The Washington Post has an article this morning headlined Navy Wins Exemption From Bush to Continue Sonar Exercises in Calif.: The White House has exempted the Navy from two major environmental laws in an effort to free the service from a federal court’s decision limiting the Navy’s use of sonar in training exercises. Environmentalists who… Continue reading The Importance of Connotations in Headline Writing
Month: January 2008
Increasing the Confusion Level
I’ve been in a bit of a funk this week, for reasons that don’t bear talking about, and everything in blogdom has seemed indescribably tedious: the same boring people having the same stupid arguments over and over, with no end in sight. And don’t get me started on politics. In an effort to shake myself… Continue reading Increasing the Confusion Level
900
Congratulations to Texas Tech coach Bob Knight, who extended his own NCAA record by winning his 900th game as a coach against Texas A&M last night. Knight being Knight, he couldn’t get through this without a tiny display of churlishness: After the game fans chanted Knight’s name as he walked off the court to a… Continue reading 900
links for 2008-01-17
Quantum Hoops We’re still not sure whether they won or lost. (tags: basketball academia sports physics movies) slacktivist: King and Huck The difference between the religious language of Martin Luther King and Mike Huckabee. (tags: religion politics US society culture) Coping With the Crunch :: Inside Higher Ed :: Jobs, News and Views for All… Continue reading links for 2008-01-17
Hey to Bristol Instruments
Last week, I made an oblique mention of an equipment failure, and commented about the positive experience I had in dealing with their engineers on the phone. I carefully avoided naming the broken product or the company I was dealing with, out of some obscure sense of blogging ethics. I shipped the broken item off… Continue reading Hey to Bristol Instruments
Reader Poll: Scientific Sleuths?
While browsing through Border the other day, I noticed a book called Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance, which is the latest entry in the subgenre of mysteries in which improbable literary figures turn into detectives. In fact, it may represent the end of the genre– I think they may have exhausted the… Continue reading Reader Poll: Scientific Sleuths?
The Race for Absolute Zero
The second half of the NOVA special on “Absolute Zero” aired last night. Like the first installment, it was very well done, avoiding most of the traps of modern pop-science television. There were some mysterious shots of amusement park rides when they started talking about quantum mechanics, and I’m not sure why, but they kept… Continue reading The Race for Absolute Zero
links for 2008-01-16
Confessions of a Community College Dean: Civility The Dean Dad’s one-sentence campus civility code. (tags: academia culture society humanities social-science) I Can Has Rezearch Papar? by Cyle Gage The semiotics of LOLCats. Or Maybe it’s the hemeneutics of LOLCats. I get those mixed up. (tags: culture humanities internet academia) MESSENGER: MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry,… Continue reading links for 2008-01-16
Important TV Reminder
The second part of the NOVA program Absolute Zero airs tonight on PBS stations. The first part, “The Conquest of Cold” covered the theory and technology of refrigeration, while this segment, “The Quest for Absolute Zero” will include all the fun atomic physics stuff leading up to the achievement of Bose-Einstein Condensation in 1995. Check… Continue reading Important TV Reminder
True Lab Stories: Demolition Men
This is actually sort of a pre-lab story, as it happened before my lab in grad school was even established. It pre-dates my time at NIST, and happened long enough ago that the statute of limitations has surely run out, so I feel safe telling it. The lab I worked in in grad school was… Continue reading True Lab Stories: Demolition Men