Random Thoughts

Above Average Issue of Nature

Last week it was Science, with a swath of Ardipithecus papers. This week Nature has an above-average issue. I can't vouch for the quality of the papers (since I havent' finished them yet), but these look interesting (subscription required, unfort ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Oct 7 2009 - 2:20pm

H1N1 Swine Flu: How it feels to have the dreaded "Pandemic Flu". Don't Panic.

It's been all over the news for so long and so hyped that people expect it to be 1918-1919 all over again.  Well I reckon that I have that pandemic flu.  Let me tell you all you need to know about this flu.  How bad is it? How easy is it to catch it? ...

Blog Post - Hontas Farmer - Oct 8 2009 - 10:00am

Teaching the iGeneration

Some instructors have lamented the challenges of teaching students who are constantly logged-on, plugged-in, facebooked, etc. Guess what? I like teaching the iGeneration*. I enjoy using YouTube clips in my lectures, putting together online discussions, and ...

Blog Post - T. Ryan Gregory - Oct 12 2009 - 10:19am

The Elettra Experience

Just over a year ago, the Daresbury synchrotron closed down (Is The Ring Destined For The Cracks Of Doom?) and I was contemplating the prospect of travelling to THE Continent (OK, the European mainland) in order to continue our Small-angle X-ray scatterin ...

Article - Robert H Olley - Oct 21 2009 - 7:19pm

Extremist Viewpoints

An article " Why Extremist Views Dominate " suggested that such views are expressed more willingly when people believe they hold a majority opinion.  In the study the point was that students that were pro-alcohol were more willing to express thei ...

Blog Post - Gerhard Adam - Oct 21 2009 - 9:21pm

A Squid Fishing Haiku, Because I Am Tired

Skunked again today. Squid are here--but so are storms. It's not called "catching." ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Oct 24 2009 - 9:45pm

Halloween Squid: The Game

I started looking for a seasonally appropriate squid cartoon, and found this cute little flash game called Halloween Squid. "Mr. Squidly" follows your cursor around an underseacape littered with pumpkins, candy, and dead costumed children (really ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Oct 25 2009 - 11:52pm

Richard Heene and the Balloon Boy Hoax

Well, it seems that the issue surrounding the runaway balloon has finally been resolved with the entire event being a hoax. Certainly there are many people that are angry and there's much talk about criminal charges being brought.  No doubt, virtually ...

Blog Post - Gerhard Adam - Oct 26 2009 - 11:49pm

The Say of the Week- on Black Cats

"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere". Groucho Marx ...

Blog Post - Tommaso Dorigo - Oct 27 2009 - 8:06am

Gender, Society and the Brain. How aggression and culture make us the gender we are.

Gender is socially mediated, and constructed, as well as neurologically predisposed.  Innate qualities have to be qualities that do not depend on social interaction.  Consider the so called feral children known to history.  They are what people are like wi ...

Blog Post - Hontas Farmer - Nov 2 2009 - 5:48pm