Links for February 11th through February 12th

This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on February 12, 2009). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

Sometime between February 11th and February 12th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Darwin Survives as the Fittest: Roger Ebert on the ongoing creationism/evolution debate in the comments to an earlier post: "As Darwin went on the voyage of the Beagle and produced journals of his observations of flora and fauna, so I have returned from my voyage through all of those comments, with my own notes. Here are some species I have observed: The True Believers, The Reasonables, The Metaphysicians, The New Agers, The Hard-Noses, The Playing-It-Safers, The Conspiracy Theorists, and so on…."
  • Evolution and Facebook’s "25 Random Things About Me" Craze.: "'25 Things' authors can be seen as 'contagious' under what's known as a 'susceptible-infected-recovered' model for the spread of disease. Think of '25 Things' authors as being contagious for one day–the day they tag a bunch of their friends. Meyers found that, for that one day, the growth parameter of the '25 Things' disease during its ascent phase (roughly until the beginning of February) was 0.27. This means that, on average, each '25 Things' writer inspired 1.27 new notes. " (via /.)
  • Czar Struck: Obama’s Brilliant Pick for Drug Czar: "The brilliance of Obama's pick for drug czar is not just finding someone who is open to new strategies, but someone who nonetheless holds undeniable qualifications as a cop. Nobody can claim Kerlikowske is a public-health nut who doesn't know the impact of drugs on the streets. Like many Americans, he agrees that drugs should be illegal. But he understands the place for low priorities and public health–and he's willing to step back where enforcement alone has failed."
  • 15 Companies That Might Not Survive 2009: "It's possible that none of the firms on this list will liquidate, or even declare Chapter 11. Some may come up with unexpected revenue or creative financing that helps avert bankruptcy, while others could be purchased in whole or in part by creditors or other investors. But one way or another, the following 15 firms will probably look a lot different a year from now than they do today." The list includes Rite Aid, Chrysler, Dollar Thrifty (car rentals), Sbarro, Six Flags, Blockbuster, and Krispy Kreme.
  • Surprising Stories Behind 20 Muppet Characters: "Rowlf the Dog, surprise, surprise, was first made in 1962 for a series of Purina Dog Chow commercials. He went on to claim fame as Jimmy Dean's sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show and was on every single episode from 1963 to 1966. Jimmy Dean said Rowlf got about 2,000 letters from fans every week. He was considered for Sesame Street but ended up becoming a regular on 'The Muppet Show' in 1976."