One of my students mentioned the other day that she was mortified when she found her house in Northeast Minneapolis on Google Earth. Just for fun, she was flying around on Google Earth and decided to stop in and see her own crib. It turns out that the local photograph of her home on Google Earth had been taken in the latter, very messy, phase of a giant yard sale. So her house looks like total trash. “Who cares?” you might ask? Well, anyone who might like to put their home on the market, for instance.Well, it turns out that a Pittsburgh couple is suing Google for “mental suffering” and invasion of their privacy: Continue reading Google Earth and Your Privacy
Monthly Archives: April 2008
Women in Science
Remember the Science Diversity Meme? We had fun coming up with the names of women in science. Well, the meme has now mutated into a summary of itself. Here.
Should you feed the birds?
It is a little ironic that all nature enthusiasts know that it is “bad” to feed the animals … they become dependent on the food, and in some cases will become a nuisance or dangerous, prying open cars or breaking into homes to get more food. Then the animal has to be put down or moved to a new habitat. But that sort of bad outcome is more common with, say, bears than it is with, say, chickadees. The irony here is that bird lovers, who are always nature enthusiasts, do not seem to balk at setting up bird feeders. In fact, approximately on half a million metric tons of seed is put out for the birds in the United States and the United Kingdom.This must have an effect on the birds, for better or worse. Two studies just published by the same research team address this issue. Continue reading Should you feed the birds?
Hedgehog as a weapon
Police said William Singalargh, 27, had hurled the hedgehog about 5m (16ft) at a 15-year-old boy.”It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks,” said Senior Sgt Bruce Jenkins, in the North Island town of Whakatane.It was unclear whether the hedgehog was still alive when it was thrown, though it was dead when collected as evidence.
The Boneyard XIII
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr….
Welcome to the Lucky 13th Edition of The Boneyard … the Web Carnival about Bones and Stuff.
“The Boneyard is a blog carnival covering all things paleo, from dinosaurs to pollen to hominids and everywhere in between. It’s held every two weeks (the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month), traveling around to a different blog for each installment, connecting some of the best blogging on ancient life.”
The previous edition of The Boneyard is here, at Dragon’s Tales. The next edition of The Boneyard will be Here at Archaeozoology. If you would like to submit an entry to the next edition, you may do so here. As always, thanks to Brian for originating and managing this carnival.
The Dick-E Dawkins Rap
We all know Genie Scott is hot, but I never knew she was THIS hot!And isn’t if funny that all those singers with British Accents don’t sing (or in this case rap) in British Accents? Continue reading The Dick-E Dawkins Rap
Whence”Blue Blood?”
A “Blue Blood” is an upper classer, or one with new money, or nobility, or something along those lines (the use of the term varies, as is the case with almost all terms in any language, of course). The meaning of the term came up in discussion of actual blue (or not) blood, here. Well, I looked it up on Wikipedia and following is an edited down summary of the possible truth of the matter of “Blue Blood.” Continue reading Whence”Blue Blood?”
Quote
“A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.”-Carl Sagan
Elephants Are Not Ethnic-Blind
I have had this experience. I’ve traveled literally hundreds of kilometers by foot together with Efe (Pygmy) hunters in the Ituri Forest. We see very few animals. The few we do see are attacked, killed, and eaten. Well, a lot of them actually get away, but that is the idea.
But I’ve also traveled many kilometers (not as many) alone. I would see many animals, and yes, they would run (or climb or whatever) away, but not as desperately. They knew I was not really one of the hunters, although I tried my best to look tough and hungry.
Charlton Heston Dead
Charlton Heston, Ben Hur, friend to future apes, Moses, English King, has died at the age of 84.In the words of Michael Levine, Heston’s agent:
“If Hollywood had a Mt. Rushmore, Heston’s face would be on it”
Here some footage of Heston getting stoned: Continue reading Charlton Heston Dead
Call For Submissions: The Boneyard
Quick! Send me your submission for The BoneYard!I’ve got a bunch of good ones, but there is still time for more. I’ll finalize it tonight.
Quote
“A fool is a man who never tried an experiment in his life.”-Erasmus Darwin
Is Blood Ever Blue? Science Teachers Want to Know!
According to one of the leading experts on the human circulatory system, blood flowing through veins is blue. Continue reading Is Blood Ever Blue? Science Teachers Want to Know!
Amazing DNA
Great enunciation in this one: