humor
pharyngula | August 23, 2007We movie stars are used to the resentment of the little invertebrates.
(It desperately needs some correction, though — he ought to refer to himself as "a body-regenerating echinoderm", singular, rather than using the name of the group.)
grrlscientist | August 23, 2007tags: humor, Dr Seuss Bible, streaming video
Amusing and my my, those green uniforms near the end of the video are really quite revealing, aren't they? [2:29]
evolvingthoughts | August 22, 2007
Historian Mary P. Winsor published recently (2006b, in the December 2006 edition, but it just came out) a paper discussing how the Essentialism Story was constructed by Arthur Cain, Ernst Mayr, and David Hull.
The Essentialism Story is the claim that before Darwin systematists and biologists in general treated natural kinds such as species as being defined by necessary and sufficient conditions. That is, to be a member of a species, an organism has to have all the right properties. After Darwin, goes the story, "population thinking", which denies that there are such necessary properties…
pharyngula | August 22, 2007Would you believe that there was a poster at the European Society for Evolutionary Biology meetings touting the destructive works of a known creationist? Photographic evidence is available!
oracknows | August 22, 2007This has nothing to do with science, but this has to be the best headline ever:
British dwarf's penis gets stuck to hoover
Original story here.
Even better, the dwarf in question goes by the stage name Captain Dan the Demon Dwarf. I don't think there's anything to add here.
j7uy5 | August 21, 2007
Made with Legos. This was dreamed up by their development team, but never merketed.
pharyngula | August 21, 2007I'm a bit reluctant to post this, because … what if they actually start using this argument? Maybe mass extinctions are actually evidence of a prior Rapture.
This would mean, of course, that the Tertiary corresponds to the Tribulation, and we should prepare for the return of Jesus Rex.
pharyngula | August 21, 2007
I've been informed by Greta Christina that I've been beaten to the punch: the best title ever is already taken.
Happiness Is a Squishy Cephalopod(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll).
It's so true, and I'm going to have to pick up a copy of that one.
grrlscientist | August 20, 2007tags: cartoon, extinction
Since I am still getting my blog feet under me (the last of my fellow SciBlings left late this afternoon), I thought I'd share this cartoon that was sent to me by a reader.
(source).
omnibrain | August 20, 2007Question...
How does one harness for God?
As seen on the road trip to the SciBlings first get together in NYC by Steve, Shelley, and RPM
We're all back...finally... safely... You can look forward to the fruits of many hours of silly conversations (Fetish Friday anyone?!) from the very long drive from NYC to Ann Arbor Michigan.
oracknows | August 20, 20071-899-SCAMDOC? Want an double decker MRSAwich--with extra MRSA? Or how about prolotherapy? (But don't forget the pixie dust!)
(Via Kevin, MD.)
oracknows | August 19, 2007Blog friend Abel over at Terra Sigillata pointed me to a story claiming that Oscar the Death Kitty, who became famous (or notorious) for his alleged ability to detect the impending death of residents of the nursing home at which he lives, so much so that some of the staff had even started calling family to tell them that time was short whenever the Grim Reaping Kitty curled up with their loved one, is no more:
PROVIDENCE, RI - Oscar, the nursing home cat who could seemingly sense the impending death of patients, was found dead early yesterday. The cat gained recent notoriety when reports of…
terrasig | August 18, 2007Among these pages, you've probably seen Orac's take on the Providence, RI, feline resident of a nursing home that could allegedly sense when inhabitants were about to die, curling up with them during their final hours. (In critical thinking circles, Orac notes that these observations can be explained by confirmation bias.).
Well, The Daily Redundancy reports today that Oscar, the psychic cat, is no more:
Officials at the facility would not reveal the cause of death, but did acknowledge rumors that the cat was becoming increasingly unpopular among the patients. One knowledgeable source - who…
oracknows | August 18, 2007For those of you who missed it, Steve Colbert explains what DNA is with Twisty the DNA Helix:
DNA: It's what makes you you.
I do have to admit, though, that it irritated me when Colbert referred to DNA as a "wonder protein" even though I'm sure it was part of the joke...
oracknows | August 18, 2007You know, the current crop of Presidential candidates has me bored to tears. None of them inspire, and the one that comes closest to maybe inspiring is too inexperienced and definitely not ready for prime time. Couple that with the fact that the election is nearly 15 months away but the campaign has been going on since at least January, and terminal ennui sets in. I'll probably want to shoot myself by the time Election Day 2008 rolls around.
Fortunately, I found a little tidbit that demonstrates a method of picking our next President that would at least get my interest. Hey, it can hardly be…
mementomori | August 17, 2007Things you don't want to hear while interviewing a new patient:
1. "Oh, I must have forgotten to write that down."
2. "My neighbor swears by it so I started last year."
3. "My father? Uh, he died young."
4. "I like it when you return my calls promptly."
5. "I know - no one ever believes me. But, here - I'll show you."
6. "I want you to have these handouts I found on the internet."
7. "My son wants you to call him - he worries about me."
8. "That's my wife, Doc - not my mother."
9. "You look cute in that shirt and tie."
10. "This is the first time I've left my house since 1956."*
*…
mikethemadbiologist | August 17, 2007A science nerd, to be precise:
What Be Your Nerd Type?
Your Result: Social Nerd
You're interested in things such as politics, psychology, child care, and peace. I wouldn't go so far as to call you a hippie, but some of you may be tree-huggers. You're the type of people who are interested in bettering the world. You're possible the least nerdy of them all; unless you participate in other activies that paled your nerdiness compared to your involvement in social activities. Whatever the case, we could still use more of you around. ^_^
Science/Math Nerd
Literature Nerd
…