Science of Nate

David Griffen on Photography

2008-08-19T09:42:00.000-05:00

Topsail Island 2008

2008-08-10T15:51:00.000-05:00

Free Press FTW!

2008-06-08T10:25:00.001-05:00

Our country needs this like we need air to breathe.

Phil Plait Answers Questions from Sixth Graders...

2008-05-23T11:02:00.002-05:00

But most of us older people need to hear them too. This particular episode is about the Big Bang Theory and science in general. The science part in the end is definitely worth listening to and learning from.

6 "Uniquely Human" Traits Now Found in Animals

2008-05-23T10:13:00.003-05:00

I've always been interested in what makes humans different from other animals and the more I read it seems like there aren't too many big differences other than a more fully developed brain. It's very easy to forget that we are just another species of animal, not much different than the rest. I look at my cat and dog and compare them to myself and the similarities are striking, relatively speaking. The list of shared traits is probably longer than the list of differences; physically and mentally.

The comments are interesting too.

6 "Uniquely Human" Traits Now Found in Animals

I <3 Bill Moyers

2008-05-02T20:38:00.002-05:00

Time and time again, Bill Moyers says the right thing.

Teresa and Guy get Married!

2008-04-26T21:24:00.000-05:00

WANT.

2008-04-25T20:15:00.002-05:00

I want this. Not the goofy spoiler though, something more subtle. But none the less, WANT.

Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, TX

2008-04-21T21:09:00.000-05:00

It never gets old...

2008-03-31T09:48:00.001-05:00

What Scientologists actually believe.

Lawrence Lessig @ UPenn on Obama

2008-03-29T22:54:00.001-05:00

Flag burning in the White House.

2008-03-15T11:43:00.001-05:00

Look Around You

2008-01-31T10:02:00.000-06:00

Hahaha

Camping at Colorado Bend State Park

2008-01-15T20:37:00.000-06:00

Last week end Julie and I, and a few other friends, went camping at Colorado Bend State Park. It was a great place; out in the middle of nowhere, north-west of Austin. It felt good to get out of the city. Seeing stars for a change was nice, as well as hearing absolutely nothing but nature-y sounds. We cooked on the camp fire, hiked several trails, and visited Gormon Falls, which was quite beautiful. The weather was nice, though a little cold that night, but nothing we couldn't handle.

There were caves in the park also, but we missed the 9am deadline for the tour. I guess we'll have to go back sometime.

Urban Adventures

2007-12-23T13:54:00.000-06:00

Jeramy, Scott, Dorian, and I spent last Saturday wandering various abandoned factories and apartment buildings taking pictures and finding cool stuff.

No Brian No!

2007-12-23T12:45:00.000-06:00

Don't do it! Nasty!

Now I'm ready for Christmas.

2007-12-18T20:29:00.000-06:00

moar funny pictures

What Makes Us Moral.

2007-12-08T08:41:00.000-06:00

For a while I've been fascinated about the subject of where we get our morality. Time has a great article that provides a little information into some of the scientific research being done and the findings.

"The deeper that science drills into the substrata of behavior, the harder it becomes to preserve the vanity that we are unique among Earth's creatures. We're the only species with language, we told ourselves—until gorillas and chimps mastered sign language. We're the only one that uses tools then—but that's if you don't count otters smashing mollusks with rocks or apes stripping leaves from twigs and using them to fish for termites.

What does, or ought to, separate us then is our highly developed sense of morality, a primal understanding of good and bad, of right and wrong, of what it means to suffer not only our own pain—something anything with a rudimentary nervous system can do—but also the pain of others. That quality is the distilled essence of what it means to be human. Why it's an essence that so often spoils, no one can say."

What Makes Us Moral

Ben Folds is amazing. Duh.

2007-12-01T12:09:00.000-06:00

I just wasted an hour watching YouTube videos of Ben Folds performances.

An impromptu version of "Such Great Heights"

The music video for "Kate"

Live performance of "Philosophy"

"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"

Live performance of "Fred Jones Part 2" featuring John McCrea of Cake

Performance of "Not the Same" with the Boston Pops and the audience

Dr. Dre's "Bitches ain't Shit" Live

Spin.

2007-11-24T10:11:00.000-06:00

One day I'll stop posting YouTube videos, but this short film is pretty awesome.

I don't know what to make of this.

2007-11-21T19:16:00.000-06:00

Supporting the Troops...

2007-11-17T12:12:00.000-06:00

"To speak of supporting the troops and not understand that the only true way to enact that support is to make sure that kind of homecoming is what each of them and their families have earned is to reduce that support to a saying on a bumper sticker, to making it a meaningless brand name. Supporting the troops is supporting 1st Lt. Thomas Bourne, and supporting Amy Bourne and supporting Walker Bourne and supporting Preston Bourne. Supporting them is not making those two little boys have to cry again. It is not thumping a chest and waving a flag and threatening a dissenter. It is not what the Army Reserve is doing to Thomas Bourne and thousands more like him: sending him after his two weeks’ leave is up…back to Iraq."

Sick irony.

2007-11-15T09:31:00.000-06:00

Apparently, with all the money we are spending on this silly war, we could've been powering up to 2/3rds of the nation with Solar power alone. Why do we keep pouring money into sending our kids to fight unjust, unprovoked wars when we can use that same chunk of money to divorce our selfs from the oil that keeps us over there? It just boggles my mind.

http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/solar-trends/a-sick-graph-2/

Perspective on Lottery chances...

2007-11-07T11:56:00.000-06:00

Here's why playing the lottery is throwing away money. It's an easy tax on the gullible.

http://www.sleazysoft.com/megaslz/holycrap.php

Yay! Random Image feed!

2007-11-07T09:59:00.001-06:00

Now I have a feed that I can post a single image to. Check out the subscribe link on the side bar to add it to your RSS feed reader of choice. You'll then be able to see a new picture of mine each time I post one.