Liberals like “green energy” and Republicans hate it. Right?
Posted by Greg Laden on August 18, 2012 
Not so fast … 85% of Americans want more funding for research renewable energy such as wind power. In Iowa, a state leading in wind energy production, 85% of voters view tax credits for wind production as positive. Also in Iowa, 57% of all voters would oppose a presidential candidate who wanted to end tax…
Video of heat shield hitting Mars
Posted by Greg Laden on August 18, 2012 The Angry Red Planet just gut a little angrier: This sequence of images shows the heat shield from NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory hitting the ground on Mars and raising a cloud of dust. From NASA
Climate Change: Listen to the experts
Posted by Greg Laden on August 18, 2012 You all know about CONvergence, and by now you’ve probably heard about or even seen or heard on the Internet one or more of the many panels that were done this year. But those recordings were impromptu and while useful, they are unpolished. Also, the panels at CONvergence themselves tend to be informal, unmoderated or…
The Future, Sundy
Posted by Greg Laden on August 18, 2012 “World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines, and the Internet” by Michael Chorost will be the subject of discussion, with the author himself, on this week’s Skeptically Speaking. The show airs live before an Internt Audience on Sunday, with the podcast coming out later in the week. Details and links will be found…
The Melting of Earth’s Northern Ice Cap: Update
Posted by Greg Laden on August 15, 2012 We are becoming aware of two very important changes in the Arctic that you need to know about. These are separate thing but related, and both are almost certainly the outcome of anthropogenic global warming (AGW). They are: The sea ice that covers much of the Arctic Sea during the winter is normally reduced during…
Atheist Voices of Minnesota: an Anthology of Personal Stories
Posted by Greg Laden on August 14, 2012 Atheist Voices of Minnesota: an Anthology of Personal Stories will be officially released on August 28th, though you can of course get it now if you click on this secret link (or this secret link for the Kindle edition). I just received a press release for the book, and thought I’d pass it on to…
iMac Weather Menu Bar App Thingie
Posted by Greg Laden on August 13, 2012 I am now using an iMac for a lot more than I ever used a Mac of any kind before, and in so doing I’m discovering some interesting software. I will therefore be telling you about it, because it is much more interesting than telling you about what I had for lunch or dinner. (Having…
On The X Blog
Posted by Greg Laden on August 12, 2012 I just wanted to remind you to check The X Blog. Being Sunday, there are Sunday Funnies. Also, a post-Mr. Paul Aints commentary is HERE.
From Ladysmith to London: A Harrowing Escape
Posted by Greg Laden on August 11, 2012 
In late November, 1899, a British military unit which included an embedded reporter was ambushed by an Afrikaner unit in what is now Natal Province, South Africa. This was during the Anglo-Boer war, which was to be the largest military adventure to date in the history of the United Kingdom. The British had been traveling…
Barbara Forrest: Inside the Louisiana Science Education Act
Posted by Greg Laden on August 11, 2012 Barbara Forest Wrote Creationism’s Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design. Here is a recent talk by her:
S is for Science Book for Toddlers
Posted by Greg Laden on August 11, 2012 G is for Galaxy: An Out of This World Alphabet (Alphabet Books) is one of a series of kid’s alphabet books with an interesting twist. The pages have the usual big letter, a picture of something that starts with that letter, and a short sentence or two referring to that word. But on the same…
Can Missouri Students Skip Evolution Assignments If They Don’t Believe In It? I
Posted by Greg Laden on August 11, 2012 Two days ago, according to the NCSE, Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 2 which protects the right of citizens to pray and express religious beliefs, which was already the case because of the US Constitution. However, the Amendment will have other effects that were not mentioned at the voting booth. For example, “no student shall…
The Worst Political Decision of the Year
Posted by Greg Laden on August 11, 2012 Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan to be his running mate does little more than changing one aspect of the election dynamic for the Presidency. But it an important change.
Ooops.
Posted by Greg Laden on August 10, 2012 NASA did an amazing thing a few days ago, landing a big giant amazing Science Robot on the Angry Red Planet, Mars. But to get to that point, to have The Ultimate Omelette, as it were, you’ve got to break a few eggs. Here is what an egg looks like when NASA breaks it: It…
AVM is now on Kindle and Nook
Posted by Greg Laden on August 10, 2012 Atheist Voices of Minnesota: an Anthology of Personal Stories, a book that I have a chapter in, is now available for the Kindle and the Nook.
Snapshots from Mars
Posted by Greg Laden on August 7, 2012 A whole bunch of photographs rom Mars have bee posted by NASA, here. I thought the following one was pretty cool because it shows how accommodating the Martians are, cleaning the dust off the lens and all.
Is Scripps News Service out of control?
Posted by Greg Laden on August 7, 2012 If corporations are people, there is an argument that Scripps News Service should have a restraining order placed on it. The news service repeatedly took down the hourly postings by NASA, made by NASA, on the NASA YouTube channel, because they thought somehow, by mistake, that NASA was violating Scripps News Service’s rights. Later, Scripps…
Publishing with Apple’s iBook Author
Posted by Greg Laden on August 7, 2012 I am making a couple of iBooks. I’ve already produced three of them, but you can’t see them because they were experimental and they have been mercifully deleted. I found three or four problems (mainly with my own design and understanding) that I’ll tell you a little about below. There are things to consider when…
OMG Look at this: Curiosity photographed while landing!
Posted by Greg Laden on August 6, 2012 Curiosity landed on Mars last night (I assume you were watching). Well, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter managed to take a picture of Curiosity with its parachute! This is so cool. Look:
Live Blogging the Olympics
Posted by Greg Laden on August 5, 2012 OK, I only have a minute to watch while I’m having lunch. A women’s basketball game has just ended. Americans playing Olympic basketball is like kids pulling the legs off grasshoppers. “So, are you ready for your next game, do you have any strategy?” “I don’t even know who we’re playing. I only need to…
Genetics of Genius, Sunday Funnies, and Other Matters
Posted by Greg Laden on August 5, 2012 This evening, Skeptically Speaking will have Sam Kean, author of The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements and The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code. Details here. The…
Curiosity Cam. Don’t miss seven minutes of terror.
Posted by Greg Laden on August 5, 2012 You can watch along with NASA and see briefings and stuff on Curiosity Cam. The Exploratorium also has a page with a web case and various videos. In case you haven’t seen the Seven Minutes of Terror video, here it is: Updates and a countdown clock will be found here on the NASA site.
Amazing news about Florine Gas and CaF2
Posted by Greg Laden on August 5, 2012 A newly-published paper reveals how highly-reactive Fluorine Gas has been found in nature, due do a process which takes place within fluorite.
Is it appropriate to use the term “Pygmy” when speaking of…Pygmies?
Posted by Greg Laden on August 5, 2012 Some of the people who live in the rain forest of Central Africa are known widely as “Pgymies.” That word…Pygmy…is considered problematic for a few different reasons. It refers to a person’s physical appearance, because it means “small.” The word is sometimes used in biology to refer to the smaller species among a group of…
Curiosity Cruises Ever Closer
Posted by Greg Laden on August 5, 2012 This just in: Curiosity Closes in on its New ‘Home’ Sat, 04 Aug 2012 06:20:24 PM CDT With Mars looming ever larger in front of it, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft and its Curiosity rover are in the final stages of preparing for entry, descent and landing on the Red Planet at 10:31 p.m. PDT…
“Why is the penis shaped like that anyway?”
Posted by Greg Laden on August 4, 2012 Researcher and science writer Jesse Bering delights in being provocative. From the description of his new book, Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?: And Other Reflections on Being Human: Why do testicles hang the way they do? Is there an adaptive function to the female orgasm? What does it feel like to want to…
What is the link between global warming and drought?
Posted by Greg Laden on August 4, 2012 I’d like to give you a very small selection of references and discussions about the link between global warming and drought. Global warming probably has two major effects. First, more moisture gets into the atmosphere because warmer air passing over the oceans can take in more water. This can cause more rain and possibly more…
Mars is tugging on NASA Rover Curiosity
Posted by Greg Laden on August 4, 2012 NASA acknowledges the fact that most missions to Mars fail. The rocket goes off course or crashes, or the device lands broken, or works for a while then stops. According to the latest press release, which has some interesting photos including the one shown here, The gravitational tug of Mars is now pulling NASA’s car-size…
Atheist Voices of Minnesota is Out!
Posted by Greg Laden on August 4, 2012 Atheist Voices of Minnesota: an Anthology of Personal Stories is a newly published book that a number of your favorite bloggers and atheist personalities have chapters in, including me. It is now available in print form. Everybody who is an Atheist has a story as to how they got that way. In the United States,…
What Does The Bible, and History, Tell Us About Marriage?
Posted by Greg Laden on August 4, 2012 It seems like everybody in the Old Testament is either married, about to get married, or was recently married but something went terribly wrong. This may be becasue the bible is about marriage. The Old Testament is a history, it is a set of laws, and it is an enthnography, and the themes themes that…
