At Inside Higher Ed this morning, there’s an article with the headline At U. of Georgia, Furor Over Clarence Thomas. As always when I see such things (or, say, complaints about having Mike Huckabee speak on campus here), my first thought was “Curse you, Georgia, for making me think, even for a nanosecond, that David […]
Month: April 2008
Loan Forgiveness for Public Service
As I may have mentioned in the past, we at Chateau Steelypips have benefitted greatly from Yale Law School’s loan forgiveness program for graduates taking public service jobs. Since Kate shattered my dreams of a self-funded basement lab by deciding to use her pricey law degree for good rather than racking up billions as Evil […]
links for 2008-04-23
james_nicoll: Welcome to the Harlan Ellison Memorial Personal Boundaries Club The title is really all the commentary you need on the “Open-Source Boob Project.” (tags: SF stupid gender ethics society culture) Confessions of a Community College Dean: The Pre-Ninja Program “75 percent of the graduates we contacted indicated satisfaction with the program, though many threatened […]
Quantum Computing in Diamond
Two weeks ago, now, I promised some peer=reviewed physics blogging, to compensate for the “screechy monkey” nonsense. Of course, I got distracted by other things, but I’ve been sitting on this paper for a while now, and I really need to get it off my desk. The paper in question is “Quantum Register Based on […]
Non-Dorky Poll: Political Documentaries
The release of Expelled has generated all sorts of chatter, almost certainly more than it deserves on its merits as a film. It’s also produced repeated mentions of the fact that it’s the eight highest-grossing political documentary of all time– most recently, Tara Smith writing at Correlations. That claim reminds me of a long-ago student […]
You Don’t Know Me
When I start to lecture, I go into Teaching Mode, which affects the whole way I present myself. I speak at a slightly higher pitch, and the whole cadence of my speech changes. I talk a little bit faster, but repeat myself more, and speak in a more formal style. The funny thing is that […]
links for 2008-04-22
Cognitive Daily: What’s better for heating a mug of water: The stove or the microwave? Dave watches pots boil so you don’t have to. (tags: physics science energy environment silly) PETA’s Latest Tactic: $1 Million for Fake Meat – New York Times Shockingly, they’ve stumbled across a halfway decent idea. I think this is mentioned […]
Ask a ScienceBlogger: What’s in the Air?
There’s a new “Ask a ScienceBlogger” question out: “A question from a friend’s 9-year old son: What is in the air we breathe? What is it’s chemical composition?” The short answer to this is “a little bit of everything.” Pretty much any substance we have on Earth can be found in the atmosphere somewhere. The […]
Non-Transferable Strategies, or Aiiiieeee!!! Profzilla!!!
Another reason why I recommend limiting the advice you listen to as a new faculty member on the tenure track is that most of the things that academics do are highly individual activities. There’s no one right way to teach or do research, and what works for one person may fail miserably for another. My […]
FutureBaby Chronicles: Medical Mascot Choice
One of many parts of the FutureBaby! process that I was lamentably ignorant of is the idea of the hospital tour. When I first mentioned to colleagues that we were expecting, many of them (mostly women) asked “Where are you going to have the baby?” My initial response was “How the hell should I know? […]