News From Around The Blogosphere 9.26.08

It’s banned books week! And here’s a list of the most challenged books for 2007.

4.28 billion-year-old rock! – I can’t wait to tell my friends. They don’t have a rock this old. IT’S THE OLDEST ROCK EVER! It’s like John McCain old! Picture the length of time it takes to watch the theatrical version of just one of the Lord of the Ring movies, and that’s how friggin’ old this thing is! PZ Myers calculates that means Ken Ham is wrong by a factor of over 713,000. This is also covered on Science Daily.

Reports of John McCain’s illness have been greatly exaggerated – Orac debunks the recent myths regarding McCain’s health here and here.

Dr. Rahul Parikh pwns anti-vaccinationist David Kirby once again this week – I posted about the earlier exchanges between them 2 days ago here. This time it comes after Kirby gave a talk to Congressional staffers and a few Congressmen. Parikh particularly nails him by pointing out how Kirby is more interested in using “social proof” rather than scientific proof for his claims.

But in related news, scientists’ objections to how chelation therapy is being used are being viewed as “of a political nature.”

Questions you should ask your doctor

Leslie Zucker’s Freethought Books To Prisoners Project is going well

Japan plans to build the first space elevator – Just hope the bratty kid in there before you doesn’t push the buttons so you have to make all the stops.

Way of the Master Radio has been removed from 2 stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area – Apparently I’m a lot less distressed by this news than Ray Comfort’s disciple, Trish. I see fast food in Todd Friel’s future.

Jesus Christ: Wrong For Your Family And Wrong For America:

AND NOW FOR A MOMENT OF SCIENCE:

Simple Device Boosts Gas Efficiency By 20% – “According to Rongjia Tao, Chair of Temple’s Physics Department, the small device consists of an electrically charged tube that can be attached to the fuel line of a car’s engine near the fuel injector. With the use of a power supply from the vehicle’s battery, the device creates an electric field that thins fuel, or reduces its viscosity, so that smaller droplets are injected into the engine. That leads to more efficient and cleaner combustion than a standard fuel injector, he says.”

Scientists Go Nano For Fast Computers – “Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have made a major contribution to this field by designing a new nanotechnology that will ultimately help make computers smaller, faster, and more efficient.”