Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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» Previous Views from Medina Road (2010-2013)
» Blogspot Views from Medina Road (2003-2010)-
Recent Posts
- The Conservative War Against Liberals, and Cat Toys
- Academic Freedom, Good Citizens, and Moving Forward
- Cory Doctorow on Project 2025 and Long Knives
- The Psychology of Trump and His Supporters
- The Clueless Conservative War on Reality
- Conservatives, Conspiracies, and Reality
- Credulity, Innumeracy, and Alarmism
- Timothy Ferris, COMING OF AGE IN THE MILKY WAY
- Three Perspectives on Trump’s First 100 Days
- Edward O. Wilson: LETTERS TO A YOUNG SCIENTIST
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Meta
Category Archives: Science
They’re Telling Us Who They Are, and What They Will Do
Maya Angelou: “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” (source and source) How Trump and his acolytes are openly planning to set up an authoritarian government, should he rewin the Presidency; Similarly, Republicans in Ohio … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Music, Science
Comments Off on They’re Telling Us Who They Are, and What They Will Do
The Current State of the World
Two items about the current state of the world: the economy is good; climate change is getting worse, and how conservatives won’t believe either; How Big Oil is more concerned with profits than with long-term consequences; How the Mission: Impossible … Continue reading
Consciousness and Choices
The problem of consciousness, and the resolution to a 25-year-old debate, via Vox and NYT’s Carl Zimmer; The paradox of choice, in supermarkets and everywhere else, in our abundant, materialistic world. Vox, Oshan Jarow, 30 Jun 2023: Why scientists haven’t … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Philosophy, Psychology, Science
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Some Sciency Bits
Richard Dawkins on the ancestral language of DNA; How humans have interpreted fossils throughout history; Recalling the scientifically inaccurate and intellectually hostile movie Armageddon, from 1998; How an article about a refinement to our understanding of human evolution overstates its … Continue reading
Posted in Evolution, Music, Science, Skiffy Flix
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Follow-up Links on Current Themes
Let’s catch up on links from the past couple weeks that I haven’t already used, beginning with some follow-ons to topics already covered. Climate Change: Scientists have reached the “I told you so” moment; The DeSantis video: Republicans are now … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Politics, Science
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Ignoring Evidence vs Paying Attention
The hottest day on Earth, as scientists have anticipated; David French on the mindset of MAGA America As the scientists have been predicting for decades. NY Times, 6 Jul 2023: Heat Records Are Broken Around the Globe as Earth Warms, … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Science
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Summer Solstice; Reality and Illusions
The summer solstice is a consequence of basic facts about the Earth and the solar system, which apparently few people understand; Another example of how debates are usually pointless, including political debates; Another take on the false idea that people … Continue reading
Debate Is Not the Way to Do Science
Because debate is all about winning an argument toward a preconceived conclusion, not trying to identify truth. Vox, 22 Jun 2023: Joe Rogan wants a “debate” on vaccine science. Don’t give it to him., subtitled “How to have better conversations … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science
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Today’s Examples of Tribal Loyalty
Examples today of: Defunding the IRS, mostly to benefit the wealthy; Tax cuts, benefiting mostly the wealthy; A party of law & order anxious to pardon its member for crimes against law & order; Defenses of Trump that are a … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science
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Law vs. Science, Climate Change vs. Insurance
Two items about the Supreme Court’s redefinition of “wetlands,” despite the science of hydrology; Two items about the effects of climate change, including how some insurance companies are refusing new homeowner policies.
