Archive for May, 2009

What I’ve Noticed

Lesbian stereotypes are so much fun to play with. The conservatives on the Supreme Court think pregnancy discrimination is ok.  I don’t get it – shouldn’t they consider it double discrimination? Fathers with daughters often become more liberal. I’d say that’s good evidence that current conservative policies hurt women.  Of course, you could also say […]

Berry Go Round #17

Welcome to the 17th edition of Berry Go Round!  Before you get started here, you may want to check out the 16th edition hosted at Quiche Moraine.  It’s full of exciting posts on mutualism. GrannyJ’s A garland of leaves at Walking Prescott, is a beautifully illustrated post comparing the shapes and colors of a variety […]

Milk vs. MRIs

I purchased my current health insurance through my university.  It’s $1500 a year, which isn’t bad, but it covers almost nothing and has no prescription drug coverage.  If I were following my doctor’s instructions, I’d spend $1500 every 3 or 4 months on prescriptions alone.  This health insurance is definitely not worth $1500 a year, […]

What We Killed Thursday

This week, I’ve got two more cycads that are extinct in the wild.  When Encephalartos relictus and Encephalartos woodii were discovered by western botanists, only one of each remained. E. relictus was discovered in 1971 by J. J. P. du Preez on the eastern border of Swaziland near Mozambique.  There was only one plant.  du […]

Advocacy

Many scientists try to separate advocacy and science, but that’s probably not a good idea: The only two logically sound arguments that emerge, say the researchers, are the social harm that might result if scientists, who are the true experts, don’t advocate; and the fact that researchers are citizens first and scientists second, and therefore […]