1. Islam's war on freedom

Comment #240710 by MAVERICKMAN on September 1, 2008 at 12:20 am

A petition has been lodged with the British government to make the Prophet Muhammad's birthday a national holiday. If you live in the UK and you think this is a bad idea, please sign this counter petition.

IMO, governments pay no bloody attention to petitions. If you want to get a government's attention, bombard them with sack loads of old-fashioned snail-mail.

Hey, Ishruul! That avatar of yours is bloody weird!

2. McCain's VP Wants Creationism Taught in School

Comment #240080 by MAVERICKMAN on August 30, 2008 at 9:36 pm

It is rather apt that the Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's namesake is this well known pet shop proprietor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vuW6tQ0218&NR=1

3. Museum in censorship row over Darwin sign

Comment #239519 by MAVERICKMAN on August 29, 2008 at 9:03 pm

The replacement sign should read the quote from the former editor of NewScientist magazine as in the anecdote told by Prof. Richard Dawkins: "Science is interesting. If you don't agree, you can FUCK OFF!"

4. Do they really think the earth is flat?

Comment #224417 by MAVERICKMAN on August 4, 2008 at 11:48 pm

@ #14 Comment by sent:

Excuse me for asking, but what is a Poe? A google search leads to many possibilities.

Definition of Poe's Law: CLICK HERE

5. 'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution

Comment #223622 by MAVERICKMAN on August 3, 2008 at 1:00 am

@ #22 by Don_Quix:

I live in Arizona. Most of the state, especially the southwestern portion between Phoenix and California, is essentially barren, uninhabited, undeveloped desert that gets about 300 or more days a year of constant sunshine. I really don't understand why at least a portion of this incredibly vast area is not filled with solar farms. A good portion of the electricity needs of the southwest US could probably be met using current technology if only a couple of hundred square miles of this state (out of approximately 113,000 square miles) was devoted to harvesting solar energy.

Extract from Wikipedia article on Stirling engines, under the section Solar power generation:

Placed at the focus of a parabolic mirror a Stirling engine can convert solar energy to electricity with an efficiency better than non-concentrated photovoltaic cells, and comparable to Concentrated Photo Voltaics. On August 11, 2005, Southern California Edison announced an agreement to purchase solar powered Stirling engines from Stirling Energy Systems over a twenty year period and in quantity (20,000 units) sufficient to generate 500 megawatts of electricity. These systems, on a 4,500 acre (19 km²) solar farm, will use mirrors to direct and concentrate sunlight onto the engines which will in turn drive generators.

6. Bright Chunks At Phoenix Lander's Mars Site Must Have Been Ice

Comment #203316 by MAVERICKMAN on July 2, 2008 at 3:59 pm

Brilliant avatar. How did you do it? Looks like a David Robertson debate :-))

Thanks for the compliment, Vaal, but I simply downloaded the avatar from the large selection available here.

It's taken from the Monty Python "Argument" sketch.

7. Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy sitting in policeman's hat

Comment #203177 by MAVERICKMAN on July 2, 2008 at 12:44 pm

At post #45

Sadly true. Muslims seem to feel they should be given special status. All people are equal, but Muslims are more equal than others.

Here is Jackie Mason's view on making Muslims happy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQqLMKOPbck

8. Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy sitting in policeman's hat

Comment #203132 by MAVERICKMAN on July 2, 2008 at 11:50 am

Man at Police Station: "I've just lost my dog."
Policeman: "Why don't you put an advertisement in the local newspaper?"
Man: "Don't be bloody stupid, my dog can't read!"

9. Galaxy map hints at fractal universe

Comment #199878 by MAVERICKMAN on June 26, 2008 at 12:59 pm

More than a decade ago, Sylos Labini and Pietronero wagered a bet with physicist Marc Davis of the University of California, Berkeley, US. The bet, refereed by Turok, held that if the galaxy distribution turned out to be fractal beyond scales of approximately 50 million light years, Davis would owe Sylos Labini and Pietronero a case of California wine.

Should the fractal pattern begin to disintegrate at scales less than 50 million light years, Davis would receive a case of Italian wine -- which some would say is a better deal. Turok has yet to declare a winner.

This is what I like about scientists. Whenever there is a difference of opinion, they have a wager with each other as to who is right and the loser forfeits something.

Whereas fundamentalists go ape and threaten you with: "I KEEL U!"

10. God hates Mars

Comment #199554 by MAVERICKMAN on June 26, 2008 at 1:09 am

Polar bears hate Penguins; that's why there are none at the North Pole -- they can't get the wrapper off!

11. Bright Chunks At Phoenix Lander's Mars Site Must Have Been Ice

Comment #197526 by MAVERICKMAN on June 22, 2008 at 9:45 am

I thought the idea was that the polar ice caps are mostly frozen CO2 (hence no liquid as they melt), and that water ice might be found under the ground.

The process you're thinking of is called sublimation -- transition from the solid to gas phase with no intermediate liquid stage. Water ice will undergo this process at below-freezing temperatures. I have seen this occurring in my freezer with ice receding to the back -- like my hairline! -- without 'melting'.

12. Male circumcision is a weapon in the sperm wars

Comment #189623 by MAVERICKMAN on June 6, 2008 at 6:08 pm

Here's some comic relief: http://www.thebricktestament.com/joshua/second_circumcision/jos05_02.html

13. Youngest galactic supernova (not aliens) found

Comment #180472 by MAVERICKMAN on May 15, 2008 at 3:50 am

You can find all the answers to your questions about the above article here --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_Ia_supernova