Clam Stew: the Fossils of Sooke

Clam Stew: the Fossils of Sooke

Sunshine, salt air, the bark of seals and... fossils await for those lucky enough to beach comb the fossiliferous shores near the fishing community of Sooke on Vancouver Islands' southwestern…
Stimulus Plan - Thrive Or Just Survive

Stimulus Plan - Thrive Or Just Survive

Energy technology is not only the next big thing but it also is attractive in being leveraged on real science and technology.  ET presents potential for real social, political and environmental…
The Bowron Lakes: Geologic Gems V

The Bowron Lakes: Geologic Gems V

The wind favours us now as we paddle the last of the Bowron Lake circuit. We'd rigged kayak sails on both the single and double kayaks and are excited to use them to add an extra knot of…
Cardiac Bypass, Angioplasty and Stenting

Cardiac Bypass, Angioplasty and Stenting

No Reduction in Mortality or Heart Attacks   The following thirty nine medical studies compare invasive treatment with conservative treatment of coronary artery disease.  Invasive…
The Bowron Lakes: Geologic Gems (Part II)

The Bowron Lakes: Geologic Gems (Part II)

As we brace our way into a head wind along the east side of the fjord-like Isaac Lake, I soak up the view of this vast, deep green, ocean-like expanse that runs L-shape for nearly 38 kilometres,…
Earth-killing asteroids and satellite collisions

Earth-killing asteroids and satellite collisions

My Satellite will either save or destroy the Earth. I work as a Daytime Astronomer on the STEREO mission, a pair of identical satellites sent into an Earth-sized solar orbit to stare at the Sun.…
Global Warming: All Lies, Err Hype?

Global Warming: All Lies, Err Hype?

In 2004, a scientific crew braced the cold and the odds to extract a sediment core from 400m below the seabed of the Arctic Ocean. The core showed that Fifty-five million years ago, deep in the…
The human essence

The human essence

Has anyone ever wondered what embodies our self’s essence? May be a needle in a haystack number of people think of such wonderments. However, the question is, are such thoughts just a waste of time…
New hypothesis on cause of Alzheimer's

New hypothesis on cause of Alzheimer's

A new hypothesis, published in today's Nature, suggests that Alzheimer's may be caused by a normal prenatal developmental process gone awry in the adult brain. Before you cast aside years of beta-…
Thoughts About Theoretical vs. Applied Science

Thoughts About Theoretical vs. Applied Science

There is often an uncomfortable and artificial hierarchy amongst theorists and experimentalists.  Those exalting pure theory often forget that applied science is an art unto itself as is…
Finding Osama bin Laden with Biogeography

Finding Osama bin Laden with Biogeography

I saw the coolest thing ever on the Rachel Maddow Show tonight. Ever. Thomas Gillespie of the Geography Department at UCLA was on the show discussing his attempt to predict bin Laden's location using…
The Extraterrestrial Language

The Extraterrestrial Language

Recently (February/05/2009) the BBC released new numbers for the Drake Equation, demonstrating that there may be hundreds of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. These numbers are very…
The Daytime Astronomer on Space Websites

The Daytime Astronomer on Space Websites

I often get the query "what is a good website for astronomy?". My instant answer is "Astronomy Picture of the Day". If you're only going to check one site, choose this. One picture plus a paragraph…
Pagophagia and the Umami Hypothesis

Pagophagia and the Umami Hypothesis

Pagophagia is an eating disorder where you chew a lot of ice. A friend of mine had it. After she discovered she loved crunching ice cubes, she started going through several trays of ice cubes per day…
The maximum speed in the universe

The maximum speed in the universe

According to Einsteins Theory of Relativity, the maximum speed in the universe is light velocity. But let's imagine a space ship - if it was possible - running at this limit speed in one direction in…