Will it ever end?
Daily Archives: February 4, 2010
Stellarium is an excellent planetarium for your computer
Stellarium is a realistic looking, feature rich OpenSource planetarium. The default catalog has over one half million stars, but you can get an extended catalog with over 200 million stars. All the usual information you expect in a planetarium is available. For the most part, navigation of the image can be done easily with a mouse or using the keyboard. The software takes over the GUI (like some games do). It can project (via a projector, I assume) for use in an actual planetarium or be used on your computer screen. You can get plugins for artificial satellite tracks and to interface with your telescope (or at least, work with your telescope).
What would Jesus do? Pass or run?
The real conversion is the one that happens under your eyes…
Continue reading What would Jesus do? Pass or run?
Saints Unapologetic about Unusual Hurt the QB Strategy: “I don’t care about no fines, I’m gonna hit him” says big scary guy.
In a recent post, I earned the ire of many poorly informed denialist football fans when I noted an obvious fact: The strategy used by the New Orleans Saints to win the playoff game with the much more deserving Minnesota Vikings, which involved trying as hard as possible to knock the Quarterback out of the game, was unethical, unusual, and intentional. Despite the protestations of commenters on this blog post, numerous sports experts have joined me in this assertion.
For example, Joe Theisman: “Ive been out of the game some 25 years. So, if you take approximately 40 years of professional football, I have never seen one man take the beating that Brett Favre took yesterday.” (source)
Since that game the Saints have been overtly describing their strategy for the SuperBowl: Hurt the Quarterback and knock him out of the game. They make no apologies for this strategy, even to the extent that one of the Saints defensive backs has openly declared that he does not care if his actions earn him a fine.
See for yourself:
Must reads
Somebody is making fun of everybody: Things I Have Learned From Blogging at Science Blogs, Part I
Bad news: Why the denial camp is winning (and we’re all losing) the climate wars
But then again: Rush Limbaugh: How the existence of god disproves climate change
American Missionaries Acting Badly?
Ten American missionaries are charged in Haiti with child kidnapping and conspiracy. There are no accurate details of what happened, but it appears that the missionaries may have been trying to bring 30 or more kinds into some American based adoption system in a manner that was not in accord with Haitian law.
Until further details are available, you might as well read up on missionaries.
The History Of Cooking in Five Courses
FROM OPEN FLAMES TO SOUS VIDE: The History Of Cooking in Five Courses
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 – 7 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m.
Cost $50. Reservations required. Call 612-624-9050
Join Chef Chris Olson and local experts on an exploration of the evolution of cooking in five delicious courses. With the Bell Museum’s wildlife dioramas as a backdrop, Olson, cook at St. Paul-based Meritage and co-creator of Paired, will take diners on a culinary journey through the ages, from the invention of fire to the scientific approach to food through molecular gastronomy. Biological anthropologist Greg Laden, whose work focuses on diet and human evolution, will join Olson in this deliciously illustrated tale. The event is co-sponsored by the Heavy Table, a Twin Cities-based online magazine devoted to telling the stories of food and drink in the Upper Midwest.