SETIcon II: Science, Fantasy, and Intellectual Tap Dance

No Radio Telescopes Required

Fans of and leading minds in scientific search for extraterrestrial life gathered in Santa Clara, California for SETIcon II. SETIcon II ran from Friday, June 22, through Sunday, June 24, 2012. It was an opportunity to share meaningful and informative time with extraordinarily accessible microbiologists, planet scientists, astrobiologists, physicists, engineers, entrepreneurs, geologists, philosophers, linguists, astronauts, artists, and science fiction stars. It was also a chance for the SETI Institute, a non-profit scientific research organization focusing on the search for extraterrestrial life, to update their fans and enthusiasts on their research.

Read the rest here (And oh, do you want to):
http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/seticon_ii_no_radio_telescopes_required

In Four Days

"Extent of surface melt over Greenland’s ice sheet on July 8 (left) and July 12 (right). Measurements from three satellites showed that on July 8, about 40 percent of the ice sheet had undergone thawing at or near the surface. In just a few days, the melting had dramatically accelerated and an estimated 97 percent of the ice sheet surface had thawed by July 12. In the image, the areas classified as “probable melt” (light pink) correspond to those sites where at least one satellite detected surface melting. The areas classified as “melt” (dark pink) correspond to sites where two or three satellites detected surface melting. The satellites are measuring different physical properties at different scales and are passing over Greenland at different times. As a whole, they provide a picture of an extreme melt event about which scientists are very confident. Credit: Nicolo E. DiGirolamo, SSAI/NASA GSFC, and Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory" - NASA


http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/greenland-melt.html

Register One: Doing the least you can do is still doing something

Voting is one of the few priceless assets we will ever own. Many eligible American citizens have not even registered to vote. Even if they decide to seize their power, if they have not registered, they may be left voiceless. In all states, swing state or not, the importance of voters cannot be understated.
Think of voting as a powerful weapon at the disposal of a registered voter. Every election, that weapon can be wielded any way the balloter chooses. She can use it against one candidate or in service of another. He can support a cause or choose to try to kill it. A voter can even choose to holster their weapon if they choose not to use it during an election. The registered voter has a choice.

Read the rest (it's really worth a click):
http://voices.yahoo.com/register-one-campaign-1944014.html?cat=75

Sterilizing History

I find the desire to scrub history free of offensive content disheartening and counter productive to learning about history. For example, taking the word nigger out of Huck Finn or the internment camps out of WW2 history discussions or Trail of Tears out of the conversations about settling the west. What do you think? Is it beneficial to sanitize?
 
What inspired the conversation:
http://www.theoakleafnews.com/opinion/2012/05/15/is-the-n-word-appropriate-for-history-classes/

 

Your Morals or Your Bosses?

When is it appropriate to exercise your own morals at work and when is it appropriate for your employer to determine your behavior even if it is immoral? Consider: A bartender not pouring to a pregnant woman, and a pharmacist who won't provide contraceptives or RU486.

Rapey Rape and Rape Rape Rapey Rape

What does it say about American discourse that circumstances in our elections actually force us to discuss rape - good or bad, real or fake, legitimate or illegitimate? I confess, I think less of my fellow citizens today that such patently immoral questions would be debated in public view without shame.

American Shooters: It Isn't About Trench Coats, Violent Movies, or Racist Music

Thanks Mother Jones for the picture.

 On August 5, 2012 a man entered a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, started shooting, and killed 7 people, including himself. The Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin came less than a month after a man opened fire in a crowded theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing twelve of the seventy people he injured. Most Americans can name five mass shootings with a similar narrative. The Wisconsin, Aurora and other shootings have motivated us to ask questions of our society and ourselves. Unfortunately, we focus so myopically on the particulars of a single case or on finding a simple answer, that we cannot see the overarching problems that connect multiple events. We avoid asking open, complicated questions that could potentially result in a shift of responsibility, conflict, and introspection. I fear we are asking questions of little consequence, and that it is the answers to the questions we do not ask that could stop these problems from growing and blossoming into a meadow of macabre societal wildflowers.