The book is now starting through the production process, and people at Scribner are thinking about publicity. I got email asking whether I could set up a Facebook page for Emmy as a promotion. I’m not sure whether that meant a fan page for the dog, or a Facebook profile for her, as if she… Continue reading The Queen on Facebook
Semi-Dorky Poll: Low-Tech Writing
A few weeks ago, Neil DeGrasse Tyson was on the Daily Show telling stories about Pluto, and mentioned getting a letter from a little kid who added the postscript “Please write back, but not in cursive, because I can’t read cursive yet.” We were talking about this in the car yesterday, because Kate’s been reading… Continue reading Semi-Dorky Poll: Low-Tech Writing
links for 2009-03-10
The Business of Academic Publishing "This statement by Deutsche Bank is an astonishing comment on the profitability of the industry. The notion that Elsevier, and therefore the other commercial publishers, add âlittle value to the publishing processâ and cannot justify the high profit margins is significant. This statement by Deutsche Bank, while aimed towards investors,… Continue reading links for 2009-03-10
Culinary Puzzle
Why in hell is there soy in Italian soft rolls? Parents of sensitive-stomached babies everywhere would like to know.
Supporting Conversations About Race
The Flamewar That Ate LiveJournal continues its livejournophagy (I’ve only caught the edges of it, and that alone is a carnival of suck– if you want to know more, Jo Walton’s recent post gets the feel, and contains links to more). In one of several efforts to bring something positive out of this, Kate has… Continue reading Supporting Conversations About Race
Seasonal Sports Peeve
It’s March now, which means that we’re at the absolute peak of the college basketball season. Small conferences have already started their tournaments, playing for the one shot those teams have of getting into the NCAA’s. Big conference tournaments start next week, with the Big Dance the week after. So, of course, ESPN and all… Continue reading Seasonal Sports Peeve
links for 2009-03-07
Michael Faraday, grand unified theorist? (1851) « Skulls in the Stars "The common thread of many of these discoveries is their goal: demonstrating that all the physical forces of nature are but different manifestations of a single, âuniversalâ force. This idea was a surprisingly modern one for Faradayâs time, and is known today as a… Continue reading links for 2009-03-07
Numbers of Order Unity
Over at Unqualified Offerings, Thoreau is bemused by his students’ reaction to unusual numbers: [I]t is fascinating how we condition people to be used to numbers in a certain range, and as soon as a number is either very big or very small it becomes disconcerting. On one level, I’m glad that they are able… Continue reading Numbers of Order Unity
The Open Laboratory 2008
The much-promoted science blogging anthology is now complete, and available in paper or electronic format from Lulu. If you’re dying to have dead-tree copies of the best science blog posts of last year, here’s your chance.
Feats of Strength Baby Blogging 030609
SteelyKid turned 30 weeks yesterday, and to celebrate this arbitrary numerical milestone, she shows off what a big strong baby she’s become: “Look at me! I can lift a whole bison by myself!”