Skyrim will have gay marriage

Anyone who knows me will know that I freaking loved the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and am so excited for the sequel, Skyrim, to be released in November. Apparently the game let's you have relationships with NPCs, even marry them (developers are keen to note it's not like Fable)! You can even marry the same sex, putting the province of Skyrim ahead of most US states in terms of equality.

No doubt about it, I'm getting me an elf. Sexy buggers. Hopefully something like Zevran from Dragonage. ;)

Diamond planet discovered

I just saw this and thought it was awesome, something I've only ever seen in science fiction. Astronomers have found a planet essentially made of diamond.

Oddly, it orbits around it's star really closely despite being really heavy. Closer than earth, but heavier than Jupiter.

Because of its immense density it's probably crystalline and contains heavier common elements. Like carbon. What's crystalline carbon?

That's right. diamond. A whole planet, 5 times the size of the earth, largely made of diamond.

University plans

I'm pretty sure of my position for university now. I've firmed by genetics offer at QUB, so I'll probably be doing that course. I do know however that I'm on the medicine reserve list, of about 30 people. From my results I'm estimating I'm around 20-25, luckily my A* in chemistry gives me an edge. According to the admissions office last year the last offer went to someone with A*AAA (like me!) the second day of term.

You never know, I might still get in. But I'm happy enough with genetics and just want to get started now. Dammit, hurry up and end, summer!

Exam system

Well, I got my grades, A*AAA. These may or may not get me into medicine at QUB, but that's not what this post is about. This post is about how awful the exam system is, in particular the grades.

If you look at university courses they are sometimes gruesomely over subscribed. From my own experience applying for medicine, almost every course I considered had 10x applicants to places. As such I didn't get in.

It is unreasonable and unfair to think we could reduce the number of applicants, however we can say we could reduce the waiting time. People spend months on end waiting for a decision, time better spent getting the grades. So instead I propose a new system.

Instead of dispensing letters as grades, give out a numbered rank, 5-6 significant figures. These are based on your total scaled uniform marks. So, someone with ABB might get 75.66. From this he could see was in the 75th best division of candidates, and ranked 66 within them. Whereas someone with A*A*AA might get 8.34. A numerical grade system along those lines.

Why do this? It provides massive differentiation between candidates. With this, applications can start on results day, and you could apply to as many courses as you liked. At the end of each day of this until the beginning of term, courses could take the candidates based on their grades. Now, instead of there being 6 classes of grades, there are several thousand. Day by day the courses fill up by candidates based purely on academic merit, no need for the bullshit subjectivity of interviews and personal statements.

Anyway, just an idea!

De Grasse on telescope

PZ Myers linked this today, it is so true.

The telescope is so important but for largely for reasons people don't realise. This scares me, science won't get the funding for the projects like the LHC or Hubble in the future unless the public understands, even if vague and unfounded, what questions these things answer and why.

It would be great if there were scientists and engineers in the American Congress, instead of just lawyers and businessmen...

The Selfish Gene, the musical!

I didn't believe this at first, but someone has actually turned Richard Dawkin's The Selfish Gene into a musical. Don't believe me?

The book itself is about the idea of selection of genes and not necessarily individuals or species, as well as the evolution of altruism through "selfish" genes. In the musical, an Oxford professor teaches this to the audience by using the Adamson Family's daily struggles as an example.

I am soooooo happy about this, science needs more representation in the arts. Brian Cox does a good lecture on the subject. It is a fantastic book, and hopefully stuff like this can fight the general ignorance towards evolution.

Dammit, malnourished ancestors!

Usually I love evolution, but not today. In keeping with project Defatbastardisation I'm trying to reduce calorie intake. Which is hard! I've never wanted to stuff my face so much before!

All thanks to my stupid ancestors, not eating whatever they wanted. They had to inconvenience me by eating only what was available. Of course this meant we developed an intrinsic loving of energy rich fatty and sweet foods. And I can't eat them, despite the craving!

Well, back to resenting Darwin and these chocolate digestives...

Project Defatbastardisation

I'll use this blog to chart my weekly progress through my diet-thing. In theory, if I consume less calories than I use excess weight should be lost. Recording it here on a weekly basis with calories consumed/bodily mass and correlations should provide motivation.

After writing this I realise how concerning it is that I have to use science to do anything... oh dear.

Beautiful picture

Brian Cox tweeted this, taken by the docked Atlantis crew. I thought it was just beautiful, and wanted to share it.

You can see the green sheen of cosmic rays on the atmosphere, in the far distance the stars just make out the vague image of a galactic spiral arm and it's all framed by the International Space Station, scientific advancement through international cooperation. Just beautiful.

Governor Perry's Prayer Rally

Tomorrow Governor Perry of Texas USA is holding a prayer rally in Austin, that is strictly Christian. Adverts for the event included the state seal of Texas, and therefore Perry is guilty of a branch of US government endorsing one religious view over another. This is of course is unconstitutional according to American law.

Unfortunately the Freedom From Religion Foundation's case against him was dismissed. Which is silly, if he held an Islamic rally there would be no problem by the Christian majority in seeing the illegality. Anyway.

It makes you wonder the meaning of this rally. Does Governor Perry doubt his abilities? "Dear Lord, I as the governor of Texas am quite unable to govern effectively. Therefore I request divine intervention to guide the policies I am too incompetent to implement. Amen."

Many of my favourite presenters of the Atheist Experience are heading there to protest, it is their home state after all. What is interesting though is that the Westboro Baptist Church are protesting too in some sort of bizarre unholy alliance.

Water on Mars?

Today NASA and the University of Arizona published an article in Science about their new findings from the Martian Reconnaissance Orbiter. These streaks in the image are on the southern hemisphere of Mars and supposedly left by flowing water.

The greatest evidence is that they disappear in the winter and reappear in summer, as one would expect with temperature fluctuations. They have an official announcement tonight, apparently to include fantastic images of the streaks changing with the seasons.

Why is this important? The proven presence of flowing water would hugely increase the chances of life on Mars. Though even if life was found, I'd be far from impressed.

I mean, unless it's radically different then it's probably from Earth. Bacteria could easily be exchanged between the two planets from celestial collisions. It'd be interesting, but only ground breaking if two separate abiogenesises occurred in the same Solar System.

Here's hoping for life on Titan.

Jim Alistair demands apology from "blasphemous" placard waver

Jim Allistair is actually a prick. I mean seriously. He's this right wing nut over here in Northern Ireland who decided to form his own splinter party after his original one decided to cooperate with those of opposing ideologies.

Anyway, at Belfast Gay Pride some parader held up a sign reading "Jesus had two dads, and he turned out fine". He's now demanding an apology claiming that it was "highly offensive."

The man in question had held up the sign at the Christian protesters, from the loving folks at the Free Presbyterian Church. While I agree the sign was genuinely offensive to those of a theistic persuasion, it is still no grounds to demand an apology.

Considering the Presbyterians were at the parade declaring through speaker phones that all homosexuals were inherently sinful despite it being beyond their control and were therefore deserving of eternal torment for the gender they happened to love, *breath*, I don't think Jim has much of a case.

As such I think I'm more than justified in saying there are no grounds for apology, considering it was exercising of free speech, significantly less offensive on the marcher's behalf and there being zero legal grounds.