11 Aug 2004
Too Cool

Literally. This is August in Indiana, also known as "dog days". The State Fair starts this week. Community orgs are having ice cream socials every weekend. It's supposed to be hot - in August several days are supposed to be over 100°F. That's how it is in the Middle West of the American continent.

Yesterday's high temperature out here was 72°F (22°C). Our average high for the date is 82°F (28°C).

The humidity is still obnoxious, of course: it hit 97% at one point yesterday afternoon. But worse is that the low temperatures haven't varied much: yesterday's low was 61°F (16°C) and the average is 60°F (15°C). It feels like we're living in a chilled sauna, if there is such a thing.

Jan over at Secular Blasphemy assures us that the Gulf Stream is still quite functional, as the temperatures are quite warm in his part of the world. But you couldn't prove it by me: it feels like late spring or early autumn here!

00:00 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

Beer Goggles Give View of Alcohol's Effects

Why is this in the "Humor" category? Well, for one thing, at $1000 a pop, the price is downright silly. But mainly:

''The goggles simulate a person having different blood alcohol content levels,'' Ms. Paul said. ''When you're impaired by alcohol, it blurs and distorts your vision, so you think you're walking on the line (in front of you), but you're not actually walking on the line. When you give someone a high-five, you both have blurred vision so participants usually miss each other's hands.''

because they sound like fun!

If you think it is OK to drive after having a few beers, fatal-vision goggles may change your view. Tanya Paul, an intern at the Robins Air Force Base health and wellness center, developed a program called BE AWARE (Basic Education of Alcohol: What to drink, Ability to drive, Risk and Effects). It is designed to educate Airmen and the community on the effects of alcohol through special eyewear.

(link) [Science Blog]

00:00 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link

It's for Real

A friend sent me this link via email: it sounds like something out of a movie, complete with ultra-cutsey name and logo, but they're apparently quite for real. They're in Sausalito, California (where else?), and are having a "Nine Lives Extravaganza" this year - cloning nine cats, the "products" to be presented in December of this year. Gene banking", indeed!

I just wonder if folks think that Fido II will be really "identical" to Fido I - and what does "identical" really mean, anyway? They'll have the same genetics, but that's about it. The company's pretty vague: they talk about reproducing looks and "behavioral tendencies", and have a Code of Bioethics to which they say they're committed.

Perhaps we'll finally figure out how much of identity is genetic, and how much is enviroment. This could give us an empirical answer to settle the age-old "nature vs. nurture" debate once and for all. I will have to admit, though, that cloning and the technology associated with it makes me uneasy from several standpoints. But there's no way to put the genie back in the bottle, now, so I suppose we'll just have to hope for the best.

Note to self: check back with this site in December.

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link