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The Red Flags of Quackery
via sci-ence.orgThis comic is a great guide to help you spot quacks and pseudoscientific claims. I think I just found a new online comic to read. -
Our crazy weather
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Flashback Friday: Frank Black – “Los Angeles”
I was a little late to the game with the Pixies. By the time I discovered them, they were broken up. I have since grown to love them. My first exposure to Black Francis, or Frank Black, or whatever he want to call himself was his self titled solo album. I’m surprised it took me this long to get to Frank Black. He was one of my favorites in the early 90s. In recent years he has almost became too prolific. He has put out at least an album a year since 1998, and some years even two album. I haven’t been able to keep up with them. I would probably prefer an album every three years with just the best songs written in those three years, but that could just be me. So I’m not too familiar with Frank Black’s latest work, but his albums in the early 90s were some of my favorites.
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Spinal cord injuries, can we get a cure?
I don’t know how much national coverage it has gotten, but last week a Minnesota high school hockey player suffered a horrific neck injury, and was paralyzed. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be sixteen years old, and know you will never walk again. Being paralyzed is probably one of my worst fears along with being burned. When I played football in high school I always made sure I made tackles with my head up, and hit with my shoulder. I feared hitting with my head like so many players do nowadays. One awkward hit with your head could change your life forever. The coaches I had taught that, and I listened.
I’ve never played hockey, so I can’t really relate to the injury and how it happened and if it’s something that can be prevented in the future. I just feel horrible for the kid. I hope someday these kind of injuries will able to be repaired by surgery. How great would it be to repair all neck and spinal cord injuries? That and a cure for cancer are two thing I hope to see happen in my lifetime.
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Stephen Colbert Interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson at Montclair Kimberley Academy
via mentalfloss.comI finally got around to watching this hour and a half long video last night. I’m not a huge Stephen Colbert fan, but he toned down his shtick here for a great interview with one of my favorite person on the planet, Neil deGrasse Tyson. It was well worth my time. I could watch Neil deGrasse Tyson talk all day.
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Together We’ll Ring In The New Year…
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100 Years In 10 Minutes
via buzzfeed.com -
What I read in 2011
So it’s that time of the year again when I look back and wish I would have read more books. My “to read” list grows way faster than I can keep up with. I read 21 books last year, and 24 this year, but this year a few of them were short stories, so I’m reading at about the same rate.
My podcasting/blogging/Twitter buddy, who probably doesn’t even know who I am, Kreg Steppe, is going to try I start reading more in the coming year. I congratulate him, and hope he succeeds. That was my goal 10 years ago when I picked up The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, after not reading a book since high school turned me off of reading. I may not be as prolific as some readers, but I usually manage to read 20 or so books a year, so that’s not too bad.
The week I am finally going to read Death from the Skies! by one of my favorite guys on the planet Phil Plait. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to get to it, but it is probably a fitting book to start the year since it’s 2012 and all.
Here are the books I read this year. They were all great, and I would recommend them to anyone.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot
God, No! – Penn Jillette
Ghost in the Wires – Kevin Mitnick
Between Two Worlds – Roxana Saberi
See a Little Light – Bob Mould
The Believing Brain – Michael Shermer
Death by Black Hole – Neil deGrasse Tyson
Idea Man – Paul Allen
Made by Hand – Mark Frauenfelder
Nonsense on Stilts – Massimo Pigliucci
A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson
The Demon-Haunted World – Carl Sagan
And Another Thing… – Eoin Colfer
Daemon – Daniel Suarez
Hunter – Wil Wheaton
Packing for Mars – Mary Roach
Sunken Treasure – Wil Wheaton
The Day After – Wil Wheaton
Blood is Red – Scott Sigler
With a Little Help – Cory Doctorow
Paranormality – Richard Wiseman
The Cold Moon – Jeffery Deaver
Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
World War Z – Max Brooks -
A Short History of the Modern Calendar
via laughingsquid -
Flashback Friday: The Verve Pipe – “The Freshmen”
I wasn’t a huge Verve Pipe fan, but I loved their album Villains. By 1996 when this album came out, many of the lesser known bands that I loved were getting major airplay on the radio. As a result, much music from this era I still can’t stand from hearing it too much, including this song.