Month: March 2005

Morning Whip, 3/11/05

The brief experiment in individual postings was, well, unsatisfying. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll go back to the routine of a quick review of whatever the heck happens to catch my attention first thing in the morning. Plenty of time for the individual postings later, right?

My sister points me to The Fishbowl[*1] . Appears to be a nice little political gossip site.

An oldie but a goodie, the Internet Storm Center[*2] , for all of your uber-geek network security needs.

Alton attorney accidentally sues himself[*3] . The headline is unfortunately more amusing than the actual story, which descends into actual lawyer stuff. Ick.

The Bush Was Right[*4] toteboard now stands at 37,000 Google hits. Today’s feature from Newsweek via MSNBC[*5] . Special bonus article: Macleans Magazine[*6] , from Canada.

Today’s lesson in “don’t quit” comes from the Kansas State women’s basketball team, who started their game down 17-0 to Texas in the Big XII tournament, and came back to win[*7] .

Could YOU be a South Park Republican?

From Tech Central Station[*1] :

The name stems from the primetime cartoon “South Park” that clearly demonstrates the contrast within the party. The show is widely condemned by some moralists, including members of the Christian right. Yet in spite of its coarse language and base humor, the show persuasively communicates the Republican position on many issues, including hate crime legislation (“a savage hypocrisy”), radical environmentalism, and rampant litigation by ambitious trial lawyers. In one episode, industrious gnomes pick apart myopic anti-corporate rhetoric and teach the main characters about the benefits of capitalism.

Are you sure? Here’s what the Freepers[*2] think . . .

Are We There Yet?

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Berkeley scientists have discovered a regular 62 million year cycle of mass extinctions[*1] .

Richard Muller and his graduate student, Robert Rohde, are publishing a report on their exhaustive study in the journal Nature today, and in interviews this week, the two men said they have been working on the surprising evidence for about four years.

“We’ve tried everything we can think of to find an explanation for these weird cycles of biodiversity and extinction,” Muller said, “and so far, we’ve failed.”

The idea that mass extinctions happen on a regular cycle isn’t exactly new. Most theories such as the Alvarez meteor/comet theory[*2] described a 26 to 30 million year cycle. Interestingly, Mueller worked with Alvarez at Berkeley.

Muller’s favorite explanation, he said informally, is that the solar system passes through an exceptionally massive arm of our own spiral Milky Way galaxy every 62 million years, and that that increase in galactic gravity might set off a hugely destructive comet shower that would drive cycles of mass extinction on Earth.

Rohde, however, prefers periodic surges of volcanism on Earth as the least implausible explanation for the cycles, he said — although it’s only a tentative one, he conceded.

Of course, according to the Chronicle article, the last major extinction happened 65 million years ago, so we’re obviously doomed. “More study is necessary” of course, so keep sending those tax dollars to UC Berkeley, folks.

Big Dance (W) Update

Eastern Kentucky (23-7), Ohio Valley
Western Carolina (18-13), Southern
Canisus (21-9), MAAC
Santa Clara (17-13), West Coast
TCU (23-9), Conference USA
Tennessee (26-4), SEC
Temple (27-3), Atlantic 10
Michigan State (28-3), Big 10
North Carolina (27-3), ACC
Wisconsin-Green Bay (27-3), Horizon
Stanford (29-2), Pac 10
Middle Tennessee State (23-8), Sun Belt
Oral Roberts (22-8), Mid-Con
Connecticut (23-7), Big East
Holy Cross (20-10), Patriot

Big Dance (M) Update

Our automatic bids so far:

Pennsylvania (18-8), Ivy League
Eastern Kentucky (22-8), Ohio Valley
UCF (24-8), Atlantic Sun
Winthrop (27-5), Big South
Chattanooga (20-10), Southern
Gonzaga (25-5), West Coast
Old Dominion (28-5), Colonial
Creighton (23-10), Missouri Valley
Niagara (20-9), MAAC
Oakland (12-18), Mid-Con
Louisiana-Lafayette (20-10), Sun Belt
Wisconsin-Milwaukee (24-5), Horizon
Fairleigh Dickenson (20-12), Northeast
Montana (18-12), Big Sky

Morning Whip, 3/9/05

Good news day:
Dan Rather finally leaving Walter’s CBS Chair[*1] .
USA issuing ultimatums to the IRA[*2] .
Sheriff John Bolton is still headin’ to Dodge, er, the UN[*3] .
Mount St. Helens has woken up again[*4] .

Sports, Oakland University (who? where?) is in the Dance[*5] .

Pity I actually have to go to work. More on these and much more, later today. (tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick)

The Big Dance: Who’s In

Automatic bids awarded so far:
Pennsylvania (18-8), Ivy League
Eastern Kentucky (22-8), Ohio Valley
UCF (24-8), Atlantic Sun
Winthrop (27-5), Big South
Chattanooga (20-10), Southern
Gonzaga (25-5), West Coast
Old Dominion (28-5), Colonial
Creighton (23-10), Missouri Valley
Niagara (20-9), MAAC

Low on Snow in the North Plains

Oh-oh. Sioux Falls is low on snow[*1] . I can hear the tears from here in K.C. /sarcasm. There’s still hope though:

While no significant snow is forecast in the next several days in Sioux Falls, there are still about 50 potential snow days left, Weisser said.