Some time back, I saw Brother Guy Consolmagno talk at Boskone, and said “You know, I should invite him to campus.” For those who don’t recognize the name, he’s an SF fan and an astronomer (well, planetary scientist) who also happens to be a Jesuit brother. He works at the Vatican Observatory, where he is… Continue reading The Pope’s Astronomer, and Galileo’s Telescope
Month: October 2008
Help Kids, Win Prizes
As you have no doubt noticed, the annual DonorsChoose fundraiser is under way, raising money to help school teachers and children. You can < ahref="http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/viewChallenge.html?id=19006">donate directly through my challenge, but you can also help them out by voting for them in the AMEX Members Project. Voting runs through midnight Monday, and is free, though you… Continue reading Help Kids, Win Prizes
links for 2008-10-12
nanoscale views: What’s interesting about condensed matter physics "It’s amazing how many complicated phenomena result from just simple quantum mechanics + large numbers of particles, especially when interactions between the particles become important. " (tags: physics science materials blogs) PHD Comics: Undergradese "Translation: ‘Can I do my homework in your office?’" (tags: academia silly education… Continue reading links for 2008-10-12
An Open Letter to the Food Service Industry
When people attending a meeting– particularly a meeting that starts at 8am on a Saturday– elect to drink tea rather than coffee, they do so because they do not want coffee. For this reason, it is imperative that you not select the urns at random from a large pile of them, but rather use urns… Continue reading An Open Letter to the Food Service Industry
links for 2008-10-11
slacktivist: They need help "The reason I’ve been writing about/obsessing over things like the P&G rumor or the usefulness of Snopes is that I’m trying to figure out how to liberate the captives of unreality. " (tags: politics psychology US society culture education) Images of the 2008 TC3 fireball from space! – The Planetary Society… Continue reading links for 2008-10-11
College Novels
Over at Tor.com, Jo Walton has a post titled “College as magic garden: Why Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin is a book you’ll either love or hate”. Tam Lin, for those who don’t know it, is a version of the old ballad set at a liberal arts college in the upper Midwest (I believe it’s based… Continue reading College Novels
Hoedown Throwdown
It’s been a frustrating and annoying week here at Chateau Steelypips, so I was probably in the perfect mood for Mike Hoye’s subway busker story: After a relatively crappy day, I got off the subway, and there’s a couple of buskers playing a fiddle and a banjo at the station. And they’re really going at… Continue reading Hoedown Throwdown
That Kind of Week
I went to an evening talk last night by Brother Guy Consolmagno (about which more later, maybe), and one of my colleagues said “Hey, congratulations on your blog appearing in the Chronicle of Higher Education.” Being quick on my feet, I said “Hunh?” So, of course, I checked it out when I got home. And,… Continue reading That Kind of Week
Nobel Peace Prize to Finnish Mediator
The 2008 Nobel Peace Prize goes to Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, “for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts.” Fortunately for uneducated boors like me, they provide a press release listing some of those efforts: Throughout all his adult life, whether as a senior Finnish public… Continue reading Nobel Peace Prize to Finnish Mediator
links for 2008-10-10
slacktivist: False Witnesses 2 "Far more interesting than those greedy sleazeballs, though, are the members of the much larger group of gossips who enthusiastically spread [rumors about Satanism at Proctor and Gamble]. This larger group has no financial interest at stake, so what’s in it for them? What motivates someone to accept the invitation to… Continue reading links for 2008-10-10