My doctoral dissertation addressed what I called the “Frankenstein Complex.” So guess why this story bothers me. Today, a scientific journal published a study that some people thought might never be made public at all. The paper describes experiments that suggest just a few genetic changes could potentially make a bird flu virus capable of becoming contagious in humans, and
Read more– I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. I went to my doctor a few weeks ago for the first time in months. During the course of conversation about my health and how I was doing, etc., we stumbled onto the question of why I hadn’t been in
Read moreIt’s May Day, and it’s safe to dance.
Read moreYou may have noticed this story in the Wall St. Journal several days ago: Tide Turns on Border Crossing – Number of Immigrants Arriving From Mexico Now Equaled by Those Going Home Net migration from Mexico has plummeted to zero thanks to changing demographic and economic conditions on both sides of the border, a new study says, even as political battles
Read moreUsed to be, they built airports near cities. Now we’re going to build a city near an airport. Because, you know, we built our airport nowhere near the goddamned city, I guess. I love the 5280, but sometimes I think a little more oxygen wouldn’t hurt anything….
Read moreToday is one of those days when I feel sorry for those who aren’t soccer fans. Seriously. Because what happened earlier this afternoon in the Champion’s League semifinal at Camp Nou in Barcelona was one of the most exciting things I have ever witnessed in any sport. And I don’t do hyperbole. I mean this literally. It was Miracle on
Read moreYou no doubt remember the infamous Lt. Pike and the his pepper-spraying assault on lawfully assembled #Occupy UC-Davis students last year. If not, let’s begin with a brief reminder. Some of you might read my lead sentence above and think “oh, look, that ‘lawfully assembled’ part is biased. Fucking hippie.”
Read moreMusic is a precious thing, and it’s always sad when even a little bit of it dies. Thus, this morning begins on a down note with the news that Greg Ham, multi-instrumentalist for Men at Work, is dead at the age of 58. Casual music fans will remember him as the author of the catchy flute riff in “Land Down
Read moreEarlier this afternoon, while watching the Chelsea/Barcelona Champions League match at the British Bulldog in downtown Denver, a young woman collapsed. It was unclear what happened, but my best guess from what those closer to her were telling me was that it was an epileptic seizure and she may have hit her head on the concrete floor. I immediately dialed
Read moreBack in 2007, as I was thinking about my little Dr. Sammy in 2008/EdF1rst project, I conceived a heresy. It went like this: What would happen if, as a massive economic stimulus, you forgave all outstanding student loan debt in America? I knew from experience the impact that loan debt has on consumer spending. You have, at this point, a
Read moreOn April 16, 2007, Scholars & Rogues went live, featuring a post by Gavin Chait (Unlearning helplessness: how donors reinforce poverty and dependency) and one by me on Joe Wilson’s speech at the Conference on World Affairs (where he said that Fred Thompson belonged to the “treason faction of the Republican Party”). Some highlights: We have published 5,099 posts (this
Read moreThe uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of robotic and 3D computer animation, which holds that when human replicas look and act almost, but not perfectly, like actual human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers. The “valley” in question is a dip in a proposed graph of the positivity of human reaction as a
Read moreA few weeks back Bolton Wanderers’ Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the field during the team’s FA Cup quarterfinal match against Tottenham Hotspur. He was attended to by emergency staff on the pitch and eventually stretchered off and rushed to a hospital. Despite being “in effect, dead” for 78 minutes Muamba survived and is now recovering. Today, another elite footballer had
Read moreI know that humans are the pinnacle of intellectual life on Planet Earth (well, unless you believe Douglas Adams, anyway). But there are some awfully smart animals out there, too. Today’s SVR, which pays tribute to our furry and feathery fellow travelers, begins with the Shaun White of the animal kingdom.
Read moreTo: The Broomfield, CO Police Officer Who Pulled Me Over the Other Night From: Sam Smith Re: Goddamned Colorado Drivers To begin with, sir (I’m sorry that I didn’t catch your name while we were exchanging pleasantries, and my regards to your family, by the way), I’d like to thank you for only giving me a warning. I realize that
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