Uncategorized
grrlscientist | March 5, 2007The 18 edition of the Circus of the Spineless is now available for your squishy pleasure-seeking.
cmcclain | March 5, 2007Tagged by the meme from Adventures in Ethics and Science and Retrospectacle...
I have OCD tendencies. All the hangers in my closet have to be the same color and oriented in the same direction. A stain on my clothing, no matter how small, will cause me to change clothes. My cd, books, and everything else in my life is close to alphabetized as humanly possible. I can organize the same set of items mutiple times in row and still not be happy. Any deviation from organization or a plan will completely shut me down for the day.
I do not have toenails on either my left or right big toe. …
cmcclain | March 5, 2007An expedition to reveal the secrets of a mysterious huge hole at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean started overnight.
grrlscientist | March 5, 2007I volunteered to host Tangled Bank many many months ago, and I specifically chose this date because it was closest to PZ's 50th birdthday. So won't you all help PZ celebrate his birdthday by making this issue of TB the best ever? This means that I am now requesting submissions from all of you, faithful and new readers alike. I am specifically seeking written submissions about nature, science, medicine and I will also accept images of squids, PZ's favorite animal. I am asking you to please get your submissions in early because I have a court date on the publication date, the 14th (yikes, I am…
cmcclain | March 5, 2007 Every since I worked at wine merchant in Natick, MA to pay for my tiny apartment during graduate school, I have enjoyed Italian wines. My favorite? Castello Di Gabbiano. My other favorite? Catello Banfi. Maybe they will both send me bottles for the online plug (hint, hint).
My love of Italian wines is so great, and this news just bizare enough, for me to temparily loosen the 200m limit for DSN. At the Banfi Estate a 5 my old, Plicoene, whale was discovered. In total 16 vertebra, the size of footballs, were excavated. At the time of the fortunate or unfortunate (depending if you are the…
tqa | March 5, 2007
Today, I'd like to single out two Congresscritters (and their staffs) for special recognition - Representative Henry Waxman (D-Ca), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Representative John Tierney (D-Ma), who chairs that committee's national security subcommittee.
Today, the national security subcommittee is holding hearings on the Walter Reed fiasco. This is a good thing. The military health care situation right now is insane, and hearings are an excellent first step in figuring out what needs to be done to fix it. Unfortunately, one or another of these…
cmcclain | March 5, 2007
In celebration of IPY, the Canadian Post has released a set of stamps (above). One of these is the polar, deep-sea jellyfish, Crossota millsaeare. The size on the stamp of Crossota is about its actual size.
tqa | March 4, 2007
If you live in the US and pay any attention to the news, you've probably heard something about the situation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A feature article in the February 18th edition of the Washington Post set things off, reporting on atrocious conditions in a building used to house wounded soldiers being treated on an outpatient basis. The mold, mice, and mess in building 18 have, since then, received a great deal of attention. Within days, the commander of Walter Reed was fired, the Secretary of the Army resigned in disgrace, two special commissions have been appointed, and…
tqa | March 4, 2007
It looks like the administration is continuing to use one of their favorite tactics in the war on terror - handicap the defense by intimidating their lawyers before they get into the courtroom. Ed Brayton calls this the "Tonya Harding strategy," and he's right - the government wants to win, and they're not above putting a cheap hit in if they think it'll increase their chances.
Earlier this year, a senior pentagon official publicly suggested that companies should boycott law firms that provide pro bono defense to Gitmo detainees. That particular escapade did nothing for them. It outraged (…
petnoyer | March 4, 2007Secrets of the Gulf Expedition is broadcasting live footage of submersible surveys at 100m depth around the Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the cutting edge of exploration technology.
Check it out here:
http://www.immersionpresents.org
Every few hours they run a live broadcast hosted by Bob Ballard and his team.
and here:
http://www.oceanslive.org
They show continuous footage of the ARGOS tow sled as it performs scientific transects in search of biology, geology, and anthropology.
grrlscientist | March 4, 2007
Can you see the lizard?
Orphaned Image. Please contact me to receive proper credit.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-term monetary gains. But if we decide to destroy these other life…
grrlscientist | March 4, 2007This is relatively accurate, as online quizzes go. What are your results?
Your Career Type: Investigative
You are precise, scientific, and intellectual.
Your talents lie in understanding and solving math and science problems.
You would make an excellent:
Architect - Biologist - Chemist
Dentist - Electrical Technician - Mathematician
Medical Technician - Meteorologist - Pharmacist
Physician - Surveyor - Veterinarian
The worst career options for your are enterprising careers, like lawyer or real estate agent.
What's Your Ideal Career?
tqa | March 3, 2007
Last summer, Joe Lieberman showed his support for the Democratic party by continuing to run for the Senate after losing the Democratic primary. The Republicans reacted to this by pulling their support from their own candidate, paving the way for a Lieberman victory. (The tepid support for the "official" Democratic candidate, Ned Lamont, didn't hurt Lieberman much, either.) His punishment for kissing off his party, and rejecting the verdict of the voters?
He's now the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Two weeks ago, Ollie North (of all people)…
tqa | March 2, 2007
Casey Luskin, over at the Discovery Institute's Media Complaints blog doesn't like the reaction that an Idaho crowd had to a PZ Myers quote. He believes that both Myers and the crowd were being intolerant.
Here's the PZ quote at the center of the issue. Actually, as Paul points out in his own response to Casey, the "quote" is actually two separate quotes taken from two totally separate posts, and stuck together with a totally inappropriate ellipsis. (When two statements appear on two separate websites two months apart, you really aren't supposed to link them with three little dots and…
grrlscientist | March 2, 2007Alright everyone, the day that we all have been waiting for has finally arrived; my turn has finally come to host Tangled Bank! This means that I am now requesting submissions from all of you, faithful and new readers alike. I am specifically seeking submissions about nature, science and medicine. I am requesting you to get your submissions in early because I have a court date on the 14th, so the earlier you get your submissions to me, the more likely they will be included and, after a thoughtful reading, well-represented to the public.
neurotopia | March 2, 2007Welcome to the latest edition of the Tangled Bank! We appear to have a smaller bank than normal this week, perhaps everybody is exhausted after the Valentine's Day festivities. As for me, well, 2006 ended on an extremely bad series of notes and that has unfortunately spilled over into 2007, but that's a post for another time. Coupled with some lovely computer issues, The Bank is a couple days late. Apologies all around and I'm swearing off hosting any blog carnivals until I get my life (and computer) in order.
As a side note, when you submit articles to TB please make a conscious effort…
cmcclain | March 2, 2007
#17! The question posed by a reader was just too good not to include the series.
What's the current take on a deep-sea origin of life? I just finished reading Genesis by Robert Hazen where he discusses some of the hypothesis' pros and cons and how there is something of a divide between the "ventists" and the "Millerites" and was wondering if deep-sea scientists naturally fell into the "ventist" camp.
First some background, in Origin of Life Circles you can either be a Ventist or Millerite. Millerites are disciples of Stanley Miller, who created an early earth analog in the…
cmcclain | March 2, 2007I was slow to transition to Sb. Why? It was all the advertising that occurs on the pages (although much less than other sites). Those who have been around for the long haul and remember the old site may recall the noticable absence of advertising. The positives of the move to Sb far outweighed this so Peter and I packed up and moved over. Typically, the advertisements are a matter of opinion. I am no big fan of the advertisement to right because I am concerned about the quality of education through avenues such as this. That's my opinion. Here are PZ's about another ad. Luckily,…
cmcclain | March 2, 2007
Picture from IPY website, Elephant Foot Glacier
From March 2007 to March 2009, grab your parka because it is International Polar Year(s). The organization of this falls to the International Council of Science and the World Meteorological Organization and involves 200 projects, 60 nations, and over 1000 scientists. The main research thrust appears to be the impacts of global warming on the poles and potential of a "ice-free" Arctic. Other projects include the installation of an Arctic Ocean monitoring system, described as an early warning system for climate change, and a…