“Donate to my dad’s DonorsChoose challenge, or I will pop you right in the mouth!” “Bang! Zoom! To the Moon!” You don’t want to mess with her– she’s fierce. So please give generously.
Author: Chad Orzel
links for 2008-10-21
Physics – From atoms to molecules (and back) "Atoms colliding in a magnetic field can form weakly bound states called Feshbach molecules. These states have now been used in combination with advanced laser techniques to create tightly bound ground-state molecules close to quantum degeneracy." (tags: physics molecules atoms experiment science news low-temperature) The Cartoon Lounge:… Continue reading links for 2008-10-21
A Word from Our Middle East Correspondant
Checking in from Cairo, Senior Uncertain Principles Middle East Correspondant Paul Schemm, with a wire story titled “Ultraconservative Islam on Rise in Mideast”: Critics worry that the rise of Salafists in Egypt, as well as in other Arab countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, will crowd out the more liberal and tolerant version of Islam… Continue reading A Word from Our Middle East Correspondant
Meet the Babies
From this weekend’s visit home, a picture of my father and me, with our respective babies: You recognize SteelyKid, I hope. The fuzzy yellow guy is Bodie, my parents’ new Labrador Retriever puppy. Bodie is one day older than SteelyKid, and true to his Labrador breeding, he’s a born experimentalist, running around the house giving… Continue reading Meet the Babies
Working for the Working Class Vote
the New York Times Magazine has a cover story this week about Barack Obama’s efforts to reach working-class voters. The headline writers did it no favors by tagging it “Will gun-toting, churchgoing white guys pull the lever for Obama?,” which makes it sound like the worst sort of demographic electoral college nonsense. The actual article,… Continue reading Working for the Working Class Vote
links for 2008-10-20
Michael Nielsen » The most remarkable graph in the history of sport "It may not be obvious at first glance, but it’s a remarkable graph, even if you don’t give a fig about cricket" (tags: sports statistics) The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.: On Being Skipped Notes from the sausage factory. (tags: books publishing… Continue reading links for 2008-10-20
links for 2008-10-18
Don’t scrap the squiggle! — Crooked Timber "My only complaint about the crawler is that CNN removes it from the screen when the debate finishes. I absolutely wish that they continued to show the favourable/unfavourable reactions of the dial-testing focus group to the talking heads on the news afterwards; you’d be able to see the… Continue reading links for 2008-10-18
The Pointlessness of Punditry
In the wake of the debate the other night, there’s been a lot of talk about the disparity between the way tv pundits “scored” it– most of them thought McCain did well– and post-debate polling of actual voters, which gave a huge edge to Obama. Kevin Drum, Mark Kleiman, and Steve Benen all comment on… Continue reading The Pointlessness of Punditry
Haven’t You Always Wanted a Monkey (Dance)?
I have to say, I had no idea that offering to dance like a monkey would be quite so appealing. Apparently, though, it’s a big hit– John Scalzi proclaimed it “the comedy highlight of 2008.” This, from a year featuring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. In the two days since Scalzi’s post, donations have jumped… Continue reading Haven’t You Always Wanted a Monkey (Dance)?
links for 2008-10-17
Physicists set new entanglement record – physicsworld.com "Researchers in China and Europe have entangled a record-breaking 10 quantum bits — an important breakthrough in the quest to develop practical quantum computers." (tags: physics quantum computing science news experiment optics) Ananova – Rabbit wins half marathon Don’t tell Emmy. (tags: animals silly dog sports)