A Burning Question

Via the CSMonitor: Who is responsible for averting an asteroid strike?

Isostatic Rebound

Not just words that sound great together, but a geological process that has been happening in the Great Lakes region since the last glaciers retreated.

Now Alaska gets to experience it too.

See NYT: As Alaska Glaciers Melt, It’s Land That’s Rising

More information at Wikipedia.

Organic Farming Assistance

See TH: Obama Offers Farmers $50 Million to Go Organic

New Tornado Safety Guidelines

I seem to recall reading about this a couple of years ago. The idea is that cars may actually be a fairly safe place during a tornado.

See Weather.com: Tornado Safety - Cars Versus Ditches: A Controversy

The NWS recommends that if you are being overtaken in your car by a tornado, then you should get out of the car and into a nearby building or ditch. The new American Red Cross recommendation is that if no building is available, stay in the car - get out of the car and into a ditch only as a last resort. Crouch down with your seat belt on and your head below the windshield level.

Origins

New genetic research pinpoints the source of all humans to near the South African - Namibia border.

Via BBC: Experts unveil African gene study

The first humans most likely evolved near the South Africa-Namibia border, the team said, and migrated north out of the continent via the Red Sea.

Researchers had identified 14 ancestral population clusters "that correlated with ethnicity and shared cultural and/or linguistic properties", they said.

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You Are Fat Because Of What You Eat

Duh.

See PhysOrg: Increased food intake alone explains the increase in body weight in the US

How much of the obesity epidemic has been caused by excess calorie intake and how much by reductions in physical activity has been long debated and while experts agree that making it easier for people to eat less and exercise more are both important for combating it, they debate where the public health focus should be.

A study presented on Friday at the European Congress on Obesity is the first to examine the question of the proportional contributions to the obesity epidemic by combining metabolic relationships, the laws of thermodynamics, epidemiological data and agricultural data.

"There have been a lot of assumptions that both reduced physical activity and increased energy intake have been major drivers of the obesity epidemic. Until now, nobody has proposed how to quantify their relative contributions to the rise in obesity since the 1970s. This study demonstrates that the weight gain in the American population seems to be virtually all explained by eating more calories.

Geoengineering And Iron

I first learned about the Iron Hypothesis in Earth Magazine back in 1996. This hypothesis has been tested, and as usual, nature is more complex than we can imagine. See PhysOrg: Ocean carbon: A dent in the iron hypothesis

...study reveals that most of the carbon from lush plankton blooms never reaches the deep ocean.

The results are interesting because fertilizing the oceans with iron in order to sequester carbon is a geoengineering idea, and the White House science adviser has not taken geoengineering off the table. See NYT: Science Adviser Lays Out Climate and Energy Plans

Freakwater Interview

Wisconsin Public Radio's 'To The Best Of Our Knowledge' had a segment on "American Classics". It included music and interview with Freakwater.

Biodiesel Keeps Getting Better

PhysOrg: Study Finds that Styrofoam Increases Biodiesel Power Output

By dissolving polystyrene packing peanuts in biodiesel, scientists have found that they can boost the power output of the fuel while getting rid of garbage at the same time.

More Wooden Bicycles

Mentioned before.

FastCompany.com has more: Four Wooden Bicycles That Will Grow on You

I find that there is something very beautiful and elegant about these bikes.

Why There Is A Flu Season

Dr. Jeff Masters of the Weather Underground explains it as a function of humidity and temperature in Influenza and the weather

And there is evidence it may be tied to summertime Vitamin D exposure: Epidemic Influenza And Vitamin D

How To Be The Most Popular Person On The Boat

SouthernFriedScience: How to brew beer in a coffee maker, using only materials commonly found on a modestly sized oceanographic research vessel.

A Couple Of Ford Links

ConsumerReports: Ford Fusion – The best car you don’t know about

DetFreePress: Ford outsells Toyota

Interesting Polls

FiveThirtyEight: Two National Polls, for First Time, Show Plurality Support for Gay Marriage

PewResearch: Fewer Voters Identify as Republicans [only 27%]

Not Bad Dogs, Bad People

Or as Cesar Millan says "I rehabilitate dogs. I train people."

See PhysOrg: Dogs are aggressive if they are trained badly

Alaskan Eskimo Village Forced To Move

Hey Alaskans - "You can ignore reality but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality" -Ayn Rand

Via CNN: 'Climate change' forces Eskimos to abandon village

More Evidence Of Conservativisim As A Sign Of Mental Defect

See: The Irony of Satire

Using data from an experiment (N = 332), we found that individual-level political ideology significantly predicted perceptions of Colbert's political ideology. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements. Conservatism also significantly predicted perceptions that Colbert disliked liberalism.

MJ: Conservatives Live in a Different Moral Universe—And Here's Why It Matters

Maybe 2012 Really Will Be The End?

Like the Mayans prophesied...

Wired: The 2012 Apocalypse — And How to Stop It

Worse yet, the next period of intense solar activity is expected in 2012, and coincides with the presence of an unusually large hole in Earth’s geomagnetic shield.

Evidence For A Single Migration To The Americas

See PhysOrg: Native Americans descended from a single ancestral group, DNA study confirms

Unfortunately we may never know if the Clovis people were similar to Native Americans or had different genetics because they died out.

81.5 MPG In A Stock Ford Fusion Hybrid

Via GCC: Ford Fusion Hybrid 1,000 Mile Challenge Car Sets Record with 1,445 Miles on Single Tank of Gas; Averages 81.5 mpg

Drivers trained in mileage-maximizing techniques such as smooth acceleration and coasting to red lights were able to wring 1,445.7 miles out of a single tank of gas during a fund-raising effort in Washington, DC that concluded today. They did it by averaging 81.5 miles per gallon in an off-the-showroom floor, non-modified 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, nearly doubling its EPA rating.

The Fusion Hybrid 1,000-Mile Challenge started on 25 April. After more than 69 continuous hours of driving, the Fusion Hybrid finally depleted its tank and came to a stop with an odometer reading of 1,445.7 miles—setting a world record for gasoline-powered, midsize sedan.

BSG Updates

Salon: Frak this prequel

As premises go, "Caprica's" dead teenager uploaded into battle robot is a promising one ("Terminator" meets "Freaky Friday"?), but the pilot lacks the dramatic heft of its predecessor. It doesn't have the same sense of scale or tragedy as "Battlestar" and feels considerably more generic, both dramatically and stylistically. The drama builds slowly, and scenes unfold without much, if any, tension. What little tension it has owes to viewers' knowledge of what will happen 58 years later. There are no hostage crises or food shortages to resolve, since the show's main concern is the emotional state of its two families. In fact, robot subplot and holographic excursions aside, there really isn't much that’s science fiction-y about "Caprica."

TheOnion: Obama Depressed, Distant Since 'Battlestar Galactica' Series Finale

According to sources in the White House, President Barack Obama has been uncharacteristically distant and withdrawn ever since last month's two-hour series finale of Battlestar Galactica.

"The president seems to be someplace else lately," said one high-level official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Yesterday we were all being briefed on the encroachment of Iranian drone planes into Iraq, when he just looked up from the table and blurted out, 'What am I supposed to watch on Fridays at 10 p.m. now? Numb3rs?'"

And now that I have had time to reflect on the series my favorite episode was the first one after the mini-series: "33"

The Latest On The K-T Boundary

PhysOrg: New blow for dinosaur-killing asteroid theory
Professor Keller's page: The Great Chicxulub Debate

Protecting The Earth With A Tether And Ballast

Via PhysOrg: How to deflect asteroids and save the Earth

The Aldo Leopold Archives

The University of Wisconsin has made the full Aldo Leopold archives searchable at The Aldo Leopold Archives.

In The U.S. - Venezuela Has 42% Favorable Rating, Republicans 39%

(I do not fully buy this but it is funny) See OpenLeft: Republicans Less Popular Than Venezuela

The Endurance Running Hypothesis

Via SeedMag: The Running Man

“Running an animal to heatstroke is something that most humans can do, and that other animals can’t,” says Lieberman. “It’s a compelling explanation for why these capabilities evolved, and frankly, nobody’s come up with a better idea yet.”

This article reminded me of The Legend of Cliff Young: The 61 Year Old Farmer Who Won the World’s Toughest Race

For Reel

I've been using a Brill Luxus reel mower for eight years and love it. Brill has an updated reel mower now that looks even better.

See CleanAirGardening: Brill Razorcut 38 Reel Mower

Principles For A New Party

I stopped being a Republican when I realized the party was more concerned with protecting the rights of corporations over individuals; with socializing risks and privatizing rewards; and in general just representing ignorance in economics and history. Not that I can comfortably call myself a Democrat either. But I can support Obama because I believe him to be a pragmatist. The best description of my leanings is Liberaltarian.

I was reminded of the need for a new political party by Nassim Nicholas Taleb at FT: Ten principles for a Black Swan-proof world
The abbreviated list is:

1. What is fragile should break early while it is still small. Nothing should ever become too big to fail. .

2. No socialisation of losses and privatisation of gains.

3. People who were driving a school bus blindfolded (and crashed it) should never be given a new bus.

4. Do not let someone making an “incentive” bonus manage a nuclear plant – or your financial risks.

5. Counter-balance complexity with simplicity.

6. Do not give children sticks of dynamite, even if they come with a warning.

7. Only Ponzi schemes should depend on confidence.

8. Do not give an addict more drugs if he has withdrawal pains.

9. Citizens should not depend on financial assets or fallible “expert” advice for their retirement.

10. Make an omelette with the broken eggs.

Where Did The Recession Come From?

Oil price increases seems obvious. That plus runaway housing prices as I wrote about earlier.

And now a new research paper indicates that this great recession is the result of peak oil production.

EconoBrowser: Consequences of the Oil Shock of 2007-08

Whereas historical oil price shocks were primarily caused by physical disruptions of supply, the price run-up of 2007-08 was caused by strong demand confronting stagnating world production.

Guerilla Gardening

Something I have always wanted to do is bundle up wild edible plants and scatter their seeds across the landscape. I already do this on a limited basis on my walks - I'll stick red oak acorns, white pine cones, and white cedar seeds in my pocket and scatter them in needy places.

Other folks take this concept much further:

NPR: Environmentalists Adopt New Weapon: Seed Balls

CSMonitor: Guerrilla gardening takes root in Los Angeles

BBC: Guerrilla gardeners wage turf war

I Never Understood Why Station Wagons Were Not More Popular

MSNBC: Pile in! Station wagons are making a comeback

And I have always wondered why all police cars aren't station wagons?

Non-Stationary Hot Spots

PhysOrg: Bent tectonics: How Hawaii was bumped off

...the hotspot responsible for the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain was not fixed. Rather it had been drifting quite distinctly southward. Nearly 50 million years ago, it finally came to rest while the Pacific plate steadily pushed on, the combination of which resulted in the prominent bend.

The Payroll Tax

Should the Social Security tax (FICA) be put on holiday in order to stimulate the economy?

See The NY: Not Insane

Whatever happened to the idea of eliminating the ceiling on FICA so that income above $102,000 was taxed too? Wouldn't this solve the Social Security "crisis"?

Beating Asteroids

Wired: How to Defend Earth Against an Asteroid Strike

(Continuation of a theme)

Local And Organic Is Not Sustainable

To feed the world's people you need industrial agriculture. It is a matter of scale.

Must reading for people who think the local food movement will solve all of our agricultural problems.

MJ: Spoiled: Organic and Local Is So 2008

Consider what it would take to make our farm system entirely organic. The only reason industrial organic agriculture can get away with replenishing its soils with manure or by planting nitrogen-fixing cover crops is that the industry is so tiny—making up less than 3 percent of the US food supply (and just 5.3 percent even in gung-ho green cultures like Austria's). If we wanted to rid the world of synthetic fertilizer use—and assuming dietary habits remain constant—the extra land we'd need for cover crops or forage (to feed the animals to make the manure) would more than double, possibly triple, the current area of farmland, according to Vaclav Smil, an environmental scientist at the University of Manitoba. Such an expansion, Smil notes, "would require complete elimination of all tropical rainforests, conversion of a large part of tropical and subtropical grasslands to cropland, and the return of a substantial share of the labor force to field farming—making this clearly only a theoretical notion."

The Palins

I feel bad for the family. But choices have consequences.

MSNBC: Bristol Palin and fiancé split

Are the conservatives who lauded the choices made by Bristol in interviews during the Republican Presidential Convention still happy with her decisions now I wonder?

MJ: Sarah Palin: More Earmark Hypocrisy

Using Gasified Wood In Your Truck

A neighbor of mine runs their truck on wood in the summer months.

For a how-to See MEN: Mother's Woodburning Truck: After 1,500 miles of free-fuel driving, we found that you can run a truck using firewood for fuel. This article includes detailed diagrams, photographs and how the wood/gas generator was constructed.

Rescuing Huskies

A husky can be a great dog but do not get one unless you can give it one hour of exercise every day, and a lot more at least once a week. Although I have never been a fan of pure breed dogs and like the husky-shepherd mix best of all.

But it is sad when people buy a puppy expecting one thing and then are confronted by reality.

See: AdoptAHusky.com

Via MLive: Too many Siberian huskies end up in shelters

I will confess that for years, I have harbored a secret fantasy about owning a Siberian husky. Granted, I'm a romantic. I love their look, their spirit, their sense of adventure. I figured owning one would bring out my Jack London rather than my Elmer Fudd.

But the fact that I don't have one is finally OK. My visit with the Michigan Dog Drivers Association last weekend affirmed what I also secretly knew. Anyone can wish for one. But it takes a special person to own one and do it well.

Reminds Me Of "Those Who Write The History Books..."

Funny but true at BalloonJuice.com: The Thin Line Between Socialism and Capitalist Nirvana

The 2010 proposed rate of 39.60% = socialism.
The 2002-2008 rates of 35.00% = capitalist nirvana.
The 39.6% rate of the 1990’s = socialism.

Vinegar - There Really Is Nothing It Cannot Do

PhysOrg: Cleansing toxic waste -- with vinegar

The research team, led by Dr Doug Stewart from the School of Civil Engineering and Dr Ian Burke from the School of Earth and Environment, has discovered that adding dilute acetic acid (vinegar) to the affected site stimulates the growth of naturally-occurring bacteria by providing an attractive food source. In turn, these bacteria then cleanse the affected area by altering the chemical make-up of the chromium compounds to make them harmless.

Orange Juice Is Packed With Orange Flavors

Alissa Hamilton is promoting her book Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice (Yale Agrarian Studies Series)

Boston.com has an interview: Q&A with Alissa Hamilton

IDEAS: What isn't straightforward about orange juice?

HAMILTON: It's a heavily processed product. It's heavily engineered as well. In the process of pasteurizing, juice is heated and stripped of oxygen, a process called deaeration, so it doesn't oxidize. Then it's put in huge storage tanks where it can be kept for upwards of a year. It gets stripped of flavor-providing chemicals, which are volatile. When it's ready for packaging, companies such as Tropicana hire flavor companies such as Firmenich to engineer flavor packs to make it taste fresh. People think not-from-concentrate is a fresher product, but it also sits in storage for quite a long time.

Via BoingBoing

Too Many Cars

A bunch of pictures of unsold cars sitting in lots around the world at Ritholtz: Unsold Cars Around the World



At some point these cars will be deeply discounted in order to be sold. At that point what happens to a person with a slightly used car? Who is going to buy a used car if there are new cars available at the same price? Eventually there will be a collapse in vehicle values and many people are going to find they owe more for their car than it is worth. Just like their house. And when energy prices start to rise again people will have more credit card debt than assets.

More images at Getty.

We Condemn In Others What We Fear Most About Ourselves

Via BB: Red states consume more porn?

According to a new Harvard Business School study, eight of the top ten states in terms of online porn consumption were ones where McCain won in the presidential election. Professor Benjamin Edelman analyzed anonymised credit cards receipts from a large online porn company. Based on their limited data, the largest consumer is Utah.

Commuter Bikes

MetaEfficient with a 2009 Commuter Bike Round-Up.

Not on their list is a bicycles I would consider for commuting duty too. Schwinn's electric assist bicycles.

Emprically Showing Conservatives Do Not Support Liberty

First, a study by George Mason University professor Daniel Klein: Conservative Magazines and the Presumption of Liberty: A Content Analysis on Sex, Gambling, and Drugs

Conservatives say they are for small government and individual liberty, but a content analysis of leading conservative magazines shows that most have preponderantly failed to take pro-liberty positions on sex, gambling, and drugs. Besides many anti-liberty commissions, the magazines may be criticized for anti-liberty omission—that is, failing to oppose anti-liberty policies.

This reminds me of a conversation I heard between two older gentleman last week. Within a span of a few minutes they complained about the United States moving towards "socialism" and they wanted Adjustable Rate Mortgages outlawed.

Or another person I know who will only vote Republican because he doesn't want to pay high taxes. Yet he has also said people who send spam faxes to fax machines should be severely punished and he wants the State to care for his autistic son when he turns 18.

There Will Be Gardening

The possibility of a garden on the White House lawn is getting closer to reality.

Via TH: White House Farm Coming Soon

I believe that by this summer there will be a garden – another garden, a vegetable garden – on the White House lawn...I believe the Obamas are committed to that. It’s a big idea, and its gonna happen. During the campaign, going around shaking peoples’ hands, he never got sick once. He was eating well, and it could have to do with having an organic chef with him. This is someone who 'gets' nutrition.

I, We, Two

BBC: 'Oldest English words' identified

Neko Case. Blast Off.

She seems like the reluctant star who is about to take off with the latest album coming out March 3rd.

Paste: 17 Things I Love, By Neko Case
Her numbers 1 through 5 would be on my list too, but not in the same order.

NYT Mag: Wild Thing

For the last five years, Case has lived in a middle-class, one-story-house neighborhood of Tucson, not far from the city’s center. But this spring she’ll move to an old farm she bought and is now renovating in northern Vermont. “I want to get away from the social vampires in Tucson,” she says. “The people who have no lives of their own and meet me and know who I am and feel entitled to say negative things. I have good friends here, especially in the bands” like Calexico and Giant Sand. Members of these bands and others have often appeared on her CDs. “But a lot of it is just like high school. And I like forests and all the wildlife up in Vermont.” It’s hard to imagine what these acts of social vampirism might consist of, but she prefers to leave them unspecified. She also asks that the Vermont town’s name not be mentioned. “I’ve had stalkers,” she says. Alexandria, Tacoma, Vancouver, Chicago, Tucson and, next, Vermont. Case hopes that her new community will prove to be her permanent home. You wonder.

One of many reviews: Neko Case spins alt-country tunes into "Cyclone"

MJ: Ramblin' Woman Neko Case

Just Like Vinegar?

In that it is a miracle cleaner and sanitizer. It is electrolyzed saltwater. See LAT: Simple elixir called a 'miracle liquid'

Overcoming Ice Challenges

NYT with a blog post regarding one of the biggest challenges to offshore wind farms in the Great Lakes - ice. See: Freshwater Wind Farms for the Great Lakes?

Lima Is Still In The Top 10

When you grow up it will be much easier to live in Lima, OH than elsewhere. As Lima has been one of the most affordable housing markets for about the last 20 years. I don't think that is such a good thing.

See Lifehacker: The 10 Most and Least Affordable Cities in the US

Ten Most Affordable Cities with a Population Under 500,000
1. Lansing-East Lansing, MI
2. Sandusky, OH
3. Lima, OH
4. Springfield, OH
5. Bay City, MI
6. Battle Creek, MI
7. Canton-Massillon, OH
8. Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI
9. Utica-Rome, NY
10. Binghamton, NY

The "When I Grow Up I Want To Live In Lima" song by Mr. Fioretti:

When I grow up I want to live in Lima
Maybe get there on a big jet liner
Take me an hour or maybe two
Either way I'll get there to you
We'll all pile into a conversion van
Drive on down to the House of Hunan
When we get there we'll see what they've got
Change our minds and go to the China Wok

When we get bored we'll blow up BP
When we get hungry we'll go to Kewpee

Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah
[repeat]

A Wish That All Presidents Were Graduate School Lecturers

Professor-President Obama is demonstrating that the best leadership works in the classroom as well as the boardroom and as well in the political realm.

See Bob Herbert in the NYT: Obama Riding the Wave

He said that the fact that he’d been rebuffed so far in his quest for bipartisanship would not stop him from reaching out for Republican support.

“Going forward,” he said, “each and every time we’ve got an initiative, I’m going to go to both Democrats and Republicans and I’m going to say, ‘Here’s my best argument for why we need to do this. I want to listen to your counterarguments. If you’ve got better ideas, present them. We will incorporate them into any plans that we make, and we are willing to compromise on certain issues that are important to one side or the other in order to get stuff done.’ ”...

...But beyond his specific policies (and whether one supports them or not), Mr. Obama is emerging as the very model of the type of person one would want in high public office. He is intelligent, mature, thoughtful, calm in the face of crises and, if the nation is lucky, maybe even wise.

Feeding Elk Since 1912

Elk feedlots in Wyoming are extremely contentious. On one hand elk herds bring tourists and hunters to Wyoming, on the other hand, they destroy forest diversity. Good thing they have a good-natured guy like Brandon to administer the program.

See NYT: Debate Rages Over Elk Feeding

The Jackson herd, now tens of thousands of animals strong, became the foundation for a resurgent elk population. After the federal government stepped in to run the feeding system in 1912, a self-reinforcing loop of tourism, hunting, ranching and politics emerged. Having lots of elk in one place where humans would feed them, year in and year out, gradually became a goal in itself, shrouded with complex motives and enshrined by time.

“Habit became tradition; tradition became culture,” said Bruce Smith, who served for 22 years as senior biologist at the National Elk Refuge here, operated by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.

Now a new and tightening circle of challenges is closing in on the elk and the human system that has sustained them, forcing a debate over the science, emotion and economics of protecting these magnificent animals and the landscape they inhabit. At the center is a critical question: Did human kindness backfire, setting the elk up for disaster?

When To Go To The Veternarian?

You can decide by checking symptoms at Vet Help Direct.

Via Mashable.

Addicted To Pets Via Oxytocin

Salon.com interviews Meg Daley Olmert, author of "Made for Each Other": The love that dare not bark its name

I get the impression that she thinks wolves became domesticated via nursing human mothers raising wolf pups.

You Give Me Fever

Fascinating story about doctors from the 19th century having sporadic success in putting tumors and cancer in remission by inducing fever.

See AmeriSci: Healing Heat: Harnessing Infection to Fight Cancer

The thinking is that cancer cells are designed to keep the immune system from reacting too strongly. Having a fever ramps up the complete immune response which includes dealing with cancerous cells.

This reinforces my hypothesis that RSV related wheezing in toddler and infants is partly due to the accompanying fever; in that, the body responds to the fever by ramping up the immune response and inadvertently attacking and constricting the respiratory system.

A President Who Gets "It"

This is why I gave to the campaign and voted for the man.

President Obama: Days of Building Sprawl Are Over

So transportation is not just fixing our old transportation systems but its also imaging new transportation systems.

That’s why I’d like to see high speed rail where it can be constructed. That’s why I would like to invest in mass transit because potentially that’s energy efficient and I think people are alot more open now to thinking regionally in terms of how we plan our transportation infrastructure. The days where we’re just building sprawl forever, those days are over.

The 100 Best Business Books

The list was compiled by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten: Books In The 100 Best

Andesitic Crust Without Plate Tectonics? Crazy.

Half-baked Asteroids Have Earth-like Crust

The researchers hypothesize that the asteroid had a diameter somewhat larger than 100 kilometers, which would be sufficient to hold enough heat for the asteroid’s rocks to partially, but not completely, melt. The asteroid would remain undifferentiated, but the melted portions could erupt on the asteroid’s surface to form the andesitic crust.

'This Is Spinal Tap' Turns 25

VF: This Is Even More Spinal Tap

How come there has never been a Spinal Tap sex-tape scandal?

Tufnel: We tried. There was no interest.

What group that’s popular today reminds you of yourselves when you were the New Originals?

Smalls: We do. We really remind us of ourselves.

Tufnel: We have to, because no one else will.

St. Hubbins: But the great thing about the Internet—I’m sorry to bring it up—is every day a new group will appear and then disappear and never be heard from again. And I think it’s wonderful. That’s the way it should be.

Tufnel: That reminds me of us.

"Lesbians Have A Special Fondness For Kate Winslet"

It is because she is gorgeous.

NYT Magazine Oscar Issue: According to my own highly unscientific survey, just about everybody loves Kate Winslet.

Kate Winslet in 'Extras':

This Is Not Why People Live In Wyoming

1st Wyoming ozone advisory issued this winter

Dogs Give Back

Black wolves picked up the gene from domesticated dogs.

See NYT: New World Wolves and Coyotes Owe Debt to Dogs

Beer In List Form

Kate Hopkins from the Accidental Hedonist makes a list of the 22 Types of Beer.

Neko Case Is My Favorite

Neko gives more background as to why she writes "sad songs, about tigers" at Spinner: Neko Case Tells PETA to 'Blow'

"I always watch TV on the treadmill, and so many times there'd be some horrible animal disaster -- somebody being mauled to death by a tiger or an elephant that rampaged. Those stories are so depressing, and the animal is always the one who gets murdered at the end. I don't know why people act so shocked. You got in the cage with the tiger, you were harassing it and then it f---ing killed you. It's a f---ing tiger. What the f--- were you thinking?"

What's The Deal George Michael?

No one really knows if Michael Cera wants in the movie or not.

See:
The 'Arrested Development' Movie Ping-Pong: Is George Michael Really In?

Ron Howard Not Worried About Getting Michael Cera For ‘Arrested Development’ Movie

Petition To Have An Official White House Farmer

The impetus: Farmer in Chief

The story: Web site sows support for White House farmer

The web site: White House Farmer

Fossil Record Is Better Than Thought

See PhysOrg: Dinosaur fossils fit perfectly into the evolutionary tree of life

In The Girls Room

Many articles about women and their desires have been in the news recently.

See:
MSNBC: What IMs say about your relationship

The more frequently women use the pronoun "I" in their instant messages (IM), the more satisfied they are with their partners, a new study finds

IHT:
What do women want? (long but interesting and touching on evolutionary psychology)

In men who have trouble getting erect, the genital engorgement aided by Viagra and its rivals is often all that's needed. The pills target genital capillaries; they don't aim at the mind. The medications may enhance male desire somewhat by granting men a feeling of power and control, but they don't, for the most part, manufacture wanting. And for men, they don't need to. Desire, it seems, is usually in steady supply. In women, though, the main difficulty appears to be in the mind, not the body, so the physiological effects of the drugs have proved irrelevant. The pills can promote blood flow and lubrication, but this doesn't do much to create a conscious sense of desire.

IHT: It's the economy, girlfriend

PhysOrg: Infidelity produces faster sperms

Official Inauguration Recipes

This isn't just the menu from the inauguration luncheon, but the recipes themselves!

See: Recipes from the 2009 Inaugural Luncheon (PDF)

The menu was Fish Stew, Duck Breast with Cherry Chutney, Herb Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice Stuffing, Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes, Winter Vegetables, and Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake,

Health And Intelligence

Smarter Men Have More Sperm

The Flying Spaghetti Monster Attacks Wind Turbine?

Telegraph: Wind turbine destroyed after 'octopus UFO' seen in sky

President Foodie

Recent links of interest:

Salon: Obama plays food critic on Chicago public TV

Ben & Jerry's 'Yes Pecan'

The Audacity of Hops:

Living With Clones

The NYT on cloned dogs: Beloved Pets Everlasting?

The most difficult thing about the cloned puppies is not telling them apart, but explaining why they don’t look exactly alike

Proposal To Open More N.P. Trails To Bikes

See NYT: Expansion of Biking in Parks Is Proposed

Spiked Eggnog Is Safe Eggnog

See PhysOrg: Microbiologist Tests Safety Of Spiked Eggnog

With one in every 20,000 eggs contaminated with Salmonella bacteria, drinking homemade eggnog can be something of a gamble. But an experiment designed to test whether the alcohol in spiked eggnog can kill the deadly bugs suggests that, in general, few bacteria survive in a mixture containing both raw eggs and 20 percent rum and bourbon.

Java Juice

Diesel, Made Simply From Coffee Grounds

Analysis showed that even the grounds contained about 10 to 15 percent oil by weight. The researchers then used standard chemistry techniques to extract the oil and convert it to biodiesel. The processes are not particularly energy intensive, Dr. Misra said, and the researchers estimated that biodiesel could be produced for about a dollar a gallon.

Take That Ice Age

Study: Did Early Climate Impact Divert A New Glacial Age?

Using three different climate models and removing the amount of greenhouse gases humans have injected into the atmosphere during the past 5,000 to 8,000 years, Vavrus and Kutzbach observed more permanent snow and ice cover in regions of Canada, Siberia, Greenland and the Rocky Mountains, all known to be seed regions for glaciers from previous ice ages. Vavrus notes: "With every feedback we've included, it seems to support the hypothesis (of a forestalled ice age) even more. We keep getting the same answer."

Update 1/7/2009
New World post-pandemic reforestation helped start Little Ice Age

Stanford University researchers have conducted a comprehensive analysis of data detailing the amount of charcoal contained in soils and lake sediments at the sites of both pre-Columbian population centers in the Americas and in sparsely populated surrounding regions. They concluded that reforestation of agricultural lands-abandoned as the population collapsed-pulled so much carbon out of the atmosphere that it helped trigger a period of global cooling, at its most intense from approximately 1500 to 1750, known as the Little Ice Age.

It Is Not About The Tools

Recent Mark Bittman articles of interest:

So Your Kitchen Is Tiny. So What?

...when it comes to kitchens, size and equipment don’t count nearly as much as devotion, passion, common sense and, of course, experience. To pretend otherwise — to spend tens of thousands of dollars or more on a kitchen before learning how to cook, as is sadly common — is to fall into the same kind of silly consumerism that leads people to believe that an expensive gym membership will get them into shape or the right bed will improve their sex life. As runners run and writers write, cooks cook, under pretty much any circumstance.

Fresh Start for a New Year? Let’s Begin in the Kitchen - Here, then, is my little list of items you might spurn, along with some essential pantry and long-keeping refrigerator items you might consider.

I'm not sure I could get by without canned beans and I would add whole nutmeg to the list.

Try Not To Buy Seafood At Meijer

Sustainable Seafood Rankings

The bottom ranked chains are:

18. Meijer
19. H. E. Butt (H.E.B., Central Market)
20. Price Chopper

Recent Earth Science News Of Interest

Wired: Proof That Meteors Could Have Sparked Life on Earth

The simulation, conducted by a team of Japanese planetary materials scientists, produced compounds required to form the first cell and every subsequent organism.

"We use shock experiments to recreate the conditions surrounding the impact of chondritic meteorites into an early ocean," wrote the researchers in Nature Geoscience. "Organic molecules on the early Earth may have arisen from such impact syntheses."

Discovery: Life and Minerals Evolve Together

Before life evolved on Earth, the slow, inexorable grind of plate tectonics created a total of 1,500 mineral species. Now, Hazen said, most minerals require living creatures to spring into existence.

"That's about as far as we think you can get without life," he said. That means about two-thirds of all known minerals depend on Earth's living creatures to survive.

Chestnuts On The Verge

Perhaps just 150 years away to full reforestation!

See: Blight-resistant American chestnut trees nearing reality

General James Jones

12/11/2008 Update
Security Adviser Pick Stresses Oil Independence

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Gen. Jim Jones

The more I have read about Obama's pick for National Security Adviser the more impressed I have been.

USAToday: Jones not regarded as 'political general'

Slate: The Enforcer

Mmmm... Perchlorate

Words fail.

See: Feds Set to Eliminate Water Regulations for Neurotoxin

Among the Bush administration's final environmental legacies will be a decision to exempt perchlorate, a known neurotoxin found at unsafe levels in the drinking water of millions of Americans, from federal regulation.

Asteroids Scare Me

I have an unusual phobia about getting hit in the head by an asteroid. Glad to see the threat is getting more attention

See: World 'must tackle space threat'

Space Beer

ISS Space Barley Beer

A colloborative effort between the Russian Academy of Science, Okayama University and Sopporo Breweries in Japan has developed a beer that uses 100-percent barley grown on the International Space Station.

The Year Of Butanol

If 2007 was the year for biodiesel to become well known; 2008 the year for ethanol; then I believe 2009 will be the year for butanol.

See->
TechReview: Cheaper Butanol from Biomass

BW: Researchers push butanol as biofuel answer

Eco Links

Eco Friendly Flooring Guide is a Great Resource

New LED Light Bulbs Can Replace 100W Incandescents

"Designed To Cheat"

It is all about the chemistry of contraception and it sounds like a plausible hypothesis to me. From what I know of my friends who have divorced it was always the woman who left the relationship.

SciAm: Birth Control Pills Affect Women's Taste in Men

Recent research suggests that the contraceptive pill—which prevents women from ovulating by fooling their body into believing it is pregnant—could affect which types of men women desire. Going on or off the pill during a relationship, therefore, may tempt a woman away from her man.

But for a real eye-opener listen to an interview at CBC's Quirks and Quarks: Sniffing for Sex

Caprica

Sci Fi Greenlights Caprica TV Series

We only have to wait until 2010.

Tina Fey In Vanity Fair

Text by Maureen Dowd, photographs by Annie Leibovitz: What Tina Wants

"Get Your Hopes Up"

Mlive: 'Arrested Development' movie is a go. Rejoice!

and "come on George Michael": Mitch Hurwitz and Ron Howard Closing Deals for 'Arrested Development' Movie

While reading this update is certainly good news for Arrested Development fans, there's one catch. Word on the street is that one of the original cast members hasn't signed on to do the film and may not participate at all. Though sources aren't naming names, many are pointing their fingers to Michael Cera, who played young George Michael Bluth, as he was previously quoted as saying the film wasn't being made and shouldn't be made.

Granola Types

Outdoors people like to watch wildlife

A recent report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the participation rates and economic impact of hunting and fishing now trail those of wildlife watching.

A Talking Bear

Bear Grylls: How are we going to face up to energy crisis?

Fruit Fly Science

During the 2008 Presidential campaign Sarah Palin mocked fruit fly research in a speech about special needs kids and was subsequently made a fool of; and rightfully so.

See: Palin takes on fruit flies--And loses

Now fruit flies have provided more insight into childhood disorders.

See: Fruit fly discovery generates buzz about brain-damaging disorder in children

Nothing But Streets

Street View

Data visualization guru Ben Fry has created a unique map of the United States by displaying all of the nation’s 26 million roads—and nothing else

The iPhone Of Cars

TDI killed the ethanol star.

See the NYT: A High-Mileage Masterpiece

After my long 48-m.p.g. run, I started over and switched personalities, transforming into a late-for-school Autobahn instructor. Never dipping below 75 m.p.h., flogging every curve, the Jetta still returned a reasonable 36 m.p.g. When I flowed with traffic at 65 to 70 m.p.h., and made no effort to goose the mileage, the VW posted 42 m.p.g. And in city driving, the Jetta hit 32 m.p.g, again topping its official rating.

Yet my thrift was no match for Helen and John Taylor. In September, the Taylors, from Australia, drove a production Jetta TDI to a Guinness world record, averaging an incredible 58.8 m.p.g. for a 9,400-mile run through the 48 contiguous American states. The Taylors used just 11 tanks of fuel over 20 days, averaging 850 miles for each tank.

Real American Hero

Via SeriousEats: Grilled Doughnuts, Better Than Regular Doughnuts

Jawbreaker + Crimpshrine = Are You F'ing Kidding Me!?

God bless you Blake.

See Exclaim.ca: Ex-Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil Front-man Blake Schwarzenbach Reveals Thorns of Life

Suburbs Are Not Intrinsically Evil

It is how they're usually built that is so bad.

See:

MJ: How to Build Smarter Suburbs

Greener Prospects - "a unique consulting firm that bridges the gap between land-use planning and land conservation"