Physics Buzz: Best physics inventions of 2009 “TIME magazine has announced the 50 best inventions of 2009. NASA’s Ares family of rockets was a shoo-in for best invention, given the recent launch of Ares 1-X, the family’s test rocket. I’ll give them that; NASA could certainly use the cheerleading. But I was surprised to see… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-13
Month: November 2009
Thursday Baby Blogging 111209
An indignant SteelyKid says “What do you mean I can’t go to day care? I’m perfectly healthy!” She is, indeed, doing much better. Last night, I wasn’t sure you’d get any Baby Blogging at all, because snot and fever don’t make for a photogenic baby. She’s waddling around in more or less her usual state… Continue reading Thursday Baby Blogging 111209
Text = Death, But Text Is Essential
The always interesting Timothy Burke has a good post about PowerPoint in classes, spinning off a student complaint. I’ve been lecturing with PowerPoint– my own slides, not something sent to me by a textbook company– since day one, so of course I have opinions on the topic. For the most part, Burke’s points on the… Continue reading Text = Death, But Text Is Essential
Cranky Toddler Poll
SteelyKid had a check-up yesterday, and got three shots (chicken pox, MMR, and seasonal flu). This may or may not be related to her high fever and general misery last night; whatever the cause, she was not a happy camper. Since she can’t very well go to day care like that, I’m staying home with… Continue reading Cranky Toddler Poll
Links for 2009-11-12
Das Kriegstagebuch von Dieter Finzen im 1. Weltkrieg – Wardiary of Dieter Finzen in WW1 Diary entries from a German soldier in WWI, posted 93 years after they were written. (tags: history war world blogs) WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier “This blog is made up of transcripts of Harry Lamin’s letters from the first… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-12
How to Generate Scientific Controversy
Some years ago, I heard Bob Park give a talk about pseudoscience, using “How to get rich and famous abusing your science knowledge” as a framing device. He ran through the deceptions involved in a bunch of high-profile “science” based scams and scares– homeopathy, free energy, power lines causing cancer, etc. Over at Live Granades,… Continue reading How to Generate Scientific Controversy
Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz
I’ve gradually gotten used to the idea that as a semi-pro blogger, I will occasionally be sent review copies of books I’ve never heard of. These are generally physics books, and I have a stack of them sitting next to the bed at the moment, not being read nearly fast enough. It’s only recently that… Continue reading Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz
An Important Public Service Announcement
If you want to be a musician, there are some simple rules you must follow: And now you know…
Links for 2009-11-11
Faraday’s Cage is where you put Schroedinger’s Cat – Why you might want to live in ND… “My rural area friends have commented on this same trend. Most kids don’t do anything unsupervised in cities and spend all of their time indoors. School is making this worse. Kids are being given ever more homework at… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-11
Where Were You When…?
I failed to write something on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall yesterday, partly because I think the other six million blog posts on the subject had it pretty well covered. Another factor, though, was the fact that I don’t have the sort of crystal-clear recollection of where I was and what… Continue reading Where Were You When…?