Mike Dunford
tqa
Posts by this author
August 4, 2008
There have been a number of indications that the Associated Press isn't being as neutral in the election as we would expect from a major media outlet. At an event in April, two Associated Press employees gave McCain a box of donuts and a cup of coffee - both prepared to his tastes - while the…
July 31, 2008
Apparently, the Bush administration has come up with another way to attack reproductive rights. The department of Health and Human Services has come up with a draft regulation that changes a number of definitions in an effort to make it easier for people to refuse to provide people with abortions…
July 31, 2008
Every now and then I'm reminded of just how awesome the world we live in is. Today's reminder came during a walk on the beach, as I watched a young osprey hunting for lunch just offshore.
I had my camera, and was able to get a few pictures of the dive and catch. One's above the fold, and there…
July 30, 2008
My scientific background leaves me more inclined to trust laboratory results than people, and I'm no more inclined to give athletes the benefit of the doubt in doping cases than anyone else who's been paying attention over the last couple of decades. When I heard that Jessica Hardy had tested…
July 29, 2008
UAlbany off party school list -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY
The school that I started my very long undergraduate career at is no longer one of the top party schools in the country. But the food still sucks.
The World's Fair : Hopefully, the start of a definitive list of things to avoid at…
July 28, 2008
My Liberal Identity:
You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.
Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com
and what kind…
July 28, 2008
BBC NEWS | Americas | US man charged for shooting mower
"It's my front yard, and I'll shoot if I want to, shoot if I want to, shoot if I want to. You would shoot too, if it broke down on you."
Strange Maps
A pretty cool blog that Wired's Geek Dads just pointed me to.
Industry Gushed Money…
July 23, 2008
Video: Escaped chimp disarms zookeeper | Environment | guardian.co.uk
Title says it all.
Feministe » More On Medical Battery
Yet another case of a surgeon going just a little bit beyond the procedure he had the patient's consent for.
Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Idiot of the Century?
To…
July 22, 2008
Mingle2 - 9 Reasons Not to Date a Tyrannosaurus Rex
Cute. Not very cute, but cute.
Leo Hickman: Ofcom's verdict on Channel 4 will feed the conspiracy theorists | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
He's right, but that's why they're conspiracy theorists.
The Beagle Project Blog: Lonesome George…
July 21, 2008
The Darwin Diet | Science | guardian.co.uk
I'm not sure I'd try any of those diets out, but I'm not a fan of Atkins, either.
The rise of the urban shepherd | Society | The Guardian
At least one municipality in the UK is turning to sheep to help with park upkeep (but watch your step in the…
July 19, 2008
Yesterday afternoon, Judge Donald Molloy of the Federal District court for Montana issued a preliminary injunction reinstating Endangered Species Act protections for grey wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. This is very good news for the wolves. Although a preliminary injunction will only…
July 16, 2008
A Blog Around The Clock : The Giant's Shoulders #1
Bora brings us the inaugural edition of a new blog carnival devoted to posts that discuss classic scientific papers. If you're interested in history, there's a lot there to enjoy.
Virtual humans: a quest - University of Oxford
Folks at Oxford…
July 16, 2008
Apparently, Chad's dog has at least some of the issues surrounding the PZ Myers/Eucharist desecration issue figured out. I'm not sure, but I think she understands them much better than some of the folks who have been commenting here. And she expresses things with so much more grace and panache…
July 15, 2008
Beavers, wolves & boar, oh my - University of Oxford
Interesting article on the issues that come up when previously lost species are reintroduced to an area.
Daily Kos: GOP, the Know-Nothing Party
The Republicans continue to demonstrate that they're against pretty much everything. (In this…
July 14, 2008
The Greenbelt: Man Sues Church After Prayer Is Granted
This needs to be read to get the full effect. If you lack patience, here's the short version: Man prays for a powerful religious experience. Man receives powerful religious experience. Man sues church over injuries sustained when struck by…
July 12, 2008
I really had no plans on posting more about the whole PZ and the eucharist thing. I got my own views off my chest last night, and there haven't been any new developments in the case itself. The initial reactions to Paul's post are in, and the commenters have sorted themselves into three groups ("…
July 11, 2008
Over the last couple of days, I've considered posting something on the controversy that's been sparked by PZ Myers' comments about the eucharist, and the reaction of Bill Donohue and the Catholic League to those comments. I've been putting it off because it's not an easy post for me to write. The…
July 11, 2008
Gene Expression: Americans are scientific geniuses (relatively)
No, Razib, we're not geniuses. We're apparently just slightly less stupid than others.
An Original Confession - Olivia Judson - Evolution - Opinion - New York Times Blog
Good article on Darwin as a writer. Personally, I find Darwin…
July 10, 2008
I don't know what it is, but there's clearly something about the G8 conference that interferes with George Bush's ability to restrain his inner frat brat. At the G8 two years ago, you might recall, the Commander-in-Chief grabbed international headlines when he gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel…
July 10, 2008
Weldon Firm's Made Defective Tank Deal With Iraq | Danger Room from Wired.com
What's the fun of invading someone if you can't rip them off when you're done?
July 9, 2008
Sandwalk: The Three Fatal Flaws in the Theory of Evolution
Yesterday, the anti-evolutionists brought the dumb. Today, they bring the dumber.
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Manchester | Funding secured for observatory
At least one project has been spared from the UK's science funding cuts.
July 8, 2008
Backreaction: Research and Teaching
It's always awkward trying to find the bright side in an international educational crisis, but there is one here: at least this one's not just an American problem.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Nasa reveals final shuttle dates
NASA has released the (tentative)…
July 7, 2008
Nothing shocks me, I'm a scientist: US Pentagon short of cash?
The costs of war appear to include our compliance with totally unrelated international treaties. Nice.
Hurricane BERTHA Forecast Discussion
The season's second tropical storm has become the first hurricane. Fortunately, it's still a…
July 6, 2008
I took this one last winter, while I was on vacation out in the French countryside.
City Hall, Chaussenac, France. (Population 246)
July 5, 2008
Timo Hannay just responded, over at one of Nature's blogs, to the hordes of bloggers who were somewhat displeased with the tone and content of Declan Butler's recent Nature article. Now that someone from Nature has returned fire, and other bloggers have fired back, it's likely that this whole…
July 4, 2008
Mike the Mad Biologist : Porn, Stimuli, and the Lawn of Unintended Consequences
At least there's one sector of the economy that's been stimulated by the stimulus checks.
July 3, 2008
The Associated Press: AP IMPACT: Race profiling eyed for terror probes
We have met the enemy, and he is us.
Tropical Depression TWO Forecast Discussion
There's a system that's being watched, and may become a tropical storm or hurricane over the next few days.
Stop the Presses: Kids Like Cool…
July 3, 2008
As you may or may not know, there's been some conflict in the scientific publishing industry over the last few years. Traditional business models have been challenged by an "open-access" model, where the papers are freely available to the general public. In the traditional model, the money comes…
July 2, 2008
Evolving Thoughts: Commander in Chief
Just because it's an Australian talking about our politics doesn't mean it's wrong.