Danger, Danger

This something people really need to stop doing. (CBC)

Red Planet

If you get a chance in the next few months, check out Mars. Once every two years or so its orbit with Earth synchs up and we end up pretty close together. While this opposition will be nowhere near as spectacular as the one in 2003, which was the closest in 50,000 years, with Mars coming within 56 million km of Earth and shining at a magnitude of -2.7 (Mars will close to within 99 million km in January, and shine at magnitude -1.2) at some points in its orbit Mars is as much as 400 million km from Earth, so it will still be pretty prominent. Currently, the planet's rising in the south-east around sunset.

Seattle Slogs Sask

Slog, the blog of Seattle's crazy-excellent alternative mag The Stranger, has a post on the recent human rights ruling on a Sask marriage commissioner fined for refusing to marry a gay couple. The post, by The Stranger's editorial director Dan Savage, is here. Check it out.

Midnight Mind-Blown

Okay, so now bacteria can be programmed to solve mathematical problems. Right. And they're faster than computers. Okay.

That's it, science has officially melted my puny little mind.

Full story here, at the Guardian--the newspaper Rex Murphy Dares Not Read.