COROT surprises a year after launch Stellar seismology and a new extrasolar planet. (tags: astronomy news science planets) The quest for a new class of superconductors An article positing superconductors in which electrons pair up through something other than phonon interactions. (tags: physics science news low-temperature materials) Boston College physicists find new explanation for superconductivity’s… Continue reading links for 2007-12-21
Month: December 2007
Bobby Petrino and Media Bias
It’s been a rotten year for the Atlanta Falcons– Michael Vick turned out to have even worse judgement than people had thought, and the team immediately went into a death spiral. Then, last week, their first-year head coach, Bobby Petrino (formerly of Louisville), announced that he was leaving to become the head coach at Arkansas,… Continue reading Bobby Petrino and Media Bias
Google Passeth All Understanding
As previously mentioned, I plan to end the book with a chapter on quantum flim-flam. As research for this, I’ve been looking at kook sites on the web, and Googled “quantum healing,” which turns up all manner of gibberish from Deepak Chopra. It also includes a helpful little item at the bottom of the page:… Continue reading Google Passeth All Understanding
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.
links for 2007-12-20
The Year In Film 2007 | The A.V. Club I don’t see enough movies to do a sensible “Year’s Best” list any more, but the AV Club is one of the most reliable review sites out there. (tags: movies) Are We Not Men? Jon Zobenicaoverthinks Playboy and Maxim (tags: culture gender journalism sex society) Ampere… Continue reading links for 2007-12-20
College Basketball Gets a Little Quieter
Having ranted at great length about the awfulness of Dick Vitale’s caterwauling during games broadcast on ESPN, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that he’s having vocal cord surgery. In his own words: The past six weeks have been very emotional for me and for my family as we’ve visited some of the… Continue reading College Basketball Gets a Little Quieter
Michigan Tenure Lawsuit
A former Michigan law professor is suing the university because he was denied tenure: The professor, Peter Hammer, won a majority of votes of the faculty of the law school in his case. But the 18-12 margin was two shy of the two-thirds requirement to win tenure, so he lost his job, and now is… Continue reading Michigan Tenure Lawsuit
Idle Consumer Electronics Question
Why does my new car stereo (with spiffy direct iPod connection) come with a remote control? Just where do they think I’m going to go?
Tree of SCIENCE!!! #7
Another cold December day, another ornament from the Tree of SCIENCE!!! This one’s for the doctors in the house: That’s a little elf guy smoking a pipe, and he represents the science of public health.and epidemiology.
Congratulations to Doctor Gazebo
Travis Hime of Arcane Gazebo has just finished his Ph.D. on Solid-State Qubits with Current-Controlled Coupling. Go congratulate him on bringing quantum spam that much closer to reality. (“Dear sir or madam, I may or may not be the widow of the former president of Nigeria, and I may or may not have the sum… Continue reading Congratulations to Doctor Gazebo