I went out with a friend. We were both between relationships, and we both knew somehow that this was a date though it was never called a date. And we had a perfectly good time: Good food, good conversation, good drinks. She drove.

When it came time to go home, she drove me to my house in my urban neighborhood and parked on the nearby street. As we were saying our good-byes, she enigmatically unhooked her seat belt. I wondered why. Then, I discovered that she wanted the freedom of movement to lean across the console and give me a kiss. It was a good kiss. It was actually a series of good kisses, and it went on for a while.

And suddenly, there was a loud rapping on the window of the car. We stopped kissing and that’s when we noticed that we had steamed up the windows a bit. So I cracked the window on which the rapping had occurred and there was a police man staring in with his flashlight.

Continue reading The Kiss →

Pop quiz: When does learning begin? Answer: Before we are born. Science writer Annie Murphy Paul talks through new research that shows how much we learn in the womb — from the lilt of our native language to our soon-to-be-favorite foods.

Businessman Herman Cain told senior members of his campaign on a conference call this morning that he is reassessing whether or not to remain in the Republican presidential race.

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Yes, and it is caused by humans. But if you have friends, colleagues, relatives or readers of your blog or facebook feed bothering you about this, telling you that Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) is a hoax or a false claim or a lie, you may want this tool:

Continue reading Is Global Warming Real? →

The trick is, slowing them down enough, and speeding yourself up enough, then you can catch the turkeys.

Yeah, I know, it’s an ad, but it’s a good one.

Check out this astonishing bit of film from David Attenborough:

I’m pretty sure this is from Harry Potter.

There was a certain amount of Christmas shopping over the weekend, and I have to say the music was over the top this year. Or maybe I’m just getting more sensitive. In any event, it was driving me nuts.

So, I decided that I want to be in charge of the music from now on. And here is the playlist for the remainder of the holiday season:
Continue reading I want to be in charge of the music →

To preserve sanity in the event of changing plans or other contingencies, I’ll send you HERE to get the details. Check bat at that location for updates, should there be any.

This is almost like a Free Thought Blogs meetup, because there will be three or four of us Free Thought Bloggers there. If you are in the Twin Cities, go to Pharyngula and tell PZ he needs to come on over! (I have no idea what his plans are at the moment.)

To preserve sanity in the event of changing plans or other contingencies, I’ll send you HERE to get the details. Check bat at that location for updates, should there be any.

And by faithing it, I mean using faith rather than critical analysis of the available information to make important decisions about what to regard as valid.

Continue reading Are you are real skeptic, or are you just faithing it →

The term “Black Friday” is said to refer to the day that so many people shop in US retail stores, the day after Thanksgiving, that retailer’s ledgers go from red (debit) to black (profit). But this appears to be a more recent use of the term which has been in use since the middle of the last century to mean something different. It was still used by retailers and other concerned with the hoardes of people shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, but not in relation to the ledger books. Rather, “Black Friday” was a bad day because it was when all those obnoxious shoppers, brats in tow, came into the downtown shops (in those days there were downtowns with shops) and annoyed everybody. And, the term seems to have been born and used for a long time nearly exclusively in Philadelphia. The term may have even started with the city police. And, the big Army Navy game held on that weekend was related to the crowds.

… all the evidence points in one direction. The term originated in Philadelphia in the 50s or earlier and wasn’t in common use in the rest of the country until decades later. And it did indeed refer to something unpleasant: the gigantic Army-Navy-post-Thanksgiving day crowds and traffic jams, which both retail workers and police officers dreaded. The retail industry originally loathed the term, and the whole “red to black” fairy tale was tacked on sometime in the 80s by an overcaffeinated flack trying to put lipstick on a pig …

Read about this fascinating story here at Mother Jones.

After 16 terms in office, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) plans to retire, according to an statement from his office. Frank will announce his retirement at the Newton City Hall this afternoon.

Details here

I do hope this does not mean that the Commonwealth’s Democratic Party or the relevant national organization does what they did with Kennedy’s seat.