one topic, e.g., Open Access publishing, then there will not be sufficient posts and sufficient interest to keep the carnival alive. We'll have to define a happy middle. We want people to find each other here - folks that write about the business of science, about publishing and…

New Remote Operated Vehicle Smell

It may have not smelled like a new car but it definitely smelled new. Yes we did get a new ROV here at MBARI! The new ROV will replace the beloved Tiburon that has been here since 1997 exploring every nook and cranny of the Northeast Pacific. Why the new ROV? Because we can! Serious though the new ROV is more powerful and will able to carry heavier science equipment. However, the new ROV is currently nameless. A list of possible names is being compiled based on suggestions from MBARI's staff and visitors to MBARI's open house. You can feel free to suggest some name here and I will…

Jellyfish patrol on Barcelona beaches

Lifeguards in the Mediterranean have a new problem, and they have overfishing, pollution, and global warming to thank for it. Stinging jellyfish invaded beaches off Barcelona a few weeks ago injuring 300 people and sending 11 to the hospital, reports the New York Times. Now patrol boats skim the water with nets and lifeguards post red and yellow flags to warn of approaching swarms. These jellyfish near shore are a message the sea is sending [to] us saying, 'Look how badly you are treating me' - Dr. Josep-Maria Gili, a jellyfish expert from the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Spanish…

Diving To 100ft...Indoors

Sure you can do that deep scuba dive in 47 degree Fahrenheit water off the California coast. Sure you might get to see some kelp, marine life, and spectacular rock formations, but 47 is just 15 degrees from freezing. Why not dive indoors in a balmy 86 degrees? Ahh, but you wondering how you can get a deep dive in a 10 feet deep swimming pool? Make way for Nemo 33 in Uccle, Belgium, the deepest pool in the world. 108 feet to be exact with "two large flat-bottomed areas at depth levels of 5 m (16 ft) and 10 m (32 ft)". A circular pit allows you to visit Davy Jone's Locker. There is also…

Bad Times For Deep-Scientist May Mean Good Times For the Deep

Rising gas prices may have one more causality, one you many not have thought of...oceanographic science. Our main tool is the research vessel, large contraptions we use to steam across the vast oceans collecting data. The R/V New Horizon from Scripps take 39,000 gallons of marine diesel. Currently diesel in California is at an average of $4.97 per gallon. So to fill up that is going to take $193,830.00. How many gallons of fuel does a ship go through each day? On the larger ships it can be 4,000 to 4,500 gallons of fuel a day. Can I pay for that in monthly installments? Just a year ago…

Japanese Whalers Accused of Stealing Whale Meat

They're at it again. Conservation group Greenpeace is accusing the crew of japanese whaling ships of "embezzling" whale meat from the whale "research". CNN reports: The environmental group said "large-scale embezzlement" was allowed as an "open secret" by the Institute of Cetacean Research in Japan. The body oversees Japanese whale hunts, which are done in the name of "scientific" research. The institute has previously accused Greenpeace and other organizations of "harassment" for interfering with Japanese whaling voyages. The environmental group said that 12 members of a one whaling ship…

The World Below the Brine By Walt Whitman

The world below the brine, Forests at the bottom of the sea, the branches and leaves, Sea-lettuce, vast lichens, strange flowers and seeds, the thick tangle openings, and pink turf, Different colors, pale gray and green, purple, white, and gold, the play of light through the water, Dumb swimmers there among the rocks, coral, gluten, grass, rushes, and the aliment of the swimmers, Sluggish existences grazing there suspended, or slowly crawling close to the bottom, The sperm-whale at the surface blowing air and spray, or disporting with his flukes, The leaden-eyed shark, the walrus, the turtle…

Cephalopods Are Nuts

Jeff Vrabel discusses our octopod brethren When possible, I like to keep close tabs on the world of octopuses, for two reasons: 1. Everybody has their hobbies, mine just involves cephalopod mollusks and don't you judge me, and 2. I often get the feeling that they're plotting something. He moves on to discuss Christine Huffard's, a post doc at MBARI and 3 cubicles away from me, recent research ...the Ginormous Squid Revelation was the biggest thing to happen to me in the past few years. That was until I came across a recent study about octopuses that said, basically, that they are kinky,…

Marion Jones: Steroid User

The latest from the Washington Post is that Olympic track star Marion Jones has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Track star Marion Jones has acknowledged using steroids as she prepared for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney and is scheduled to plead guilty today in New York to two counts of lying to federal agents about her drug use and an unrelated financial matter, according to a letter Jones sent to close family and friends. This article makes for an interesting continuation to the recent entry regarding Geb's new marathon record. What kind of drugs could increase performance?…

USB 3.0

This week's Electronic Engineering Times features a short article on the upcoming USB 3.0 spec. The main highlight is a target transfer rate of 4 Gigabits/second (10 times the current rate) providing usable data at 300 Megabytes/second. This rate would challenge IEEE 1394 (AKA FireWire). USB 3.0 is being referred to as "Super Speed USB" and will be "hardware agnostic" according to the article, meaning it could be implemented over copper or optical cabling. This third variant on the USB theme will adopt a new physical layer, splitting data and acknowledge signals onto separate paths. On the…

"Intelligent? Design?"

The latest issue of Freethought Today, the newsletter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has a bunch of goodies, including an article by Daniel Dennett, a transcript of Sam Harris' speech at the 29th annual FFRF convention this past October, and an article by atheist Brenda Frei who appeared on an episode of 30 Days, where she stayed with a family of evangelical christians for a month. High on my list of FFRF entertainment pieces are the cartoons by Don Addis and items by Philip Appleman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Indianna University. This month, we're treated to Appleman's…

For My Friend With The Douchey Boss

You, my dear friend, have been EXCEEDINGLY ill for weeks, but still making sure everything at work gets covered, via arrangements with colleagues and telecommuting despite being on strict bed rest orders from your doctor. You're getting slowly better and we, your friends, rejoice at this news. Your douchey boss, however, is hacked off about your "poor planning". Hmm. I would like to help my husband plan for a bout of a devastating pulmonary illness that leaves him wracked with coughing, weak, housebound, etc. Or some other illness, parameters to be specified in the future (e.g., time of…

Designing Faculty Websites - Diversity Resource

Professor in Training is working on a faculty website design and asks the following: I'm in the process of designing my own page and also a separate set of pages for my lab. I know the type of stuff I want in both of these but I was looking for feedback from both current and prospective students and postdocs as well as other faculty as to what you look for if/when you go searching for faculty/lab pages. Take a visit over there and share your opinion on what makes a good website. Inquiring minds may also be interested in some work done on this issue a few years ago by Cynthia Burack (and me…

A Word on "Gender Knot" Editions

As has been noted, the recent edition of The Gender Knot has been substantially revised and reorganized, and I have been working off a 1997 edition, which is bound to cause some confusion for those of you reading the new edition. I've decided, therefore, that for the rest of the book, I am just going to have to get the new edition. I will finish out the discussion using my current text but for the remainder of the chapters I will go off the new edition. This, combined with my upcoming (next week) week-long visit with mom, will delay slightly the discussion of Chapter 2, which I had…

Kris Kobach strikes out

The Pitch has a nice piece on Kris Kobach, examining his ongoing role in a racist anti-immigrant group, his failed campaign for Congress, the reversals of the policies he pushed while at the Justice Department, and controversy surrounding his classes at the UMKC law school. The piece, and frankly his career, can be summarized by this comment: "Everything he does has been a failure, except for looking very good and sounding very good and having an amazing résumé," Mdivani says. Mdivani is an immigration lawyer who points out that advice he has given in legislative hearings is so wrong that…