Greg Laden's Blog

OpenLab 2009 is done!

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:50:47 -0500

OpenLab 2009 is a compilation of fifty blog posts chosen from several hundred nominated for 2009. For the second time I was a judge for OpenLab, and I can tell you that it is a shame to see only 50 selections given that many more than this number were clearly worthy. But that is what happens when one transforms electrons into bits of ink and paper .... you throw a lot of wheat out with the chaff.

Scicurious did a great job as this year's editor, and a great deal of thanks is owed to her.

Here is the post announcing the final cut. I'm sure further announcements will eventually be made regarding the volume itself.

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

What has Obama really accomplished in his first year as President?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:55:18 -0500

A while back we were discussing whether or not President Obama had done "enough" or otherwise the "right" things since becoming president.

Several commenters draged out long lists of things that were discussed during the campaign (many prior to the magnitude of the economic crisis being realized) and insisted that since none of these things had been completed in the first 10 months of his presidency, he was a total failure.

As I pointed out to these commenters, the president actually gets four years, few presidents manage to do all the things they said they would do, Obama (as was also the case with Clinton) was handed a major problem by his Republican Predecessor that demanded the new president's immediate and undivided attention, and so on and so forth.

(One common indicator that the whinger in this sort of argument is cluless is a comment like "He hasn't passed a single piece of legislation" ... as though the president was even allowed to pass legislation!.... which reminds me to add that the rate at which things get done depends in part on how things go in Congress.)

Anyway, please enjoy the following video regarding Obama's first year in office.

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

God is one smart cookie

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:01:22 -0500

Hat tip: JL

Read the comments on this post...

Blogospherics

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:38:55 -0500

A review of Scientific America by Joshua Zelinsky.

Mormon Marriage Madness at Skepchic.

Read the comments on this post...

Haiti Links and Resources (UPDATED)

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:25:36 -0500

News:

Current news from the BBC

Arikia Millikan's twitter feed. Arikia has relatives in the area, and is tweeting current news.

Help:

US citizens seeking information on your relatives in Haiti, call this number: 888 407 4747

UNICEF page for Haiti: Information and link to donate.

Direct Relief International: Web page and link for donations

American Red Cross International Response Fund

Oxfam now has its Haiti page up, here.

Science and other info:

Tectonics of the Haitian earthquake

Global Seismic Monitor

Read the comments on this post...

Help earthquake victims in Haiti (UPDATE)

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:14:59 -0500

At the moment, the only secular relief organization that indicates that they are on top of Haiti, and is a respected and effective organization, and so on and so forth, is Direct Relief International. Here is their web site.

UPDATE: If you are a US citizen and seek information on your relatives in Haiti, call this number: 888 407 4747

You'll probably get a busy signal but keep trying.

If you know of any other secular organizations that are providing the opportunity to donate to help people in Haiti, please post them below.

Drs. without borders and the various UN groups are obvious cases, but so far their web sites don't have a "help Haiti" link.

Read the comments on this post...

Is it Possible to Communicate Through the Power of Thought?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:33:44 -0500

Before I took the snap, I had a funny feeling that Alec was trying to tell me something. Not verbal communication or any facial expression or signal; whatever it was, I knew that he wanted the deep ball. So I called hike and the ball was snapped to me and I threw the ball as far as I could. The defense looked back, only to see that my brother Alec caught the ball with nobody contesting him. He leaped into the end zone and we celebrated our touchdown. "Wow!" said Victor. "You guys are an amazing team, it's like you guys used some kind of twin telepathy on that play.

Find out what's going on here...

Read the comments on this post...

Haiti Earthquake Appears to be Very Bad

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:08:09 -0500

The earthquake was 7.0 or more (see Eruptions for info and discussion) and was not far from Port-au-Prince. Apparently damage is widespread and intense, and casualties high, but accurate information is limited because the information infrastructure was destroyed (see this for news details).

Read the comments on this post...

Miep Gies died today

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:50:02 -0500

She was born as Hermine Santrouschitz in Vienna in 1909.

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

From Fit to Fat to Fit: Doing it

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:00:44 -0500

When it comes down to it, it is all a matter of just how hard you are willing to work. Then, you start with that and work harder.

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

Genie Scott Honored by National Academy of Sciences

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:15:08 -0500

The National Academy of Sciences is to honor NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott with its most prestigious award, the Public Welfare Medal. ... "the medal is presented annually to honor extraordinary use of science for the public good"; Scott was chosen "for championing the teaching of evolution in the United States and for providing leadership to the National Center for Science Education." She will receive the award on April 25, 2010, during the Academy's 147th annual meeting.
The president of the National Academy of Sciences, Ralph J. Cicerone, commented, "Eugenie Scott has worked tirelessly and very effectively to improve public understanding of both the nature of science and the science of evolution," and the chair of the Public Welfare Medal selection committee, John Brauman, added, "We honor her for many years of organizing coalitions of scientists, parents, teachers, business people, clergy, and others to defend the teaching of evolution."

All the details are here.

Read the comments on this post...

The Blog was Down but now it's Up

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:44:54 -0500

This blog and a few others were down for a while this morning. We apologise and promise it will never happen again.

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

Will Phoenix rise from the ice?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:33:18 -0500

The Phoenix robot, left by NASA on the Martian Pole last Martian Fall, has been hidden by seasonal darkness and is presumably covered with ice. The explorer had performed very well during its mission, and it is not expected to have survived the winter.

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

From Fit to Fat to Fit: Lenora

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:54:25 -0500

When working with a personal trainer, the first thing you have to do is to calibrate. Then, if the trainer does not crank it up to a higher level, she's probably not worth her fee.

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

I don't know what to do with my life

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:24:02 -0500

I don't know what I want for christmas

... Or what I want to be when I grow up, or what to major in in college.

But I can write a poem with Google Search Box:

I am going crazy
I am going to die.

I am going in
I am going to be a big sister.

I am going in Spanish
I am going to die alone.

Hat Tip Science Punk

Read the comments on this post...