Category Archives: General

WordPress has upgraded. Why is it that every time I “upgrade,” my old theme no longer works? Now I’m using the standard, generic theme. Nothing wrong with that. But I wish there was some way to get the upgrade process … Continue reading →

Hmmm… I wonder how many blog posts with this headline will be written today? The iPad has to be one of the most-anticipated launches in Apple history, and with the possible exception of the iPhone, it’s a device that may … Continue reading →

I’ve always been a little annoyed with people appropriating the word “literacy” for things that have nothing to do with literacy. Literacy derives from the Latin word for “letter,” and refers specifically to the ability to read. The problem I … Continue reading →

My column on Seed this week has attracted some attention across the web. The most interesting comment may have come from DrugMonkey, who simply linked to his 2008 post critical of the idea that animals can have “insight.” Now, in … Continue reading →

We move from saving the planet to a subject of much more immediate urgency. A while back I did a little experiment to determine whether it was more energy efficient to heat water on the stovetop or in the microwave. … Continue reading →

Earlier today I put up a post on Twitter asking for suggestions about places to donate money in bulk to counter the carbon emitted due to my travels. One suggestion came from @SFriedScientist: TerraPass is pretty good, founded by a … Continue reading →

So, I get a call from a “toll free number.” What possesses me to answer it, I don’t know. Clearly it’s some sort of telemarketer. Me: Hello. Telemarketer: Hello, may I speak to Margaret Moljer? Okay, it’s definitely a telemarketer, … Continue reading →

Over the course of the afternoon, I’ve had a really nice conversation with Carla Casilli on Twitter. It started out with Carla’s observation: When will we stop calling media on the internet “new media”? To which I replied: Shortly after … Continue reading →

With any luck, I’ve kept you on pins and needles for the last week and a half as I prepared you for the unveiling of the “Mystery Project,” or what I’m going to be doing with all the time I … Continue reading →

What is the Mystery Project? As I announced last week here and on CogDaily, it’s a new project that will be a major focus of my efforts for the foreseeable future. But what exactly is it? I’m not going to … Continue reading →

Last week’s Science Online conference was an amazing gathering of some of the brightest minds in science communication. What I didn’t talk about in my SEED report was one of the final sessions of the conference, Online Civility and Its … Continue reading →

Since the farewell post on Cognitive Daily directed people here, it’s only fair to let all the new folks know what they’re in for. First of all, what is this place? Well, I can only tell you what it’s not. … Continue reading →

Is it possible to live on just 40 percent of your income, and save the rest? It is if you use the optimistic “accounting system” proposed in this article. Here’s how it works, says freelance copywriter Mary-Jo Dionne: Every time … Continue reading →

The “game story” is broken, there’s no doubt about that. As Jason Fry argues quite convincingly on Reinventing the Newsroom, the standard newspaper-style report on sporting events simply doesn’t make any sense. A game report is based on the inverted-pyramid … Continue reading →

I wrote the headline for this post on Twitter a few hours ago, after having racked my brain to come up with the four headlines required for each SEED column I write. Actually, I only ever manage to write two … Continue reading →

Yesterday I had to pick up some medication from Jim. Here’s what the instructions say: TAKE 1 10MG TABLET PER That’s it. So my question is, per what? Day? Hour? Week? Zodiac sign? Would it kill them to indicate the … Continue reading →