James Nicoll is soliciting recommendations for a series of novels about the planets of the Solar System. His first pass: Mercury: Venus: Earth: Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke Mars: Jupiter: Jupiter Fred and Carol Pohl (ed) Saturn: Uranus: Neptune: Triton, Samuel R. Delany As you can see, there are some gaps…
Basic Concepts: Measurement
It’s been a while since I did a “Basic Concepts” post. They tend to take a good bit of effort, and things have been hectic enough at work that I haven’t had the energy. To make up for the blizzard of basketball-related stuff over the last week (with more to come), here’s a look at… Continue reading Basic Concepts: Measurement
ACC Wrap-Up
The ACC Season came to a bloody and unpleasant end last night, with Duke’s Gerald Henderson busting UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough open with an elbow to the face in the final seconds of a Carolina victory. Henderson was ejected from the game, and will reportedly be suspended for Duke’s first-round ACC tournament game. (My take: looking… Continue reading ACC Wrap-Up
Giant APS Meeting
The March Meeting of the American Physical Society is happening this week. This is one of two large multi-divisional meetings the APS has each year (the other is in April), and it’s billed as the largest physics meeting of the year. I’ve only gone to a March Meeting once and that was the year it… Continue reading Giant APS Meeting
Weird Things About Me
I don’t usually do “memes,” but the “weird things” one (via Janet) seems entertaining. So here are some weird things about me: 1) I carry on complicated conversations with the dog, translating her bits into English in a high-pictched voice. I started doing this to amuse/ annoy Kate, but now I do it even when… Continue reading Weird Things About Me
For the Hoops Haters
It’s officially March, which means my basketball obsession kicks into high gear. As if you hadn’t noticed from the last week or so of posts… Anyway, it’s clear from the lack of comments that my basketball obsession is not that widely shared, so here are some links to amuse the rest of you while I… Continue reading For the Hoops Haters
Let’s Hear it for the Little Guy
It’s that time of year, when “mid-major” and small conferences have their basketball tournaments, with the winners earning one shot at sports-geek immortality with a chance to score an upset in the first round of the NCAA’s. Four teams earned automatic bids yesterday, and they deserve a post of their own: Winthrop: At 28-4, the… Continue reading Let’s Hear it for the Little Guy
Senior Days
It was a regular hoopsapalooza yesterday in Chateau Steelypips, with Syracuse playing Villanova at 2:00, and Maryland playing NC State at 3:30, both games on tv. And, of course, there were a host of other games on, including UCLA getting waxed at Washington, THE Ohio State University narrowly avoiding a loss at Michigan (and putting… Continue reading Senior Days
The (Re-)Drawing of the Three
I’m not quite sure why it’s behind the paywall, but the New York Times today features a column by William Rhoden marking the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the three-point shot to college basketball. It’s not anything terribly ground-breaking– complaints from the usual suspects, like perpetual optimist Jim Boeheim (“‘It hasn’t been as bad… Continue reading The (Re-)Drawing of the Three
Low-Budget Rocketry
1) Take a 20 oz Poland Spring bottle, or other lightweight plastic container with a screw-on lid. 2) Using a pocket knife, cut a small (~2 mm diameter) hole in the lid. 3) Put ~5 oz of liquid nitrogen in the bottom of the bottle. 4) Screw on the cap. 5) Shake vigorously once, then… Continue reading Low-Budget Rocketry