Shameless Plug
laelaps | March 11, 2009Good news from the Beagle Project. The British Council has funded plans for a Beagle Project research network aboard the Brazilian tall ship Tocorime (or Adventure, the name of the sister ship of the Beagle) during its proposed exploration of South America. According to the Beagle Project blog this means the funding will go towards;
- a workshop in Rio de Janeiro "to bring together a new international team to discuss with the Tocorime operators - cruise logistics, scientific aims, timing, observations from space, public and schools outreach and contribution to the international Census of…
laelaps | January 22, 2009When I was a finalist in the annual blogging scholarship contest a few months back Amanda was one of the many people who supported me. (Thank you, again, to everyone who voted for me.) Now it is my turn to give something back.
Amanda is one of the brightest, not to mention kindest, people I know and I would hate to see her struggle to fund her college education. You can help her pay her college fees, though, by voting for her in the "My Favorite Toy" contest being held by Brickfish. She has fittingly chosen a "Brontosaurus" as her most beloved toy.
You can vote every two hours. Please give…
laelaps | January 5, 2009
I'm a little late to the game on this tidbit, but in case you haven't heard, please welcome the newest addition to the Sb family, Rebecca Skloot! She's a (*GASP*) journalist who has written some fantastic pieces for the New York Times and she also has a new book in the works called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Her blog, Culture Dish, can be found here.
Anne-Marie Hodge, author of Pondering Pikaia, is one of my favorite science bloggers, and she has just started up a new science blog on the Nature Network. Even though Pondering Pikaia will remain active, Anne-Marie will be…
laelaps | January 3, 2009I am proud to announce that my post, "Who scribbled all over Darwin's work?", was selected for inclusion in the 3rd (2008) edition of The Open Laboratory. You can see a list of all the winners here , and I am pleased to see that my post will be printed alongside work from many of my favorite science bloggers. Congratulations are also due to Bora, Jennifer Rohn, and the judges, who have worked so hard on this project!
[As an aside, I am glad that this year I had no idea when the winning entries would be announced. Last year I was pacing the floor the night the results were scheduled to be…
laelaps | December 30, 2008If you head over to National Geographic News, you can see my picks for the most important, most overlooked, and weirdest paleontology stories of 2008. Afarensis contributed picks for anthropology, and other prominent science bloggers did the same for their areas of expertise. Head on over and have a look!
laelaps | December 22, 2008The National Academy of Sciences wants to know what you care about when it comes to science, medicine, and technology. They've devised a 2-minute survey, which you can take here, which also puts you in the running for an NAS tote bag. Your responses will help the NAS produce new educational materials about science, so if you've got a moment to spare, head on over and take the survey!
laelaps | December 21, 2008I've been waiting for this day all month. My article "Predatory Intelligence," which considers the beauty and ugliness of spotted hyenas, is now available for free in the journal Antennae. For some reason it is not listed in the table of contents, but it is in there, sure enough. Just scroll down to page #23. I hope you enjoy it!
laelaps | December 18, 2008
Many science bloggers, myself included, have plans to write a book. Of that creative pool few actually bind their ideas in a volume and get it onto shelves, but new self-publishing services like lulu.com have made it easier for writers to publish and sell their books. This service allowed Ed to bring us the best of Not Exactly Rocket Science, the Digital Cuttlefish to collect its poetry in ink, and Blake Stacey to bring us his new SF novel Until Earthset. Here is the synopsis;
1968.
The Protectorate has fallen.
The nation of Andalus is rebuilding after a bloody civil war, their efforts…
laelaps | December 2, 2008This past October, many ScienceBlogs readers and SEED teamed up to donate over $33,000 to science classrooms around the United States. Continuing this generous trend, SEED is now offering a reduced-rate subscription price of $14.95 to anyone who donates a subscription of the magazine to a science classroom. It's a good deal, and it gives you another chance to boost science literacy in classrooms around the country.
laelaps | November 27, 2008more animals
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all get to enjoy the holiday, and if you are looking for something to do while you're waiting for the roast dinosaur to make it to the table, check out my latest post about T.H. Huxley and birds at Dinosaur Tracking.
laelaps | November 12, 2008
One day, back when I was blogging via Wordpress, I stumbled across another science blog called Not Exactly Rocket Science. I was very impressed by what was posted there, and it is no surprise that ScienceBlogs eventually snapped up Ed to write here.
Ed has earned a reputation as one of the best science bloggers out there, and now you can purchase a collected volume of some of his best work. Announced yesterday, Not Exactly Rocket Science contains about 80 of Ed's well-crafted pieces. I definitely encourage you to pick up a copy.
Now the question is, "When are we going to see the bound…
laelaps | October 24, 2008There's now one week left before the end of this year's DonorsChoose Challenge here at ScienceBlogs, and those of us involved this year just got some good news. SEED has generously donated $15,000 (or $715 for each participating blogger) for us to distribute among the projects as we see fit.
That means that this morning I was able to fully fund two proposals ("Yuck... Hey... That is Pretty Cool!" and "No Bones About It"), all thanks to SEED. There are still two other rather substantial projects that need funding, though, one asking for a disarticulated horse skeleton and the other for a model…
laelaps | October 24, 2008Now this is some pretty cool news. The HMS Beagle Project announced yesterday that NASA has agreed to track the progress of the reconstructed HMS Beagle as she makes her way around the globe. According to a press release issued about the joint venture, this partnership will not only benefit the scientific mission of those on board the ship, but also help students all around the world keep track of the ship's journey;
Using satellite link-ups, students in classrooms and laboratories will be able to follow the voyage, and interact with scientists as they apply the tools and techniques of modern…
laelaps | October 10, 2008Two days ago I mentioned some good news I had to share with all of you, and I have been impatiently keeping it under my hat. Now I can finally let the cat out of the bag. I am proud to say that Smithsonian magazine has just launched a new dinosaur blog called Dinosaur Tracking, and I am one of the contributing authors!
At the new blog I'll be covering everything from the latest peer-reviewed dinosaur research to campy comic books and b-movies (so long as they feature some Mesozoic monsters, of course). There are only a few posts up at the moment, including one I wrote about Albertonykus, but…
laelaps | September 30, 2008
The next edition of the paleo-themed blog carnival The Boneyard (#24) will be on exhibition next Tuesday, October 7th, at The Other 95%. It would be nice if, in honor of the host, we could get some cool invert posts in this one (ammonites, rudists, bryozoa, you name it). Whatever paleo posts you might have will work just fine, though, so get them to me or Kevin before next Tuesday if you want in on the next edition!
laelaps | September 30, 2008The Field Museum curator of mammals, Bruce Patterson, has recently returned from his field work in Tsavo, Kenya, and he has posted some of his excellent photography in a Kodak gallery. The shots are absolutely breathtaking; they almost make me want to sell all my stuff and take off for Kenya.
[Update: You can see more photos from previous trips here.]
As outlined on his biographical webpage, Patterson runs a number of projects, but lions are his focus at Tsavo. Made famous (infamous?) by the thriller The Ghost and the Darkness a few years back, there's actually much more to learn about the…
laelaps | September 30, 2008This Sunday, October 5th, Drexel University paleontologist Ken Lacovara will be giving a lecture on Patagonian dinosaurs called "Giants at the End of the World." It will be at the recently re-opened New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, and it starts at 4 PM (and is free!).
I don't know whether I'm going to be able to make it or not, but if you're in the area I definitely would recommend checking it out. Maybe he will even have something to say about Aerosteon!
laelaps | September 26, 2008The latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology is now available via BIOONE, and it's packed to the gills with neat stuff. Of particular interest are;
A paper on Georgiacetus that also establishes a new cladistic arrangement of ancient whales, the Pelagiceti.
A study of vertebral pachyostosis in the spine of the mosasaur Carentonosaurus.
A new aetosaur from Texas. [For more from one of the authors of the paper, see Chinleana.]
A new skull of a juvenile Heterodontosaurus tucki.
New postcranial material of the tyrannosauroid Stokesosaurus.
A new paper on the biogeography…
laelaps | September 24, 2008Next Wednesday, October 1, I'll be at the Apple Store in SoHo, NYC, talking about science blogging with Jessica, Jake, Steinn, Grrl, and Katherine. You can find out more about the event at the Apple Pro Sessions website, and you can get directions to the SoHo store here.
laelaps | September 16, 2008One of the most rewarding events I have ever attended was last year's Annual Science Blogging Conference in North Carolina. I got to meet a number of my favorite bloggers, made lots of new friends, and definitely enjoyed speaking about science blogging as a student. Now registration is open for ScienceOnline'09 (the 3rd annual meeting for science bloggers in NC), and I definitely would encourage you to attend. (I have already signed up.)
There is at least one important difference from the previous meetings, though. There is so much to do that the organizers have added a second day of talks,…