Sea monster in Borneo?

I wish! But probably just photoshop. Seems unlikely that a giant snake would be such a stereotypical shade of "Snake Green."

http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=are-the-photos-of-borneos-monster-s-2009-02-20

Inheriting mother's memories?

At our last discussion meeting, the Skeptics touched on topics ranging from crime, evolution, free will and ethics.

Myself and others had mentioned seeing a few stories lately about offspring inheriting their parent's experiences, but I couldn't remember the exact details! (sometimes my short-term memory really fails me... an unfortunate trait for a Skeptic... haha)

Some recent stories on the topic:

A Comeback for Lamarckian Evolution?
Two new studies show that the effects of a mother's early environment can be passed on to the next generation.
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22061/

How your mother might affect your memory
A new study in mice suggests that a mother's childhood experiences may affect the brain function of her offspring.
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=how-your-mother-might-affect-your-m-2009-02-03

Photo credit

Does God's watchful eye keep us in line?

Skeptics member JC recently wrote a great letter to the editor, which appeared in the Hook!

The Hook published an essay a couple months ago discussing if we need the guidance of religion or God watching over us in order to inspire kindness.

Unfortunately The Hook made JC edit down his letter, but the original Hook essay, JC's published letter and his original longer version are all available here (click on essay):

http://www.meetup.com/The-C-ville-Skeptics-Group/files/

(Essay wasn't available online - so this file is a scan. PDF may take a minute to download).

We had a good discussion related to this topic at tonight's meeting! So what do you think, does religion or a watchful god contribute to good behavior or altruism?

Skeptical Podcasts

This has been bouncing around Twitter a bit as of yesterday: Skeptcast. It's a great little resource for those looking for something to listen to. These podcasts are educational, entertaining, and skeptical! I'm already subscribed to a bunch of these, and I enjoy them immensely. Warning, you may LOL or cheer out loud at work while listening!

A guide to Skeptical Etiquette

Tip o' the martini glass to the Bad Astronomer who links to a great piece of writing by Allyson Beatrice at Cocktail Party Physics called "Skeptic Etiquette." It's an amusing and charming look at how a skeptic or non-believer can deal with their credulous friends and colleagues in a polite setting. After all, you might want to be a fun, friendly voice of reason, not that cranky old nay-sayer.

On a related note, Rebecca at Skepchick posts a link to Tim Minchin's "Storm" now on YouTube. It's a fun example of what you really might want to say at that dinner party with the credulous person. Warning: contains some curses, so don't play it with other people's kiddies around!