There are many versions of Linux. At the deepest level, there are a few fundamentally different Linuxes, and each of these may appear in one or more, sometimes many, different “distributions.” So, most Linux distributions are based on either Debian, RedHat/Fedora, Gentoo, and a couple/few others. Off hand, I’m not sure how many different core systems one has to add together to reach 50%, or 80%, or whatever you like.Ubuntu is based on Debian. Debian is part of the GNU project, and is in some ways the philosophically purest, or main distribution. Many, many people will hate that I said that and comment below, and I look forward to their different perspectives. Continue reading Fedora 9 seems very fine.
Monthly Archives: May 2008
Stigma and Mental Illness
There is an interesting and important follow up related to a TED Talk that a lot of readers of this blog found interesting (Sherwin Nuland: A history of electroshock therapy) at The Corpus Callosum:Grappling With Stigma: Influence of Social Media
A while back, Gred Laden and Dr. Shock independently linked to a remarkable video. In it, a famous author-surgeon-professor reveals that he had had an episode of severe depression. Moreover, he underwent treatment with electroconvulsive therapy. It worked, he got back to work, and went on to have a distinguished career. The video can be seen here — Sherwin Nuland: My history of electroshock therapy.His point, I suspect, was really to help destigmatize mental illness. …
Carnivals
Carnival of the Liberals is at SIr Robin Rides AwayCarnival of the Green #127 is at Evangelical EcologistEncephalon #45 – Life Is Good, Brains Are Better is at PodBlack Blog
How Society Will Accept Rational Science: The Best Way to Frame Global Warming and Evolution
There is a point that I’ve been trying to make for the last few weeks now, off and on, and it is not working. So I’m going to try something new. Please bear with me, and consider the following three scenarios regarding the idea that the Earth is Round (or, possibly, flat): Continue reading How Society Will Accept Rational Science: The Best Way to Frame Global Warming and Evolution
Doodle 4 Google
Apparently, Google has been running a contest among K – 12 students in the US to come up with a replacement logo. And now they have 40 finalists and you can vote for the one you like.These are my favorites:
Go HERE to vote.hat tip: Natalie
Internet Poll on Dropping Evolution from School Curriculum in Maine
Is a semi-organized effort to ‘crash’ obnoxious internet polls ethically acceptable? Is it boring? Is it stupid? I sometimes ask myself that question.But it’s complicated and will take a while to work out. In the mean time, PZ Myers points out this poll regarding the recent suggestion by a Maine school board member to drop evolution from the science classroom in his district.(Left side bar, two-thirds of the way down)
Ubuntu Means …
Open Source
Your Average American Doing Geography
And a few sexist remarks to boot.Is this a famous person?[Hat Tip: Hilde Knustad!]And now, let’s see how YOU do under pressure: Continue reading Your Average American Doing Geography
Frequency Of Female Fire Fighter Fewer Than Four Percent
In the 1970s and 80s, a number of law suits and other actions began to change the rules for hiring firefighters. There was a moment in the 1980s when a documentary was made (starring the very annoying John Stossel) pieces of which I still use when teaching on Gender. It shows Bella Abzug, Gloria Steinem, and others arguing in favor of women being firefighters, and others (including, of course, one woman who is already a fire fighter) arguing against. One of the interesting things about the film is the way it is biased against women being fire fighters while at the same time trying really hard to seem the opposite.Well, today, we’ve come a long way. Almost four percent of fire fighters in the US are women! Continue reading Frequency Of Female Fire Fighter Fewer Than Four Percent
85% of Americans Want a Presidential Debate on Science
Despite the fact that the presidential candidates will not accept the invitation extended by Science Debate 2008 for a nationally broadcast science forum in May there is ample evidence to suggest that they should: A new poll … a real poll .. indicates that 85% of US Adults agree that there should be a debate.The poll results can be found here.
Here is a summary of the poll: Continue reading 85% of Americans Want a Presidential Debate on Science
Tricoloured Mega-colony Saved
Audubon California has announced that it has reached an agreement with a farmer to safeguard a single colony of about 80,000 Tricoloured Blackbirds Agelaius tricolor – nearly a third of the world’s population of this Endangered species.The estimated global population of Tricoloured Blackbirds is 250,000 to 300,000 birds, with at least 95% of these occurring in California. Tricoloured Blackbirds have declined dramatically in the past century as native wetland habitat has been lost and the species has consequently been classified as Endangered. Tricoloured Blackbirds form just a few large nesting colonies each year, and in most cases these occur in crop fields. This puts the colonies in grave danger when farmers cultivate the field before young birds are able to fly.”This is really a great victory for conservation, and an example of how conservation and agricultural interests can work together to find real solutions”, said Graham Chisholm, director of conservation for Audubon California. “The Tricoloured Blackbird is an important part of California’s natural beauty, and this agreement, combined with other conservation measures, will help to ensure that it has a healthy future.”
Details here at BirdLife International.
Art and Bodies: Deconstructed and Constructed and Abused
Deconstructed and Constructed, but not in the same sentence.
“In contemporary art right now, there are no limits, no boundaries,” Hirsch said. “We wanted to show contemporary work, and show that art can be anything, maybe even vulgar.”The title and concept refer to the Exquisite Corpse, a Surrealist exercise in which three artists independently draw a section of a body: head, torso and legs. In “Exquisite Corpus,” viewers are also welcome to play.
Now, you now what this is, right? It’s that pallor game where you pass around the paper, each person draws a body part (in order from head to feet) folding their contribution out of sight and passing it on to the next person. …
Meanwhile, in Austria, Cristo With Flesh artist Spencer Tunick has gone ahead and draped a major sports stadium in Austria with naked human bodies.
The latest work by New York photographer Spencer Tunick gathered 1,840 people, baring it all in Austria’s Happel Stadium on Sunday.”Stay very still. Don’t move,” the Austria Press Agency quoted Tunick as telling the crowd as he went to work.Much of the hours-long photo shoot had little to do with soccer, with naked volunteers assuming different poses at the behest of the artist. But at least one of the photos had them with the ball, men first and then the women.
The stadium will host seven of the Euro 2008 soccer championship matches being staged by Austria and Switzerland, including the June 29 final.Tunick has made a name for himself with his works featuring hundreds of naked people at unusual venues. He described Sunday’s shooting on his Web site as combining “the spirit of sports, the grand sweeping waves of stadium architecture and the abstract relation of the human form to modern structures.”[source]
Continue reading Art and Bodies: Deconstructed and Constructed and Abused
Hillary Clinton’s Latest Statement on the Primary Race
From the Office of the Future President of the United States of America Continue reading Hillary Clinton’s Latest Statement on the Primary Race
Tornadoes in perspective
With all the interest in tornadoes, I thought it would be helpful to provide some contextual data (focusing on US tornadoes).
Paul Ewald: Can we domesticate germs?
Evolutionary biologist Paul Ewald drags us into the sewer to discuss germs. Why are some more harmful than others? How could we make the harmful ones benign? Searching for answers, he examines a disgusting, fascinating case: diarrhea.