Books
laelaps | August 22, 2008As it stands now, I have the first 15 (of 31) pages of the whale chapter edited to my content, but the second half poses more of a challenge. Much of the first half is historical narrative, which pretty much writes itself. I can get creative with my prose but I generally don't have to "think" about what I'm doing so much as tell a story.
The second half, by contrast, is more about "how we know what we say we know." It is much more difficult to edit because there are no parameters for what I'm doing. There are several ways in which I could organize my arguments, but I want to make sure I have…
aardvarchaeology | August 20, 2008
Ever since individual personal computers first came on-line in large numbers, they have been utilised as a huge opt-in distributed computing array by projects such as SETI at Home and Folding at Home.
But there are information processing tasks that can be distributed yet are still impossible to perform with computers. The Stardust at Home project uses the unparalleled image-recognition capabilities of the human brain to process data from an interplanetary sample collection mission. People all around the world take part in their spare time.
Auntie Beeb's weekly program on the worldwide use of…
laelaps | August 19, 2008I think I have finally reached the point where all of my arguments about whale evolution are finally in place. It has taken a long time to get to this point, particularly since every time I thought I had constructed a solid foundation I discovered some new fact or observation that was too exciting to be left out, but I should soon have a presentable first draft. As I learned during a quick clean-up of the first 12 pages, though, editing is going to be a difficult task. I am far too-attached to "however," "although," "while," etc. I have overused them and I don't want my argument to suffer…
clock | August 18, 2008I was just on my way to Raleigh this morning, among other errands also heading to Quail Ridge Books to pick up a book there, when I heard Nancy Olson's interview on NPR's The State Of Things. Very nice interview with the owner of my favourite bookstore! I drove slowly in order to hear the whole thing:
When Nancy Olson opened a small bookstore back in 1984, she wanted it to be more than just a place to find bestsellers. Today, Quail Ridge Books and Music is a community anchor, an incubator for Raleigh's creative class and a dream come true. Nancy joins host Frank Stasio to share stories from…
skookumchick | August 18, 2008I'm very excited how many of you have said in the comments that you'll be joining me as I explore how to use Robert Boice's Advice for New Faculty Members (AFNFM) to help me with my writing during this semester. Even if you didn't delurk in the comments, you're welcome to join in. Hopefully your book has arrived, and your week didn't start off as mine did with two dead laptops (one is now revived; the other one, with all my research files on it, is at the Apple Shop and I bought a Time Capsule this afternoon).
I started off reading the introduction to the book as an overview, and then dove…
clock | August 18, 2008I did already.
Female Science Professor (the Grand Dame of science/academic blogging) has just published a blook - a collection of her best blog posts.
You can and should buy "Academeology" on Lulu.com and later nominate it for the Blooker Prize.
And while you are shopping at Lulu.com, do I really need to remind you that this and this are still available there?
laelaps | August 17, 2008At this point it is clear that I am not going to finish the whale chapter by the end of the weekend. Had I only the information previously at my disposal, the books and articles cluttering the apartment and my hard drive, I might have succeeded, but a boon of new information has caused me to go back and revise much of what I had written. (One such resource, a translation of Albert Koch's journal of his American travels from 1844-1846, has been especially helpful. Ken Rose's The Beginning of the Age of Mammals arrived yesterday, as well.) A history of science paper might result from what I've…
grrlscientist | August 17, 2008tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. This edition is absolutely packed with book titles that you will want to read!
FEATURED TITLE:
James, Jamie. The Snake Charmer: A Life and Death in Pursuit of Knowledge. 2008. Hyperion. Hardbound: 260 pages. Price…
aardvarchaeology | August 15, 2008Naantali is a small coastal town near Turku in Finland. The name is a fennicisation of Sw. NÃ¥dendal, which in turn stems from the name of a Bridgetine abbey founded there in the 15th century. Vallis Gratia, "Valley of Grace".
Naantali is best known as a picturesque summer resort of the Turku bourgeoisie in the late 19th century. But increasingly, it has also become associated with the Moomins, Tove Jansson's magical fantasy characters. A sizeable island right outside town is home to the Moominworld theme park. Today I visited it with my wife and kids.
The kids were reasonably entertained by…
laelaps | August 12, 2008more cat pictures
There are few things more satisfying than being able to get back to original papers, letters, and articles to discover something new. Even though I could conceivably write a solid chapter based upon reviews and popular accounts I feel that reading original source materials is not only important for accuracy, but also for my integrity as a writer. Thanks to Google Books I was unable to uncover some information I thought I was never going to be able to find, as well as some information I didn't expect.
While Richard Owen is commonly (and properly) cited for recognizing the…
laelaps | August 11, 2008After many false starts, breaks, and dead ends, I'm finally nearing the completion of at least one chapter of the book. I still am not entirely sure how I'm going to end it and I still have some details to fill out, but there appears to be a good chance that I'm going to finish the chapter on whale evolution on time.
Reading The Emergence of Whales has provided me with more interesting examples of the evolution of systems and adaptations, allowing me to do more than just retell the same old story. There is much more detail than I can fit in but I think it's important to relate the particulars…
grrlscientist | August 11, 2008
I receive a fair number of books to review each week, so I thought I should do what several magazines and other publications do; list those books that have arrived in my mailbox so you know that this is the pool of books from which I will be reading and reviewing on my blog.
A Portrait of the Brain by Adam Zeman (New Haven: Yale University Press; 2008). Seed Media Group sent this book to me to review.
Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Ronald and R. W. Adamchak (NYC: Oxford University Press; 2008). The authors contacted me about reviewing…
pzminion | August 10, 2008Sastra here.
I'm about halfway through, and really enjoying, Robert Price's new book, Top Secret: The Truth Behind Today's Pop Mysticisms.
Bob Price has an interesting background: he started out as a roaring Pentacostal Minister, gradually grew into a high-end Christian theologian, and eventually evolved to his present form as secular humanist. He's currently teaching classes in comparative religion -- and also happens to be an expert on HP Lovecraft and science fiction. I think this wide-ranging perspective gives him a particular advantage when dealing with religious topics. He's been into…
grrlscientist | August 10, 2008tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase.
FEATURED TITLE:
Newton, Ian. The Migration Ecology of Birds. 2008. Academic Press. Hardbound: 976 pages. Price: $74.95 U.S. [Amazon: $67.46]. SUMMARY: An up-to-date, detailed and thorough review of bird migration.
New and…
laelaps | August 7, 2008Thanks to those who offered suggestions about what books to pick up. I didn't choose any of the suggested titles (sorry!) but I was able to find cheap used copies of some that I've been meaning to pick up for quite some time;
Elephants: A Short Account of Their Natural History, Evolution, and Influence on Mankind
Dynamics of Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Giants
Fundamentalism and American Culture
Reinventing Darwin
Life's Splendid Drama
The Metaphysics of Apes
Hunter and Hunted: Relationships between Carnivores and People
Your Inner Fish
The Evolutionary Synthesis: Perspectives on the…
sporte | August 7, 2008"Did you know," my friend whispered, "that the Humane Society funds terrorists?"
I was stunned. What? That's crazy! I've adopted pets from there. No way! How could those be the same people??
My friend and I were suffering from "brand confusion." In business, this happens when different companies use similar names for their products in order to confuse the marketplace. In the animal rights movement, brand confusion is used to misdirect the funds that would otherwise help groups who do genuine humanitarian work.
As I learned in "The Animal Research War" by P. Micheal Conn and James Parker…
skookumchick | August 6, 2008ScienceWoman blogged about her thoughts about going into Tenure Track Year 2 in time for Cherish's August Scientiae on transitions. I've been thinking about it too, and in particular with respect to how I accomplish some of those academic goals - good teaching, good research, good citizenry - without killing myself. Having my husband in the same town and only one house to worry about will be a start, and it is that latter aspect which makes me propose a new book to discuss this fall.
I was packing a bookshelf this weekend, and I came across a book a friend gave me when I graduated last year…
laelaps | August 5, 2008Thanks to a number of you purchasing books from amazon.com via this blog (every time someone clicks a link to an item on amazon and buys something I get a small percentage of the sale) I've got a substantial gift certificate to pick up a few new titles. During the past month, though, I've been literally waist deep in books at times and haven't given much thought as to what I should pick up next. I already have plenty that I'm interested in to choose from but I thought I would open up this thread for any recommendations you might have. What should I round out the summer reading before heading…
sheril | August 5, 2008Last week, I asked for book recommendations and the response was extraordinary! Thanks to everyone for such a long list to explore of favorite stories and authors. Although I have read several already, it's difficult to narrow down possibilities and I'm still undecided which to begin during my trip Friday to NYC.
Below are the titles I'm considering and I invite everyone to follow the links and vote (in comments) on the most intriguing selection. Perhaps some of you will even read along? While getting lost in a good book is among my very favorite activities, sharing the journey is even…
gregladen | August 3, 2008 New Smithsonian Field Guide Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Ted Floyd is a newcomer to the bird field guide scene. This guide offers a new combination of features that may make it the best choice as the primary guide for a small number of birders, and as an excellent second (or third) guide for most birdwatchers. Given the guide's qualities and price (it is not expensive) if you are a North American birder (anywhere in the region) this is a must-have for your collection, and if you know a birder who is having a present-able event (birthday, etc.) any time in the…