Bloggity Blog
mikethemadbiologist | May 17, 2010One of my favorite bloggers and ScienceBloglings, Revere, is leaving blogging.
It was a great run. Stop by and leave some kind words.
mikethemadbiologist | March 3, 2010We are saddened to report, by way of Blue Gal and Tom Watson, that faux conservative blogger and brilliant satirist Jon Swift passed away. I corresponded with him a few times, and I always found him to be a complete delight (not to mention a riot).
My favorite Jon Swift: Jon Swift's Complete Amazon Reviews
He will be missed.
mikethemadbiologist | February 23, 2010Last week, I defended pseudonymity. Well, the Epicurean Dealmaker has the best defense of pseudonymity EVAH!:
...in the United States, schizophrenic home to both the largest number of elite universities in the world and the broadest-based strain of anti-intellectualism known to Western democracy, the aggressive debating style of lobbing witty insults at your opponent only plays well on reruns of Monty Python. If you doubt me, just look at the inarticulate clods we elect to public office. Most of these morons cannot even deliver a coherent speech, much less bandy about gerunds and…
mikethemadbiologist | February 15, 2010ScienceBlogling Matt Nisbet throws down the gauntlet about anonymity:
Much of the incivility online can be attributed to anonymity. And with a rare few exceptions, if you can't participate in a dialogue about issues without using your full name and true identity, then what you have to say is probably not that valuable.
It's a silly argument for many reasons (some people should be treated with incivility; they've earned it), but there are a couple points I haven't seen mentioned (Drugmonkey has a very good response). But ultimately, the decision to be anonymous boils down to why one blogs. I…
mikethemadbiologist | January 12, 2010My apologies about the blog being borked earlier today; I wasn't able to republish the pages for a few hours cuz I had to do TEH SCIENTISMZ!!
Anyway, you might want to read this post about healthcare that was EATED.
mikethemadbiologist | October 1, 2009...for about $2.50 a day. Over at Age of Autism, there's a DEVASTATING two part series about how ScienceBlogs has been bought and paid for by Big Pharma (and I don't mean Rush Limbaugh). I've always been amazed when people accuse me and my fellow ScienceBloglings of being bought off. Most of us just aren't getting paid that much. Would I rather get paid than do it for free? Sure. But the moment ScienceBlogs or Our Benevolent Seed Overlords tell me what to write, I'm gone. How can anyone who reads this blog think for a minute that TEH EVUL SEED EDITARS are influencing this blog's…
mikethemadbiologist | September 18, 2009I'll be on the road for the High Holidays (and a much needed vacation). But the blog will keep rolling on.
Gut Yontif to all.
mikethemadbiologist | September 3, 2009If you show up and boast about how you would shoot people in the head, your addresses and other things get entered into the spam filter. It's my blog, that's how it goes down here.
mikethemadbiologist | May 16, 2009I'll be off to the American Society for Microbiology meeting tomorrow. Anybody going?
The blog will keep on rolling thanks to Our Benevolent Seed Overlords Blogerrator 9600.
mikethemadbiologist | May 4, 2009If all has gone well, I'm at Cold Spring Harbor for the Biology of Genomes meeting (actually, I'm here a day early for the Microbiome 'pre-meeting'), so responding to email and comments will be sporadic. You know you're in a fast-moving area when the last figure is assembled Friday morning (because the data were just released), and by Sunday--two days later--your poster is out of date....
mikethemadbiologist | April 15, 2009I'm back from vacation, so normalcy (and the occasional response) will resume tomorrow. Thankfully, I just missed the Great Teabagging by a few hours....
(I swear, movement conservatives are very porny)
mikethemadbiologist | April 8, 2009And Easter too. While the blog, like the Mighty River Jordan, will keep rolling on, I'm actually on vacation, so if I don't show up in the comments or respond to email, don't take it personally. I'll still find it amazing that it took Blogger so long to create an auto-publish function...
mikethemadbiologist | March 27, 2009...that is the question--along with some thoughts about being a blogger and not a writer.
I've been asking other science bloggers if I should start using Twitter. The answers have ranged from the formation of a blood pact sworn to never (EVAH!) use Twitter to a belief that Twitter 'communities' are the equivalent of a meta-hive mind and The New Frontier of Consciousness (the moderate view is that it serves as a combination notepad and blog aggregator which seems pretty useful actually). The downside is that I don't need another time sink. Which brings me to a couple of thoughts about…
mikethemadbiologist | March 16, 2009Over at The Reef Tank, Ava has an interview with yours truly. I particularly liked this bit:
How can one relate marine biology to climate change and/or global warming?
Simple: the carbon cycle. Our oceans are the planet's lungs every bit as much as the rainforests. And right now, we're acting like a two-pack a day smoker.
As the kids say, read the whole thing.
mikethemadbiologist | January 31, 2009
My apologies to the Great Bard. Today is Blogroll Amnesty Day, this year co-hosted by skippy and Jon Swift. According to skippy, we're supposed to link to five smaller blogs. Below the fold, my five choices, and my mauling of Shakespeare in honor of Blogroll Amnesty Day:
Rev. BigDumbChimp
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
Sorting Out Science
Phronesisaical
Tangled Up in Blue Guy
And don't forget to check out the rest of the blogroll. Onto to the Blogroll Amnesty Day speech:
He that shall see this day and live t'old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say "To-morrow…
mikethemadbiologist | January 25, 2009Heckuva week. Science first:
What will January 20th do for science-based medicine?
Growing Taste for Reef Fish Sends Their Numbers Sinking
Ah, them gold rush days!
Lack of Sleep Increases Susceptibility to the Common Cold
Carnivorous dung beetle shuns dung and decapitates millipedes
Other:
Retooling an economy based on the endless buying and selling of toys and gizmos
The Beautiful and the Clueless
Need to fill your CareFirst Blue Cross prescription? Good luck.
Oscar insults from MSNBC's Courtney Hazlett
EVERY PUNDIT A KING! Uh-oh! A famous film-maker--and a famous professor--wasted time…
mikethemadbiologist | January 12, 2009I don't take blog awards seriously, unless, of course, I'm nominated, in which case They Are Profoundly Important. But it's obscene that the right wing kook The Anchoress is anywhere near Driftglass in the Best Individual Blogger category in the 2008 Weblog awards. When driftglass brings his A-game, is brilliant. Here's a good taste, if you're interested.
Now go vote for drifty.
mikethemadbiologist | January 8, 2009More good stuff that I'll never get around to blogging about. Science first:
Nature's "Evolution Gems"
Big Increase Coming for NIH -- Maybe
Lomberg Lies on Global Warming to Make Money
Other stuff:
A Memo to Obama on Israel
A New New Deal?
Bristol Palin to Teens: Don't Get Pregnant
Is the Conservative Backlash Over in California Too?
Risk Mismanagement
The End of the Financial World as We Know It
What I have to say about Israel
mikethemadbiologist | December 30, 2008...nominated by bloggers themselves. Jon Swift has put together a self-nominated list of the best blog posts of 2008. My contribution is here, but, as the kids say, go read the whole thing. It will keep you busy for a while....
mikethemadbiologist | December 29, 2008So, does the Mad Biologist follow the advice given by big-time bloggers? Like Farhad Manjoo, I've actually read (ok, skimmed) The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging, but Manjoo gives an electronic version of the guide, upgraded to include advice from other bloggers. Onto the advice:
Set a schedule. Blog often. Yep. Daily.
Don't worry if your posts suck a little. I've got this one covered: most of my posts suck a lot.
Write casually but clearly. Mixed bag. My lede isn't always good, although hopefully, the post titles and the excerpt blurb make up for that. On the other hand…