I’ve got a bunch of EurekAlert feeds in my RSS subscriptions, that I use to keep up with recent developments, because I need blog fodder. One of the really striking things about these is how extremely variable the quality of the releases is. Take, for example, the release headlined New particles get a mass boost,… Continue reading Increased Particle Masses and Terrible Press Releases
Month: October 2007
The Love of a Good Dog
Natalie Angier has a piece in the Times this morning about the loss of a beloved pet cat: Cleo was almost 16 years old, she’d been sick, and her death was no surprise. Still, when I returned to a home without cats, without pets of any sort, I was startled by my grief — not… Continue reading The Love of a Good Dog
Terrible Ideas in Higher Ed: Hizzoner Da Mayor Edition
Via Inside Higher Ed, a brilliant new approach to the problem of high tuition costs, coutesy of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (whose highly impartial Wikipedia entry is a hoot): The runaway cost of a college education has been on the mayor’s radar screen for some time. Last year, Daley suggested a fifth year of high… Continue reading Terrible Ideas in Higher Ed: Hizzoner Da Mayor Edition
Mystery Anime Revisited
A little while back, I asked for help identifying some anime recommended by a Japanese fan. I have subsequently found the business card on which he wrote the titles: The first one looks like it is “Gurren-Lagann, so a shiny gold star for commenter Patrick. the second one is a total mystery to me. I… Continue reading Mystery Anime Revisited
College Sports: Perspective, Please
I missed the New York Times article about Rutgers professor William Dowling, who is campaiging against college sports, and has written a jeremiad on the subject and gotten it published by– slight irony alert– Penn State University Press. There are a lot of things to dislike about big-time college sports, starting with the rank hypocrisy… Continue reading College Sports: Perspective, Please
Help School Children: DonorsChoose Challenge 2007
As you may or may not remember from last year, a number of us at ScienceBlogs participated in a charity drive, raising $34,000 for the educational charity DonorsChoose. It’s back again this year, and better than ever: we’ve got our own dedicated leader board, and the event this time out will be a full month,… Continue reading Help School Children: DonorsChoose Challenge 2007