I cleaned my office….and found freaky sh!t.

Since, in THEORY, I will have a new job sometime this year (still looking), I thought this might be a good time to start trying to clean up my office.  I re-discovered a whole bunch of old folders that I stashed in a box many years ago.

I found an entire NSF grant proposal that I have absolutely no memory of. It got a positive review, it had all sorts of collaborators, but wasn’t funded. And I remembered None. Of. It.   Scary!

I found 2 half-written manuscripts that I never finished, and will probably just give up on.
One was an examination of how advertising has historically used gendered entomophobia in order to sell pesticides and cleaning projects. If you want to pick that one up, let me know; I’ll mail you everything I’ve got.

The other was a project I started working on in the late 90s. I was placed on several prayer lists courtesy of some students in my evolution classes.  I got interested in writing about how millennial fears factored into different styles of Creationism.  Millenialism isn’t much of a hot topic now that it’s almost 2011, so I guess that one is dead in the water.

BUT!

I also found lots of strange things stashed away in folders. In 1996, there was not a web as we know it now: “In 1996, Americans with Internet access spent fewer than 30 minutes a month surfing the Web.“   So, when I got kinda crazy stuff about Beware the Blue Beam, I couldn’t just blog about it, or post it to Flickr.  I could maybe post something to alt.science.biology’s listserver on Usenet.
But now, with Web 2.0, you are welcome to riffle through my files!

I got stuck on The Institute for Creation Research mailing list from 1994 to 1997.  Before the novelty wore off, I used to actually open and read all the stuff they sent me.  ICR even produced little daily devotional booklets, I guess so you could read something condemning evilutionists every morning with your coffee.

Most of them featured the standard bible verses that showed up on nearly all of my class evaluations:  False prophets, Fools that think they are wise, yadda yadda.

But some of them were really weird. Like Henry Morris, Mr. Creationism, suggesting that teachers of evolution should be hanged and drowned.

In fact, he said it twice–here’s a link to the second time.

WWJD?  My reading of texts about Jesus give me the distinct sense he would not be down with this. While I might like for JC to put a smiting on ICR, that isn’t his style.  Dude’s a pacifist.  (Except for bankers, maybe. But who hasn’t felt that way recently?)

I also am fairly sure that this particular daily rant about “uncontrolled greed” and “opulent lifestyle” was foreshadowing PZ Myers’ rise and domination in the blogosphere.

Check out all the strangeness in my Flickr Stream; I’ll be adding things over time.

An Entomological Carol

I was cleaning my office last night, and found a newsletter from my graduate department in 1987!   It’s a little late, but this one was so amusing I had to share. Lyrics by Jim Richmond; hopefully he doesn’t mind me sharing them here.

Sung to the tune of the Christmas Song (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire)

Professors resting wherever they are,
Grad students nipping at their knows
Post-docs with their eyes on jobs aglow
And secretaries dressed up like who knows;

Everybody knows some plants and some insects too,
Goes to make the work just right,
Tiny technicians with their eyes half aglow
will find it hard celebrating tonight.

We know the Chairman is on his way,
He has lots of authority in his say,
And every PI is sure to try
To see if the Dean can make their proposal fly.

And so to you I am offering this simple phrase,
For you, whatever age you are,
Though it’s been said many times many days,
Merry Christmas to you.

A New look for the new Year

I have been tweaking the blog format this week, so please let me know if you find it easier/same/harder to read than the old version!

Mostly, I’m working on making the layout a bit more flexible for different browser sizes. I looked at this on the iPhone, and it seems ok. Would be interested to hear from people with Androids and iPads.  I also was considering a completely stripped down version (you can see that on my other blog here).

I have tried to correct/clean up the links in the sidebar, which I hadn’t done for some time.
If you have a bug blog and you’d like to be included here, please mention it in the comments!

Some blogs seem to be in diapause–if there were some posts this year, I left them on the list.

Fleas Navidad!

Another reason the “Ark Park” is a bad idea

Animal Welfare.

I have mentioned before that in my current position I’m responsible for the welfare of both cows and captive wild animals.
What I haven’t talked about is that there is a HUGE amount of inspection, paperwork, and documentation involved in having those animals.  It is, frankly, a gigantic pain in the ass, and the animals are healthier for it.

While there are many, many obvious reasons why the Ark Park is a stupid idea, and it’s even stupider to have state funds sponsor it, what I keep thinking is:  “What about the animals?”

That popped into my head when I was reading this NYT story:

“In the interest of verisimilitude, the ark is to be built with wooden pegs and timber framing by Amish builders, Mr. Zovath said. Animals including giraffes — but only small, young giraffes — will be kept in pens on board.

“We think that God would probably have sent healthy juvenile-sized animals that weren’t fully grown yet, so there would be plenty of room,” said Mr. Zovath, a retired Army lieutenant colonel heading the ark project. “We want to show how Noah would have taken care of them, taken care of waste management, taken care of water needs and food needs.”

Oh no they didn’t.
They didn’t really just say that, did they?

“Juvenile-sized” animals will GROW UP.  God will not provide for them–humans have to.
Where will the older animals go?  Will they be sold to game farms for hunters to shoot? Will they be euthanized and made into Arkburgers?
How will a continuous supply of exotic immature animals be delivered?
If these animals are housed in a giant wooden boat, how is it a good experience for the animals to be jammed in an artificial environment with lots of loud people and a bunch of other animals (some of which will be predators)?

Those are just a few of my questions for the Ark Park.

If in fact Answers in Genesis is planning to run a zoo, they should seek accreditation by AZA: The Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  This is an international body of scientists and experts in animal care.  I invite you to look over the (63 page) AZA Accreditation standards for 2011.  Here is the guiding AZA philosophy:

“Animals must be well cared for and displayed in naturalistic settings that provide an educational experience for visitors and an appropriate enriching environment for the animals, including proper social groupings.”

Additional AZA Standards:

“Animals should be displayed in exhibits replicating their wild habitat and in numbers sufficient to meet their social and behavioral needs.”

Is that what is planned for these animals? Hell no.
Young giraffes held away from regular social groupings? Requiring animals that roam open savanna to stand in a stall?
I predict it will take about 2 weeks for major hoof problems to develop for these poor animals.  And that’s just the giraffes.  I don’t want to even imagine what they would do to an ape or an elephant.

AZA also has clear guidelines for what are called “program animals”; animals that are involved in public show-and-tell sessions, including handling by a keeper or the public:

“standards require that education and conservation messages must be an integral component of all program animal presentations. “

Uh, I’m guessing that ain’t happening either.  In particular since there are clear statements that the folks responsible for this travesty don’t believe in global warming, and subscribe to the dominion flavor of biblical interpretation, rather than stewardship.

Of course, this standard could also be a major impediment to AZA accreditation right here:

“4.3. Evaluation/Interpretation
4.3.1. Exhibits, interpretive programs and other education programs should be evaluated on a regular basis for effectiveness, content, and updated with current scientific information.
4.3.3 The exhibit graphics and other interpretive devices should be based upon current scientific knowledge….”

Heh.  But I digress.

I am not a PETA supporter. I eat meat.
But like Temple Grandin, I believe we have an ethical and moral duty to provide animals in our care with a good life.

The “Ark Adventure” is actually going to be an adventure in animal cruelty.

————-

For the curious: You can see the full press release and press kit here; it’s…astonishing.  And not at all suited to animal welfare.
Here are some highlights from the arkencounter.com website:

• Noah’s Ark: A full-size Ark, built to biblical dimensions, will be located outside the walled city. Guests will be able to tour the Ark and be immersed in the times of the Bible through highly themed scenes and presentations. This walk-through of the Ark will enable each guest to gain an understanding of how it could have been built, and how Noah, his family, and all of the representative kinds of land animals were cared for, and then survived on board for 370 days of the Flood
• Noah’s Animals: This fun area will provide Ark Encounter guests with the opportunity to learn more about some of the animal kinds that were on the Ark. This area will be similar to a petting zoo, complete with barns, a petting animal area, an open grazing area, a stage for daily live animal and bird shows, and lots of meet-and-greet areas for close-up encounters with unique animals and birds.
• Aviary: This will be a fascinating walk-through attraction with several viewing platforms inside three types of bird sanctuaries. Each sanctuary will allow guests to get close to the birds in a natural setting. A nearby butterfly emporium will be visually stunning as well.

Thursday Cuteness

A ladybug discovers sprinkles have SUGAR  (and static electricity).

Evolution Comic Book

NCSE just announced the release of a new comic book about evolution!

Evolution: the Story of Life on Earth. Jay Hosler (text), Kevin and Zander Cannon (illustrations). This book will be released January 4th, 2011.

At first glance, it looks like a crazy mix of real science and imagination.  I especially liked this coverage of how wing folding opened new niches for insects:

Download your advance chapter here

And Another Thing…. (DDT Fail)

I was interviewed by Drunken Skeptics (Michigan Skeptics Association) about DDT, bed bugs, and my criticism of Brian Dunning for not doing proper research and posting a lot of incorrect stuff about DDT.

Listen to the podcast here!

I’m actually rather pleased with how it turned out, although you can clearly tell I had a cold.  I’m interested in feedback from some of my fellow bloggy entomologists about whether you think I represented the larger entomological community’s views on DDT correctly.

The biggest complaint I have about the whole manufactured controversy surrounding DDT is that it’s a waste of time and energy, and distracts from the real work we need to be doing.  DDT boosters like to frame the argument as:  “Which is worse, Malaria or DDT?”

They have framed that question so that there is only one possible choice.   A forced choice between Malaria and DDT is the WRONG QUESTION. I completely reject that false dichotomy as oversimplification. There are more than two choices.

The real discussion that needs to happen is about the best way to control malaria and improve human health in a particular situation.  Over 99 countries have a malaria problem. It is patently absurd to think that one chemical can solve a problem that is global in scope.  DDT is part of current WHO treatment guidelines. But it is only one piece of a huge, huge complicated problem.

What is the political, environmental, and socio-economic situation of a particular community struggling with malaria control?  What, if any, data do we have on the resistance of the parasite and mosquito vectors to drugs and insecticides? It is not a one-size-fits-all problem with one solution.

Because of the vitriol that is spewed, people like me (and probably a few politicians) are hesitant to talk about Malaria at all. It makes aid to the WHO and Africa a political football that is used to score points.   It’s not, really, about DDT at all.  It’s about tarring and feathering the environmental movement, and keeping people distrustful of science.

And that is sad.

I’d really like to type up a transcript for the podcast, but I still am under the weather health wise–hopefully I can do that next week.