XVIth Panda's Thumb Photography Contest. Caribou skull found near the Russell Glacier on the West Coast of Greenland, June, 2022, by Malcolm Schongalla - Honorable Mention. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
opticist, sometime photographer, evolutionist (yes, that is a word), author of books and articles, retired physics professor, atheist (or at least strong agnostic), contributor to The Panda's Thumb, victim advocate, nudnik
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XVIth Panda's Thumb Photography Contest. Caribou skull found near the Russell Glacier on the West Coast of Greenland, June, 2022, by Malcolm Schongalla - Honorable Mention. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America... on the importance of unions
Investigated: Lisa Cook, Chris Christie, John Bolton, Leticia James, Jack Smith, Adam Schiff; accused of crimes: Biden, Obama; security detail revoked: Harris, Hunter and Ashley Biden, Mayorkas, Pompeo, Fauci; security clearance revoked: Biden, Blinken, Hillary Clinton, too many to list. 2/2
Not just criminal investigations - ABC has a (long) list of people targeted one way or another. abcnews.go.com/US/list-indi.... 1/2
ICYMI, Beto O'Rourke on Substack betoorourke.substack.com/p/theyre-try.... Kind of old hat, dating ~Aug 6, but I just discovered it. Cannot readily find coverage in NYT, WaPo, even The Nation. Covered in Texas & on TV news. See interview with O'Rourke ~2 weeks ago www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIXa...
Am I correct in saying that there is no right answer to either question 2 or 3? Sex is determined by the size of the gamete, not the chromosomes or the external appearance.
Hope that helps? It won't.
I think actually your memory goes first, and then ummm....
I took PragerU's Oklahoma Teacher Certification Exam so you don't have to. Question highlights in this thread:
Prayers? What about the thoughts?!
What a surprise!
The same Dr. Cassidy who pretended to believe Kennedy's lies and *enabled* him (I use the term advisedly) to wreak havoc on the CDC? *That* Dr. Cassidy? I am ashamed for him.
There was a school shooting in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996, with 16 pupils and one teacher dead. In response, UK gun ownership laws were tightened with all-party agreement. There have been none since. It’s that simple.
Guns don't kill people; SSRI's kill people.
OTOH, I was carded on a bus and had to show that I was over 65. Don't remember exactly, but I must have been closer to 75. The driver and I had a good laugh next time I saw her. To think that 35-yo me used to hate being mistaken for a grad student!
Now it’s #FEMA workers standing up to an administration that is destroying our capacity to respond to natural disasters. These workers have more integrity and courage than anyone in this White House. To them, their duty sacred. To protect Americans from the worst that nature can bring.
Splendid book, which (FWIW) I reviewed in somewhat more detail here: pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
"One Hundred Easy Ways" (to lose a man) - my wife knows it cold and reminds me periodically. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHh4...
GLENDOWER I can call spirits from the vasty deep. HOTSPUR Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them?
Just ran a splendid pic by Al Denelsbeck showing how gingko leaf sheds water and directs it to the roots of the tree. It earned Honorable Mention in xvi-th (!) Panda's Thumb photo contest. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
IMI, TYVM!
I was about to make the same observation as Margaret Sheehan, tho not so cleverly. The author clearly thought that the light-year was a long time and would not have written "kilometers from making a profit."
Oh dear - I inadvertently deleted the URL for the Panda's Thumb piece: pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
I just posted a short article on The Panda's Thumb, musing upon the book On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not, by Robert Burton. Burton argues that we have an innate (and italicized) *feeling of knowing* that can lead us astray if we are not careful.
Golly gee!
I do not get such (spammy?) requests from individuals, but I do the same as you. I am in the US and in the last 2 years or so have largely redirected my Required Minimum Distributions to agencies that are active in Gaza or Ukraine, e.g. I think you are doing the right thing.
I tried it myself once or twice when I knew I would be pressed for time. But I rewrote it as a script, not a formal paper, and acted it out very carefully. A friend told me not to do it again: I was not my usual charming self. I categorically denied being charming, but I never did it again.
Interesting article, p. 18, on persecution of physicists during red scare of 1950's (I remember the red scare and, vaguely, the Oppenheimer case). Despite many personal tragedies, it was nothing compared to attacks on universities today. (My alma mater U Rochester defended its own physicist, tho.)
The problem is when meaning drifts and words become ambiguous, so literally = figuratively, unique = unusual, not to mention begging the question = raising the question. Those are the ones to fight, but we will lose and not have a word for (truly) unique. -gate or acoustic = small potatoes.
I think tho that acoustic = opposite of electronic may well stick (as cis = opposite of trans gave us cisgender even tho it was a different meaning of trans). Ciardi said s.t. like, Language behaves the way it does because it does, & I think that is the bottom line. But I will hate "acoustic bike."
An acoustic cigarette, I presume, is an exploding cigarette?
Just posted this Honorable Mention photo of Archilestes grandis by Joel Eissenberg on The Panda's Thumb here pandasthumb.org/archives/202.... We learned from a comment that it is the largest damselfly in the United States.
Yes, I thought of that before I signed, but it has wider implications, unlike, say, a vote for mayor of a small city.
Done!
Dershowitz may be a shmuck, but he should not be penalized for his political beliefs.
You are more than welcome! I hope the book does well (and we pay attention!).
On Panda's Thumb a day or so ago: Joe Felsenstein posted "Evolution News finds the problem with the evolution of mimicry." EN is a mouthpiece for intelligent-design creationism. Felsenstein was not impressed, and neither were the commenters.
My review of Booster Shots by Adam Ratner, on Panda's Thumb. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... It is potentially an important book, mostly about how we bungled measles but also how we are unprepared for the next pandemic. I hope it gets the attention it deserves.
Fair point, which I have certainly considered. Strikes me as at least partly pretext, else why were Jewish students, Israelis singled out at Columbia (AP 8/30/24), probably elsewhere? Will keep Chinese cotton in mind!
Odd, though, that of all the atrocities going on in the world, Israel is singled out for opprobrium. Where are the angry students protesting South Sudan? The Rohingya? The Uighurs? That is not to say Israel is not overly murderous in Gaza, but why do they elicit such vitriol? And no one else?
Newsletter from Alliance for Retired Americans, linked to AP: "UnitedHealth Confirms It Is Under Investigation for Medicare Billing Malpractices as House Committee Holds a Medicare Advantage Hearing" Full post not on ARA website yet. Gd news but doubt they will kill Med [Dis]Advantage any time soon.
Orzel, How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog. Was a little cutesy but as you can see from my review (link) I liked it very well. Good for a layperson but also a physicist who occasionally worries about quantum mechanics. Will make you worry more. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
^ ^ | V
Though there are cheaper (or, rather, less expensive) options, a pdf of your review costs several times more than the book. Now *that* is a paywall!
I forgot the link: pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
Honorable Mention, XVIth Panda's Thumb Photography Contest: Eurasian jay, hovering in doorway after attack by 2 magpies, by Philip Abrams, June, 2025, London. We will run an Honorable Mention or other nature picture on PT every 2 weeks.
"Sugar is sugar" is not entirely accurate; high fructose corn sweetener is a Fodmap, and Monash University recommends less than 1/2 cup of diet cola to sensitive people. Kennedy is not wrong about *everything*.
"ABC & CBS both settled." Right, and the Wash Post settled in advance. Let us hope that Murdoch has more guts than Bezos.
Ken Ham Asked an Astronaut Some Controversial Questions His “Controversial Questions” are “Is the earth flat?” and “Do aliens exist?”. This was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team! How much do they get paid for this stunning scholarship??? answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ha...
Also, unless I am mistaken, HFCS is a Fodmap and can ferment and cause digestive problems in some people, possibly like me.
Sorry, I unraveled my thread. Should have been a response to Orbital Brain, below.
I was liking Alligator Auschwitz myself, but I am inclined to agree with Orbital Brain – Auschwitz was not a "mere" concentration camp; it was an extermination camp, and we should be very careful not to minimize that.
Just posted Human and Chimpanzee: 15% or 1% Genetic Difference? How Creationism Misleads the Public, by Martin Neukamm. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... As a commenter noted, dishonestly cropping a figure to make a point should have destroyed Luskin's credibility. It will not.
Runner-up to XVIth Panda's Thumb Photography Contest, Echium candicans, Pride of Madeira, by John Trawick. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
Unbelievable. Is there no one in the White House who knows how to write a business letter? Who can Correct Trump's Capitalization? Who knows the difference between negotiating and issuing an ultimatum? Evidently not.
John Harshman has won the XVIth Panda's Thumb Photography Contest with this splendid picture of an anhinga melanogaster, or oriental darter, Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India. pandasthumb.org/archives/202.... Creative Commons BY-NC-ND License 4.0.
Whose there proofreeder?
Hi Paul -- Other reports, linked on BlueSky, say the NWS did its job, while the police dawdled for 4 hours. They kind of have a ring of truth, but we shall see.
Just a reminder that you may see the finalists of the Panda's Thumb Photography Contest thru Sunday and cast a vote if you like. Winner announced on Monday, noon, Mountain Time.
Astonishingly, 1 USian in 4 rejects evolution and so much modern science. The Scopes trial did not defeat creationism; it drove it dormant for a while. See my precis here pandasthumb.org/archives/202... and also a full post by William Trollinger and Susan Trollinger linked in the text.
Just reposted an article by Glenn Branch, "How the Scopes Trial Was Almost Scooped" in 1922, on The Panda's Thumb, here: pandasthumb.org/archives/202.... The original had been posted a few days earlier on the Righting America blog.
What if I told Ms. Faulkner that in my opinion she is not Episcopalian? Episcopalians would not be so arrogant as to define someone else's religion.
I posted the finalists of the Panda's Thumb Photography Contest here, below. If you want to vote, you have till July 6 (yeah, I dragged it out a little too long). I will post the winner on July 7 and the runner-up the following Monday. Thereafter I will post a picture every other Monday.
Too much like jargon. For public consumption, Jamieson notwithstanding, I'd stick with consensus or else something like preponderance of evidence, bulk of evidence, massive amount of evidence, overwhelming evidence. Surely we can think of something better than convergent evidence.
You may see the picture with Ron in it by clicking the first link.
Ronald *Witt*mann. Sorry.
This New Mexico century plant owned by Ronald Whitmann blooms for the first time in 25 years. Also, please remember the Panda's Thumb Photography Contest. Entries close Friday, June 20. You may find rules by following the 2nd link. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
I understand. Sometimes you feel like you just have to generate a pun, whether by hook or by crook.
I do. But I do not know why you think I was Hooked (cap used advisedly).
Oh, sure, I realized that you had typed it correctly. But no one proofreads any more because of autocorrect, and autocorrect itself sometimes makes for interesting typos. Passive voice allows you to shift the blame from someone to no one.
"Stupid autocorrect" = "failure to proofread." But where did you see the suggestion that the authorities may have set the fires? I saw it nowhere in the text that I read. Did I miss it?
Huh?
No, but you spelled Gutenberg wrong.
We (well, more precisely, I) just invited entries to the XVIth Panda's Thumb photography contest. See the link for the rules. Entries close June 20, 12:00 MDT. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... The photograph is an Olympus OM-1 that I used for 27 y and then never again exposed a single frame.
I think his point would be that geographically it is not after the preposition, and he means literally after a preposition. For whom the bell tolls, but who the bell tolls for. (He also made me more forgiving of supposed dangling participles.)
'...write at the bottom of the letter “I favor Whom's Doom except after a preposition.” Better yet, get yourself a rubber stamp ... and stamp that declaration on your stationery.' -- Theodore Bernstein, www.nytimes.com/1975/03/09/a..., in precomputer days.
Unbelievably horrified by this attack in Boulder. We don’t know the full story of the attacker, but no matter what it is, let me be clear: Senseless, antisemitic attacks do not help Palestinians, Jews, or Israelis. Committing terror attacks against people standing for hostages is disgusting.
A silverfish, my post on Panda's Thumb the other day. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... Keep an eye out for our photography contest, beginning Monday.
Me too (9/10). I still cannot see the flaws in the AI-generated pangolin photo.
Positive feedback loop?
Splendid graphic! I only hope that the line between political appointees and the public actually exists.
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Sometimes I wish they were less sensitive.
TYVM!
Green flash - I have never seen one. Supposedly requires still air, as over the ocean, so I am surprised you photographed that on a cloudy day. Would that have been visible to the eye? What is the time between the images?
Excellent plot, but I had to give up reading the gray type on the black background. Luckily, I do not take quizzes, I give them!
Just ran this picture of Silver Cord Cascade in Yellowstone National Park, by Jim Kocher, on The Panda's Thumb. pandasthumb.org/archives/202.... It was an Honorable Mention in one of our annual photography contests.
I'm a Democrat. Yes. That's how I vote. I don't sit it out. But @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social and @schumer.senate.gov are just fucking up royally. We need leadership. They bring the dither, the whine, the excuses. We're ready to fight. The @democrats.org? AWOL.
Cannot agree more. What do you think of Leaders We Deserve and their attempt to unseat older, um, useless Democrats?
Some of this article, by Gregg Gonsalves, is simply astonishing. Russell Vought's own child takes a "miracle drug" (Mrs. Vought's words) developed with NIH funds, yet Mr. Vought does a hatchet job on NIH funding. Stunning, amoral incompetence. Read the article for more.
Or Wordle?
Picture of the giant sunspot, along with a very short commentary cribbed mostly from EarthSky, on Panda's Thumb. Handheld camera with filter made from cardboard eclipse glasses from 2017 eclipse. I plan to check it in about 27 d. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...
Joe Felsenstein has posted an article on Panda's Thumb: "Intelligent Design advocates buy into Platonic nonsense." The title is self-explanatory. There is a nice discussion in the comments, including the observation that Plato had it backward.
Yes. That is important. In principle opposition to the Israeli government is not anti-Semitic, but in fact it often amounts to the same thing.
On Panda's Thumb, here, pandasthumb.org/archives/202..., "Safeguarding Sound Science, Climate Change Edition," a new podcast by National Center for Science Education. Provides contents and links.
Splendid, comprehensive review! Combined with the interview on WBUR, which includes an excerpt, I almost feel like I need not read the book. But I think I will.
Very good, thanks to *you*!
Pillar of salt - what a splendid title!