Alright, everyone, who’s responsible? Someone out there must have done it. Someone out there must have nominated me for a Koufax Award for Best Overall Writing by a Lefty Blogger? (True, it’s my old blog that’s listed, but I am listed!) Come on. ‘Fess up. It’s not that I’m not honored that someone would consider me for such an award (I am), it’s just that I’m afraid that my membership in the Raging RINOs could be in jeopardy… Fortunately for my membership (but unfortunately for my ego) I have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning, given the huge numbers …
Orac knows medicine and surgery
In a continuing series of posts, for the benefit of new readers (and a trip down memory lane for old readers), I now present: Wearing two hats (and part 2) What is a surgical oncologist? The deadly power of denial: Personal observations Also see Part 2: It’s not always denial; Part 3: Fear; and Part 4: Denial isn’t just for patients A tragic story (Also see Part 2: Update; and Part 3: A sad end to a sad tale) When not to treat A pet peeve Dealing with conflict Needlestick An odd place for a telephone booth If you think …
Ohio rejects intelligent design
As someone who lived in Cleveland for 8 years and whose wife grew up in Toledo, it does my heart good to see that the Ohio Board of Education finally got something right. They voted to strike language in their state science standards singling out evolution for a “critical evaluation: COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 14 — The Ohio Board of Education voted 11 to 4 Tuesday to toss out a mandate that 10th-grade biology classes include critical analysis of evolution and an accompanying model lesson plan, dealing the intelligent design movement its second serious defeat in two months. The board, which …
G’Kar is dead
Sad news on the Babylon 5 front. Andreas Katsulas died on February 13 of lung cancer at the age of 59. Besides playing the One-Armed Man in the movie The Fugitive and making frequent appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Katsulas was best known for playing the Narn Ambassador G’Kar on what was, in my opinion, one of the best SF television shows of all time, Babylon 5. G’Kar was my second favorite character on the show after his nemesis, Londo Mollari. Whereas Londo’s character arc saw him starting out as a decadent and buffoonish oaf and then becoming …
An interesting take on the use of Holocaust denial in response to the Danish cartoons
As anyone who read my old blog knows, I have some very strong views on free speech, viewing it as the single most important basis of a free society. It is therefore not surprising that I recently commented on the Danish cartoon imbroglio, in which fundamentalist Muslims, outrage stoked by their Imams and by Muslim governments such as Saudi Arabia and Syria, have tried to impose their religious views on secular societies. One thing I noted is how the Iranian government, in their effort to try to claim that Europeans have a double standard, launched a contest asking for cartoons …
Blogging Alzheimer’s
How annoying. I had the perfect dubious medical test that I had wanted to write about from a skeptical viewpoint. It was a test that looked at many different blood tests and biomarkers and claimed to be far more sensitive at detecting cancer and a wide variety of diseases. It was obvious to me that its claims were without basis, and, as I settled down to watch the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, my laptop at the ready, I was all set to write yet another brilliant takedown of such nonsense. And then an annoying thing happened. I couldn’t for …
Orac disembodied, day 3
Nope, Respectful Insolence is still not integrated into the main ScienceBlogs page or into its aggregated feed. Patience, Orac-philes. It probably won’t be until next week now; so please keep this blog bookmarked, or, if you use an RSS feed aggegator, don’t rely on the aggregated ScienceBlogs feed to catch your daily helping of Respectful Insolenceâ¢. I feel like such an outsider…
Last Call For The Skeptics’ Circle
Besides running my own blog, I also happen to have the distinct honor of being responsible for organizing the Skeptics’ Circle. One of the great things about the blogosphere is that anyone can have a blog, either for free through a service like Blogspot or at a nominal cost. This greatest aspect of the blogosphere has a downside, however, as it makes it very easy for myths, urban legends, pseudoscience, and quackery to promulgate throughout the Internet with great alacrity. A little more than a year ago, one blogger going by the ‘nym of St. Nate (who has, alas, retired …
Orac knows science, skepticism, and critical thinking
Here is the second in a series of links to essential classic Respectful Insolence from Orac’s old blog. In a continuing series of posts, for the benefit of new readers (and a trip down memory lane for old readers), I now present: The Galileo Gambit What is a theory? Breast cancer “dormancy” Public speaking “Short scientific talks for dummies” I guess this is what passes for creationist “humor” 80 years later, nothing has changed Get me a barf bag! The Virgin Mary appears A field guide to biomedical meeting creatures, part 1: Any questions? (Also see part 2: Poster time!) …
Grand Rounds, vol. 2, no. 21
Grand Rounds, vol. 2, no. 21 has been posted at Intueri. The last time Maria hosted Grand Rounds, she envisioned it as a menu in a restaurant, which, while creative, was mildly disgusting. This time, she wants to help you make your Valentine’s Day love connection.