Category: Links Dump

Regifting Robin. How does it work? | Dot Physics The simple math behind a silly game. (tags: science blogs math silly dot-physics) As 81-year-old Mubarak heads to Washington, Egyptians wonder about their leader’s health — latimes.com An update from Uncertain Principles Senior Middle East Correspondent Paul Schemm. (tags: news politics world) Making graphene in a… Continue reading Links for 2009-08-19

slacktivist: The IndigNation “That’s an example of what’s often missing today in dealing with the IndigNation. These people are offended and outraged and so politicians and journalists respond by trying not to further offend or enrage them. As though that were possible. Indignation is their raison d’etre. They will take offense whether or not it… Continue reading Links for 2009-08-18

In a Queens Park, Duke Riley Leads a Battle on the Low Seas – NYTimes.com “This was an art exhibition — a term that perhaps conjures a more subdued event. But the art in this show, called “Those About to Die Salute You,” involved humans in motion, boats on water and those tomatoes. It was… Continue reading Links for 2009-08-17

Rick Perlstein — Birthers, Health Care Hecklers and the Rise of Right-Wing Rage – washingtonpost.com “The tree of crazy is an ever-present aspect of America’s flora. Only now, it’s being watered by misguided he-said-she-said reporting and taking over the forest.” (tags: politics stupid evil media society culture US)

Making Light: Panels and parlor games “So all you lucky devils went to Worldcon and I didn’t. And now I get to read panel reports, which are always both fun and tantalizingly vague. So let’s have a game of it. What fictional characters would you put on a panel, what would you have them talk… Continue reading Links for 2009-08-15

A Burning Dog Needs No Chimney – White House unveils death panel “After a week of unconvincing denials, the Obama administration reversed course today and released photos of the “death panel” that would, under a proposed new health-care system, make decisions about “when to pull the plug on grandma”:” (tags: politics health-care medicine silly pictures… Continue reading Links for 2009-08-14

Physics and Physicists: On the Role of the Michelson-Morley Experiment: Einstein in Chicago “The conventional thought, based on many accounts given by Einstein in his later years, is that he can’t quite remember if he was aware of it, and thus, it didn’t play any influential role in his formulation of the principles of relativity.… Continue reading Links for 2009-08-13

Pimp My Novel: Genre-Specific Sales, Part 1 of 8: Fantasy “The good news, however is this: fantasy is actually doing all right, and in many instances, sales of fantasy books are up over last year’s sales. Without quoting you exact BookScan numbers, I can tell you that fantasy book sales are up at my house… Continue reading Links for 2009-08-12

Large Hadron Collider Struggles, Adding to the Mysteries of Life – NYTimes.com “Many of the magnets meant to whiz high-energy subatomic particles around a 17-mile underground racetrack have mysteriously lost their ability to operate at high energies. Some physicists are deserting the European project, at least temporarily, to work at a smaller, rival machine across… Continue reading Links for 2009-08-05

Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch – NYTimes.com Some decent points, but as with all NY Times Magazine articles, it’s crawling with annoying class assumptions. There’s a passing acknowledgment that the decline in cooking is related to the increase in hours worked, and then it’s back to somewhat over-written laments for idyllic days gone… Continue reading Links for 2009-08-04