Search Content

Displaying results 2301 - 2350 of 87947

Dr. Google and Mr. Jim

What would we do without the Internet? It's become so necessary, so pervasive, so utterly all-enveloping that it's hard to imagine a world without it. Given how much it pervades everything these days, it's easy to forget that it wasn't that long ago that the Internet was primarily the domain of universities and large research groups. Indeed, the Internet hasn't really been widely and easily available to the average citizen for very long at all. Go back 20 years, and most people didn't have it. For example, Netscape Navigator, the popular browser that made the Internet accessible, wasn't…

It's Impeachment Time!

This poll is not scientific, but it's still quite interesting, especially when one realizes that, according to any poll results from the past 18 months, Bush's approval rating are astonishingly low, particularly for a second-term war-time prez. [Added 1945 in response to blog SiBling, James] Since blog SiBling, James, is being cranky, I will also cite some information from the linked MSNBC explanation as to why this poll is not scientific. First, the linked document points out that; While a poll of 100 people will be more accurate than a poll of 10, studies have shown that accuracy…

Expect, rather than wish for, the chance to be heard

One last political post for a little while at least. We posted almost two weeks ago a note of thanks to the NC Democratic senate candidate, Jim Neal. The progressive candidate and friend of the blogging community (and blogger himself) lost to Kay Hagan, who will now face Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) in the November election. I missed Jim's response to us in a long thread at BlueNC: it's never too late for you and science/medicine bloggers to make an impact. Get to know Senator Hagan and other candidates. Inform them about what you are doing and your POV. You have a voice. Use it. Expect,…

Dawson Shootings, Portrait of the Deranged

One 18 year old girl is dead. Eight others are in serious condition. It could have been worse, but I think that the Montreal Police learned from the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique massacre that you should try to confront and disable anyone who walks into a public area and intends to commit mass murder. This had to take place at Dawson, of all places. I have some of my best memories there. For those of you not familiar with education in Quebec, after high school, all students are required to go to CEGEP (or college) for two years before entering university. As we have one year less of both high…

Getting It Right: WikiPathways

Deciding on the right license for an online community can be a touchy process. Sometimes the community is focused on the organizing principles learned from software. Copyleft has been powerful in growing free software, and is regularly insisted on by online communities that build data, or community science content - not because it makes legal or technical sense for data or community science content, but because it's a security blanket known well from software. The problem is that in a lot of cases, share-alike breaks the interoperability of data and content, in a way that it doesn't in…

Carrboro Citizen - a model for the newspaper of the future

The future of newspapers is bleak, but there are three saving strategies: 1) hyperlocal papers will beat the big city, state, national and international papers, 2) telling the truth instead of false equivalence will foster reader loyalty, and 3) the print-to-web mode of thinking will be replaced by web-to-print, community-driven model. Carrboro Citizen is an examplar of all three strategies. If you know that Carrboro is tiny, you already see how hyperlocal it is. If you have read it for a while, you know that they do not do the dreaded he-said-she-said tired, old schtick - they tell is at it…

Tornado Rips the Hell out of Manhattan

tags: tornado, Manhattan Kansas, weather "Hello? Dad? Can I borrow your car?" Image: Dave Rintoul, 12 June 2008 [larger view]. [Includes slideshow] After I returned from Manhattan, Kansas, I thought of it as a wonderful, magical place where I would always be able to return, to see birds and photograph lots of native wildlife, to find a warm and safe place with my good friends, Dave and Elizabeth. (I am sure all of you know Dave quite well, since his gorgeous photographs are often featured as the "Image of the Day" on this site.) But while I was preoccupied with my imaginings, I was…

An Important Announcement Revealing That Yes, I am an Optimist

Whilst reading some of my colleagues' blogs, I ran across this announcement and realized that it's been ages since I first mention that I registered for the Science Online London conference a long time ago -- on the very first day that I could do so, in fact. This conference focuses on using the internet -- blogosphere as well as podcasts, soundfiles, photography, and streaming video -- as a public outreach and educational tool for and in support of science. This important conference is scheduled for 22 August 2009 in London at the celebrated Royal Institution of Great Britain, where it was…

Propaganda 2.0: Analysis of Iraqi Insurgent Media

Last week, analysts at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty released a 70 page analysis of the strategies, tactics, and messages of the Sunni insurgent propaganda campaign. It's the most interesting thing I've read in some time. Check out the full report, summary below, and listen above to an interview with one of the authors on NPR's On the Media. The book-length report, "Iraqi Insurgent Media: The War Of Images And Ideas" by RFE/RL regional analysts Daniel Kimmage and Kathleen Ridolfo, provides an in-depth analysis of the media efforts of Sunni insurgents, who are responsible for the…

Green Pencils, Sleeping Birds, and Aging Possums

Ugh. Several days, pretty much day and night, going over the copy-edited Microcosm manuscript with a green pencil. I haven't had any time to write any original blog posts--or even reply to most of my email. But I can at least point you to three articles of mine that went online while I was buried deep in dangling participles. Looking at them now, I see a common theme: comparison. 1. The Internet and E. coli. Some of the most intriguing papers I've read about E. coli while researching Microcosm came from an engineer. John Doyle is a control theory expert at CalTech who has spent lots of time…

Day 4 -- Science and the rest of the world

Peter Krause, the ever-friendly and patient press officer for ESOF, says the best thing about the organization is that it began ten years ago as a grass-roots idea: scientists who wondered why Europe had no equivalent of the AAAS and decided to create one. Since then, it has grown in all directions, but it still retains the flavor of scientists creating spaces for scientific exchange on  a pan-academic level. That feeling was certainly present yesterday evening, at a session on science communication. The speakers were three communicators in very different fields. The first, Angel Rodriguez…

Thinking about ScienceOnline09 and allies

As I've mentioned, I'm co-organizing a session on gender and science blogging, with a particular focus on how we can be allies, as well as on the intersection of gender, race and class in blogging. The official conversation has been a little slow, but while I've been distracted, others have been writing interesting posts, with even more interesting comment threads and responses. I'm hoping bringing it up again will keep the conversation going and might prompt ideas for the ScienceOnline session. In my last post, ecogeofemme askedhow ally was defined in this context. On one hand, as Lab…

IT plumbing is not sexy...which is a problem

Anyone who has worked in IT knows about some shady practices here and there...and when it comes to databases many companies don't engage in much oversight. I suspect part of the problem is that the higher managers are distanced from the technological day-to-day and just assume that the nerds on the ground are taking care of things. I bring this up because today I had to resolve a problem with my cell phone provider. Apparently all my online administrative information was deleted when Sprint merged its databases with Nextel. This is a rather large corporation; you can imagine the sort of…

Around the Web: The Great Age of Librarians, Amazon Will Destroy You, Apps vs The Open Web and more

The Great Age of Librarians Amazon Will Destroy You Confessions of a Publisher: "We're in Amazon's Sights and They're Going to Kill Us" Mobile Sites vs. Apps: The Coming Strategy Shift Instructional Designers Wanted: No Experience Necessary Libraries and the Commodification of Culture Innovating the Library Way About the Emerging Battles Over Textbooks: Options from Apple to Open Initiatives fallacies of a market approach to public higher ed The perils and pleasures of online gaming for married life Scienceography: the study of how science is written An Experiment in Teaching Writing: A Look…

Around the Web: What ownership means for digital media, The power of introverts and more

What 'Ownership' Means for Digital Media (Hint: Not Much) The Power of Introverts: A Manifesto for Quiet Brilliance An Introvert's Guide to Networking Giving introverts permission to be themselves Consensus Decision-Making and its Possibilities in Libraries Disruption and Implications Support good science writing - pay for it Online tools are 'distraction' for science You Probably Don't Have a Social Media Expert From Stacks to the Web: the Transformation of Academic Library Collecting Ebooks on Fire: Controversies Surrounding Ebooks in Libraries Our College Education System Serves Its…

Around the Web: Adrift? Not!, Preparing journal submissions, Asking the right IL questions and more

Academically on Course Journal Submissions Asking the right questions Inger Mewburn - Is There a New Digital Divide Brewing? The case for libraries' use of social media: a how-to Social Media - Oversold and Undervalued 15 Case Studies to Get Your Library Director On Board With Social Media (Moral) Hazards of Scanning for Plagiarists: Evidence from Shoplifting Eleven Deadly Sins Of Online Promotion For Writers Why IT pros should be more like librarians Hacking the Academy Some Thoughts on the Hacking the Academy Process and Model How to Leverage your workforce: librarians and the art of the…

Around the Web: The best citizen science games, The urgency for change in education and more

Earn a Nobel Prize in your Lunch-Break! The Best "Citizen Science" Games Reviewed! Digital Technology Innovation in Scholarly Communication and University Engagement On Twitter and Machiavellian Intelligence Who Needs a Netbook? Tech Tools for Scholars - The Sequel From the Archives: On Blogging Letter Re Software and Scientific Publications - Nature The urgency for change In Defense of Science Blogs (yes again) Want to succeed in online content? Get small, be open, go free Science Dogme: a manifesto for science, technology and medicine exhibitions and here for the article. Citation tools…

ScienceOnline09 - how can you help?

As the conference has grown from one to almost three days, and already more then 90 people have registered, we need your help - so offer to volunteer. What can you do? * Spread the word: use online and offline tools to tell your friends about the conference * Ask your company/organization to become a sponsor * Donate a small amount of money * Help us develop the Program and offer to lead a session * Volunteer to collect and pack swag * Volunteer to drive the out-of-town guests during the conference * Volunteer to spend some time at the desk at the entrance,…

Dr. Exotica

Tending to recent immigrants and other travelers, Carlos Franco-Paredes diagnoses diseases that few other physicians in North America have ever seen: Q: What's the most important diagnostic tool you use? A: The Internet. We rely on it heavily, probably more than other specialists do. Online, we access recent medical journals from all over the world, including PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases and the Journal of Infectious Diseases in Developing Countries. They have really good articles written by people on the local level. But beyond that, we use the Internet to keep up on what's happening in…

Talking Sanitation on Skeptically Speaking

I was delighted to be a guest on the Skeptically Speaking radio show/ podcast recently - I spoke with host Desiree Schell about why toilets (and other related forms of sanitation) are so great. In fact, the whole episode is dedicated to the topic of "Sewer Science," and also features University of York's Alistair Boxall discussing pharmaceutical contaminants. The previous episode focuses on municipal water systems and water fluoridation, and there are many other fascinating health-related episodes on the site available for downloading or online listening. My past posts on sanitation in the…

Fornvännen's Summer Issue On-Line

Fornvännen 2015:2 is now on-line on Open Access. A reminder: the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters who publish the journal decided on a six-month delay in order to protect the viability of the journal's paper version. Evert Baudou & Ingmar Jansson on Leo Klejn’s opinions of Mats Malmer’s work. Legends talking about legend talking about legend. Per Nilsson & Anna Sörman on a new Bronze Age metalworking find from Östergötland. Ole Stilborg & Claes Pettersson on the poor quality of Early Modern fortifications at Jönköping. Göran Tagesson & Annika Jeppson on Early Modern tiled…

A peek into creationist pathology

The Atheist Experience has Kent Hovind's phone calls from jail online. Hovind is such a pretentious fraud; he compares himself to George Washington and the IRS to the Mafia and Hitler's minions, and insists through it all that he's completely innocent. He also makes the claim that the people persecuting him will get their comeuppance on Judgement Day—that belief must be such a consolation to many petty crooks. I did feel a little sympathy for his wife, who does express some worry and remorse…and good ol' Kent just barrels over her concerns and tries to tell her what the law is. That tactic…

Oreskes on Global Warming Denialism

I was going to blog this later today, but now I see Tim over at Deltoid has beaten me to it, so I’ll post this without much comment. (Shakes fist in impotent fury at those damned Australians!) Like Tim, I received a heads-up from John Mashey regarding an online talk by Naomi Oreskes titled "The American Denial of Global Warming." It’s an hour long presentation that discusses the "history of the global warming disinformation campaign, led by corporate-funded policy operatives and ideologically-driven scientists, who employed the ’tobacco strategy’ to manipulate public opinion to create an…

ScienceBlogs Moving Up in the World!

Technorati, an online blog rating system, has rated ScienceBlogs in the top 50 most popular blogs in the world! Woohoo! We're currently #33, and yes, we've even beaten out Cute Overload. Now, please could you make ScienceBlogs a "favorite" blog? Or, if you're feeling mighty generous, you could even favorite Retrospectacle! Go here to do it! Just type in a blog to search for it, and then favorite it. :) The word on high from SEED is this: in order to make ScienceBlogs truly the biggest conversation about science, we need to get the word out. Now, I'm usually not so shamelessly self-promoting…

Swinging Through The Tree of Life Tomorrow on NPR

A quick heads-up: I'll be talking about the tree of life tomorrow morning on NPR's Saturday Weekend Edition. The segment will be archived on their "Science Out of the Box" web page. We'll be talking about everything from animals to mushrooms to the unclassifiable viruses that graft the tree of life into a web. Update: 12/1 10 am: ...or maybe not. As far as I could tell over the breakfast din, the piece didn't run this morning. I'll let you know when and if it does. Update: 12/1 5:30 pm: The piece just ran. I don't think I made any major gaffes, but fact-check away. Here's where you can listen…

Caferati, Indian writers forum

Caferati is a place for aspiring writers to meet, share and collaborate with each other. It is of Indian origin and the members meet in many cities in India. They have a number of online resources (site, google groups). Geographical accidents such as birthplace and country of residence should not worry you if you want to dive in with them and splash about. The editors are doing fantastic work to promote young writers and keep them informed of various publishing opportunities. Our own Scifi story contest (submission closes in a few days, get your story in soon) has got a number of story…

UCSD-TV Interview with Naomi Oreskes

While I was out in San Diego last month, I got to do a lengthy interview with science historian Naomi Oreskes for UCSD-TV. UCSD-TV also filmed a keynote speech I did for Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties. The latter hasn't aired yet, but the former is now available online and you can watch it here using RealPlayer. I thought it was a really good, high level discussion. Oreskes had me respond to some criticisms from people like Daniel Sarewitz and the sociology of science crowd, as well as setting the issue of use and misuse of science in its full historical context. I…

Happy Caturday!

It's John Lynch's fault. And honestly, how can you be aware of the existence of a quiz that will determine which LOLcat you are without acting on that information to determine which LOLcat you are? Your Score : Lion Warning Cat 55% Affectionate, 54% Excitable, 31% Hungry You are the good Samaritan of the lolcat world. Protecting others from danger by shouting observations and guidance in cases of imminent threat, you believe in the well-being of everyone. To see all possible results, checka dis. Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by GumOtaku on OkCupid Free…

Life in Cold Blood

I didn't think it was going to air so early in the year, but apparently David Attenborough's latest program (and last in the "Life of..." series), Life in Cold Blood, is now airing in the UK. The Telegraph recently published an article about the joy of watching Attenborough's documentaries, and I was able to find one clip from the show already online. It features the Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki), a species that is critically endangered if not already extinct in the wild; Previously it had been said that this was going to be Attenborough's last project, but according to the…

Never Say Goodbye: Mexican Gray Wolf

tags: Mexican Gray Wolf, Canis lupus baileyi, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day Mexican Gray Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) 320 (60 wild, 260 captive). Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view]. The photographer writes; Still on shaky ground, the Mexican gray wolf, an endangered subspecies, is slowly increasing in number in Arizona and New Mexico thanks to captive breeding. Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals…

MLK day and making the world a better place

Have you ever wanted to volunteer your talents and help with fun projects like these: * Refurbish computers for schools * Teach students how to use popular software or online services * Build a database for a nonprofit * Help out in your school's computer lab * Become an online mentor for students across the country In the spirit of MLK day, Serve.gov is calling on educators and tech people to participate in connecting schools and non-profits with tech needs to those who can help. You can use the widget below to find projects in your area. To quote Serve.gov, and Dr. King…

The Wonders of the Blogosphere

First - great news! Jennifer and Sean are getting married! They found each other online, blogging physics. Now, I know they are not the first people to find each other online and get married, but, to my knowledge, this is the highest-profile pair of bloggers to do so. And the first I know in the specifically science blogosphere. Is that true? Anyway, go say Hi to both of them. Congratulations! Second, after a very long hiatus (but I kept checking often, always hopeful), everyone's favourite artist of extinct mammals and other charismatic megafauna, Olduvai George is back to blogging…

The Third ConvergeSouth is in the Making

Hold the dates: October 19-20, 2007 for ConvergeSouth '07 at NC A&T State University. Things are brewing on two coasts to make sure that the 2007 ConvergeSouth is more special than ever. The Web site and blog will be online by March 1 (crossing fingers). We are seeking proposals for interactive discussions, DEMOs and how-to sessions in these areas: 1. New media and journalism 2. New creative online models and tools 3. Blogger how-to and blog improvement 4. Music performance (evenings) 5. Original video and film This year's ConvergeSouth features a new track: screening original video and…

ScienceOnline'09 - individual session pages

If you check out the Program, you'll see that I have started making pages for individual sessions - just click on "Go here to discuss" next to each session. Over the next few days I will do this for all the sessions and the session leaders will use those pages in whichever ways they want. For now, I have made pages for these sessions - check them out: Science Fiction on Science Blogs? Science blogging without the blog? Science online - middle/high school perspective (or: 'how the Facebook generation does it'?) Transitions - changing your online persona as your real life changes Semantic…

What Kind of Atheist Are You?

tags: atheism, online quiz Okay, the questions on this quiz are kind of annoying, something that I discovered only after I took it, but as I said, I took it, so here are my results; What kind of atheist are you?created with QuizFarm.com You scored as Scientific Atheist These guys rule. I'm not one of them myself, although I play one online. They know the rules of debate, the Laws of Thermodynamics, and can explain evolution in fifty words or less. More concerned with how things ARE than how they should be, these are the people who will bring us into the future. Scientific Atheist…

What Kind of Writer Are You?

You Should Be A Poet You craft words well, in creative and unexpected ways. And you have a great talent for evoking beautiful imagery... Or describing the most intense heartbreak ever. You're already naturally a poet, even if you've never written a poem. What Type of Writer Should You Be? If this online quiz is accurate (doubtful), it would go a long way towards explaining why I cannot find a paying job doing anything at all because it effectively labels me as a misfit (have you known a poetic scientist? Have any of you known a poet who was employed as a poet?) Okay, I showed you my…

Online Poll Results: Are You Religious?

tags: religious, online poll I have recently been conducting online polls on my left sideboard in an effort to learn more about my audience as a collective without putting any of you "on the spot". The first question that I asked seems rather obvious, but I thought I got some surprising answers anyway. I did not expect so many atheists and agnostics in my audience, nor did i expect to see any readers who were fundamentalists or evangelical. When writing up the quiz, I expected to see a large number of respondents who were "spiritual, but don't go to church." Anyway, I have a new question…

Susan the Scientist, the next Bill Nye?

Remember Bill Nye the Science Guy, that television popularizer of science for kids? Maybe it's time to give him an update and a facelift. That's the goal of Susan the Scientist, a project of Dr. Susan Reslewic, who is launching a new blog, myspace, and youtube presence to (in her words): teach 'citizen science' to kids and curious adults using music and objects in our local households to conduct simple experiments online. The idea is to make science both hip, simple, and most importantly fun. We hope to build this project and message making this available, free online this coming year. Here's…

An Award (And An Apology)

A little more horn-tooting: The Loom has just been named a winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's 2004 Science Journalism Award. The judges considered three pieces: Hamilton's Fall, Why the Cousins Are Gone, and My Darwinian Daughters. Here's the press release. Thanks to the judges--it's gratifying to see that it's possible for a little blog to swim with the big online sharks. On the other hand, the news is a bit embarrassing, coming as it does while I've left the Loom woefully neglected over the past couple weeks. I've been working on a lot of articles, such as a…

Oops

A site called Progressive Nation is pleasantly surprised by the results of a Fox News poll. Is it possible that even the center-right tilting viewing audience of Fox news programs is also open to significant upgrades of gay civil rights? That is what a surprising new, unscientific survey of a Fox web audience seems to be showing. With pleasure, I direct you to this interesting Fox News online poll in which at the time of this posting 300,499 votes had been cast. I hate to break the news to them, but that poll was pharyngulated and also hit hard by bots. Sorry. That's the thing about online…

'Experimental Heart' - first novel by Jennifer Rohn

Jennifer Rohn's first lab lit novel, 'Experimental Heart' is now available for sale! It is described as "A literary thriller/romance set in the London research scene, 'Experimental Heart' is a thought-provoking, page-turning lab adventure that exposes the hidden world of modern scientists": During his many long nights in the lab, scientist Andy O'Hara has plenty of time to wonder about the mysterious and beautiful Gina, first glimpsed in a lit window across the courtyard. He doesn't realize she is consumed by her vaccine research, concerned about her biotech company's financial problems, and…

Scientology vs. South Park

Most people know by now that Isaac Hayes has quit working on South Park (he was the voice of Chef) because they did an episode making fun of Scientology. Comedy Central decided to pull the episode, and their reason for doing so is so ridiculous that no one in their right mind would buy it: A Comedy Central spokesman said Friday that the network pulled the controversial episode to make room for two shows featuring Hayes. "In light of the events of earlier this week, we wanted to give Chef an appropriate tribute by airing two episodes he is most known for," the spokesman said. Nonsense. Someone…

Mark Fuhrman: Media Whore

In response to my post about the Schiavo autopsy on In the Agora, an anonymous poster that everyone there refers to as "Leon" left a typically amusing comment. He wrote: I note also that Mark Furman, author and criminal investigator, has spent a number of weeks going over the totality of the records and will shortly deliver a book to the public. I suggested that he should replace "author and criminal investigator" with "disgraced former cop and infamous racist who was last seen on television committing perjury in the OJ trial." But alas, it's true. Fuhrman does have a book coming out about…

Daniel Keys Moran

Over in LiveJournal land, Kate has an open letter to Daniel Keys Moran: As someone who very nearly cries at the idea of a completed Trent novel languishing on your hard drive, may I introduce you to Lulu or Cafe Press? Both will print books from uploaded files, as they are ordered, for the price of their cost plus whatever profit you like (meaning no money up front for the author, though I understand some services are extra); both have you retain your copyright; and both are very easy. I've seen Lulu books myself and the quality is quite good. If you don't know Moran, he's the author of a…

Now Available!

The BSB (that's the big Sudoku book, for those not up on the local slang) is now available! It's both a math book and a puzzle book. As math book it contains a survey of some of the mathematical aspects of Sudoku puzzles. For those familiar with the BMHB, the present book is considerably less technical. A few sections are tough going, but most of it should be accessible even on a casual reading. Indeed, one of the points of the book is to use Sudoku puzzles to introduce ideas from higher mathematics. As a puzzle book it contains close to ninety original puzzles for your solving…

Links for 2011-02-28

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Fracking | The Intersection | Discover Magazine "I just watched this video of Cornell University engineering prof Anthony Ingraffea giving a lecture on fracking-a long, long lecture. But it's tremendously informative, gives more perspective than I've found anywhere else, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the issue:" (tags: energy environment blogs intersection video academia science politics us) I'd buy that for $50,000 | Bors Blog "The fact is Detroit is one of America's most economically devastated cities and could…

Public Plan as Inoculation Against Mandate Backlash | Gooznews

But every version of reform fails to deal with the root cause the uninsurance problem: millions of employers in our "employer-based" system do not provide their workers with health insurance. Why isn't there more discussion about the free rider distortions in that state of affairs?  Instead putting the mandate on employer free riders, the bills now before Congress put it on people with minimal penalties for employers who refuse to provide coverage.  Then, on the subsidy side, the bills offer help only to the poorer of the poor (working, but not on Medicaid). They do nothing for two-earner…

A plethora of cancer quackery: one-stop shopping

This link provides a truly lengthy diatribe on "11 Effective, Natural Strategies To Kill Your Cancer" that I found the other day while reading on ABCNews about Sheryl Crow's battle with breast cancer. It literally takes about 15 min to read and then ends with a list of links to purchase products mentioned in the "report," with nearly all being mail order supplements from one Robert Harrison of Homer, Alaska. Before even getting into the inaccuracies and misrepresentations in the diatribe, I started to tally the cost of all the immune boosting supplements I should purchase, but grew weary…

One way holy books can alter your brain

I'm amused to see an Australian burned pages from a Bible and Koran — to good purpose! I'm happy to report, too, that Muslims in Australia are reacting in a reasonable way, with the leadership urging no retaliation. There is a bit of silly whining going on, though. Sheik Wahid said the burnt pages represented a sacred connection for Muslims. "He doesn't understand people have a strong feeling towards those sacred books," he said. "It's not a piece of paper, it's a sacred law by the divine for the humanity to follow and we have a very, very strong connection to those books." Nope. To me…

A Hooters on Big Beaver?

As a native Detroiter, I couldn't help but find this little story amusing (sorry, it's just the adolescent in me): Hooters of America Inc. is moving ahead full throttle with a campaign to pressure the Troy City Council into granting a liquor license transfer for the chain's new Troy location on Rochester Road near Big Beaver. Officials with the company made the announcement at that location this afternoon, as Hooters girls -- dressed in orange jumpsuits and orange scarfs -- picketed outside, carrying signs with messages, such as "Don't Endanger The Owl" and "City Council Buy U A Beer?" The…