Physics World has a story today about a new addition to the now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t maybe-it’s-a-Higgs-boson signals seen at Fermilab. (See here and here for a flavor of the earlier discussions). This one is a beyond-the-Standard-Model particle that would require a supersymmetric theory to explain. Of course, the evidence at this point consists of a whopping… Continue reading Still More Bump Hunting
Month: March 2007
Let’s Hear it for the Little Guy 2
Four more automatic bids to the NCAA’s were won over the last couple of days: Creighton: The Blue Jays almost don’t deserve to be thought of as a “little guy” any more, given that this is their seventh win in the last nine years. They did, however, have to beat a ranked Southern Illinois team… Continue reading Let’s Hear it for the Little Guy 2
John M. Ford, The Scholars of Night [Library of Babel]
Kate bought this a while back, and I picked it up a little bit before Boskone, because I wanted to read at least a little of it before the Mike Ford retrospective panel. I was a little disappointed that the panel didn’t mention this or his other lesser-known works, but, hey, it got me to… Continue reading John M. Ford, The Scholars of Night [Library of Babel]
The Planets
James Nicoll is soliciting recommendations for a series of novels about the planets of the Solar System. His first pass: Mercury: Venus: Earth: Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke Mars: Jupiter: Jupiter Fred and Carol Pohl (ed) Saturn: Uranus: Neptune: Triton, Samuel R. Delany As you can see, there are some gaps…
Basic Concepts: Measurement
It’s been a while since I did a “Basic Concepts” post. They tend to take a good bit of effort, and things have been hectic enough at work that I haven’t had the energy. To make up for the blizzard of basketball-related stuff over the last week (with more to come), here’s a look at… Continue reading Basic Concepts: Measurement
ACC Wrap-Up
The ACC Season came to a bloody and unpleasant end last night, with Duke’s Gerald Henderson busting UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough open with an elbow to the face in the final seconds of a Carolina victory. Henderson was ejected from the game, and will reportedly be suspended for Duke’s first-round ACC tournament game. (My take: looking… Continue reading ACC Wrap-Up
Giant APS Meeting
The March Meeting of the American Physical Society is happening this week. This is one of two large multi-divisional meetings the APS has each year (the other is in April), and it’s billed as the largest physics meeting of the year. I’ve only gone to a March Meeting once and that was the year it… Continue reading Giant APS Meeting
Weird Things About Me
I don’t usually do “memes,” but the “weird things” one (via Janet) seems entertaining. So here are some weird things about me: 1) I carry on complicated conversations with the dog, translating her bits into English in a high-pictched voice. I started doing this to amuse/ annoy Kate, but now I do it even when… Continue reading Weird Things About Me
For the Hoops Haters
It’s officially March, which means my basketball obsession kicks into high gear. As if you hadn’t noticed from the last week or so of posts… Anyway, it’s clear from the lack of comments that my basketball obsession is not that widely shared, so here are some links to amuse the rest of you while I… Continue reading For the Hoops Haters
Let’s Hear it for the Little Guy
It’s that time of year, when “mid-major” and small conferences have their basketball tournaments, with the winners earning one shot at sports-geek immortality with a chance to score an upset in the first round of the NCAA’s. Four teams earned automatic bids yesterday, and they deserve a post of their own: Winthrop: At 28-4, the… Continue reading Let’s Hear it for the Little Guy