Winter’s Haven

I recently overheard someone express apathy towards the Olympics, whereupon a second party scoffed at the first for failing to patriotically cheer on the US Olympic teams. I shall quote the eloquent Rebecca Watson on this matter.

I don’t watch, I don’t discuss it around the water cooler, and I don’t scan the sports section of [...]

Bryan Caplan ponders the possible consequences of safe and relatively inexpensive ectogenesis — that is, technology allowing one to grow a fetus in an incubation tank rather than a womb. I doubt this would have any big consequences. Although pregnancy is no doubt a diffcult experience, those difficulties are only very small portion of the [...]

Kerry Howley sold her ova for IVF. In an illuminating post,
she explains that

my emotional response does not seem to conform to the acceptable cultural script. Reporters call and ask “How painful was it?” and “Do you regret it now?” It wasn’t painful, I reply, I’m quite happy to have had the experience. Awkward silence.

She [...]

This news item, on felons buying gun hunting licenses in Wisconsin is amusing (disconcerting, but amusing) for several reasons, not the least of which is this comment:
…if you haven’t tried “Spotted Cow” you’re missing one of the best beers brewed in the nation. I’m sure it goes great with feloniously acquired turkey.
Sounds delicious.

Happy American Independence Day! Today is a good day to pause and appreciate that we who live in America enjoy the benefits of a government which, despite its many and serious flaws, is pretty damned good by comparison to most other past and current states.
Independence Day is also a perfect opportunity to declare, proudly, that [...]

So he describes himself in this brilliant short piece which elucidates the relationship between deontology and consequentialism.
If, owing to the complexities and uncertainties of life, the rule “don’t lie” produces the best consequences over the long run, and it just so happens that in a particular instance telling a lie led to a good [...]

Why, you ask, are Creation scientists not truly scientists? Item one: provided that it doesn’t appear to contradict their holy books, Creation scientists couldn’t care less about how the natural world works. The creationist I recently encountered certainly exhibited that mindset. He of course, was merely a random engineering student.
To see how professional Creation [...]

I generally don’t spend much time following the propaganda and misinformation put forth by creationists, and PZ’s recent post nicely illustrates why I don’t: this stuff is surreal. It’s positively sickening to witness people so full of hate and fear that they invent vile, baseless slanders against their opponents and then go on to believe [...]

Apparently, some people really can’t tell the difference between a donut and a coffee mug, although I doubt this particular crackpot is any sort of professional topologist.
Hat tip to The Quantum Ponitiff for finding this hilarious video (or should that be a mitre tip?).

[Video from YouTube illustrating a crackpot "the earth is growing" theory, [...]

Here’s something you don’t see on the blogosphere every day: Abel Pharmboy liveblogs his vasectomy.