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sb admin | February 5, 2009Revere points out that the peanut industry (and the food industry as a whole) is learning that poor regulation is bad for business. You might run your business according to the highest standards, thatâs not enough. If one of your competitors cuts too many corners and people die as a result, the entire industry will suffer, regardless of how exemplary individual companies might be.
Back in 2007, when a rash of toy recalls spooked shoppers, the toy industry actually asked the federal government to require lead testing for all toys sold in the U.S. In 2008, Congress passed and President Bush…
grrlscientist | February 5, 2009Here is more blog carnival goodness to keep you entertained;
Carnival of Evolution, part two, has been published. Once again, this blog carnival is filled with lots of science-y information to educate and entertain you, so go visit! And be sure to volunteer to host this blog carnival since they are seeking more hosts!
The latest edition of the I and the Bird blog carnival, which focuses on blog essays and photography of wild birds.
cortex | February 5, 2009Sorry for the radio silence: I've been traveling and promoting the new book. (More on all my tour events in the near future, except to note that I'll be in Seattle on Monday, then Powell's Books on Tuesday!)
And set your Tivos: I'll be on the Colbert Report tonight, trying not to make an ass out of myself.
In the meantime, enjoy this youtube clip that I can't stop watching. It's a home video of a 7 year old shortly after experiencing nitrous oxide (?) at the dentist for the first time.
His epistemological confusion reminded me of two things: 1) my own encounters with lysergic things and 2…
mspringer | February 5, 2009Ok, so yesterday wasn't quite as basic as I planned on shooting for in this week or two of working on non-mathematical concepts. But the idea was too cool to resist. This isn't exactly a mathematically elementary subject either, but the concept can be grasped without needing to see the actual functions involved.
This is a random sample of a large number of women, arranged by height:
There are many people of average height in the world, and a smaller number of very tall and very short people. The more extreme the height, the rarer the people with that height.
On the other hand, we could…
clock | February 4, 2009Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times; few are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.
- Sydney J. Harris
awild | February 4, 2009It's 6ºF (-14ºC) here in central Illinois. Can't do much about that, but here are some shots of warmer times and warmer places.
Monument Valley, 2006
Southern California, 2004
Tucson, Arizona, 2006
Joshua Tree National Park, 2005
Cholla at Joshua Tree National Park, 2005
near Nogales, Mexico, 2006
rallain | February 4, 2009Not sure if you know what Jump the shark means. I figured it was a common term. Here is the wikipedia entry. Or maybe you would like a graphic explanation. Here it is:
So, why the attack on textbooks? The main reason is that I just posted a rant about forces (or abuse of the word force) and I am going for the combo attack (more points that way). Actually, this has been in my mind for quite some time. There was a post on Uncertain Principles that started me thinking about it again.
I have been afraid to really speak my mind on this issue because I don't want to completely enrage the…
sciencepunk | February 4, 2009Let me tell you a story. It starts in the summer of 2007, when the living was easy, credit hadn't crunched, and I had a spare £1,000 in my bank account. I decided I needed a laptop as I was travelling down to London regularly to be an awesome science punk. I could have got some ugly-ass brick for £300, but I fell in love with the HP Pavilion TX1000.
See the screen swivels around, turning the computer into a tablet. Added to that, it's small, light, has a touchscreen (obviously), dual headphone jacks, two remote controls(?!), webcam, more USB connections than I could ever need, tv…
razib | February 4, 2009Obama Calls for 'Common Sense' on Executive Pay:
resident Obama announced on Wednesday a salary cap of $500,000 for top executives at companies that receive the largest amounts of money under the $700 billion federal bailout, calling the step an expression not only of fairness but of "basic common sense." The restrictions, however, allow an exception for restricted stock.
...
"That is pretty draconian -- $500,000 is not a lot of money, particularly if there is no bonus," said James F. Reda, founder and managing director of James F. Reda & Associates, a compensation consulting firm. "And…
gregladen | February 4, 2009
UPDATE:
The chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board was critically injured Wednesday when his car exploded as the family physician was leaving his home for work, the board attorney said.
Board attorney William Trice said he believed Pierce drives a hybrid, but Trice had no information on what caused the explosion. He said he knew of no heated disputes the chairman was a party to and said that even in board decisions, the chairman does not often vote.
"This is just off the wall," Trice said. "It's just such bizarre circumstances."
cwilcox | February 4, 2009So maybe this is how I'm statistically significant...
(hat tip Bob O'Hara's Deep Thoughts and Silliness)
mspringer | February 4, 2009Standing on the edge of Niagra Falls you can watch the water pour over. Falling down the gravity of the earth, it exchanges its potential energy for kinetic energy by picking up speed. Some of that energy is extracted by turbines and lights the homes and businesses of Yankees and Canucks alike. Some of that energy is used to pump water up into water towers to maintain the water pressure which those same people use to cook and clean.
Move with a gravitational field, get energy. Move against it, lose energy.
Now let's say you wanted to take apart the earth. Yes, the whole thing. You want…
cwilcox | February 3, 2009Somehow my self-indulgent writings managed to attract the attention of some very cool people - specifically, someone who works for the National Geographic Channel.
What this means for me is that I got to see their upcoming Darwin Specials in honor of his 200th b-day premiering next weekend. I have proof - the picture is of me with my preview DVDs! What this means for you is that you get to read my reviews of them, to get you all pumped up and ready to watch them for yourself next week. I got a total of 5 DVDs, but figure that would be a really long review post, so this first review is of the…
grrlscientist | February 3, 2009Here's the latest blog carnival goodness for you to enjoy ..
I am especially proud to let you know that the newly revitalized Circus of the Spineless was published last night, so be sure to go there and support this blog carnival by reading, sending in your submissions and by volunteering to host it.
Aloha Carnival, a blog carnival about Hawai'i. Even though I've never been there, I love reading about it.
pharyngula | February 3, 2009It's getting hot and nasty in the battle over the Texas science standards. Donna Garner, one of the members of the forces of darkness, has distributed a letter in which she claims that the atheists are winning Texas (I wish!), and that those of us who are working to teach evolution must be opposed more fiercely. And, of course, any accusation levied against scientists is perfectly fair. The kicker in her letter is a bit of slander:
Jeffrey Dahmer, one of America's most infamous serial killers who cannibalized more than 17 boys before being captured, gave an [sic]Â last interview with Dateline…
gregladen | February 3, 2009Two or three items of interest that are scheduled and that you may want to know about.
In order:
1) This evening, at 8:00 Eastern Time (US), the embargo lifts on an amazing new find. Tune in to your favorite science blog to read all about it. It is very cool if you are into science.
2) Friday, at an as yet undisclosed time, will be the unveiling of a new Internetial (pronounced: Internet-shul) project that many of you may find interesting. Watch for announcements here and on Almost Diamonds and TUIBG.
3) Friday evening, as I've indicated before, I'll do a live radio interview with Q.…