Monthly Archives: February 2008
Free Ticket to Saturn and Titan
You can fly, without leaving the comfort of your own computer, to Saturn and its moon Titan. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and CIT have a bit of software and data that lets you climb on board the Cassini Huygens mission. Continue reading Free Ticket to Saturn and Titan
Quirkology
Wine is good for you
Grapes of gnash: Pomace, the residue of red winemaking, may help prevent tooth decay
Red wine has long been known to contain a substance, resveratrol, that is heart-healthy. Now research shows that both red wine grapes and winemaking residue, known as pomace, contain substances that may help prevent tooth decay.
Sheep Cloner To Be BeKnighted?
Sir Ian Wilmut earned his knighthood for his major role in cloning a sheep (Dolly). (In the old days, you had to duel kill infidels and stuff to earn a knighthood, but whatever…). There is now a move, possibly quite justified, asking Queen Elizabeth II to take away the honor. Continue reading Sheep Cloner To Be BeKnighted?
Charles Darwin Legacy 1
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zafcXI55QAo%26rel%3D1
I want a rocket pack for my birthday
… and some goggles. Continue reading I want a rocket pack for my birthday
Moveon.org endorses Obama
Below the fold is the press release (somewhat shortened). The numbers fell out at about 70-30. Continue reading Moveon.org endorses Obama
Speaking of Technology …
Linux Installed Base will Double This Year
The success of consumer IT products like the ASUS Eee PC will help provide the leverage needed to get hardware vendors on board with open source, according to Dirk Hohndel, Intel’s chief technologist for open source.He believes the install base of Linux-based desktops could potentially double this year, based just on Eee PC sales..Speaking at open source conference Linux.conf.au in Melbourne yesterday, Hohndel said commercial pressure will be the incentive for traditionally Windows-centric hardware vendors to begin offering open source drivers and Linux-based systems to their customers.
US Department of Justice Keeps Microsoft on The List
a federal judge extended the duration of sanctions imposed on Microsoft by a 2002 consent decree agreement. The sanctions were initially scheduled to expire last month, but have been extended until November 2009….Microsoft failed to provide protocol specification documents to competitors as required by the consent decree agreement. The protocol documentation, which was supposed to be made available by February 2003, still hasn’t been fully published by Microsoft
Friday Peer Reviewed Cat Blogging
A paper just out in Genomics presents a very thorough study of cat genetics. Cat as is in kitty cat. The findings are expected, yet surprising in a few areas. The conclusion the authors draw about cat origins is very weak, in my view, but the information this study provides about cat breed genetics is excellent and will be of value to cats around the world.
Continue reading Friday Peer Reviewed Cat Blogging
Pope: Science Ruins It
Science ruins being a human, according to the Pope.
Speaking of cells, the Pope said:
When human beings in the weakest and most defenseless state of their existence are selected, abandoned, killed or used as pure ‘biological material,’ how can one deny that they are being treated not as ‘someone’ but as ‘something,”
K-12 Online Learning
An increasingly large number of K through 12 students (in the tens of thousands or more) are getting some or all of their education on line. Typically, the on line resources are provided by private corporate vendors contracting to individuals or in some cases school districts, and the target audience tends to be middle school or high school.
School districts and teachers (including unions) are typically reticent to support this shift. While such groups may be resisting online offerings because it constitutes direct competition, they also have valid complaints that online learning, like homeschooling, fails to provide certain benefits that a school community can provide.
There is a very well done story on this in the International Herald Tribune.
This is Darwin Month
“My bones are almost 200 years old.” Charles Darwin’s bones will be 199 years old on February 12th. There will be celebrations, shipbuilding, and blogging. I’ll try very hard to do something every day, including later today. Beginning tomorrow, this blog will join Charles Darwin on board the Beagle for a trip around the world.