It's not Global Warming!

The following is a personal rant.

Let me say this first: There is no doubt that the excessive amount of greenhouse gases that are currently produced due to human causes is one of the most important and potentially catastrophic events facing the world today. Without a drastic and immediate change in policy, the world will face an almost inescapable disaster.

However, can we please stop with all this inappropriate panic about what we think is global warming?! This warm winter we're having is NOT a result of global warming. Every time we have an exceptionally hot day in summer or winter, I get so tired of hearing people say that the nearly 30 degree increase in average temperature is a direct result of global warming. It is like a catch phrase, a shrug your shoulders and say, "Gee, that Global Warming will getcha every time, Mildred." Mildred is not fucking impressed by your pseudo-scientific ideas. And if she is, and she fucks you a little harder that night, well, you're a pseudo-science whore, and I have no respect for you.

I've always far preferred the term Climate Change, which still includes the human component (Climate Variability implies the normal change in climate that occurs due to natural causes) and implies the far more drastic effect of greenhouse gases. Should the polar ice caps melt, disrupting the gulf stream which is responsible for the mild temperatures found in most of the US and Europe (and that isn't me being Amero-Eurocentric - that is just where the effects really are), then those currently mild areas will face harsh summers and harsh winters. Overall, a climate change. The earth is not just going to get hotter and hotter until we are all sitting out on the beach (located in Ohio) wearing SPF3000. It is a more complicated idea and far more drastic than people realize. Which is why I like the term climate change. And hate people. So try that on Mildred, or Jack, or whoever you try to impress. Because if they last a little longer in bed for you tonight because you described the real effects of the rising temperatures, then you've got a really beautiful thing going for you. For now, I'm going to put back on my jacket. I'm freezing.

Just thought you all should see this

taken from pink is the new blog

poop isn't always funny

Sometimes it can be deadly. Just read Dr. Johnstone's article, paying particular attention to the segment a couple of paragraphs down, entitled "Death begins in the colon." My favorite is the picture immediately to the left of this section. WARNING: Don't click the link if you've eaten recently. (I had originally intended to include the aforementioned picture in the post itself, but then thought better of it.)

say it ain't so

I was reading this article from the InformationWeek Weblog, and I was a little shaken by this comment (the context of the comment is a discussion of the technological ignorance of today's society):

"I accept for the most part that we are either amid or in the early throes of a post-literate society."

A post-literate society? I know people don't read the paper as much as they used to (or at all in a lot of cases), but...a post-literate society? Sure, a lot of people tend to be generally stupid, but...a post-literate society?!? The fact that we, as a society, could regress to a state of 'post-literacy' is practically terrifying. Have things really gotten that bad?

I realize this doesn't have all that much to do with science, but I'd be interested in hearing people's thoughts. (A post-literate society? Say it ain't so!)

I wish I worked on these mice.

wikiwhat?

Speaking of questionable truthiness, some colleges are starting to ban Wikipedia as an acceptable citable source. I personally use it all the time for quick facts and whatnot, but I'd never cite it directly. Especially with all the citations listed at the bottom, it's fairly easy to check Wikipedia's sources anyhow.

Truthiness

Check it out. 77% of adults polled said they trust scientists to tell the truth. It's because of all those scientific ethics classes we have to take.

Whiskey

EDIT:
It should work now, and I changed the background music a little bit.

Damn...you ugly rafflesia

This gigantic, oogly, parasitic, stinky (smells like rotting flesh) flower, is in the same family as poinsettias.

i'm dedicating this post to my roommate.

btw the name of this cartoon is "only if i get to miscalculate the pattern for my size and give up before i am done"

don't you?

www.marriedtothesea.com

quantum biology?

The same guy who wrote about sound being faster than light (see previous post) keeps this blog on ZDNet.com, and it's pretty cool stuff. Like this article about quantum biology and nanoswitches.

Basically, the concept involves using self-splicing proteins (not transcripts), but the splicing event can be tightly controlled. Sounds kind of like a zymogen, really...except I guess this is more complicated than just a hydrolytic cleavage.

Dark Matter

Astronomers have developed a new map of the universe showing normal matter in red, dark matter in blue, and stars and galaxies in gray. They used a technique called gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter because its only interaction with other matter occurs via gravity. They have found that dark matter is distributed as a loose network of filaments, which collapse due to gravitational interactions, into clusters that form a scaffold for the formation of stars and what not. Pretty cool.

Nature; 1/18/2007, Vol. 445 Issue 7125, p286-290, 5p

Poor Pluto

"Plutoed" was chosen as 2006's word of the year by the American Dialect Society.
Definition: To be demoted.

Everything comes down to....

Yes. It is true. And now you can sing about it.

Discuss.

sweeter than a woman's kiss

This needs to be shared with the world.


Can we make one of these too?

Also physics related

I woke up at 6:30 am to see the New Haven Coliseum implode today.

and gravity is really just magic

An interesting article arguing that sound travels faster than light (at least in an anomalously dispersive medium). I don't think I know enough about physics to know whether or not to put much stock in this, but it's certainly a fascinating read.


In related news, I've heard Scott described as a superluminal phenomenon in bed.

yiiiiiikes!

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/10792195/detail.html

that's my high school!

Trendy

This article weirded me out a little. I'm not going to talk about the whole GET OVER IT A WOMAN CAN BE IN CHARGE AND SHE CAN WEAR WHATEVER SHE WANTS business because that's been done before. Instead we can talk about scientists and their outfits.

Why do some scientists dress so poorly? Why is it expected that we will wear ugly clothes? Has anyone remarked that you are well put together for a scientist? Do we only think that Johannes Walter is sexy by comparison to his frumpier colleagues?

I think the big question is: which came first, the scientist or the dweeb? Are people who are socially awkward and badly dressed naturally drawn to the sciences, where ideas are at least superficially (hehe) more improtant than appearance, or are people who are drawn to science eventually turned into dweebs to fit in with the public's notion of what a scientist looks like?

Discuss.

junx in boxes

For the delight of one and all, here are the links to the "dick in a box" Justin Timberlake SNL skit and the corresponding "box in a box" music videos we were talking about at Flan's. Not very scientific, but quite hilarious nonetheless. Now you can carry on with your maxis with a smile on your face. Enjoy!

DIAB:http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/uncensored.shtml
BIAB:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xElIik0Ys0

Parafilm

What can you use it for? What can't you use it for? Let's brainstorm. Some starters:

CAN:

• Water (and other bodily fluid)-proofing your mattress
• Fashioning bracelets and/or other accessories
• HCl balloons
  

CAN'T:

• Toilet paper
• Condoms
• Climbing rope
  

A word of caution....

But just because we are scientists, do not think that all we talk about is science, though it may color what we say. For instance, my preference - nay, my respect - for the undercarriage close-up shot in porn rather than the broader full body shot of two people humping indiscriminately may be due to my approach to science, as I prefer investigating the detailed molecular pathways that control biological processes, rather than looking at broader, global biological problems. It is a matter of preference.

Ain't nothing wrong with a little undercarriage. Or a lot.

Porn

And here is some gratuitous pornography!

Hello World

This is our blog! We are scientists!