Intelligent design and intelligent refrigeration

I had a lecture in my anthropology class today about the intelligent design controversy.

I've never thought there to be a irresolvable conflict between the basic bibilical beliefs and the contemporary scientific theory provided that one doesn't adopt the position that the "6 days" in which God created the universe was an elapsed time of 144 hours that is equivalent to the way we judge time from Earth.

However, I had never heard the belief that sedimentary layers don't have any foundation in reflecting the passage of time. The belief went as far as to say that the Colorado River couldn't have carved the Grand Canyon, rather that it was more likely to have been caused by the Great Flood. Some of the other criticisms of empirical evidence I can vaguely understand, but that is tantamount to saying that tree rings don't necessarily reflect a tree's age.

Then there's the controversy over reptiles preceding birds in the evolutionary chain, when birds were created the day prior to land animals.

Here are some recent articles regarding the fossil record for proponents of evolution (not that I'm implying either side is correct by posting these):
1. Best Archaeopteryx Fossil So Far Ruffles a Few Feathers
2. A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features


Also: I finished reading The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken and found a reference to a developing environmentally-friendly refrigeration technology. Here are some articles:
1. Wikipedia: Thermoacoustic refrigeration
2. Cool Sounds

Or if you prefer, the latter as told by cartoon penguins (Flash Player 7 required):
3. Sounds Cool