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pontiff | July 4, 2009Never a bad time to take a look at Mr. Jefferson's document (and also thank you Thomas, for serving tubers at Monticello at a time when people thought they would kill you.)
mspringer | July 4, 2009Today you should grill some good food, shoot some fireworks, spend time with your family and friends, and take a few minutes to remember awesome magnitude of what our forefathers did on that July in 1776:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes…
gregladen | July 4, 2009Cats:
Dogs:
Hmmm... don't have one for dogs this week.
Hat Tip: The Millikan Daily
grrlscientist | July 3, 2009The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 722 - 579 - 387 - 324 - 289 out of 224 candidates registered. I am in second place.
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for the person whom you think would be best for this unique job: traveling to Antarctica for the month of February 2010 and writing about it for the public on a blog. Here is my 300-word essay; hopefully, you will agree that I am a very well-qualified candidate for this job opportunity. Voting ends 30 September and there is one vote allowed per valid…
gregladen | July 3, 2009The best of last June
There is new information from an older idea (from about 2000) by Paul Sherman and colleagues. The idea underlying this research is simple: Symptoms of illnesses may be adaptive. Indeed, this may be true to the extent that we should not call certain things illnesses. Like "morning sickness."
Broadly speaking, there are two different kinds of reasons that a woman may experience nausea in association with pregnancy. 1) This pregnancy thing is a complicated mess with all kinds of hormonal (and other) things going on, so you puke; or 2) a woman who is pregnant feels…
gregladen | July 3, 2009Nigeria's state oil company rejected criticism from a leading human rights group Wednesday, calling an Amnesty International report "inaccurate."
"We have issues with the report," said Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
Amnesty said Tuesday that pollution and environmental impacts from the oil industry in the Niger Delta are creating a "human rights tragedy" in which local people suffer poor health and loss of livelihood.
Governments and oil companies are failing to be accountable for the problems, Amnesty said in its report, called "Petroleum, Pollution…
gregladen | July 3, 2009There's got to be a good explanation. Either way, somebody's gonna loose themselves a trailer ...
mspringer | July 3, 2009Last night I saw a classic conservation of momentum problem in person. It was about midnight, and I was on a service road beside west Houston's Beltway 8 (avoiding the tolls) when I slowed down to stop at a red light. In my rear view mirror I saw the red and blue flash of emergency lights approaching, so with the room I had left I crept over a bit to the right to let them by. Whoosh! A car blew by my left side at high speed, swerving in front of me and speeding into the intersection heedless of the light. My neurons barely had time to start cooking up some surprise when a black pickup…
gregladen | July 3, 2009... to help with the twitter and facebook accounts and related issues. Please go here and read the details. Contact details are therein.
grrlscientist | July 3, 2009
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) is a blog carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that has been published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days. To send your submissions to Scientia Pro Publica, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the right (sometimes that widget doesn't upload when the mother site is sick). Be sure to include the URL or "…
grrlscientist | July 2, 2009Here's the latest carnivalia to keep you happy as you prepare for this holiday weekend (if you are American);
Just Write blog carnival, 3 July edition. This includes all sorts of essays about writing and of course, book reviews which should help you choose a book or two to bring on vacation with you this summer.
Carnival of the Vanities, 2 July 2009 edition. This blog carnival focuses on excellent writing, regardless of topic.
Love of Movies #3, which seems to be focusing on Harry Potter .. gee, I wonder why?
gregladen | July 2, 2009As I noted several days ago, a temporary change in policy has brought ads for "Mail Order Russian Brides" as well as a number of other ... interesting ... products to the ad spaces on Scienceblogs.com. Since I pointed this out, other Scienceblog bloggers have apparently noticed it as well and complaints now abound among the bloggers and commenters. I had not personally noticed it, but apparently these new ads also include woovending. And of course, the site is still sponsored in part by Shell, which from a human rights perspective may be far more significant than Mail Order Russian Brides…
gregladen | July 2, 2009The con, as in this con. The convergence con (known as "connie") is a science fiction convention, and this is the first time I've ever been to one. It is just like such things are depicted in the movies and on TV with one minor exception: On TV and in the movies many of the actors playing Con visitors are dressed as Star Wars characters, and today I saw only one Star Wars character and it was R2D2
But I'm not here for the funny costumes, I'm here for the science.
And, I got to meet some of by blogospheric heros! The Skepchicks are here, and I'm at the conference as their guest (as…
gregladen | July 2, 2009This might be an actual Microsoft ad that was pulled after it upset people. Below the fold because it is .... well, it's below the fold.
Analysis (or parody) here, HT Lee.
gregladen | July 2, 2009Remember the ice cream cake eating "Hitler kids"? In case you were wondering why you have not heard from them, it could be because the state has a gag order on the whole story. Here is a not very informative update:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
grrlscientist | July 2, 2009The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 683 - 557 - 266 - 234 - 233 out of 210 candidates registered. I am in second place.
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for the person whom you think would be best for this unique job: traveling to Antarctica for the month of February 2010 and writing about it for the public on a blog. Here is my 300-word essay. Voting ends 30 September and there is one vote allowed per valid email address (registration required).
Of course, the gap is widening, no thanks to the site…
gregladen | July 2, 2009What is the biggest single threat to your household security? This is the question asked here.
So far it looks like a neck and neck race between Squirrels and the Economy with Bunnies coming a close third.