Rotundus.com

Managers for a nuclear future

The damage to nuclear development doesn't seem as bad as it could have been: "Of 570 units planned before Fukushima, only 37 have been axed or put on hold since the crisis"

Baboon Study Shows Benefits for Nice Guys, Who Finish 2nd

"Beta males, who fought less and had considerably less mate guarding to do, had much lower stress levels. They had fewer mating opportunities than the alphas, but they did get some mating in, more than any lower-ranking males."

Can you tell the difference between ice cream and frozen dessert?

"The Dairy Farmers of Canada say few consumers can tell the difference between ice cream and frozen dessert, a vegetable oil based product that contains imported palm kernel oil or coconut oil instead of locally produced butter fat" - I'm trying to figure out just how much I should care.

Gallery: The Empire Strikes Outback

Lots of photos: "Jacob French is walking 4100 km, from Perth to Sydney, dressed as a Stormtrooper to raise money for the Starlight Foundation."

If you don't remember John McCrae, he was the author of In Flander's Fields. This past weekend there was an article out about an Ottawa Museum claiming that John McCrae was gay. What's their evidence? Not much.

Francesco Corsaro, the Bytown Museum’s director of development, said in an interview he knew of multiple, credible sources indicating the famed poet was gay.

“There are some people who believe that he was,” said Corsaro.

Yet the only historian who is named by Corsaro as a source disputes the same-sex story.

Basically the argument seems to be that he was rather sad when a friend of his got blown to bits in an earlier battle. (The news story is sparse on details; filled mostly with contrary assertions by various historians).

Is this what California's new law on the teaching of gay history could lead to in a search to find homosexuals to teach about? (The homosexual population is significantly smaller than most people estimate)

On Israel as a "Jewish state" here's what the New York times had to say:

a brief look at Israel’s neighboring states reveals that most of them have the word “Arab” in their official names, as in Arab Republic of Egypt and Syrian Arab Republic. Jordan’s official name indicates the ethnicity of the ruling minority: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Palestinian charter makes a repeated usage of “Arab Palestinian people.”

Similarly, a Huffington Post article brought out some issues in earlier land laws in the area of Palestine (which you can find argued in more detail in a journal article):

So what is Robert Fisk talking about? The "living areas," which he does not wish to even call "settlements," were in almost all cases built upon unoccupied lands (actually, if the truth were out, these are more what should be called "suburbs," "bedroom communities," "small towns" -- in the case of Maale Adumim, a big "town" -- not "settlements"), what in strict Islamic Land Law is referred to as "Mewat" or "Dead Lands." Just as in the American West, these carry a three-year right of revival, after which they can be owned having previously been "owned" by no one.

It seems that it's time to think a little about mobility issues now.

• My car has refused to start since getting back into town on July 4th. I haven't yet gotten around to getting it towed, but I'm guessing it might be end of line for the Dave-mobile.
• Twisted my ankle after getting off the bus Wednesday. Currently trying not to do much walking until that has managed to heal up well.

If it is indeed the end of life of the Dave-mobile, I'm wondering what I'll end up doing. Will I cave and buy another? (Given my driving averages about 200km/month recently, taxing might be more cost-effective). Should I buy a bike and try to use that more? Should I stick to my feet and a bus pass? Looks like weekend car rental rates are about $20/day + taxes these days which would allow for occasional extended travel (although I'd probably want to switch to a credit card with rental car coverage included). On a similar note, here are a few rent-by-hour cars on campus (with no annual fees).