It is my fervent hope that at some point in the future, we will once again live in a society where all discussions of politics are not indescribably depressing. Really, that pretty much sums up my feelings about everything in the news right now, on-line and off. There are a bunch of things going on… Continue reading All-Purpose Political Commentary for 2011
Author: Chad Orzel
Links for 2011-07-07
The Slacktiverse: DragonRaid: moral teaching through roleplaying games? “In the mid-90’s a friend and I became fascinated by the “Christian adventure game” (similar to a roleplaying game) called DragonRaid, published by Adventures in Christ. (Details can be found at the DragonRaid website.) We never managed to actually play it, largely because we were living in… Continue reading Links for 2011-07-07
This Is All For Science
Today’s Links Dump came late because I was at the meeting of the APS’s Committee on Informing the Public. We apologize for the inconvenience, but I was too busy acquiring this critically important scientific data: What is that, you ask? It’s this:
Links for 2011-07-06
As Shuttle Program Ends, Dreams of Space Linger – NYTimes.com Most of the scientists I know would be thrilled to see humans exploring space, landing on Mars, for example — they just don’t think that science should pick up the check. Many of them were suspicious of the shuttle, both because of the cost drain… Continue reading Links for 2011-07-06
Links for 2011-07-05
Performance and Recording: “Everyone sing the chorus–including intellectuals!” — Crooked Timber “I just read two books back to back to good effect: Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy and Elijah Wald’s How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music […] Ong’s book is a classic. Out of date in some… Continue reading Links for 2011-07-05
What’s So Interesting About “Traditional” AMO Physics?
The fourth content area from my whirlwind overview of DAMOP is “traditional” AMO physics. This was the hardest to talk about in my talk, because I know it the least well, but ironically, that makes it really easy to write up here, because I don’t have much to say about it. Where the other areas… Continue reading What’s So Interesting About “Traditional” AMO Physics?
Physics Android Apps?
I’m going to be at an amusement park tomorrow, for a meeting of the APS’s Committee on Informing the Public, which oversees the APS outreach program. Why an amusement park? Because a common outreach-type program is to do a Physics Day at an amusement park and talk about the physics of roller coasters and the… Continue reading Physics Android Apps?
Links for 2011-07-04
The Virtuosi: Coriolis Effect on a Home Run “I like baseball. Well, technically, I like laying on the couch for three hours half-awake eating potato chips and mumbling obscenities at the television. But let’s not split hairs here. Anyway, out of curiosity and in partial atonement for the sins of my past [1] I would… Continue reading Links for 2011-07-04
Hello, Llama
Between the holiday weekend and finally getting to concentrate on book edits, there hasn’t been much time for blogging recently. So here’s another SteelyKid-at-the-Bronx-Zoo picture for filler: As I said when I posted this to google+, this practically demands a caption. Unfortunately, I haven’t come up with anything better than “…same thing we do every… Continue reading Hello, Llama
Links for 2011-07-02
YouTube – âªSlightly less than two drinks (cut from That Mitchell and Webb Look S04E04)â¬â “You must never drink any more than slightly less than two drinks. Beyond that state of mildly intoxicated perfection lies drunken madness, 3rd pints, kebabs, and destruction.” (tags: booze silly comedy video youtube culture) The Slacktiverse: Faith and Hope, 20%… Continue reading Links for 2011-07-02