Month: June 2010

My iPod Counts to Ten

I’ve got multiple home improvement projects that need work while SteelyKid is out of the house and the weather is reasonably nice, so no deep thoughts about science today. Instead, here’s some silly pop culture: a selection of songs from my music collection starting with numbers from one to ten: “One,” U2 “Two,” Ryan Adams… Continue reading My iPod Counts to Ten

Links for 2010-06-11

Will New York Rebel Against Fracking? – Green Blog – NYTimes.com “A well blowout that shot gas and water polluted with drilling fluids as high as 75 feet into the air in Pennsylvania is a vivid reminder how a new generation of gas drilling is becoming more of a presence in the Northeast. Discussion of… Continue reading Links for 2010-06-11

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Through the Wormhole

The Science Channel debuted a new show last night, Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, with the premier apparently designed by committee to piss off as many Internet types as possible. The overall theme was “Is there a creator?” and it featured physicist-turned-Anglican-priest John Polkinghorne talking about fine-tuning but no atheist rebuttal. It spent a… Continue reading Through the Wormhole

I Need to Work on My Sound Bites

One of the questions asked of Neil deGrasse Tyson at the WSF thing last week was “When did you change from a mild-mannered astrophysicist to a rock-star scientist?” (or something close to that phrasing). In his answer, he said that after his first tv interview was edited down to a three-second shot of him wiggling… Continue reading I Need to Work on My Sound Bites

The Coveted Uncertain Principles Endorsement Goes to…

I’m not in the general habit of endorsing candidates for state office in districts where I don’t live, but I think I can make an exception in this case: In a unanimous vote, the Broome County Democratic Committee approved of Town of Triangle Councilman John Orzel to run for the state’s 52nd district, currently represented… Continue reading The Coveted Uncertain Principles Endorsement Goes to…

Academic Poll: Methods of Evaulation

I’m back in Niskayuna, dealing with mountains of end-of-term paperwork. Which means you get a poll to pass the time: The best end-of-term evaluation method is:survey software This poll is brought to you by the number π, the letter q, and the two take-home exams I’m waiting for before I can finish my grading.

Links for 2010-06-09

Sunday Function : Built on Facts “Let’s say you want to prove that all the dominoes are going to fall. One way to do this would be to prove that the fall of one causes the fall of the next, and that the first domino falls. Those two statements combined prove that all the dominoes… Continue reading Links for 2010-06-09

How to Decide Who to Root for in the World Cup?

Ethan Zuckerman has an excellent round-up of selection strategies for who to support in the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. Options include strategic support, support through spite, non-FIFA support, and aesthetic considerations. A couple he left off: Flopping Artistry: To American eyes, one of the most notable features of international soccer is the way that… Continue reading How to Decide Who to Root for in the World Cup?

Everything Is Better With Experimental Physicists

In my write-up about the Hidden Dimensions panel, I mentioned in passing that: I also would’ve liked to see an experimental physicist up there, to provide a little more grounding about what the actual problems are, and how you might hope to look for something. But then, I always think there should be more experimental… Continue reading Everything Is Better With Experimental Physicists