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This is what I was thinking: Nationally and globally, the most important events probably included the Earthquake in Haiti (not to minimize the importance of the current, ongoing cholera epidemic there); the dramatic increase of the use of stem cells in therapy (and research) with some real potential for cures just around the corner; Tiger Woods did not get laid all year; Iceland's volcanic eruption and its effects on European travel; New research shows that tigers are about to become extinct in the wild and there isn't much we can do about it, though token efforts will be made; The end of the…

Imma post something substantive in a minute, but for now have a look at this:

Here's why it would be bad (click the image to see the cartoon):

A debate with Jaclyn Friedman and Naomi Wolf: Hat tip feministing.

I just read this Action Alert and pursuant to it I sent this note to AMC theaters: Thank you for NOT running the anti vaccination add by the so called "Safeminds" organization. The mercury in flu shots is in a form that is not absorbed into human tissues, but is an important part of an anti-fungicide that keeps the flu vaccines safe. Meanwhile, a flu vaccine is an important preventative medical step everyone should take. The ads are based on unscientific and incorrect information. Thank you for pulling them from your theaters. There are a number of different things you could do.…

The first thing you need to know about my list of the top ten science stories of the year is this: There are not ten. Well, as I write this, I've not settled what's on the list and what's not, so maybe there will be ten. Or six. Or one hundred and eleven. In any event, it will likely only be ten if you express the number in Basen where n is the number of stories. What makes a "top ten" science story? I've decided to be picky this year. So, a brand new study that shows that male bower birds do some amazing trick with mirror fragments and monofiliment fishing line and discarded…

The Rap Guide to Evolution (including vignettes by Richard Dawkins:

Biology is harder to learn than quantum physics. Why? Because most people think they totally get biology, but everyone knows nobody gets quantum physics. Therefore, any effort to explore quantum physics will result in new learning, but people rarely learn new biology. The bottom line is that our brains are full of biology, which would be good if most of it did not consist of ... The Falsehoods and The Falsehoods II

Obamadog. Barack Obama's first serious mistake since the election. Many of you heard the question at President Elect Obama's first news conference, which was mainly about the economy, regarding what kind of dog the girls would be getting as per a deal apparently made some time ago. The only safe answer to that question would have been to give the secret signal that cuts the power feed to the cameras, then have the reporter bagged and dragged out of the room and appropriately disciplined. But no, instead, Obama ... Read the rest here.

It is very common, across the U.S., for science teachers to dread the "evolution" unit that they teach during life science class. As they approach the day, and start to prepare the students for what is coming, they begin to hear the sarcastic remarks from the creationist students. When the day to engage the evolution unit arrives, students may show up in the classroom with handouts from anti-science sites like Answers in Genesis, to give to their friends. They may carry a bible to the lab station and read it instead of doing the work. If there is a parent conference night around that time,…

Tis the season! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the sunny isle of Oahu! For more pics, check out my Facebook Album! Hale is the hawaiian term for a house or dwelling.

Hat Tip Advice Goddess.

Merry Christmas! OK, now that I've got you smiling and thinking of Santa and Elves and Snow flakes, Sugar Plum Fairies (hey, sugar, are you reading this?) and dancing gingerbread boys, let's look at some of the more dangerous yet popular items from this blog's past. Item 1: It is OK to be an atheist, but not an uppity atheist When you get a chance (but not right now, only when you have absolutely nothing whatsoever else to do) have a look at Matt Nisbet's latest thinly veiled attack on PZ myers*. It is the usual crap. Atheists are not allowed to express annoyance, disgust, or anger, or to…

The cookies. THE COOOOKIESSSSSS!!!!!! Hat tip: Doug

Half of my regular readers (well, at least four, maybe five) tell me, under duress, that they truly enjoy my more long-winded posts, but the vast majority of random visits clearly come to the quick and dirty posts, the videos that I slapped up with no forethought, the items that take less than five seconds to read though often there is a video, and the occasional kitty kat. MTV-generation pandering. Later I'll retrospect some of those long winded tomes, but for now, here's a set of pointers to some of the more visited posts not covered in my previous retrospective: A rare excellent…

Well, I need to do a Happy Christmas posting (and here it is, folks!) so this message from wonkroom seems rather festive: New psychological research finds that dire messages about the threat of global warming will strengthen people's acceptance of climate science when combined with solutions, which is the approach taken by leading climate activists. For some people, their response to dire messages is strongly dependent on whether hope is offered. (ht: Chairman Brian). Which means, I need to present you with The Solution. And that is clearly, dress up as Father Christmas and go rowing:

It is end of the year retrospective time. This is the time of year those of us who do stuff others read or watch all year run out of good stuff to do and dredge up old stuff to keep the few of you who are not flying to Mexico or baking cookies busy while we get drunk. This is the first in a seemingly interminable set of such retrospectives that I plan to do this year. I'll start my retrospective with a prelude: Early in January I'll be doing a live radio retrospective of the year's science stories with Lynn Fellmann, on Atheist Talk Radio. We are waiting until the end of the year to…

This post is a followup on Podcasts good and bad, to which some of you responded with excellent suggestions for podcasts. I want to say that the criticisms I leveled in the previous post apply mainly to video podcasts in technolology that I've seen via the Roku on TWiT TV and other places, and really, on only a few of those. The following list is compiled from your comments but including only science and skepticism podcasts. I've added a few that you'all didn't happen to mention. Please suggest what is missing and I'll add that in a future update. Actually Speaking podcast. Brain Science…