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gregladen | December 12, 2008Pampam and Jason kept getting huge water bills. They knew beyond a doubt that the bills weren't representative of their actual usage, and no matter how they tried to conserve, the high bills continued. Although they could see nothing wrong, they had everything checked for leaks or problems: the water meter, outdoor pipes, indoor pipes, underground pipes, faucets, toilets, washer, ice maker, etc., all to no avail.
One day Jason stayed home to do his work, but kept hearing water running downstairs. He finally got up to investigate, and stumbled onto the cause of the bills. Apparently…
grrlscientist | December 12, 2008Here's the most recently published blog carnivals for you to enjoy;
Friday Ark, issue 221. This blog carnival is all about animals; sharing photographs of animals (pets mostly). Go here to get your furry or feathery snuggle fix.
Just Write, 12 December 2008 edition. This blog carnival is fairly large and is filled with all sorts of writing and advice about writing, for those who wish to live the writing life, even if only vicariously.
pharyngula | December 12, 2008She had a good run, although part of her life was marred by mental illness and religion. Now an icon of the sexual revolution is gone.
I'm rather curious to know how many readers here have never heard of her before — this could make me feel very old.
grrlscientist | December 12, 2008
Normally, I do not advertize for third parties on my blog, except in several situations: first, I am happy to help non-profit organizations raise funds if I believe in their mission; second, I mention events or services when I am attending and when I think this is something you'll also enjoy; or third, I mention interesting adventures when I think they are something educational and worthwhile -- especially when this is something I want to do! So this third reason is why I mention this particular event on my blog.
As you are aware, I have written about the discovery of several important…
gregladen | December 12, 2008 ... and not just in his closet, but in his CABINET!
The Protestant Christian Right (and their allies) are wringing their collective hands and forecasting doom. Why? Because President-elect Barack Obama is including gay people in his administration and has vowed to work toward equality for all Americans.
The chronically hysterical Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel and a frequently cited spokesman for the Protestant Christian Right, recently wailed to the Baptist Press, "I would consider him [Obama] to be the biggest threat to religious liberty we've ever had because he will push the…
mspringer | December 12, 2008From the inimitable xkcd, a comic about relativity in sex:
This rather clever piece of humor is referring to the relativity of simultaneity. According to relativity, time and space are different for observers in different reference frames. Events which are simultaneous in one frame are not necessarily going to be simultaneous in a different frame moving with respect to the first frame. This isn't just a failure to correct for light travel time either, it's a genuine geometric effect of spacetime.
So if one person is, er, moving at near the speed of light the effect can be quite pronounced…
grrlscientist | December 11, 2008Here's the latest blog carnivals that have been published;
Carnival of the Vanities. This is the original blog carnival and it focuses on gathering together the best blog writing regardless of topic.
I and the Bird, issue 90. This blog carnival focuses on discussions of wild birds and birdwatching.
sb admin | December 11, 2008by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure
I vaguely remember a medical school lecture about dracunculiasis, also known as Guinea Worm Disease. Also called the "fiery serpent" these are very long worms that grow in people and then the females get hungry and start to burrow out of them, sort of like Alien but not quite as quickly or as dramatically nor out of their chest. Usually out of the tops of their feet. Here are the basics of the life cycle:
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When I first heard about dracunculiasis the world had many millions of people suffering this debilitating horror. In 1986 the Carter Center,…
gregladen | December 11, 2008The 10K birds Just For Fun Avian ID Quiz!
Videos of developmental trajectories in cortical thickening
Japan harnesses commuters' stamping for power from PhysOrg.com
Japan has found a way to harness clean energy from thousands of stamping feet that pass through one of its busiest train stations every day.
[...]
Fear of nuts creating hysteria of epidemic proportions from PhysOrg.com
Measures imposed to reduce exposure to nuts are often based on irrational fears of nut allergies and are becoming increasingly sensationalist, according to a doctor on bmj.com today.
[...]
Flora not…
gregladen | December 11, 2008as in ...
The most recent issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach is now available free online. This is a special issue devoted to the evolution of eyes. Enjoy.
CLICK HERE for details.
gregladen | December 11, 2008An actor narrowly escaped death after slashing his throat on stage with a real knife, instead of a blunt stage-prop blade.
Daniel Hoevels slumped to the floor with blood pouring from his neck during a performance at Vienna's Burgtheater.
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The real-life drama happened last weekend during a performance of Friedrich Schiller's play Mary Stuart,...
Mr Hoevels's character was supposed to commit suicide and the actor used what he thought was a blunt prop weapon.
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The audience is said to have applauded what they thought was a stunning special effect, and only realised something was wrong when…
mspringer | December 11, 2008So Tony Soprano pitches ties a concrete block to Salvatore Bonpensiero and pitches him into the ocean, where he will inform the police no more. Being a big guy, Bonpensiero has a fairly low density compared to your average human being - say, 0.96 grams per cubic centimeter. That's less than water and so he'd have floated were it not for the weight. Assuming Bonpensiero has a mass of 140 kilograms, how much concrete would Tony need to sink him?
Hey, don't look at me. I just grade the finals. The professor writes them.
Anyway, after grading this question a couple hundred times I figured it…
chaoticutopia | December 11, 2008Mumble, mumble, stupid holidays... mumble mumble, final exams... mumble, grumble, not enough time in a day... mumble, curse, mumble...
There must be some corollary to Murphy’s law that states every time I want to do something nice for myself, I will be swamped with other things. That seems to be the theme for the entire autumn of 2008. I want to update my blog and home site, but thanks to family issues, computer problems, and class work, this fix-up keeps getting postponed.
I’d like to say that I have the solution, that I’m finally free, but the fact is, even this note is on stolen time. I…