Category: Links Dump

The Mid-Majority : Assistant Coach for a Night “[Northwestern State Coach] McConathy did things a little differently than most coaches — he subbed his players five-in, five-out, ran an offense that was almost as old as the NCAA Tournament itself. He often allowed coaching friends and local children into the locker room at halftime, even… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-26

Confessions of a Community College Dean: Teaching Governance “As an administrator, I’m constantly struck by the unacknowledged contradiction among many faculty between “consult us in all things” and “back off and leave us alone.” It’s not that I don’t understand the impulse; depending on local practice, ‘service’ may or may not count for tenure or… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-25

CHART ATTACK!: 11/20/76 | Popdose “I keep trying to figure out what this song is really trying to say in its subtext — but no, I’m pretty sure it’s actually about two muskrats courting. I know I said this a few songs ago, but WHY? Why did we need a song about two muskrats on… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-24

Seeing Laser Beams : Built on Facts “I have to say it’s a nice job perk that I can see old science fiction tropes come to life pretty much every day.” (tags: science physics optics blogs built-on-facts lasers) blarg? » A Note To Maya “So according to the old joke, a fed-up student asks the… Continue reading Links for 2008-11-23

Zeroth Order Approximation: Summary dismissal “Not every civil court case proceeds to trial. Some are settled “out of court” by the parties involved. Others are settled by the judge in a “summary dismissal” or “summary judgment”. The suit is deemed to be unworthy of trial, even without a full hearing. In this way valuable time… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-18

Why Wine Ratings Are Badly Flawed – WSJ.com “[A] 1996 study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology showed that even flavor-trained professionals cannot reliably identify more than three or four components in a mixture, although wine critics regularly report tasting six or more. There are eight in this description, from The Wine News of a… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-17

Michael Nielsen » The Wikipedia Paradox “To determine whether any given subject deserves an entry, Wikipedia uses the criterion of notability. This lead to an interesting question: Question 1: What’s the most notable subject that’s not notable enough for inclusion in Wikipedia? Let’s assume for now that this question has an answer (“The Answer”), and… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-16

10 Geeky Laws That Should Exist, But Don’t | GeekDad | Wired.com “1. Munroe’s Law: A person in a geeky argument who can quote xkcd to support his position automatically wins the argument. This law supersedes Godwin, so that even if the quote is about Hitler, the quoter still wins.” (tags: science culture books internet… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-15

WTF, Aerosmith? WTF? | Popdose “Never has there been a band so unbelievably great and so sadly shitty at the same time. That, to me, is the Aerosmith legacy, and it’s only bound to get worse. Yet, there is something that still seems sacred about this band, beyond mere nostalgia. I just think they need… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-14

Physics Buzz: Best physics inventions of 2009 “TIME magazine has announced the 50 best inventions of 2009. NASA’s Ares family of rockets was a shoo-in for best invention, given the recent launch of Ares 1-X, the family’s test rocket. I’ll give them that; NASA could certainly use the cheerleading. But I was surprised to see… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-13