Vacation Dog Blogging #1

Kate and I are going out of town for a few days. I may or may not check in and post some stuff while we’re gone– it will depend on how busy we are, and how good the Internet access is in the hotel. I had intended to schedule some substantive posts to appear during… Continue reading Vacation Dog Blogging #1

Starting Young

I don’t get this Internet thing. I was sure that yesterday’s dog dialogue about evolution would generate some traffic, if only from biologists whining that I didn’t explain evolution correctly. But– nothing. I guess I failed to include the magic attention-generating phrase– “Darwin Day” or “Michael Behe is Dumber Than My Dog,” or something. Anyway,… Continue reading Starting Young

Book Report: Polishing and Waiting

I’m sitting on the couch, watching tv, when the dog comes in. “Hey, dude, what ever happened with that book, anyway?” “What book?” I ask, distractedly. “The one about me. What other book would I be asking about?” “Oh, yeah. I sent the first draft off to my editor and a bunch of other people,… Continue reading Book Report: Polishing and Waiting

Sheep!

An example of what academics do to blow off steam: This is a detail of a long whiteboard hanging in the basement hallway near my research lab. Sometime this fall, a colleague divided part of the board into a grid, and wrote “Sheep drawing contest! Rules: Draw a sheep” at the top. Students and other… Continue reading Sheep!

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Pow!

In the same basic spirit as yesterday’s knit cephalopod picture, here’s a sign from Takayama that we really liked: I’m not sure exactly why the octopus has punched the fish to the moon, Ralph Kramden style, but Kate and I got a kick out of it. I’m also not sure what it says– something to… Continue reading Pow!

Cephalopod Knitmas

One of the highlights of this year’s Christmas haul: knitted cephalopods! That’s an octopus and a giant squid, knitted from spun awesome by my sister’s partner. The tentacles have pipe cleaners (or something) in them, so they’re poseable. They’re currently sitting on top of the tv, but they’re not all that stable there. We’ll find… Continue reading Cephalopod Knitmas

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Tree of SCIENCE!!! #10

The final installment from the Tree of SCIENCE!!! for this year: This is a Santa Claus figure walking his dog. Which, of course, is a reminder to everyone of the importance of talking to your pets about SCIENCE!!! Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it. The rest of you, have a great Tuesday.

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Tree of SCIENCE!!! #9

This one may not look like much, but it covers a lot of ground for the Tree of SCIENCE!!!: This ornament is built around a copper plaque, and copper is a very good conductor, which means it includes an element of solid state physics. The copper in the plaque is from the roof of the… Continue reading Tree of SCIENCE!!! #9

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Tree of SCIENCE!!! #8

Today’s Tree of SCIENCE!!! ornaments salute this here series of tubes: On the right side of this picture, you see two little clothespin soldiers in sailor outfits with semaphore flags. These guys represent communications technology.

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