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Blogcation, all I ever wanted. Blogcation, had to get away

Hola BioE readers, I've been blogging at Scienceblogs for two years this month, and prior to that, I blogged for another year at my own site. So it is not surprising that I am very, very tired. Blogging uses up a big chunk of my dwindling free time, which I also need for such things as reading non-work-related books, going to the gym, writing long-delayed letters to friends, and cooking with my boyfriend. Not to mention maybe painting something for once, which was the original focus of this blog long, long ago. So I'm going on blogcation, effective immediately. I expect I'll be back in a…

our best friends

Boston's fatorangecat studio has a wonderful blog where photographer Li Ward posts some of her most spontaneous work (like the time her furry subject got all tangled up with Cameron Diaz). Ranging from the absurd to the poignant, Li's photos capture what we love best about our pets. (I'm pretty sure the cats above are plotting our demise as a species for subjecting them to years of heinous indignity.) I'm a kitten person, not a puppy person, but these photos are adorable! Perhaps the most poignant of all Li's work is this candid shot of Kepler, an aging Weimeraner: Looking at this photo…

Beaver seen in NYC

A damn-building mammal...get your mind out of the gutter: Beavers grace New York City's official seal. But the industrious rodents haven't been spotted here for as many as 200 years -- until this week. Biologists videotaped a beaver swimming up the Bronx River on Wednesday. Its twig-and-mud lodge had been spotted earlier on the river bank, but the tape confirmed the presence of the animal. "It had to happen because beaver populations are expanding, and their habitats are shrinking," said Dietland Muller-Schwarze, a beaver expert at the State University of New York College of Environmental…

Who is your favorite woman scientist?

There's been a lot of fuss 'round here this week about the fact that The Scientist magazine picked five male science bloggers to identify their favorite science blogs, and what that says about the ways that women are excluded from the conversation even when they're not badly under-represented (which they are). That's got people thinking about women in science in general, which is always a good thing in my opinion. PZ Myers reports that he asked his students to name a woman scientist and that many left the question blank. Who would you name? Who is the first woman scientist who comes to mind…

Pelosi Does Q&A With Bloggers

Nancy Pelosi apparently had a Q&A session with a few dozen bloggers after being sworn in as House Speaker, and has hired a full-time staff member who's job is blogger outreach!! This is big--the Speaker of the House is conferring a sense of legitimacy to bloggers as a news source and important voice to woo in "new media." Even if no science bloggers were included (hey, we care about politics too!), it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Pelosi is also launching a blog of her own. "They've gone from an initial writing blogs off, then moving to skepticism, then moving to, 'OK, maybe…

Ain't No Party Like a Scientific Blogger Party?!

Have you wanted to meet me in person? Probably not! I really can't blame you. What about the doofuses who run Zooillogix? Yeah, neither do I. Ahh, but do you want to drink Manhatten's, G&T's, and Martini's at trendy bar in San Francisco with like-minded scientific groupies. Well then... It's long overdue. Time for a Zooillogix writers, friends, and lowly readers party. On Friday [September] 26th, we will be having our get together at Tonic, in San Francisco, starting at 9:00PM. We think it will be fun to see what weirdos (that's you!) come out of the woodwork. At worst, Ben and I…

Cognitive Scientist Wins $500,000 With Cognitive Science

I meant to post this a long time ago, but forgot about it. Here's the story of a cognitive neuroscientist who, using what he's learned about cognition in grad school, won $500,000 on the show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" From the article: The first technique I drew upon was priming. The priming of a memory occurs because of the peculiar "connectionist" neural dynamics of our cortex, where memories are distributed across many regions and neurons. If we can recall any fragment of a pattern, our brains tend to automatically fill in the rest. For example, hearing an old Madonna song may…

The Book of Nature

Here's an article from Physics Web (via 3 Quarks Daily) that seems appropriate, in the context of the last two posts. Here's the conclusion of the article: But the image of the book of nature can haunt us today. One reason is that it implies the existence of an ultimate coherent truth - a complete text or "final theory". While many scientists may believe this, it is ultimately only a belief, and it is far likelier that we will endlessly find more in nature as our concepts and technology continue to evolve. Furthermore, the image suggests that the "text" of the book of nature has a divine…

Mysterious Aurora Spotted on Saturn

The Cassini orbiter shows us what is happening in the final frontier: This is an aurora on Saturn.  It's false-color, obviously. The technique is explained on the href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia11396.html">NASA site: This image of the northern polar region of Saturn shows both the aurora and underlying atmosphere, seen at two different wavelengths of infrared light as captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Energetic particles, crashing into the upper atmosphere cause the aurora, shown in blue, to glow brightly at 4 microns (six times the wavelength…

New AvantGo Feed Link

I know I've been a bit lax with this blog lately, but just in case anyone still cares, and has a mobile device (such as a Palm Pilot, smart phone, etc.) you now can get the RSS feed for Corpus Callosum on your device.  You have to use the href="http://www.avantgo.com/">AvantGo service.   If you want, follow the AvantGo link, and download the software, then install it on the computer you use to sync your mobile device.  Then go through the setup as directed by AvantGo.  Then come to CC and click on the AvantGo button in the left sidebar (where it says Quick Add-Feed Links).  That's it (…

Notes from Kindergarten

A friend of mine just sent this to me (for the record, he's a structure biologist, i.e. he studies the structure of proteins and other biological molecules): My kid had a screen session with a school administrator for his kindergarten today. Following are some answers he came up with: Teacher: "What is your favorite activity?" Son: "Thinking." He is probably right. He is always thinking of how to get his favorite food: rice krispies, candy... Teacher: "What does your Daddy do?" Son: "Work." Teacher: "Where does you Daddy work?" Son: "I don't know." Teacher: "What's your Daddy's job?" Son: "…

What have you been up to lately?

Sorry about the paucity of posts. I've been running around lately. Friday right after the Origin of Life Symposia we took off for NYC. After a day of mental stimulation, including stops at the Whitney and the Met to hear Janine Jansen play Bach and an incredible Schnittke String Trio, we raced back to Boston on Sunday to catch a ride up to the White Mountains (that's New Hampshire for you non-east coasters) to attend the almost annual Rapoport Lab retreat. There I participated in the mandatory alcohol toxicity seminar that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. After a quick nap we sprang…

Lots of little ncRNAs in the Brain

Well a study just came out that there are lots of little non-coding RNAs expressed in interesting patterns in the Brain. I've actaully heard about similar unpublished data from some other sources. Does this mean that the genome is filled with functional ncRNA encoding genes? Hold your horses. As noted elsewhere, these little bits of RNA represent less than 1% of the genome. Moreover no function has been ascribed to them (perhaps they are negative or positive regulators of gene expression?) Third, many studies iindicate that 50-70% of the genome is transcribed as primary transcripts - so are…

C19th Japanese anatomical scrolls

The Kaibo Zonshinzu is a beautiful collection of 83 anatomical illustrations on two scrolls, by a doctor named Yasukazu Minagaki from the Kyoto area. Painted in 1819, they are based on the observations he made during his dissections of more than 40 executed criminals. Minagaki adopted the style of illustrators such as Johann Adam Kulmus. His drawings were seen by Philipp von Siebold, the Dutch anatomist who is believed to have been the first European to teach Western medicine in Japan; he was so impressed by them that he made a complimentary inscription on the first scroll. The…

The neuroscience of itching

The forthcoming issue of The New Yorker contains a fantastic article by surgeon and writer Atul Gawande about the neurobiology of itching. The article begins with the extraordinary case of a patient known as M., whose itch, which occurred following an episode of shingles, became so unbearable that one morning she awoke to find that she had scratched through her skull and into her brain while she slept. Gawande continues with a brief history of theories about itching - it was long considered to be a mild form of pain, but came to be recognized as a distinct sensation, following experimental…

Low hills and enfolded valleys

Here's another great quote about the brain, from Ian McEwan's novel Saturday: He's looking down at a portion of [the] brain...with its low hills and enfolded valleys of the sulci, each with a name and imputed function...Just to the left of the midline, running laterally away out of sight under the bone, is the motor strip. So easy to damage, with such terrible, lifelong consequences. How much time he has spent making routes to avoid these areas, like bad neighbourhoods in an American city...For all the recent advances, it's still not known how this well-protected one kilogram or so of cells…

Bring me brain boosters Bora

Bora Zivkovic is coming to London on Wednesday April 9th, and several events have been organized for his visit, which I'll be going to. First, there'll be a behind-the-scenes tour of the Natural History Museum, starting at 4.30pm, followed by a few drinks at The Queen's Arms. If you're in London and would like to join us on the NHM tour, you should email Karen via the link above. Or you might like to meet us at the pub; we'll be there from about 6.30 onwards. Incidentally, Bora has written about the new NIH initiative to crack down on the use of neuroenhancing drugs by academics…

Different ribosomes fulfill different functions

This week, I haven't had too much time to blog, but I would like to point out two posts written about a paper that I briefly mentioned in a post that appeared last week. It's on that that fabulous result concerning ribosomes from budding yeast. Background: the S. cerevisiae genome underwent a duplication event - as a result many ribosomal proteins are now encoded by two distinct genes. Two groups located here at Harvard Medical School (the Silver and Roth labs), have found that these critters take advantage of the many duplicate genes that encode ribosomal proteins to construct at least two…

Another Pub Night

Corie sent me the info on Nature Network Boston's second pub night: We are all about connecting scientists in the Boston area, both on the Web and in person. The drinks night will be next Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 6:00pm at the Mission Bar and Grill (http://www.themissionbar.com/index.html) located at 724 Huntington Avenue, Boston. It's on the Green E line, right by the Longwood medical area. Come meet fellow scientists, other members of the NNB community (including some of our bloggers) and people from Nature's Boston office, in a very informal setting over drinks! The first 20 or so…

More visa woes for high skilled workers in the US

If you haven't heard, on July 2nd the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency placed a hold on visas for highly skilled foreign workers. Yes the US government is so crippled, it can't even manage to process the paper work for foreigners it wants to keep in the country. Over lunch I learned that the government maxed out its quota for this year. Why did the government let this happen? I thought that they needed highly skilled foreigners. Link to the USCIS press-room. Link to the press release. The state of affairs is so bad, Microsoft is planning to open a software development center…

The reviews are in

Yeah it's been a while since my last entry, but in my defence, my thinkpad died and I simultaneously got back the reviewers comments from my submitted manuscript. Although my boss was a tad disappointed, I'm quite pleased. I have to say that writing this post is kinda strange, are my reviewers out there reading my daily diatribes? Should I censure myself? And so ... all I will say about the comments is that I spent the last month collecting data to bolster the key findings of my paper - mostly control experiments, but it looks like the reviewers believe the main concept and did not ask for…

New Cell Podcast

... finally. Sign up http://www.cellpress.com/misc/page?page=podcast> here. Or enter http://podcast.cell.com/cell.xml into your podcast subscription. It has a nice summary of a new Hannon paper on the role of piRNA in suppression of transposons in germ cells, another summary of how WASP is anchoring actin in the lamellipodium to the membrane at the leading edge (and which fits in to the model of membrane buckling postulated in the paper that I eluded to a couple of days ago), and a paper from Gerhard Wagner's lab on a new small molecule inhibitor of eIF4E, a factor involved in the…

Get your own EMBO J cover

Want to impress your fellow coworkers? Send your prettiest photos and micrographs to the European Molecular Biology Organization's Journal (aka EMBO Journal) and you may get your own EMBO J cover. Last year a grad student from our lab, got a couple of covers. For details read the following email: Dear authors and referees of the EMBO Journal, dear contributors to previous cover contests, dear friends and colleagues, The time has come again--we are happy and excited to announce another one of our annual contests: the one for the best scientific and non-scientific cover images for 2007. Please…

McGill Radio & Access to Essential Medicines

So not only is McGill's radio station CKUT hosting a new show on global health, Health on Earth, but for their first edition they'll be talking about the Access to Essential Medicines campaign spearheaded by Doctors Without Borders. You may recall that I recently wrote about the student branch of this organization, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM). The goal of UAEM is to get their local universities to sign Equitable Access Licenses (EAL) that would lift patent barriers on drugs developed by these institutions. EAL agreements would effectively increase the access of…

Challenging The Mavericks and Why The Surf Gods Love Geologists

Image from surfersvillage.com.  Surfer catching wave at Mavericks The Mavericks competition was this past Saturday bringing in the best dozen or so big waver surfers (invitation only!). The best word to describe someone who spanks waves reaching 20-30 feet, historically they have reached near 50? Cajones. Let us not forget the freezing water and jagged rocks. You can see all the pictures here (note picture 27!). I mentioned in the past if 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…

Best of DSN 2007: Fuzzy Yeti

Best DSN Post (Fuzzy Yeti): Maybe not the Pulitzer but it matters to Peter and I (and now Kevin). You decide the winner by casting your votes in the comments. The final 6 nominated by The Judges! include: Canadians Should Root For Global Warming by Craig. One of The Judges! stated this was "a truly informative post on global warming and the NW passage." Sea Turtle Advocates Appeal to the Vatican by Peter Rogue Waves by Craig Hydrothermal Vents=Global Warming by Craig. One of The Judges! commented "You dealt with that well and highlights the ignorance of some sectors of the media. I also love…

The Daily Going Ons Of Deep-Sea Fish

New cool research from Wagner et al. that despite the lack of "day" and "night", deep-sea fish experience daily cycles. What is the trigger? Diurnal changes in bottom currents corresponding to tidal fluctuations. The below graphs shows current direction and velocity on deep-sea floor in the NE Atlantic Ocean indicating 12.5 hour tidal cycles. The researchers followup by measuring pineal and retinal melatonin in two bottom-dwelling fish, a grenadier Coryphaenoides armatus and a deep-sea eel Synaphobranchus kaupii(below). They additionally quantified the release of melatonin in cultures of…

What a Bad Idea - Tiger Splash Park

Out of Africa Wildlife Park was founded in 1988 by a husband and wife team in Arizona. In their words... "It was a preserve born from their single-minded objective of bringing God, people, and animals together in a natural setting." In our words... oh Jesus... this place is a disaster waiting to happen. In particular, we would like to introduce you to the comedically-dangerous "Tiger Splash Park," where you'll discover how tigers "instincts, intellect and feelings interact to form spontaneous, natural behavior." If that description isn't foreshadowing for the inevitable human mauling, I don't…

A tax-related question.

Actually, a few of them. Since we sent our tax return off already, the answers to the questions probably doesn't have much practical import, but here they are: Y'all know that I get paid a (pretty modest) amount for blogging. As such, Seed sent me a 2007 Miscellaneous Income report (Form 1099-MISC). This form shows the modest amount that I earned in box 5, "Fishing boat proceeds". Under "Instructions for Recipient" it says: Box 5. An amount in this box means the fishing boat operator considers you self-employed. Report this amount on Schedule C or C-EZ (Form 1040). See Pub. 344. My…

Piecing together what happened in New York last weekend.

Actually, my memories of the semi-spontaneous confluence of ScienceBlogs sciblings in the vicinity of the Seed mothership this past weekend are quite vivid, and I'll put up a proper post on that later today. But in the event that I hadn't remembered things so clearly, and had to piece it all together from what came home on my digital camera, my reflections on the last few day might be distorted. I might end up with something like this: Rob: You know what this place needs? Chad: More physical science bloggers? Rob: Mmm-hmm. There're lots of biologists, but they're small enough that I think…

Pi Day pie #6: Lemon-berry pie.

Given that we have an enthusiastic lemon tree, a lemon pie for Pi Day was inevitable. The kind of berries you use will change the character of the finished pie. My recommendation is to go with berries that are fresh and as local as you can get them. Gingersnap crust: Pulverize 6-8 ounces of gingersnap cookies. In a butter pie pan, mix the crumbs with 6 tablespoons melted butter. Pat mixture into bottom and sides of pan. Chill for at least an hour. Lemon curd filling: Beat 3 egg yolks until lightened. Mix in a small saucepan with finely grated zest of 3 lemons, 1/2 cup lemon juice, and…

ScienceBlogs upgrade this weekend.

You've probably already gotten the news that ScienceBlogs is getting a backend upgrade to MT4 this weekend. While this is going on (from Friday 1 PM Eastern until sometime Saturday, we hope), you'll still be able to read the ScienceBlogs posts that are already up, but Sb bloggers won't be able to publish new posts and you won't be able to leave new comments. (Actually, I'm hearing rumblings that the comments might already have been disabled. Hold that thought! Jot it down on a Post-it or something, 'cause I want to read it when the comments return in MT4) During our radio silence, you…

Ten years ago today

Once again we come to another September 11. It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since that horrible day. It's become my tradition over the last few years to post this video as a reminder of what happened that day. This video was shot by Bob and Bri, who in 2001 lived in a high rise a mere 500 yards from the North Tower. On this tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I think it's important to post this again. It is the most prolonged and continuous video of the attack that I have seen, and, as such, It is difficult to watch. That's why it's so important to watch. Second,…

You know what to do...

Sigh. Why, oh, why do news organizations do such ridiculously stupid things? In this case, the CBC decided to put up a poll regarding the chickenpox vaccine. Here's the setup: The Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) says children should receive two doses of the chickenpox vaccine to avoid losing immunity and developing the disease as adults. Chickenpox is an infectious disease that results in a blister-like rash, itching, tiredness, and fever. (Dr. John Noble, Jr./CDC)"Adults who get chickenpox have more serious illness, are more likely to get pneumonia and to be admitted to hospital. They also…

The best ten minute summing up of a scientific consensus I've seen in a long time

I see I've managed to attract another anthropogenic global warming denialist in the comments again, I figured that now is as good a time as any to post this video. True, it's over a year old, but it does as good a job of describing the multiple interlocking strands of evidence supporting the concept that the climate is warming and that human activity is causing it. In particular, I like how this video sums up multiple lines of evidence supporting AGW. The same sort of reasoning applies to every major scientific consensus, be it evolution, the germ theory of disease, the scientific consensus…

Eleanor Mondale has died

Our own Eleanor Mondale has died, at the age of 51, of brain cancer. She was the daughter of Vice President Walter Mondale, and a fellow citizen of Minneapolis. From the Strib: Her brain cancer was diagnosed in June 2005, after she suffered a seizure that May. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester found two tumors in her brain. With radiation, chemotherapy and surgery, her cancer was twice diminished. But a routine checkup in January 2008 found another tumor. In September 2010, she said that a new form of chemotherapy appeared to be shrinking the tumor, but that she knew nothing was…

Minnesota, Alabama, first grade, high school…all the same

(This post was causing some browsers to crash. Let's see if browsers are happier if I hide it below the fold.) Kevin Beck's response to an interesting article about kids persecuting another kid who was an atheist: When I first read the blog entry, I thought I was dealing with a bunch of first- or second-graders. Once I quit skimming, I was shocked to learn that the kids in question are all sixth-graders. Kevin, you are such a naive young innocent. I read the story as a familiar example of common bigotry at all ages — my daughter experienced the same general phenomenon in elementary school,…

I guess it's not just Andrew Wakefield who doesn't do controls when running PCR

Remember a couple of months ago, when I discussed testimony at the Autism Omnibus trial that showed how Andrew Wakefield had failed to do the controls when running PCR that would have revealed that the results that he interpreted as the presence of the measles virus from a vaccine strain in the guts of autistic children was nothing more than a bunch of false positives due to widespread contamination of the laboratory with plasmid containing measles sequences? It turns out that it's not just autism pseudoscientists who forget to do the right controls when running PCR. Mike the Mad Biologist…

The best science TV show of all time

The Seed mothership wants to know, "What is the best science TV show of all time?" There's one program that comes immediately to mind… Jacob Bronowski's Ascent of Man. It is said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers. That is false, tragically false. Look for yourself. This is the concentration camp and crematorium at Auschwitz. This is where people were turned into numbers. Into this pond were flushed the ashes of some four million people. And that was not done by gas. It was done by arrogance. It was done by dogma. It was done by ignorance. When people believe that…

Bad covers

In keeping my (temporary), retreat from medical blogging for the weekend, I thought you might enjoy as much as I did this list of the 100 Worst Cover Songs. I do have a few objections, though. For one thing, I kind of like Marilyn Manson's cover of Personal Jesus, which clocks in at #90. I don't know why; I just do. It's also just a travesty that the Lemonheads' cover of Mrs. Robinson and Ugly Kid Joe's cover of Cat's in the Cradle are on the list. And how on earth could they put William Shatner's cover or Rocket Man on the list? It was sheer genius! Just look: I know I've posted this…

Hovind saga continues

The latest in the Hovind trial: a local lawyer recounts his conversations with Kent. Gibbs said Hovind tried to persuade him he had no obligation to pay employee income taxes and explained with "a great deal of bravado" how he had "beat the tax system."Gibbs said Hovind also told him he preferred to deal in cash and that when you are "dealing with cash there is not way to trace it, so it wasn't taxable." O Lord, please, this I pray: that Kent Hovind himself will testify at his trial. Jesus, fill Your devoted follower with True Christian hubris, that he will mount the witness stand to testify…

The 62nd Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle: Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends...

It's that time again, time for a respite from the annoying credulity that permeates the blogosphere. Indeed, that credulity has even invaded Respectful Insolence in the form of two--count 'em, two!--homeopaths invading an old throwaway post about homeopathy and a woo-meister in my recent chelation post. I need a nice bracing shot of skepticism. On first blush, this Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle looks as though it might be suspect: Welcome, friends! Welcome to our series of exhibits that reveals the truths that THEY don't want you to hear about! Uh-oh. Fortunately, it's just the tease for…

Bring your towels! It's the 61st Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle!

In honor of Towel Day, the theme of the latest meeting of the Skeptics' Circle is The Hitchhiking Skeptic's Guide to the Galaxy. Join Rebecca (a.k.a. The Skepchick) as she takes you on a tour of the skeptical blogosphere. But don't do it for me. Don't even do it just for Rebecca. Do it for Douglas. After you're done gallivanting about the universe with your towel, don't forget that two weeks from now we'll be doing it all again. Next up to host will be Thursday at Polite Company. Start getting your best skeptical entries together for our next go-around. Better yet, if you want to avoid the…

Nazi-Garbed House Hopeful Nets International Notice

The party of stupid, a.k.a. Teabaggers a.k.a. Republicans a.k.a. The Million Moran March has been attracting significant international attention, which is normal because people like to laugh at American stupidities (and this is just). But I thought you'd like to see this snippet from today's BBC: The Iott controversy comes amid growing concern in the Republican party about the views of some candidates for the mid-term elections in November, our correspondent says. He adds that the growth of the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement has left them with one would-be senator who has questioned…

The German Nazis were Christian and the German Christians were Nazis

Germany was a Christian nation long before the Nazi's came along in the 1920s. When the Nazi's took power in Germany, they were widely and generally supported. Even after the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945, a majority of the German People (in a survey conducted by the US military) remained sympathetic to the Nazis and wished for a return of surviving Nazi leaders. Most Germans were either active members of the Nazi party or were sympathetic, and most were Christians, mainly Catholic. (There were a lot of non-Christian Germans at the beginning of this period, but the Christian Germans…

Help Out Al Franken's Friend

I just got the following email from Al Franken: Dear Greg, Believe me, the last thing a Vikings fan like me would ever think to support is something called a "Cheddarbomb." But while the Packers may be our rival, I'd do just about anything to help out my friend Russ Feingold. His football allegiances aside, Russ is one of the most courageous and dynamic progressives in the Senate -- and he's facing a tough fight this November. Russ's opponent is spending millions of his own dollars attacking him. Click here to join Russ Feingold's oddly named but absolutely critical "Cheddarbomb" today! If…

Is it really "irresponsible" for Hawking to be an atheist?

"Maybe Hawking should leave God alone," claims Marcelo Gleiser. Poor god. Getting beat up by a guy in a wheel chair. Gleisser essentially argues that Hawking can't make the claims he makes about the irrelevance of god in an origin physics. Yet, Gleisser freely implies the possibility of god-like entities in discussing on how it all started. So, the way it works is like this: If you agree with Gleisser, you can use the same kinds of arguments he uses. If you disagree with Gleisser, you should, well, shut up and stuff. If I was Hawking, and Gleisser was in the vicinity, I'd double…

Teabagger Ron Micheli and the Wyoming Governor's Race

Wyoming, which is a pretty stupid state sometimes, although you don't hear about it too often because almost no one lives there, has a candidate for governor who ... wants teachers to be required to teach creationism. "I think it is as valuable a theory as any other theory." ... is opposed to abortion even in the context of rape. ... in what the Casper Star-Tribune called "A momumental display of bad judgement" he advocated for leniency for his friend Ty in a rape case. Ry is now serving 60 years in the pen for raping a Casper woman in her home. In a poll conducted nearly two weeks ago,…

Ted Stevens Dead in Plane Crash

The former Senator from Alaska was one of five killed in the crash of a small plane on which were nine people. Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe is among those who may or may not have. NPR is reporting this. Earlier in his career, Stevens was an AGW denialist, but later got on board and began to support legislation to curb human impacts on climate. Then, later, he became a "The glacier is coming anyway" denialist, but mostly slipped into incoherent babbling when it came to climate change. The crash apparently happened yesterday, and for some time today reports as to whether or not…

The Leak has Temporarily Stopped, Stock Market Grins Stupidly

Apparently, BP's well cap on Deepwater Horizon is holding, as the closure of the well cap plays a role in testing the device itself. The cap will stay closed for only a short time, then oil will be allowed to flow to surface ships again while relief wells are drilled into the deposit. One of the relief wells is currently a very short distance (several meters) from the shaft of the main boring. The relief wells can probably be doing their job by mid August. So, over the next month, oil will continue to be "processed" on the surface (which I assume means that much of it will be burned, but I…