Monthly Archives: February 2008

Linux X Server

Uncategorized, , ,

To most desktop computer users, the difference between two “systems” (Linux, Windows, Mac, etc.) is in what you see when you turn the computer on, what you can click on with your mouse, how files are visually organized and manipulated, how menus work, and so on. This is the “look and feel” of a system. Since the “look and feel” has to do with how you actually use the computer, this can be the most important factor to a user choosing a system. But the “system” itself may have little to do with these differences.If you choose a Mac, you get a certain look and feel. If you choose Windows XP, you get a different look and feel. If you choose Vista, you get yet another. But if you choose “Linux,” you are able to choose among a wide range of LookAndFeels. Continue reading Linux X Server →

Charles Darwin – Finches

Uncategorized,

Darwin’s finches are a classic and historically important example of a species radiation (sometimes called an “adaptive” radiation, but that implies a specific assertion about the cause of the radiation which may not be appropriate in all cases). During the five weeks that Darwin spent on the Galapagos in September, 1835, he made a number of observations of these birds, but they did not occupy his time or attention more than any other aspect of this remarkable archipelago of islands. It seems that Darwin did not recognize all of the finches as finches, thinking some were of an entirely different group of birds, and in some cases, the variety seen across some of 13 or so species was initially interpreted by Darwin to represent a notably large range of variation in a single species. Please remember, Darwin was a rock man more than he was a bird man, at the time. Continue reading Charles Darwin – Finches →

Woman Arrested By “Religious Police” To Be Executed As Witch

Uncategorized

The woman or or representatives were not allowed to attend the trial. Her conviction is based on a written confession to which her fingerprints are attached. She is illiterate and could not read the confession. There are indications that this “conviction” is actually a crime of retribution by a man who is impotent, and who blames his impotence on this woman. A higher court has overturned the conviction, but other courts have intervened and re-sentenced her to death on the grounds that it is in the public interest that she be killed, presumably, beheaded, which is the usual way in Saudi Arabia.

International agencies are asking The King to intervene.
[Source]

Be careful who you bury…

Uncategorized

As Raleane (Rae) Kupferschmidt lay motionless in her hospital bed, family and friends said their final goodbyes and the funeral home was called.

But just as the grieving began in her Lake Elmo home, Kupferschmidt woke up from her coma.

“There’s no medical explanation for what happened to my mother,” said Kupferschmidt’s daughter, Lisa Sturm, who is a surgical technician at Regions Hospital. “It’s a miracle.”

Continue reading Be careful who you bury… →

Are Home Schooled Athletes Cheating?

Uncategorized

In a previous discussion on home schooling and athletics, this idea, surprisingly, did not come up:

Some senators worry a bill that passed the Senate this morning might allow student to cheat their way into playing sports.

The bill allows home schooled students to join public school sports teams and other exrtracirricular activities. But their academic performance must meet certain standards. But how do home schoolers establish academic standards? Some argue that they can’t.
Continue reading Are Home Schooled Athletes Cheating? →

Crazy Anthropologist Links Food, Sex

Uncategorized, , , , ,

Can you believe this guy? Check it out:

The French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss once proposed that humanity began with cooking. [a Twin Cities anthropologist] says love may have begun with cooking, as well.

…

The earliest human ancestors, some kind of chimp-like apes, were living off raw plant foods and probably doing a bit of hunting like chimpanzees do now.

And then, somebody discovers the ability to control fire. Everybody argues about when this happened. We’re saying it happened about 2 million years ago. Suddenly, all this food that was previously poisonous or indigestible becomes edible. We’re talking about grass seeds, like wheat. And tubers. The amount of energy available to these early human ancestors goes up a huge amount. So, they get bigger. At the same time, their jaws get smaller, which is supported by the fossil record.

and so on and so forth, bla bla bla. Read it here.

Creation Scientist Enters Political Race in Indiana

Uncategorized, ,

Paul Abramson founded and runs “creationism.org” … a creation science web site. It is one of those sites that provides parents and students material to use in harassing their life science teachers and generally making an obnoxious nuisance of themselves.Paul is now seeking the Republican Party’s nominiation for congress, with which he hopes to challenge sitting congressman Brad Ellsworth (Democrat).[source]