I’m skeptical that it is possible to make fried beer. I find it hard to believe that one can be human and not be a hypocrite at least some times. I’m skeptical that atheist doctors will actually conspire to kill you sooner than other doctors. I’m skeptical that science experiments always work.
Monthly Archives: August 2010
Hear The Conspiracy Skeptic
Skeptically Speaking’s Podcase show Karl Mamer is now a podcast, here.
(Includes Josh Witten on irrational beliefs and evolutionary theory.)
Danielle Shoots for the Great White North; Earl Will Bring some Problems.
Earl may threaten the US Virgin Islands and Pueto Rico with hurricane force winds. These areas will be affected by tropical storm force winds. Antigua, Barbuda, Monserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla, Saint Martin and Satin Barthelemy, St. Marten, Saba and St. Eustatius are under hurricane warnings, and a hurricane watch is in effect for the British and US Virgin Islands, Peurto Rico, Culebra and Vieques. This is all going to happen right away: Today, tomorrow, the next day.
Continue reading Danielle Shoots for the Great White North; Earl Will Bring some Problems.
Happy Anniversary Katrina Hitting Louisiana
Five years ago, on August 29th, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the coast of Louisiana with sustained winds of 125 mph. In what Republicans at the time claimed to be an utterly unrelated event, New Orleans was devastated by a flood around the same time. Apparently, New Orleans remains pretty much still devastated. Well, the poor parts do, other parts have been fixed up, I hear.
Scientists had predicted that a hurricane like Katrina would hit New Orleans and do pretty much what it did. So, we call August 29th “Oh fuck, we should have listened to the scientists” day.
So, happy “Oh Fuck” day.
vi vs emacs
ultimate showdown
Continue reading vi vs emacs
I used to not worry that much about asteroids hitting the Earth.
No, Sharron Angle has not gone away yet.
Wanted
Wanted; A storage container for data media (cd’s, dvd’s, SD cards, etc.) that is not made of materials that seem to be even more delicate, subject to weathering, and flamable than the data medium itself.
See the whole “WANTED” list here.
NYT: Hauser “May Have Fabricated…”
With each new drop of information spilled by the media, the case seems clearer that Hauser made up data. As Nicholas Wade reports, this would potentially be “the unforgivable sin.”
New link between exercise and weight loss uncovered?
A recent paper provides the groundwork to establish a way for exercise to diminish appetite. Or, more likely, for sedentary behavior to increase appetite.
Continue reading New link between exercise and weight loss uncovered?
The Mosque at Ground Zero: “Don’t Build It”
The Center for Inquiry in Amherst NY has come out against the mosque. I’ve been pretty much avoiding this topic (not for any particularly good reason) other than to note the gagging teabaggers beating up on non-pink people that they assume are Kaaaaiiiiliiii terrorists or something.
But DuWayne Brayton posted a link, with commentary, to the CFI’s statement on the mosque, and, I find myself respectfully disagreeing with DuWayne and going in with the CFI on this one.
Religion did this. The terrorist attack was a religious event. I don’t want a mosque or a temple or a church or community center linked to a religion built in the vicinity of the destroyed World Trade Center on account of the attack any more than I want a religious structure built next to the Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City on account of that religious attack by Christian White Supremacist McVay.
In fact, I suggest in a comment on DuWayne’s post what should really happen in New York City.
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Policy = Wider Rich/Poor Gap in Health
The question is being asked, Will Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Widen Health Inequalities? in a Policy Forum essay in the OpenAccess Journal PLoS Medicine.
Continue reading Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Policy = Wider Rich/Poor Gap in Health
Congress: Fix this dumb stem cell ruling
I just thought I’d pass on this letter from Rush Holt to Nancy Pelozi and Steny Hoyer:
Continue reading Congress: Fix this dumb stem cell ruling
Actual Hurricane Season Finally Underway
Here’s a pretty picture from the Atlantic:
That, dear reader, is what an active hurricane season looks like.
Medical blogging; Ask a naturalist; Darwin was Rong research
Check out the Furious Purpose blog, written by a long time denizen of the Internet, yet newish blogger, written by …
…an overworked emergency room doctor, a father and citizen, and I blog infrequently about stuff that interests me.This might include things like Health, Politics, Religion, and whatever tickles my fancy !
I have a particular interest in issues related to public health including health politics, the role of religion in public life, and rationalism/skepticism.
I’ll leave it to you to go find the post that focuses on yours truly, but really, the rest of the blog is quite interesting and there is a lot of promise here. Medical blogs can be among the most interesting.
Have you got a question about nature? Ask a Naturalist . The blog claims:
Just post it at Ask a Naturalist.com, and I’ll do my best to answer as quickly as possible. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll research it and find out if anyone does. And if no one knows why or what or how, I’ll explain why your question is such a difficult one. After all, there are so many questions about nature for which we don’t yet have answers.
And, if you want to know more about the paper that recently raised the furor over Darwin being Rong and stuff, you can read the blog post about it by one of the authors.
I think the work is important and interesting, but I’ve never seen an advanced study of “competition” that does not parse competition out into a number of types, some of which would include niche-related effects. So, I conclude that a) the Darwin was Rong thing was actually part of the original work, inappropriately, b) the work is still interesting and c) we must learn as scientists and science commentators that the press will always grab and run with certain themes no matter what we do. Anyway, go read the blog post and the comments.