Announcements
thusspakezuska | September 10, 2007I saw this advertised in the Chronicle of Higher Education: Color and Money: How Rich White Kids Are Winning the War Over College Affirmative Action, by Peter Schmidt. Schmidt is a deputy editor at the Chronicle. I don't have a copy of the book but the excerpt I read on amazon.com is very well-written and just astonishing. There's a website and blog to accompany the book, where you can find an excerpt and table of contents, a list of books cited or of interest, and links by chapter. These links put a world of information at your fingertips - reports, books, websites for information about…
thusspakezuska | September 10, 2007You may notice I've modified the blog so that comments are now numbered. This may be helpful in responding to various comments in a thread, especially if the threads get long.
Thanks to PZ Myers for sharing his nifty code!
oracknows | September 10, 2007Way back when I first started my blog, one of my favorite blogs was A Photon in the Darkness, in which Prometheus regularly demolished quackery, particularly autism-related quackery. Sadly, Prometheus' blogging has become more and more sporadic over the last year or so, with gaps sometimes longer than a month between posts. I was worried that he might be retiring permanently from the blogosphere. That would be a great loss.
Recently, however, Prometheus has been a bit more active. In fact, he's even moved his blog to a new location: http://www.photoninthedarkness.com. Moreover, he's recently…
sporte | September 9, 2007If you haven't, then hustle over to Mendel's Garden for a wonderful story about the monk and his life as a scientist, check out Gene Genie for best drawing of Craig Venter that I've ever seen; and if you're into computers, take a good long look at the lightning edition of Bio::blogs. I've visited them all out myself and I assure you, they're all a good time and chock full of fun links.
oracknows | September 7, 2007Hot on the heels of the first Orac-free Skeptics' Circle in two years, amazingly, another Skeptics' Circle is coming around the pike far faster than I would have expected. This time around, it will be hosted by a most able blogger, Brent Rasmussen over at the very prominent skeptical blog, Unscrewing the Unscrutable. Brent's hosted once before, but that was over two years ago. I'm glad to have him back hosting and hope that he doesn't take such a long time before hosting yet again. In any case, Brent's posted instructions for submitting your best skeptical blogging to his edition of the…
retrospectacle | September 7, 2007Ok, but you're gonna have to fight me for it.
A non-profit organization, Collegescholarships.org, is holding another student blogging scholarship contest. You may remember it from last year, I was actually a runner-up (and yes, still eligible this year). This year the prize money is increased to $10,000 for the first place blog, so I heartily recommend that everyone enters. I mean, 10 grand to a student is a heck of a lot of textbooks, iTunes, and beers.
Go here to submit a brief essay and your blog for consideration. Good luck!
Important Dates:
Submission Deadline: Midnight PST on Oct.…
thusspakezuska | September 6, 2007The 2008 North Carolina Science Blogging Conference (organized by ScienceBlog's very own Bora Zivkovic) is fast approaching.
Karen Ventii and I will be co-chairing a 1 hour session tentatively called "Exploring Women in Science Blogging". (This announcement also appears on her blog here.)
We are interested to get your feedback and comments on what we are proposing and your suggestions for improving or making it better. Here are some details:
There will be a diverse panel of female science bloggers (we're thinking one graduate student, one professor, and a third in industry or in business for…
thusspakezuska | August 31, 2007Just a very short post to tell you all that I've had migraine all day, and am still headachy. Which means no Friday Bookshelf today (maybe tomorrow) and quite possible a delay in Scientiae. I doubt I will get it posted tomorrow though I will try. Hey, I guess that gives you a narrow window of opportunity for a really last minute submission if you turn it in by tomorrow morning!
thusspakezuska | August 29, 2007By way of the Chronicle news blog:
The National Institutes of Health has released new guidance about its policies on diversity and on child care.
One set of guidelines, or "frequently asked questions," released Friday, concerns the NIH's efforts to expand the pool of candidates eligible for its training grants that were historically reserved for minority students...Another set of "frequently asked questions" describes the circumstances under which universities may use the agency's grants to finance child care and parental leave for scientists who receive NIH grants.
Seems these guidelines…
thusspakezuska | August 28, 2007Maybe by now you've noticed the new box at the top of the comments, just below every post, asking you to enter the ScienceBlogs 500,000th comment contest. You have to submit your email address with your comment to be entered. Or sign up for the Sb weekly recap. Well, just click on comment below to get all the info, rules, etc. First prize rocks.
cmooney_2 | August 28, 2007
We will be going back on the road this fall--our calendar has in fact filled up quite quickly. So we're pleased to announce the following confirmed events this September through November, with as many details as are currently available. Stops include Minneapolis, New York, Washington, D.C., and Seattle; note in particular the second Sept. 28 event where we'll be on a panel with Greg Laden, which we're hoping PZ Myers will also join as this is kinda his stomping grounds:
Friday, September 28
3:15 pm
Annual Meeting--Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Hilton Minneapolis…
oracknows | August 24, 2007Don't forget, everybody, that the 68th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle is due to land at Aardvarchaeology on Thursday, August 30 (sadly, my last full day in London). Martin will host again. He did a fine (albeit slightly confusing) job last time, and I expect even better this time around.
If you don't know what blog carnivals or The Skeptics' Circle is about, here's an introduction. If you're a blogger with a skeptical (not a pseudoskeptical) bent, please submit some of your work and show it off to like-minded readers. So get your entries submitted to Martin by August 29, and join us next…
thusspakezuska | August 24, 2007There was no Friday Bookshelf last week because I was in NYC having a good time, I mean discussing science and such with the Scibling crew. This week I am in Gettysburg for the Bluegrass Festival, so no Bookshelf again. Should be back to the regular schedule next week.
sporte | August 24, 2007What's the connection?
(image from Newton TAB blog)
I have to admit, I don't know.
But, I do know where you can find out.
Dr. Gerard Cangelosi, from the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, will be speaking about tuberculosis, godzilla, and XDR-TB, Monday night, 7 pm at the Pub at Ravenna Third Place as part of Science on Tap.
tags: tuberculosis, informal science education, Science on Tap, Science in Seattle
oracknows | August 24, 2007
Around the time you read this, barring any flight delay agonies, I will have touched down at Heathrow Airport to spend a week in London. It's the first real vacation that my wife and I have taken, possibly since our honeymoon. Certainly it's been the first time I've been out of the country since my honeymoon and the first time I've been to London since Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and I was too young to appreciate it properly.
After the last couple of months, I desperately need some R&R, and this will hopefully fill the bill. This trip means a couple of things. First, the blog…
oracknows | August 23, 2007The latest edition of Change of Shift, the blog carnival for nursing, has been posted over at Nurse Ratched's Place. Enjoy!
oracknows | August 22, 2007It's been brought to my attention that Perry DeAngelis, regular contributor to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast, member of the New England Skeptical Society has passed away unexpectedly at far too young an age. I don't know any of the details, although as a regular listener to the Skeptics' Guide podcast I knew that he had been in the hospital for a while, although I had begun to wonder if it was more serious than it first seemed as his time in the hospital kept getting longer. I also know that it's almost as though I knew Perry, having listened to him almost every week for over a…
thusspakezuska | August 22, 2007So, Happy Blogiversary to me! One year ago today I officially started blogging here at Science Blogs. Here's my incredibly dull first entry. Although I did use the word "penis" in it.
By the way, this is also my 300th post on Science Blogs, though I have no idea how many posts I made on the old site at Radio Userland.
Yay for me! Now I'm off to Gettysburg for the Bluegrass Festival - again.
thusspakezuska | August 22, 2007The end of the month is creeping up on you, faster than you think. So doggone it, get your post for the Sept. 1 Scientiae carnival written and submitted! Or at least start thinking about procrastinating writing it. Remember the topic is UNLEASH; more elaboration on that here. Instructions on submitting here.
Now, after you write your most excellent post, and sit there gazing in pride at what you have accomplished, you'll want to submit the product of your intellect for consideration for inclusion in Open Lab 2007. Don't be modest. You know you write well. And you know the world needs…
thusspakezuska | August 20, 2007Sooooo beautiful. You must read what Pat has to say about APS's CSWP compiling a list of female-friendly physics departments. And follow the links therein. Here's how my various alma maters responded to this survey question: Please describe why someone applying to graduate school who is interested in a female-friendly department should choose your department.
Duke University
The physics department at Duke University has quite a few females. Interaction among the women of this department is encouraged by having lunch together a few times a year among and other social events. I am told by…