I'm fiddling with the templates to make the site more palatable to Passepartout (my Sidekick). Hopefully this will be the next step toward swapping out the Global Spin homepage for something more bloggy.
If you see anything amiss with the blog page, let me know and I'll fix it.
~c
If you like your science saucy, be sure to check out this review of Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation. The book is Olivia Judson's fun look at the love lives of animals, insects, and other creatures -- from a very human perspective.
Vampires and werewolves are real! I want to believe.
And a Happy Halloween, y'all.
A 600-pound, 1200 year-old Mayan altar has been recovered from looters by the Guatemalan police and some "archeologists turned detective". Neat.
There are currently a number of brush fires in San Diego County, but so far we're far from them. The whole place smells like smoke, though.
Oddly enough, our phone line is dead as well, so if you're trying to get through send e-mail instead.
UPDATE: I've uploaded some photos of the smoky areas near our apartment. These were all taken in the morning.
OK, I'm not one to say anything, but it just seems odd that folks working on Mel Gibson's new film have been struck by lightning. Twice.
Of course, I've been reading a lot of Pratchett lately, and that may be influencing my perspective on these things.
More and more evidence is mounting (sorry, there's another double entendre) that our sexuality and gender identities are neurologically based and certainly not just lifestyle "preferences." UCLA has done a study focusing on this, and their researcher Eric Vilain says, "Our research implies that genes account for some of the differences in male and female brains. It's quite possible that sexual identity and physical attraction is 'hard-wired' by the brain. If we accept this concept, we must dismiss the myth that homosexuality is a 'choice' and examine our civil legal system accordingly."
Be sure to read the whole article for some interesting things on differences in startle responses in gay and straight people.
P.S. Just found the link to this latter study.
Not here, silly. In Norway, where a witch has just received a state-sponsored small business grant. First A-ha, now this. You always knew Norway was cool.
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday, dear Kerrigan,
Happy Birthday to you!
The strangest thought occurred to me today. If your descendants held a convention (with you as the topic) in your town this year, would you go? What do you think they'd talk about?
UPD: Apparently, posting from a hiptop impairs my spelling ability. Fixed the typo.
I'm writing this on my way home from work. No, I'm not a danger to traffic; I'm on the bus with a Sidekick hiptop-style wireless device thingy. Typing on a thumb keyboard is slow, but hopefully I'll be able to post to the blog more often. Now if I could just make this page look better on the built-in browser...
Okay. I do not want this guy making major decisions about what my country does. This is the scariest thing I've read this side of Halloween.
Glen the space historian writes:
Here is a link to a very good article on the Columbia accident investigation.
I've noticed an increase in blog spam on the site, basically comments that are trying to advertise. This is official notice that such posts are a violation of this site's service agreement. Any advertising posts (you know who you are) will be removed immediately; your IP address will be noted, and you will be banned from any further posts to this site.
If anyone notices such a post, please e-mail me the URL and I'll act on it right away. Let me know if you have any questions.
The Supreme Court is finally going to take a look at whether "God" belongs in the Pledge of Allegiance. This is going to be a big storm, either way...
If this doesn't make you run screaming from any whiff of a diet, I don't know what will.
When Chris and Karen take Sea Monkey to Disney World, Dad can get some first-hand space sim experience. Perfect family vacation, and Aunt Deana can come along too.
As Karen says, Governor-elect Actor-pants is in.
Sigh.
He has two years (or so) to prove that he can successfully manage the world's 5th-largest economy.
Our very own Deana turns mumble mumble today! Let's all wish her a...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
~chris the subtle
UPDATE: As it turns out, our very own Jaime will turn twentymumble this upcoming Saturday!
Happy Birthday, Big Guy!
Fun! It looks like the BBC is going to revive Doctor Who in 2005, and a previous Doctor has said that Eddie Izzard will get the role. I wholeheartedly approve.
Between this and the greenlighting of the Hitchhiker's Guide movie, it looks like an interesting stretch of British humor is upon us.
Now THIS makes me happy! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Yay yay yay....!
I think we're all pleased to learn about the World Beard and Moustache Championships.
Look my dad's in the news and he's got some really good things to say about NASA's lack of safety awareness.
An outdated outlook about a wife's womanly duties? Maybe, but everything old is new again. In fact, Dr. Laura's new book gives just this advice. As the New York Post paraphrases her argument, "Husbands need sex, and it's a wife's job to provide it - as much as he wants, whenever he wants it."
Sorry I'm posting so much, but I just had to share. :-)
I guess I am, although I'm not sure about that word. Here's Richard Dawkins' take on the matter from Wired.