The Huffington Post has written an utterly gratuitous post designed to do nothing but garner Google Search Hits, providing information about this Sunday’s Superbowl. It is well known that all sports fans automatically know when their favorite sports events are on, as this information is beamed to chips planted in or near their brains. Nonetheless, there are people who don’t receive this information automatically but still need to know it. For instance, the Superbowl is a great time to do shopping at the mall, or even better, Best Buy or the Sports Authority, assuming you know where those stores are located and what the store hours are.
For those of you who need to know the Superbowl details, here they are:
The teams will be the San Francisco 49ers vs. the Baltimore Ravens, and the game is on Feb 3rd, this Sunday.
The start time of the game is 6:30PM Eastern, 5:30PM Central.
According to Huffington Post, “There will also be several hashtags to track on Twitter, including #Ravens, #SBRavens, #49ers, #Niners, #QuestforSix, #SB47 and #HarBowl.”
Beyonce will be featured during the Halftime Show.
Minnesota Atheists is auctioning off a rare $20.00 bill that does not say “In God We Trust” on it. I’ve already placed my first bid of $36.66! Go here to check it out. Good luck!
Anthropogenic global warming is a long term phenomenon that is caused by the release of Carbon, in the form of Carbon Dioxide, from fossil deposits, though burning of fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal. There are other human causes as well, but some of those relate to the use of fossil fuels (such as the leakage of methane gas from oil extraction operations, or from delivery pipelines).
The evidence for warming comes from a variety of sources, but mainly from land based thermometer stations from about the mid 19th century and later, higher tech measurements such as satellites.
The following graph is provided by the National Climatic Data Center and comes with its own caption attached, providing the original source:
Roman Numerals? What the heck does Exel Vee Aye Aye mean anyway? Does anybody really know?
The Superbowl may be one of the few places where we count above three in Roman Numerals anyway. I assume this is a subtle reference to the gladiatorial aspects of the contest. Which reminds me of this:
A man “lies crumpled on the sand … Behind him a dark trail leads back to the spot from which he has just been dragged. Looking closer, we notice something slightly odd about the figure crouching over the wounded man. His posture does not suggest a doctor attempting to staunch bleeding, or even to check heartbeat or pulse. Look a little closer still, and you may be inclined suddenly to reel back or to close your eyes. The man sprawled at such an odd angle beside the injured [man] has his face pressed against a gaping tear in [his] throat. He is drinking blood fresh from the wound…” Why? Well, to cure his epilepsy, of course. The date is 24 AD, the injured man is a gladiator, and the man drinking the blood must have bribed his way to the front of the line because he’s getting what a lot of other people in Ancient Rome routinely sought. A nice blood meal, for medicinal purposes, of course.
Worker’s Rights and the Superbowl
The 49ers are in the Superbowl. The Packers, the Rival Team for us Minnesotans Wisconsin, are not, but they were in the playoffs. The former is named after miners, the latter is named after factory workers. Let’s not forget the workers and the importance of unions!
Birds, Birding and the Superbowl
Mike over at 10,000 Birds points out that a bird-named football team has only ONCE ever won the Superbowl, although lots of bird named teams have been a post-season threat. This year, the Falcons and the Ravens were both in the playoffs and there was a distinct chance they’d play each other. Unfortunately, it did not work out that way. But, at least we’ve got one bird in the bowl.
A bird in the bowl is worth two in the playoffs, I guess.
And, I have to mention the Vikings. They were in the playoffs, and I have to say that no one really expected that. They did better than planned. Next year, they will be in the Superbowl and they will win. I hope they beat the Saints.
But let’s not get too emotional about it all. After all, being a Viking is just a job, as my friend Martin Rundkvist tell us, though I can’t figure out where the heck he said that.
Spontaneous Pornography, Neologisms and the Superbowl
Skeptically Speaking #198 is now available for your listening pleasure. The main part of the show has Desiree Schell interviewing James Gould, co-author of Nature’s Compass: The Mystery of Animal Navigation.
Great book on animal migrationThe 15 minute side bar has Desiree interviewing me about recent research on the New Caledonian crows (this research).
This week, we’re looking at some of the amazing abilities exhibited by our animal cousins. We’ll speak to James Gould, co-author of Nature’s Compass: The Mystery of Animal Navigation, about the varying strategies animals use to find their way across all kinds of distances. And biological anthropologist Greg Laden discusses new research on the surprising reasoning abilities of some extremely intelligent crows.
Hey, did anybody go to the 2012 fair? I couldn’t make it. Let me know how it went.
Anyway, the 2013 fair will be at a new location, leading Har Mar to say “Creation Science Fair, why hath thou forsaken me?”
Here’s the details for this year’s Creation Science Fair:
2013 Home School Science Fair
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Northwestern College, Totino Fine Arts Center, Lobby
3003 North Snelling Ave.
Roseville Minnesota
They say that last year there were 60 entries, but there are only photographs of 20. I wonder why those other children’s work was left out? I sure hope they don’t feel bad.
