Archive for the ‘Science’ Category

You and me baby ain’t nothin’ but mammals

I’m in Whyalla and I’m thinking about Neandertals. There’s a joke there somewhere if you’re a South Australian, but it isn’t actually a very fair one, or a very good one for that matter. So far, my day in Whyalla has been chock full of bright friendly people and even good food. That being said, [...]

 
icon for podpress  The Bloodhound Gang "The Bad Touch": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Just tell ‘em I’ve got some of those St. James Infirmary blues

I am sick. Meaning that the end of the world is nigh and the the air around me is filled with expelled virus and the soft moaning and whining of a man with the common cold.
I felt it coming on Wednesday evening and in the interest of being prepared and minimising loss of work time, [...]

 
icon for podpress  Soda and His Million Piece Band "St. James Infirmary Blues" [3:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

And if I weren’t a civil servant, I’d have a place in the colonies

Often, what inspires me to write is some song or the other playing in the background while I’m doing something else. Last night, for example, I was cooking our Pancake Tuesday dinner and this track from 80’s greats Camper van Beethoven came on the old iPod.
…And if I weren’t a civil servant, I’d have a [...]

 
icon for podpress  Camper van Beethoven "All Her Favorite Fruit" [5:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

King Solomon, he never lived round here

It is time for this vaccination/autism nonsense to stop.
Last week, British medical journal “The Lancet” retracted a 1998 paper by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues that initiated that panic over a purported link between MMR vaccines and autism. This followed a censure of Wakefield issued by the UK’s General Medical Council for unethical behavior. The Lancet’s editor says [...]

 
icon for podpress  The Clash "Straight to Hell": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I bide my time kicking up the sand

There is a possibility that I am becoming obsessed about food. My guest post for The Greenists is about food. Again. Still, I think it is pretty good so you should go and check it out.
The research for this one freaked me out a little bit. I try to trudge through life looking pretty much right [...]

 
icon for podpress  Gorky's Zygotic Mynci "Freckles": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Who mistook the steak for chicken?

A couple of weeks ago I was cooking dinner, as I do most nights. We were having some sort of chicken dish and the recipe called for 250g (~1/2 lb) of chicken breast. I wandered over to the refrigerator, pulled out the twin pack of chicken breasts that Dr. O’C had picked up at the [...]

 
icon for podpress  The Moldy Peaches "Steak For Chicken" [2:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

He’s usually really wired on that cheap trucker speed

Back in my late teens and early twenties I had a particular fondness for White Crosses, the little bronchodilater pills that one could by legally at gas stations all over the country. They were ephedrine tablets, designed for folks with asthma but used with great gusto by dieters and for recreational purposed. And also by long [...]

 
icon for podpress  Golden Smog [2:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When I was younger I thought I knew everything. Now I’m older I know I know everything.

I’m over the rebranded Allie’s Answers today, filling my role a as resident science guy. I’m looking at the contentious science surrounding plastic shopping bags today. Head on over and have a look and check out the rest of The Greenists as well.
One of the reasons that the science on this one is a bit [...]

 
icon for podpress  The Plastic Revolution "Are You Missing Me?": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Wide eyed and new money with faded beauty queens

God, I hate the news media sometimes.
A story caught Dr. O’C’s eye in our local Murdoch owned fishwrapper the other day, the juicy lead of which was:
MODERN men have got it so good. According to scientific research, women are gradually becoming more attractive in an evolutionary ‘beauty race’.

Without reading either the article or the ’scientific research’, I issued [...]

 
icon for podpress  The Thrills "Faded Beauty Queens" [3:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Will you rise and meet your savior in the air?

If you’ve noticed that the science posts have been pretty sparse around here lately then, well then I’m a bit worried about how much attention you’re paying to me. Are you some kind of cyber stalker or something? Huh?
Right, science posts. The thing about science posts is that they’re a lot of work. I have [...]

 
icon for podpress  Uncle Tupelo "Atomic Power" [1:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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