aesmael: (just people)

In the past year, This Week in Virology has rapidly become one of my favourite podcasts. Although, because of the way I do my podcast listening I've only heard the first few episodes from way back in 2008. After a while of not hearing one I was getting a bit worried I'd messed something up in compiling the playlist, but it turns out they'd missed a week.

The hosts are Vincent Racaniello, a virologist, and Dickson Despommier, who studies parasites. In this 2008-10-18 episode they had these adorable exchanges while working their way round from cichlid fish to talking about rabies.

Despommier: So you start mutating this gene and you get all these mouthparts. What does that sound like to you, Vince?
Racaniello, clearly unsure where Despommier is going with this: Viruses?
Despommier: Uh, that was a question. No, no, it was a broader question. It actually mimics the same situation of Darwin's finches. Darwin's finches can be controlled in terms of beak size and strength by a single gene. And if you mutate that gene in chickens you can get all of Darwin's finches represented in domestic chickens.
[...]
Racaniello: Is evolution a theory or a fact?
Despommier: Well you know, you teach this stuff enough and you start to consider it as a fact.
Racaniello: It is a fact, it's a law, Dick. Repeat after me: Evolution is a law.
Despommier: It's a rigidly controlled-
Both: *laughing*

aesmael: (pangoself)
I worry about being too Pollyannaish about COVID-19 because I have been overly optimistic about events in the past and yes, that does appear to be a serious illness which looks set to kill many thousands of people more. And I'm mostly telling people don't worry so much, this is not the end of the world, your concern and precautions should be only what you will be taking with regards the flu.

But I do believe that, and I don't encounter worries that invite a more moderated response. Instead it's all "they shouldn't be allowed to come here" and "I'm scared to go out because there's lots of Asian tourists in this town". So I feel like there's no room for being measured or talking about research and details, or anything really, aside from trying to beat back misinformation and racism.
aesmael: (pangoself)
Writing to the endocrinologist who has been helping me out, to update her on my search for general practitioners who will treat me. Wanting to include a sentence or two expressing appreciation for her taking me on and attempting to help with resources and medication, and finding myself getting emotional, choked up.

Pulling back from doing so, on the basis that to feel so grateful to a doctor merely for treating me as a patient or appearing to be helpful is a sign of a dysfunctional system and I should not play into that nor allow it to make more vulnerable than I am if I can avoid that. But it would also be polite, and it is true. So, considering.
aesmael: (just people)
Obama lifts the ban on US aid money going to any organisation that provides abortions and the US House of Representatives goes and passes a similar ban on their own people.

It's absurd. Federal money banned from paying for a particular class of medical procedures. Why? It's not illegal, so why is a government being barring itself from funding legal medical procedures? Because a subset of the population has a religious prejudice against it, seems like mainly. Which isn't a very secular way to run a government. Unfair too; no government is making laws based on my religious beliefs, or even- well.

How come? we would ask. How come laws are made on the basis of the views of some sects of a religion but not the views of others? Especially the ones which outlaw personal choices, ones we would expect people who hold a belief in their immorality not to choose.

If this becomes law the lives of many people, particularly poor women and children, will be materially disadvantaged compared to if this does not become law. The gain, meanwhile, is that members of some Christian sects can feel pleased others are being forced to live by their morality, while members of other Christian sects will be frustrated that their morality has been prohibited.

Their are anti-choice non-religious atheists and members of other religions, but let's not pretend this was done to suit their desires.

[Link up top, very worth reading. Post content is different to what I wrote here]
aesmael: (probably quantum)
(04:25:24) celestialjayde: http://sexinthepublicsquare.org/ERVsBlog/Microbiology-and-Abortion
also this is intriguing

(04:27:04) Ami angelwings: Planned Parenthood's recommendation to use the abortion-causing drug Misoprostol vaginally rather than orally has led to fatal infections according to a research study released by the University of Michigan.
(04:27:15) Ami angelwings: if i was a scientist upon reading that
(04:27:37) Ami angelwings: i would go into one of the radioactive labs and irradiate myself
(04:27:39) Ami angelwings: gain super powers
(04:27:45) Ami angelwings: and go destroy them for misrepresenting my work
aesmael: (haircut)
Bored with that titling system. Let's leave it blank for now.

Dispatches from the Culture Wars
  1. Thoughts on Day One of the DNC [Maybe I should amalgamate all the Scienceblogs postings under a single heading. I find something vaguely distasteful about this and the last post from here. Maybe it is an air of self-congratulation.]
  2. Effete Hollywood Elitists for McCain


Google Reader Shared Items
  1. The Future of Books [via [livejournal.com profile] soltice. Was expecting "E-books: Yea or abomination?" Instead, Pretty.]
  2. Laser pointers banned in New South Wales after rash of attacks on pilots [via [livejournal.com profile] soltice. But I want one.]
  3. Super Mario Girls [via [livejournal.com profile] soltice. Cute, yes. Not everything needs to be done with sex appeal in mind though. And since when are "fluffy clouds with faces and bubbly turtles and blocky landscapes" unmanly? But I like the picture.]
  4. Cat 5 wedding rings help nerds couple [via [livejournal.com profile] soltice. I, uh, don't know what these actually do.]
  5. Moe Angel with Headphones [via [livejournal.com profile] soltice. Cute cute cute! *save*]
  6. Bioware devs debate whether Wii is part of gaming [via [livejournal.com profile] gentle_gamer. It seems an odd question to me, since the Wii seems clearly a device for playing games, but the post is just a quick summary linking to an interview. No, wait. That was a preface too. Interview here. There are lots of words there at the beginning but I am not entirely sure these people are saying anything... a bit like reading some Post-Modern discourse. It seems like an interesting question though: what counts as gaming? I want to say "playing a game". This talk of narrative... that seems like something else to me. Something called 'narrative'. Describing the experience of playing a Wii as "toy-like", or making a distinction with sports such as tennis, this seems to me like an attempt to mark gaming as a particular kind of experience, a particular approach to an activity. I think what is being gotten at is a degree of seriousness and immersion. I think it probably does constitute a bundle of approaches, any subset of which can apply at a given time, and what the Bioware folks are talking about constitutes one of these subsets. Although reading to the end of the page I think I misunderstood them a bit. I am being vague because I am tired. Possibly follow up later with input from others?]
  7. Celebrate Mario Kart Wii with alternate karts, Wii wheel substitutions [via [livejournal.com profile] gentle_gamer. Funny.]
  8. Working NES squeezed into ... an NES cartridge [via [livejournal.com profile] gentle_gamer. Wow, neat! This title messes with my ideas of how it should be pronounced.]
  9. SIU responds to anti-feminist email [via [livejournal.com profile] gentle_gamer. Oh, wow! It feels so rare to see such a desirable response, it can get disheartening.]
  10. The Fag Bug is back! [via [livejournal.com profile] gentle_gamer. That's a pretty creative and great response to vandalism. Interesting seeing the change in tone of people's responses between the first post, in which Erin Davies starts her mission, and the second post, in which it is revealed she is getting a book and film deal out of this.]


Gmail Web Clip clickings
  1. David Wain Moves From Wainy Days to Role Models [Who is this guy? Why do I care what he does? I fear curiosity clicking from gmail has gotten the better of me...]
  2. Time to "Free the Airwaves" [Google would like people to be activist on their behalf.]
  3. Top Fun Date Ideas [These are not romantic? My idea of a going-somewhere date is to do something we will enjoy, so these seem more like standard date ideas than special fun ones. Admittedly I have been on very few dates in my life, but this makes it seem like something which is supposed to be very restrained in ways which are not interesting to me. At least now I know what an Interpretive Center is.*]


Respectful Insolence
  1. "To kill and cure cancer, you must first understand it" [Orac is as ever verbose.]


Signout
  1. The luxury of time [I've not encountered this blog before. This is... fascinating. Not much to say because processing.]


Uncertain Principles
  1. It's 4am [Labs are not supposed to be flooded. Unless you work in underseaology.]


My assignment is as done as it is getting, so I sleep now. Test in five hours.

*This whole response reads like something which I would respond to in someone else with scorn, as if they are trying to show off how special and above ordinary concerns they are. Ah well.
aesmael: (transformation)
(10:37:16 PM) flynnacatri: http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=980814
(10:38:06 PM) aesmael: Medic flowers are very rare, but have tremendously fantastic properties.
(10:38:20 PM) flynnacatri: Zigactement!
(10:38:24 PM) flynnacatri: Like bezoars
(10:38:31 PM) flynnacatri: ...and sleep...
(10:38:36 PM) flynnacatri: and anithistamines. Dammitr
(10:38:47 PM) aesmael: Sleepistimines.
(10:39:14 PM) flynnacatri: yesssss....
(10:39:20 PM) flynnacatri: frog pils
(10:39:22 PM) aesmael: Bezoars live deep in the forest. Their quills make extracting the healing juice a risky prospect.
(10:39:27 PM) aesmael: Dessicated.
(10:40:06 PM) flynnacatri: Requires gloves of the northern silver thistle leaf and tongs from sapient pearwood to fend off the individually attacking bristles
(10:40:07 PM) aesmael: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/04/01/
See? You are real!
(10:40:23 PM) flynnacatri: No. I am a typing autobot.
(10:40:57 PM) aesmael: Alt-form?
(10:41:06 PM) flynnacatri: Invisible
(10:41:38 PM) aesmael: Translucent.
(10:41:46 PM) flynnacatri: Dryers are evil consumerism
(10:41:46 PM) aesmael: Transparent aluminum.
(10:43:12 PM) flynnacatri: Yes! IT CALLS ME! A great disturbance in the ocean mesopelagic zone! As if many phytoplankton CRIED OUT in sudden terror
(10:43:33 PM) aesmael: =^____^=
aesmael: (writing things down)
The astonishing story of the incomparable Rex Libris, Head Librarian at Middleton Public Library, and his unending struggle against the forces of ignorance and darkness. With the aid of an ancient god who lives beneath the library branch, Rex travels to the farthest reaches of the galaxy in search of overdue books. He must confront incredible foes, such as powerful alien warlords who refuse to pay their late fees. Wearing his super thick bottle glasses, and armed with an arsenal of high technology weapons, he strikes fear into recalcitrant borrowers, and can take on virtually any foe from zombies to renegade public-domain literary characters with aplomb.

An interview with Terry Pratchett at The Guardian, which is interesting overall but the most novel part for me was reading about why he got out of journalism.

Finally, a video:


Edited:
[livejournal.com profile] aepalizage: I think these animators must be confused
[livejournal.com profile] aepalizage: Humpback whales are incapable of hovering aloft, and while they do sing in some sense, it is not German metal music.
[livejournal.com profile] aesmael: Really? You must get different whales.
[livejournal.com profile] aepalizage: Ours only sing in Polish
[livejournal.com profile] aepalizage: And it's more of a quiet orchestral accompaniment
[livejournal.com profile] aepalizage: I love how hauntingly similar German sounds to a language
aesmael: (tricicat)
Since reading through Cat and Girl I have read through a few other webcomics, none of which inspiring enough passion in any direction for me to write about, although they did manage to make me laugh very occasionally. Now I have to go back and change that.

Several days ago I was reading Cheshire Crossing, the comic Andy Weir is working on since Casey and Andy became too unbearable to finish. It so far is not plagued by the problems of his previous comic, perhaps because the cast is almost exclusively female. The art, so derided by all discussion of the comic I have come across, does not bother me - but then I do so often say I am without taste and enjoy things which are terrible.

This is not why I am writing this post. I am writing now because of a scene in the third volume (Cheshire Crossing is released in volumes) which, when I finally realised the reference ruined my nearly successful efforts to get to sleep that morning. Yes, Mary Poppins, water-melted in battle with a Wicked Witch of Oz, is cured by a "spoonful of sugar".
aesmael: (tricicat)
    Thanks to iGoogle, a quick sweep through the most recent entries in my feeds.
  1. kimberella|Larvatus Prodeo in exile So much for the religious right [Family First made barely a blip in election; I think they were split with the Christian Democrats]
  2. The Merchant of Menace|The Anti-Theist and Misoclere Society Blair Admits His Delusional Psychopathy [Faith is not a justification for anything to anyone but oneself. I do not agree with the characterisation of all religious believers as delusional or liars - I believe most are simply mistaken]
  3. Heather Mallick|Comment is free Top quality sleaze [I know not what to make of this]
  4. Autumn Sandeen|Pam's House Blend Beginning An Occasional  Series On Hometown Activism [California Democratic Party adopts resolution supporting anti-discrimination legislation protecting transgender people]
  5. ScienceWoman|On being a scientist and a woman Minnow 36: Old science project [Had not seen this blog before (I subscribed to the Scienceblogs Combined Feed once I realised I could not read all my subscriptions anyway. Looking forward to seeing more from her.]
  6. David Michaels|The Pump Handle Money Changes Everything (Still More Evidence) [Links to this very interesting article on the influence of money on how doctors look at and frame the positive and negative features of drugs]
  7. writerdd|Memoirs of a Skepchick Are ratings harmful? [I think they are pretty silly]
  8. Tim Lambert|Deltoid Slap happy Overington [Australian journalist accused of slapping Labor candidate for Wentworth]
  9. Ed Brayton|Dispatches From the Culture Wars Promote Peace, Get Harassed [Of all the responses to students wearing peace shirts and putting up posters, scrawling swastikas over them and wearing Confederate flags shirts in opposition is surely one of the worst]
  10. Orac|Respectful Insolence Takin' care of business: A triple dose of...well, you don't want to know [Blog mascot picture post - man dressed as enema bottle]
  11. Joseph j7uy5|Corpus Callosum Agomelatine: A New Approach For Depression [I often find this blog enlightening and interesting. This is not an exception.]
  12. Austin Cline|About.com: Agnosticism/Atheism Mailbag: Purpose of Life [Go read. I tend to agree with Austin Cline. I did actually make that assumption - reincarnation is not out of line for Christians I have met. The rest I suppose flows from the language being used (English). Or, y'know, I could accept being mistaken.]
  13. JP|SF Signal When Did Star Wars Jump The Shark? [Probably]
  14. Jim Downey|Unscrewing the Inscrutable This is a remarkably bad idea [Just another day]
  15. Ed Brayton|Dispatches From the Culture Wars Heisman Trophy: Tim Tebow [Not something I know or care about]
  16. Ed Brayton|Dispatches From the Culture Wars Scalia Hires Two Orthodox Jewish clerks [The comments are... interesting]
  17. Ed Brayton|Dispatches From the Culture Wars Michigan Protects Transgendered State Employees [I am slightly less pleased after rereading and seeing it is only state employees and not everyone working in the state{1}]
  18. Abel Pharmboy|Terra Sigillata Docs as drug reps: a physician's inside story [Another (longer) take on the story linked at item #6]
  19. PZ Myers|Pharyngula Faith is not a prerequisite for science [Paul Davies gets on my nerves too. PZ Myers does not. Blake Stacey, also awesome.]
{1} It often annoys me seeing trans women described as ladies. I get the impression there are not many women these days who enjoy being called 'ladies' these days and it strikes me as patronising, as in "Ladies, ladies, calm down". *shrug*
aesmael: (sudden sailor)
I found this interesting.
aesmael: (transformation)
    Found something interesting today playing around with Google Trends:

    I asked it to compare searches for catgirl, bunnygirl, foxgirl and, because I realised my list was focussing on girlcandy but not boycandy, catboy. Most of them did not show up. The blue line is catgirl. The green one is catboy. I wonder why the sudden surge in searches  over the past few months?
Click for more, tangentially related )

Tch

2007-11-19 00:54
aesmael: (nervous)
    Orac|Respectful Insolence provides a list all the academic medical centres which offer woo, as it is put. List is here.

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