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Monthly Archives: August 2010
Lewis Pugh’s mind-shifting Everest swim
After he swam the North Pole, Lewis Pugh vowed never to take another cold-water dip. Then he heard of Lake Imja in the Himalayas, created by recent glacial melting, and Lake Pumori, a body of water at an altitude of 5300 m on Everest — and so began a journey that would teach him a radical new way to approach swimming and think about climate change.
Continue reading Lewis Pugh’s mind-shifting Everest swim
Three things you can do to save the earth (form/in the US)
BBQ is not a verb; BBQ is not a grill…
“When my life is through, bury me in barbeque.”
Hat Tip: Miss Cellania.
Astonishing Stuff from The Deep
Watch it now before AGW makes it all go away.
Continue reading Astonishing Stuff from The Deep
I want to fight the greatest threat to freedom of our times
My grandfather fought against the assault on our freedoms in the form of the Kaiser’s army in WW I. At one point he became gravely ill (the “Spanish flu” perhaps) and was not allowed to march forward with his unit. They were all killed.
My father fought in WW II against the Nazi’s, who were one of the greatest threats against our freedoms to ever exist. He won a couple of medals, finished off his work in the European Theater, and the war ended as he was on his way to Japan, having volunteered for the invasion against the Japanese Imperialists, who were the other great threat against our freedoms of the day.
I was too young to be drafted or to enlist to fight in what would have been “my war” in Viet Nam, but I did fight anyway. I took up not arms but words and signs and the occasional other item to fight against the repression of a crook in office (who was later thrown out) and an unjust war that was chewing up our resources and our young people in a way that was a novel kind of threat against our freedoms.
And today, I’m being asked to fight against yet another assault on our freedoms:
Continue reading I want to fight the greatest threat to freedom of our times
Colin … not quite out of the picture yet.
Named Tropical Depression Colin, which started to dissipate more quickly than expected yesterday, looks like it may be getting reorganized again. It is now just a low pressure area 300 miles north of the Virgin Islands, but probably contains some tropical storm force winds. It is possible that over the next two days Colin could strengthen and perhaps by Friday regain its tropical storm status.
There is even a possibility … and not a small one …. that Colin could become a hurricane. Keep an eye on Colin.
Yes, folks, it isn’t just the priests engaged in the whole child abuse in the name of religion thing
First, the horrific, over the top, original video:
Then, the funny version:
Continue reading Yes, folks, it isn’t just the priests engaged in the whole child abuse in the name of religion thing
California’s Gay Marriage Ban (which was Bad) Is Unconstitutional
Which we already knew, but now the gummit knows it too.
Livingston Parish Saved from Creationists
For now. This just in from the National Center for Science Education:
Creationism won’t be taught in the public schools of Livingston Parish, Louisiana — at least not yet. The Baton Rouge Advocate (August 1, 2010) reports that “The Livingston Parish School Board won’t try to include the teaching of creationism in this year’s curriculum, but has asked the School Board staff to look at the issue for possible future action.” At a July meeting, inspired by the Louisiana Science Education Act, the board formed a committee to explore the possibilities of incorporating creationism in the parish’s science classes. The committee is not expected to report its findings in time for the board to take any action for the 2010-2011 school year; the board’s president Keith Martin explained, “We have decided not to try to hurry up and rush something in for this year.”
Marjorie Esman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, told the Advocate that the decision to teach creationism would be not only doomed to failure but expensive. “If they were to do it, they could anticipate that any litigation would result in them not only losing, but having to pay enormous legal fees,” she said. “They would be wasting a huge amount of taxpayer money on a battle they can’t win.” The board’s attorney confirmed that it would be unconstitutional for the schools to teach creationism. Meanwhile, board member David Tate, who broached the possibility of teaching creationism at the previous board meeting, commented, “We don’t want litigation, but why not take a stand for Jesus and risk litigation.”
Put the solar panels back on the white house
Do you remember when, in an act of slap-in-the-face cynicism (that American Environmentalists accepted with little protest) Ronald Regan took the previously deployed (and largely symbolic) solar panels off of the roof of the white house?
Bill Clinton did not restore them. Bush … well, whatever. And Obama has not restored them either.
Time to put them back. Here’s a petition you can sign.
From culture red in tooth and claw …
… emerged Huxley:
No, no, not THAT Huxley, THIS Huxley:
Please visit Cocktail Party Physics for an amazing essay on Thomas Henry Huxley (who is indeed the namesake of the other Huxley). Read: How East London defined “Darwin’s Bulldog” and brought him into conflict with the world’s most dangerous anarchist.
Persistent ethnic differences in test performance may be entirely an artifact of the method used to ‘adjust’ the test
It is well established among those who carry out, analyze, and report pre-employment performance testing that slope-based bias in those tests is rare. Why is this important? Look at the following three graphs from a recent study by Aguinis, Culpepper and Pierce (2010):
The other side of the coin(age): Newton and the Counterfeiter
Did you know that Isaac Newton had two jobs? One, you know about: To figure out all that physics and math stuff so we could live for a while in a Newtonian world. The other was as th big honcho of the Royal Mint. Where they make the money.
Continue reading The other side of the coin(age): Newton and the Counterfeiter
Another bear maneno in Yellowstone
Park mangers say they euthanized “an aggressive, habituated, and human-food-conditioned black bear” Tuesday out of “concern for visitor safety.”
But it was also a result of stupid people making unnatural food available to the bear.
The adult female bear had been seen frequenting the Slough Creek area in the park’s north central area. The bear was 4 – 5 years old and weighed between 100 and 125 pounds. Some observers had mistaken her for a grizzly since it was brown in color.
In mid-July, the bear entered an occupied backcountry campsite in the Slough Creek drainage. Attempts to chase her away failed, and she ate the dinner the camper had prepared for himself.