Lackhead.org

Scientists working out of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona reported yesterday evidence of water in the atmosphere in a planet about 150 light years from Earth (part of the constellation Pegasus. This is the first time that water has been found outside of our solar system, although it had been predicted to be in the atmosphere of this planet and many others some time ago. Unfortunately for those of us looking for signs of intelligent life somewhere out there in space (’cause there’s bugger-all down here on earth), atmospheric water neither confirms nor does its absence preclude the appearance of life, so we still have a long way to go before we meet up with Jodi Foster’s dad. And with an average surface temperature of 1000 Celsius, it isn’t going to be where those of us fleeing the American political system will find refuge (New Zealand still tops the list). In any case though, thank you again Hubble.

And in other sciency news, I’m still reeling over trying to get my head around the concept of black saturns that might be created by the Large Hadron Colider at CERN. While I have a broad understanding of what it is, why it is stable, etc., what I can’t seem to grasp is how the hell a bunch of primates have the audacity to create a black hole here on earth. It’s research like this that transforms science into magic, and makes stuff like Angels And Demons, the book I am currently reading with Ethan and the prelude to The DaVinci Code, seem less like a fairy tale and more like reality.

The Illuminati are watching!

-c

A new British study has found a strong correlation between having a high IQ in childhood and becoming vegetarian later in life. Too bad the converse is has not been studied, so that I can say that being a vegetarian now means that I’m smart.

By the way, note that the definition of vegetarianism that they went by was “the practice of living wholly on vegetable food, with or without dairy products, honey and eggs” which is what is called vegan in my book. However, using a more strict definition of vegetarianism makes me feel better about hearing things like only 2% of the American population is vegetarian (compared to 6-10% that say they are “almost vegetarian” ). But whatever, it all depends on subjective definitions, and it is easy to get lost in there. Or maybe it is just me, being one of the outliers that became vegetarian through no relationship to my own IQ.

-c

This has left me speechless. I’m just totally at a loss for words at people’s idiocy sometimes. And I’m not talking about religious scholars ironically calling evolution a “fairy tale”, but that they often try to use science and logic to erode the science and logic that they’re uncomfortable with. And while they usually do a horrible job of it, in this instance Chuck Missler does so spectacularly.

The basic argument is that scientific theories on the origin of life on Earth claim that with some chemical building blocks and an energy source, life was first created out of the primordial ooze. So, if you have a jar of peanut butter, which has chemical components and is exposed to energy, why don’t you find new life in your peanut butter jar? Ha! Got you there Darwin!

But don’t take it from me, read or watch it straight from the horse’s mouth (maybe another part of the horse’s anatomy is a more appropriate label).

Man, I haven’t felt so embarrassed for someone since I saw Uri Geller get debunked by The Amazing Randi on The Tonight Show (you can watch it yourself on You Tube).

-c