Weekend Cat Blogging #52 is celebrating its first anniversary.
Carnival of the Cats #115 is simply purr-fect to fulfill your feline fetish.
This could be rather interesting if it turns out to be true. Also, I doubt this will interest most of you as much as it interests me. The Quantum AetherDynamics Institute has published results which they claim represents a solid, empirical Unified Field Theory for physics. If this is true and if the math is as solid as it at first appears, such a discovery could revolutionize our understanding of space-time, the universe, and everything in it. It’s important to understand that a workable and solid Unified Field Theory, something Einstein himself was desperate to find, is the Holy Grail of physics. I’ll be watching this closely as their results are published and peer review takes place. [via Science Blog]
Birds in the News 61 (v2n12) has lots of great photos and news from the avian world, including an update on and photo of the ferruginous cactus pygmy-owl as well as a disturbing bit of news about what may be the first bird species critically endangered by global warming. You’ll also find more updates on the H5N1 avian flu strain.
Lax Enforcement Puts Patients’ Files At Risk, Critics Say: “In the three years since Americans gained federal protection for their private medical information, the Bush administration has received [19,420] complaints alleging violations but has not imposed a single civil fine and has prosecuted just two criminal cases.” I guess that means HIPAA was just an empty promise to keep our medical information secured; the government appears to have no real interest in enforcing the law. In the meantime, “the lack of civil fines has sent a clear message that health organizations have little to fear if they violate HIPAA.”
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and Red Jr. are converging on each other. “The two biggest storms in the solar system are about to go bump in the night, in plain view of backyard telescopes.”
Drinking coffee makes you more open-minded. Need I say more? Yet another scientific discovery in support of my Starbucks addiction.