Motorcycle tablecloth trick: could it be done? | Wired Science | Wired.com “After watching this episode, a colleague had a great question: “How fast would the MythBusters have to go to make this trick work?” Interesting. In their last attempt, they had the motorcycle going around 100 mph. It did’t work, but some of the stuff… Continue reading Links for 2010-11-03
Author: Chad Orzel
Best. Lab. EVER.
Today’s a lab day in my main class for the term, with a fairly involved experiment to measure the charge-to-mass ratio of the electron. This is going to be all kinds of fun, because 1) I can’t get into the room to set anything up until an hour before the start of class, and 2)… Continue reading Best. Lab. EVER.
Obligatory Civic Duty Reminder
If you’re in the US, go vote. Preferably for a candidate who isn’t barking mad, but ultimately that’s between you and your conscience. If you’re not in the US, or you’ve already voted, enjoy some cute, as SteelyKid is first skeptical about the idea of lots of kids in masks visiting the house:
Socialization of Toddlers
In last weekend’s post about arguments from innate differences, I suggested that I might be willing to illustrate my position with adorable toddler pictures. On thinking more about it, I’m a little hesitant to write about this at length, because it could easily topple over into arrogant-physicist territory. But then, it’s an excuse to post… Continue reading Socialization of Toddlers
Links for 2010-11-01
Buddy Comedy Idea § Unqualified Offerings “So, because the FBI has a habit of finding losers, coaxing them off the couch, holding their hands through the process of planning a terrorist attack, and then arresting them, let me propose this concept for a screenplay:” (tags: movies politics writing war world us blogs unqualified-offerings culture comedy)
Links for 2010-10-31
Views: No Excuses, Mr. President – Inside Higher Ed “Most parents and taxpayers consistently share the beliefs of most teachers about what needs to be done to improve our schools. An August Gallup/Phi Delta Kappa survey showed respondents agreeing with teachers that the largest problem with schools is a shortfall in funding, that the major… Continue reading Links for 2010-10-31
Short Story Club: “My Father’s Singularity” by Brenda Cooper
This week’s Short Story Club entry is “My Father’s Singularity” by Brenda Cooper. Who I keep having to remind myself is not the Brenda-with-a-surname-starting-with-C that I remember posting to rec.arts.sf.written back in the day (that was Brenda Clough). This is set in the not-too-distant future in the Pacific Northwest, and is the first-person tale of… Continue reading Short Story Club: “My Father’s Singularity” by Brenda Cooper
Links for 2010-10-30
The Forever Blog « Easily Distracted “There’s been talk that blogs are over and Twitter and Facebook are king. I meant to say something about this issue when the end of Bitch Ph.D was announced, since that was an important blog for me and many other people. I think it’s only half-right to say that… Continue reading Links for 2010-10-30
Etiquette Poll: Trash Day
Chateau Steelypips lost power this morning for unknown reasons, preventing me from putting up the post I planned to do with lots of cute toddler pictures. Thus, a quickie poll in honor of the crazy person a couple of blocks away who sometimes yells at me for dropping Emmy’s bagged poop into her full trash… Continue reading Etiquette Poll: Trash Day
Award-Worthy Campaign Ad
The New York Times has a video highlighting particularly clever campaign commercials in the New York area, which includes this spot from my uncle John Orzel’s state senate campaign: I’m not aware of any polling regarding the race, so I have no idea how things will turn out next Tuesday. The word from my parents… Continue reading Award-Worthy Campaign Ad