“Baby Got Back,” Gilbert and Sullivan style: Via bassfingers.
Month: August 2007
USVI: A Good Long Walk
Our vacation in the Virgin Islands was with family, so we spent most of our time in a group of six people, and there was no small element of cat-herding involved in getting things arranged. This tends to drive me up the wall, so I made a point of spending one morning doing something that… Continue reading USVI: A Good Long Walk
No Love for Germer?
I’m working on something at the moment that involves talking a bit about the historical development of quantum theory, and specifically the demonstration of the wave nature of electrons. One of the famous proofs of this is the Davisson-Germer experiment, showing that electrons bouncing off a nickel target produce a diffraction pattern. (As an aside,… Continue reading No Love for Germer?
Report on Improving Science Education
The National Science Board has released a draft report for public comment titled “A National Action Plan for Addressing the Critical Needs of the U.S. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education System.” You can dowload the PDF of the report from that page, and email any comments to: NSB_STEMaction@nsf.gov. I’ve only skimmed the report, so… Continue reading Report on Improving Science Education
Dorky Poll: Optics or Thermo?
This might be too abstract for a really good Dorky Poll, but I’ve got a bunch of stuff that I really need to do, and I’ve been thinking a bit about curricular issues, so this came to mind: Which would you rather know more about, Classical Optics or Thermodynamics? Imagine that you’re being offered a… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Optics or Thermo?
Those Wacky Liberal Academics
Via Inside Higher Ed, the Center for Responsive Politics has a new report on political contributions by academics So far in the ’08 election cycle, people who work for institutions of higher education have given more than $7 million to federal candidates, parties and committees, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Nearly 60… Continue reading Those Wacky Liberal Academics
Wave Your Lighters in the Air Like You Truly, Deeply Care
Blogging will continue to be relatively light for the next few weeks, as I’m currently in a sort of Vacation Interregnum– as you can tell from the picture posts, we just got back from the Virgin Islands, and at the end of next week, we’re heading to Japan for three weeks of tourism and Worldcon.… Continue reading Wave Your Lighters in the Air Like You Truly, Deeply Care
Charity Contest Winner
The American Express “Members Project” has selected a winner, though not without a whiff of controversy. Of course, given that the winning project is intended to provide safe drinking water for children, which is exactly the sort of unglamourous but necessary work that really needs more funding, it would be tacky in the extreme to… Continue reading Charity Contest Winner
USVI: Wild Wildlife
I should preface this with a note that I am one of the world’s worst nature photographers. I don’t have a very fancy camera, and I’m not terribly good at spotting critters at the best of times, so my best pictures are of relatively immobile creatures like the crab in yesterday’s post. Still, I find… Continue reading USVI: Wild Wildlife
Who Sets Admission Standards?
South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier is hopping mad over the decision to deny admission to two recruits who were above the NCAA minimum standard for eligibility, but did not meet the University’s requirements. Said Spurrier: “As long as I’m the coach here, we’re going to take guys that qualify. If not, then I’m going… Continue reading Who Sets Admission Standards?