Bits and Pieces
jlynch | August 21, 2007... you are doing better that 25% of the American public.
One in four adults read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released today.
The Bible and religious works were read by two-thirds in the survey [who read any book], more than all other categories. ... Those likeliest to read religious books included older and married women, lower earners, minorities, lesser educated people, Southerners,rural residents, Republicans and Conservatives. (source)
Interestingly, "those who said they never attend religious services read nearly twice as many [books]…
jlynch | August 21, 2007So let me see if I’ve got this straight ...
There are a bunch of people that think that typing ".com" instead of ".k12.az.us" is a potential error that students looking for their school district on their home computer could make, and as such, the owner of the .com site should shutdown.
Let’s imagine we live in a completely hypothetical universe that students go to their school district website and that parents don’t monitor Junior’s internet usage.
lesd.com is a high level domain name purchased by its owner in March 2002. It also happens to be a pornographic site. There is no evidence that…
jlynch | August 16, 2007Readers of other Scienceblogs will have noticed that many of my sciblings are heading off to New York for a grand meetup. Unfortunately, due to our semester starting on Monday (and thus a start-of-semester event on Saturday that will literally involve approximately 5 seconds of my time - walk on stage, smile, wave, walk off, repeat twice 90 minutes apart), I’m unable to be there. That and the cost of flying to, and staying in, NYC.
We need a West coast meetup.
*Big sigh*
jlynch | August 16, 2007
Today in 1960, Joseph Kittinger made a jump from the balloon Excelsior III. Nothing special, I hear you say. Well, the balloon was at an altitude of 31,330 meters, and Kittinger free-fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, achieving a maximum speed of 1,149 kph (that’s over 700 mph). He set records for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, and fastest speed by a man through the atmosphere. This article notes that a French jumper aims to beat the record by leaping from 38 kilometers and reaching 1,790 kph.
Some video of Kittinger's jump below the fold.
jlynch | August 9, 2007
These are new licence plates for Oklahoma, where apparently the Koolade was drunk in vast quantities. I think I need to lie down.
jlynch | August 3, 2007Doing this
and only suffering bruises of the liver and lung, stress fractures to vertebrae and a small fracture on the top of one hand.
jlynch | July 22, 2007
Above is a picture of a lightning strike east of Camelback Mountain last night. The monsoon season has officially started here in Phoenix, so we’re looking at a few weeks of increased humidity and thunderstorm activity. A good enough reason to skip out of town. Tuesday sees me head off to England for the ISHPSSB bi-annual conference - the premier meeting of historians, philosophers and social scientists interested in biology. Four days of talks and socializing with people such as John Wilkins. Good fun, though I hear there is flooding in the SouthWest of England that might disrupt travel…
jlynch | July 22, 2007So Orac is worth $3590 and Janet tunes in at $4875
Me? I’m
worth $4050.00. Dead though.
$4050.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. From Mingle2 - Free Online Dating
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jlynch | July 21, 2007Which LOLcat are you? I are serious cat (37% affectionate, 33% excitable, 51% hungry). Who haz my sandwich?
Hungry for knowledge in any internet forum, you demand decorum. Any off-topic remarks, absurd statements, or tomfoolery on the interweb is deeply frowned upon by you. Truth has no room for drollery.
jlynch | July 8, 2007I'm going to be scarce the next twelve days or so. "Today in Science" will continue to be posted, but there will be no other posts until I get back into circulation. Enjoy the break!
jlynch | July 6, 2007
Wendy the Whippet has a genetic disorder that has resulted in an exceptionally muscular appearance. For comparison, this is what a normal whippet looks like. Story here, ht to Fark.com.
Photograph by Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist
jlynch | July 4, 2007June was the month of greatest traffic ever here at Strangerfruit with 51,656 page views. That’s a mere speck compared to Pharyngula with 1,411,566, but I’m happy nonetheless.
More details below the fold ...
Top Five June Posts
From Sea to Shining Sea
An international coalition of non-religious ID scientists & scholars
Surprising silence over Behe’s book
66% of Americans may be Young Earthers
Manta birth caught on video
Top Five Posts Overall
From Sea to Shining Sea
An international coalition of non-religious ID scientists & scholars
Polar Bears are threatened
Surprising silence…
jlynch | July 4, 2007Dawkins is "is just another angry atheist, trading on his reputation as an evolutionist and spokesperson for science to vent his personal opinions about religion." So says David Sloan Wilson. That should get some fireworks started on this 4th.
jlynch | June 28, 2007In January, Michael Shermer reviewed Dawkins’ The God Delusion (TGD) for Science (see here). This weeks edition features a letter by Martinez Hewlett (Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Arizona) which argues two points: firstly, that Dawkins' book is not a work of science, and secondly, that it is a poor piece of philosophy (a point that I have made repeatedly in the past). Shermer in attempting to reply makes a number of claims. Primarily he states:
Martinez Hewlett holds a narrow view of what constitutes a work of science--primary research only, secondary sources cited only in…
jlynch | June 17, 2007I’ve set up a Facebook group for this blog - if you are a reader and/or commentor, feel free to join!
jlynch | June 15, 2007
I finally got to watch the final two Sopranos episodes. For the record, I thought the ending was perfect. I do realize that people seem to be complaining, but I can’t see why. What were they expecting to happen? Tony get killed? Or he flips? Let me know if I’m wrong.
Best moments in the last episode? The cat. Phil Leotardo getting rubbed out (I waited seasons for that). Agent Harris saying "Yes, we’re gonna win this thing!" when he hears about Leotardo’s death.
I’m going to miss it. Only damned thing on TV - other that ASU football - that I made time to watch.