clock | November 9, 2008Scattered thoughts, that is.
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On Tuesday night I was teaching. Yup, my BIO101 class for adults. Scheduled for 6-10pm. But it was the mid-term exam day. I made an exam that can be done in two hours. I knew that my students were itchy to get it done and go home to watch the election returns. Many of them are African American as well. I sat there, with the computer on, browser open on TalkingPointsMemo, FiveThirtyEight, CNN.com, FriendFeed...watching as they announced Kantucky and Vermont, refreshing every couple of seconds. At 8pm I kicked the last couple of…
clock | November 9, 2008November edition of Scientiae is up on See Jane Compute
The 78th Carnival of Space is up at Simostronomy
Brain Blogging, Forty-First Edition, is up on BrainBlogger
clock | November 8, 2008God gave us a penis and a brain, but not enough blood to use both at the same time.
- Robin Williams
clock | November 8, 2008We are busy preparing for The Open Laboratory 2008. The submissions have been trickling in all year, and a little bit more frequently recently, but it is time now to dig through your Archives for your best posts since December 20th 2007 and submit them. Submit one, or two, or several - no problem. Or ask your readers to submit for you.
Then take a look at your favourite bloggers and pick some of their best posts - don't worry, we can deal with duplicate entries. Do not forget new and up-coming blogs - they may not know about the anthology - and submit their stuff as well.
As we did last…
clock | November 7, 2008Business underlies everything in our national life, including our spiritual life. Witness the fact that in the Lord's Prayer, the first petition is for daily bread. No one can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach.
- Woodrow Wilson
clock | November 7, 2008'Beauty Machine' Makes Average Face A Knockout With A Single Click:
Our mothers told us that true beauty is more than skin deep -- but researchers from Tel Aviv University are now challenging Mom. They've built a beauty machine that, with the press of a button, turns a picture of your own ordinary face into that of a cover model. While its output is currently limited to digitized images, the software may be able to guide plastic surgeons, aid magazine cover editors, and even become a feature incorporated into all digital cameras.
Bullies May Enjoy Seeing Others In Pain:
Unusually aggressive…
clock | November 7, 2008Some people say that Scienceblogs.com is all godless crowd. But no, it can't be - we have and worship our own Goddess! Yes, Goddess Isis has moved in here (from here to here) this morning. Go bow at her feet.
clock | November 7, 2008
Here is the sixth interview in the series on Miss Baker's Biology class blog - Anna's interview with David Kroll.
Previously in this series:
ScienceOnline09 - an interview with...me!
ScienceOnline09 - an interview with Eric Roston
ScienceOnline09 - an interview with Clinton Colmenares
ScienceOnline09 - an interview with Erica Tsai
ScienceOnline09 - an interview with Brian Switek
clock | November 7, 2008The Boneyard #25 is up on The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Big Lie
The Carnival of the Liberals: Election Special! is up on The Lay Science
Friday Ark #216 is up on Modulator
clock | November 6, 2008Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the service of the plunderers, and treats the victim - when he defends himself - as a criminal.
- Frederic Bastiat
clock | November 6, 2008Today's issue of Genome Technology contains six nice articles about Open Access:
Ready or Not, Here Comes Open Access:
Here's the central conundrum of the open access debate: you can't find anyone who's actually opposed to it. Really. For all the grandstanding and arguing, the fiercest opponents and supporters alike tend to support the underlying principle -- that freely accessible data would be a boon to the greater scientific enterprise. In an ideal world, most everyone agrees, there would be no restrictions on scientific results. It's the real-world practical concerns that provide the…
clock | November 6, 2008Seeing A Brain As It Learns To See:
A brain isn't born fully organized. It builds its abilities through experience, making physical connections between neurons and organizing circuits to store and retrieve information in milliseconds for years afterwards.
Looming Ecological Credit Crunch?:
The world is heading for an ecological credit crunch as human demands on the world's natural capital reach nearly a third more than earth can sustain.
Extreme Weather Postpones Flowering Time Of Plants:
Extreme weather events have a greater effect on flora than previously presumed. A one-month drought…
clock | November 6, 2008Simon Owens just published a nice article on PBS' MediaShift about crashing internet polls. My SciBlings PZ Myers and Greg Laden were interviewed for the article and have said some smart things with which I agree.
clock | November 6, 2008Carnival of the Blue #18 is up on Deep Sea News
The latest edition of Four Stone Hearth is up on Archaeoporn
99th Skeptic's Circle is up on Ferret's Cage
clock | November 6, 2008There are rumors aplenty, but take them with caution, about potential members of the Obama Administration.
Despite understanding, on a cerebral level, what Obama is trying to do, on a visceral level my instinct is to use the majority to implement progressive policies fast and forcefully, to have enough time for those policies to take hold and demonstrate to the people that they are good - two years of gradual economic recovery, new jobs, affordable health-care, serious environmental programs and such can lead to further increase in Dem numbers in Congress instead of decline, and would ensure…
clock | November 6, 2008In today's News and Observer:
Mary H. Schweitzer, associate professor of paleontology at N.C. State University, will talk about how paleontology can help determine whether life ever existed on other planets.
She will speak at a Periodic Tables event sponsored by the Museum of Life and Science in Durham on Tuesday.
Periodic Tables is a regular program that gives adults a chance to learn and discuss the latest in science. Schweitzer will share her expertise in the field of astrobiology and explain how we can use the tools of molecular paleontology to detect biomarkers not only in fossils but…