And now, teh cool. The things that look like blackheads or pox scars? It's the Nevada nuclear test range. You can really zoom in on some of these.

Google Maps - Nevada Acne

an expansion is already underway in the state-of-the art lobby, where grunting dinosaurs and animatronic humans coexist in a Biblical paradise.

Immediately after the pleasent events shown in the diorama, the velociraptor whirled, killing and devouring young Abdul and D'Mo, showing once and for all, God really does like little christian white kids the best...

Dinosaurs, humans coexist in U.S. creation museum Reuters.com

The following catalog of misconceptions, along with responses, is therefore offered for scholars who may well find themselves confronting voices whose amplitude and frequency exceed their wisdom.

The Case for Evolution, in Real Life

The first study to combine computer models of rising temperatures with records of the ancient climate has indicated that sea levels could rise by up to 20ft (6m) by 2100, placing millions of people at risk.

Thank you Mr. Bush for trying to actually make this even worse.

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online

Emory University psychologist Drew Westen put self-identified Democratic and Republican partisans in brain scanners and asked them to evaluate negative information about various candidates. Both groups were quick to spot inconsistency and hypocrisy -- but only in candidates they opposed.

When presented with negative information about the candidates they liked, partisans of all stripes found ways to discount it, Westen said. When the unpalatable information was rejected, furthermore, the brain scans showed that volunteers gave themselves feel-good pats -- the scans showed that "reward centers" in volunteers' brains were activated. The psychologist observed that the way these subjects dealt with unwelcome information had curious parallels with drug addiction as addicts also reward themselves for wrong-headed behavior.

Now this is damn interesting...

Study Ties Political Leanings to Hidden Biases

The researchers believe Tempel 1's surface ice used to reside inside the comet and became exposed over time. It's also thought that occasional geyser-like blasts of dust and vapor, called jets, send the ice outward. Once ejected, the ice crystals can become incorporated into the luminous coma, a cloud of material surrounding the main body of the comet, or the ice can become part of its tail.

The same team previously reported that Tempel 1's interior also contained an abundance of organic material and suggested the comet may have originated in a region of the solar system now occupied by Uranus and Neptune.

Ice AND organic matter? I'd love to see the Discovery Institute's explanation for this one.

Water Ice Detected on Comet's Surface - Yahoo! News

A complete foot reveals that archaeopteryx had an extensible claw on its second toe, which is a hallmark of raptors, but is absent in all known birds. Its first toe, or "hallux", is also at the side of the foot and not reversed as it is in perching birds, which use it to grasp branches

And now, a missing link between birds and dinosaurs.

New Scientist Breaking News - Oldest bird had dinosaur feet

Not only will yer bid benefit ye in the afterlife, but it will benefit the National Center for Science Education right away. All of the proceeds from the auction will be donated, and for a limited time, if ye bid before the end of the auction, I'll take advantage of the donation matching provided by my employer. 200% of the bounty will be donated up to 1000 gallions (a.k.a. USD) matching.

Y'arr! Way ta go matey!

eBay.ca: Handmade Flying Spaghetti Monster Plush FSM (item 6011889705 end time 15-Nov-05 00:39:19 EST)

According to a statement from the two groups, the new Kansas standards are improved, but as currently written, they overemphasize controversy in the theory of evolution and distort the definition of science. NAS and NSTA offered to work with the board to resolve these issues so the state standards could use text from the National Research Council's "National Science Education Standards" and NSTA's "Pathways to Science Standards."

This is not new either. NAS and NSTA refused Kansas their permission in 1999 too.

National-Academies.org | News

The new standards say high school students must understand major evolutionary concepts. But they also declare that basic Darwinian theory — that all life had a common origin and that natural chemical processes created the building blocks of life — has been challenged in recent years by fossil evidence and molecular biology.

Here's part of the problem. The Kansas standards say this (sort of), but I have yet to see the evidence that they are talking about. From what I have seen, the fossil evidence and molecular biology have done nothing of the sort.

Evolution Critics Score Win in Kansas - Yahoo! News