Labs

Introducing The Large Picture Blog . Inspired by The Big Picture , the LPB is also an example of how an individual blog's unique design, theme, character, function, etc. can be incorporated into Field of Science. In addition to the wider main section to accommodate large pictures, other hacks include a label cloud (which I've placed below the header and will come into its own over time) and a » More Pictures... link which allows for a featured picture to be displayed on the main blog with a full set of pictures to be displayed when the post is selected. I also added a unique favicon which replaces the default fos question mark favicon . Another note regarding how an FOS blog could differ from a blog on blogspot is the url possibilities. lpb.blogspot.com was not available, so I created LPD at http://largepictureblog.blogspot.com/ . Clicking on that url, notice how the blogspot address automatically forwards you to the lpb.fieldofscience .com address (this is what happens whe...

A popular bit of flare among science blogs is the Out Campaign's scarlet 'A'. I don't have a serious issue with advertising one's atheism. I can even imagine circumstances under which a scarlet A's presence on a blog might result in a positive outcome--such as disabusing someone of certain negative stereotypes... But as an atheist who blogs, my gut reaction to the campaign was ...no thanks . I wondered why that was since I couldn't honestly say I knew what the Out Campaign was all about, and what that scarlet A--beyond identifying the blogger as an atheist--was supposed to accomplish. So off to the Out Campaign I went to read all about it. What I found was a curious mix of silliness and exhortation anchored to a few otherwise harmless and worthwhile ideas. Those ideas were straightforward enough--that stuff about raising the level of awareness of atheism I alluded to above--but there's this bit about feeling liberated? Really? Then the part about embold...

"Word cloud" using Wordle . I borrowed select text from the Wikipedia article for Fields of Science , added a bunch of Field of Science 's to the mix as well as increased the number of instances of major categories of sciences. From there I pasted it into the Wordle text field and hit go. I also had to select Do Not Remove Common Words under the Language menu in order for "of" to show up, and having done the initial setup in a Word document, I knew the quantity of Maximum words... (418) under the Layout menu. My two favored fonts were Steelfish and Superclarendon Black , and I ended up selecting between the two until I got a result I could live with. Trouble is, once you get going, it's hard to stop, thinking the perfect word cloud is always just one variable change away. Anyway, too much fun, mildly addictive, and I recommend it to anyone. Should you need a reason, consider following my lead, only with your own unique spin and the aim of creating a hea...

Scenic points on my journey into and through the scientific blogosphere. Exploring the science blogosphere comes with the territory when founding and editing a science website whose aim is to elevate the profile of science bloggers. My initial suspicion that the search for good science blogs might become a not-so-looked-forward-to ritual chore has instead turned into what I can honestly describe as a regular pleasure. Simply put, the science blogosphere is proving to be the antithesis of the rest of blogosphere in that where you would expect to sift through mountains of dreck in order to find the occasional gem; you instead find mountains of riches with only the occasional vein of intellectual sloth trying to worm its way in. As an experienced blog surfer, I've actually had to retrain myself to assume the unexpected and reorient myself to the atypical, parallel blogosphere science bloggers have made for themselves. The bad news is there's precious little time in the day to dev...

Participating bloggers around the world are celebrating the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth (February 12th, 1809) with a BLOG SWARM through February 15th. Participants' posts (submitted via BlogCarnival.com) are being aggregated here (in fits and starts) throughout this 4-day event. After the 15th, they will be categorized for easier reference, and BLOG FOR DARWIN will remain a resource for educators, students, and others. CLICK HERE to learn how you can participate! Now, what was I doing? thinks young Darwin is way more interesting (and other quibbles). Google recognizes Charles Darwin 09 with this image. Another reason for some Christians to boycott Google? Speaking of Google, you can use it to put into some context the following two memorable (to me), quasi-anonymous quotes on Darwin and evolution. The reaction to Darwinism is no less a puzzle. Of course it contradicts the literal account of Genesis, but we have long abandoned Biblical literalism in law and social ...

Field of Science is a science blog network. FoS is so named because Field of Science is a good, practical name for a website about science, but also--thanks to a certain movie--said name evokes illusions that are, more or less, analogous to what FoS is all about . . . FoS is home to bloggers who are doing actual science and whose blogging is clearly informed by their work. If you are a science blogger and your blog is powered by Blogger (or you wouldn't mind switching over to Blogger), and you are interested in joining FoS , complete an application and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. If you want to know more about the nuts, bolts and actuals, watch this presentation .

The first in a series of posts that will chronicle the development of Field of Science. SITEMAP: General: Home Page , Forum Blog Count (2): Microarray Macrodisarray , Labs Further explanation: Field of Science is evolving. From the number of blogs and their individual designs, to the various features and tools, to the overall look, functionality and organization, nothing is off limits, and everything is subject to review, revision, upgrade, downgrade, revamp, retirement, etc. For that reason, big redesigns won't be announced, undertaken, tested and unveiled on some arbitrary basis. Instead, Field of Science will be nimble, flexible, attuned to the constantly changing internet, the changing needs, wants and desires of its community and the demands of its own growth. Field of Science will mix a deliberate, thoughtful, realistic approach with a healthy perspective that's not afraid to change, to experiment, to fail... p.s. If you're curious about how to get those website t...