Monthly Archives: March 2011

The Whitehouse’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future

Posted on March 31, 2011 by OgreMkV

Today, the Whitehouse released President Obama’s plan for securing the future energy requirements of the US. All in all, it’s a good document.  I know why some of the material about efficient natural gas and clean coal are in there … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Environment, Government, Prediction, renewable energy, Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Speciation: What is it and How does it Happen?

Posted on March 31, 2011 by OgreMkV

So how do new species develop? First, we have to remember that ‘species’ is a poorly defined concept and there is no line that automatically denotes one species from another.  So, there’s a lot of issues with the concept of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Creationism / ID, Education, Evolution, Science | Tagged , , , , | 21 Comments

What is Macroevolution?

Posted on March 31, 2011 by OgreMkV

Macroevolution is microevolution over a long period of time. OK, I guess you wanted a bit more than that.  First of all, let’s see what some others say is macroevolution. Macroevolution is evolution on a grand scale—what we see when … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Creationism / ID, Education, Evolution, evolution, Science | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

General Commentary 2: batteries, cable, and government. Oh my.

Posted on March 30, 2011 by OgreMkV

Well, it’s time for another edition of interesting things that don’t really deserve their own post. In this episode, we talk about batteries, big telecoms that own congress people, and the US State Department, for a freebie we’ll mention Amazon’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Government, Ideas, Skepticism, Society | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Have Churches Failed the Public?

Posted on March 30, 2011 by OgreMkV

We constantly hear about priests, pastors, and youth ministers abusing children.  We constantly hear from fundamentalist churches how tsunamis, earthquakes, and blizzards are God’s retribution for some imagined evil.  We see pastors and ministers preach one thing from the pulpit … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Religion, Society | Tagged | Leave a comment

On Natural Selection

Posted on March 29, 2011 by OgreMkV

Some people seem to be having problems with natural selection and how it can lead to the huge diversity of life on Earth.  I thought I would explain this as I did to my students.  This is a basic primer … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Creationism / ID, Education, Evolution, Science | Tagged , , | 38 Comments

Why “Stupid Idiot” is not Redundant

Posted on March 29, 2011 by OgreMkV

Twelve hours ago, before I went to sleep and for most of time prior to that, I thought the phrase “Stupid idiot” was redundant.  I thought it was an expression of exaggeration for emphasis. But this morning, on my drive … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Kookiness, Society | Tagged | 2 Comments

First Efficient Artificial Leaf

Posted on March 28, 2011 by OgreMkV

Science Daily reports that researchers at MIT have developed an artificial leaf. This is pretty cool.  Apparently, the photosynthesis in the A-leaf is 10 times better than in a real leaf.  It’s a very small, simple device as well.  Made of common … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Environment, Ideas, renewable energy, Science | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Gas Mileage: It’s not what you drive, it’s how you drive.

Posted on March 27, 2011 by OgreMkV

Gas mileage is very important for today’s cars.  What with gas approaching $4.00 a gallon, it’s becoming a serious issue for all but the wealthy. I hope that everyone understands that the EPA mileage rating you see on a car’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Education, Environment, Government | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

How NOT to Convince People that ID is Meaningful

Posted on March 27, 2011 by OgreMkV

UPDATE: Well, that thread is up to 400+ posts now.  And the original poster has decided that’s enough.  She made 4 salient points, which I will quote here. 1) There is no agreed definition of CSI. I have asked from … Continue reading →

Posted in Creationism / ID, Education, Kookiness, Skepticism | Tagged , | 6 Comments