Flow Chart of Stupidity August 31, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Humor, Politics, news.Tags: Health, Humor, Medicine, news, Politics, Rant
comments closed
I don’t know who to give credit to but this is brilliant .
Hey – Any moms out there that would have done that? ——— Nah … didn’t think so.
Hey! I found a Poll about Sarah Palin! August 31, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Agnosticism, Atheism, Education, Intelligent Design, Politics, news.Tags: Agnosticism, Atheism, Education, Evolution, Intelligent Design, news, Politics, Rant
comments closed
“Do you think Sarah Palin will help or hurt John McCain’s bid for the White House?”
Go here to vote!
(bottom right of page)
I just found out that apparently Sarah Palin is connected to the crazies that call themselves – Joel’s Army!
Here you go …
and then this one …
from the Daily Kos
“Joel’s Army believers are hard-core Christian dominionists, meaning they believe that America, along with the rest of the world, should be governed by conservative Christians and a conservative Christian interpretation of biblical law. There is no room in their doctrine for democracy or pluralism.”
And listen to this …
She laughs when a radio announcer calls one of her colleagues a “bitch”.
Got Flies?? August 31, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Education, Science, news.Tags: Education, Nature, news, Science
comments closed
They are fast litle calculating buggers.
Dr. Michael Dickinson of Caltech has figured out why they always seem to get away from your fly swatter and the best way to get them the next time you try.
Long before the fly leaps, its tiny brain calculates the location of the impending threat, comes up with an escape plan, and places its legs in an optimal position to hop out of the way in the opposite direction. All of this action takes place within about 100 milliseconds after the fly first spots the swatter.
I wonder if they kow they are that smart. But luckily we have bigger brains.
Dr. Dickinson says :
“It is best not to swat at the fly’s starting position, but rather to aim a bit forward of that to anticipate where the fly is going to jump when it first sees your swatter,”
Read the full story here.
Taa DAAaaa!!
100% Funded!! Thank You!! August 29, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Agnosticism, Atheism, Education, Intelligent Design, Science, Uncategorized.Tags: Agnosticism, Atheism, Education, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Personal, Science, Uncategorized
comments closed
Look!! 
The challenge that Florida Citizens for Science posted, to provide help to science classrooms that were in need of supplies, has been met! “
Here is what we did to help Florida science education:
Safety goggles are going to Claude Pepper Elem School, Miami.
Preserved animal specimens for biology “show and tell” are going to Edgewater High School, Orlando.
A set of magnets is going to Royal Palm Charter School, Palm Bay.
Five microscopes are going to Quail Hollow Elementary School, Wesley Chapel.
Impact cars, a projectile launcher and other related lab equipment is going to Avon Park.
A stereo microscope is going to Country Oaks Elementary School, Labelle. “
I am so excited! 
Thanks to everyone who donated! You are Awesome! 
Ship leaks oil and kills 200 penguins/Sarah Palin wants to drill in the Arctic August 29, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Education, Intelligent Design, Politics, Science, news.Tags: Education, Evolution, Green Earth, Intelligent Design, Nature, news, Personal, Politics, Science, Travel
comments closed
On the beach of an island just off of Brazil in the Southern Atlantic ocean (Florianopolis)
Marcelo Duarte of the Santa Catarina state environmental police said nearly 200 washed up since Sunday, and told the Associated Press that the oil probably leaked from a large ship and police say they are trying to determine the culprit.
155 Penguins have been found alive and are being treated.
Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin thinks drilling in the arctic can be done safely without much impact on wildlife and beauty.
The Governor, like the Alaskan Governors before her, is extremely passionate about how Alaska holds the answers to much of America’s energy dilemma and that Alaskans have been shouting this solution for decades. Palin strongly supports opening the 10-02 Area of ANWR to oil and gas development as well as environmentally responsible development of the outer continental shelf (OCS). …
Which leads me to point out something that I’m sure people don’t consider. If we start drilling in the arctic, we will have to open shipping lanes which will further endanger wildlife. …
… the biggest threat may well come from the captain of a single-hulled, crude oil tanker who tries to save time and fuel by taking a shortcut through the Northwest Passage. If that ship runs aground or is crushed by melting ice spilling out of the High Arctic, it could make the two-year, $2 billion clean-up of the Exxon Valdez look like a kitchen spill. …
If McCain is elected, let’s hope he stays alive long enough to keep her in check.
EDIT to POST: This has just been brought to my attention … She thinks it’s OK for “Other theories” to be taught beside evolution.
I can’t say that I’m surprised.
More Evidence that Polar Ice is Shrinking August 28, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Education, Intelligent Design, Politics, Science, news.Tags: Education, Evolution, Green Earth, Intelligent Design, Nature, news, Personal, Politics, Rant, Science, Space, Weather
comments closed
The European Space Agency (ESA) reports:
Satellite images have shown that the polar ice coverage has been decreasing steadily since 1978.
Current ice coverage in the Arctic has already reached the second absolute minimum since observations from space began 30 years ago. Because the extent of ice cover is usually at its lowest about mid-September, this year’s minimum could still fall to set another record low.
Some scientists claim it could be “ice free” as early as 2040.
In 2009, ESA will make another significant contribution research into the cryosphere with the launch of CryoSat-2. The observations made over the three-year lifetime of the mission will provide conclusive evidence on the rates at which ice thickness and cover is diminishing.
And even though our Polar Bears are beginning to struggle for existence, On June 19th, President Bush gave me another reason to vote for Obama. He …
“… renewed his demand that Congress allow drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge …”
Even though McCain realizes how awful that would be and wants to keep the ban on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in place. I just don’t trust big oil to back off the republican party.
The only safe bet is to vote democrat this year.
This is Worse than “Cracker Gate”. (IMO) August 28, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Agnosticism, Atheism, news.Tags: Agnosticism, Atheism, news
comments closed
I wonder if Bill Donohue has seen this. No matter – the Pope is on the case.
REUTERS/Courtesy Museion Museum/Handout
An Italian museum on Thursday defied Pope Benedict and refused to remove a modern art sculpture portraying a crucified green frog holding a beer mug and an egg that the Vatican had condemned as blasphemous.
But hey – Catholic League – don’t bother sending death threats to the artist (like you did to
PZ Myers – which was very Christian of you I might add … NOT!)- He is already dead.
I must say – I do not like this piece of work at all. The artist said it it represents “a self-portrait illustrating human angst.” but I can see how it wold make some people angry.
It sort of gives me the “willies”…………. I love frogs.
Hubble Captures Galaxies Colliding August 28, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Agnosticism, Atheism, Education, Intelligent Design, Science, news.Tags: Agnosticism, Atheism, Education, Evolution, History, Intelligent Design, Nature, news, Science, Space
comments closed
Look at this.
Nasa Image
This is a collision of galaxy clusters and it clearly shows a separation between dark matter and regular matter. (Maybe my friend Yoo will drop by and tell me the difference! (wink, wink) 
This discovery,made by UC Santa Barbara astronomers is supposed to help us understand dark matter better.
As the two clusters that formed MACSJ0025 (each almost a whopping million billion times the mass of the Sun) merged at speeds of millions of miles per hour, the hot gas in each cluster collided and slowed down, but the dark matter did not. The separation between the material shown in pink and blue therefore provides direct evidence for dark matter and supports the view that dark matter particles interact with each other only very weakly or not at all, apart from the pull of gravity.
This is very cool.
Time to invest in Black Raspberries! August 27, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Science.Tags: Evolution, Health, Medicine, Nature, Science
comments closed
I found this report:
BLACK RASPBERRIES SLOW CANCER BY ALTERING HUNDREDS OF GENES
Professor Gary Stoner studies dietary agents for the prevention of cancer.
To conduct this study, Stoner and his colleagues fed rats either a normal diet or a diet containing 5 percent black-raspberry powder. During the third week, half the animals in each diet group were injected three times with a chemical carcinogen, N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine. …
After 3 weeks …
In the carcinogen-treated animals, 2,261 of these genes showed changes in activity of 50 percent or higher.
Now let’s do some math. (and please forgive the over simplification)
Some rats were injected with a carcinogen. They have …
41,000 genes total
Group A with no black raspberries in their diet, had 2261 genes seemed to be affected by the carcinogens.
Group B was fed a black raspberry powder – but 462 of the 2261 affected genes showed normal levels of activity.
AND …
Group B was given a “second chemoprevention agent tested during a companion study.”
(It doesn’t say what it was. I’m thinking broccoli) – and 53 MORE genes were restored to normal activity.
So … 2261-462-53= 1746 genes remain unaffected by the black raspberries, but 515 did much better.
Of course, it’s a specific cancer, in a specific part of a rat but I would say that’s quite a chunk of progress being made!
Deep Thoughts … My Mind Boggles August 27, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Agnosticism, Atheism, Education, Humor, Intelligent Design, Science.Tags: Agnosticism, Atheism, Education, Evolution, History, Humor, Intelligent Design, math, Nature, Personal, Rant, Science, Space
comments closed
I don’t know if this happens to anyone else – but every once in a while I learn something or try just to understand something and my brain just won’t stop thinking about possibilities of origins or objectives or … OK I’ll stop now because I know I’m rambling.
I came across this article today about how galaxies grow. I never, ever, not once, considered that galaxies grew.
Now I just can’t turn off the questions in my head? Aauurrgghh!!
Are they really growing? Or is our technology just so much better now than it was 50 years ago that we can see things that we were unable to see before?
What is the driving force?
Why is it happening?
How can one whole galaxy meet up with another whole galaxy?
They didn’t answer them! Aack! Why not?!
I understand ‘hierarchical formation’, but entire galaxies “merging” would take so long (infinitely long …. a gazillionbatillioncatillion years) it is literally unimaginable.
“All we are is Dust in the Wind” …
