This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending ScienceOnline '09, a conference-meetup-lovefest of about 200 scientists, journalists and bloggers. There I learned much about what we should and should not be doing in the blogosphere, and astute readers may notice some small changes on the Island of Doubt as a result. Nothing major, just refinements to my particular approach to this still-fledgling communications tool.
More importantly, though, I got acquainted and reacquainted with a few folks behind some blogs that I feel are worthy of your attention. I'll get around to updating my long-neglected blogroll one day, but until then:
The End of the Pier Show is Nature editor Henry Gee's regular contribution to his employer's Web 2.0ish contribution to the scientific community. He has a penchant for poetry, but don't let that stop you.
Culture Dish is one of the most recent additions to ScienceBlogs. It's produced by freelance science writer Rebecca Skloot, who has the distinction of a name that's comparably distinct to my own. She also writes a lot for the New York Times.
There's also The Beagle Project, led by Karen James, who should be having a lot of fun in this, the big Darwin anniversary year. And the ever-thoughful Inverse Square Blog by Tom Levenson of MIT's science writing program.
And while I didn't conduct a census, it seemed to me that there were an awful lot of marine biology oriented types at the gathering, including Rick MacPherson of Malaria, Bedbugs, Sealice and Sunsets, Kevin Zelnio of Deep Sea News (now settled off-network), and Mark Powell of Blogfish. These guys keep me wishing I was still living on the coast.
Enjoy
- Log in to post comments
Did you moderate the session on wildly flailing arrogant belittling sarcasm posts? good job!
i truly regret not getting the time to chat you up this weekend! i was sitting two rows behind you at the anonymity/pseudonymity session and was hoping to get some face time to swap climate denialist war stories, but alas, the conference was a series of unexpected (yet welcome) tangents...
rest assured, all the work on battling the climate kooks makes you an honorary ocean blogging compadre...
I know this seems harsh, but the way to deal with deniers is to grab them by the hair and bring their head down and knee them 3 or 4 times in the face really hard, then slowly saw off their heads until they loudly disavow Rush Limberger. Iâm with Keith Olbermann, who said; âthey no longer matter.â Iâm fed up with them, and hopefully Obama will get us organized and we can be rid of them. I think we would only have to go through a few states, like Texas and Mississippi, for the rest of the country to get the message that we are going forward with saving this planet, and they need to help or shut up and get out of the way. Every Repug in the last administration is going to be prosecuted and rot in prison. They are not even an alternative any longer, just fugitives from justice. I donât think anyone would knowingly hire a Reslugican, so they are destined to become a further drag on science, and our society, if we canât force them to change a little.
James those are some good names to call people that Brent came up with. Come on, I know you can do even better than that. It's science blogging. You and your boy Brent there have it down pat. Let's kill the bastards that disagree (after we call them names of course). Sticking to the science indeedy weedy. -your pal tippy
Classic. James - it's nice to meet some of your friends you hang out with. Nice people. Like you.
So THAT's the type of thing you talk about at a "bloggers convention"? Ah,I see. I more picture a bunch of goofy dudes dressed up in Star Wars gear.
Lovin' this pseudo-science site. It's always good when true colors show - right James? sticking to the science is like stickin' it to the man - right James?
James, it was lovely to meet you at the conference. When you mentioned trolls, though, I'd been expecting something less...oh...mosquito-ish than this. :)
Still, even mosquitos get annoying. Good luck sorting out the upgrade.
hey there. you forgot to put some lame quote from the unknown poet at the beginning of your latest pseudoscience post. try to do better next time.
Blogger Conventioneer #1: "Hi. Who are You."
Blogger Conventioneer #2: "I was a biologist, but there are no jobs so I decided I was a pseudoscience journalist. But now I'm a blogger. I'm pretty much saving all of mankind from plant food right now. They just don't know it."
Blogger Conventioneer #1: "Cool. I'm pretty much saving the world from George Bush and the Repuglicans right now. We have something in common. Come meet my friends Brent and Trent"
Bystander Overhearing Conversation: "Wow!"
Funny. It doesn't feel like Global Warming. Are you guys SURE about this?
Global warming IS real. And it'll kill you. Very soon. You might already be dead actually. Be very afraid and submit to alarmist control. It's the only way. You will even thoroughly enjoy their morals-of-the-moment they impose upon you. Submit or Die. (nike at 11)
Global warming blogging. pfffftt! get a life.
Al Gore is Frozen!! Quick someone throw him a 3ppm CO2 plant food blanket so he can thaw out. Heck he might even need 4 ppm but that might tip him over. bwahahahahaha
http://www.russiatoday.com/features/news/36142
More Like Flailing, Flopping and Failing.
James, more changes are needed. If the repeating childish name-calling outnumbers the meaningful comments then they whole thread isn't worth reading. Of course that is their intention as they can't argue on the facts. Hope you keep making your postings. They read just fine.
James invented name-calling.
@Dan: I'm working on it. We have technical issues with the blogging software, which just received an upgrade. Hopefully, I will introduce registration for commenters later this week.
Skwawk. Why do you need commentors? Your "science blogging" can't stand on it's own two feet? skwawk. just cut and paste global warming crap you find on the internet. then insult someone. skwawk. stick to the name calling. at least you're good at that. parrot and insult. skwawk swkawk.
I just wish James and his friends would stick to the science. heh heh heh
"The man who follows the crowd will get no farther than the crowd."
â Alan Ashley-Pitt
I think James would just like to be accepted into the crowd. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. All this peer pressure is probably stressing him out.
James you should censor anyone that doesn't blindly sign up for your false religion. You'll feel better only hearing what you want to hear. And people wouldn't be ale to call you names like you are always doing to them. Have a nice day!
This is the historic day that the black know the fact, the brown hear the sound, the yellow play the cello, the red man be named Fred man, the white be flying a kite, and James be going down in flames.
@Dan: I'm working on it. We have technical issues with the blogging software, which just received an upgrade. Hopefully, I will introduce registration for commenters later this week.
__
If only there were some type of proxy server you could log through, and if only there were ISPs that gave away unlimited free email addresses. hmmmmmmm..... oh well.
James, these recent posts will be great for your portfolio. You seem to be on the cutting edge, and you really generate a lot of discussion about your posts. We can send some samples and letters of recommendation to places if you like. Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire owns 17% of the New York Times now â we could send him some of your posts and comments. They might want you to blog for them sometime. They could use more readers and comments.
James, following up on Dan G's suggestion, you might consider numbering the posts so those who wish to converse can ignore the flying monkeys.
Mike
James you should do what Trent1462 said - and single handedly put the NYT out of business. Just like you did to TWC Forecast Earth. Good Luck, good Nite, and Good Think'n!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
James what is a "stute"? Is that like a male "ute"? I'm not a "stute", so why don't you just come out and plainly tell us about these cool refinements you have made in your mental processes? Are you on prozac now? Are you going to start zen-blogging? Are you going to double down on the lame unknown poet quotes or what? Do you have even better names to call all of us dumb people? Are you going to admit that you DO like barbecued spare ribs and cold Budweiser? Are you really genetically related to a parrot? Did you take an extra class and upgrade from Biologist to Chemist, or even Physicist god forbid? Out with it!!!!!! What the heck is a "stute". Cuz - we so dumb. We no know. Meh
James is an "Ass Toot" observer. Pardon my French.
James, you need to call the exterminators. You have huge troll infestation on your blog.
Oh Paleeese! Don't be encouraging James to call any more people names. That's his MO. He does that really well all on his little own with no encouragement. That boy's just been on his best behavior lately, cause a some of them folks has suddenly been talking back at him, is all.
JAMES. YOU ARE ASS TOOT.!!!!! hahahhahhhahhahaha dumbass. getalife.
Thanks admin.