Various and Sundry Items

Here are some items I've collected that others might be interested in.

Elder Packer gave a talk about children and motherhood recently and hit his version of evolution along the way, causing Gary to do a victory dance. More here.

Mormon Wasp picked up on the talk and its discussion of birth rates and pointed out some other recent comments by Apostles. I thought it was a good time to point out my breakdown of General Authority family size.

There has been discussion in the news (here or here) about some purported massive pyramids in Bosnia. Professional scientists say they are just hills formed by techtonic forces, but Bosnians appear to have their national pride wrapped up in the issue. Red State Rabble makes a connection to Intelligent Design.

A hunter from Idaho shot an killed a polar bear--except it was actually an polar-grizzly bear hybrid. Such things have happened in captivity, but this seems to be the first found in the wild. Apparently bear mating is a somewhat involved process, so this was not the result of a quick and casual contact. Of course the important lesson here is that Noah didn't have to have both grizzly and polar bears aboard the ark, just a representative of the bear "kind." (I'm joking.)

The Nebraska's Ashfall Fossil Beds have been designated a national natural landmark. They are remarkable for their fossil preservation. The animals include "rhinos, camels, three-toed horses, and other vertebrates that were killed and buried by ash from a huge volcanic eruption some 12 million years ago." More information here.

Millenial Star records Dan Peterson's somewhat humorous experience with correlation.