It’s NCAA Tournament time! On the men’s side (you heard it here first): Badgers, Bearcats Blazers and Blue Demons Blue Devils and Broncos It must be the season Broncos, Buccaneers Bulldogs and Cardinals Catamounts, Commodores Their fans lovin’ it all Cougars, Cowboys Crimson Tide and Crusaders Demon Deacons and Eagles Hope it ain’t “see ya …
Here’s a retrospective look at Mars in science fiction, evolving as new discoveries about the planet were made. There are some good books (and some not-so-good ones) mentioned in here. In other scientific news, Elizabeth Blackburn, one of the scientists recently dismissed from the President’s Bioethics Council (see below), has written a letter (pdf) explaining …
Is the type face too small? Are the links easily found in the text body? All suggestions gratefully (if not gracefully) accepted.
You may have seen that odd-looking musical instrument that Sting played (well, held) at the Academy Awards. If you’re like me, you wondered what the heck it was. Turns out it was a hurdy gurdy. Here are some frequently asked questions about the instrument. If you want to see what they look like more closely, …
The most depressing thing I’ve heard today about the bombs in Madrid (beyond nearly 200 innocent people killed) was this statement from a member of the Spanish Parliament (paraphrasing): “It was logical to think it was ETA, since the type of explosive was the kind they usually use.” Think about it.
The digital cable is back (sorta); now it reverts to Channel 3 about once an hour for no apparent reason. Ashcroft’s Dept. of Justice can’t have patients’ medical records. DOJ wanted abortion records from Planned Parenthood’s affiliates, ostensibly to defend itself against lawsuits resulting from the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. A District Judge in …
I think I’ll become a Luddite. Today our digital cable TV signal is broken, and my ‘Net connection crashes every five minutes. I wonder if there’s a future in replicating cave art?
Howard Dean gave a speech at the pre-Gridiron lunch the other day. It’s been on C-Span, and you should try to see it if you can, but here’s the part I find most compelling: We have an enormous problem in this country. And I’m not here to beard the Washington establishment, but I’m going to …
The battle against censorship and heavy-handed intrusion from Congress goes ever on. Professor Juan Cole is asking for action protesting aspects of a bill making its way through Congress. From a USA Today editorial: Michigan and dozens of other universities have expanded their Middle Eastern studies using a $90 million-a-year federal grant program designed to …
Jimmy Breslin doesn’t think much of President Bush’s ad campaign. The ad is nothing more than another George W. Bush fraud. First, arriving at the trade center, he was led by a flunkey to a retired fire fighter, Bob Beckwith, who had come down three days after the attack to take a look. Bush’s flacks …