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gregladen | April 19, 2012I live near a highway. All winter, I almost never went west on that road, only east, but a couple of times I did go west. And, in a tree off to the right in that direction, I noticed a mass of stuff that resembled a Bald Eagle's nest as much as any mass of stuff ever could, but of course, it was not a bald eagle nest.
... or was it?
gregladen | April 18, 2012... Huffington, by Shawn Otto:
Dear Arianna,
Congratulations on the Huffington Post's Pulitzer prize. That is an important feather in the paper's cap.
I want you to know how much I value your publication, and how I think the dust up over the antiscience HuffPost article "NASA Global Warming Stance Blasted By 49 Astronauts, Scientists Who Once Worked At Agency" is an opportunity for a broader discussion, which you could lead. The story has garnered wide attention in both science and journalism circles. Why is an important discussion.
It is a discussion that I think is critical to our…
sb admin | April 16, 2012So here's a modest proposal for film rental / streaming companies like LoveFilm and Netflix: why don't you have shareable playlists like Spotify?
You see, I was reading Time Out's 100 Best Horror Films and I thought, there must be loads of these lists out there, on all kinds of criteria, for all kinds of audiences. Why isn't there a button at the end labelled "ADD THESE TO MY LOVEFILM"? There are buttons to tweet it, Like it, add it to Reddit, Dig, and a dozen other aggregation sites, but none that actually serves the purpose of the list: getting these films in front of my eyes!
I don't…
sciencepunk | April 16, 2012So here's a modest proposal for film rental / streaming companies like LoveFilm and Netflix: why don't you have shareable playlists like Spotify?
You see, I was reading Time Out's 100 Best Horror Films and I thought, there must be loads of these lists out there, on all kinds of criteria, for all kinds of audiences. Why isn't there a button at the end labelled "ADD THESE TO MY LOVEFILM"? There are buttons to tweet it, Like it, add it to Reddit, Dig, and a dozen other aggregation sites, but none that actually serves the purpose of the list: getting these films in front of my eyes!
I don't…
gregladen | April 15, 2012Yesterday, at the Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) Convention in Minnesota's United States Congressional District 3, my candidate, Sharon Sund, did not gain the endorsement of our party; the endorsement went to the Gentleman from Edina, Brian Barnes. Brian won fair and square, and it was a good campaign.
This morning, my car sits in the garage crammed full of seat cushions and Sun(d) chips, campaign posters and stickers, and other sundry items hastily gathered from our convention field headquarters and the lobby of the Valley View Middle School where the convention happened.
I'll be…
gregladen | April 15, 2012This is a good starting point:
"Successful organizing is based on the recognition that people get organized because they, too, have a vision."
-Paul Wellstone
gregladen | April 15, 2012One hundred years ago today, the Titanic, the largest boat in the water at the time, and unsinkable by design, ran into an iceberg and sank. Many died on board because of insufficient safety equipment.
A majority of first and second class children survived the sinking, but only 34% of the third class children lived. Almost all of the first class women and 86% of the second class women lived, but under half of the third class women survived. For men, 33% of the first class, 8% of the second calass, and 16% of the third class survived. Among crew, 87% of the women survived, but only 22% of…
jdupuis | April 14, 2012
The Emergence of a Citation Cartel
Ask the Chefs: "What's the Biggest Elephant in the Room?"
Review: "How Economics Shapes Science," by Paula Stephan
Interview with Paula Stephan -- Economics, Science, and Doing Better
Maxing out the curve on ebook adoption
Everything you need to know about today's e-book lawsuit in one post
Are Apps The Future of Book Publishing?
UKSG conference: Libraries: enacting change (libraries as leaders in altmetrics)
The BRIGHT Future of Libraries - a Rant
Culture Change for Learning
E-Books: What Next?
Authors use Kickstarter to begin new publishing company
Dear…
denialism | April 13, 2012But you'd never know that reading AEI's highly dubious contribution to the literature in this week's Health Affairs (lay Reuters article here). Consistent with their free-market solves everything and can do no wrong (cover ears and yell "nananananananana") attitude towards the broken US healthcare system, they have managed to contaminate the literature with a paper that suggests our higher expenditures on cancer are generating significant returns in patient survival. Except that it doesn't show this, and to her great credit, Reuter's Sharon Begley nails it:
Cancer patients in the United…
gregladen | April 11, 2012We've had conversations before, here, about this topic, especially in the context of school. We've spoken about how to deal with students who are trying very hard to push creationism in the classroom, where you are the teacher. We've spoken about what a parent of a student in school might like to do. And now, here's an item on what can go right and wrong when this or related topics come up at your place of work.
gregladen | April 11, 2012An earthquake triggered a tsunami warning in Indonesia, which is said to have covered "Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Maldives and other Indian Ocean islands, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Iran, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Singapore," but the wave that rolled ashore was insignificant. However, a subsequent, strong aftershock then triggered another warning, and I've seen no information about that yet.
These events seem to be about 8.6 magnitude, which is high. They were at sea along the western edge of the continental plate.
This is of course…
gregladen | April 10, 2012Rick Santorum, Republican Candidate, has essentially dropped out of the Republican presidential race. Gone, but not forgotten.
gregladen | April 8, 2012CBS News is reporting that veteran newsman and "60 Minutes" star interviewer Mike Wallace has died at age 93.
Details of his passing aren't yet clear, but on the CBS website colleague Morley Safer is remembering the journalist's 65 years from Wallace's first appearance on the network to his last, a "60 Minutes" interview with Roger Clemens.
source
gregladen | April 6, 2012Science Debate Dot Org asks the question: In a nationally televised presidential science debate, who would be the best moderator?
I find the suggestions that have been made so far to be interesting. A lot of people seem to be suggesting people who are obviously good scientists, or good communicators, but who are not especially known for being moderators. They are not the same thing.
Go have a look, make a suggestion, or vote for the existing suggestions.
denialism | April 6, 2012Maybe my email worked? I got a one sentence reply from Max last night saying he agreed, and today Tucker Max says hellz no to PETA and instead wants to give to a local shelter:
I do not agree AT ALL with the mission of PETA.
...
If we're talking about what an awful organization PETA is, that's really just the beginning. They're so ridiculous, they compared the holocaust to killing chickens. Not only that, but they have a history of shitting on celebrities they've worked with in the past. And perhaps worst of all, they are the ones that think violence against women is OK. Their stated…