I found these over at Greg Laden's Blog and had to share:
horse hair worm!!!!
Snails, Birds and Worms - gotta love m
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Catholic Preists Declares voting for O'bama a mortal sin
This is pathetic and I hope that the church admonishes him publicly. A Catholic priest in South Carolina has decided that the democratic act of casting a vote is, in some cases, a mortal sin!
Voting for a pro-abortion politician should be a basis for denying such people communion is pathetic. Mortal sin???voting is up there with actual beheading of another human being for example - come on people - at least someone in my family should comment on this!!! I will post if I hear anything from the church on this officially.
UPDATE 11/18: apparently he has now said church teaching doesn't allow him to refuse holy communion to anyone based on political choices, but that he'll continue to deliver the church's strong teaching on the "intrinsic and grave evil of abortion" as a hidden form of murder.
source
Voting for a pro-abortion politician should be a basis for denying such people communion is pathetic. Mortal sin???voting is up there with actual beheading of another human being for example - come on people - at least someone in my family should comment on this!!! I will post if I hear anything from the church on this officially.
UPDATE 11/18: apparently he has now said church teaching doesn't allow him to refuse holy communion to anyone based on political choices, but that he'll continue to deliver the church's strong teaching on the "intrinsic and grave evil of abortion" as a hidden form of murder.
source
Bird Mourning?
I originally read this over at Living the Scientific Life by GrrlScientist but it is a very good commentary on some amazing pictures of two swallows. One was fatally injured but the mate remained at its side and tried to help the fallen bird. My favorite line from GrrlScientist is "I am not one to anthropomorphize animals since I am completely unconvinced that most people are capable of experiencing deep or complex emotions" (bold mine). It makes you wonder about animal emotions and what they experience. They probably don't anticipate death but does that mean their pain is less? The picture series is definitely worth looking at it as is the blogger comments below th pics.
First snapshot of multi-planet solar system
I saw this story yesterday and thought it was really cool so I figured I would share it here. For the first time astronomers have an actual snapshot of a multi-planet solar system using infrared and it comes from the Gemini Observatory. If you click on the title of this blog - it will take you to the article and the picture.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Update
Well for anyone out there, not much news on the homefront to report; been busy filling out grant applications begging for money for the last few weeks and am now filling out permit applications for next year (to work with birds in Canada). It has been chilly off and one here getting down to freezing but this week has been a little warmer and it hasn't been anywhere near as cold as it was when I forst visited. When the wind blows though that wind chill factor packs a punch and that wind sometimes feels like it's straight "off the pole". Haven't had anyone actually comment or send me an email regarding ANY of these posts so I don't think anyone reads this, which means I am just talking to myself but that's ok I talk to myself all the time so why should this be different... I have a few articles and science stuff I am planning on writing about soon and maybe I will actually gt a comment or two...we'll see. Back to work.
Prop 8
This is worth watching and I hope everyone will at least take 7 minutes out of your day to watch, listen and think about why you voted the way you did
Friday, November 7, 2008
I am a celebrity!!!
It's official, moving to Canada was good for my popularity and my place in history! To think, I worked on so many projects that were politically important, regarded endangered species, involved significant habitat restoration, multiple FEMA disasters etc. all of which involved public opinion and numerous local and state agencies and NO ONE ever asked me for an interview. Low and behold all it took was moving to Canada before one of the most important and historical presidential elections for someone to ask me for my opinion! Check it out if you are bored here at the Lethbridge Herald.
Also stay tuned - I had another interview with the same person for a more detailed profile piece and will let you know.
Also stay tuned - I had another interview with the same person for a more detailed profile piece and will let you know.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Palin again - (sorry) but this needs to be said
So I know I have bashed on Palin and I have tried not to recently (she is doing it for me on her own!) but here is something I cannot ignore (see video below) and felt I needed to rant and share information that I know many won't know or look up. Palin suggests that fruit fly research is wasted "earmarked money". Pharyngula provides a great summary of fruit fly research and how instrumental fruit flies are for all sorts of research including autism which is incredibly ignorant of her not to know that without such research we cannot find cures for diseases like autism, which she and McCain have committed us to doing; fruit fly research has actually aided us already in understanding a genetic component or predisposition towards autism (Dawkins.net) Truly imbecilic! (and yes the actual project she is referring to is for fruit flies on California olive plants but that doesn't mean we don't find out lots of new information that is transferable to humans and advances scientific knowledge - we have lots of research on significant cash crops (especially for California crops) and this type of research is extremely beneficial for humans. It would have made a hell of a lot more sense to rip on spending lots of government money to help (mostly conservative) farmers but you know thats not gonna happen.
To Quote Pharynglua "Yes, scientists work on fruit flies. Some of the most powerful tools in genetics and molecular biology are available in fruit flies....we can use these other organisms to probe the fundamental mechanisms that underlie core processes in the formation of the nervous system — precisely the phenomena Palin claims are so important." But my personal favorite of his is "In this next election, we've got to choose between the 21st century rationalism and Dark Age inanity. It ought to be an easy choice."
McCain and Palin have no idea how science works, how funding is used and what is actually required to accomplish goals that they so easily throw out as just assuming we will accomplish is enough to make it happen (like clean energy, energy independence, cure autsim, just to name a few); yet they constantly spout off numbers of money wasted on science and people believe them!
For more on this see (thanks to Tree of Life):
To Quote Pharynglua "Yes, scientists work on fruit flies. Some of the most powerful tools in genetics and molecular biology are available in fruit flies....we can use these other organisms to probe the fundamental mechanisms that underlie core processes in the formation of the nervous system — precisely the phenomena Palin claims are so important." But my personal favorite of his is "In this next election, we've got to choose between the 21st century rationalism and Dark Age inanity. It ought to be an easy choice."
McCain and Palin have no idea how science works, how funding is used and what is actually required to accomplish goals that they so easily throw out as just assuming we will accomplish is enough to make it happen (like clean energy, energy independence, cure autsim, just to name a few); yet they constantly spout off numbers of money wasted on science and people believe them!
For more on this see (thanks to Tree of Life):
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
She gets to VOTE!!! Disturbing
I know a few people have re-posted this but I figured I would share anyway...this is why I hate fundamentalists with no clue about how to actually solve real issues - god will provide!!!
Academic Salaries
This is a little depressing to read in the morning over at Evolving Thoughts about academic salaries; just a quick little graph so check it out.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Chicmpanzee Stone Age?
This is a good link I found the other day over at Not Exactly Rocket Science about a journal article on some stone tools found in a floodplain in the lowland rainforest of the Tai National Park. They found flaked stones indicating tool making that wasn't by humans but rather the ancestors of modern chimpanzees - which I think is really cool. Basically the tools were used for breaking nuts but it means that chimpanzees have been doing that for a long time and is one more note that tool making and use is not just a HUMAN trait.
On a second note - there is a good article here about chimpanzees using spears that they make to hunt bush babies in trees, which is interesting as well and shows even more tool use and planning by our closest relative.
Well - I am back to grant writing...fun!
On a second note - there is a good article here about chimpanzees using spears that they make to hunt bush babies in trees, which is interesting as well and shows even more tool use and planning by our closest relative.
Well - I am back to grant writing...fun!
Atheist vs Agnostic
Some have asked what the difference is between an agnostic and an atheist and seem to think that agnostic is nicer because you don't know but that really is a misleading term.
Huxley himself describes agnostic as:
Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. That principle is of great antiquity; it is as old as Socrates; as old as the writer who said, 'Try all things, hold fast by that which is good'; it is the foundation of the Reformation, which simply illustrated the axiom that every man should be able to give a reason for the faith that is in him, it is the great principle of Descartes; it is the fundamental axiom of modern science. Positively the principle may be expressed: In matters of the intellect, follow your reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any other consideration. And negatively: In matters of the intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable. That I take to be the agnostic faith, which if a man keep whole and undefiled, he shall not be ashamed to look the universe in the face, whatever the future may have in store for him.
This in fact can be used for religious issues/matters of belief but is really a process that we all use for most everything in our daily life which is to follow our reason - we do that when we buy a car, a house, choose our doctor, elect to have surgery etc.... So in essence most of us are agnostic. Now in terms of faith some of us may not use reason or if we do, may find evidence based on reason to support faith or belief (I don't really see how but you might) but the process is the same - only the conclusion is different which is why the term is not really appropriate for one who does not have faith or does not believe. You either believe in a god or don't - doesn't really matter if you think there can or cannot ever be evidence etc.... As is common with most agnostic declares, one says I am not an atheist but I don't believe in god or one cannot know if there is a god; all of which means the same thing as saying I am not a theist - which of course means you are an atheist. - this comic sums it up much better and David Eller does a much more thorough job discussing this issue in Natural Atheism - although he spends a lot of time on reason and formulation of arguments which is a slow reading but worth it.
Huxley himself describes agnostic as:
Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. That principle is of great antiquity; it is as old as Socrates; as old as the writer who said, 'Try all things, hold fast by that which is good'; it is the foundation of the Reformation, which simply illustrated the axiom that every man should be able to give a reason for the faith that is in him, it is the great principle of Descartes; it is the fundamental axiom of modern science. Positively the principle may be expressed: In matters of the intellect, follow your reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any other consideration. And negatively: In matters of the intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable. That I take to be the agnostic faith, which if a man keep whole and undefiled, he shall not be ashamed to look the universe in the face, whatever the future may have in store for him.
This in fact can be used for religious issues/matters of belief but is really a process that we all use for most everything in our daily life which is to follow our reason - we do that when we buy a car, a house, choose our doctor, elect to have surgery etc.... So in essence most of us are agnostic. Now in terms of faith some of us may not use reason or if we do, may find evidence based on reason to support faith or belief (I don't really see how but you might) but the process is the same - only the conclusion is different which is why the term is not really appropriate for one who does not have faith or does not believe. You either believe in a god or don't - doesn't really matter if you think there can or cannot ever be evidence etc.... As is common with most agnostic declares, one says I am not an atheist but I don't believe in god or one cannot know if there is a god; all of which means the same thing as saying I am not a theist - which of course means you are an atheist. - this comic sums it up much better and David Eller does a much more thorough job discussing this issue in Natural Atheism - although he spends a lot of time on reason and formulation of arguments which is a slow reading but worth it.
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