Another in the continuing series. This one is from Derb, whose excellent new book on algebra I am reading now. “English persons, therefore, of humanitarian and reformist disposition constantly went out to the Balkan Peninsula to see who was in fact ill-treating whom, and, being by the very nature of their perfectionist faith unable to …
Good News for a Change
The title says it all: “Federal Law Negates D.C.’s Suit Against Gunmakers, Judge Rules”. Washington DC has never figured out that heavy gun control means that only criminals have guns. So they acted sort of like the Bozeman lawmakers in my dog post below, figuring the popular law against making it impossible to sue gunmakers …
Bad News for Wilderness
Reid just sent me a link to this LAT story about energy “corridors” being proposed in the West. It is nothing less than appalling. It begins: “Under orders from Congress to move quickly, the Department of Energy and Bureau of Land Management will approve thousands of miles of new power line and pipeline corridors on …
AR Win in Albuquerque
I hate to keep harping on this boring but ominous issue– I’d much prefer to link to weird biology or pontificate on poetry. But. To once again use that Trotsky quote, substituting “AR” for “war”, you may not be interested in AR, but it is interested in you. This morning, The Lady With the Funny …
Anti- Dog Dog Laws
From the Sportsman’s and Animal Owners Voting Alliance, the latest on the LA dog ordinance: “Los Angeles County has passed an ordinance that requires all dogs to be sterilized and microchipped, effective June 3, 2006. It applies only to those dogs kept in unincorporated areas, but cities such as Los Angeles are being urged to …
Eagles vs. Indians
Some imp of perversity makes me think that it is a bit funny when two darlings of political correctitude seem to go up against each other. And anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I am a “science guy” who is respectful of religion. But this is just stupid. If Indians can kill eagles without …
Are we competent today?
Rod Dreher wonders. “It occurred to me last evening that when my father, who is 71, dies, an entire body of knowledge will die with him. He grew up in the rural South during the Great Depression. He can do any practical thing. He knows how to grow anything, how to kill and skin wild …
Serious Pig
(To quote John Thorne, whom you should definitely read…) The New Yorker has put up Bill Buford’s essay on learning how to be a Tuscan- style butcher (he used to be the editor of Granta, but this is a long way from haut- lit). It will be part of this book, which I have already …
Dog Whisperer
Apparently I am the last person on the planet NOT to have heard of this guy. Apparently AR people don’t like him, which might incline me in his favor if it were not for all the @#$%^&* CELEBRITIES who endorse him. But– what’s all this about being out in front of your dog? It may …
Decreasing Speciation?
Reid sent me this article by science writer Carl Zimmer (he’s good– Darren quotes his book on primitive whales and whale evo elsewhere). It is an interesting article, but I have some reservations. I wrote to Reid: “Interesting, and I like Zimmer, but I have my doubts. Not that the effect mentioned by Zimmer doesn’t …