Science And Politics

This Blog Is Dead!

2007-10-25T09:06:00.001-04:00

Apparently some computer geeks at Carnegie Mellon came up with a complicated mathematical formula to decide which blogs should one read to be most up to date, i.e., to quickly know about important stories that propagate over the blogosphere?

Bloggersblog comments.

OK, the fact that Don Surber is #2 is not too way off mark (surely in the top 100, if not exactly #2). Scienceblogs.com is in the 98th spot and should be way higher, I think.

But what is Instapudding doing in the Top Spot? If you want disinformation, sure. Likewise for Michelle Malkin, Captains Quarters and Powerline.

And how useful it is to read a dead blog - this one you are at right now, my old blog ranked #3? I abandoned it in June 2006. I occasionally use it for testing stuff or for Google-bombing ;-) If you want to read a really useful blog, go check my current blog, not this one!

How useful it is to rank blogs according to the 2006 data anyway - that is eons ago in Internet time?

This must have been some fuzzy math. I hope the blogosphere responds with a big laugh.

Last paper by Steve Irwin!

2007-09-26T13:34:00.000-04:00

Just published about an hour ago (if it was in hardcopy, it would still be hot off the presses). And it is a wonderful paper! Australian crocs can and will travel much longer distances than was previously thought and their homing instinct is strong and navigational capacity excellent, even in a case where a large obstacle (Cape York Peninsula) needed to be navigated around:

Satellite Tracking Reveals Long Distance Coastal Travel and Homing by Translocated Estuarine Crocodiles, Crocodylus porosus:

Crocodiles are widely distributed and can usually be found in remote areas, however very little is known about their movements on a larger scale. In this study, Read and colleagues (including the late Steve Irwin) use satellite tracking to report the movements of three large male crocodiles, which were relocated up to 411km from their capture sites in Northern Australia. The results show that each crocodile returned to its original capture site within days, indicating that homing abilities are present amongst crocodiles.

Can you imagine anyone doing this work without Steve Irwin? Who else would be able to grab a big croc, attach a satellite tracker, load it and unload it some hundreds of miles away, then follow their movements on the computer screen? Would you dare ask your grad students to do that?

Rethinking FOXP2

2007-09-20T20:58:00.000-04:00

Earlier studies have indicated that a gene called FOXP2, possibly involved in brain development, is extremely conserved in vertebrates, except for two notable mutations in humans. This finding suggested that this gene may in some way be involved in the evolution of language, and was thus dubbed by the popular press "the language gene". See, for instance, this and this for some recent research on the geographic variation of this gene (and related genes) and its relation to types of languages humans use (e.g., tonal vs. non-tonal). Furthermore, a mutation in this gene in humans results in inability to form grammatically correct sentences.

This week, a new study shows that this gene is highly diverse in one group of mammals - the bats:

A new study, undertaken by a joint of team of British and Chinese scientists, has found that this gene shows unparalleled variation in echolocating bats. The results, appearing in a study published in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE on September 19, report that FOXP2 sequence differences among bat lineages correspond well to contrasting forms of echolocation.

As Anne-Marie notes, this puts a monkey-wrench in the idea that FOXP2 is exclusively involved in language, but may be involved in vocalizations in general:

Said gene might have a new function (sensorimotor) besides the one originally attributed to it (verbal language).

Jonah Lehrer notes that the same mutation that in humans eliminates ability to use or comprehend correct grammar is also found in songbirds and the gene is expressed at high levels during the periods of intense song-learning. The story is obviously getting very interesting - does this gene have something to do with vocalizations? Or with communication? Or something totally third?

Looking forward to further responses by other blogs, hopefully Afarensis, John Hawks and Language Log?

The article on FOXP2 in bats was published yesterday on PLoS ONE so you can access it for free, read, download, use, reuse, rate, annotate and comment on.

Help make NIH-funded research findings freely available to everyone!

2007-09-13T08:40:00.001-04:00

Back in July, the House of Representatives passed a bill that requires all the NIH-funded research to be made freely available to the public within at most 12 months subsequent to publication.

The equivalent bill has passed the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this summer and will be up for vote in the Senate very soon! In advance of this important vote, The Alliance for Taxpayer Access has issued a Call for action:

As the Senate considers Appropriations measures for the 2008 fiscal year this fall, please take a moment to remind your Senators of your strong support for public access to publicly funded research and - specifically - ensuring the success of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy by making deposit mandatory for researchers.

Earlier this summer, the House of Representatives passed legislation with language that directs the NIH to make this change (http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/media/release07-0720.html). The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a similar measure (http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/media/release07-0628.html). Now, as the Appropriations process moves forward, it is critically important that our Senators are reminded of the breadth and depth of support for enhanced public access to the results of NIH-funded research. Please take a moment to weigh in with your Senator now.

Read the rest for talking points and the contact information of your Senators, then do your part and contact them! And spread the word - by e-mail, posting on your blog or website, on forums and mailing lists. Let's get this bill passed this month and thus ensure that taxpayer-funded research is freely available to its funders - the taxpayers.

This needs to be done no later than Friday, September 28, 2007, when the bill is slated to appear in the Senate.

Science Blogging Conference - Registration is now open!

2007-09-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

Late last night we opened the registration for the 2nd Science Blogging Conference.

To register, go to the registration form and fill out the details.

To see who is already registered, go here.

If you will be here on Friday, January 18th and want to join us for dinner, add you name to this list.

If you are on Facebook, join the Conference Event and invite your friends. We will appreciate it if you could spread the word in whichever medium you are most comfortable - word of mouth, e-mail, online social networks, or your own blogs.

I know September 1st is a holiday, but opening the registration today will save our server as thousands of interested participants will spread themselves over a few days instead of all logging on at the same time ;-) This way, those of you who are perpetually online and get your information on blogs (and Facebook, etc.) will be able to get the first dibs, while the advertising for others will start on September 4th.

The wiki is ready for you to explore. The conference program is building up nicely - we secured some spectacular speakers and session leaders and are in negotiations with some others. Feel free to edit the bottom of that wiki page with your own ideas. Suggest a session and offer to lead it.

Of course, as the conference promises to be much bigger than last year (due to the media coverage after the first one - see this page for blog and media coverage) we need to cover the increased expenses (and provide food, swag, etc.), so if you and your organization are willing to be sponsors, please let us know.

And, we are planning to have the second Science Blogging Anthology released in time for the conference, so submit the best science posts written by you or by your favorite bloggers for our consideration.

Exclusive: Interview with Senator John Edwards on Science-Related Topics

2007-07-09T09:14:00.000-04:00

I have just posted the exclusive science interview with Sen. John Edwards on my blog.

All the questions are related to science (and yes, it was not easy to cut down the number of questions and the length of each question - there is so much to ask) and they should be of interest to the readers of this blog: science education, global warming, energy, food production, space exploration and pandemic preparedness are some of the topics covered in the interview.

As I am not a journalist or an analyst who needs to preserve an appearance of 'balance', I have always been unabashedly open about my support for John Edwards, first in 1998 when he ran for the Senate (that was the first election I could vote in after becoming a US citizen), then in 2003/04 when he ran for President (and subsequently Vice-President), and finally now, as he is running for President again.

Feel free to search my main blog (or my old blog) for his name and see what I have written in his support before.

I have not been in the past, nor am I now, officially connected to the campaign (though I walk my dog in front of the Headquarters every day and say Hi to staffers I recognize), but I am a big fan. And hey, we are neighbors - a few months after I moved from Raleigh to Chapel Hill, John and Elizabeth did the same.

As I'll be running to work (my brand new job) in a few minutes, I will not be able to hang around and moderate comments. I hope you all stay civil and on topic - I know it is politics and trolls will come out of the woodwork, but ignore them and I will clean up the thread when I come back online tonight.

If you are interested in more details of Edwards' policy proposals related to science, technology, medicine and environment, check them out directly on the John Edwards campaign website and search the Issues and Press Releases.

But first, go read the interview.

My new job!

2007-07-09T01:23:00.000-04:00

As you may know, I got a new job and I just started on Friday. Go here to see how you can help me get my work done better.

Science Blogging Conference '08 and The Open Laboratory 2007

2007-05-02T22:12:00.000-04:00

As the 2007 Science Blogging Conference was such a great success, we are already in full swing in organizing the 2008 conference and hoping to make it even bigger and better than the first one.

Our beta-version wiki is up - check out the homepage and the first, rough outlines of the program (feel free to edit the page and add your idea at the bottom or in the comments). At this point we are trying to get more sponsors so if you and your organization/company/magazine is interested, let us know soon.

Check out our blog for updates.

Last time, almost in time for the conference, we edited and published the first-ever science blogging anthology, the Open Laboratory 2006, which was an instant hit. Thus, we are already collecting nominations for the next years' edition. Send us your best posts (or best posts written by others) of the year by using this submission form and help us spread the news by adding this code to your blog or website.

One-Stop Shopping for the Framing Science Debate

2007-04-20T01:47:00.000-04:00

You may be aware that there is a huge discussion about framing science going on in the blogosphere. It has gotten out of hand. But, for those who want to dig in, or want to analyze the posts and comments (that is a lot of data!), here is the comprehensive list of links (excluded are links to Creationists' sites). Most of the posts also have long and interesting comment threads as well, worth reading through:

First, the source metarial, i.e., the stuff that appeared in non-blog media, and some background resources (which, if everyone have read them, would have reduced some of the misunderstandings):

Matthew C. Nisbet and Chris Mooney: Framing Science (Science)
Scientists Must Improve Communication Tactics, Science Article Proclaims (press release)
Deric Bownds (MindBlog): Framing Science (complete text of the 'Science' article)
Nisbet radio interview: Blinded with Science (NPR, On The Media)
Matthew C. Nisbet and Chris Mooney: Thanks for the Facts. Now Sell Them. (Washington Post)
Matt Nisbett: What is Framing?
Matt Nisbett: A “Two Step Flow of Popularization” for Climate Change: Recruiting Opinion-Leaders for Science (Skeptical Inquirer)
Chris Mooney and Matthew C. NisbetUndoing Darwin (Columbia Journalism Review)
Matt Nisbett: Framing as a Tool for Engaging the Public (pdf)
On Framing Science (Bloggingheads.tv)
Christy Nicholson: Framing Science (APS Observer)
Rockridge Institute
Rockridge Nation
Wikipedia: Framing - sociology, Framing(communication_theory), Framing - psychology, Frame - analysis, Framing effect, Lakoff, Moral politics

Blogospheric Responses:

Matt Nisbett (Framing Science):
At the journal Science, a Nisbet/Mooney focus on framing
Framing Science sparks a seismic blog debate
Full text referral link for Framing Science article
More on framing and media influence
What George Will Understands about Framing
At NPR's On the Media, a Focus on Framing Science
At the Washington Post, a Nisbet/Mooney focus on framing
Don't be a Dodo: Olson on Dawkins & Framing
Coturnix: A Candle in the Dark
What the Discovery Institute Understood about Framing
The UN Frames Global Warming as Really about Security
BloggingHeadTV on Framing Science
NPR: Are we asking scientists to be advocates? To spin false information? Read the transcript.
On Framing, Two More Candles in the Dark
Steve Case on Framing and Dawkins

Chris Mooney (The Intersection):
I Have a Paper in Science (And No, This is Not an April Fools Joke)
Framing Science: Additional Resources to Back Up the Argument
Of Inertia, Ostriches, and Science Duds--Randy Olson's Take on 'Framing Science'
Framing Science: Many More Posts, a Few Replies
Framing Science: My Response to PZ
Framing Science: Blog Overload
'Framing Science' Article Now Available
Another Great Reaction to 'Framing Science'
Nisbet on NPR; I'm Down Under
Responding to PZ (and Others) in The Washington Post
'Framing Science', Round II
Details, Details, Details

Bora Zivkovic (A Blog Around The Clock):
Framing Science - the Dialogue of the Deaf
Framing Science - the Dialogue of the Deaf (on DailyKos)
Framing 'framing'
Did I frame that wrong?
Framing and Truth
Just a quick update on 'framing science'
Joshua Bell and Framing Science
Framers are NOT appeasers!
Framing Politics (based on science, of course)
Everybody Must Get Framed

Alonzo Fyfe (Atheist Ethicist):
Framing
Disagreements

Chris (Mixing Memory):
Talkin' Science
Cognition, Language, and Culture: Components Not Levels of Analysis
How Bad Was Abu Ghraib? It Depends on the Comparison
Frame Analysis

Dietram A. Scheufele (Nanopublic):
Nano needs framing: new 'Policy Forum' piece in Science
Standing on the shoulders of disciplinary dwarves? A note on the reactions to Nisbet and Mooney

Amanda Marcotte (Pandagon):
Descendents of apes with computers for brains and a fantastical unicorn leader

Chris Clarke (Pandagon/Creek Running North):
Understanding
Understanding

Revere (Effect Measure):
Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: Framing spinning

John Fleck (Inkstain):
Scientists Can Be Dense
P.Z. Myers Just Doesn’t Get It
Framing Me
A Show of Hands
An Example of Framing
Another Example of Framing
And Yet More Framing
Charging at the Loading Dock
An Example of Framing
Framing: The Results

Mark Chu-Carroll (Good Math, Bad Math):
My Take on Framing: Don't Frame Framing as Spin

David Roberts (Grist):
Scientists and framing

Paul Sunstone (Cafe Philos):
How Jim Made Me Pessimistic About Scientists Selling Evolution
Public Relations and the Grand Debate Over Evolution
De-Mystifying Scientists

Mike Dunford (The Questionable Authority, and, The Panda's Thumb):
Strategically communicating science
Framing: It's About The Goal
If we could extract iron from irony, we'd never need to mine again.
Strategically communicating science

Greg Laden:
Framing Science 'Paper' Is Deeply Flawed
Framing Frames in the Service of Science
Framing Nesbit: Is He Offering Us McScience?
Can we frame something and see how it goes?
Science is the BEST!!!
Why we foam at the mouth
Richard Dawkins and Framing?

Orac (Respectful Insolence):
Fear of the frame
Fear of the frame, part II: A cultural divide

Eclectics Anonymous:
Science = A Free Exchange of Ideas?
Science Framing needs a business plan
The Global War on Framing
Desperately Seeking Framing

Teresa Lhotka (Anomalous Data):
'Framing' reality
The power of the frame
We've got Geckos! And How!
Making light of the 'framing debate'
Use the tools

Steppen Wolf (The skeptical alchemist):
First of all, frame your own frame
More frame madness + last day to blog against theocracy
Framing science: to frame, or not to frame?
Framing science: the debacle
The framing challenge - coming up

Steven Novella (NeuroLogica Blog):
Teaching Science to the Public

PZ Myers (Pharyngula):
What if the right role for science is to shatter the frame?
Believing and understanding
I like ‘framing’ less and less; why are scientists the targets?
Framing: still baffled.
It's all about the context
What's the creationist position on 'framing'?
Nisbet and Mooney in the WaPo: snake oil for the snake oil salesmen
Once more unto the frame
Fraggin' … frickin' … frackin' … oh, that f-word again

Joshua Rosenau (Thoughts From Kansas):
Framing and the invisible college
An example of framing
Reframing framing

Dan Conover (Xark):
Science and media

W2JIG (Jig's Old Saws):
Framing 'The Knack'

Trinifar:
Framing, er, anything
PZ as rebel leader
Discussion of framing goes down a rat hole
Putting a good picture in a bad frame
Great framing examples
National Security and Richard Dawkins
New frame for climate change

Tristero (Hullabaloo):
Framing Science

FriendlyAtheist (FriendlyAtheist.com):
Framing Science

Larry Moran (Sandwalk):
How to Communicate Science
Coturnix on Framing Science
Science Policy Forum: Framing Science
Nisbet & Mooney Reveal Their True Colors
Orzel Is Confused

Mike the Mad Biologist:
Framing Science, Evolution, and Peanut Butter

Nicole Michel (The Peripatetic Naturalist):
Framing Science

JLowe (Impact Analysis):
We’re Right, Who Cares if We’re Boring?

Katie Kish (Liberal Debutante/Appletree):
I don’t speak Chinese
I don’t speak Chinese

Brian Switek (Laelaps):
Evolution for IDiots Creator Responds
Mixed signals: Communicating Science
Who are we trying to convince?

Tyler DiPietro (Greedy, Greedy Algorithms):
Mooney and Nisbet Hit Rock Bottom
Some Elaborated Thoughts on Nisbet and Mooney's Latest

John Wilkins (Evolving Thoughts):
Science in public between consenting adults
Framing framing wrong?

Devo (White Souse):
Rhetoric and Framing

Zeno (Halfway There):
A framework for peace

Jim Torson (Global Change):
Denial of Reality

Jason Rosenhouse (Evolutionblog):
On Framing, Part One
On Framing, Part Two
On Framing, Part Three

Mark Hoofnagle (Denialism.com):
Framing science
A terrible turn for framing (or why everyone is wrong but me)

Carl Zimmer (The Loom):
Scientists Armed With Frames

Simon Donner (Maribo):
Climate change, the IPCC and the framing of science

Dave Munger (Cognitive Daily):
How concerned should scientists be with 'framing'?

PonderingFool (... ponderings of a fool):
Framing science (Part I)...
Framing science (Part II)-A revolution will be needed...
Am I missing something? Or am I just suppossed to accept the world as it is?

Kristina Chew (Autism Vox):
Autism Speaks Now

Joshua (The Adventures of Tobasco da Gama):
Let’s Skip the Frames and Examine the Claims
Comment Cross-Post: Framing Again
Framing: Forget It
Let’s Skip the Frames and Examine the Frames, Part II

James Hrynyshyn (The Island Of Doubt):
Framing Science or Dumbing it Down

Alan Boyle (Cosmic Log):
Frame or be framed?

S.A.Smith (ERV):
Nisbet, Mooney cant possibly be this naive
Hey, at least there's a dialogue going on this issue now :P
An answer better than that damn 'Frame'
Okay, Chris, Matt-- Stop digging. Stop it.
I'm done with the Frame
THIS IS WHY IM PISSED AT THE 'FRAME'! EVERYONE READ THIS!

Jon Udell:
Talking to everyone: the framing of science and technology
Darwin’s rhetorical strategy

Chad Orzel (Uncertain Principles):
Framing and Coordination
Framing and Arrogance
The Final Word on Framing

Kate (Anterior Commissure):
Framing science, blog chatter, Tom Friedman, and more
OK more framing bits and pieces...

Buridan (Buridan's Ass):
Science going Hollywood
Clarification on 'Science going Hollywood'

Guru: (Entertaining Research):
To frame or not to frame
Science affecting politics and vice versa

Mark Leggott (LoomWare):
Inform the Public About Science Issues...How?

Kent (Uncommon Ground):
Framing science
Fear of framing
Creationism and framing

Knight Science Journalism Tracker:
Wash. Post: On Dawkins, 'framing' science, and the dynamics of beliefs

Hank Campbell and 'Sciencesque' (Scientific Blogging):
Do scientists need to 'frame' the debate for non-scientists?
'Framing Science' - a new skin for the old ceremony?
'Framing Science' - a new skin for the old ceremony?

Kevin Beck (Dr. Joan Bushwell's Chimpanzee Refuge):
Incommunicado
The obligatory follow-up 'framing' babble-stream
Commoners discuss ID and evolution

Wolfrum (Shakesville):
NPR shows we are losing debate on Global Warming

Chris Rowan (Highly Allochthonous):
The perils of an empty frame
Science - a victim of framing?

Sean Carroll (Cosmic Variance):
Scientists Talking to the Public

John Hawks (John Hawks' Anthropology Blog):
Framed!

John Lynch (Stranger Fruit):
No more theory!
Dammit! It is OUR job to frame!

Kristjan Wager (Pro-science):
Framing science
Has Nisbet and Mooney lost it?
Friedman framing global warming

Janet D. Stemwedel (Adventures in Ethics and Science):
Is solving the absenteeism/attendance issue really a matter of framing?

Gavin Schmidt (RealClimate):
A Tale of Three Interviews

RPM (Evolgen):
The Press and Our Educational System Suck

Madhu (Reconciliation Ecology):
Communication in Science stirs tempest in science blogosphere teacup
Why don't Nisbet and Mooney frame Dawkins for the religious instead of slamming the closet door on him?

Eric Baerren (Among The Trees):
Framed science

Blake Stacey (Science After Sunclipse):
I Was Framed!
Interlude: Framing
In Soviet Russia, Evidence Frames You!

Sam Wise (Sorting Out Science):
Don’t fear the frame…

Eric Berger (SciGuy):
Here's something that will make scientists sweat

Brian Larnder (Primordial Blog):
The Great Framing Debate of 2007
One Last Word about Framing

Ed Brayton (Dispatches from the Culture Wars):
The Endless Irony of William Dembski

Susannah A. (Wanderin' Weeta):
My Two Cents Worth

Benjamin Cohen (The World's Fair):
Is PZ Bad for Science?

Mobjectivist:
Ig Nore Ad Vice

Andy Fell (Egghead):
Framing science

Samuel D. Bradley (Communication, Cognition and Arbitrary Thoughts):
Frame Your Science or Have it Framed

Robert Camp (Nightlight):
Framing? Hey, that's our turf!

Catherine Brahic (New Scientist Environment Blog):
'Sex up climate talk' says Arnie

Robin Engelhardt (Robin's repository):
The Framing Debate

Daniel Morgan (Debunking Christianity/Get Busy Livin', or Get Busy Bloggin'):
Framing Science and Atheism for the Public
Framing Science and Atheism for the Public

river2sea72 (Visualize Whirled Peas):
On Framing the Message

Brad (The Banana Peel Project):
The framing of science
More framing of science

Rebecca Hartong (Fantasies, Epiphanies, Rants...):
Selling Science

Chris Hallquist (The Uncredible Hallq):
The college view / obscene jokes

Austin Cline (About:Atheism):
Facts? Bah, Spin and Spin to Appease Religious Believers

Bruce Loebrich:
Framing

E.C. Nisbet (Framing Conflict):
Framing Science and Framing Conflict

Ebonmuse (Daylight Atheism):
Et Tu, Chris Mooney?

Water Words That Work:
Lakoff Revisited: Framing Science

jcasey (The NonSequitur):
Responsibility

John Timmer (Nobel Intent):
Communicating science through frames

Skeptigator:
Are we being framed?

StaceyG (Rockridge Nation):
Framing Science

Eli Rabett (Rabett Run):
Framing
Newt Gingrich, triangulation, the DLC and Framing Climate Change

Michael Tobis (Only In It For The Gold):
Flipping the Question
More on the Framing Frame [updated]
Authority and Trust
Frames and Frames
The Invisible Audience Problem

Fergus Brown (Old man in a cave):
What is the ‘public opinion’ on climate change?

LeisureGuy (Later On):
Framing is vital

Davo (Wombat's Waffles):
The langwidge Inglish

Will Von Wizzlepig (I am Jack's Smirking Revenge):
Cafeteria Food

Alethian (Heaven is not the sky):
Framing Science–Right and Wrong

Shinga (Breath Spa for Kids):
Reporting Science: Who Is Interested, Who Is Offended?

Aileen Thompson (The Blog Herald):
All Hell Breaks Loose In Sci-Blog Land!

ORF On Science - in German.
Wissenschaftskommunikation: 'Rahmen' statt Fakten

JLT (*Evil Under the Sun*) - in German:
Bullshit bleibt Bullshit.
Eins noch, dann ist aber Schluss

Franc (LiLoLe) - in Slovenian:
'Framing' v znanstveni misli

Elizabeth Edwards

2007-03-24T22:22:00.001-04:00

There are literally thousands of blog posts about Edwards' that have been posted over the past couple of days. I have posted a linkfest linking to the best first responses on Thursday night and the best analysis of the media as well the most informative posts about cancer tonight.

Thursday linkfest

Saturday linkfest

These are the collections of pretty much everything worth reading on the topic, outside of the official Edwards campaign blog diaries.

Googlebombing for a blogfriend

2007-03-20T02:04:00.000-04:00

This is a crosspost to effect a Googlebomb, correcting an injustice against a fellow feminist blogger. Jill Filipovic, who blogs at Feministe and Ms. JD, is a NYU law student who has been the subject of cyber-obsession on a discussion board allegedly populated by law students. The discussions regarding Jill Filipovic (and many other female law students) are sexist and sexual in nature, rating the women’s physical attractiveness and fantasising about sexual contact, both consensual and non-consensual. Neither Jill Filipovic or any other of these women contributed, or gave their permission to be discussed, to the discussion board in question.

Jill Filipovic’s name and class routines etc have been regularly posted to this board, and at least one of the pseudonymous board-members claims to be Jill Filipovic’s classmate. Photos that Jill Filipovic posted (with full rights reserved) to an interent photo-storing and sharing site have also been posted to the sleazy discussion board without her permission. This is a horrendous invasion of Jill Filipovic’s privacy, a violation of copyright law, and calls the ethics and character of the alleged law-students participating in these discussions on the discussion board into question.

A major side-effect of an already nasty situation is that the sexist, objectifying cyber-obsession threads come up on the first page of internet search results on Jill Filipovic’s name. To an inexperienced user of the internet, it may even look as if Jill Filipovic and other female law students chose to compete in these Hot or Not rating competitions, instead of having their pictures posted without permission.

This post is an attempt to balance those internet results to point to the significant writings of Jill Filipovic instead, using the Googlebomb tactic and also linking this post to social networking sites (eg. del.ici.ous, Stumbleupon). Please feel free to copy any or all of what I’ve written here to your own blog in order to help change the top-ranked search engine results for Jill Filipovic. If you don’t have your own blog then please at least link to one of Jill’s post[s] listed below at your preferred social networking site and give it the tag “Filipovic” (as well as any others you think appropriate).

I have linked to these sites in this post:
Jill Filipovic’s bio page at Feministe
Jill Filipovic’s blog posts at the Ms. JD blog
Jill Filipovic’s article about these scummy lawschool sleazebags at Feministe
Jill Filipovic’s article at Ms. JD: When Law Students Attack

ANNOUNCEMENT: Get ready for the NEXT year's Science Blogging Anthology and Conference

2007-03-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

2008 Science Blogging Conference

Not to be bragging, but the '07 Science Blogging Conference was a great success, and most attendees voiced their approval of Chapel Hill as a permanent venue for the event, so Anton and I are starting early in planning for the next one.

There are rumors of a mid-summer equivalent event to be held on the West Coast (Seattle or somewhere there) which would be great - more the merrier - but we will also try to find some way to help a few West-Coasters make their way to North Carolina in winter as well.

We pored over all of your feedback forms and read all the blog posts about the conference in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses and make the next meeting much better.

We are already in talks with sponsors (and potential new sponsors) about the next year. Many have promised greater involvement for the second meeting than they did for the first, which will allow us to have a bigger conference - and that is what most of you asked for.

While several attendees suggested we expand the conference to two days, we are not sure it is feasible yet. Instead, we will make a bigger, richer program for that one day. This should include sessions targeted at new or non-bloggers (e.g,. scientists, teachers), sessions for old science bloggers who want details on fancy technical stuff or questions about copyright, as well as sessions designed to bring the two groups together.

We definitely need a bigger space so we can accomodate more sessions as well as have more space for people to just sit and chat in the hallways between the sessions - always the most important part of a conference. Thus, we will likely have to move away from the UNC campus. That also means that we will be too far away from Franklin Street to go to local eateries for dinner. Instead, we can have the program last a little longer into the afternoon and have the dinner catered (a banquet!) on the site, which will also ensure that we do not all have to break up into little groups but can all stay together (going to town for drinks afterwards will still be possible).

We will announce the exact date shortly. We are trying to avoid conflicts with other popular science, tech, blogging, skeptical and science-fiction conferences, so the date is likely to fall somewhere in-between the SICB Annual Meeting (January 2-6, 2008 in San Antonio, TX) and the AAAS Annual Meeting (February 14-18, 2008 in Boston, MA). As soon as we set the date, we will start contacting potential speakers and session leaders and I'll keep you updated from time to time on this blog.

The Open Laboratory 2007

You may all remember the fast and frenzied way the first anthology was assembled - from the initial idea to sales in a little over three weeks! The Open Laboratory - The Best Writing on Science Blogs 2006 is selling quite nicely (for an online-only book with no marketing) up on Lulu.com. After the annual retreat and some initial glitches, the complimentary copies are, I hear, now travelling to their destinations to all the authors included in the anthology. Also, the book should start getting marketed and will show up in independent bookstores pretty soon, and on online booksellers (e.g., amazon) in a few weeks.

So, we are getting ready to start thinking about the next edition. And, having ten months instead of three weeks, we do not need to rush. This way, we can do a much better job. Oh, when I say "we", it is not a Royal We - I really will not do it alone this year. Reed Cartwright and I will do it together. And we enjoy the experience, we may do it again and again and again.

To make it easier for everyone, we have put together an automated Open Laboratory Submission Form. Use this form to nominate a blog post for The Open Laboratory: The Best Writing on Science Blogs 2007. You can nominate as many entries as you wish, written by you or others. Each needs to be originally published as a blog post between 12-20-06 and 12-20-07 to be elligible.

Reed and I will place one or the other of these two cute buttons in the sidebars of a variety of blogs (e.g., on Panda's Thumb, De Rerum Natura, A Blog Around The Clock, BlogTogether, perhaps my old blogs as they still get some traffic, and whoever else wants to spread the word - feel free to steal the button and use it):[Update: You can pick up the code for these buttons here as well as for the buttons declaring that you aready ARE in the 2006 book]:

Clicking on the button will take you to the submission form. Reed and I will get e-mail notification every time there is a new entry and we will read them all and jot down some 'notes to self'. Since we have ten months to do this, we will not need a jury of 12 bloggers to help us read all the entries, but do not be surprised if we ask you to vet/factcheck/peer-review a post that is in your domain of expertise (and not ours) later in the year.

So, go back to December 20th, 2006 and start looking through your archives as well as archives of your favourite science bloggers and look for real gems - the outstanding posts. Many have been written recently for the "Science Only Week", or for the "Basic Terms and Concepts" collection.

Try to look for posts that cover as many areas of science blogging as posssible: mathematics, astronomy, cosmology, physics, chemistry, earth science, atmospheric/climate science, marine science, biochemistry, genetics, molecular/cellular/developmental biology, anatomy/physiology, behavior, ecology, paleontology, evolution, psychology, anthropology, archaeology, and/or history of science, philosophy of science, sociology of science, science ethics and rhetorics, science communication and education, the business of science, the Life in Academia (from undergraduate, graduate, postdoc, faculty or administrative perspective), politics of science, science and pseudoscience, science and religion, etc.

Also, try to think of different post formats: essays, personal stories, poems, polemics, fiskings, textbook-style prose, etc. For now, let's assume that color images cannot make it into the book (I'll let you know if that changes) and certainly copyrighted (by others) material is a No-No. Posts that are too heavily reliant on multiple links are difficult to turn into hardcopy as well. Otherwise, write and submit stuff and hopefully one of your posts will make it into the Best 50 Science Posts of 2007 and get published!

The Tar Heel Tavern #105

2007-02-25T11:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the 105th edition of the Tar Heel Tavern, coming back home after a looong time. I've been sick all week, thus in no strength to do a very creative tavern this time around, but I got a few nominations and added a couple of "Editor's Choices", so here we go:

David Kirk of See One, Do One, Teach One asks Is niche blogging a myth? (Small isn’t the new big.) and looks at a big local industry in North Carolina Dying from Pork.

Etbnc of Another blue puzzle piece wrote a philosophical piece about the Tip of the iceberg.

Laura of Moomin Light reports on the local school's effort to learn about the Greensboro sit-ins. I know all about it because my daughter was in that classroom and told me all about it in the afternoon.

Steve Emery of Color Sweet Tooth explores the beuaty and perfection in photographic art in John Rosenthal and Composition.

From Ron Hudson of 2sides2ron comes A Tribute to Women in the Early Days of AIDS.

Billy and his friend see albino animals: Ghost Deer Roams Blogsboro.

Do you have an old bottle of wine sitting around? If so, you need to open it right now, says Abel PharmBoy. Also: Why don't well-credentialed scientists get these TV gigs?

I was uncharacteristically unproductive this week on my main blog, A Blog Around The Clock, but I noted the resolution of a mystery in Hairless Grey Foxes in North Carolina and a simple explanation for another non-mysterious mystery in The Reducible Complexity of John McCain.

Next week, the Tavern goes to Slowly She Turned. And I am going back to bed.....

The Tar Heel Tavern - last call for submissions

2007-02-23T15:37:00.001-05:00

The 105th edition of The Tar Heel Tavern will be right here, Science And Politics, with no particular theme or topic. Just send your week's best by Saturday night to: Coturnix AT gmail DOT com

The Tar-Heel Tavern

2007-02-18T17:12:00.001-05:00

The 104th edition of The Tar Heel Tavern is up on Freelance Writing for Nonprofits. The theme is 'paying tribute'.

Next week, the carnival will be right here on Science And Politics, with no particular theme or topic. Just send your week's best to: Coturnix AT gmail DOT com

The Tar Heel Tavern - last call

2007-02-17T16:02:00.001-05:00

Kivi is hosting The Tar Heel Tavern tomorrow, so send your entries ASAP:

I am also hosting The Tarheel Tavern this weekend, the premiere carnival of North Carolina bloggers. My theme is “Paying Tribute.” Since we are close to President’s Day, and nobody I know actually honors our presidents on the day, I suggest we honor a person in our lives or history who really does deserve an extra bit of love and respect from us, via our blogs. NC bloggers can submit a post to me by Saturday night at kivi AT writingfornonprofits.com.

My Last (I promise) on Donohue, Bloggers and Edwards

2007-02-17T00:45:00.000-05:00

After writing her side of the story in Salon, Amanda Marcotte is quite busy in the media these days, making various apperances on radio, including NPR's DayTo Day next week. She will also be joining TPM Cafe and has a post up on Huffington Post: Think Tanks, 503s and Rush Limbaugh--What's The Real 'Soft Money'

Now, Melissa McEwen published her take on the whole affair in Guardian: My life as a rightwing target. Check the comments and tell me that the Rightwingers are not delusional, dangerous psychopaths. And they are in the White House right now. (Oh, and if anyone thinks that Amanda and Melissa were wimps for quitting, you should read this)

I think that Donohue has jump-started their careers. And what they will do, now that they have more prominent soap boxes, is reveal to everyone how the Rightwing sliming machine works, how it is financed, and how it can be counteracted.

What Donohue has done successfully is make the story of Amanda and Melissa be framed as Bloggers vs. Edwards. And it pains me to see how many on the Left bit that bait (and hook and sinker). It is a multi-faceted story about the Rightwing sliming machine and how it works. It is also a story about the way the Party Establishment (both Left and Right) resists the democratization of the political process (it is the old-Millennium, dinosaur, computer-illiterate campaign managers who, I guess, wanted to get rid of the bloggers in the first place until Edwards stepped in and said No). It is also a story about the way Media resents the citizen journalism and the many-to-many conversation of the new media unrestrained by the he-said-she-said tropes. It is a story about the Beltway protecting their turf against the "rubes."

If this is the future, we are now in the middle of the war between the powers of the Old-Way-Of-Doing-Things that tends to protect the old power sturucture, and the New Way that gives the little man a say and overturns the old power structure.

Check out this Salon editorial as an example of this turf-protection. It is all about silencing the people. As I stated before, the netroots ARE the grassroots. It is the same people who knock on doors and donate money. Except, this time around, they do not just take orders and write checks, they have the means to talk back and tell the campaigns what to do (or to shove it). Of course the campaign managers used to the old way of thinking are afraid of the new world.

Here is another example from ABC: Loose Lips in the Blogosphere Don't Sink Presidential Ships

I hate the subtitle - what do they mean by "even Edwards" when everyone (including the techies with no political axe to grind) agrees he is the leader on the use of Internet and netroots: his website is by far the best, he announced to the bloggers first, then by video on YouTube, then by Video and post on his own website, and only the next day announced to the MSM dinosaurs down in New Orleans. He hired and (stood by in spite of calls for their heads) two of the most outspoken and popular feminist bloggers. He is prominently present and active on all social networking sites, not just MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Del.icio.us and Facebook, but also the second-tier places, like Gather.

There are 199 Groups on Facebook for Edwards. The two biggest ones have 2,126 members and 1,849 members respectively - the rest are smaller, mainly due to being geographically restricted. Barack Obama has more than 500 groups, with the biggest one having 5,002 members and the others being small, local chapters. So, even including the overlap (people joining more than one group), there is not such a huge advantage for Obama on Facebook as the Media likes to point out. Edwards is right behind.

And he is the first candidate on Second Life. Yes, on Second Life! If you have no idea what that is, or if you want to know what techies and politicos think, follow the links here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Also, note that in fundraising, Hillary Clinton is expected to raise $100 million from the Beltway power-mongers and Holywood, Obama somewhat less, from the same sources, while Edwards is expected to raise about $50 million mostly from small online donations. He is killing all other candidates together in such donations through ActBlue ($860,861.35, compare that to Richardson's two separate funds at $284,916.57 and $10,154.85 and Obama's $16,885.56).

Oh, and if you do not believe Edwards stood by his bloggers and does not understand the netroots, I hope you watched the Situation Room earlier today (there should be a YouTube clip of it here soon). Listen to his defense of the bloggers and phrases like: "I stood by them," "new brave world with the net and the blogosphere," "a powerful world which will have a huge effect," "grassroots politics at it's best," etc. Here is the clip:

As for the bloggers, Jude, aka Iddybud, has an excellent take on the bloggers saga and Dave Neiwert takes another look at the 'Christofascists' who are Unhinged indeed. Also read important posts by Ampersand, Jeffrey Feldman and Richard Cranium.

And finally, let's look again at the posts for which Amanda got so much flak from Donohue and his ogre minions. They are about Plan B. Here are Part I and Part II.

She is not the only blogger explaining Plan B and why the opposition to it by wingnuts (including but not only Catholics) is bad politics and bad public health. For instance, Ema of Well-Timed Period blog wrote at least two posts on it here and here. PZ Myers of Pharyngula wrote about it here, here and here. DarkSyde of DailyKos wrote about it here and Bitch, PhD wrote about it many times, most recently here.

Is there any difference between these posts? They all get the facts about Plan B right. They all demonstrate that the opposition to it is hypocritical and based on mysogyny. And they are all written in typically blogospheric colorful language. Yes, those who deserved to be insulted got insulted. Now, tell me. If any campaign hired any of these bloggers to work on the technical and esthetic parts of their campaign blogs, don't you think Donohuse and his basement monsters would not come out against them? Of course they would - their goal never was to destroy the careers of Amanda Marcotte and Meilissa McEwen. Their goal is to undermine a Democrat - any Democrat - running for President because their job (for which Donohue is paid $300,000) is to go on TV and lie for Republicans. It has nothing to do with these two bloggers, it has to do with silencing the voices of the people who are actually telling the truth as it is, as opposed to The Truth as the conservatives want "to create" for themselves.M

The 'Bloggergate' and related links

2007-02-14T08:09:00.000-05:00

Under attack, Pandagon has been down all day. But you can see here (and re-posted here) what scum of the Earth resides on the political Right in this country. This is a good time to read this again. And please find time to read all ten parts of this series on eliminationism in America. Sensing a long-term, if not permanent loss, the wounded beast of the Right is lashing at everything in sight and they are not shy to use physical force if needed.

Also on the topic, three must-read posts by Liza Sabater: Hell hath no fury like a feminist scorned, Aldon Hynes: In praise of Icarus, and Kagro X on DailyKos: Getting separated from the herd.

Two important and thoughtful posts by Chris Bowers on MyDD: Politics and the Inhuman and Why Attacks Against Bloggers Fail

Interesting discussion in the comments on this post on DailyKos: Has anyone seen Pandagon?, on Ezra's blog: Competence Matters and on Pharyngula: Edwards for President!. In all three cases, the comments are much more informative than the original posts.

Dave MB: Amanda Marcotte's Departure.

And if you haven't already done so, you can read my takes on the initial response by the Edwards campaign - On Edwards, Bloggers, and Religion, and on Amanda's resignation - Amanda now free to expose the Donohue creature

Also today, Shakespeare's Sister posted her Announcement:

I regret to say that I have also resigned from the Edwards campaign. In spite of what was widely reported, I was not hired as a blogger, but a part-time technical advisor, which is the role I am vacating.

I would like to make very clear that the campaign did not push me out, nor was my resignation the back-end of some arrangement made last week. This was a decision I made, with the campaign's reluctant support, because my remaining the focus of sustained ideological attacks was inevitably making me a liability to the campaign, and making me increasingly uncomfortable with my and my family's level of exposure.

I understand that there will be progressive bloggers who feel I am making the wrong decision, and I offer my sincerest apologies to them. One of the hardest parts of this decision was feeling as though I'm letting down my peers, who have been so supportive.

There will be some who clamor to claim victory for my resignation, but I caution them that in doing so, they are tacitly accepting responsibility for those who have deluged my blog and my inbox with vitriol and veiled threats. It is not right-wing bloggers, nor people like Bill Donohue or Bill O'Reilly, who prompted nor deserve credit for my resignation, no matter how much they want it, but individuals who used public criticisms of me as an excuse to unleash frightening ugliness, the likes of which anyone with a modicum of respect for responsible discourse would denounce without hesitation.

This is a win for no one.

[bold mine]

First reactions are by Benny on MyDD: Shakes Decides to Be Shakes and Sinister Rae on DailyKos: Shakespeare's Sister Resigns From Edwards Campaign.

Also:

Majikthise: Blogger Marcotte resigns from the Edwards campaign and Edwards' netroots coordinator Melissa McEwan resigns

Donna Bogatin: John Edwards: Be my MySpace pal!

Matt Browner Hamlin: More Potential Catholic League IRS Problems

Ed Cone: Talking about religion

This guy will run for Congress next time here in NC - Marshall Adame: Why America needs John Edwards as our next President

Phoenix Woman: Sow The Wind, Reap The Whirlwind

Sunday Night Links

2007-02-11T21:07:00.001-05:00

A bunch of new links on the Basic Concepts and Terms in Science list.

Bitch PhD has a new (paying!) gig at Suicide Girls News Blog and starts out with a post explaining the Plan B: How Does This Plan Work?

Revere on Effect Measure: Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: the Edwards blogger dust-up

Ezra Klein, in an op-ed in The Guardian (online only): We want a divider, not a uniter, and more on the topic on his own blog: More Shamefaced Obama Skepticism

Chuckles1 puts it even better: The OTHER Abraham Lincoln

A comment by Elizabeth Edwards - Response to a Rhetorical Analysis - on the MyDD diary: The Problem with John Edwards' Urban Radicalism (Or you can see the same Diary and the same comment in the context of different other commenters on DailyKos)

Catchawave: The Man Who Saved Bill Clinton's Ass, An Anniversary 2/12/99

Kos: 'I Was Wrong'

Digital Journal: John Edwards Blog Has A Very Refreshing Hands-Off Policy

Neil the Ethical Werewolf: Welcome Chris Bowers!

David Neiwert on Orcinus: Donohue and the Jews

Chris Bowers on MyDD is on a quest:
This Isn't Over
Keep Piling On The Pressure
Donahue As An Example of a Large Problem
First Democratic Campaign Disses Edwards

On Edwards, Bloggers, and Religion

2007-02-09T01:44:00.000-05:00

Ah, why do I have to be so busy on a news-filled day (no, not Anna Nicole Smith)? I barely saw the computer today. I'd get home, have about 5 minutes before I have to go out again and so on. NPR did not mention Edwards until 4pm or so (that I heard in the car), so when I first got home I only had time to open e-mail, scan about 50 new messages, home in to the one that had the news, open it, get the links and quickly post without more than a quick skim of the statements by Edwards and others, let alone any time to add commentary (except for what the title implied I felt at the time). And then there were comments I did not have time to respond to. And all the other blogospheric responses I was missing...Ah, well. The family is asleep so I'll try to catch up now.

First, Lane Hudson puts the whole case as clearly and succintly as possible, so if you do not have time and patience for the rest of my post or other links, this is the one to read: Anti-Semite Bigot is Loving to Hate John Edwards

Also very worth reading to understand how the campaign handles netroots, read this: Elizabeth Edwards on "the Sieve"

I'll add a bunch more links on the bottom later on. Now I'll try to be as systematic about this as I can.

Personal History and The Disclaimer

Just to put everything clearly up first before any questions arise:

I am not working for the Edwards campaign in any capacity.

Back in Raleigh, the Edwards' lived a few blocks away from where we lived. Soon after we moved to Chapel Hill, the Edwards' also moved to Chapel Hill. They are my neighbors. I cannot claim we are best drinking buddies, but we've met a few times. I followed John's political career since he announced his run for Senate against Lauch Faircloth. In summer 1998, when I became the US citizen, one of the questions on the "test" was to name the two current NC senators and I answered "Jesse Helms and Lauch Faircloth, but hopefully not for long". A few months later I voted in my very first US election and the first vote on the top of the ballot was for Edwards for Senate.

After a few Usenet years in the early 1990s, battling anti-Serbian trolls, I mostly went offline for a while, focusing on grad school and my research instead. But in 2003, disgusted with the GOP rule, the 2000 electoral debacle and the Iraq war, I went back online and researched all the apparent Democratic candidates for President. I liked several of them, but I liked Edwards the best - and by following him for a few years I knew more about him than about the others. In September 2003 I started commenting on his campaign blog. A year later I started my own blog and wrote mostly about politics until after the 2004 election when I switched my blogging focus to science.

Again this year, I like several of the potential candidates, but still believe that Edwards is the best, for a number of reasons. So, I am openly his supporter and have never hidden that. After all these years, I know a number of people associated with the campaign and they know me. That does not mean I know anything about what is happening behind the closed doors although I live about a 100 yards from the HQ. I do not have my "spies" inside the campaign and if I get some news early, that usually means 30 minutes before it is all over CNN, not hours or days ahead.

Would I accept a paying job with the Edwards campaign if offered (unlikely, of course)?

No. I cherish my independence too much. I am pathologically anti-authoritarian in real life (which is not always good for me). I can't even tell myself what to do without incurring rebellion! I always found it difficult to work for others (my PhD advisor excepted, but I have such huge respect for him and he was never trying to push his authority on me, he earned it through his wisdom). The biggest mistake I make is announce here that I will blog about something. That almost guarantees I will not post about it tomorrow (bye-bye, amylase post). In six months perhaps, more likely never. After all, who am I to dictate to myself what to write about and when!? So, when I write anything on this blog, it is because I want to at the time I want to. I have the deepest admiration for people who are capable of writing on deadline, with an editor approving topics. That is also why I will never be able to work for a political campaign - while I understand the importance of campaign discipline, I am incapable of following it myself.

Why Edwards?

I have opinions on many issues, as does everyone else. There is not a single person in the history of the planet with whom I agree 100% on everything. This is a truism that applies to everyone, of course. Likewise, there is not a single person in the history of the planet with whom I cannot find something, however banal, on which we agree 100%.

We do not pick our friends and enemies by evaluating how many things we agree or disagree on, but on how we stand on a handful of issues that each one of us finds important.

There are perhaps ten people currently considering running for President for Dems and about ten for GOP (plus probably a couple of third-party candidates). That is a very small pool to choose from who to support. Out of that pool, I find I agree with Edwards on issues that are important to me. Plus, I am pragmatic enough to know that he has a reasonable chance to actually win.

What is important to me is going to be biased by my own personal history. While outraged by the Iraq war, that issue is very low on my list of priorities: it is a part of an overall Republican mode of governing and not an isolated issue. Furthermore, the US foreign policy as a whole is very different from what I'd like to see and I am unlikely to see a candidate of any party coming even close to me on this issue, though I trust that any Democrat if elected would pull out of Iraq fast. So, Iraq is off the table for me. It does not incense me with any kind of strong emotional pull as it does some other people for whom the war is the one and only issue in this election.

I guess if I was black, or a woman, or gay, the issues of race, gender and sexual orientation would be #1. I am not. I also see those as parts of general Enlightement principles that can be taken care of once conservative ideology is defeated and marginalized enough so that we can raise new generations of enlightened children. I explained recently why I think Edwards is the man for this bigger-picture job.

I am unemployed and poor, so the issue of poverty as a part of a general issue of the way economic system is set up in the USA is important to me. While I harbor no illusions that the system will be changed any time soon, the way Edwards approaches the issue of poverty and his just-announced health-care proposal, are, IMHO, the best moves in the right direction that can potentially pave the way for more systemic changes further down the line. Yet even that is just a part of the bigger picture of trying to move the country towards modernity.

I was born and raised an atheist. I did not have to go through the painful process of self-doubting and losing my religion. Thus, I am not a fervent atheist - it just comes naturally to me and I cannot imagine being anything else. This is why the issue of religion is lower on my list than that of many US-born atheists who had to go through such a process. As long as the wall between the church and state is kept standing and the fundamentalists are kept on the margins, I have no problem with people believing whatever myths they want to if that makes them happy or feeling more secure.

Now, the anti-atheist sentiment in this country is the result of direct fundamentalist sliming over the centuries and can be addressed by ridiculing and marginalizing the fundamentalists. Part of this ridiculing effort also involves explaining why religious beliefs are irrational and silly. Part of this effort involves exposing all the evils perpetrated in the name of religion over the millenia, including today. But many people have a deep emotional need to believe in something bigger than themselves, and as long as such a need is channelled towards doing good, and not manipulated by Priests of various religions for their own aggrandizement or whatever other political or financial gains, I am fine with that. If the marginalization of fundamentalism happens and thus people understand what atheism is and isn't and being an atheist is not being a second-order citizen, the rest of the society will slowly secularize itself over the generations as well. More on this, in the context of the Edwards/Marcotte/McEwan saga, below.

Political blogging: personal vs.professional

A blog is a piece of software.

Thus, a blog can be used for various purposes. The word means different things to different people. Many erroneously lump personal political blogs together with campaign blogs and call them all "political blogs".

Many people who call themselves political bloggers write and read only personal blogs and rarely if ever go to campaign blogs (or big blog-communities like DailyKos). This is how they understand political blogging.

Many people who call themselves political bloggers write and read only posts and Diaries on DailyKos, almost never venturing out to personal or campaign blogs. This is what they think political blogging is.

Many people who call themselves political bloggers write and read only a campaign blog and almost never venture out to personal or community blogs. This is what they think is meant by 'political blogging'.

The three are very different form each other. My blog is my home - you enter and I hope you are nice to my wife and do not swear in front of my children. A frat-guy's appartment will have a different tone. A retired schoolteacher's home will have a different tone yet. DKos and such are public venues and the discourse is fast and harsh. The campaign blogs are businesses - disciplined effort to get a candidate elected.

Many, during the recent Edwards bloggers saga either do not understand the distinction, or purposefully muddied the waters for their own nefarious purposes.

Let me see if I understand the roles Amanda and Melissa are supposed to play.

The way I understand it, Amanda was not hired to move Pandagon over to JRE'08 blog. She was not hired to advise Edwards. She was not hired to be his spokesperson. She was not hired to write opinion pieces. She was not hired to write the campaign blog. She was hired to manage the campaign blog. To take care of technical and visual aspects of it. To try to somewhat control the campaign message there and steer the conversation in the direction favourable to the candidate. She will be dealing with the "campaign blog" type of political bloggers. She is supposed to write an entry every day saying something like "...our candidate gave a speech here today and here is the video of it and here are some media reports on it and links to some blogs on it. Discuss." It's a job for which she is eminently qualified.

The way I understand it, Melissa was not hired to move Shakeapeare's Sister to JRE'08 blog. She was not hired to advise Edwards. She was not hired to be his spokesperson. She was not hired to write opinion pieces. She was not hired to write the campaign blog. She was hired to serve as a communication link or liasion between the campaign and the "personal blog" type of political bloggers. Someone who can e-mail people like me with a 30-minute heads-up on the news, so if I am inclined to blog about it because the news excite me, I will, otherwise I will not. Likewise, if I have something to ask or say or suggest to the campaign, she is the person I can contact. It's a job for which she is eminently qualified.

For either one of them, what they said on their personal blogs in the past, or even what they may still write there in the future, has nothing to do with their new jobs. I would not submit one of my blog-posts about science to Nature and I would not expect most of my readers to enjoy reading a dry-scientese paper on this blog. Those are two different jobs I perform - the only connection being they both have something to do with science. For Amanda and Melissa the only connection between their blogs and their new jobs is that they both have something to do with politics.

The Rumor Mill and The Wait

Many have complained about the long time it took the campaign to issue any kind of statement. In the meantime, many people swallowed the Salon rumors about firings as true. We need to remind ourselves that we, the bloggers, live not on a 24-hour news cycle but on a 24-second news cycle. We want instant gratification immediatelly pronto right now. The Marcotte/McEwen issue was really big for us, for legitimate reasons (see all the links I posted yesterday for some excellent coverage), but it was not so big if you step back and look at the big picture. There wasn't barely anything in the MSM about this - after all, Anna Nicole Smith died, and there is trouble in Iraq, and there is Libby trial.... There is another year before Iowa, almost two before the General election. We reacted to a brief AP article that found itself in the NYT and WaPo - something that almost 300 million Americans did not read.

I have no idea what went on in the campaign during the past day or two. But I can imagine, so let me indulge in it for a minute...

I think that some people have this notion that John Edwards and all of his campaign managers and staffers sit around the HQ all day and eat pizza. I've been to his HQ a number of times during 2003/2004 bid as well as the current race. There are a few staffers there, extremely busy doing their jobs - crunching numbers, fundrasing, calling people, etc. There are preumably others doing their, somewhat different jobs up in D.C. Others are likely stationed in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina doing their jobs there. Edwards himself is travelling around the country giving speeches and attending fundrasiers a couple of times a day, with some of the staffers travelling with him.

When the hiring of bloggers provoked the silly outrage on Right-wing blogs, they probably - and wisely - decided to ignore it. When the Pickler hit-piece and the Salon rumor provoked all the outrage on the Lefty blogosphere, they probably felt they had to respond somehow. So, I can imagine that a few people were pulled from their normal jobs and assigned to work on this. They were probably not even all in the same part of the country at the time, so they communicated by phone or e-mail. It took them some time to do all this - far longer than our impatience could stand. I can imagine internet-savvy staffers trying to explain that bloggers are not some strange animals but the core supporters who, for the first time in history, can talk back to the campaign as well as to voters, other activists etc. I can imagine the old-time campaign managers being uneasy about being talked to by the bloggers, but they bring enormous campaigning experience they accumulated over many campaigns over decades. Sometimes, this experience suggests that patience is the best course of action.

Then, I guess at some point, they had to call Edwards and tell him what they think. He probably talked to Elizabeth, to Amanda and Shakes, and to his key campaign personnel. But this was a side-show for him today. He had a big event in South Carolina which was much more important than the question of bloggers. Who knows, perhaps some of the last-millenium types suggested firing due to ignorance of the new media landscape. But Edwards understands the Internet and the importance of bloggers/activists/supporters. I have no doubt that, at some point during the day when he had a few minutes to devote to this, he did not have to ponder too long about the decision. It was just a matter of crafting the message that will make everyone happy - excluding the Wingnuts who are irrelevant as they are not potential voters. So, he wrote a statement of support for his bloggers. And he wrote it in a way that calmed down the religious supporters who are many, and just as important for the campaign. I may not like the tone, or even the subtance of it, but that was the most politically savvy message he could make.

The Religion Question

As someone who spent enormous amount of time on his campaign blog back in 03/04 I can tell you that majority of his supporters (just like majority of Americans) are religious. Hundreds of comments and diaries were posted by people who stated that they supported Edwards because his message resonated with what they consider to be their personal religious beliefs. And I respect that even if I believe their progressivism came first and religion is just parasitically riding along, i.e., they are interpreting religion through the prism of their liberal worldviews, just like fundies cherry-pick their beliefs according to their conservative worldviews. Edwards cannot diss them - that would be politically suicidal.

It is unfortunate but true that the doctrines of organized religion (as opposed to the personal, emotional need to believe something) are still respected on this planet and this country. Atheists are the last discriminated against minroty in this country. Thirteen states have explicit laws precluding atheists from seeking elected positions.

A hundred years ago, women were fighting for their rights. It is still not completely equal, but compared to today, situation a century ago was akin to slavery.

Fifty years ago, the Civil Rights movement, often bloody, resulted in elimination of official seggregation. While racism and seggregation are still alive and well, the comparison between today and half-a-century ago is stark.

The gays are fighting that fight right now, and slowly winning by winning the hearts and minds of the next generation. Even Young Republicans are not as homophobic as their parents are.

The next fight will be over religion. Atheists will need to speak up and stand up for themselves. So many people have no idea what the word 'atheist' means except that it has something to do with eating live children. But many of the same people think the same about Liberals. I hope that in 10 or 20 years I can go to a campaign blog of an openly atheist presidential candidate who has realistic chances of winning with nobody batting an eye-lash, and not finding the word 'atheist' in scare-quotes in someone's comments, like this: "atheist".

But that is the future. Today, we have to play in today's playing field. And Edwards is a masterful player in this field. Moreover, he has so far been the most courageous candidate, breaking a number of taboos. Talking about poverty. Hiring feminist bloggers. Not firing them under presure from both Left and Right. That takes guts. But it does not mean being unrealistic and unpragmatic about the business of winning elections.

Perhaps I am closer to Kucinich on issues, but Dennis has no sense of how to play to win. And we'll all have to swallow some of the rhetoric we do not agree with in order to depose the GOP and win. Then change the country and the associated rhetoric with the aid of a Democratic President and Congress. Another small step towards the ideals of Enlightement. It does not happen overnight. It does not happen by swinging at the windmills. It does not happen by foolishly attacking everything at the same time. You have to be savvy to pick your battles and change the world one generation at the time.

(Cross-posted)

Some more good (or important) links:

MyDD:
Chris Bowers: This Isn't Over
Matt Stoller: Game On
Chris Bowers: Keep Piling On The Pressure

DailyKos:
Chris Bowers: This Isn't Over
Edwards STANDS UP UPDATE: War is declared
Breaking: Edwards Stands Up and Keeps Amanda and Melissa
Edwards Does The Right Thing
The line between work and blog

Ed Cone:
Stay of execution (read the comments)

The Pandagonians:
Roxanne
Pam
Sheelzebub
Auguste
Auguste
Chris Clarke
Ilyka

The Shakespearians:
Melissa (read the comments)
Melissa (read the comments)
Heretik

Hilzoy on Obsidian Wings:
Double Standards

Sara Robinson on Orcinus:
Silencing the Netroots

Majikthise:
Talking about the Edwards blogger brouhaha with Taylor Marsh
Who is Amanda-basher Bill Donohue?
Official statement from Edwards: Amanda and Shakes not fired!

Amanda and Shakes rock!

2007-02-08T01:38:00.000-05:00

[Placed on top for updates...]

I think that the whole brouhaha that the extreme wingers are raising about new Edwards bloggers will have a) no effect on Democratic primary voters a year from now, b) no effect on national voters two years from now, and c) negative effect on the wingnutosphere as they are getting more and more obviously unhinged, and thus marginalized.

Edwards did a fantastic scoop with these hires and the outcry from the extreme Right was surely expected. He has now positioned himself as more woman-friendly and more netroots-friendly than Hillary and Obama combined. And the fact that this has touched such a raw nerve on the edge of the Right abyss just confirms that this was a brilliant move.

I suggest not to bother actually going to myriads of inconsequential Wingnut blogs (like Malkin or Protein Wisdom) to defend the hires there (though a sharp letter of rebuke to WaPo, NYTimes and ABC for publishing the atrocious AP hit-job by the certified nutter Nedra Pickler may be in order). Let them enjoy their own echo-chamber. Instead, join the growing chorus of smart bloggers who are coming out in support of Edwards, Marcotte and McEwen, for instance:

Major Danby on DKos
Kagro X on DKos
Expo on DKos and on JRE08
EdwardsRayOfSunshine
Chris Clarke on Pandagon
Sadly No
Majikthise
Misty on Shakespeare's Sister
Pharyngula
Tom Watson

Update:

Alex Koppelman and Rebecca Traister posted another hit-job with unnamed sources and nasty speculation. The Right wing must be very worried.

Check the comments.

Also see commentary by:

Atrios
Atrios
Media Matters
Chris Bowers
Chris Bowers
Wilbur on DKos
Liza Sabater
Phoenix Woman
Phoenix Woman on DKos
Thirdestate on DKos
Melissa
The Heretik
Waveflux
Paul The Spud
All Spin Zone

...and the Diaries on the Edwards blog:
Expo
EdwardsRayOfSunshine
EdwardsRayOfSunshine
EdwardsRayOfSunshine
TehipiteTom
Rooktoven
Suswah
AdamMarin19

There has been no message from the campaign yet so all rumors are unfounded until they say something, and they promise to say something later today. Stay tuned....I hope they do the right thing and use this opportunity to hit the slimeballs back and hit them HARD!

And some more:
Zuzu
Glenn Greenwald
Pam's House Blend (also here)
Mahablog
The Carpetbagger Report
Corrent Wire
Pharyngula

Even more....

Hotline:Blogometer
Kevin Drum
Ed Cone
Ed Cone
Ed Cone
Ed Cone
Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein
BooMan
Mike the Mad Biologist
Mike the Mad Biologist
Mike the Mad Biologist
Abstract Nonsense
Matt Stoller (not him, but the commenters)
Deborah Lipp
August J. Pollak
Think Progress
Culture Kitchen
Jill (Feministe)
Mcjoan on DKos
Scott Lemieux
Scott Lemieux
Ilyka Damen
First Draft
Sadly, No!
Tbogg
Crooks and Liars
Crooks and Liars
Crooks and Liars
Digby
Crooks and Liars
Crooks and Liars
Punkass Marc
The Liberal Avenger
Feministing
Feministing
Hugo Schwyzer
Echidne of the Snakes
Echidne of the Snakes
Rising Hegemon
The Heretic
Josh Marshall
Steve Gilliard
TPM Cafe
Pen-Elayne
Suswah
JosephGarcia
AdamMartin19
FunLuvn1
Garance Franke-Ruta (not him, the commenters)
Ilyka Damen
Thoughts From Kansas
Publius

Addendum

Ilyka (in that last link) puts in words what I've been thinking throughout this two-day saga. This is an effort of the power elites: politicians, old-timer internet-illiterate campaign managers, and MSM to eliminate bloggers from teh conversaiton and influence. Not just Amanda and Shakes but ALL bloggers, Left or Right. All the Rightwing bloggers who jumped on this story with glee are, due to partisan blindness, underminining their own cause.

The way the MSM is framing this is as if bloggers are ALIENES!!!!

Somebody did a quick, back-of-the-envelope calculation of the traffic of the blogs linked in this post - together they reach over 20 million people. The operative word is PEOPLE!!!!!!

The bloggers, the commenters (some of those posts have several hundreds of comments!), and the readers.

They are people. Flesh and blood. Every single one of them.

Almost all of them are American citizens. Eligible to vote.

Almost all of them are voters. People who exercise their right to vote.

Almost all of them are Democrats. People who vote in primaries.

Almost all of them are party activists. People who travel to Iowa in January to knock on doors.

Almost all of them are 'influentials' - people who are hyperiformed about politics and cannot keep their mouths shut about politics when talking to everyone they meet.

Almost all of them are internet savvy and can influence many others through their online writings, exponentialy increasing their influence.

A concerted and persistent efforts of bloggers has before, and will in the future, force MSM to take up stories or to change their tone.

You can't just nonchalantly dismiss all those people.

People will not be dissed.

Cross-posted

Tar Heel Tavern

2007-02-06T11:35:00.000-05:00

Slight changes in the hosting line-up for the Tar Heel Tavern:

Next Host: Scrutiny Hooligans

TTHT #104 (18 February 2007) Host: Writing for Nonprofits

TTHT #105 (25 February 2007) Host: Science and Politics

TTHT #106 (4 March 2007) Host: Slowly She Turned

TTHT #107 (11 March 2007) Host: Scrutiny Hooligans

TTHT #108 (18 March 2007) Host: ?

TTHT #109 (25 March 2007) Host: ?

TTHT #110 (1 April 2007) Host: Scrutiny Hooligans

TTHT #110 (8 April 2007) Host: ?

TTHT #111 (15 April 2007) Host: ?

TTHT #112 (22 April 2007) Host: ?

TTHT #113 (29 April 2007) Host: Writing for Nonprofits

Let me know if you want to host!

Why am I for Edwards and not for Obama (or Clinton for that matter)?

2007-02-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

People ask me that question often. Many assume that it is because Obama constantly invokes God in his speeches, while Edwards never does. But I know that religiosity is important in American politics today. Hopefully one day it will not be, or even better, overt religosity will become a handicap, i.e, being viewed by voters with suspicion. But that is not the reason why I made my choice the way I did.

My response to people who ask me this question is to explain how the GOP over the past 20-30 years systematically moved the entire political discourse in the USA to the Right. What used to be the Center is now called "Left". What used to be the Right is now called "Center" and what used to be unthinkable depths of almost-fascistic ultra-right-wing ideloogy is now called a "Respectable Right".

Obama, by appealing to "compromise" and "purpling" and "bipartisanship" is playing straight into the conservatives' game - he is letting them shift the discourse further to the Right by redefining the new center. The Right has no intention of ever making a compromise: their definition of "compromise" is "you shut up and do as we say and smile". Obama does not understand this. He is still naively giving them a benefit of the doubt that there is a trace of human decency still somewhere to be found in them.

This strategy is often called "triangulation" but the average person I meet does not know or understand that word, so I feel compelled to explain it the way I just did above.

On the contrary - and this is the biggest difference between the two of them (and Hillary Clinton is similar to Obama in this regard) - Edwards is aware (by being more experienced than Obama, or due to growing up in the South, or Elizabeth's influence...) of the trick and is trying to counter it and to move the political landscape of the country back to the left, so the Left is Left, Center is Center and Right is Right again.

I do not dislike Obama personally, and I do not dislike Clinton personally either. Most of their policy proposals are fine, and very similar to Edwards'. I am just worried about the future of the American politics if they are elected. They are liable to leave conservative ideology intact and within the domain of respectable, thus giving it a space to breath, to recuperate and, down the line, attack again.

I don't think Edwards will let that happen (and I would have no problem with Obama for Veep - he can learn on the job - though my personal favourite for VP is Richardson). He will go as far left as he can to still be able to win. Who knows how much more left he will go if he actually wins and has a Democratic Congress to work with? Perhaps this country can join the modernity of the civilized world in a few years after all.

(cross-post)

JRE links for today

2007-02-05T00:10:00.001-05:00

Jeff Jarvis in the Guardian: Why YouTube gets my vote for political punditry
Letters to the Editor of N&O: Building a case for and against Edwards' place, page 1 and page 2
Tom Watson: Woman, Know Thy Place

The Tar-Heel Tavern

2007-02-04T19:02:00.000-05:00

The very first blog carnival, the Carnival of Vanities was invented here, in Chapel Hill.

The very first state-based blog carnival, the Tar Heel Tavern was invented here, in Chapel Hill. There were about a hundred editions of this weekly carnival so far and the Second Anniversary is approaching fast.

The latest edition was posted last night on Moomin Light. Next week, the carnival comes back home, right here at Science And Politics. Send me permalinks to your best post (or two) of the week by Saturday night, at: Coturnix AT gmail DOT com.

Also, let me know if you want to host a future edition of the carnival. Let the tradition continue - meet the NC blogging friends, old and new, every week in a different virtual tavern.

Counter-propaganda

2007-02-02T18:39:00.000-05:00

On Iran:

Ezra Klein gets the interview and comments on it. Breathe a deep sigh of relief.

The House:

Elizabeth explains and Sam Spencer defends. Nature Preserve and a Green House, not a McMansion.

Gay Marriage:

Better honest and open than wishy-washy, says the LGBT community.

Big Plans for NC (and Triangle) Blogging in the New Year

2007-02-01T16:34:00.000-05:00

So, whats' cookin' in the local blogging world? Quite a lot, actually.

First, our little group, BlogTogether is growing, growing. Instead of being just a little Anton's sideproject, we are thinking of turning it into a non-profit organization - so if you have experience with founding non-profits please let us know ASAP.

Also, apart from Anton, several others (including myself) are now able to post there. This will make the blog much more active and interactive this year than it was ever before. We are also looking for a nice-looking logo for it so we can slap it on side-bars of all of our blogs. If you have talent, give it a try!

Second, we are much more ambitious with meet-ups this year. We plan on having, each month, one virtual meet-up (here). We'll continue with our regular two meet-ups (at Milltown at 6:30pm) where we sit down over coffee or beer and chat, usually starting with a particular topic (see here for some topics we are planning for February and March), before it becomes a free-for-all. Even if you are not a blogger - come by and within minutes you'll have a blog of your own as we'll help you set one up in minutes!

Once a month we'll have a more active meet-up, actually doing something fun for a change (and get our butts off the comfortable chairs). This month, we'll go bowling (hey, the place has wi-fi, so you can liveblog!). In the past, we've had between four and eight people normally showing up at meetups (unless a celebrity comes by - then everyone shows up). Let's try to have a greater attendance this year. After all, now that both Pandagon (with both Pam and Amanda living here) and Panda's Thumb are Triangle-based blogs (should our logo have a panda on it?!), the epicenter of power-blogging of the world is somewhere in the RTP area, I'd guess. So come by and meet the blogging stars!

We are already planning the second Science Blogging Conference (and the anthology to go with it) for early 2008!

In the meantime, think about joining us for the FoodBlogging series of events (if eating, drinking, eating, drinking and repeating it all over again can be called 'events') this summer. Sure, click on that link and salivate! What great places to eat and drink with fellow bloggers and blog about it!

Anton is hinting about some major activity on the StoryBlogging front this year as well.

And there are more ideas floating around (a design conference, perhaps an EduBlogging Conference, etc.)

Finally, and very importantly, the Tar Heel Tavern #102 will be hosted at Moomin Light this weekend. There is no theme, so send whatever you'd like to: songfinn AT yahoo DOT com by Saturday evening..

Once again, the Tavern was closed last weekend for the lack of a host. Will #102 be the last Tarheel Tavern? It's up to you - no one is signed up to host after this weekend. Do you want to host in the near future? Let us know. Do you want to get more involved in managing the carnival (as Laurie, Erin and I are both too busy with other stuff to do so full-time)? In any case, let us know at: coturnix AT gmail DOT com (me) or lponeill AT att DOT net (Laurie).

JRE links for today

2007-02-01T15:08:00.000-05:00

The Way Down South: Johnny Populist & The Born Fighter:

In short, Moser's new article (part of a series on Southern Politics) debunks the myths perpetuated by the DLC and national pundits, skewering John Kerry's "anti-Southern strategy" and Thomas Schaller's "Whistling Past Dixie" and advocating a new Democratic Populism to win back not only large sections of the South (not to mention the industrial Great Lakes states).

Former NC Senator John Edwards to Walk In Our Shoes:

Edwards Is First Presidential Candidate to Accept SEIU Challenge to Spend a Day in the Life of a Working Family
---
Former Senator John Edwards has agreed to be the first presidential candidate to spend a day on the job and at home with a member of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Hybrids and Light Bulbs and Action

The day the independent inspector came to evaluate the house, we were on pins and needles while he tested our home's energy performance. As he packed his equipment, he gave us the good news: we are an Energy-Star home!

Edwards wrapping up the left blogsphere & Obama's got the Millennial's

This is a interesting angle of hires from the netroots for Edwards. Shakespeare's Sister and Pandagon are blogs that I think would be characterized as 'ideologically-centered' as oppossed to being 'big-tent' democratic blogs. This is actually the first move by the Edwards campaign in the netroots that I find ground-breaking.

Women on Top at the Edwards Campaign

However, not being familiar with these websites, what I liked from both was they were not centrist, mushy, can't we all get along blogs. They are clearly left of center, with strong and witty writing. I like that Edwards seems to be pushing both the presidential agenda AND hopefully his blog and netroots outreach leftward.

The Most Fantastic Blogospheric News of the Day (or longer)
and
The Most Fantastic Blogospheric News of the Day (or longer) - Part Deux!

Are you ready for the first Action Day?

2007-01-24T23:35:00.000-05:00

A message from John Edwards:

Dear Friend,

People everywhere are responding to our call to change America.

In the three weeks since we launched our campaign, One Corps has grown to more than 800 chapters in all 50 states. Thousands of Americans are signing up to take action now -- people like you and me who are not willing to wait until the next president is elected to begin changing our country.

One Corps allows people to join with friends and neighbors to take action in our local communities. And next Saturday, January 27, we're all coming together for our first National Day of Action -- working together in our communities to conserve energy and fight global warming:

Since announcing my candidacy, I've been speaking of our need to break our country's addiction to oil and create a new energy economy. I've also been speaking about the huge moral issue that global warming presents for America and the entire world. These are tremendous challenges which won't be solved in a day -- but each of us can take responsibility in small ways that make a big difference. For example, after years of driving a regular SUV, Elizabeth and I just purchased a hybrid SUV. I'm not asking each of you to buy a new car, however, or fight this problem on your own. We can all work together in our communities -- educating others and changing the way we use energy in our homes and workplaces -- to bring about the change we need today:

Take the first step by pledging to do what you can to conserve energy in your home and life -- then sign up to take action in your community on January 27th. We all know that government or technological innovation alone will not solve global warming or increase energy efficiency. To solve these problems, we need to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war. Today, I'm asking you to join with thousands of One Corps members across the country and be patriotic -- to make a difference in how you and your community use energy, and to get the word out on January 27th. Thank you for taking action.

Your friend, John

These are tremendous challenges which won't be solved in a day -- but each of us can take responsibility in small ways that make a big difference.

For example, after years of driving a regular SUV, Elizabeth and I just purchased a hybrid SUV.

I'm not asking each of you to buy a new car, however, or fight this problem on your own. We can all work together in our communities -- educating others and changing the way we use energy in our homes and workplaces -- to bring about the change we need today:

Take the first step by pledging to do what you can to conserve energy in your home and life -- then sign up to take action in your community on January 27th.

We all know that government or technological innovation alone will not solve global warming or increase energy efficiency. To solve these problems, we need to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war.

Today, I'm asking you to join with thousands of One Corps members across the country and be patriotic -- to make a difference in how you and your community use energy, and to get the word out on January 27th.

Thank you for taking action.

Your friend,
John

JRE links for today

2007-01-21T00:58:00.000-05:00

Melissa
Josh
Josh
Ezra

JRE links for today

2007-01-17T16:08:00.000-05:00

me: MLK and Harlem
PhilGoBlue: John Edwards MLKJr Day 'Realizing the Dream' Speech
MeanBoneII: Edwards applies a little more pressure (Update: YouTube of speech)
Brian: Edwards and Permanent Military bases in Iraq
Melissa: Clinton's Jab at Edwards
Stoller: The End of Process Attacks
Neil: He's Good
PZ: Zzzzzzzzzz
Kirk: Edwards at Riverside
Lindsay: John Edwards: Silence is betrayal
Scoble: Political use of social media: Edwards (1); Obama (.5); Clinton (NA)
Brad Blog: 'Total Bull' That Congress Can't Stop Bush Iraq Escalation Plan Says John Edwards Campaign

Science Blogging Anthology is here!

2007-01-16T00:15:00.000-05:00

The first of its kind, phenomenal, unbelievable collection of the best science blogging in history has just been published!

Timed to coincide with the first Science Blogging Conference, this anthology of best 50 blog posts from science and medical blogs is now available for sale. You can find all the information about the book, including the blog-typical democratic process of choosing 50 best posts of all time, at this URL

I would really appreciate it if you could steer your readers towards it!

You can buy the book here.

Koufax Awards open for nominations!!!

2007-01-07T23:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, the best blog awards in the history of the Universe are ready to go again! Go here and start nominating! Dont' you think that Scienceblogs.com is one awesome "blog community" and should be nominated in that category?

Excellent Indy this week

2007-01-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

Hal Crowther on Iraq
Kirk Ross on Edwardses
Lisa Sorg on The Chapel Hill event

Everything you need to know...

2007-01-03T08:13:00.000-05:00

...about the launch of the Edwards campaign can be found and linked on this Diary on DailyKos. Go and Recommend it.

JRE links for today

2007-01-03T02:02:00.000-05:00

TPM Cafe: Edwards Coins New Phrase For Escalation: 'The McCain Doctrine'

Crooks and Liars: Edwards Rips 'McCain Doctrine'

Iddybud Journal: McCain Doctrine Draws U.S. Troops into Civil War

Jim Buie: On Helping the Working Poor

Vagabondvet: John Edwards for President!

Reno and its Discontents: Exclusive Interview with John Edwards (hat-tip: Susan Nunes)

Mark Maynard: john edwards announces

Science Blogging Conference Update

2007-01-02T00:04:00.000-05:00

The conference is only 19 days from today! It's getting really exciting!

The program is shaping really well:

On Thursday (January 18th) we will have a teach-in session. About 20 people have signed up so far. We'll use Wordpress to help them start their own blogs, so I'll have to make one of my own in advance and play around to figure out the platform before I teach others.

On Friday (January 19th), we'll have dinner and all the bloggers present will read their posts. We have not decided on the place yet, but perhaps a site that has wifi, or a screen and a projector would be good as the posts can be seen as well as heard.

On Saturday (January 20th), we'll have a busy program. We have two speakers: a scientist - Hunt Willard (director of the Duke Insitute for Genome Sciences & Policy) and a science blogger - Janet Stemwedel (Adventures in Ethics And Science).

Then, we'll have four (or five) break-out sessions in an Unconference format - the participants take the lead and the leaders guide and moderate.

We decided not to have these sessions cover different areas of science, but different ways blogs, podcasts and other internet technologies can be used: a) research (e.g., using a blog as a public lab-notebook, online publishing), b) teaching (using the online technologies in the classroom), c) popularization of science (how to blog well, including the importance of visual props - illustration) and d) informing the public (e.g., public health, medicine, countering un-scientific forces in the society, etc. perhaps broken into wo sessions: one on science, one on medicine and public health). We have lined up four excellent people to moderate these sessions (not everything is on the wiki-page yet but will be soon).

Afterwards, we will go to dinner. If you have registered already, or plan to register soon, please do not forget to sign up for one of the dinners. Just edit the wiki and enter your name where you want.

At this moment we have 109 people registered for the conference. Some locals will probably sign up at the last minute. Some of the people coming from very far away may still be waiting for good deals on plane tickets before they sign up. If you are considering this, it would be good if you could sign up as soon as possible so we have a good idea how many people to plan for in terms of space, food, swag, etc.

If you browse through the list of registrants, you will see what a great diversity of people there will be, a potential for cross-fertilization leading to high hybrid vigor! There are people from four continents coming to Chapel Hill in January to meet with us, as well as people from a number of States. There are science, medical and technology bloggers, web-designers, research scientists working in academia, government and industry, physicians, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, even high school students. There will be editors of science and medical journals and magazines, journalism professors and students, local journalists, and science writers. There will be science teachers at all levels - elementary, middle, high school and college. There will be local elected officials, and staff of state departments. And, I hope, you will be there as well!

We have attracted quite a lot of cool sponsors for the conference, so you can excpect some really good stuff in your swag bags! Still, both Anton and I are quite bad at begging for money. We do need a little bit more - can you or your organization be a sponsor, or donor, or host? If so, let Anton know as soon as possible.

And we may just be able to pull it off to have the Anthology ready to be distributed at the conference.

Technorati Tag: sciencebloggingconference

On Edwards and Tranformational Politics

2006-12-31T19:25:00.000-05:00

Two very infromational and thought-provoking threads of comments on these two MyDD posts:

Transformational Politics -- Why the Dean Campaign was Different

Nominee, Movement Leader, or Both

NC town hall event today

2006-12-30T12:57:00.000-05:00

1pm EST

It's so nice to live just around the corner...

Last night I went to the HQ for the volunteers' meeting, then had dinner with some OAC bloggers. We got special V-VIP tickets for today so we'll all (about 30 bloggers) sit together right up front and liveblog and take pictures and shoot videos to post afterwards. I'll do that here by updating this post.

This morning I walked the dog around the Village Green and watched the people test the sound system etc. There are bloggers already sitting and eating in the restaurants around the Green. The weather decided to change today - it is much colder than yesterday and an occasional raindrop can be felt. I still expect a huge crowd.

Excitement is in the air. The local businesses are quite excited about the prospect of the HQ in the neighborhood - two years of good business as campaign staff, volunteers and visitors need to eat, have their clothes cleaned, ship some mass-mailings or take a break and go see a movie, buy a book, have some coffee or go to the gym.

BlueNC bloggers are meeting at the pizza place at 2:30. The doors open at 4:00. The anthem will be sung at 4:30, followed by a band. JRE is suppposed to address the crowd at about 5:15. Stay tuned.

2:15pm

Good, the Sun is out again. I don't think I'll be liveblogging, but will try to take and download some pictures right afterwards.

6:30pm

Just got home after the event. It was huge - police estimates about 5000 people! By 3pm there were already two lines of people waiting to get in, each line at least a 100 yeards long. We got in early - the power of being a blogger in this campaign. Lots of bloggers from OAC and BlueNC. We managed somehow to get in all together all the way in front around 4pm. It was quite warm - I had to take my coat off for a while.

I took some pictures but now I cannot fine the cable for downloading photos anywhere in the house! I'll keep trying and will upload the pics sooner or later.

In the meantime, Amy has put some pictures on her liveblogging diary up on OAC.

8pm

Still no sign of the cable - it is driving me crazy!!!!

But I found another excellent blog summary of the event here.

At about 4:45 the anthem was sung by a very little girl (I understand she sings it at UNC games as well) who belted it out with an amazing power!!!!

Then, Del McCoury band played - it was great to finally see them live. They are fun and funny and relaxed and it is nice to see a band openly supporting a candidate (especially this early on) and not fearing how that would affect the sales of their CDs.

Edwards showed up at about 5:30 or so and the crowd roared! Elizabeth was dressed in red and looked great. Cate, Emma Claire and Jack were there - wow, how much the little kids have grown since the last time I saw them.

There is a video clip here and Amy will put up her video later tonight or tomorrow on her liveblogging thread, so you can see/hear the whole speech.

While I liked his 03/04 speeches (both the Millworker one and Two Americas one), this one is so much better, much more mature, realistic and honest. There is nothing there I would not sign myself. Heck, if I was running, that is what I would like to say.

11:45

Watched the TV coverage. Local ABC affiliate did a much better job than the local NBC affiliate, e.g., picked better quotes, etc. The BlueNC sign was seen, full-screen, on ABC, though. Both stations went out of their way to find, out of thousands of fervent Edwards supporters, a few people standing outside who are not as commited and who could be duped (and later smartly edited) into saying something wavering, or mentioning Clinton and Obama, or something silly about just having had an election and it's too early for another one. The NBC guy even stated that most of the people there were not supporters but just "curious"! Moron! Yuck!

1:00am

Paul, Sally and Kirk were also there. I was looking for them, but in that crowd... I had the V-VIP ticket for Kirk and looked for him in vein. Anyway, knowing that Kirk was an old wolf of a reporter I knew he could get himself wherever he wanted, not that the campaign volunteers were stopping anyone from getting wherever they wanted if they only knew they could! I just put on the air of importance and crossed all lines and went through all gates an hour before the whole thing started.

Anyway, check out the comments on Kirk's DK diary as well as this thread on BlueNC.

JRE links for today

2006-12-29T15:26:00.000-05:00

A Blog Around The Clock: The Netroots Candidate

Sally Greene: Edwards launch

Kirk Ross: Edwards is in

Ruby and Brian

Mark Kleinschmidt: John Edwards announces plan to run for President

Jake Luddington: John Edwards Town Hall Streams Live and John Edwards Answers Blogger Questions

Scoble: Jake’s video of Edwards

Paul Jones: Edwards - Scoble connections and Sally and EdCone and Scoble (and me) on Edwards announcement etc

Shakespeare's Sister: John Edwards for President

Pam Spaulding: Edwards, Biden, jump into presidential race and John Edwards addresses marriage equality question at N.H. town hall gathering

Ezra Klein: Edwards vs. the Deficit Hawks (also here)

Kevin Hayden: Edwards in 2008

BlueNC: And so it begins...., Live from Iowa, it's.....what day is it? and John Edwards - back to New Orleans (political cartoon)

Orange Politics: Dec. 30 Edwards announcement in Southern Village and Elizabeth Edwards, keeping it real

Anton Zuiker: Edwards in '08

Iddybud Journal: Bloggers Appreciate Edwards' Appreciation of Net

Anonymoses: It's Official! John Edwards is in the Race! and Prelude to a Blogger President: Edwards & the Democratic Future

Benny's World: Blogger Sit Down in Iowa

Wampum: John Edwards speaks and Sweet....

The Carpetbagger Report: Edwards rejects Rubinomics

Firedoglake: Bringing Poverty To The Table

Taylor Marsh (on Huffington Post): Missing the Edwards Message

Culture Kitchen: It's your last chance to vigorously molesticate our advertisers

Bob Geiger: Why John Edwards Changes Everything

Digby: So It Begins

jcsinclair: John Edwards Meet and Greet

Below Boston: John Edwards announces he is running for President;will be in NH tomorrow, We are in portsmouth NH with John Edwards and The web e-mails in a question.

Iowa For Edwards blog

Edwards08 bloggers: Report from Edwards Des Moines Event Today, Online Town Hall from New Hampshire and Behind The Scenes

DailyKos Diaries:
Why New Orleans
Edwards in N.O. Pretty Darn Good
On Edwards, Hillary, and Obama
How Edwards' Announcement is Playing in the Press
John Russell Makes Case For and Endorses John Edwards for President in 2008
Photos from John Edwards' Presidential Bid in NOLA
John Edwards: Progressive Populist
Edwards 2008
Edwards: Need to Reject the McCain Doctrine of Surging Troops...
John Edwards- Act Now
The McCain Doctrine = Brilliant Framing
John Edwards Event in Des Moines
LIVE ONLINE TOWN HALL WITH JOHN EDWARDS at 12:30 PM ET/9:30 AM PT
Videos of the Edwards Event in Des Moines

Added on 12-30-06:
chuckles1 on DKos: Edwards 08: Crowd Size and the Press

Aldon Hynes: JFK in Running Shoes, My New Hampshire Summary

Blue Hampshire: Edwards Declares War On Hope (and it's about time)

Dempov: John Edwards - The Right Leader at the Right Time

Don Dodge: Scoble and John Edwards in New Hampshire

Scoble: In Reno

Ezra Klein: Edwards vs. the Deficit Hawks, Iowa and But Can He Raise Taxes?

WaPo

2006-12-29T01:36:00.000-05:00

Dan Balz wrote two excellent articles this week:
Edwards Scooped by His Web Site
Edwards Turns to Non-Traditional Campaign Model

Blog Coverage of the Announcement

2006-12-28T08:36:00.000-05:00

Here are the earliest diaries on DailyKos.

Scoble is liveblogging his trip to NOLA here, here, here, here and here.

Many blogs are covering the announcement - here is a small sample:

Benny's World
Random Thoughts from Reno
The Real Paul Jones
skippy the bush kangaroo
anonyMoses
Blue Girl, Red State
Bark Bark Woof Woof
Edwards 08
Billy the Blogging Poet
The Nation blog
Exile on Jones Street
Iddybud (also here)
Jeff Pulver

Ezra is also in NOLA, blogging from there.

johnedwards.com is up and running

2006-12-27T22:46:00.000-05:00

Edwards has unleashed his campaign website, where you can find all the info, join the discussion on the blog and see a preview of what he'll say tomorrow in NOLA on this video:

Also, go and recommend this live vlog from NOLA.

John Edwards to announce tomorrow

2006-12-27T17:35:00.000-05:00

John Edwards is announcing his presidential candidacy tomorrow in New Orleans, followed by a tour of town-hall meetings in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina and North Carolina. I'll be at the last one and may have some pictures etc. I'll probably resuscitate this blog to avoid cluttering the new one with all the political horse-race stuff.

Liveblogging from the event in NOLA are a couple of bloggers at OAC. Scoble will also be there.

I hope that Ford's death does not suck out too much air out of news-shows on TV tomorrow.

Google-Bomb the Election

2006-10-31T11:35:00.000-05:00

Pick up the source code here and paste it into your blog post (or on the side-bar) so it looks like this:

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Doing this will bring these articles up on top in Google and GoogleNews searches sorted by "relevance".

Nice

2006-10-04T09:38:00.000-04:00

Although left unattended since my move to Seed's Scienceblogs back in June, this blog is still receieving about 200 hits per day (mostly Google searches for "women shagging animals pics") and has, this morning, reached a nice round number of 200,000 visits (in a little over two years of its existence). I still don't know what am I going to be doing with this blog in the future, but I'll keep it 'open' for a while longer, just in case I want to do something specific in the future. In the meantime, go see me at my real blog.

Call for Action - Free The Tripoli Six!

2006-09-24T23:42:00.000-04:00

Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor have been wrongfully charged and are awaiting execution by firing squad in Libya for allegedly infecting children with HIV. They were tortured and forced to sign "confessions" written in Arabic they did not understand. In fact, the poor hygiene and bad practices in the hospital are to blame.

You can get more information in Nature (free access) editorial and news report and even more detail in an official report (pdf) and a letter (pdf) to Qaddafi.

What can you do?

First, ask your congresscritters what are they going to do about this - are they going to put international pressure on Libya to release the prisoners?

Second, e-mail your story to friends and, if you have a blog, write a post about this. Make sure that you have the words "Tripoli Six" in your post so that it gets picked up by Connotea, Technorati and Google blogsearch engines. Update: For Google (and Google News) you can also use "Benghazi Six" as well as "Tripoli Six".

You can also see what my SciBlings have written about it so far.

More information and commentary:

Saratoga Spirit
Declan Butler
Pharyngula
Method
Thoughts In A Haystack
Gene Expression
Stranger Fruit
Effect Measure
Deltoid
Adventures in Ethics and Science
Dr. Joan Bushwell's Chimpanzee Refuge
Pure Pedantry
Respectful Insolence
Aetiology
Uncertain Principles
The Questionable Authority (the best source of action/contact information)
Science Ripsaw
Firedoglake
LeftWorld
DailyKos
The World's Fair
Majikthise
Terra Sigillata
Open Reading Frame
Maya's Corner
Maya's Corner
Maya's Corner
Tinkerty Tonk
Thoughts From Kansas
Ovidio
Cyberspace Rendezvous
Effect Measure
Lingual Tremors
Crooked Timber
Cosmic Variance
BlinkBits
Nascent
Malaysian Medical Resources
Serialdeviant
Paeonia
Bouphonia
Alternet PEEK

Update: Revere and Lindsay now report that the Tripoli Six story has spread from science blogosphere to both Left and Right political blogs, ranging from DailyKos to Instapundit (gosh, even Free Republic!). This is certainly not just a science/medicine issue, and is certainly not a partisan issue - it is a matter of saving innocent lives!

Declan Butler, who has been on top of this, has already collected 82 blog links on Connotea and is working on the next step - getting the MSM to place this story on front pages. Can you help? Blogswarm this story by blogging about this, or blogging about this again, and again. Urge your readers to peruse this list of contact information and ask the congrescritters to pay attention and do something. If you know anyone in the MSM, hound them to write about this. This is not about the self-congratulatory pat-on-the-back about the "power of the blogosphere" - it is about righting a wrong and saving innocent lives.

Hello

2006-07-16T12:07:00.000-04:00

Are you all reading my blog?

Anyone knows car engines around here?

2006-06-25T19:30:00.000-04:00

OK, my car won't start. Here is the information that may be relevant:

- It is a 2000 Ford Winstar minivan.

- It never happened before - not even close.

- It is used every day.

- On most days it covers only a couple of miles. Once or twice a week, it may go to Raleigh (28 miles one way) or to my school (16 miles one way).

- It appears to have plenty of electricity, oil and gas.

- When the key is turned, all the lights come on, radio comes on etc.

- Nothing in the engine appears to move when the key is turned - I cannot see any movement or light anywhere.

- When the key is turned it makes a sound like electrical discharge, a sparkle, or even a Christmas sparkler stick. I cannot figure out where in the engine the sound comes from.

- I drove it to the store yesterday (5 miles each way), my wife drove herself to work last night and back home this morning (5 miles each way), with no complaints.

- It's been quite yucky around here today and yesterday - much rain and thunder.

If you have any idea, let me know in the comments. Is there something I can do with basic tools and no spare parts? If I take it to the garage (and that has to wait until Wednesday as we are entirely broke), what should I expect them to tell me, what will they fix, how much should that cost?

Sunday Carnivalia

2006-06-25T09:26:00.000-04:00

Want this badge?

The Tar Heel Tavern #70:qualities of life, is up on Another blue puzzle piece.

Want this badge?

Carnival of the Godless #43 is up on Silly Humans.

Radiology Grand Rounds Volume-I are up on Sumer's Radiology Site.

Edwards, Poverty and 2008

2006-06-23T18:14:00.000-04:00

Ezra Klein went to listen to John Edwards yesterday. Comments on that post are also interesting (except those by Clarkies who are characteristically blindly militant and cannot see anything outside or beyond Iraq/foreign policy/military - are they all ex-Republicans?).

You can read the entire text of the speech here and some commentary here, here and here.

You know what I think....

BTW, I have posted more than 100 posts on mynew blog so far. Perhaps there is something there you'd find interesting. Have you adjusted your bookmarks/blogrolls/newsfeeds yet?

Tar Heel Tavern and other blogging goodness...

2006-06-18T11:59:00.000-04:00

The Tar Heel Tavern (carnival of North Carolina blogging) #69 is up on Poetic Acceptance, and, as the number implies, the theme is Reciprocity.

In other news, Rivka of 'Respectful of Otters' is back from a long hiatus and is blogging again.

Teaching Update

2006-06-17T02:55:00.000-04:00

My class is nearing the end. On Monday, the students are giving presentations on human organ systems, doing student evaluations, and doing the final exam. This means that I have finished lecturing! I have posted last three lectures on my new blog:

Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
Physiology: Regulation and Control
Physiology: Coordinated Response

Carnival Roundup

2006-06-16T22:41:00.000-04:00

Next Teaching Carnival (higher ed) will be on or after June 16th, 2006 on Raining Cats and Dogma.

First Mendel's Garden (genetics) will be on June 18th, 2006 on The force that through....

Next Pediatric Grand Rounds will be on June 18th, 2006, on Unintelligent Design.

Next Carnival of the Green (sustainability, environment, conservation) will be on June 19th, 2006 on Savvy Vegetarian.

Next Carnival of Bad History (misuse and abuse of history) will be on June 20, 2006 on Frog In A Well[thanks to Jonathan Dresner for updating me on this]

Next Grand Rounds (medicine) will be on June 20th on Psychological Perspectives.

Next Carnival of Homeschooling (homeschooling) will be on June 20th, 2006 on HomeSchoolBuzz.

Next Tangled Bank (science, nature, medicine, environment and interaction between science and society) will be on 21 Jun 2006 on Centrerion.

Next Carnival of the Liberals (lefty politics) will be on June 21st, 2006 on Neural Gourmet (Varkam's blog).

Next Carnival of Education (teaching, educational policy) will be on June 21th, 2006 on Why Homeschool.

Next Skeptic's Circle (pseudocscience, quackery and such) will be on June 22, 2006 on Autism Diva.

Next I And The Bird (birding and birdwatching) will be on June 22, 2006 on The Hawk Owls' Nest.

First Change Of Shift (nursing) will be on June 22nd, 2006 on Emergiblog.

Next Friday Ark (animals) will be on June 23th, 2006 on The Modulator.

Next Carnival of the Godless (religion from godless perspective) will be on June 25, 2006 on Silly Humans.

First The Synapse (neurobiology, brain and behavior) will be on June 25th, 2006 on Pure Pedantry.

First Radiology Grand Rounds will be on June 25th, 2006 on Sumer's Radiology Site.

Next Carnivalesque (alternating between early modern and ancient & medieval history) will be on 20-ish of June at an undisclosed location.

Next Circus of the Spineless (invertebrates) will be on June 30th, 2006 on Science And Sensibility.

First Festival of the Trees (trees) will be on July 1st, 2006, on Via Negativa.

History Carnival (history) will be on July 1st, 2006 at Chapati Mystery.[thanks to Sharon for updating me on this]

The first Encephalon (cognitive neuroscience) will be on July 3rd, 2006 on Neurophilosopher's blog.

Next Philosophy Carnival (philosophy) will be on July 3rd, 2006 on Adventures in Ethics and Science.

Next Animalcules (microorganisms) will be on July 13th, 2006 on Science Matters.

Carnival of the Liberals - call for submissions

2006-06-16T21:22:00.000-04:00

Want this badge?

Message from the proprietors of the Carnival of the Liberals:

Dear Liberal Carnivalers,

Did you think we’d disappeared? Don’t worry (or celebrate), you’re not getting rid of us that easily!

Some logistical issues caused a bit of a delay and resulted in The Uncredible Hallq swapping hosting slots with Varkam at Neural Gourmet. Varkam will be hosting Carnival of the Liberals #15 on Wednesday, June 21st and and the deadline is Tuesday, June 20th by 7PM EDT. So, what are you waiting for? Get to sending in those submissions!

Note: Anyone who sent in something prior to this message, there’s no need to resend it. Varkam has a copy of everybody’s submissions thus far.

BTW: We’ve still got hosting slots in August (16th and 30th), so if anyone’s interested, shoot me an e-mail. We’ve had a lot of new people participating in CotL in recent weeks, so why not give a thought to hosting? We’d love to see some new faces taking a turn at their own editions.

See everyone Wednesday at Neural Gourmet!

DonorsChallenge for Education

2006-06-15T11:58:00.000-04:00

A number of science bloggers over at SEED,including myself, have started a fundraising action to help teachers around the country buy supplies they need to teach science and math more effectively. Many of the teachers work in poor schools with a large proportion of poor children and have virtually nothing in terms of neccessary materials.

Thus, several of us are urging our readers to pitch in, a few bucks at a time, to help these teachers. You can read all about it here. Choose the programs you support, either one chosen by me, or one chosen by another one of my fellow science bloggers. If you do, you will be entered into a pool for for some nifty prizes as well.

Carnival of Education - call for submissions

2006-06-15T00:28:00.000-04:00

Henry and Janine Cate of Why Homeschool will be hosting the next edition of Carnival of Education. If you write something appropriate for this carnival by by 7:00 PM PST on the Tuesday, the 20th of June, send your entry to them at: cate3 AT panix DOT com

A Good Start

2006-06-14T15:07:00.000-04:00

The start of my new blog, A Blog Around The Clock went really well. Even before the Big Launch, some people figured out the URL and came to visit (43 on Wednesday and 31 on Thursday).

On Friday, the new homepage was released exactly at noon, with no glitches (Tim, the tech guy there is a Grand Master!) and all of the 25 or so new blogs were made public. I made ten posts that afternoon, carefully spaced at 30 minute intervals (ah, the glories of scheduled posting!). Although none of the Big Blogs linked to the SB 2.0 (or to me in particular) on Friday, I made very respectable 564 visits that day (still a little below the total sum of traffic on my three old blogs combined).

The weekend saw a little bit of a slump as usual, bringing in 354 and 401 hits on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

On Monday, I started the day by reposting my most popular post from Circadiana (which used to be here) - Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sleep (But Were Too Afraid To Ask) - on the new blog. You can see it here. That day, the traffic rose to 752 visits.

But Tuesday was really cool! Someone noticed the sleep post and put it on Digg. An avalanche started! I got 25,986 hits that day! Actually, this was the only day in history that Pharyngula was not the most visited blog on SEED. PZ Myers usually accounts for about half the traffic there, but on Tuesday he came in second! Digg rocks!

I printed out the pie-chart from Google Analytics that shows A Blog Around The Clock taking 34.04% and Pharyngula 18.94% of the Seed scienceblogs.com traffic so I can frame it and put it on the wall - this is a unique and unlikely-to-be-repeated day in history. PZ was quite kind about it behind the scenes and extended a friendly tentacle.... Of course, by today, he is back on top again. Instead of 2000 visits per hour, I am now down to about 200 visits per hour, for a total of 3,331 hits so far today (3pm). Still, it was fun while it lasted.

Anyway, that post is not the only thing up there. I have posted about 30 times so far, so please go over there and check it out. Also, while there, check out the entire SciBloggiverse of 44 excellent science blogs. Checking the Last 24 Hours page is probably the best way to track down what has been posted there recently. And, if you have not done so already, please adjust your bookmarks, blogrolls and newsfeeds to the new URL (either my own feed or the collective feed of the whole SEED blogging stables).

Tar Heel Tavern - call for submissions

2006-06-13T14:52:00.000-04:00

From Erin:

I'll be hosting the Tarheel Tavern at Poetic Acceptance this Sunday - and it's Father's Day to boot. So, go do something sweet for Dad, and then come back and send me a link to your favorite blog post!

My theme is Reciprocation: "What, when, and/or how have you benefitted from giving to others?" in particular.

I have found that being able to do something for someone else is a very satisfying experience, and that when giving, it comes back in some way. In other words, I want to hear about your personal stories with the process of give and take.

Of course, as always, I'll be happy to include any posts that aren't on theme. Just send your permalinks to Erin AT poeticacceptance DOT com by Saturday evening, and I'll have the Tavern up by Sunday morning.

New Carnival!

2006-06-12T14:38:00.000-04:00

A message from Ron:

I am pleased to announce the initiation of the first International Carnival of Pozitivities, a blog carnival for and by people who are living with HIV/AIDS or their physicians/caregivers. For those not familiar with a blog carnival, it is similar to a roving magazine. People write articles on their own blogs and then submit them to a central location for publication. The host of the carnival changes from month to month and therefore, the location of the "magazine" moves from blog to blog.

The main page for this particular blog carnival is at http://internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com/ and includes a link for submitting any articles you might wish to submit and a sign-up sheet for hosting as well. Since I am initiating this carnival, I will also host the first edition at my own blog, www.ronhudson.blogspot.com/ in July.

Iowa is where it counts

2006-06-12T13:09:00.000-04:00

An eeeeaaaaarly poll of potential Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa puts John Edwards in the lead with 30%, ahead of Clinton (26%), Kerry (22%) and Vilsack (12%). Others are in single digits. There is so much time between now and the primaries, but this is good news. Only the MSM shills are still trying to give Hillary the nomination.

Dr.Fun has retired

2006-06-12T13:03:00.000-04:00

He'll be missed.

W and Condi sitting in a tree?

2006-06-12T12:58:00.000-04:00

Is it true? Anonymoses has collected some relevant links.

Carnival of the Green #31

2006-06-12T02:02:00.000-04:00

The latest edition of the Carnival of the Green is up on my new digs at A Blog Around The Clock.

Greensboro concert sold out already?

2006-06-11T22:07:00.000-04:00

Is it possible that all tickets for the October 22 Dixie Chicks concert are already sold out?

I ordered the CD months ago, got it in the mail on the first day of release and just love it. "I hope" is a real killer!

If you are aware of other ways of getting tickets, please let me know....

New Neuroscience Carnival - The Synapse

2006-06-11T11:27:00.000-04:00

The Synapse is a new neuroscience carnival. The first edition will appear on Pure Pedantry on June 25th, and the second two week later on A Blog Around The Clock.

Anything involving the brain, nervous system, behavior and cognition is fair game for this carnival, from brand new research to historical studies, from pure basic science to applications in medicine or robotics. Please send the links for the first edition, including your name, your blog's name and a short blurb about the post, to jamesjyoung AT gmail DOT com.

BTW, it appears there is also a move to start a genetics carnival, which, should it become reality, should promptly lose the word "carnival" from its title. RPM (personal communication) has a great suggestion - "Mendel's Garden"

Update: it has changed the name to Mendel's Garden and it has a nifty logo - follow the link to see the details.

Tar Heel Tavern

2006-06-11T02:15:00.000-04:00

The 68th edition of the Tar Heel Tavern is up on 2sides2ron.

This blog has (finally) gone to SEED

2006-06-09T12:01:00.000-04:00

So, the day has finally arrived - the Big Move to SEED scienceblogs. Go check out the brand new front page and all the old and new bloggers there (you'll have to do it right after noon - I am posting this now because there is a planned Blogger outage coming in a few minutes).

My new blog, a fusion of all three of my blogs, will be a new brand, with a new name - A Blog Around The Clock, reflecting my age and musical taste, my usual blogging frequency and the area of my scientific expertise, all in one title.

The Banner was designed by Carel Pieter Brest Van Kempen who also runs a delightful science/art blog Rigor Vitae.

The new URL is http://scienceblogs.com/clock/, the new Atom feed is http://scienceblogs.com/clock/atom.xml and the new RSS feed is http://scienceblogs.com/clock/index.xml.

Please change your bookmarks, blogrolls and newsfeeds to reflect this move.

As I said before, Circadiana and The Magic School Bus will be closed (but not deleted), while Science And Politics will slow down and will re-focus on local North Carolina topics, including local politics (which includes following the career of John Edwards), and perhaps an occasional post for my readers from the Balkans. If you are still interested in those topics, you are welcome to retain the bookmarks, blogrolls and newsfeeds for Science And Politics as well, but I will not be insulted if you do not, as my main blogging effort will be over there, on my new SB blog.

I encourage you to go and check all 24 newbies over on SEED - all wonderful bloggers you should read if you are interested in science. Let me introduce my new fraternity-mates to you:

Carl Zimmer, the NYTimes science/evolution reporter, is moving The Loom from here to here.

Matt Nisbett, an expert on political communication and writer of a monthly column for the Skeptical Inquirer Online is moving his blog Framing-Science from here to here.

My fellow North Carolinian, medblogger Abel PharmBoy, is moving Terra Sigillata from here to here.

James Hrynyshyn, another fellow North Carolinian, is moving Island Of Doubt from here to here.

My favourite cognitive psychology blogger Chris is moving Mixing Memory from here to here.

Philosopher of biology John Wilkins is moving Evolving Thoughts from here to here.

Mike The Mad Biologist is moving from here to here.

I thought that one of my favourite science bloggers George Wilkinson has quit blogging, but no, he is also moving Keat's Telescope from here to here.

Reveres, experts on Avian Flu, are moving Effect Measure from here to here.

Karmen is moving her beautiful Chaotic Utopia from here to here.

Sandra Porter is moving Discovering Biology In A Digital World from here to here.

Nick Anthis is moving The Scientific Activist from here to here.

Joseph is moving Corpus Callosum from here to here.

Jake Young, another one of several neuroscientists joining the team, is moving Pure Pedantry from here to here.

Shelley Batts, another neuroscientist, is moving Retrospectacle from here to here.

Evil Monkey is moving Neurotopia from here to here.

Mike Dunford is moving The Questionable Authority from here to here.

Mark Chu-Carroll is moving Good Math, Bad Math from here to here.

David Ng and Benjamin Cohen are moving from Science Creative Quarterly and Annals of Science to World's Fair.

The Cheerful Oncologist is moving from here to here.

Dr.Charles is moving the eponimous Examining Room from here to here.

Dr. X is moving Chemblog from here to here.

The rowdy bonobos from Dr. Joan Bushwell's Chimpanzee Refuge are moving from here to here.

Steinn, an astrophysicist, is moving Dynamics Of Cats from here to here.

Finally, Jonah Lerer is a SEED staffer, starting his own blog called The Frontal Cortex.

There were very few surprises for me on this list. Two good blogfriends of mine (Revere and Mike the Mad Biologist) managed to keep me in the dark about their move until two days ago. On the other hand, two bloggers who I thought were going to accept the invitation are not on the list (yet?). Almost all of the others I knew about beforehand.

The SEED overlords intend to add more bloggers before the end of the year so keep an eye on SEED - that is where the SciBlogging action is now and is going to be in the near future.

Science News

2006-06-09T08:37:00.000-04:00

* Fish may avoid 'sexual harassment', researchers say:
Female guppies seem to risk their lives to flee a barrage of male advances, scientists have found.

* 'Miniature' dinosaurs surprise researchers:
The biggest land animals that ever lived had some miniature cousins, a study has found.

* Mega-crater linked to mass extinction before dinosaurs:
Scientists say they have found the Earth's biggest known crater, and have linked it to the planet's worst die-off.

* First cancer vaccine approved:
U.S. regulators have approved a vaccine designed to cripple the virus responsible for cervical cancer.

* Cosmic blasts could point to strange state of matter:
Some mysterious explosions in space may signal the birth of bizarre objects known as quark stars, researchers claim.

* Professor unmasks '666' superstition:
Prophesies of evil abound for dates or places where the number 666 occurs, including Tuesday, June 6: "6/6/06."

New carnival

2006-06-09T02:20:00.000-04:00

Radiology Grand Rounds on Sumerdoc.

Blogger MeetUp

2006-06-08T22:38:00.000-04:00

Just came back from the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Blogger MeetUp in the back room of Open Eye Cafe. It was small but fun, as always.

Who was there? Anton, Brian, Rob, Will R, Josh and myself.

Lots of banter about various topics, from Brian & Ruby's wedding, the BarCampRDU, Chapel Hill Wireless Directory, my impending move to SEED Scienceblogs, about security when online in Wi-Fi hotspot around town, NSA wiretapping, etc.

It has been noted what a strong contingent of North Carolina bloggers are going to be over at SEED. While Dave and Great Munger of Cognitive Daily have been there since the beginning, three more bloggers from the area are joining the scienceblogs.com tomorrow at noon: Terra Sigillata, Island Of Doubt and me. Perhaps we can all gang up on the others, or at least host an occasional Tar Heel Tavern and aggregate our new blogs on NCblogs.com.

Skeptical Birds all Tangled up

2006-06-08T08:30:00.000-04:00

Why should I write anything when there are three fantastic carnivals in town!? Enjoy the rest of the day with them:

Skeptic's Circle #36 is up on The Examining Room of Dr. Charles

I And The Bird #25 is up on Rob's Idaho Perspective

Tangled Bank #54 is up on Get Busy Livin', or Get Busy Bloggin'

New York City trip - Part IV: Ceres

2006-06-07T23:54:00.000-04:00

Thursday, May 25th.

Evening

OK, it's been a few busy days...where did I leave off? Ah, with the bookstores we went to after the visit to the SEED offices. We went to two bookstores: one specializing on childrens' books, the other a Barnes & Noble. Of course, unlike a B&N in a mall around here, the NYC version is a maze of rooms interconnected with strange halls and tunnels. Shell Silverstein's poetry has always been a favourite with both of my kids, so my brother bought them one of his books that we did not already have. A new fancy "Where is Waldo" also made it to the shopping cart - my son is a wizard in finding those tiny little details there. I think they were amazed at the kids' reading level. Coturnietta picked a thick novel about cats. We also got a new biography of Benjamin Franklin called A Dangerous Engine: Benjamin Franklin, from Scientist to Diplomat, written by Joan Dash and illustrated by Dusan Petricic a famous Yugoslav illustrator (he did all of Dusan Radovic books as well as the famous Belgrade poster) who now lives in Toronto. My brother picked up a book that high-schoolers use to boost their vocabulary for the SATs and started quizzing Coturnix Jr. and - he knew definitions of everything, including 'abiogenesis'!

After a brief rest at the hotel, we went to Ceres Gallery for the art show - that is the primary reason why we went to NYC in the first place. The artwork was judged and chosen by people from the Museum of Modern Art and I have to say I was impressed by almost everything I saw there. The piece my brother and his wife had there is a wooden box mounted on the wall with a lightbulb inside of it. The front of the box is made of translucent, white, thick paper on which she wrote, in longhand in Cyrillic script, all Serbian male names in alphabetical order.

Of the other art there, I remember a large collage. It was made of several rectangular segments. Each segment had several pictures of clean-shaven, smiling, uniformed soldiers PLUS one picture of something bad related to war: hunger, thirst, dirt, exhaustion, committing atrocities, getting wounded, getting killed... In the middle of the collage was an old-style poster depicting a happy young couple lifting a newborn baby boy - the title said something like: "Will he grow up to go to war?".

Then, there was a pair of dogs made of grey plaster and paper. One dog was attached to the wall and the plaster and paper were in a chessboard pattern. Each piece of paper was multiply folded page from the NYC phone book. The other dog was standing on the floor below. It was made of rings/segments alternating plaster and paper. Each strip of paper was a page from the Bible. And there was much, much more....

Unfortunately, after waking up at 3:30 in the morning in order to catch the flight, then gallivanting across NYC all day in the first summer heat, the kids were exhausted. They fell asleep sitting on the bench there, so we could not go to the big dinner with the artists afterwards, but instead took a cab straight to the hotel and were all four fast asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

Carnival of the Liberals #14

2006-06-07T12:03:00.000-04:00

Want this badge?

Carnival of the Liberals #14 is up on Expert Opinion.

Make your own conspiracy theory...

2006-06-07T08:21:00.000-04:00

Science and Politics
By Details > Visit Detail
Visit 177,436

[>>]

Domain Name

halliburton.com ^? (Commercial)

IP Address

64.154.26.# (Level 3 Communications)

ISP

Level 3 Communications

Location

Continent	:	North America
Country	:	United States (Facts)
State	:	Texas
City	:	Houston
Lat/Long	:	29.7755, -95.4152 (Map)

Language

English (United States)
en-us

Operating System

Microsoft WinXP

Browser

Internet Explorer 6.0
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; Q312461; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)

Javascript

version 1.3

Monitor

Resolution	:	1024 x 768
Color Depth	:	32 bits

Time of Visit

Jun 7 2006 8:10:51 am

Last Page View

Jun 7 2006 8:10:51 am

Visit Length

0 seconds

Page Views

Referring URL

http://www.google.co...n&q=bosnian pyramids

Search Engine

google.com

Search Words

bosnian pyramids

Visit Entry Page

http://sciencepoliti...id-in-bosnia_07.html

Visit Exit Page

http://sciencepoliti...id-in-bosnia_07.html

Out Click

Time Zone

UTC-6:00

Visitor's Time

Jun 7 2006 7:10:51 am

Visit Number

177,436

So, why would someone from Halliburton be interested in the Bosnian Pyramid? What's the financial gain?

EduCarnivals

2006-06-07T07:07:00.000-04:00

Carnival of Education #70 is up on The Education Wonks.

Carnival of Homeschooling #23 (the marine life edition) is up on PalmTree Pundit

Happy birthday

2006-06-06T23:25:00.000-04:00

My best friend (self-portrait above) from childhood was born in 6/6/66, though we rarely called him Damien.

He used to be a devil, but now is happily settled down and is a successful art photographer in Sweden.

Last time I saw him was in 1990 when I went to Stockholm to visit him (and to smuggle myself into every single event at the World Equestrian Games).

I cannot get his e-mail address to work, but perhaps he'll google his name sometime - Dejan Antonijevic - and find this post.

Carnival of the Green #30

2006-06-06T21:19:00.000-04:00

Want this badge?

The latest edition of the Carnival of the Green is up on Dee's 'Dotes.

Next week, June 12th, the carnival will be hosted by me, most likely on my new blog over at SEED (you'll get the URL once it is completely set up). You can send your entries to: carnivalofgreen AT gmail DOT com, or directly to me at: Coturnix1 AT aol DOT com.

Grand Rounds 2.37

2006-06-06T11:40:00.000-04:00

New edition of Grand Rounds is up on Medical Blog Network.

Tar Heel Tavern - call for submissions

2006-06-06T02:09:00.000-04:00

Next edition of the Tar Heel Tavern will appear next weekend on 2 sides 2 ron. The theme is Belonging.

Do you want to host a future edition? Let me know...

Teaching Update...

2006-06-05T10:31:00.000-04:00

You may remember that two weeks ago I taught about diversity. The lecture notes are finally online, in three parts:

Origin of Biological Diversity
Evolution of Biological Diversity
Current Biological Diversity

Please leave comments over there. Nobody can know every detail of every area of biology, so please let me know if I am telling my students any lies.

Then last week I taught a brief intro to Anatomy and Physiology (lecture notes still to come). I also gave them the first exam. It looked big, hard and imposing, but once they started reading carefully, they realized that the questions were taken straight out of my lectures.

I spent many hours designing that exam, making sure that the questions are as clear as possible. Only once I had to give partial credit - answers were either completely correct or completely incorrect, which tells me that my questions were unambigious enough.

Since I have not taught the lecture portion of the course for a couple of years, I was a little nervous about the way I designed the exam - was it going to be too easy or too difficult. It turns out it was just right. The grades were evenly distributed between 61% and 101% (yes, there was a bonus question worth up to 5%).

Last Saturday I also wrapped up the Lab for this term. It went pretty much the same as the last time I taught it, except that this group is so good - no mixing up of evolution and development!

Interestingly, in the lab I have students who are currently taking the lecture with me and others who are taking the lecture with the other guy. Obviously, the other guy is making it easier (what is that- middle-school lavel? How can it possibly be any easier?!), but my students appear much more excited about biology - they feel like they are actually learning something relevant.

Change of Shift - A Nursing Blog Carnival

2006-06-04T21:49:00.000-04:00

Kim of Emergiblog is starting a new blog carnival, about nursing. The first edition will appear on Emergiblog on June 22. So, if you have a nursing story, send it over to Kim.

The idea is not new. There were a couple of editions of "Nursing Moments" about a year ago, but it died out. A carnival needs a strong, dedicated person to push it for the first 20 or so editions until it assumes a life of its own. Kim is one such person. Also, the medical blogging, including nursing blogging, is much bigger and better organized now than it was a year ago. There are several places where many medbloggers are now listed or subscribe to mailing lists, thus it is easy for nurse bloggers to find each other and organize a carnival.

This is also not going to take anything away from the Grand Rounds. After all, JAMA did not suffer when specialized medical journals got started. In a way, Tangled Bank got stronger, not weaker, when it started spawning off its carnivalish progeny, e.g., I And The Bird, Skeptic's Circle, Circus of the Spineless, Animalcules, Carnival of the Green, etc. More there are specialized journals, more prestigious 'Science' and 'Nature' get.

Thus, starting Change Of Shift, just like starting of Pediatric Grand Rounds, Animalcules and the Health Wonk Review, can only make Grand Rounds stronger and more important than before. It is the JAMA of medical blogging.

Snake on the Plane

2006-06-04T21:45:00.000-04:00

Again, real life imitates art. This is not about the movie. Though one should be made.

Obligatory Reading of the Day

2006-06-04T21:00:00.000-04:00

Lindsay reviews 'The War Tapes'. Now I really want to see it when it finally comes down to our little provincial town...

From Science Daily

2006-06-04T11:41:00.000-04:00

Ecosystems With Many Plant Species Produce More And Survive Threats Better:

Ecosystems containing many different plant species are not only more productive, they are better able to withstand and recover from climate extremes, pests and disease over long periods, according to a new study. It is the first experiment to gather enough data--over a sufficient time and in a controlled environment--to confirm a 50-year scientific debate about whether biodiversity stabilizes ecosystems.

Researchers Discover How Bacteria Sense Their Environments:

When humans taste or smell, receptors unique to each nerve cell detect the chemical and send signals to the brain, where many cells process the message to understand what we are smelling or tasting. But a bacterium is just a single cell, and it must use many different receptors to sense and interpret everything around it.
---------snip-------
New Cornell research, highlighted on the cover of the May issue of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, reveals that receptors assemble into a kind of cooperative lattice on a bacterium's surface to amplify infinitesimal changes in the environment and kick off processes that lead to specific responses within the cell.
--------snip---------
The researchers suggest that when one receptor detects, for example, a sugar in its environment, communication of some sort triggers an array of linked receptors to rearrange itself, much like when water freezes, all the water molecules assort themselves into a new structure. Through this reorganization, the bacterium's receptor array amplifies the signal that a specific molecule has been sensed outside the cell. This structural shift then activates kinases, or enzymes, within the cell, starting a chain reaction that leads to a response, such as changing how the flagella (or tails) spin. This allows the bacterium to move toward or away from what it has sensed.

Female Genital Mutilation Affects Births: Study:

The first comprehensive study of the effects of female genital mutilation on women and babies during childbirth has been published by leading medical journal, The Lancet.
The study, which provides the first reliable evidence that female genital mutilation can adversely affect birth outcomes, was undertaken by African and international researchers, including Associate Professor Emily Banks from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at Australian National University.

Tar Heel Tavern #67

2006-06-04T11:35:00.000-04:00

Tarheel Tavern: Anniversaries, Marriage and Acts of Love, a beautifully crafted and written edition of our weekly roundup of best North Carolina blogging, is now up on Anonymoses.

And, before I start twisting arms one-on-one, please volunteer to host a future edition of Tar Heel Tavern by e-mailing me at: Coturnix1 AT aol DOT com.

I even look like it...

2006-06-02T16:09:00.000-04:00

Big Bird

You scored 70% Organization, 66% abstract, and 81% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables.

First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.

Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.

Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.

You are very organized, more abstract, and more extroverted.

Here is why are you Big Bird.

You are both very organized. You almost always know where your belongings are and you prefer things neat. You may even enjoy cleaning and find it therapeutic. Big Bird is never sloppy and always under control... pretty good for a 6 year old bird living without a family.

You both are abstract thinkers. Big Bird is a dreamer who always wonders what the world is like. You definitely are not afraid to take chances in life. You only live once. You may notice others around you playing it safe, but you are more concerned with not compromising your desires, and getting everything you can out of life. This is a very romantic approach to life, but hopefully you are also grounded enough to get by.

You are both extroverts. Big Bird gets along with everyone. He makes friends easily and always has a positive attitude. You definitely enjoy the company of others, and you don't have problems meeting new people... in fact you probably look forward to it. You are willing to take charge when necessary or work as part of a team.

The other possible characters are

Oscar the Grouch

Bert

Snuffleupagus

Ernie

Elmo

Kermit the Frog

Grover

Cookie Monster

Guy Smiley

The Count

If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also if you want to tell me your favorite Sesame Street character, I can total them up and post them here. Perhaps your choice will win!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 80% on Organization
You scored higher than 88% on concrete-abstra
You scored higher than 94% on intro-extrovert

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Tar Heel Tavern - call for submissions

2006-06-02T13:12:00.000-04:00

Next edition of Tar Heel Tavern will be hosted by Anonymoses so send the entries his way tonight or tomorrow.

Again, we need hosts for the future. If oyu want to volunteer, let me know at: Coturnix1 AT aol DOT com

Healthcare policy and politics carnival

2006-06-02T11:34:00.000-04:00

Health Wonk Review #8 is up on The Medical Blog Network - the new (and somewhat controversial) submitting form apparently worked great and will be used already for the next issue of Grand Rounds. Go check it out.

A Blogger In Distress

2006-06-02T11:27:00.000-04:00

The Count and Countess are in trouble, as Count was laid off and the Countess' money is still far in the future. This is the time for the friendly blogosphere to extend a helping hand. Go there and hit the PayPal button if you can.

Bosnian Pyramid - Update n+1

2006-06-02T11:21:00.000-04:00

Not much time to follow the Bosnian pyramid story these days, though you can check out the stuff I have written before.

In the meantime, Skephick wrote a couple of good posts: Pyramidiocy and More Pyramidiocy

On Research on Intelligent Design: The Intelligent Design... Of Mound Mountains With Pyramids Inside

From Northstate Science: Noah's Ark or Bosnian Pyramids?

On Gog's Blog: Of Bosnia and Comets

Over on History News Network, Alun Salt wrote an excellent overview of the whole thing: Bosnian Pyramids: Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Atlantis, and back on his own blog, he wrote a post with a key question: Is reality the second best option? which is a Must Read post on the topic (and provides even more links).

Of course, if you speak Bosnian and related languages, you can follow the story in far greater detail, and I mean FAR GREATER DETAIL, on the blogs that are members of the Anti-pyramid Web-ring.

Lorax: I speak for the trees!

2006-06-01T14:48:00.000-04:00

A new carnival! Festival of the Trees, along the lines of I And The Bird, Animalcules and Circus of the Spineless, and inspired by the Carnival of Anthropomorphic Trees. This is what they say on Via Negativa:

Pablo of Roundrock Journal and I have decided to launch a blog carnival devoted to trees – a Festival of the Trees. This will be a monthly gathering of blog links, similar to the Circus of the Spineless for invertebrates. The first installment will be here at Via Negativa on July 1. Please submit links to me at bontasaurus (at) yahoo (dot) com, with “Festival of the Trees” in the subject line, no later than June 30. All posts should have appeared during the month of June. We’ll inaugurate a coordinating blog in late June or early July to archive links to blog hosts, announce upcoming hosts, and blogroll participants.

For the purposes of the Festival, we’re defining trees as any woody plant that regularly exceeds three meters in height, though exceptions might be made to accommodate things like banana “trees” or bonsai. We are interested in trees in the concrete rather than in the abstract, so while stories about a particular forest would be welcome, newsy pieces about forest issues probably wouldn’t be. Our emphasis should be on original content; we don’t want to link to pieces that are 90% or more recycled from other authors or artists.

The Festival of the Trees seeks:

* original photos or artwork featuring trees
* original essays, stories or poems about trees
* audio and video of trees
* news items about trees (especially the interesting and the off-beat)
* philosophical and religious perspectives on trees and forests
* scientific and conservation-minded perspectives on trees and forests
* kids’ drawings of trees
* dreams about trees
* trees’ dreams about us
* people who hug trees
* people who make things out of trees
* big trees
* small trees
* weird or unusual trees
* sexy trees
* tree houses
* animals that live in, pollinate, or otherwise depend on trees
* lichens, fungi or bacteria that parasitize or live in mutualistic relationships with trees

You can prove anything and everything with pretty statistics

2006-06-01T12:37:00.000-04:00

Just watch Sean Carrol in action, showing conclusively that global warming is caused by feminists: Feminism: Destroying the Planet

But Sean is trying to be nice, not naming any names. I am not afraid to name names. I blame global warming directly on Amanda, Shakes, Jill, Lindsay, Echidne and, though he protesteth ("I am not a feminist" yeah right!) too much, Chris Clarke.

SEED update

2006-06-01T11:38:00.000-04:00

Due to technical difficulties, the move to SEED scienceblogs has been postponed, i.e., instead of tomorrow, the new blogs (including mine) will have a debut some time later, hopefully on Monday, which is good as traffic drops precipitously between Friday noon and Monday morning - thus Friday is not a good time to make an impressive start of a new blog.

The Bird Meme continues...

2006-06-01T01:48:00.000-04:00

Darren Naish also took the "10 most beautiful birds" meme seriously, and, like I did, he turned it into "10 scientifically most interesting birds". Since he wrote a lot of scientific detail about each bird, he decided to split the meme into three posts. You can read them here:
Part I
Part II
Part III

New York City trip - Part III: SEED

2006-06-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

Thursday, May 25th.

Afternoon

After enjoying Bryant Park for a while, taking pictures, and exchanging presents (actually, receiving presents, including chocolate bananas) it was time to move on. We hailed a cab again and went to the headquarters of the SEED Media group, my new employer-of-sorts. There we met Katherine Sharpe, Christopher Mims and the rest of the Seed (hardcopy) and Scienceblogs (online) gang. Katherine showed us around, completely unfettered by six of us, including kids, running around the joint while they were trying to get some work done. I got a sneak peak at the new front-page design - I swore to keep mum about it, but you'll all get to see it on Friday.

I was actually quite impressed with the SEED offices. I really expected to see a shoestring operation, with half a dozen youngsters crowded in a little room filled with empty pizza boxes. It is actually a much bigger and more polished venture with more room and more employees than I expected. Looks very respectable. Gave me more confidence before my move to SB.

My brother attended a recent conference on art and the biology of the mind and perhaps he can get SEED to publish an article of his on the way the modern neuroscience, particulalrly brain imaging, is still incapable of telling anything of importance to the artists.

I think it was a great idea to go and visit the SEED office, for a number of reasons. First, I could say that the trip was part business, part pleasure. Second, and much more importantly, it is really nice to put names and faces together. Now I know that those people are not robots but real human beings. If, in the future, there is a technical problem, instead of firing off an e-mail like "Tim, goddammit! Fix it ASAP!", I will be much more likely to write "Tim, could you fix this glitch when you have time, please". It will make me more disposed to be understanding when they have a problem instead of viewing them as a faceless "corporation".

Likewise, I hope it works the other direction, too. If I e-mail a suggestion or a criticism, I hope they do not think of me as some troll, but a nice guy who they have met and whose opinion they will take seriously. I hope that works for every blogger there. After all, they will now have about 40 of the best and most experienced science bloggers in the Universe at their disposal (and more to come in the future). That is huge experience and brain power, all in one place. I hope they tap into this collective wisdom and trust our opinions. Being bloggers we are, almost by definition, the early adopters of new communication methods. We are also the "influentials" and have experience with what may or may not work in the online world. We are all in this together and bloggers have as much interest in seeing SEED succeed as the staff actually working in the office every day, so I hope they use us a lot - we do this practically for free. If they think of us as Consultants, they'll realize how much money they are saving by not needing Real World consultants, and at the same time we will help them avoid some of the likely beginners' mistakes in this blogging business.

Moving on, we went to a couple of cool bookstores and bought a bunch of books for kids, then just wandered around for a while enjoying each other's company, before parting briefly - they had to do some clothes shopping and we had to go and check into our hotel. It is at this point that I realized that I have lost a piece of paper with Grrrlscientist's phone number - darn! I so wanted to meet her. I guess it was not meant to be this time around.

Big Wreck on I-40

2006-05-31T11:23:00.000-04:00

Up to 50 cars involved in I-40 wrecks; one person injured

It appears to be on I-40 East, from Charlotte towards Raleigh. Does anyone have more information?

Astro-spammers

2006-05-31T10:46:00.000-04:00

Apparently, PR firms are now paying people to work at home and post comments on blogs on one or the other side of a particular issue, net-neutrality at this particular moment. Beware. Delete. Report.

Obligatory Readings of the Day

2006-05-31T10:01:00.000-04:00

Curriculum is Dead
and
Curriculum is Dead — Teacher as Tour Guide:

My point? I’m getting tired of hearing people continue to ask for the evidence that technology helps students learn. It doesn’t matter. We know — that good teachers help students learn. We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.

New York City trip - Part II: Bryant Park

2006-05-31T09:01:00.000-04:00

Thursday, May 25th.

Morning

So, we safely landed on La Guardia. We took a cab ride from the airport to the hotel. If you drive in North Carolina for a few years, getting into NYC traffic is quite a culture shock. It reminds me of the way people in Belgrade drive: fast and aggressive, yet very confident. While in NC everyone expects everyone to follow the traffic rules, thus keeping everyone safe, in big cities like NYC it's all psychology - people watch each other, communicate with each other using eyes, gestures, turning-lights and horns and, second-by-second negotiate who goes where and who goes there first.

After leaving our bags at the hotel (Rennaissance on Times Square - the one with the big clock: our room was right above the clock - you can click on all images to see them large), we went for a little walk around Times Square and then went to Bryant Park to meet my brother and his wife. We got there a little early and they were running a little late, so we had time to stroll around the park, to admire the building of the New York Public Library and the monument to Gertrude Stein that looks like a female Buddha, to eat a pretzel, and to start soaking in the atmosphere of New York.

It was great seeing my brother again after three years. While he was a grad student in Chicago, he used to come and see us every year. When he moved away to Portland, OR, to teach at Reed college, he became poor so he managed to show up only once. Now that he got a tenure-track position in Edmonton, Alberta, he'll be even farther away, but on the other hand, he'll be less poor, so perhaps we'll get to see him more. He is, after all, my kids' favouritest Uncle.

It was even greater to finally meet his wife! After so much time chatting (and becoming friends) over the phone and over e-mail, it was great to finally meet her in person. She is so precious. My brother did well, very well. They are so cute together.

Why did we decide to meet at Bryant Park? Well, there is certainly significance to that place! As we were frolicking on the lawn there, we were watching a courtship dance of a pair of pigeons. Those birds are likely there because their ancestors, decades ago, were well fed and taken care of by the Genius himself - the great Nikola Tesla. He came to Bryant Park every day and fed the pigeons according to a particular menu that he devised. See the picture of the recipe:
I found this wonderful painting of Tesla and his feathered friends:
This is, in part, what the artist wrote about it:

"These Are My Friends is focused on the curious relationship Tesla shared with the pigeons in the parks that surrounded his home in New York. Later in life, particulary in his mid-sixties and on, he could be found frequently alone on walks feeding the birds and spending time near them. He often took injured birds back to heal at the hotel room in which he lived; when he could keep no more birds there, he recruited a local bird shop to help him in his efforts. Under his care, birds recovered from diseased wings, broken legs, and supposedly at least one of gangrene. When he encountered birds he could not treat himself, he would enlist the help of a physician. If for some reason he was unable to visit the park where he most often fed the birds, he would hire a Western Union messenger to take care of the task for him."

The painting has been sold, but if you like it you can still get various paraphernalia, like T-shirts and mugs with this image on them.

The place was not the only significant thing about the meeting - it was also the time. The date - May 25th - used to be refered to as Youth Day back in old Yugoslavia. It was officially Tito's birthday. A Baton of Youth was passed from hand to hand, traversing all around Yugoslavia, finally arriving at the Partisan stadium on the evening of May 25th where it was presented to Tito as a birthday present as a finale of a colorful athletic display by young people in unforms of various colors forming various revolutionary images with thousands of their bodies, all of this followed by huge fireworks. All the batons he received over the decades have been deposited in the Museum of 25th Of May in Belgrade (the same place where the few remaining die-hard followers of Milosevic paid their last respect to him a couple of months ago).

So, this was the time for the last exchange of the baton. This whole trip is in a way a 40th birthday present to me - I told everyone not to give me presents but to donate to the travel fund, which they did and made the trip possible. Thus, the Personality Cult of me, Coturnix, is going strong, years after Tito's died out.