Random Thoughts

The Crooked Casino Pension Payments Paradigm

The Crooked Casino Pension Payments Paradigm Imagine going to a casino and winning six equal bets in a row. You then lose a bet.  After winning six more bets in a row, and then losing one, you go to collect your winnings, only to be told that the casino o ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Jan 17 2010 - 2:15pm

The Greening Of Domestic Arguments

The Greening Of Domestic Arguments It seems that trying to go green can be a cause of domestic arguments.  I can see why.  Not everyone has the ability to see the big picture.  From a global perspective, a 'green' measure can seem to be a good t ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Jan 18 2010 - 6:36pm

Have We Achieved Dr. Martin Luther King's Dream?

That we should be judged by the content of our characters and not the color of our skin. I don't think so.  The way other "black" people treat each other says no. America has still defaulted on the promisory note he spoke of in his "Dr ...

Blog Post - Hontas Farmer - Jan 18 2010 - 10:39pm

Exoskeletons to Envy

We human primates evolved and innovated extreme flexibility of body and mind, partly because we grow flesh around, instead of within, a bony framework. Yet we envy and copy the crusty, scaly or shelly attire of many biological predecessors. Who sports the ...

Blog Post - Anonymous - Jan 19 2010 - 3:32am

Wondrous Exoskeleton Update

Today's National Science Foundation (NSF) news release about the high-tech armor inspiring "scaly-foot gastropod" mollusk, Crysomallon squamiferum, included better pictures of this deep-sea wonder. So I am posting the pictures in this brief ...

Blog Post - Anonymous - Jan 19 2010 - 9:23pm

How Important Is The Nuclear Family?

The presumption that children need both a mother and a father may be readily accepted by many people today, but there is little evidence to support the idea, say sociologists from USC and NYU. In a new Journal of Marriage and Family study, the team argues ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 21 2010 - 11:55am

Sing A Song Of Science: You, Me And Us

Sing A Song Of Science: You, Me And Us The song "You, me and us" popped into my head today.  When a song pops into my head like that it most commonly triggers a train of scientific thoughts rather than associated memories. The song "You, me ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Jan 23 2010 - 4:44pm

Telescopic Visions

Star formation and star death are wonders that never cease – and never cease to fascinate. Every day, at least once, my wondering attention is drawn outwards into the Universe's astounding billions of galaxies of billions of stars that shine for billi ...

Blog Post - Anonymous - Jan 25 2010 - 9:18pm

Fragments Of Codex Gregorianus Discovered, Historians Say

Historians at University College London say they have discovered part of an ancient Roman law code called the Codex Gregorianus, or Gregorian Code. The discovery was made after researchers pieced together 17 fragments of previously incomprehensible parchme ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2010 - 7:01pm

Could Disappearing Subsidies Mean The End Of Newspapers?

The government financial support that has bolstered America's commercial news industry since its colonial days is now in sharp decline and is likely to fall further, according to a report released today by the University of Southern California's ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 28 2010 - 1:12pm