Maybe he's born with it...maybe it's Mjolnir.

Totally, Carl Sagan embodies for me the promise of the liberal arts, which is to say that no subject unrelated to science, from Hinduism to Ancient Greek history to poetry, were not worth learning more about.All knowledge has value and enriches all other knowledge. Even for a scientist or other specialist, a broad…

And gyro white sauce! (I think, at least in NY halal carts, perhaps mixed with yogurt)

Excellent point! And I thought I was the only one. Hummus also doesn't have the saturated fat and cholesterol of mayo!

There must also be a large contingent of people who bought reduced fat mayo out of health concerns, tried it, and almost died. Including me. Because if you are going to indulge, half-measures don't count. You can't be half a mayo.

Well I for one welcome our fluffy songbird overlords.

Or a giant crossword puzzle?

Sorry, didn't add a picture for The Forever War.

I can only speak from my experience, as my experience in SF is still limited and it's generally difficult to make successful recommendations for someone else.

Any idea of the sources of variation within cities and rural areas? What makes some cities unhealthy/even more healthy, and some rural areas healthy/especially unhealthy? Does it all boil down to healthcare and social support? Such mediators (I think that's what they're called) to explain the variation would be…

Google Play also offers a lot of classics for free: Frankenstein, The Time Machine, etc.

Maybe the falcon was emulating Paul Greengrass (in a good way)?

The whole AMA is fascinating. Something about the terseness of some of his answers, and of course his authority as a naturalist, gives me goosebumps.

Well-said and insightful. You and other folks might be interested in The Velvet Glove by Mary Jackman. It's academic and dense, and I admit I've only read the first chapter as a student in psychology/prejudice. But the basic idea is what you're saying: love and affection might be overrated. Love could be conditional,…

I agree—there definitely is a distinction between "well-made" and "enjoyable." But does it really matter what critical and popular consensus identifies as well-made, if the only thing that matters is how we feel about it, not what others feel? There may be objective characteristics of quality movies/shows (e.g.,…

For folks interested in the technical challenges involved in a mission to Europa, here is one article:

I hear you totally. Personally, I've decided that it be more effective, and have greater peace of mind, if I just disagree politely saying something like "It's a complex issue." I just smile and nod, voicing my disagreement firmly. Relationships with coworkers and friends are too valuable to sacrifice with an…

I thought the opening credits for Vikings was appropriately melancholy. It helped that the show itself was pretty cool.

Seriously, the S5 opening is straight out of ny dreams, a love letter to viewers. And so operatic (just like the series) that I would like to think that, in a million years when transmissions of B5 continue to ripple through space, there are First Ones out there who will be listening to it ad infinitum—like me.

I could totally see Cesium as a punctual, villainous party-crasher like the Clock King.