humor
vhughes | April 1, 2007
Meet Craig McClain: the snorkeling, Southern-boy sea scientist of Deep Sea News. If you'd like to hire him, especially, he's available for interviews at 831-...
What's your name?
Craig R. McClain. The R stands for rascal.
What do you do when you're not blogging?
I spend a majority of my time conducting research on the biodiversity and body size of deep-sea organisms. This requires spending time at sea on research vessels, sorting samples, measuring specimens, and of course, writing papers. Lately, I also put forth a lot of effort trying to find funding and a tenure track faculty position…
evolvingthoughts | April 1, 2007
This is one of the main works of art by a fellow known as Fred Dagg, whose oeuvre includes the discovery and commentating the sport of farnarkling, and who wrote the real New Zealand national anthem. In it, he explains the meaning of life, in 1977 to the presenter of the ABC's Science Show 100th episode, Robin Williams (no relation) who was choking in the background for most of it.
I think that this is a particularly significant occasion for the program and it seems imminently suitable that we should ignore very briefly the peripheral areas however valuable, in the wonderful tapestry of…
grrlscientist | March 31, 2007According to this creationist video, peanut butter, which has been subjected to high temperatures to render it sterile, disproves that life can come from non-life. The silliness of this argument reminds me of Kirk Cameron's 'banana proof' of creationism.
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tags: peanut butter, evolution, streaming video
pharyngula | March 31, 2007…except that I can't stand poker or gambling of any kind, and I refuse to believe that cephalopods would be stupid enough to indulge in it.
Maybe it's mocking the dumb one-eyed squid morph.
evolvingthoughts | March 30, 2007
You scored as Existentialism. Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life.
"Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does."
"It is up to you to give [life] a meaning."
--Jean-Paul Sartre
"It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth."
--Blaise Pascal
More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page...
Existentialism
85%
Utilitarianism
60%
Justice (Fairness)
55%
Kantianism
55%
Hedonism
45%
Strong…
oracknows | March 30, 2007And I bet you wonder what nudist smokers did with their smokes before this.
Who knew this would be an issue in 1938?
I guess even nudists need to keep their smokes with them. I wonder where they kept their cigs before this was invented?
clock | March 30, 2007First, there was a Tree Octopus, but now, there is an even more endangered animal - the Mountain Walrus:
Having just eaten a substantial meal, this herd will not have to hunt again for many days. For now, these mustangs are safe from the satiated walruses. Mountain walruses are carnivorous animals. They eat many species of animals, from mice to horses and elk. The cows will venture forth in small groups and hunt for the entire herd. They will bring whatever meat they were able to find back to the dens and all will partake. The younger cows are in charge of looking over the calves while the…
mementomori | March 30, 2007Things you don't want to hear in the Operating Room:
1. "My wife made this incredible cabbage and baked bean casserole last night."
2. "Doctor, why is there an "X" on the patient's other leg?"
3. "Nurse, would you bring me a double Jack-and-water please?"
4. "Stop arguing and turn up the power on the electrocautery probe."
5. "Maybe if you press a little harder with the laryngoscope."
6. "Instead of Mozart I thought we'd listen to something a little more invigorating today."
7. "Did you remember to eat a light lunch?"
8. "Doctor, he insists on speaking to you - says he's your broker…
pharyngula | March 30, 2007I've been seeing this xkcd comic everywhere today, and it might be heresy to do this, but I have to disagree with part of it. It just didn't ring true.
Here's the original:
I'd have to add a third conclusion, the professional scientist.
In our favor, I would add that we'd cheerfully substitute a fly, a frog, or a mouse for the student if we could convince them to pull the lever for us.
oracknows | March 30, 2007While looking for a birthday card for a relative a while back, I found this card and was intrigued enough to buy it, even though it wasn't appropriate for the person for whom I was seeking a card:
So far, it's just pretty standard Bush-chimp stuff, a staple of comedy ever since W. took office. But what got me was the inside of the card:
Two points:
It's rather amazing that the whole "intelligent design" debate has become so ubiquitous that it's showing up in birthday cards, of all things.
I haven't decided if this is the best birthday card ever or the worst birthday card ever. Opinions?
pharyngula | March 30, 2007"There's something enchanting under his sari!"
What is this, silly religion day? I just got sent a link to this marvelous story of a young unemployed British fellow who became a goddess in India — he is now the incarnation of Bahucharaji, the patron of Indian eunuchs, and he goes around blessing people and curing their infertility. Apparently, Bahucharaji was an Indian princess who castrated her husband because he wasn't interested in sex, and for that she was deified. Thank Lakshmi and Urvasi my wife is an unbeliever!
They call him Prema, for short. It means "Divine Love." Hey, what a…
pharyngula | March 30, 2007Bill Donohue is hopping mad again — he's got another wild hare up his butt and is fuming over another insult to his very Catholic sensibilities:
Catholic League head Bill Donohue called it "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever".
The latest affront is a life-size sculpture of a naked man on a cross, made out of 200 pounds of chocolate, on display in New York just in time for Easter.
Come on, Bill, get over it. Shouldn't Abu Ghraib have been "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever"? How about the injustice of our war in the Iraq? What about the ongoing…
integrityofscience | March 29, 2007
In attempts to find climate changing culprits aside from greenhouse gases, numerous suggestions have been made. Some have been plausible but didn't match the data. Others were dubious. One, however, is downright devious.
We're talking, of course, about Lex Luthor.
The plays on "Inconvenient Truth" keep coming. In the tradition of "Brokeback to the Future" and "Must Love Jaws," some bright folks have mashed up the theatrical trailers for "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Superman Returns." Throw in a few Al Gore overdubs and you get "An Inconvenienced Superman," a movie where Lex Luthor is the…
pharyngula | March 28, 2007Oh, no! What will happen to our intrepid commenter?
You'll have to read My Confined Space to find out!
pharyngula | March 27, 2007I've heard rumors that there are some of those pharma shills hanging out around here…so this one is for you.
oracknows | March 27, 2007Really, this guy is making that very argument with a straight face!
My brain hurts after seeing such unbelievable stupidity presented as a viable argument by Chuck Missler, the minister who founded the Koinonia House. This makes Dr. Egnor's blather seem intelligent by comparison. It's even more idiotic than the now-infamous video that claimed that the banana disproves atheism and evolution:
(Hat tip to: Stupid Evil Bastard.)
pharyngula | March 27, 2007Try the God Simulator. Hint: if you always pick the least logical, most insane action, you'll get a pretty good simulacrum of Christianity.
clock | March 26, 2007This is, after all, A Blog Around The Clock, so, I guess I should be a strong and vocal proponent of the Clock Theory aka Specified clockplexity. After all, nobody's ever seen a clock move! So, I should start fighting against vile, rabid, Atheistic Blindtimekeepingism:
Atheists often level a strawman at Intelligent Timekeepingist (hereafter referred to as IT) views. They force you to stare at a clock for 5 minutes or so and claim vindication when the big hand of the clock moves. But DTists all agree that the big hand moves! This is simply microtimekeeping, and it does not go against ITist…