Energy News

Biofuels bad:

• Biofuel use 'increasing poverty'
• Bioenergy: Fuelling the food crisis?
  
• Clearing Land for Biofuels Makes Global Warming Worse
• Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat
• Bush administration biofuel confusion
  

Renewables gooder?

• Solar powered solar power
• The U.S.'s First Offshore Wind Farm...FINALLY
• Heavyweight physics prof weighs into climate/energy scrap
• The economics of solar power

Oil is crazy

• How much oil is out there?
• Slick John McCain and the offshore oil ruse
• McCain links wars in Iraq & Afghanistan to oil prices
  

UK Science

An article at Slate examines the fact that Brits are generally more up on science and technology than Americans. An interesting point is made in this paragraph:

Did I mention odd sex practices? The Brits can't get enough of them, yet they're wonderfully rational about it. The latest uproar is over first-cousin marriages in some immigrant communities (never mind that Charles Darwin did it, too). In contrast to the pious calls for prohibitive legislation that we'd surely have heard from Congress under similar circumstances, the British press actually looked at the genetics of cousin marriage. And the answer seems to be that education and genetic screening are a better way to go.

So basically,while Americans get their jeebus-themed undies in a moralistic bunch, the British explore the facts of the issue. Interesting concept, that: rational thought applied to a controversial issue.

"Every child is a blessing (except the gay ones)"

I've seen a lot of pro-life billboards that claim "Every child is a blessing" and then show a kid with Downs syndrome. Based on comments from religious talking heads, apparently it's a gift from zombie jeebus if you have a retarded baby, but if you have a gay one, well, that's not so special. (I'm not going to privilege the actual religious whackjobs' websites with extra traffic, so you'll have to hunt them out on your own.)

301

I just noticed that (1) it's been a little over a month since my last post and (2) that post was number 300. I figure I ought to have at least one entry each month, just to keep your attention, right?

I saw part of this "Alter Eco" program on one of the Discovery channels the other day, but couldn't stand the host. Then, yesterday, I ran across this piece in Slate about the latest Discovery channel spin-off, Planet Green. When I first saw ads for the network, I thought, "That seems potentially interesting, but also really pretentious." I think the best line in the Slate article is "I for one want to go out and kill a dolphin." If the author is looking to put together a crew to do so, this is my official request to join. I'll bring the harpoons!

I have so far avoided looking at any of the comments on the article. Mary & I have talked about the fact that everything on the internet apparently needs to be discussed by the unwashed masses, and I've decided it's in my best interest to ignore that discourse whenever possible. If I look, I might be tempted to contribute - and then who's the ass?

Oh no they di'int!

Neat trick

This video was created by overlaying 1000 plays of a racing video game, to show the range of possible play sequences all at once.

Home sweet Kwik Trip

There's a Kwik Trip about two miles north of our place on 494. It's only the 2nd one I know of in the TC Metro - the other being down in Eagan or thereabouts. They're all over Rochester, and they have no-fee ATMs, so finding one so nearby was nice. What I didn't expect was that sort of nostalgic feeling one gets when experiencing a familiar comfort that one has lost. It kind of creeped me out at first, but then I just figured, wtf, I'll just roll with it.

What!?

I'll be brief:
"UFO Hunters" on the History Channel (which has pretty much hit the same quality of programming the TLC achieved long ago)....
Two people, allegedly contacted by aliens.
One of them has a rare blood abnormality.
How can we prove that there's a connection between them, and therefore they really are being contacted by aliens?
... wait for it:
Blood tests for both. If both people have the same blood abnormality, BAM! Aliens are real, and they're visiting Earth to conduct anal probes.

Oh, and even better: Close the show with a reference to Voyager I.

And then, a program that opens with the following (I paraphrase):
The following program provides theories about an historical event that is shrouded in mystery. We use reenactments, dramatizations, and old tyme footage (can you tell which is which?) to provide information, and then you, the American public, with your 5th-grade education and your pear-sharp wit, can draw your own conclusions.

[EDIT]
I'd like to add that Stanton Friedman is one of the freakiest looking guys I've ever seen, and may serve as evidence of an alien-human hybrid operation.

[EDIT]

I'm trying to visualize...

a Jehovah's Witness dressed up like a blood transfusion.

Seen on a t-shirt

Saw a girl on campus yesterday wearing a t-shirt that said:

Don't make me think
it hurt's too much

Srsly.