Archive for the ‘From the web’ Category
Over 60 billion habitable worlds in our galaxy
That’s a new estimate from astronomers, who have calculated that 40% of red dwarf stars (the most common type of star in our galaxy) “have a so-called ‘super-Earth’ planet orbiting in a habitable zone that would allow water to flow on the surface.” More details here… Billions of habitable worlds in Milky Way And that’s […]
For more information on apes
The classification “great ape” consists of bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, humans, and orangutans. These are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom — we share 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees and bonobos. Bonobos were only identified as a species distinct from chimpanzees in 1933. Louis Leakey sent three women into the field to learn about […]
Why did humans start walking upright?
Why our ancestors started walking upright has been one of the big mysteries in human evolution. There have been various theories but we didn’t know for sure. Now researchers have studied chimpanzees — who are relatively similar to our ancestors from 6 million years ago — and discovered that they will walk upright more when […]
Space is a dangerous place
Something unusual happened on the International Space Station today. The astronauts all got into rockets in case they had to leave the station and return to Earth. Why? Because a piece of space junk was heading their way and they weren’t sure if it was going to hit the station. What does space junk consist […]
A few articles on climate change
97% of scientists agree that humans have contributed significantly to climate change. It’s a huge issue that we’ll have to deal with sooner or later in the 21st century — sooner would be better. There are some places in the world where people have no choice but to believe that climate change is happening — […]
We live in a post-era era
That gets my vote for the phrase of the day — Douglas Coupland knows how to turn a phrase, and he’s also an astute observer of culture. Coupland is the author of such books as Generation X, Microserfs, and jPod. (I saw him read one time, and got his autograph.) In his review of ‘Gods […]
If you’re sensitive to small amounts of toxins
[I don’t usually update my blog posts much later, but this time I had to. Everything I said below is true, but there is a large caveat. I must point out that air purifiers that produce ozone are controversial. The Canadian and US departments of health suggest that you don’t use them at all. If […]
The blog I read the most
Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip, has had a blog for five years. I’m not sure exactly how long I’ve been reading it, but I’ve definitely read every post for a number of months. He’s often very funny in the blog, even funnier than in the comic strip. But he also often thinks […]
What to do if you’re talking with a creationist
Has this happened to you? Someone is telling you about creationism and you’re pretty sure they’re wrong but you’re not sure exactly what to say. Here’s a YouTube video I came across that will help. Top Ten Creationist Arguments And here’s a great blog on evolution and creationism. It keeps you up to date on […]
A plethora of music lists
Here’s a web site that has a lot of music lists. They have lists for all styles of music — rock, blues, jazz, fusion, country, folk, and classical. They have lists by album, song, and artist. If you’re interested in learning more about a particular style of music, you could start here. They also have […]