tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69876590734032666912024-03-05T13:12:07.384-08:00Loopa's OdysseyThe ongoing adventures, ramblings, thoughts, and general chaotic events of a biologist/grad student/wannabe polymath.Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-89501548351916292062018-03-08T21:45:00.001-08:002018-03-08T21:47:21.540-08:00Is this thing on???? Anyone listening......? More to follow...maybe.....Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-17382305651398010672010-05-01T18:03:00.000-07:002010-05-01T18:04:50.042-07:00Bible ContradictionsGotta love a divinely inspired book that has so many contradictions!Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-4488828188252409242010-03-30T15:19:00.000-07:002010-03-30T15:34:32.118-07:00High Calorie Diet and DopamineThis is an example of bad science I think. There is a study printed on CNN going around about high calorie/high fat diets and their effect on rat brains. Basically, lots of human food caused rats to become highly addicted (just like heroine or cocaine) and would continue eating these foods even when electroshock was applied. The basic idea is fine, and interesting but what drives me nuts is the Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-20147142189296321612010-03-28T15:37:00.000-07:002010-03-28T15:39:53.923-07:00T-ShirtI know that the recently passed healthcare will need improvement but it is a huge step...and I saw this and loved it. I kinda want one....Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-55248111513011700432010-03-25T10:00:00.000-07:002010-03-25T10:27:07.817-07:00Godidit!I found this here and it is a very good response to people who use the argument from design, or complexity, or god of the gaps etc. to try and explain that which they do not understand - goddit!Just because you can't understand how is not a good reason to think some supernatural puppetmaster had to do itNow this goes hand in hand with another cartoon I liked over at Friendly Atheist regarding theLoopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-20689719685739731552010-03-15T12:08:00.001-07:002010-03-15T12:15:54.474-07:00UpdateOK so I just got back from the Bodega Phylogenetics Workshop by UC Davis. The workshop was at their Bodega Marine Lab, and while quite intense at times, lots of work, inredibly slide-filled at times, overall it was fantastic and I highly recommend applying next year to anyone interested in this area and even if you can't go you can look at their wiki page. Their are lots of tutorials that walk Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-23351317593253964172010-03-02T12:14:00.000-08:002010-03-02T12:17:15.833-08:00What if You're Wrong?This was a real question and answer period after a Richard Dawkins talk (a very common question to atheists by christians) and his answer is good - put to southpark-ish animation and I liked it enough to share - it's only a couple minutesLoopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-71599653713579426872010-02-26T13:24:00.000-08:002010-02-26T13:29:27.434-08:00I want oneThe MacGyver Multitool, actually I may have one....Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-43232455570577057652010-02-26T13:00:00.000-08:002010-02-26T13:04:15.226-08:00Great AdWell, some people complained that I left the hot atheists up on purpose for a month but mostly I was at a conference in San Diego and just got lazy. I saw this ad online today and decided to share:One of the best ads I think I have seen in a while. This was actually a public service message by Sussex Safer Roads.Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-31885071735619922652010-01-11T15:02:00.000-08:002010-01-11T15:06:01.204-08:00Sexiest Female AtheistsI found this over at Common Sense Atheism and had to share (now I like Natalie Portman and Jennifer Love-Hewitt even more!This is directly from the site:"Of course, there are probably hundreds of sexy actresses, models, and porn stars who just aren’t known as atheists, but here’s a list of the sexiest female confirmed atheists. (Here, I’m taking ‘atheist’ to mean “doesn’t believe in a personal Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-72453642915202278192009-12-13T13:55:00.000-08:002009-12-13T15:21:53.115-08:00How Observant Are You?FYI This blogs picks on religionUs science-ey, atheistic types get all sorts of arguments from religious people about why people "believe" something and one of the most common is they just know or they feel it etc, or that things have happened in their life they can't explain, which is really just a matter of the problem our human brain has with coincidences and the tendency to look for patters (Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-62635822174369511232009-12-13T13:47:00.000-08:002009-12-13T13:50:26.724-08:00Lets Sing Some X-Mas songs!I found this over at Pharyngula and thought you might like it to start the season off right. Not overly anti-theistic btw:Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-64711420224627475962009-12-11T11:04:00.000-08:002009-12-11T11:05:31.244-08:00A little Holiday Cheer for all you Religious PeopleRemember what fate..... awaits theeLoopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-34958998235461510802009-12-09T12:44:00.000-08:002009-12-13T13:52:27.160-08:00Global WarmingThere is a good blog over at Tuibguy on the problem with all of the global warming deniers (especially after the whole email-gate) and how they screw up the math. This classic Abbott and Costello video is very similar.... and I like Abbott and Costello anyway...For example, The Island of Doubt has a great little edit to a paragraph Sarah Palin's latest speech on the issue and "corrected" it, Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-3048360382347816372009-12-05T12:42:00.000-08:002009-12-05T12:47:32.442-08:00It's about perspectiveSome of you may have seen or head about Kirk Cameron and Banana guy giving out free copies of The Origin of Species with a note about the "problems" with evolution. The onion pretty much sums it up the best (I would love to actually see the media present it as it really is):Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-14219164785881982992009-12-02T08:47:00.000-08:002009-12-02T09:01:45.797-08:00DNA Activation!I gotta thank my friend kim for the link on this one - I almost went into my PhD Comprehensive exams with NO IDEA about the 12 levels of DNA that we have, or DNA Perfection. I mean sure, I am studying all about DNA and evolution, how it works, what the processes are, etc.... BUT I had no idea that:In actuality, the Human Genome is arranged into 12 dimensionalized mathematical programs, each of Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-68705904599365997012009-12-02T08:32:00.000-08:002009-12-02T09:38:28.377-08:00God's voiceI one asked my ex what the difference was between people who hear voices and those that hear god (and how do you know which is which)? Amazingly, they have done a study and guess what? God sounds just like the person hearing them and ironically god's opinion of various matters was, wait for it - wait for it - the same as the individual's opinion!!! WOW - you would think that if they are all Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-61884893075621002552009-11-16T13:16:00.003-08:002009-11-16T13:25:41.818-08:00ExactlyThey must be watching me:Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-87596877249644269802009-11-10T16:07:00.001-08:002009-11-10T16:08:50.565-08:00This is pretty much how I feelLoopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-17115239820542228462009-11-08T13:32:00.000-08:002009-11-08T18:22:54.063-08:00I little cartoon 4 u -donate your organs!A little summary of what I am up to for my family and friends: my comprehensive exams officially last thursday so I have 4 weeks to come up with a long essay and prepare to answer a few questions. I also have a couple grants due and a 45 min presentation to give this Thursday at the local Lethbridge Naturalists Society on my research which should be fun. I have also been practicing the ol' geetarLoopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-49188693255913709432009-10-29T10:27:00.001-07:002009-10-29T10:31:03.186-07:00How to Determine What Religion You AreI especially love the "I f*cking love bacon" choiceHat-tip: the Friendly AtheistLoopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-34469712840824957872009-10-26T13:17:00.001-07:002009-10-26T13:39:32.957-07:00Useless ResearchI was reading an article today that touched a specific nerve on the funding of "useless" research which I found linked at the RichardDawkins.net. The original article is in the Timesonline.UK and deals with the idea of creating a committee to review science projects based on economic value which is a STUPID idea. This touches home because several people have asked me what good my research is for Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-52110234910872204802009-10-19T10:33:00.000-07:002009-10-19T10:47:52.826-07:00Picture says it allpicture source: National GeographicIn the wheelbarrow is the body of Dorothy who died of natural causes and is about to be buried, while the rest quietly look on. I really wonder what they are thinking!Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-51924951722556203752009-10-15T12:19:00.002-07:002009-10-15T12:25:02.031-07:00RedundancyDo I really need to say anything? Just one question though - how do you tell the difference between "hearing voices" and religious "conversations/messages"? Don't get me wrong, I know that schizophrenia is a serious illness! Still, what would be the difference and how would you know?Loopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6987659073403266691.post-51659228569364900942009-10-15T12:19:00.001-07:002009-10-15T12:20:53.524-07:00RedundancyDo I really need to say anything?see more Epic FailsLoopahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946386725071675952noreply@blogger.com0