We’re home again, at last. Actually, the power came on not quite 24 hours ago, but by the time we learned it was back, we were settled in for the night at the hotel. And it would’ve taken several hours for the house to warm back up from its sub-40-Fahrenheit temperature to a temperature at… Continue reading Jiggitty Jig
links for 2008-12-16
kast_sko Throw a shoe at George Bush. In Norwegian. (tags: politics silly games internet) Kevin Drum – Mother Jones Blog: DC Charters "Look: even your most novice educational researcher knows that comparing test scores is useless unless you control pretty carefully for things like parental involvement and expenditure levels. And most of the studies I’ve… Continue reading links for 2008-12-16
The Perils of Competence
Day four of the power outage, with the added angry-making twist that the people across the street from us have their power back. Staring across the road at their warm, shiny lights, I could feel the beginning of the sort of rage that fuels torch-and-pitchfork mobs storming medieval castles. Only, you know, there was just… Continue reading The Perils of Competence
Ice Storms and Liberal Guilt
We’re into our third day without power at Chateau Steelypips, and as a result, the household has temporarily been relocated to a hotel near SUNY Albany. National Grid says probably Tuesday, but they really don’t know when they’ll get our electricity back. This is, of course, deeply annoying, but it feels sort of churlish to… Continue reading Ice Storms and Liberal Guilt
links for 2008-12-14
nanoscale views: Manhattan and Apollo project metaphors "Relatively regularly these days there are calls for a Manhattan or Apollo style project to address our energy challenges. While this may sound good, it’s worth considering what such a project would actually mean." (tags: science economics energy environment US politics blogs) Brandon Sanderson: Sanderson’s First Law "For… Continue reading links for 2008-12-14
links for 2008-12-13
Introduction to conservation of momentum and collisions | Dot Physics "This is an introduction to objects that interact. To describe this, I will need to pull several different ideas together (that you have probably already looked at)." (tags: physics science blogs education) Spot the math errors! « Skulls in the Stars The ins and outs… Continue reading links for 2008-12-13
Ice Station Zebra
A big storm has coated everything in the vicinity of Chateau Steelypips with a quarter-inch of ice. Trees are coming down all over the place (a big limb smashed the gate to our back yard), and the power is out for God knows how long. We’ve temporarily relocated to Kate’s office, which has heat and… Continue reading Ice Station Zebra
Reflections on Quantum Reflection
I subscribe to Scientific American, but I’m usually several weeks behind on reading it, so it was only Thursday that I noticed this surprising article about particles bouncing back from attractive forces: This effect is the converse of the well-known (if no less astounding) phenomenon of quantum tunneling. If you kick a soccer ball up… Continue reading Reflections on Quantum Reflection
links for 2008-12-12
Mike the Mad Biologist : Why Aren’t U.S. Toyota Workers Paid Better? "What has struck me throughout all of these discussions, however, is that Honda’s and Toyota’s current lower wages and benefits are seen as ‘natural’, while the Big Three’s are seen as inflated. It’s odd to hear progressives and liberals argue that the Big… Continue reading links for 2008-12-12
Thursday Baby Blogging 121108
Following last week’s picture with Kate for scale, here’s one with me holding SteelyKid and Appa: And, just for kicks, here’s last week’s picture again: