Eclectic Living
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The earliest version of this iteration of the Pledge of Allegiance (which incidentally didn’t include “the United States” or “under God”) was written in... Continue Reading →
Part I And just then the boy had a sudden spasm, as if something had bitten him in the stomach, and uttered a long, shrill wail. For moments that seemed endless he stayed in a queer, contorted position, his body racked by convulsive tremors; it was as if his frail frame were bending before the... Continue Reading →
In my November 3, 2016, post, "Scientific Policy," I wrote: "It is one week from the U.S. presidential election, and Science magazine has compiled a list of six areas of science in which the new president will need to be well-versed in order to lead our country down the right path." The first area Science emphasized was pathogens. "[N]ew... Continue Reading →
How did everybody's ultra-conservative uncle - the one who forwards Snopes-disproven emails and thinks Sean Hannity is an unassailable authority on everything - become the President of the United States? He nakedly displays his ignorance and baseness so regularly that statements that would normally be disqualifying for the presidency have become quotidian. Witness his recent... Continue Reading →
My optimism stems largely from a belief in progress. Progress is the inevitable outcome of accumulated knowledge and enlightenment. As we understand the world better, understand ourselves better, we come to understand how to improve the world and our place in it. The Progressive approach is guided by reason and virtue. In many regards (hunger,... Continue Reading →
Car rights supporters are up in arms about measures that have curbed their freedom. The most egregious of these car controls is speed limits on how fast one can drive. "By imposing these limits on how fast I can drive," Carl, a car rights activist said, "they have taken my freedom to go as fast... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/fmghBnJZTLw A few years ago I worked with some colleagues to write a paper about the potential for entomophagy to address undernutrition. We titled it, fittingly enough, "The potential for entomophagy to address undernutrition," and it was published in the Ecology of Food and Nutrition journal. Entomophagy is the fancy word for insect eating. My brother and I... Continue Reading →
What kind of world would we live in if politics were largely guided by science rather than greed or special interests? Under new prime minister Justin Trudeau, Canada is revamping its environmental policy to "ensure that decisions on major projects are based on science, facts, and evidence." Funny that this is, in the words of Science... Continue Reading →
It's well known that humans have had a huge impact on the world's biodiversity, with some suggesting that we have precipitated the sixth major extinction event in the Earth's history. This may also be the worst sin perpetrated in Earth's history. And it will only be accelerated and perpetuated via climate change. Shitty job, us. A lesser known... Continue Reading →
Ah, it has been a long time since I've had occasion to write a post. I'm still plugging away on the fun but time-consuming 125-year-old house remodel - almost done with the interior, and it's rented beginning in March. We're already well into 2016, yet I feel like the year has barely begun. There are so many... Continue Reading →
Poppa's Cottage 