Optics basics: Polarization « Skulls in the Stars What you need to know about light polarization. (tags: physics optics blogs science education) “Plutoids”: the new name for Pluto-like dwarf planets – physicsworld.com When, oh, when will the IAU stop jerking Pluto around? (tags: astronomy planets science news) PhotoshopDisasters: Washington Post: Unlikely From the MC Escher… Continue reading links for 2008-06-14
Author: Chad Orzel
links for 2008-06-12
xkcd – A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language – By Randall Munroe They forgot the philosophers, or maybe ran out of room in the right margin… (tags: biology chemistry physics psychology science math comics)
links for 2008-06-11
Do We Really Need a Few Billion Locavores? – Freakonomics – Opinion – New York Times Blog “To eat locally grown food or, even better, food that you’ve grown yourself, seems as if it should be 1) more delicious; 2) more nutritious; 3) cheaper; and 4) better for the environment. But is it?” (tags: blogs… Continue reading links for 2008-06-11
Sanity Break
I’m giving the final exam in my E&M class tonight (from 5-7 pm, thank you oh-so-much, Central Scheduling), which you might think would bode well for blogging in the future. However, I also have two summer students starting on Monday, a baby on the way, and major book revisions to do that need to get… Continue reading Sanity Break
Technothrillers vs. Science Fiction
Reading Final Theory last night reminded me of something Patrick Nielsen Hayden said on a con panel once. The question was raised of why thriller-ish science fiction books don’t do as well as thrillers with a thin SF gloss– basically, “Why doesn’t Greg Bear sell as many books as Michael Crichton?” Patrick noted that there’s… Continue reading Technothrillers vs. Science Fiction
Mark Alpert, Final Theory [Library of Babel]
I’ve gotten a fair number of free science books in the last few years, from publishers looking for bloggy publicity, but Mark Alpert’s Final Theory is the first time that I’ve been asked to review a novel on ScienceBlogs (I’ve gotten advance copies of some other novels, but I’ve specifically requested those). Mark Alpert is… Continue reading Mark Alpert, Final Theory [Library of Babel]
College Marriage Statistics
We got back from my 15th college reunion weekend earlier today, and I’ve spent the afternoon dozing off in front of European championship soccer and enjoying sweet, sweet central air conditioning. I had a great time, but didn’t get a whole lot of sleep. Also, ordering Colonial Pizza at 1am continues to not be as… Continue reading College Marriage Statistics
links for 2008-06-07
‘When We Left Earth’ Shows When Man Stretched to Reach the Moon – NYTimes.com “Like many gadget-happy Americans, NASA took lots and lots of home movies. For this series it threw open the doors of its film and video archives, which have been transferred to stunning high-definition format.” (tags: television space science history) Physics of… Continue reading links for 2008-06-07
Glory Days
A quick glimpse from the 1993 version of Facebook: See, college students took pictures of each other standing around drinking, even before we had the Internet to post those pictures on… I’m off to my 15th college reunion for the weekend, to see old friends, renew old acquaintances, play a little golf (if it stops… Continue reading Glory Days
Theme From FutureBaby!
Being a Baby of the Future, FutureBaby obviously needs to have a theme song. Sadly, Kate and I don’t have the cash on hand to commission John Williams to write one. So, then, we shall Ask the Internets: What (already existing) piece of music should be FutureBaby’s theme song? I realize this would be easier… Continue reading Theme From FutureBaby!