Not many people know this, but PZ Myers, when he was a little kid, made an appearance on Mr. Science (actually, PZ mentions this often in public lectures as a reason he got into science, but I’ve never noticed him say anything about this on his blog). This was the first episode ever made, but it was never shown for some reason. This episode was made with an actor who preceded the better known Mr. Science. Apparently the actor in this video made only this one episode, I’m not sure why. Anyway, enjoy!Hat Tip: PZ Myers
Monthly Archives: April 2008
Happy One Hundred and Fifteenth Birthday Edna Parker!
Apparently there are only about 75 known individuals over 110 years of age.Edna was born on April 20th, 1893 *.In that year, US Marines invaded Hawaii and overthrew the Hawaiian Queen. Thomas Edison was just finishing off construction of the first movie studio. President of the United States Grover Cleveland underwent secret surgery in this year. Ulysses S. Grant was born in this year. The geologist, not the general/president!The only important event listed on Wikipieda of this specific day in 1893 was … wait for it. Continue reading Happy One Hundred and Fifteenth Birthday Edna Parker!
Louisiana’s Stealth Creationism Bill Takes A Hit
Louisiana State Senate Bill 561 is an “academic freedom” bill intended to push discussion of creationism, global warming denialism, and so on into state public schools. This is the latest in a long series of efforts of right wing fundamentalist christians to indoctrinate public school students in their particular religious (and political) beliefs. Continue reading Louisiana’s Stealth Creationism Bill Takes A Hit
Yet another sign that the end of civilization is near
PC vs Mac: Boot Camp
Lyrebird … or should we say”liar bird”
That was the lyre bird. This is the liar bird: Continue reading Lyrebird … or should we say”liar bird”
How to deal with cell phone use in the classroom
Just show them this video. Or better yet, act it out with a shill.
The Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist attack on April 19, 1995 aimed at the U.S. government in which the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed in an office complex in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The attack claimed 168 lives and left over 800 injured. Until the September 11, 2001 attacks, it was the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil….The United States was represented by a team of prosecutors, led by Joseph Hartzler. In his opening statement, Hartzler outlined McVeigh’s motivations and the evidence against him. McVeigh’s motivation, he said, was hatred of the government, which began during his tenure in the Army as he read The Turner Diaries, and grew through the increase in taxes and the passage of the Brady Bill, and grew further with the Waco and Ruby Ridge incidents. The prosecution called 137 witnesses, including Michael Fortier, Michael’s wife Lori Fortier, and McVeigh’s sister, Jennifer McVeigh, all of whom testified on McVeigh’s hatred of the government and demonstrated desire to take militant action against it.*
Computers Suck (PC vs Mac)
The Best Laid Plans…
The Best Laid Plans…A homeless man has found confidential blueprints for New York’s new Freedom Tower dumped in a city rubbish bin.Mike Fleming handed the documents – marked “Secure Document – Confidential” in to the New York Post newspaper.The Freedom Tower is being built at Ground Zero, to replace the World Trade Centre towers destroyed on 9/11.A spokeswoman apologised for the security breach and said that anyone found responsible would be liable for “serious disciplinary action”.’Game plan’Mr Fleming said he was concerned that the documents might fall into the wrong hands.”I was outraged, because this is priceless,” he told the New York Post.”This could have ended up on eBay or gotten to al-Qaeda.”[source]
What’s in the air?
Good question … what IS in the air?The simple answer is that the air … the Earth’s atmosphere … is about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, with a tiny amount of some other gases including water vapor. Then, there’s dirt. I want to talk a little about the oxygen, one of the other gases (carbon dioxide to be exact), the water vapor, and the dirt. Continue reading What’s in the air?
To Hell With Expelled! …
… the blog carnival, is HERE at Dinosaurs and The Bible: A Creationist’s Fairy Tale
Happy Birthday Clarence Darrow
Darrow was born this day in 1857. He was a lawyer and a prominent member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
We know him as the defender of John Scopes in the Monkey Trial of 1925. Darrow and Scopes lost that trial, which was the first of many court cases regarding the teaching of creationism vs. evolution in public schools. Virtually all of the subsequent cases were victories for the evolutionists. Indeed, the Monkey Trial was a victory for evolutionists as well, because it is widely recognized that although the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Darrow’s arguments were so powerful that the nation was left feeling that he had won the argument. Continue reading Happy Birthday Clarence Darrow
PC vs Mac: The Newton
Climatology of Global Ocean Winds Atlas
Check out the new Climatology of Global Ocean Winds Atlas:
You can drill down to various segments of the planet (well, the oceans) and loot at wind patterns in great detail, with nice rose plots and everything. (Click on the picture to go to the site.)
Winds are the largest source of momentum for the upper ocean, affecting the full range of ocean movement, from individual surface gravity waves to complete current systems. Ocean winds modulate air-sea exchanges of heat, moisture, gases, and particulates. This modulation regulates the interaction between the atmosphere and the ocean, which establishes and maintains both regional and global climates.
(From the users manual)So this is important stuff. And fun. Enjoy.