Category: Links Dump

slacktivist: The Indignant Household Budget “[T]he pitiable thing is that here in reality — as opposed to the smug fantasy world of this stock speech — overtime and second jobs are exactly what many of those poor cheering fools in the audience are actually doing to try to make ends meet. The indulgent spendthrift luxuries… Continue reading Links for 2010-07-08

Physics – Keeping atoms synchronized for better timekeeping “Atomic clocks often have a limited coherence time due to the interactions between the constituent atoms. While it is usually very easy to use fewer atoms to reduce the interactions, this leads to lower signal-to-noise and less precise measurements. This tension between strong interactions and noise seems… Continue reading Links for 2010-07-07

YouTube – Look Around You – Maths (With download) “I happened upon this inspired bit of British comedy after watching Goodness Gracious Me (hit and miss). I was curious why there would be a ten minute show on TV. At first, I actually thought it was a children’s instructional science program. Indeed, it is easy… Continue reading Links for 2010-07-06

Bill Simmons: World Cup’s 20 questions – ESPN “Question No. 9: But you’d still love the NBA to incorporate the yellow/red card system for flagrant fouls and technical fouls, correct? Sure. Much better than an official leaning over a scorer’s table and telling them what the technical or flagrant was, then trying to guess what… Continue reading Links for 2010-07-02

What, If Anything, Is Big Bird? | The Loom | Discover Magazine Determining the species and ancestry of every kid’s favorite giant flightless crane. (tags: kid-stuff television silly biology video talks) Reflections on American Academy’s Report: Do Scientists Understand the Public? : Framing Science Detailed comments on the inexplicably controversial Mooney article, from everybody’s second-favorite… Continue reading Links for 2010-07-01

The Kagan Hearings: Elena Kagan does her best John Roberts impression. (1) – By Dahlia Lithwick – Slate Magazine “Yet the ghost of [Thurgood] Marshall himself comes in for tremendous abuse today at the hands of Republican members of the committee. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., starts the ball rolling by accusing Kagan of having clerked for… Continue reading Links for 2010-06-30

slacktivist: Rendering unto Krugman “But knowing their hypocrisy, he said unto them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a dime and let me see it.” And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this — FDR’s or Herbert Hoover’s?” They answered, “Roosevelt’s.” And he said unto them,… Continue reading Links for 2010-06-29

Power and making § Unqualified Offerings “A colleague was complaining yesterday about the way that some faculty are treated better than others. Not so much in my department as in certain other departments. Some people, for a variety of reasons, probably do get a better deal (even if not to the extent that he thinks).… Continue reading Links for 2010-06-28

Testing the Best-Yet Theory of Nature « Berkeley Lab News Center “”[I]t should be remembered that the Standard Model is not a final theory of all phenomena, and is therefore inherently incomplete,” says Dmitry Budker, a staff scientist in the Nuclear Science Division of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a… Continue reading Links for 2010-06-26

Sci-Fi Airshow :: Home “The SCI-FI AIR SHOW’s purpose is to preserve and promote the rich and varied history of Sci-Fi/fantasy vehicles. Through display and education we seek to celebrate the classic design and beauty of these ships and the rich imaginations that created them. When the cameras stopped rolling, many of these proud old… Continue reading Links for 2010-06-25