Misc
milhayser | December 11, 2009Benjamin Cohen of The World's Fair tells us he's "moving on to Blogger Emeritus status."
I am ending my tenure here at The World's Fair, the blog Dave and I started back in June 2006. I'll finish up and sign off for good by the end of the month. Between now and then, I'll be posting my top ten favorites from these past three years.
David Ng will continue blogging on The World's Fair, who Cohen suggests will announce a new co-author for the blog. So read the best of Cohen's posts before he goes, say goodbye, and stay tuned.
milhayser | December 9, 2009After nearly five years online and two years with us here at ScienceBlogs, ScienceWoman is stepping away from the fray to focus on "Peace and Joy" for 2010.
This will be my last post as SciWo or ScienceWoman. I've come to peace with the realization that blogging as SciWo is no longer a source of joy for me. I treasure the true friendships I share with many of you, but I know that we can continue to revel in and grow those friendships even without this blog.
Alice Pawley is also hanging up her blogging shoes, so Sciencewomen will go dark. Stop by and say goodbye, wish well and carry on.
stoat | November 22, 2009Spot the problem:
So, my Top Tip is, Don't drop your camera onto a hard stone courtyard. Apparently http://www.fixationuk.com/ may be able to help (thanks Andrew). Another Top Tip might be learn from your mistakes but that is just too hard.
In unrelated news, I finally got one of the coveted orange tee-shirts by running in the Cambrdige Fun Run round the Science Park. 7:04 which is quite passable, though it brought back the Old War Wound (those who kindly commented in rowing and running that I was probably fit enough to break myself were correct :-). In this pic, however (thanks William),…
ejohnson | November 6, 2009
This week, Jessica Palmer of Bioephemera posted an illuminating report on the politics that govern—and often hamper—scientific research for drug abuse treatment. In her post, Jessica points out, "research to help [cigarette] smokers quit is generally portrayed as necessary and important," but the media, politicians, and society at large view research for treatment of other drug addictions as "a waste of money." She posits that these "cheap shots" are easy to take because many people find it difficult to relate to drug addicts, resulting in a "knee-jerk lack of sympathy." In the following…
tqa | November 5, 2009
The amazing amount of uninformed speculation that's coming out of the mouth of Chris Matthews right now is mind numbing. Speaking as someone who lives and works on a military post, I have absolutely no doubt that I have a better understanding of the dynamics of the military base than he does.
I'm just going to hit some of the major issues.
1: In the United States Army, it's hard to describe a Major as a "high ranking officer". It's typically a mid-career rank. Given that there are somewhere around 5000 officers assigned at Fort Hood, I would be surprised if there were fewer than 500…
stoat | November 5, 2009
To the city fireworks. Park in Mount Pleasant House and walk with the children to the river, when James and Emma and James and Amy are having a party. Arrive in time for the mulled wine to just run out; watch the fireworks (ooh! ahh! how long do these go on for?); tour of the boats (hello Lyra!); hello people; home.
ejohnson | November 5, 2009
In the past five years, technology has played a major part in influencing the way we functions, even in the least mechanical of human behaviors--like socializing. Today, ScienceBloggers are taking a close look at how the social media explosion is affecting the world. On The Primate Diaries, Eric Michael Johnson reports on anthropologist Stefana Broadbent's surprising theory suggesting that social media is "promoting greater intimacy between people." Abel Pharmboy of Terra Sigillata shares with readers a flattering e-card he received marketing a pharmaceutical, sent only a week before the FDA…
stoat | November 1, 2009 Halloween. I went as the Spirit of the Night though Patrick thought I was Ash Man. It came off, fortunately.
Sunday was wet, so over the new bridge to the Museum of Technology which is a rather odd place, housed in the former sewage pumping works and city rubbish burner, now housing a miscellaneous collection of engines pumps and random electical items from Cambrdige's industrial heritage; and run by a collection of enthusiasts. Its great failing (compared, say, with the FitzWilliam) is that it doesn't have a decent cafe, or indeed a cafe at all really (though they will sell you a coffee at…
tqa | October 27, 2009
Yesterday, Greg Laden posted a short response to my post about the recently discovered Apple patent application for an ad-supported operating system. Some of the comments that people left on Greg's post raise issues that I want to respond to. Since I'm lazy, and writing something up in the software I use for blog posts is easier and more convenient for me than leaving a lengthy comment on his blog, I'm responding here.
Azkyroth brought up a two-year-old post of mine, writing:
Given his singularly mindless knee-jerk defense of simplistic anti-file-sharing moralization back in the day, I…
tqa | October 26, 2009
A number of people (including another blogger here at ScienceBlogs) have weighed in on the recent revelation of a patent application that describes a way to integrate advertising into computer operating systems. The patent application covers both traditional personal computer operating systems and a wide range of portable devices, including mobile phones. The system proposed in the patent application incorporates methods that ensure that the users will have to pay attention to the ads, and includes an option that would lock the operating system if advertisements are not locked. The patent…
stoat | October 23, 2009
By way of a contrast, here is something I like: home-made bread. Also an index of how relaxed I feel. I've come to like the "make lots of rolls and let them rise into each other" style.
tqa | October 18, 2009
You would think that it would be hard to find a statement more outrageous than hopefully-soon-to-be-former-Louisiana Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell's attempt to prove that he's not a racist:
"I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
For that matter, you'd think it would be hard to find conduct more outrageous than Bardwell's repeated refusal to marry interracial couples. Unfortunately, this turns out not to be the case. It's almost painfully easy to find both more outrageous statements…
stoat | October 17, 2009 Flipping through a book of Magritte at luchtime after our race (10:08; (see the full results for context; yes I know you don't care this is for my records) which is quite passable for a crew with several near-novices rowing a floating wardrobe (we reckon the K8 was built late-1950's to early-1960's, so it may or may not be a bit older than me)) I found this image. If you click on it you'll get some art type exponding about it but I don't think there is much to say other than "that's interesting".
This is the "misc" post so next up is Classic Album covers on stamps. They claim they were…
stoat | September 27, 2009 Sarah (whose blog is rather emptier than James' so-called EB) is walking from Cambridge to the Sea to celebreate her age; and she invited company; so I joined her for stretch today from Ely to Littleport. It was a glorious day for it, sunny with just a light wind. It is a funny bit of the river though - I had envisaged striding out of Ely with the shadow of the cathedral on my back (ignore the geography, you know what I mean), but instead you start from riverside, go round some bits and under a bridge, leave the river around the back of an Env Ag deport and get briefly confused, round the…
ejohnson | September 22, 2009
Should science writers and communicators drop the "technical jargon" in order to popularize science for the masses? What can major players in science culture do to maximize science's "cool factor," communicating important issues to the public at large? These questions were posed by Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum in Unscientific America, released earlier this year, and are not unfamiliar to most ScienceBloggers. Randy Olson presents similar arguments in Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style, hitting booksellers later this week. Brian Switek of Laelaps and…
tqa | September 17, 2009Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame, passed away this morning from complications of leukemia. She was 72.
tqa | August 25, 2009
I don't know if it's me, or if it's really becoming harder and harder to figure out what is actually a right-wing rant and what's satire. Case in point: an anti-Steven-Colbert rant written by someone who bills himself as, "an Investigative Journalist, Motivational Children's Party Entertainer and Antique Soda Bottle Collector all in one special, blessed package!" The rant appears over at Christwire.org, and is well worth the read.
And it is satire.
I'm pretty sure, anyway.
ejohnson | August 24, 2009
With summer vacation drawing to a close, many ScienceBloggers are trying to squeeze in some final summer reading before they--and their sprogs--embark on the new academic year. On Confessions of a Science Librarian, John Dupuis asks for his readers' assistance in selecting titles and offers a few recommendations of his own. Janet Stemwedel of Adventures in Ethics and Science shares which good science reads her kids have had their noses in this summer. And on Eruptions, volcanologist Erik Klemetti picks his favorite general and technical books on the subject. If you're in the market for a…
ejohnson | August 18, 2009
At the annual ScienceOnline conference, organized in large part by ScienceBlogger Bora Zivkovic of A Blog Around the Clock, scientists gather to talk about the changing role of the Internet in the practice and communication of science. At the 2009 event in January, panel discussions included "Social networking for scientists," "Alternative careers: how to become a journal editor," and "Blogging101 - how to get started," among dozens of others.. The agenda for the 2010 conference is now being set, and suggestions for sessions are still rolling in. Visit the ScienceOnline'10 wiki to learn more…
stoat | August 13, 2009Summer is the time when middle-aged parents scrabble around trying to patch together work and school holidays. We've been to Wales and the Lakes. I could make some not-very-interesting comments about rain; but apart from saving us the trouble of camping one night it hasn't been a bother. Rowing-wise, summer is the interval between the Bumps and Ely (or even Boston), usually filled with nothing but this year the club seems to be unusually active, which is good, though being back to the K8 is a step down after the menacing Black Prince. Mind you the varnish is excellent - I keep wanting to…