Daily Archives: November 16, 2012

Finally, the Mayan Apocalypse Explained

In a moment of what may have been trance induced ague, my friend John McKay uttered a few words about Twinkies and the Maya that made a certain amount of sense, but something was still missing. But then it hit me like a loaf of bread. Wonderbread. Which, in Afrikaans, means “Miracle Bread” (you probably didn’t know that). Anyway, look at these two Google Image Search screen captures:

All Mayan sites have these things in them. That is how you tell they are Mayan. No kidding. The earliest Mayan site is defined, literally, as the oldest site with one of these things in it. When these things start NOT occurring on sites, those are "post-Classic" and not really "Mayan" in the, well, Classic sense.

~

OK, so many of them are laying on their sides, but the are still THE SAME THING.

The Mayan Apocalypse IS the End of the Twinkies. The End of the Twinkies IS the Mayan Apocalypse. It has been right in front of our eyes all this time. Also, in Mayan, the word for “Five Women” is almost the same as the utterance “Hostess.”

Aircraft contrails can cause precipitation by "seeding" clouds

A repost:

This post was chosen as an Editor's Selection for ResearchBlogging.orgIn a paper that is about to be published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, researchers Andrew Heymsfield, Patrick Kennedy, Steve Massie, Crl Schmitt, Zhien Wang, Samuel Haimov and Art Rangno make the claim that “The production of holes and channels in altocumulus clouds by two commercial turboprop aircraft is documented for the first time. … Holes and channels in supercooled altocumulus clouds can be the result of homogeneous ice nucleation induced by turboprop and jet aircraft at temperatures warmer than previously accepted for commercial aviation influences on clouds.”
Continue reading Aircraft contrails can cause precipitation by "seeding" clouds

BURN NOTICE Science Challenge (STEM)

Do you know Burn Notice? It is a TV series on USA Network involving a spy, an ex IRA soldier, and a retired Navy Seal who end up working together to solve two problem streams: the ongoing difficulty of why (and how) the main character, Michael, was “burned” as a spy, and the novel problem that arises every episode in which the team helps some hapless innocent from getting out from under the boot of a nasty bully criminal, or something along those lines. During the process of handling these parallel problems, the crew have to MacGyver their way out of a lot of problems, and much of this is narrated by Michael, who is the most highly qualified spy on the planet, who explains to us the counterintuitive (but once you know them obvious) details of spycraft. For instance, if you want to make a certain kind of covert listening device, get the cheapest cell phone you can find and use that mic, together with the transmission circuitry of a higher quality phone. The cheap phone will not have a digital sound dampening system so it will pick up everything, while a more expensive mic will not, and thus, won’t work to bug a room or a car. A lot of cell phones and other household devices are dismantled and used to make motion detectors, bugs, or some other device.

The USA Network has developed the “BURN NOTICE Science Challenge, for High School students in the US… Continue reading BURN NOTICE Science Challenge (STEM)

The New Zoo Borns Is Out!

Just in time for Christmas. The problem with cute baby animals born in the zoo is that they grow up. The upside of this process is that you need a NEW Zoo Born every so often, and the new one is out. ZooBorns The Next Generation: Newer, Cuter, More Exotic Animals from the World’s Zoos and Aquariums is …

fThe new generation of zoo babies will reset the standard for devastating cuteness.
From the creators of the smash hit ZooBorns series of books, ZooBorns The Next Generation features full-color photos and fascinating facts on exotic baby animals from every corner of the world. Filled with brand-new species and some beloved favorites, this collection is irresistible to any animal lover.

These babies are much more than just adorable furry faces. They are ambassadors for their species in the wild, helping educate about conservation while they entertain.

This edition is hardcover, 160 pages, and runs a mere 10 bucks. There are lots of older editions around as well, in case you have a shelf to fill somewhere in your house.

Some of the proceeds of this book go to saving the cute baby animals from stuff.

The Perfect Christmas Gift for my Minnesotan Friends!

Atheist Voices of Minnesota: an Anthology of Personal Stories was released earlier this year. It is chock full of personal stories about the journey from some place to atheism, written by Minnesota authors such as Norman Barrett Wiik, Elizabeth Becker, Kenneth Bellew, Ryan Benson, August Berkshire, Donald L. Boese, Ryan Bolin, Jill Carlson, Justin M. Chase, Greta Christina, Linda Davis, Andrew Downs, Shannon Drury, Anthony Faust, Paul Gramstad, Mike Haubrich, Kori Hennessy, Peter N. Holste, Michelle M. Huber, Eric Jayne, George Kane, Greg Laden, Bill Lehto, M. A. Melby, PZ Myers, Robin Raianiemi, Rohit Ravindran, Jason Schoenack, Kim Socha, Chris Stedman, Elizabeth Stiras, Todd N. Torkelson, Timothy Wick, Rob Young, James Zimmerman, Jennifer Zimmerman, and Stephanie Zvan.

This is the perfect give to leave under the tree or to use as a stocking stuffer, so that while the rest of your family is busy celebrating the birth of Jesus and shopping you can let them know that just because you are an Atheist, you are not necessarily a monster.

“A chorus not of arguments and positions but of shared human lives . . . At turns smart, funny, and deeply touching.”Dale McGowan, author of Parenting Beyond Belief

ST. PAUL, Minn. (8/14/2012) —Atheists have turned a corner in public visibility in recent years, but they nevertheless remain one of America’s most misunderstood and mistrusted groups of people. A new anthology, Atheist Voices of Minnesota, attempts to address these preconceptions by letting thirty-six atheists from Minnesota openly share their personal and unique stories. The results are touching, fascinating, and diverse.

Since this is a cross section of how everyday atheists think and feel, this collection is an excellent introduction to atheism, and will inspire other atheists to come out to their family and friends. It includes contributions from well known atheists, such as PZ Myers, the world’s most popular atheist blogger, and Chris Stedman, a Huffington Post and Washington Post blogger. But it also contains previously unheard voices, part of its power and uniqueness.

The book has already received endorsements from major figures in the freethought community, and has a foreword by Greta Christina, a prominent atheist blogger, speaker, and author. Kendyl Gibbons, senior minister of the First Unitarian Society in Minneapolis, writes that the authors’ “thoughtful perspectives will be illuminating to people of any faith, or none.”

Atheist Voices of Minnesota is published by Freethought House. All net proceeds will go to Minnesota Atheists, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with authors, editors, designers, and other volunteers receiving no financial benefit. Minnesota Atheists is Minnesota’s oldest, largest, and most active atheist organization. Its mission is to promote the positive contributions of atheism to society and to maintain separation of state and church. For more information, visit http://mnatheists.org.

Create a Wildlife Conservation Stamp for Habitat Acquisition and the Conservation of Wildlife.

The Bird Bloggers, led by Corey Finger at 10,000 birds, where I blog monthly, are asking you to sign this petition and pass it on to others:

We propose a Wildlife Conservation Stamp, comparable to the well-known Duck Stamp, to support the acquisition of habitat and the conservation of all wildlife in the National Wildlife Refuge system with an emphasis on non-game species. A Wildlife Conservation Stamp would allow birders, photographers, hikers, and other people who enjoy wildlife in a non-consumptive way to financially show their support of the National Wildlife Refuge system.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN

Bird watchers are numerous. Duck hunters are required to buy duck stamps before they hunt ducks, but lots of people, including birders and such, buy the stamps because they are pretty and they support habitat conservation. But more birds and conservation oriented people would buy something like a duck stamp but not a duck stamp if it was offered, thus more funds for conservation.

I imagine that the art on a Wildlife conservation Stamp would also be interesting. There would be loons. Trees. Frogs. Other non-duck things. Break the hegemony of the duck! So if you are a wildlife artist you should really want this.