Pluto is not a planet. Despite earlier indications that the International Astronomical Union might adopt a broad definition of a planet that includes Pluto and additional objects in the list of planets, they've decided that Pluto isn't a planet after all, and neither are the other three objects they had been considering: Charon, Ceres, and 2003 UB313. The good news, I … [Read more...] about Bummer
Science
Pluto and Friends
There's some interesting news news from the International Astronomical Union this morning. They may be about to settle on the definition of a planet...and there are more of them than you think. (For those of you who don't remember this stuff, you're supposed to think there are nine of them.) The sticking point has been the most distant planet, Pluto. We've been calling it a … [Read more...] about Pluto and Friends
Knowing About Rape
Eugene Volokh catches an apparent problem in an article in Oregon State's Daily Barometer: According to a press release issued by the Women's Center, 2,000 rapes occur every five minutes. This amounts to the claim that, on average, every woman in the United States is raped once every 9 months, which is absurd. Eugene tracks down the actual press release, which says: About … [Read more...] about Knowing About Rape
The Google Cathedral
I think I'm just a little creeped out at the thought of Google having a soul of its own. … [Read more...] about The Google Cathedral
Whew.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050809/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle … [Read more...] about Whew.