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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Earth as Art book from NASA

Earth as Art book from NASA

Dec 21, 2012 12:40 pm

Bogda Mountains from Earth as Art

The Earth as Art is a compilation of NASA satellite imagery that shows the planet from a new perspective. The sensors on the satellite measure light outside the visible range, which makes for beautiful and unexpected pictures.

In 1960, the United States put its first Earth-observing environmental satellite into orbit around the planet. Over the decades, these satellites have provided invaluable information, and the vantage point of space has provided new perspectives on Earth. This book celebrates Earth's aesthetic beauty in the patterns, shapes, colors, and textures of the land, oceans, ice, and atmosphere.

Available as PDF or as an iPad app. I'm glad the world didn't end.

Data Analysis (with R) on Coursera

Dec 21, 2012 10:18 am

Jeff Leek, an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is teaching a course on data analysis on Coursera, appropriately named Data Analysis.

This course is an applied statistics course focusing on data analysis. The course will begin with an overview of how to organize, perform, and write-up data analyses. Then we will cover some of the most popular and widely used statistical methods like linear regression, principal components analysis, cross-validation, and p-values. Instead of focusing on mathematical details, the lectures will be designed to help you apply these techniques to real data using the R statistical programming language, interpret the results, and diagnose potential problems in your analysis.

The course starts on January 22, 2013.

You might also be interested in Computing for Data Analysis taught by Roger Peng, who is also a biostatistics professor at John Hopkins. Leek's course is focused on statistical methods, whereas Peng's course is focused on programming. Better take both. [via Revolutions]

Cheat Sheet - What If We Fall Off the Fiscal Cliff?

The Cheat Sheet

Today: The NRA Flubs the Facts About Sandy Hook , Pope Pardons VatiLeaks Butler , Malala: Don’t Name School After Me
Cheat Sheet: Morning

December 22, 2012
HOLIDAY POLITICS

Just hours after the president urged Congress to compromise to avoid the ever-looming fiscal cliff, the Obamas landed in Hawaii. David Freedlander on what’s in store for us in the new year. Plus, Andrew Sullivan on how it’s time to break the GOP’s back.

REALLY?

The gun lobby’s front man couldn’t even get the number of children murdered at Sandy Hook right. But what are facts when your whole premise is a lie, writes Michael Daly.

HOLY IT'S OK

It's a Christmas miracle. Pope Benedict XVI pardoned his former butler, Paolo Gabriele, on Saturday, wishing to "offer him the possibility of returning to a serene family life." Gabirele was sentenced in October to 18 months in prison over the "Vatileaks" scandal after he divulged the pope's private papers to the press. After the pope visited on Saturday to pardon him in person, he was sent immediately home. But home is no longer the Vatican: in addition to being prevented from working for the pope, he can no longer live in the Holy See.

HERO GIRL

Malala Yousafzai, who survived after being shot in the head by the Taliban in October for advocating girls' education, has already run into problems with her fans. In November, a Pakistani provincial government changed the name of its Government Girls Degree College to Government Malala Yousafzai Girls Degree College. But students soon began protesting, fearing that being linked with such a controversial figure put their lives in danger. Yousafzai called the government on Monday to request that students' wishes for another name change be heeded and was told that those in charge would "consider" her wishes. In the meantime, the school has been closed in the wake of student protests.

VENGEANCE

Concerns around Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws were intensified Saturday morning when a man being held in a police station for burning a copy of the Koran was himself burned by an angry mob. The man, described as "mentally unstable," was arrested Friday night after burning the holy book in a mosque where he was staying. As he was being held at the police station for questioning, a mob of about 200 people stormed the station, beat the man to death, and burned his body. This is not unheard of in Pakistan: the country's laws against nebulously defined blasphemy call for a death sentence or life in prison, although citizens often take the law into their own hands after an accusation.


'DIRECT CONFLICT'
Judge Blocks Missouri Birth-Control Law
Would deny contraceptives under some insurance plans.
HERE WE GO
Second Weekend of Egypt Voting
On constitutional referendum.
DELAYED RESPONSE
52-Year-Old Convicted as Juvenile
Case was cold for 34 years.
UNBANNED
Court Halts Gay Therapy Ban
A federal appeals court has put it on hold.
FINALLY
Ashton, Demi Head to Divorce Court
After breaking up a year ago.
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Flick Picks: 'This is 40'

Potentially the worst movie of the year?? 'This is bad,' is what it should be called according to Ramin Setoodeh. In this edition of Flick Picks, Setoodeh and Rolling Stone's Peter Travers disagree on the quality of this kind-of sequel to Knocked Up.



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