terrasig | October 31, 2008Much hubbub is to be had today over the work of Dalhousie University mathematics professor, Dr Jason Brown, in solving the mystery of George Harrison's opening chord of The Beatles, "A Hard Day's Night," played on a Rickenbacker 360/12 guitar. The PDF of Prof Brown's report is available online.
As the report and article show, The Beatles did indeed record this in one take with no overdubbing such that Harrison could not have played the chord alone. We now learn from Brown's work and others that Harrison and Lennon played two different guitars but the nice flavor was added by producer George…
terrasig | October 31, 2008PalMD has a nice post up at denialism blog reviewing a recent NYT article on a foundation run by DKNY's Donna Karan donating $850,000 USD to Beth Israel Medical Center to study the combination of Eastern and Western healing methods. PalMD has the details but he then gets into an area about which I am rather passionate: the incredibly low scientific-based bar that is allowed by journalists and hospital administrators for individuals to be considered "experts" in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
As the good doctor notes of one such expert:
Other than his standard medical…
terrasig | October 28, 2008I'm swamped again in meatspace but just had to leave a thank-you to all of my tag-ees for responding to my tag by Comrade PhysioProf to post six random things about oneself.
Among the things I'm trying to finish tonight is an interview from a student in Miss Baker's high school biology class in Maryland who will be attending ScienceOnline'09.
Anna has asked me some questions about this conference and why I go. I'm reminded that I first met Tom Levenson last year at this conference and we have maintained a friendly e-mail relationship. What strikes me in my interview with Anna is that Tom and…
terrasig | October 27, 2008The blogger who I thought among all held the greatest disdain for any of these silly little narcissistic blogger games, Comrade PhysioProf, has tagged me with a meme.
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
So here are six random things about me:
1. I belong to the Y-chromosome haplogroup J2: my markers carry the path of M168 > M89…
terrasig | October 25, 2008A reader sent the following to my blog e-mail address but under my meatspace name.
So much for pseudonymity.
Here's the version with my 'nym:
And am I the only one who wonders if Mrs Walsh is PhysioProf's mother?
terrasig | October 24, 2008When you read The Friday Fermentable posts I've written, you know that I am not a wine writer or connoisseur but rather a wine enthusiast. (The posts by my colleague Erleichda, however, are far more content-rich.)
My original post launching this feature details my wine philosophy, one that reflects my general philosophy about life: enjoy life, learn about everything you can, but don't be a snooty, arrogant ass about it. Wine appreciation is meant, IMHO, to be inclusive, not exclusive.
Despite my not being a "professional" wine writer, I was delighted last week to receive a comment from Mr…
terrasig | October 24, 2008"Prescribing 'placebo treatments': results of national survey of US internists and rheumatologists," is the title of a newly-published article in the 23 October issue of BMJ (British Medical Journal). The full text article and PDF are available for free at the time of this posting.
In this study of 679 US physicians, Tilburt et al. reveal that 46-58% of those responding report regularly using some sort of placebo in their practice. The reason for the range is that questions were asked in a manner that did not use the word, "placebo," but instead took into account:
"Placebo treatment" is an…
terrasig | October 24, 2008From this press release:
It is with deepest sadness that North Carolina Central University announces the passing of photojournalist Alex Rivera [Alexander M Rivera, Jr]. Rivera, a nationally renowned and prominent photojournalist, established the public relations office at North Carolina Central University, and served as the office's first director.
"This is a sad day for NCCU", said Chancellor Charlie Nelms. "Not only was Mr. Rivera an integral part of the university's history, he made invaluable contributions to the world through his photography. He was a valued member of our community and…
terrasig | October 22, 2008In today's laboratory, we will consider cases where bloggers have been involuntarily unmasked, usually with malicious intentions. This is a series of interactive posts which I hope will provide disucssion points for a session I will help to lead on blogger pseudonymity at the ScienceOnline'09 unconference in RTP, NC, USA, 16-18 January 2009.
Many bloggers choose to write under pseudonyms for personal and/or professional issues. I'll leave my session co-chair PalMD consideration of the special issues of the pseudonymous physician blogger. Several docs I know use pseudonyms simply because…
terrasig | October 20, 2008To those not following our discussion, PalMD and I (and a couple of pseudonymous women bloggers) will be leading a discussion session on the needs and justification for anonymity or pseudonymity in blogging at the upcoming ScienceOnline'09 conference (16-18 Jan 2009 in RTP, NC, USA). I've also been toying with the pros and cons of personally uncloaking and have been surprised that most readers and commenters don't really care whether I am Abel or [RealName].
The past posts in this series have focused on whether readers trust pseudonymous bloggers - "trust" is a powerful word that I now…
terrasig | October 19, 2008I've been a bit too quiet on my end during this third year of ScienceBlogs.com participation in the October Blogger Challenges for DonorsChoose.org. DonorsChoose.org was launched by Charles Best, a Bronx schoolteacher who recognized that public schools around the US were underfunded, particularly in districts with a high abundance of poverty:
Charles Best leads DonorsChoose.org, a simple way to fulfill needs and foster innovation in public schools. At this not-for-profit web site, teachers submit proposals for materials or experiences that their students need to learn. Any individual can…
terrasig | October 19, 2008. . .wheeling a brand-new, factory-packaged office refrigerator down the street of a predominantly African American neighborhood past a parked police cruiser at daybreak on a cold Sunday and having the officer roll down the window and shake your hand while wishing you a good morning.
(Feel free to fix my use of all those prepositional phrases, but I hope you get the picture.).
terrasig | October 17, 2008Scott Hensley, editor of the WSJ Health Blog, just reminded me that his colleague and blog lead writer, Jacob Goldstein, put together a neat slideshow on the fluorescent marine proteins for which this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded. I've been a bit behind in my reading of other blogs so it was refreshing to see this nicely accessible coverage.
The WSJ blog post, The Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Beauty of Fluorescent Protein, has the slideshow embedded. You may also go directly to the slideshow here.
(h/t Scott Hensley)
terrasig | October 17, 2008If you're in Australia or North America, chances are your first experience with Shiraz was in the form widely-available from Rosemount Estates. Shiraz is derived from the same stock as Syrah that is grown in France's Rhone Valley. The Australian "father of viticulture," James Busby, brought Syrah to the continent in the 1830s while collecting vines in Spain and France.
I think I bought my first bottle of Rosemount Shiraz in 1996 or 1998 for $7.99 USD; it can still be had for $10 or $11. In this grad student/postdoc-friendly price range, the wine was quite drinkable as compared with too-…
terrasig | October 17, 2008Here.
PalMD, why don't we just put this up and say, "Discuss."
btw, I sort of like my new pseudonym.
terrasig | October 16, 2008Wow. Thank you, dear Terra Sig readers, for your thoughtful responses to our first query about the concept of blogger pseudonymity.
For background, I have threatened to reveal myself (in text, not photographically) and wished to use this opportunity to provide grist for a session led by me, PalMD, and several women bloggers on the sci/med blogging under a pseudonym at ScienceOnline'09 on 17 Jan 2009 at Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
Just as many people might be frightened by me uncloaking in meatspace, readers have responded that…
terrasig | October 16, 2008We here at the Terra Sig World Headquarters have been inundated with traffic directed by search engines following our post the other day directing readers to the NPR story on Douglas Prasher. Prasher, as is now widely known, is the former Woods Hole science who cloned the cDNA for green fluorescent protein (GFP) that enabled the work leading to this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry to at least two of the three laureates. Prasher is currently driving a courtesy shuttle for Bill Penney Toyota in Huntsville, AL, for $10 (USD) per hour. Prasher had been working for NASA in Huntsville until his…
terrasig | October 14, 2008At the upcoming ScienceOnline'09 conference (16-18 Jan 2009 in RTP, NC, USA), PalMD and I will be leading a discussion session on the needs and justification for anonymity or pseudonymity in blogging. Women bloggers have additional needs for blogging under a pseudonym and PalMD and I are currently enlisting such unadvertised participants so as not to, you know, compromise their identity (yes, those present will learn who he and I are but we can assure all that it will be anti-climactic).
Even prior to developing discussion points for the session, I had been considering the possibility of…
terrasig | October 13, 2008Much hoo-hah in the local fishwrapper regarding the installation yesterday of Dr Holden Thorp as Chancellor of the state's flagship university, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (installation address here). Thorp has brought a large degree of enthusiasm and optimism to Chapel Hill with his numerous and diverse accomplishments to date as well as his vision and youth - he has turned 44 during the time between his appointment and installation yesterday.
My scientific colleagues at UNC-CH have been giddy with Thorp's appointment as he is himself a scientist: his appointment is in…