Nature by Numbers

Beautiful

James Randi

is gay. Bravo, sir.

What is the speed of gravity?

Apparently it depends on what model you are using, but this short article seems to think that it is near the speed of light. Current technology cannot measure it directly, but we may be able to in the future. That seems reasonable to me.

This is a nice little Physics FAQ.

ART meeting: Dean Regas

Tomorrow March 13th Dean Regas will be presenting to ART. 10:00AM at Molly Malone's in Pleasant Ridge. Join us, it is open to the public.

Zicam lawsuit

It appears that Stan Chesley has filed a lawsuit against the makers of Zicam. Zicam marketed itself as a homeopathic remedy for colds, but it turns out that it isn't homeopathic at all. Zicam contains a Zinc compound that has caused some people to lose their sense of smell. So not only is this product dangerous, but it is also circumventing laws that would require testing by calling itself homeopathic. Isn't it time for the FDA to start regulating so-called homeopathic drugs? Start testing them for efficacy, then we can no longer worry about these con artists from selling people water and claiming that they are miracle cures.

Unfortunately the comments at Cincinnati.com focus either on Stan Chesley's politics or are people claiming that they don't mind losing their sense of smell, just give them back their sweet relief in Zicam.

More 2012 nonsense

A spambot showed up in the comments here.

The site is a cornucopia of nonsensical rambling about Nibiru tearing planet in half and how the Mayan's predicted the end of the world. It seems like an awful lot of work for a site that won't be there on Jan 1st 2013.

I think the 2012 fantasy is amazing in the fact that it not only abuses just about every science discipline, but it also neglects history an tried to tie in many cultural and religious myths to justify its claims. Who buys this stuff?