Welcome and Farewell

Today on Total Drek we're going to take care of some administrative tasks. Specifically, I'm going to clean-up the Blogroll and introduce y'all to some new blogs, as well as salute some blogs that have sadly drifted into functional oblivion.

First, let's deal with the depressing part.

The blogs Prairie Sociology, Procfreak, and Tom Volscho have been added to the "gone but not forgotten" section at the top of the blogroll. These are distinguishable by the fact that they're crossed out on the list. All of these blogs will be missed and, sadly, they all come from the family of sociology blogs.

On a more positive note, the blog Milchbubi has moved out of the "gone but not forgotten" section as its author has recently been posting again. This is the last remnant (that I ever paid attention to) of the tempestuous, and now defunct, Wisconversation blog, and I'm hoping it keeps staggering drunkenly onwards.

Now, for the more fun news: new entrants to the blogroll.

First, we have the Evolution Blog, which is written by Dr. Jason Rosenhouse. Jason is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at James Madison University and is a contributor to both CSICOP's Skeptical Inquirer and to the magazine Skeptic. Jason is one of the most dedicated, and readable, voices on the pro-evolution side of the Evolution/Wacky-Pretend-Science debate. Some of you may have noticed that Evolution Blog snuck into my blogroll a while ago, but I don't think I ever formally welcomed him.

Next, we come to Aetiology, written by Tara C. Smith. Tara is a scientist (a biologist, I think) and a mother with a specialty in infectious disease. Speaking personally, I can see how being a mother might enhance an interest in infection. Aetiology also advocates for Evolution, but includes new and interesting posts on a variety of biological subjects on an almost daily basis. Highly recommended. There's a particularly interesting post over there right now on a disorder that sounds somewhat like a case of hysterical contagion. It's worth reading about, even if Tara referred to Sociology as one of the humanities.

Then we have Mathieu Deflem's Sociology Blog which, as you might guess, is written by Dr. Mathieu Deflem, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Deflem writes primarily on the issue of Public Sociology, of which he is somewhat critical. Longtime readers of my blog realize that Dr. Deflem and I have crossed paths before, but this is the first time I've ever actually added him to the blogroll. As a final note, I'd just like to congratulate Dr. Deflem on both his recent successful petition to become a candidate for the American Sociological Association council, and on his new profile photo, which is much more flattering than the old one.

Next we come to The Panda's Thumb, which is another pro-evolution blog. This blog is supposedly a group effort organized by the University of Ediacara but often includes reprints of posts from both Evolution Blog, and Aetiology. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Then we arrive at Stone Court written by Fred & Mary, who are a Law Professor/Litigator and a Demographer, respectively. Stone Court deals largely with issues of politics and law, with a healthy sprinkling of sarcasm added for flavor.

Finally, we come to Uncommon Descent, written by William Dembski, whom I have mentioned before. Uncommon Descent is a pro-Wacky-Pretend-Science blog and includes a prolific update schedule, even if the updates tend to be short and largely composed of direct reprints of other people's work. Still, as long as I have three pro-evolution blogs in the roll, one anti-evolution blog is probably reasonable.

And I believe that does it for us. So, for those blogs that are departing into the dustbin of history, we'll miss you. For the others who have just arrived, welcome.