February 2006 Archives
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February 28, 2006
If it Sounds Like That I Will Never Do it Again!
Friday of last week I did a post on what Mark Twain may have sounded like when he swore. I offered three quotations from Twain on the subject of swearing. In chapter 5 of Mark Twain's Chapters from my Autobiography...Read all of "If it Sounds Like That I Will Never Do it Again!"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:27 PM
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February 27, 2006
Dennett's Dangerous Ideas
Yesterday afternoon Shirley and I went to Cal Tech to hear Daniel Dennett pitch his new book, Breaking the Spell, Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. The book and Dennett himself have gotten, shall I say, mixed reviews. Dennett is a...Read all of "Dennett's Dangerous Ideas"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:52 PM
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February 25, 2006
I Passed 8th Grade Math
You Passed 8th Grade Math Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!Could You Pass 8th Grade Math? Via Pharyngula via Living the Scientific Life...Read all of "I Passed 8th Grade Math"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:06 PM
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Why?
I just finished downloading and installing and then downloading and installing further updates for a popular anti-virus package. My current subscription was about to run out and I decided to upgrade to the latest and the greatest for the next...
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:39 PM
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February 24, 2006
How did Mark Twain Sound When He Swore?
The Mark Twain news group has been discussing two interesting questions. First, is there a recording of Mark Twain's voice? And Second, since he often made reference to swearing, exactly what did he say when he swore? About a recording...Read all of "How did Mark Twain Sound When He Swore?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:42 AM
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February 23, 2006
Castorocauda lutrasimilis the Jurassic "Beaver"
Until now, Jurassic mammals have been thought of as small. But, at about a foot long, this new fossil discovery is a whopper, at least by Jurassic mammal standards. PZ Myers has a good report, with pictures, over at Pharyngula....Read all of "Castorocauda lutrasimilis the Jurassic "Beaver""
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:19 PM
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February 22, 2006
The Demise of the Neanderthal
Paul Mellars from Cambridge University claims in a new paper in Nature that it may have taken only 5000 years for our ancestors to colonize Europe from Africa instead of the 7000 usually envisioned. And that the indigenous Neanderthal population...Read all of "The Demise of the Neanderthal"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:53 PM
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Follow the Money
Under normal circumstances, I would be in complete agreement with Kevin Drum, the political animal of the Washington Monthly and Dennis the Peasant that there was nothing unusual or particularly dangerous about having a foreign company, even one owned by...Read all of "Follow the Money"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:33 AM
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February 21, 2006
Kenneth Chang Writes a Very Good Article
Back in August of last year, I posted a very negative piece about an article in the New York Times written by Kenneth Chang. Today's New York Times has another article by Mr. Chang on the Intelligent Design creationist moment...Read all of "Kenneth Chang Writes a Very Good Article"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:49 AM
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February 20, 2006
A Preview of the Beth Shemesh Abecedary Tablet Study
I'm still awaiting interlibrary loan to do its wonders so I can finish up my work on the Tell Tannack tablet. In the meantime, I thought I'd share my preliminary thoughts on the "Abecedary" tablet found in 1933 during Elihu...Read all of "A Preview of the Beth Shemesh Abecedary Tablet Study"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:59 PM
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February 19, 2006
At the Cutting Edge, Mathematicians May Only Have Evidence Themselves
I've noted a couple of times that only mathematicians and logicians have proofs and that the rest of us only have evidence. Well things may be changing. A mathematical proof is irrefutably true, a manifestation of pure logic. But an...Read all of "At the Cutting Edge, Mathematicians May Only Have Evidence Themselves"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:28 PM
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A Strange Balancing Act
With regards to Dubai Ports World, a company owned by United Arab Emirates government, running commercial operations at US ports in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia, Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff made the following point....Read all of "A Strange Balancing Act"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:04 AM
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A Reasoned Approach to the Algebra Question
I have no idea what is wrong with Janet D. Stemwedel on Adventures in Ethics and Science but she decided to post a reasoned discussion of Richard Cohen's remarks concerning algebra. Most other folks had the decency just to rant...Read all of "A Reasoned Approach to the Algebra Question"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:17 AM
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February 17, 2006
Algebra is a Start but Only a Start
The science wing of the blogosphere has erupted with shock and indignation over a disingenuous piece by Richard Cohen in yesterdays Washington Post. Cohen tells a high school dropout who had trouble with algebra, Here's the thing, Gabriela: You will...Read all of "Algebra is a Start but Only a Start"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:36 PM
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February 16, 2006
Roughing It
I just read through the website for the renewed excavations at Tel Gezer. It was all extremely interesting and exciting but the most abnormal paragraph was this, Volunteers sleep in air-conditioned two-room suites, four to a suite. Each suite is...
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:04 PM
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By the Evidence You Shall be Known
The Los Angeles Times has a lengthy front-page article on how DNA evidence that Native Americans are of Asian origin is having on the Mormon Church in places like Peru. From the time he was a child in Peru, the...Read all of "By the Evidence You Shall be Known"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:12 AM
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Happy Birthday - Abnormal Interests
Today is Abnormal Interests official birthday. While there was some experimentation and a few administrative posts in the days before February 16, 2005, that was the day that I told the world, or at least a subset of the...Read all of "Happy Birthday - Abnormal Interests"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:44 AM
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February 15, 2006
Fundamentalism and Infectious Disease
Jack Woodall, Director of the Nucleus for the Investigation of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medical Biochemistry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has a piece in the latest The Scientist in which he lists...Read all of "Fundamentalism and Infectious Disease"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:10 PM
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February 14, 2006
The Cat is On the Roof
There's an old joke that in its short version goes something like this. A man asked his neighbor to look in on his ailing mother-in-law and his cat while the man took his wife on a vacation. The neighbor was...Read all of "The Cat is On the Roof"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:16 AM
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February 13, 2006
A Frustrating Day at the Library
Those who read this blog regularly know that I am working on a tablet from Taanach (KTU 4.767) that may be written in the short cuneiform alphabet. You also may know that I have been waiting for an article to...Read all of "A Frustrating Day at the Library"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:59 PM
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February 12, 2006
Happy Birthday Charles Darwin
Today would have been Charles Darwin's 197th birthday. I don't have much to add to the celebration. However, I did find a small religious tract that represents an interesting chapter in the history of the relationship between science and religion...Read all of "Happy Birthday Charles Darwin"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:05 AM
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February 11, 2006
Even You and I Can Now Read PaleoAnthropology for Free
PaleoAnthropology the official Journal of the Paleoanthropology Society is now available on line free of charge. This is great news for us amateurs who like to read the real stuff. I'm very glad to see this for two reasons. First,...Read all of "Even You and I Can Now Read PaleoAnthropology for Free"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:08 PM
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Why Give Him This Much Copy?
The Los Angeles Times has an article, starting on the front page no less, by Stephanie Simon about the silliness of the Evangelist Ken Ham. Yes, Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis fame. I have mostly negative feelings about this...Read all of "Why Give Him This Much Copy?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:10 AM
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February 10, 2006
Systematic Theology by the Numbers
My short cuneiform alphabet project is in a holding pattern while I patiently wait (hurry up, HURRY UP, HURRY UP) for interlibrary loan to work its magic. So, I've been entertaining myself with other things. One of these is Gregorio...Read all of "Systematic Theology by the Numbers"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:34 PM
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February 9, 2006
The Biggest and the Most Important
A week or so ago, afarensis (I can't find the exact post) listed his biggest pet peeves regarding archaeology. I have one that is so much bigger and more important than any of the others that I will mention it...Read all of "The Biggest and the Most Important"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:44 AM
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February 8, 2006
It's Back: Privatization of Social Security
So you thought privatization of Social Security was a thing of the past or perhaps that it was going to wait for the report of the bipartisan commission that the President proposed in his State of the Union Speech. Think...Read all of "It's Back: Privatization of Social Security"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:39 PM
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A Strange Little Tablet Cast on My Shelf
The other day I mentioned that I had dental casts of the Ugaritic and Akkadian tablets that were publish as the Claremont Ras Shamra Tablets. Well, it turns out that I have another cast of an Ugaritic tablet that is...Read all of "A Strange Little Tablet Cast on My Shelf"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:08 PM
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February 7, 2006
Modern Times Have Been Rough for Six Old Tablets from Ugarit
From illegal excavation at Ras Shamra, to black market in Switzerland, to publication in California, to a private collection in Europe, modern times have been rough for six tablets. Yesterday Chris Heard published the second in his series of posts...Read all of "Modern Times Have Been Rough for Six Old Tablets from Ugarit"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:09 PM
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The President's Attorney
The Los Angeles Times has an editorial that gets to the point of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's testimony yesterday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, WHAT A DIFFERENCE eight years makes. In 1998, then-Atty. Gen. Janet Reno was repeatedly battered...Read all of "The President's Attorney"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:00 PM
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February 5, 2006
It's Just a Theory
Last night the science wing and the reason driven political wing of the blogshere (Chris Mooney, John Lynch, DarkSyde, World O'Crap, Sean Carroll, Tim F., Phil Plait, Amygdala, John in DC, Altrios, Mark Kleiman, PZ Myers, Mike the Mad Biologist)...Read all of "It's Just a Theory"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:53 AM
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February 4, 2006
Biblical Studies Carnival II
Biblical Studies Carnival II is now up at Codex Blogspot. By my count, there are 30 posts. They represent a very large range of topics from Archaeology to the Hebrew Bible to the Greek New Testament and Early Christianity to...Read all of "Biblical Studies Carnival II"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:01 PM
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An Experiment with a Little Content
Note: This post has two functions, one is to publish the content that you can read below. The other is to test the use of a couple of the Society of Biblical Literature's font. Some of you may see garbage,...Read all of "An Experiment with a Little Content"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:47 AM
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February 3, 2006
Agile in a Clumsy Sort of Way
I don't blog much about the technology I was involved with in midlife but the New Scientist has an article on a software-defined radio test that did catch my normal, if not my abnormal, interest. When I was involved in...Read all of "Agile in a Clumsy Sort of Way"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:49 PM
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Wow! I got 19 out of 21
Here's a little test of your knowledge of the First Amendment that you might want to take. I missed two questions and I should have known the answers to both of them. This is how the results are presented. Congratulations!...Read all of "Wow! I got 19 out of 21"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:23 AM
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February 2, 2006
A Matter of Principle
I've decided not to devote much additional effort to the State of the Union Speech. Upon rereading it, it appears to me to be without meaningful content and therefore nothing meaningful can be said of it. I do want to...Read all of "A Matter of Principle"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:10 AM
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February 1, 2006
Lowering Standards
Today the KLS TV out of Salt Lake City Utah had a rather frightening segment on a bill (House Bill 139), introduced into the Utah state legislature by Rep. Brad Johnson, (R) from Aurora that would, among other things, lower...Read all of "Lowering Standards"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:22 PM
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The Original Wedge Document
PZ Myers at Pharyngula directs us to a story in the Seattle Weekly that tells the history of the original wedge document and gives a copy of it complete with graphics. If you have even the slightest doubt about the...Read all of "The Original Wedge Document"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:34 AM
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