humor
pharyngula | January 1, 2007We've got conflicting chronologies: a young earth history that is virtually all relatively recent human history, and a scientifically accurate one that encompasses 4.5 billion years of geological and biological change. How to reconcile them? Well, if we just divide everything in geology and biology by about a million and splice it together with modern history, we get this vastly entertaining timeline. Here's a sample:
A.D. 1066: William the Conqueror invades England by walking through northern France.
A.D. 1215: Mega Fauna force King John to sign Magna Carta
A.D. 1304: Plate armor…
pharyngula | January 1, 2007Somebody warn Dawkins about his analogy!
Athorism is enjoying a certain vogue right now. Can there be a productive conversation between Valhallans and athorists?
Naïve literalists apart, sophisticated thoreologians long ago ceased believing in the material substance of Thor's mighty hammer. But the spiritual essence of hammeriness remains a thunderingly enlightened relevation, and hammerological faith retains its special place in the eschatology of neo-Valhallism, while enjoying a productive conversation with the scientific theory of thunder in its non-overlapping magisterium.
Militant…
oracknows | December 31, 2006Star Wars geek that I am (the original three movies, anyway), I couldn't resist posting this....
Happy New Years, all! If you're partying tonight, don't drink and drive.
omnibrain | December 30, 2006Alan Turing - the father of computing - as a snowman.
Here's some more angles of the snowturing
Ohh and don't forget the statue (surely not as exciting as the snow sculpture!)
mementomori | December 29, 2006As 2006 draws to a close I believe it is appropriate to list a few New Year's resolutions in the hope that they inspire the gentle reader to probity, if not an appearance on Oprah. No, these resolutions are not mine. After an unfortunate incident I refuse to commit any more promises to paper, especially on December 31st. Of course this not only makes a visit to Burger King more enjoyable but leaves one free to snicker at joggers, penny-pinchers and other goody-two-shoes who are in the midst of rectifying their various sins of omission and commission.
I don't mind snooping at other people'…
oracknows | December 26, 2006While I am on vacation, I'm reprinting a number of "Classic Insolence" posts to keep the blog active while I'm gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I'm guessing that quite a few of my readers have probably never seen many of these old posts.) These posts will be interspersed with occasional fresh material. This post originally appeared on March 7, 2005 after I arrived home from a meeting.
I'm back at home. The meeting went fairly well and my talk was well-received.
Surgical meetings are odd beasts.…
evolvingthoughts | December 25, 2006
For those of you still in December 25, a short reminder of the meaning of this holiday. There was an individual who was born today, many years ago. His life and work changed the world. He inspired millions of people and changed our way of life, our sense of ourselves and what we can and should do. Please give it up, for Sir Isaac Newton.
Oh, and rumours that another individual, who may or may not have lived, was born this day, we honestly don't know when he was born, but it's likely, if there's any truth to the story told in the gospel of Luke, that it was in late April or early May, when…
oracknows | December 25, 2006I posted this once before a long time ago, but since no one was reading my blog then, I figured I'd post it again.
You know, nothing says Christmas like kids sitting on Santa's lap asking for presents. Too bad some kids are scared of Santa.
You know, there are some pathetic Santas in that collection.
scientificactivist | December 24, 2006This doesn't have anything to do with Christmas, but it's pretty damn funny. Enjoy!
oracknows | December 24, 2006Found on the Internets via e-mail:
With with the holidays fast approaching, please accept -- with no obligation, implied or implicit, on behalf of the wisher or wishee -- my best wishes for an environmentally-conscious, socially-responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice, practiced within the traditions and/or within the religious or secular belief(s) of your choice and with respect for the traditions and/or religious or secular beliefs of others or for their choice to not practice traditions and/or religious or secular beliefs at all; and for a…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2006I know this joke is in poor taste, but considering recent events, I think I am the right person to tell it to you. But I am putting it below the fold so you have to work for it before you scold me for having bad taste;
Schizophrenia -- Do You Hear What I Hear?
Multiple Personality Disorder -- We Three Kings Disoriented Are
Dementia -- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
Narcissistic -- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
Manic -- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Busses and Trucks and Trees and.....
Paranoid -- Santa Claus…
oracknows | December 24, 2006Via the Internets...
Christmas Carols for the DSM-IV
Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?
Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are
Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Busses and Trucks and Trees and.....
Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I…
oracknows | December 23, 2006Take a look at this image:
At first glance, it looks as though it's supporting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, doesn't it? But it's not. Not really. If you haven't figured out why yet, you'll see below the fold:
From MSNBC:
COPENHAGEN - A Danish art group that pokes fun at world leaders targeted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday by placing an advertisement in a Tehran newspaper with an insulting hidden message.
Beneath a picture of the president, a series of apparently sympathetic statements were arranged such as "Support his fight against Bush" and "Iran has the…
pharyngula | December 22, 2006The rest of you might be totally lost. Here's a soon-to-be-classic paper on the characterization of the Hoho2 gene (292K pdf)—the Santa phenotype seems to represent an optimization for an arctic niche. They suggest the allele might have had an origin in Neandertal populations, but then they also show its effect in reindeer and E. coli (yes, they have beardy bacteria). It's a very confused paper.
In this paper we unequivocally identify and characterize the genetic determinant of the famous white beard of Santa Claus to be the ortholog of human KRT6B. The newly discovered gene is named Hoho2…
pharyngula | December 22, 2006Every war needs its bold reporters, sharing the news from the front lines…the War on Christmas has Mike Argento.
terrasig | December 22, 2006The Wall Street Journal's Science Journal correspondent today "bestows holiday gifts" (sub req'd) on researchers, drugs, and other approaches that have advanced health and medicine, or set it back.
Given yesterday's discussion of the failed efficacy trial for black cohosh, I chuckled at this one:
To the herbal supplement called saw palmetto, taken by some 2.5 million men in the U.S., which failed to help urinary problems any better than a placebo: a framed copy of the 1994 law that lets dietary supplements be sold even if there is no evidence of their efficacy.
The funny thing is that I wrote…
pharyngula | December 22, 2006
My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: His Most Noble Lord PZ the Liminal of Tempting St Mary Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title
(via Eclecticism)