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stcynic | February 27, 2006So I just got home from a visit to the doctor and the pharmacy. I have an outer ear infection and got a prescription for some antibiotic ear drops. When I stopped at the pharmacy to get the script filled, I noticed that one of the many products they sold over the counter was a copper wrist band that allegedly (read: pretends to) helps your health. The packaging said "Experience the magic of pure copper!" I found it rather disturbing that a pharmacy, a place that dispenses medicine and advice that people rely on as it concerns their healthy, would be peddling such useless, pseudo-scientific…
grrlscientist | February 27, 2006Note: Original sent to me by a reader, I rewrote it a little bit.
Dear [feminine hygiene product brand name],
I recently noticed that the peel-off strip of my pantiliner had a bunch of "[brand name] Tips for Life" written on it. It was annoying and condescending advice such as;
- Staying active during your period can relieve cramps.
- Avoiding caffeine may help reduce cramps and headaches.
- Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day to keep you hydrated and feeling fresh.
- Try [brand name] blah blah blah other products.
Obviously, the person behind this little scheme was someone who has never…
pharyngula | February 25, 2006
You Passed 8th Grade Math
Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!
Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?
I wonder what kind of score Richard Cohen would get?
(via Living the Scientific Life)
grrlscientist | February 25, 2006
You Passed 8th Grade Math
Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!
Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?
That was fun!
What was your score?
grrlscientist | February 25, 2006
MROW!! Brad Gushue has a standing invitation to sweep my apartment floors anytime!
Curling is the perfect sport. Seriously, what more can a grrl ask for? Curling features gorgeous men who are passionate about pushing heavy objects around with great precision and who are some sort of magician with a broom. Do I even need to point out the obvious relationship between excellent curling and successful househusbanding skills?
I have one suggestion, though. The Olympics commentators who use that cute little model of the curling field to describe the action should use miniature replicas of those…
grrlscientist | February 25, 2006
Your Fortune Is
War does not determine who is right, war determine who is left.
The Wacky Fortune Cookie Generator
Okay, you must tell me, my peeps; what is your fortune?
stcynic | February 25, 2006Paul Musgrave has decided to fold up his long-running blog and he is posting a final 15 long essays on subjects he feels strongly about. The first two, one on his hometown of Evansville and the other on the nature of patriotism, have been posted. They are well worth reading, if only to remind ourselves of what a loss it is for the blogging world that he will no longer be a part of it. Paul isn't a good writer, he's an extraordinary writer, as well as an uncommonly clear thinker. He's so good that reading him sometimes makes me feel bad that much of what I write is so pedestrian. Only…
stcynic | February 24, 2006So I'm looking at some of my recent referrals (that is, webpages that have links to my page that people have used recently to come here) and I see a referral from godhatesfags.com, the webpage of the vile and repulsive Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church of evil bastards. Specifically, their news page linked to this post about the Muhammed caricatures and flag burning. Why did they link to me? I have no idea. But if you're a follower of Phelps and you clicked over here, let me welcome you and let me express my one sincere wish for you: I hope you die a long, slow, painful death filled…
grrlscientist | February 24, 2006
Male Black-faced Dacnis, Dacnis lineata lineata.
Photo taken on the banks of the Corentyne River, which forms the Guyana-Suriname border (see map, below).
Photo courtesy of Tony Henneberg.
(Click image for larger view in its own window)
The black-faced Dacnis, Dacnis lineata lineata [Family Thraupidae (Tanagers and Allies)], also known as the yellow-tufted Dacnis, is comprised of three disjunct populations, any or all of which might actually might be distinct species. One population is distributed throughout most of the Amazon Basin and the Guianas (the nominate lineata), while the another…
stcynic | February 24, 2006Well, I've been nominated for a Koufax award, but bizarrely it's for best single issue blog. There's nothing like being nominated for an award by someone who clearly doesn't read my blog. I really hope no one votes for me.
stcynic | February 23, 2006When Michael Jordan made his second comeback from retirement to play for the Wizards, a young player for the Pistons was asked in a press conference if he looked forward to playing against Jordan and seeing what he still had left at his age. The player responded by saying that Jordan isn't the player he once was and that he was gonna have a hard time keeping up with the younger guys. Joe Dumars, the man Jordan has said was the toughest defender he ever faced in the NBA, pulled that kid aside and explained something to him: don't ever give Michael Jordan a reason to be extra motivated to play…
stcynic | February 22, 2006Does anyone here who leaves comments have AOL? Lynn is having a devil of a time leaving comments using AOL and Internet Explorer (apparently Firefox doesn't work well with AOL). The problem is that she signs on using Typekey and the comment entry box shows up for just a couple seconds, then disappears. Has anyone else had this problem, or does anyone have any idea how to fix it?
stcynic | February 21, 2006Sean Hannity parrots the ridiculous rhetoric about college students being "indoctrinated" by leftist professors and asks, "What can be done to remove these professors with these radical ideas from campus?" Michael Berube provides an appropriately sarcastic response.
stcynic | February 20, 2006One of the cool things that happened while I was dodging below zero temperatures was that Greg Forbes, a friend and fellow board member of Michigan Citizens for Science, has been announced as the recipient of the Civil Libertarian of the Year Award from the ACLU of Western Michigan. Greg is a tireless advocate for good science education, not only serving on the MCFS board but also as director of the Evolution Education Institute, Evolution Education Specialist for the Michigan Science Teachers Association, and the National Course Director for the National Science Foundation's Chautauqua…
stcynic | February 20, 2006As I download the 263 emails that have built up since Thursday evening when I first lost power at my house, let me announce my return. It's been a crazy few days. As some of you likely know, my part of Michigan got nailed with a really bizarre weather pattern on Wednesday and Thursday and it knocked out power to pretty much the entire area. The power finally came back on last night but I didn't get cable TV or internet back until a few minutes ago. In the intervening 3 days, we had temps below zero and 30 mph winds. I got the hell out of dodge and went and stayed my buddy Jeff in Grand Rapids…
grrlscientist | February 19, 2006
I finally escaped domestic misery (laundry; a necessary evil that, in NYC during the winter, requires cross country skiing gear, assorted pocket warmers lest my digits freeze off, and a pack animal -- I prefer a llama because they are cute and fuzzy, and can climb stairs) and discovered that the Carnival of the Godless, issue 34, had been published today. This biweekly anthology of godlessness actually included a piece that I wrote so long ago that I forgot all about it. Well, sorta.
tags: blog carnival
grrlscientist | February 18, 2006Thanks, Cheri, for making me smile.
Reasons that it is good to be a woman:
1. We got off the Titanic first.
2. We can scare male bosses with the mysterious gynecological disorder excuses.
3. Taxis stop for us.
4. We don't look like a frog in a blender when dancing.
5. No fashion faux pas we make could ever rival the Speedo.
6. We don't have to look at the opposite sex to amuse ourselves.
7. If we forget to shave, no one has to know.
8. We can congratulate our teammate without ever touching her rear end.
9. We never have to reach down every so often to make sure our…
grrlscientist | February 16, 2006The 2005 Koufax Awards for "Best Expert Blogs" have now been compiled for your reading pleasure. This category seeks to honor those who bring particular expertise, by way of knowledge, experience, or academic achievement, to a particular topic. As the years have passed, it's become more difficult to compile as many bloggers have essentially, through their own work and research, become the "experts" we know and trust for our information on important topics. However, outside of the blogosphere, the meaning of "expert" is more proscribed, and so the people administering the Koufax Awards are…
loom | February 16, 2006The nominees for the 2005 Koufax Awards: Best Expert Blog have been posted. Many thanks to whoever put the Loom on the list. The voting hasn't started yet, but please keep this blog in mind when it does. I don't hold out too much hope, since the list contains quite a lot of impressive bloggers.
But I will claim one title. I'm assuming that Carl and Ben "Language Log" Zimmer are the only siblings on the list.