Do digital devices change the rules of etiquette? In some ways, I think so. I can sort of understand the example of the thank you email but I’m not sure I entirely agree. I can understand that if you get a lot of email one more “unnecessary” email could be considered a burden but, personally, [...]

There’s a good chance that some of what is served as calamari is actually pork bung. Well, I think I’m safe; I wouldn’t knowingly eat either one. But, sadly, that’s not all. Samples sold as snapper and tuna had the highest mislabeling rates (87 and 59 percent, respectively), with the majority of the samples identified [...]

Real Clear Science blog has a series of posts about Mad Scientists of the Modern Age. And there’s scientific evidence that the myth of the mad scientist is more than just a myth. Brains are weird. Life’s Little Mysteries looks like a very interesting site.

This is really cool: stretchy batteries. The first place my mind went was to Neal Asher’s Polity universe. There are, of course, more down to Earth applications. They say it would not produce enough power to run a laptop but who knows? Maybe someday a thin computer that could roll up into something the size [...]

This is what I always say, but she said it better: Here’s a question that could get us in trouble. Are dogs smarter than cats? It’s a very difficult question to answer in any meaningful way. I could ask you, which is a better tool, a hammer or a screwdriver? They’re designed to do different [...]

Holy crap! This happened at about 9:30 this morning local time. Follow the link for the news and more videos.

I found this interesting series of videos, with simple answers to various science questions. It was hard to pick just one. There are videos about “The Monty Hall Problem”, “Motion Sickness”, and even “Zombie Apocalypse Science”.

Getting a Handle on Your Future Self Periodic Table of Irrational Nonsense The Science of Choosing Space Pioneers – They will probably get it wrong. I think they should forget science and look to history. Some of the most successful colonists have been misfits and adventurers – people who didn’t fit in back home. Biomimicry [...]

Did you know that temperatures below absolute zero are possible? Kinda makes 13°F (the current temperature here) seem almost like a warm spring day.

As cat owners know, cats shed the outer layers of their claws when they sharpen them on your furniture. This is one of those shed pieces.

A study has found that “low-intensity vibrations led to improvements in the immune systems of mice compromised by obesity.” The vibrations also reversed obesity related bone loss in the mice. The second I saw the headline my mind went to the vibrator belt machines that were popular in the 60′s.

I thought about doing a guessing game but you could just roll over the photos to see what this is.

Immediately after I wrote the last post I thought, “All I really want from the future is to live to be at least 150 and be healthy, weigh what I weighed when I was 30 and never have any more wrinkles than I have right now.” And of course for all my family to be [...]

I get the impression that many people think that the days when world-changing innovations could come from someone’s basement or garage are long gone. Well just look what some people are doing in their basements now. I’m not sure how I feel about some of this stuff. Brainwave headsets are okay but when you start [...]

All week I have been very up about the skydive from space and it has made me realize how hungry I’ve been for a really exciting historic, scientific event. Progress happens all the time. Just look at us now compared to 20 years ago, or even just ten. But progress has been coming in a [...]

Roger Green answers the technology questions, “What piece of technology would you hate the most to lose? Which piece of technology do you wish would just disappear?” and so does Jaquandor, and the topic turns to word processors and typing. I can’t remember if our Adam computer came with a learn-to-type program. I have this [...]

This is probably not the creepiest thing that ever washed up on the beach, but it’s gotta be way up there. I’m not sure how I would have reacted if I had found it. Probably I would have been grossed out but at the same time… “Oh wow! This is so cool!” So, sort of [...]

Well, there in front of my TV, that is, but some events give you such a feeling of thereness even if you are not really there. You know what I mean? The last time I was “there” for a historic scientific event was many years ago. I was lucky to have caught this latest one. [...]

Looking at pictures of cute animals improves our performance of certain kinds of tasks according to a Japanese study. (Of course) So go ahead and have a daily helping of cute along with your morning coffee. You’ll have a better day. On the other hand, who cares? We can look at cute pictures just because [...]

If you are waiting on something that happens “once in a blue moon” look for it to happen today. And it will be the last time until 2015. (Or maybe not. It’s just a saying you know) The moon is not actually blue. Blue moon just means the second full moon in the same month. [...]

I keep saying this. The silly germaphobes with their anti-bacterial everything are going to kill us all. They’re breeding superbugs that will be resistant to all our efforts to wipe them out (the superbugs that is, not the germaphobes) and at the same time they are breeding children that have less resistance due to being [...]

According to a report in the British Medical Journal sports drinks may do more harm than good. Is anyone really surprised by this? It should be obvious that you shouldn’t rely on health advice from someone who is trying to sell you something. But it’s not that simple. Marketing claims spread and are repeated by [...]

Last week I said that that I do not like Isaac Asimov’s fiction. I deliberately specified fiction because Asimov’s nonfiction is not only informative but also highly readable and enjoyable. One book in particular, Adding a Dimension (which, sadly, seems to be out of print) holds a place of high esteem and considerable sentimental value [...]

I’ve been seeing Neil deGrasse Tyson on various science documentaries on the Discovery Channel and the Science channel for several years but just lately I’ve been seeing him a lot on the Internet. It’s not surprising that he has become a science celebrity because he’s quite entertaining. Unfortunately, the people who really need this probably [...]

Tuesday I finally saw someone in the local Walmart worthy of PeopleOfWalmart.com. This woman was wearing a long black evening gown (at ten o’clock in the morning) that had spaghetti straps that meet in the center back of the dress with standard bra and slip straps showing. So of course I took a picture but [...]