I’ve reposted this once already, but it is so important and cool …. we’re going to do it again. (And by “it” I mean the research, not this post!)
Continue reading The perfect bird family tree →

Michael Jackson died one year ago. The following is a repost of something I wrote at that time:
Continue reading Michael Jackson →

… Where you pay a little every month and get something for it, or even don’t pay but become a “member” and get something for that?

At the moment there are no plans for such a thing, but there is a survey for you to offer your opinion. Click here to take the survey.

First, I want to point out this post which describes an interesting example of Michele Bachmann Republicans making stuff up to harm a Democratic contender for a congressional seat.

Then, I want to show you a video from Jim Meffert’s campaign which relates to the above linked post AND points out what a crappy representative I have here in Minnesota’s 3rd district, where I live. Help!
Continue reading My Congresscritter Dislikes Small Businesses →

Both this year and last year (is this the beginning of a tradition?) Stephanie Zvan gave me a short story for my birthday. Last year, the story impressed me because it was a good story even without the unexpected, mildly disturbing twist. This time, the twist is not mildly disturbing at all.

It is deeply disturbing. Here is the story.

Stephanie will be reading from her work at the Convergence Convention coming up in a few days. Personally, I think this is a candidate for a reading like this, though it would be appropriate to have two readers acting it out. It could be seen as all dialog and stage direction. The problem is, where do we find an eleven inch high person?

Anyway, go read it.

Thanks for the story, Stephanie! I think…..

Although the paper addresses Tanzanian lions, this is a photograph of a Namibian lion Starting some years ago, we began to hear about revisions of the standard models of lion behavioral biology coming out of Craig Packer’s research in the Serengeti. One of the most startling findings, first shown (if memory serves) as part of a dynamic optimization model and subsequently backed up with a lot of additional information, is the idea that lions do not benefit by living in a group with respect to hunting. They live in groups despite the fact that this sociality decreases hunting effectiveness. This is a classic case of “but wait, I can see it with my own eyes!” vs. data.

Some of the most recent work done by Packer’s team has just been highlighted in a pretty nice write up by Mattt Walker in the BBC, representing a paper just coming out. The most interesting finding: Male lions kill (or attempt to kill) females from neighboring prides in order that their own pride obtains numerical superiority in pursuit of territorial competition.

Reposted
Continue reading The science of lion prides →

I am all in favor of the White House and the military being at odds over policy and politics. I have this notion that the elected civilians need to remind the officers that in our country, at least, the elected civilians are in charge. It’s that respect for the concept of democracy deep within my little cowboy heart that gets alarmed whenever I sense that the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are too much on the same page.

Continue reading this post by Mike at QM

Along with a few other …. select bloggers. Check out the latest editor’s choice at Research Blogging

And in this case by “feminism” I mean specifically active engagement in STEM-recruiting.

The answer is … going to be at the far end of what I predict will be an interesting and productive discussion starting out at Urban Science Adventures: An Open Letter to…Nerd Girls

Oh, no, I read it wrong. It’s “hope.” And not THAT Pandora. But it is my birthday!

… or, this:
Continue reading Religion. It gives comfort. →

Interesting piece:

…Certain topics never fail to generate a flood of impassioned reactions online: immigration, President Obama, federal taxes, “birthers,” and race. This story about Obama’s Kenyan aunt, who had been exposed as an illegal immigrant living in public housing in Boston and who was now seeking asylum, manages to pull strands from all five of those contentious subjects….

Here at the Boston Globe.

HT Virgil Samms

Is it possible for all the oxygen molecules in the room, which are moving around randomly, to randomly all move to one corner so everyone is breathing just nitrogen for a while and they die?

Is is possible for a World Cup soccer game to have a score of, say, 24 to one?

Is is possible for a tennis match to go on for several days because, after all, there is no limit on how many times they can bounce the ball back and forth across the net?

Yes.

Peter Tyack of Woods Hole talks about a hidden wonder of the sea: underwater sound. Onstage at Mission Blue, he explains the amazing ways whales use sound and song to communicate across hundreds of miles of ocean.

Continue reading Peter Tyack: The intriguing sound of marine mammals →

If so, would you please take this survey? It is for a friend of mine who is working on a research project regarding what looks to me like “framing” in IT management.

We’ll beat him up later for the framing bit.

Anyway, click here to do the survey thing. Thanks.