Myrtus

The plot thickens on the Stuxnet virus story, which parallels (though far less violently) an event that takes place in our current fiction reading. Finally, a reason to love Microsoft Windows.

2010 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony

The 2010 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony & Lectures webcast is scheduled to take place on Thursday, September 30, at 7:30 pm. The live webcast will begin at 7:15 pm on YouTube. Thanks to Marc Abrahams for passing on this information. Be sure to check out his Improbable Research website ("Research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK"), the magazine: Annals of Improbable Research, and the newsletter: mini-AIR.

Mapping Stereotypes

Check out Mapping Stereotypes, illustrations based on the geography of prejudice, on alphadesigner, the website of visual artist, graphic designer, and illustrator Yanko Tsvetkov. Thanks and a hit tip to Robert Remez.

Voice Recognition Elevator

Voice Recognition Elevator is a wonderful video on haha.nu, the lifestyle blog. This clip is from Burnistoun, a comedy show from BBC Scotland, season 1, episode 1. Hysterical! Thanks and a hat tip to RER. (P.S. Load time for the haha.nu website can be long, but it is worth the wait.) (Note: A faster loading version can be found on YouTube.)

Science Blogging

Now that I have returned from my summer journey to Russia, and have also dealt with some urgent work-related matters, I have a little time for IS Group blogging. Instead of writing, I have been reading other science-related blogs. There are lots out there, and many are a lot of fun. There has been a lot of Hausermania and science v. religion discussion of late, but there are also other fascinating topics to read about.

Here is a list of some of the various blogs that I usually check in on. Language Log, by Mark Liberman, Geoffrey Pullum and many others; Three-Toed Sloth, by Cosma Shalizi; Why Evolution Is True, by Jerry A. Coyne; Neuron Culture, by David Dobbs (now on Wired Science Blogs); IEEE Spectrum Tech Talk; Child's Play on Scientopia; Greg Laden's Blog; john hawks weblog (paleoanthropology, genetics, and evolution); Neuronskeptic; Open Parachute, by Ken Perrott; and The Bubble Chamber.

Some additional general sites include Big Think and ScienceBlogs. A related blog of interest is Schneier on Security, by Bruce Schneier. And, of course, I would be remiss if I did not end with some relentless self-promotion for the IS Group blog.