Blogging
clock | March 21, 2007Yes, we are on the ball, getting the second conference organized already! The date has been set - so mark your calendars now: January 19th, 2008. You all come to Chapel Hill that day, OK?
We'll use the wiki again so help us make the event as good as possible by posting suggestions and editing the wiki.
We also need a new logo - so stir up your creative juices and send your suggestions (not to be confused with the logo contest for BlogTogether for which we offer a prize!).
To go with the conference, we'll be assembling another Science Blogging Anthology, so send your nominations here.
clock | March 19, 2007You know how on comment threads on blogposts about evolution you, sooner or later, get a commenter saying something that reveals complete lack of understanding of even the basics of evolutionary biology? It is usually accompanied by some creationist canard as well. What do you do? If you stop to explain the basics, the thread gets derailed. You REALLY want to discuss that latest study, not go back to basics over and over again.
So, instead of explaining the basics, you post a link to the appropriate page on the TalkOrigins FAQ or Index of Creationist Claims and move on with the…
clock | March 19, 2007This is a crosspost to effect a Googlebomb, correcting an injustice against a fellow feminist blogger. Jill Filipovic, who blogs at Feministe and Ms. JD, is a NYU law student who has been the subject of cyber-obsession on a discussion board allegedly populated by law students. The discussions regarding Jill Filipovic (and many other female law students) are sexist and sexual in nature, rating the women’s physical attractiveness and fantasising about sexual contact, both consensual and non-consensual. Neither Jill Filipovic or any other of these women contributed, or gave their permission to…
retrospectacle | March 18, 2007 A few days ago I was tagged by Perfectly Reasonable Deviations as a "Thinking Blogger" which apparently comes with a nifty picture and the responsibility to tag five more bloggers for the award. The tough part is *just* nominating five blogs, I think I could easily rattle off 25 which deserve the title of Thinking Blogger. But, as I hope this meme makes its way around the net, eventually all those other blogs will get tagged too.
So here's my five to get the ball rolling:
1. Not much is known about the author of The Neurocritic blog, but he's funny, snarky, and blogs neuro-stuff awesomely.…
retrospectacle | March 18, 2007The podcast I did with Nick (Neurocontrarian) is up now, here. Just a warning, its silly, but check it out anyway. Thanks Nick!
aardvarchaeology | March 15, 2007Dear Reader, please let me remind you of the Hopeful Buttons to the left under my profile. One will exalt this blog in the eyes of Technorati, the second will allow you to heighten the esteem in which the blog is held by a Swedish ranking engine, and the third will let you look at stuff I would already have bought if I hadn't put all my money into absinth and bagpipe Whitesnake-tribute concerts.
aardvarchaeology | March 14, 2007Carne vale is what you say to your usual meaty diet when the fasting of Lent sets in. Science fans do it at Tangled Bank 75, other skeptics at Skeptics' Circle 56.
I wonder if they say chili con carne vale in Mexico.
clock | March 14, 2007Earlier today (or was it late last night?), I made separate posts about new work on aquatic microbial diversity, on the copyright issues when reporting on science on blogs and on general relationship between science publishers and blogs. Now, via Dileffante, I have learned about a combo of all those questions: when you are dealing with an enlightened organization, such as PLoS, magic can happen. Jonathan Eisen, author of one of the microbial genomics papers has, with no fear of copyright infringement, copied the entire paper on his blog. It is a first, isn't it?
clock | March 14, 2007Pedro did some digging to figure out what are various journals' policies regarding use of images - figures from the papers - in blog posts. It is all very vague and most journals do not have anything specifically targeting online republication, but the Fair Use rules should apply.
I have often used images from papers in my posts, usually only one, sometimes two from a single paper, which should be OK under the Fair Use system. In some cases I used figures that are many decades old, reprinted in every book and textbook in the field, used in every chronobiology college course in the world,…
retrospectacle | March 14, 2007 Like most nerdlets, the concept of pi has always fascinated me: a number, yet undefinable, infinite. Of course, there was also the supurb movie Pi by Aronofsky, which only furthered its cult status. So rejoice pi-lovers, for today is Pi Approximation Day. This day is also Einstein's birthday and according to Wikipedia, is the day MIT mails out acceptance letters. Wow, and I thought I was nerdy. If you'd like to know how to properly celebrate Pi Day, why just go here.
Well, I do have one other confession to make. Which is, I always wanted a tattoo of the symbol pi, but I always chickened out…
clock | March 14, 2007Paul announces that the finalists for the 2007 Lulu Blooker Prize have been announced.
Unfortunately, The Open Laboratory was finished after the deadline for submission. Perhaps we can submit it for the 2008 Prize!
clock | March 14, 2007We are starting this summer's Foodblogging series of events early - on April 21st & 22nd. We'll start where it all begins - at the farm! We will rent a couple of vans and do a tour of local farms, most of them organic and/or sustainable. I am assuming we'll get to sample some local fare at each farm. Bring your boots - it can still be quite muddy at the farms in April in NC.
Get more information about the FoodBlogging series and sign up for various events at the wiki.
clock | March 13, 2007Lindsay Beyerstein, aka Majikthise, needs and deserves your help. So go now and hit her PayPal button. Help Lindsay become a pro blogger. She is one of the best there is.
clock | March 13, 2007If you think my blog is boring as it is, you should try using Dialectizer or Gizoogle, so you can read it in jive or redneck dialect, or a few more....
retrospectacle | March 13, 2007Ok, I'm updating 'da roll tonight, so if you want me to check out your site for link-worthiness leave it in the comments!
aardvarchaeology | March 12, 2007At short notice, I've taken on hosting the next Four Stone Hearth blog carnival (about anthropology in the widest sense, including archaeology). It's supposed to come on-line on Wednesday. The carnival's home page currently doesn't reflect the change in scheduling, so you'll simply have to believe me.
There is one small problem. I haven't received a single submission yet. This means that I will have to hunt around pertinent blogs I'm aware of to find good new stuff. Please help me by sending links to good stuff, your own or somebody else's!