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New Bird Species Discovered [Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)]
An undated artist's rendering of Zosterops somadikartai, or Togian white-eye. The small greenish bird that has been playing hide-and-seek with ornithologists on a remote Indonesian island since 1996 was declared a newly discovered species on March 14, 2008 and promptly recommended for endangered lists.
Image: Agus Prijono.
Scientists have discovered a new species of bird on a remote Indonesian archipelago in the Southern Pacific Ocean. A formal description of this new species, the Togian white-eye, Zosterops somadikartai, was just published in the March issue of the ornithological journal, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. Not only was this bird recognized as a new species, but its small population and home range were sufficient for recommendation to the international endangered species lists.
ClockQuotes [A Blog Around The Clock]
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
- William Shakespeare
Read the comments on this post...Four Stone Hearth Call for Submissions [Aardvarchaeology]
Tim of Remote Central has kindly stepped in to host the upcoming 41st instalment of the Four Stone Hearth anthro & archaeo blogging carnival. Send links to good recent anthroblogging to him! It needn't be your own stuff: submit all the goodies you've read lately.
The next open hosting slot is on 2 July. All bloggers with an interest in the subject are welcome to volunteer to me. No need to be an anthro pro.
Read the comments on this post...MrBabyMan might quit Digg?
A recent picture depicting MrBabyMan " An Illustraded Guide to Understanding Digg" has made MrBabyMan really think about how the digg community feels about him and whether or not he should stay an active member of digg.
Soaring Over the Alps on Homemade Jet Wings
"Playing to a mesmerized audience, Swiss pilot and adventurer (some might say nutcase) Yves Rossy has soared above the Alps with homemade jet-powered wings strapped to his back. "
Kangaroo cull on Defence land to go ahead
DEFENCE contractors are preparing to cull hundreds of kangaroos at a Canberra site in another about-face, after the federal government refused to foot the bill to move them.After moving in March to kill the kangaroos at the former naval station for environmental reasons, Defence stopped the cull to further study moving the animals interstate
MTV's Aimee Allen, Ron Paul Anthem Music Video MUST SEE!!
This will be THE OFFICIAL RON PAUL ANTHEM, LET'S GO VIRAL AND GET IT PLAYED ON MTV AND ALL OVER THE NET!!
The Z Machine
This is a stop action photo of a device at Sandia Labs releasing its capacitors' charge. It is about the size of a basketball court. It has achieved temperatures of 3.7*10^9 K (highest man-made temperature ever). During the 100 ns discharge, the power output is 2.9*10^14 W, equal to 80 times the power output of all the power plants on earth.
Crab Diver [Deep Sea News]
The Cotton Factory has a new T-Shirt design!
It's teh awesome! On sale now for a ten spot.
Read the comments on this post...Winemaking patriarch Robert Mondavi dead at 94
A winery spokeswoman says California winemaking patriarch Robert Mondavi has died. He was 94. Mondavi died peacefully at his home in Yountville on Friday.
It’s always our decision who we are. [Stranger Fruit]
Philosopher Robert Solomon in Waking Life:
The reason why I refuse to take existentialism as just another French fashion or historical curiosity is that I think it has something very important to offer us for the new century. I'm afraid we're losing the real virtues of living life passionately, sense of taking responsibility for who you are, the ability to make something of yourself and feeling good about life.Existentialism is often discussed as if it's a philosophy of despair. But I think the truth is just the opposite. Sartre once interviewed said he never really felt a day of despair in his life. But one thing that comes out from reading these guys is not a sense of anguish about life so much as a real kind of exuberance of feeling on top of it. It's like your life is yours to create.
I've read the postmodernists with some interest, even admiration. But when I read them, I always have this awful nagging feeling that something absolutely essential is getting left out. The more that you talk about a person as a social construction or as a confluence of forces or as fragmented or marginalized, what you do is you open up a whole new world of excuses. And when Sartre talks about responsibility, he's not talking about something abstract. He's not talking about the kind of self or soul that theologians would argue about. It's something very concrete. It's you and me talking. Making decisions. Doing things and taking the consequences.
It might be true that there are six billion people in the world and counting. Nevertheless, what you do makes a difference. It makes a difference, first of all, in material terms. Makes a difference to other people and it sets an example. In short, I think the message here is that we should never simply write ourselves off and see ourselves as the victim of various forces. It's always our decision who we are.
Solomon's book, Existentialism, is probably the best entry point into the breadth of Existential thought.
Read the comments on this post...How Much Should You Save Each Year?
The 'Million Dollar Question': what should you be doing now when you're young to make sure you can live in style when you stop working?
Realistic-Looking Sonic the Hedgehog to Give You Nightmares
You might remember an image that showed up awhile back depicting how Bowser might look if he were real. Well, that same guy decided to give the same treatment to another beloved video game character with this realistic picture of Sonic the Hedgehog.
An Illustrated Guide to Understanding the Economic Stimulus
It's not that difficult, really.
Rush Limbaugh berates 10th grader’s school essay
Limbaugh searched Google, found among the top results an essay entitled “The Main Causes of the Great Depression.” He quotes the essay and refutes each of its claims He doesn’t pull any punches either. Those words would be harsh if they really were for a Harvard lecturer. But that’s not who wrote this essay. It was my friend ...in 10th grade.
Wall Street Journal Bashes Angry Renter on Page One!
Movement of over 48,000 people who oppose the mortgage bailout is bashed by the Wall Street Journal on Page 1. Not surprising at all...?
The Cover-up Continues On The USS Liberty
When Adm John S. McCain, Jr., Commander in Chief, United States Naval Forces, Europe, ordered the cover-up on the attack of the USS LIBERTY it was a sure act of treason perpetrated on the American people and the crew of the LIBERTY to hide the true facts surrounding the unprovoked attack by the Government of Israel on our ship, the USS LIBERTY.
