jlynch | January 6, 2008Events
1610 - Galileo Galilei observes the four largest moons (the Galilean moons) of Jupiter for the first time.
Births
1834 - Johann Philipp Reis, German physicist and inventor
1925 - Gerald Durrell, British naturalist
1941 - John E. Walker, English chemist and Nobel Prize laureate
Deaths
1786 - Jean-Ãtienne Guettard, French physician and scientist
1878 - François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist
1893 - Jožef Stefan, Slovenian physicist
1984 - Alfred Kastler, French physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
1998 - Vladimir Prelog, Croatian chemist and Nobel Prize laureate
jlynch | January 6, 2008
Events
1838 - Samuel Morse first successfully tests the electrical telegraph.
Births
1714 - Percivall Pott, English physician
1795 - Anselme Payen, French chemist
1822 - Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist
1920 - John Maynard Smith, English biologist
1932 - Stuart A. Rice, American chemist
1944 - Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist and Nobel Prize laureate
Deaths
1689 - Seth Ward, English mathematician and astronomer
1731 - Ãtienne François Geoffroy, French chemist
1884 - Gregor Johann Mendel, Austrian geneticist (above)
1945 - Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist
1990…
jlynch | January 4, 2008Events
1896 - An Austrian newspaper reports that Wilhelm Roentgen has discovered a type of radiation later known as X-rays.
1972 - Richard Nixon orders the development of a space shuttle program.
2005 - Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered.
Births
1865 - Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer
1874 - Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate
1879 - Hans Eppinger, Austrian physician
1906 - Kathleen Kenyon, English archaeologist
Deaths
1904 - Karl Alfred von Zittel, German palaeontologist
1922 - Ernest Shackleton, Irish explorer…
jlynch | January 4, 2008
Overtones
I heard a bird at break of daySing from the autumn treesA song so mystical and calm, So full of certainties, No man, I think, could listen long Except upon his knees. Yet this was but a simple bird, Alone, among dead trees.
William Alexander Percy
jlynch | January 3, 2008Events
1885 - The first successful appendectomy is performed by William W. Grant.
1958 - Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit
1959 - Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
2004 - Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars
Births
1643 - Isaac Newton, English natural philosopher
1894 - Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian physician
1900 - James Bond, American ornithologist
1940 - Brian David Josephson, British physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
1945 - Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate
Deaths
1761 - Stephen Hales, English…
jlynch | January 3, 2008For what it’s worth:
Obama, Edwards and Clinton.
Romney, Huckabee and McCain.
Update: AP are reporting Obama 36%, Edwards 30%, and Clinton 30%. For the Republicans it is Huckabee 34%, Romney 25%, and McCain/Thompson in third.
jlynch | January 3, 2008Noting the increasing "God-talk" by candidates from both parties, Donald Kennedy comments:
Given this new focus on religious disclosure, what does this U.S. election have to do with science? Everything. The candidates should be asked hard questions about science policy, including questions about how those positions reflect belief. What is your view about stem cell research, and does it relate to a view of the time at which human life begins? Have you examined the scientific evidence regarding the age of Earth? Can the process of organic evolution lead to the production ofnew species, and how…
jlynch | January 3, 2008The National Academy of Sciences’ new book, Science, Evolution, and Creationism is now available for free download. It is a revision of an older work and features chapters on the nature of science, the evidence for evolution, and creationist claims. No doubt the Discovery Institute will respond with its usual blather.
jlynch | January 2, 2008Events
1496 - Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.
1999 - The Mars Polar Lander launches.
Births
1722 - Fredric Hasselquist, Swedish naturalist
Deaths
1641 - Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer
1927 - Carle David Tolmé Runge, German physicist
1969 - Jean Focas, Greco-French astronomer
1980 - Joy Adamson, Czech conservationist
jlynch | January 2, 2008Some of the other SciBlings are doing it, so why not ...
My compatibility with the current gaggle of presidential candidates:
Kucinich (95)
Gravel (90)
Richardson (82)
Edwards (81)
Dodd (78)
Clinton (74)
Obama (72)
Biden (72)
Paul (61)
McCain (44)
Thompson (38)
Huckabee (36)
Romney (35)
Giuliani (34)
Hunter (28)
Somewhat predictable, though I’m surprised at Clinton over Obama. Feel free to comment as to your results.
jlynch | January 2, 2008The 486 nominations for Open Laboratory 2007 have been whittled down to 53 and Bora has the complete listing of the entries that will appear in book form in time for the 2nd Science Blogging Conference. I’m happy to report that my Pithecophobes of the World, Unite! Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV have been judged suitable for inclusion. Thanks again to the reader who nominated them!
I guess I have some editing and formatting to do!
jlynch | January 1, 2008Events
1860 - The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the Académie des Sciences
1959 - Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched
2004 - Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that it will return to Earth two years later.
Deaths
1893 - John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist
1917 - Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist
2005 - Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist
jlynch | January 1, 2008It’s not like ASU did wonderfully against Texas (losing the Holiday Bowl 52-34), but at least they turned up to play somewhat (albeit not in the first quarter). The same can’t be said for Illinois in the Rose Bowl (49-17 to USC) and Hawai’i in the Sugar Bowl (41-10 to Georgia). Clearly neither of the teams deserved a BCS slot and Hawai’i (and Colt Brennan) showed itself to be nowhere near being able to play outside the WAC.
Those BCS games are really working out well - two down, two blowouts. Methinks something is amiss with the system.
jlynch | January 1, 2008
Daubenton’s Bat, Myotis daubentonii Kuhl 1817, hunting over water.
Named in honor of the French naturalist Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton who died today in 1800. [source]
jlynch | January 1, 2008Events
1801 - Dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
1925 - Edwin Hubble announces the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way.
1983 - The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.
1985 - The Internet’s Domain Name System is created.
1989 - The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer comes into force.
Births
1774 - André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist
1854 - Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist
1876 - Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist
1878 - Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish scientist and…
jlynch | December 29, 2007
Netscape has finally been taken off life-support. Born in October 1994, yet stunted in its growth since the late 90’s, the browser is set to finally expire on February 1st. It spawned Mozilla and thus ultimately Firefox. Please observe a moment of silence.
Apologies for the BLINK tag in the title. It seemed apt. Sayeth The Book of Mozilla (12:10):
And the beast shall come forth surrounded by a roiling cloud of vengeance. The house of the unbelievers shall be razed and they shall be scorched to the earth. Their tags shall blink until the end of days.
jlynch | December 27, 2007The 2007 BEAST 50 Most Loathsome People in America has appeared. #9 is sadly on the money.
9. You
Charges: You believe in freedom of speech, until someone says something that offends you. You suddenly give a damn about border integrity, because the automated voice system at your pharmacy asked you to press 9 for Spanish. You cling to every scrap of bullshit you can find to support your ludicrous belief system, and reject all empirical evidence to the contrary. You know the difference between patriotism and nationalism -- it’s nationalism when foreigners do it. You hate anyone who seems…
jlynch | December 22, 2007Over at fark.com, there’s a thread on viral videos. Someone posted this classic
which the original YouTube poster described as "The Crazy Indian Video with SUBTITLES THAT SAY WHAT I THINK THE VIDEO SOUNDS LIKE IN ENGLISH!!!" and is probably the most hyperkinetic thing I have ever seen in my life. It’s also probably best not to watch it while drinking.