Babel Fish
retrospectacle | February 3, 2008Oh. my. goodness. This ode to the PCR ("When you need to find out who's your daddy") is just about the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. Ever. Kudos BioRad, I salute you! (Hat tip John PIBS)
Who ever said that conducting public psychology experiments required pants? Thats right. None. (Hat tip Lisa)
Alvaro at SharpBrains has a new newsletter out, summarizing brain fitness in the news and other neurosciency links.
Wanna write for the Darwin Awards? There's a call for good science writing here. (Hat tip Charlie)
This blog is way too good for Livejournal (scoff scoff). Check out the Fengi…
retrospectacle | December 27, 2007From the time I was a little kid, the idea of writing the thank-you-note was engrained in me by my parents. When you got a birthday or Christmas present from family or a friend, or if someone did something particularly nice for you, you hand-write a thank you note and mail it to them. No matter if you said thank-you in person, or over the phone, writing that note was something more meaningful somehow.
A CNN story on the topic has this to say:
"It reinforces the lesson of gratitude and appreciation for others' time and effort," says MichÃele O'Reilly, director of the Connecticut School of…
retrospectacle | October 6, 2006Recently, an older post I made regarding AIDS in Africa was included in a Feminism carnival. The Body Impolitic saw fit to take my assesment of the situation to task, and I feel the need to respond to what I believe is a gross mis-representation of my post. Specifically, that it was somehow derogatory to people of size.
My post was this:
As more and more women are acquiring AIDS in South Africa, a new trend is emerging: in order to not look HIV positive, women are becoming obese in large numbers. According to the Independent Online, half of all women in South Africa are overweight, and almost…
retrospectacle | August 10, 2006Once when i was in a taxi, the driver was attempting to make conversation and asked what I did. I usually try to avoid the subject with some people, because when i say "I study the inner ear" a lot of people feel the need to unload their medical problems regarding earwax upon me. Only half-way through their offering a sample (ugh) can I correct them. Anyway, this cabbie did just that--asking me this and that about earwax. After I said I had no idea, he seemed rather like "Well then what DO you know!" Its even worse when i try to reply that I study hair cells in the ears---invariably this…
retrospectacle | August 7, 2006Consider the case of Diet Coke. More fat people drink it than skinny people. That means that Diet Coke makes you fat, right?
Well of course not, but this is the same ridiculous backwards logic used in this report that teens who have iPod full of raunchy music have sex at an earlier age than teens with no obscene music. Its a CNN article describing a recent study published in Pediatrics.
Teens who said they listened to lots of music with degrading sexual messages were almost twice as likely to start having intercourse or other sexual activities within the following two years as were teens who…
retrospectacle | July 25, 2006Over at the Intersection, Chris Mooney brought to light a recent interviewby Morgan Spurlock in which he was quoted thusly:
We've started to make science and empirical evidence not nearly as important as punditry--people using p.r.-speak to push a corporate or political agenda. I think we need to turn scientists back into the rock stars they are.
I find this quote so refreshing (not just because it places us scientists up on a lofty pedestal), because it validates scientific authority figures as someone worth listening to. For a long time, I sat idly by as governmental agencies such as the…
retrospectacle | July 20, 2006When Money Magazine releases its "Best Places to Live" issue, it usually makes for interesting reading. Ann Arbor made the top 25 (it was 25), although I'm feeling less than happy to be in Ann Arbor during this godforsaken Art Fair. But really, Tree Town is a great place to live and work.
The Top 10
1. Fort Collins, CO
2. Naperville, IL
3. Sugar Land, TX
4. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD
5. Cary, NC
6. Overland Park, KS
7. Scottsdale, AZ
8. Boise, ID
9. Fairfield, CT
10. Eden Prairie, MN
Also check out the skinniest cities, youngest cities, safest cities, and the cities with the best job growth.
retrospectacle | July 17, 2006So, I was very intrigued by the little puzzle going on at the World's Fair. I was quite dubious that I would be able to crack it, but I'd like to propose a theory that may be atleast partially correct. If not, there's a lot of good coincidences.
Unifying theme? Things that occured in 1962.
The fish: In 1962 the US Toro (which is a name used for cowfish) made it's 11,000th dive while off Long Island
The cow: The 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was to John Cowdry Kendrew
Elvis: The movie depicted the Seattle World Fair which occured in 1962
The novel exerpt: The child suffered from polio---the…
retrospectacle | June 24, 2006As my esteemed Sciencebloggers Jake, Evolving Thoughts, Bora, and PZ have reported, "Darwin's Turtle" died. Named Harriet (actually Harry, but was found to be female 100 years later so it was changed), the tortoise was picked up in the Galapagos islands by Charles Darwin. It found its way to the Brisbane Zoo, under the dubious yet entertaining auspices of Steve Irwin. It was 176 years old!
My opinion is this: This is no mournful or sorrowful passing. I think its a joyous celebration of life that an ambulatory (albeit slowly) animal lived as long as it did, providing a link to a person who…