Misc
hrynyshyn | January 17, 2007Following up on a couple of posts back in which I trumpeted Gary Trudeau's inclusion in Doonesbury strip an apocryphal story about Grand Canyon park rangers and the age of the geological wonder they are entrusted with explaining to the public: We were duped. Skeptic magazine's Michael Shermer offers an apology, which I will borrow.
Unfortunately, in our eagerness to find additional examples of the inappropriate intrusion of religion in American public life (as if we actually needed more), we accepted this claim by PEER without calling the National Park Service (NPS) or the Grand Canyon…
apalazzo | January 16, 2007It's late at night, I have to read a manuscript that we're reviewing for MBC, and what am I doing? Watching Little Mosque on the Prarie. Here's part 1 of episode 1:
Get the rest on Youtube.
sarahdasher | January 16, 2007
According to a new University of Delaware survey, wind power has a strong base of support in our nation's second-smallest state.
Of the 949 Delaware residents surveyed, more than 90 percent reported that they would support an offshore wind project in their home state, even if wind power were to add between $1 and $30 per month to their electric bills. Fewer than 10 percent voted for an expansion of coal or natural gas power, even at current prices.
This study comes on the heels of last month's announcement that the UK had approved plans for the world's largest wind farm: a 341-turbine, 1.3…
stoat | January 16, 2007There is a Science Blogging Anthology and an old post of mine on RC - the global cooling myth is in it.
Apparently the book was produced in 3 weeks, such is the modern scheme, and is available via "lulu" print-on-demand services.
sarahdasher | January 15, 2007
Troy Hurtubise--the inventor who achieved minor fame, and personal bankruptcy, as a result of his bear-protection suit--is at it again. This time, however, he is doing it for the soldiers. Pictured here is his newest invention, The Trojan, which draws design inspiration from Star Wars, RoboCop, Batman and video games and is reputedly the "first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armour." When asked why he embarked on this design project, Hurtubise replied, "I'm doing it for the boys."
Source.
Hat-tip, Jake.
apalazzo | January 12, 2007I am the ideologue. The world is as I say. Little do you know that the universe follows the laws set down by my intellectual forefathers. It follows the rhythms of the idea that is swimming in my head. You may call me stubborn, but I am steadfast. You may call yourself "realists", but you are without principles. You are either with me, or you are my enemy, but I think that you all want to be my friend. Trust me this will all work out as it is predicted by my great idea, my ideals, by the thoughts that swim around in my head. All the great men were idealists (or at least that's what I've been…
sarahdasher | January 11, 2007
ScienceBlogs went live for the first time on January 11th, 2006. The Way Way Back Machine recalls our very first (full) day.
Thanks, everyone!
ksharpe | January 10, 2007
Question: What's sleek, as multi-functional as a digital Swiss Army knife, available in June for "as little as" a cool $499, and sure to be coveted by a technophile near you?
Answer: It's the iPhone, of course.
Check out what ScienceBloggers Bora, Dave, Josh, and David have to say about it.
apalazzo | January 10, 2007About a week ago I posted the original Powers of 10, here is the updated version:
Note that we can actually figure out where Springfield is ... and it ain't Springfield Massachusetts. Springfield Indiana perhaps? Or is it Illinois?
[HT: Jannet]
apalazzo | January 8, 2007[Start dictation]
Believe it bore not this sentence was never typed by meet by a Secretary for a knee other human but by my trusty boys recognition system now this program is a meal fight and that's will make plenty of dictation Amherst but eventually it will learn to recognize my voice and hopefully make few were mistakes.
[Stop dictation]
OK I'm typing now ... what you read above was penned by my new "voice recognition software". Not bad, henh? I was inspired by this piece by Richard Powers (author of The Echo Maker) that appeared in yesterday's NY Times Sunday Book Review.
I proceeded to…
apalazzo | January 4, 2007
I saw this video while surfing on Sciencesque. It gives quite a ... perspective on our day to day existence.
stoat | January 3, 2007I've just used Peoplesoft to do my forward job plan for the year. Around BAS, PS is notorious for being unintuitive and annoying in the way it forces you to do things, and I feel the same. But the odd thing is that, when I got home, I realised it hadn't taken me long at all to actually do - rather less time than the old way.
So this is a curious example of software whose interface is so badly written that although it functions fairly passably, it annoys everyone who uses it with a false impression of unusability.
sarahdasher | January 3, 2007From Doc Bushwell's Chimp Refuge, Hypermiler or Hyperdumb?.
"Some hypermilers have managed to get very impressive figures out of their vehicles, in excess of 100 miles per gallon, but the way some of them go about it is downright crazy. Techniques used include over-inflating tires, tailgating trucks on highways to within one car length, turning off the engine while coming down hills. I was surprised that no one had mounted a mast on their trunk with a large sail, or a grappling hook to lasso the car ahead of them."
From Aardvarchaeology, Chasing Ancient Kings.
"The potsherds and burnt daub…
sarahdasher | January 2, 2007Ring in 2007 with manna for the science-starved.
From Mike the Mad Biologist, So This is What Theistic Geology Looks Like.
"You might not know this, but, due to pressure from Republicans beholden to batshit lunatic creationists theological conservatives, park rangers at the Grand Canyon are not allowed to discuss how old the Grand Canyon is."
From Framing Science, Communicating Climate Change.
"Despite historic amounts of media attention to global warming in 2006, most Americans still rank global warming as a lower level concern than other contemporary issues such as terrorism, the economy,…
sarahdasher | December 29, 2006There's a high probability you'll learn something.
From Evolution Blog, not to be mistaken for evolgen, A Probability Puzzle.
"A shopkeeper says she has two new baby beagles to show you, but she doesn't know whether they're both male, both female, or one of each. You tell her that you want only a male, and she telephones the fellow who's giving them a bath. 'Is at least one a male?' she asks him. She receives a reply. 'Yes!' she informs you with a smile. What is the probability that the other one is a male?"
From evolgen, not to be mistaken for Evolution Blog, Chance, Stochasticity,…
sarahdasher | December 28, 2006Hand-picked for your delectation.
From Cognitive Daily, Casual Fridays: Christmas Procrastinators' Edition.
Christmas is over, but there's still time for holiday faux-pas. CogDaily readers weigh in on last-minute gift giving: "Are gift certificates appropriate? What about cash? Everyone can use cash, can't they?"
From Respectful Insolence, A Most Uncomfortable Quesion.
"There's nothing like being trapped in a small examination room with a 450 lb. woman and three members of her family, with nowhere to run."
From The World's Fair, MIT Professor Denied Tenure Will Start a Hunger Strike.
"James…
sarahdasher | December 28, 2006
This time around, we're talking to Shelley Batts of Retrospectacle.
What's your name?
Shelley Alyssa Batts. I feel like you should now be asking me my favorite color and then the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow.
What do you do when you're not blogging?
Working on my doctoral thesis, re-submitting my NRSA grant, playing tennis, pilates, logic puzzles, PS2 (GTA Vice City!), teaching my African Grey (Pepper) Bond movie themes and disturbing movie quotes. I also enjoy a good beer or six.
What is your blog called?
Retrospectacle
What's up with that name?
I don't know. I think I thought…
sarahdasher | December 27, 2006
This time around, we're talking to Bora Zivkovic of A Blog Around The Clock.
What's your name?
Bora Zivkovic, better known online as "Coturnix" (the Latin name of the genus of my favourite lab animal model).
What do you do when you're not blogging?
I am a stay-at-home Dad and also an adjunct biology teacher in adult college education. I am also writing my dissertation incredibly slowly. Sometimes I sleep, too.
What is your blog called?
A Blog Around the Clock
What's up with that name?
I am a chronobiologist so I often write about circadian clocks. I also write all the time and post at…