Not an exhaustive list, but since I’m noodling around with my calendar, I might as well note some of the stuff I’ll be doing this year: I’ll be on a panel about international science testing at the AAAS Annual Meeting in February. This will be a different experience– not only have I never been to… Continue reading Where I’m Going to Be in 2011
Month: January 2011
Links for 2011-01-06
The decline of the serial killer. – By Christopher Beam – Slate Magazine Serial killers just aren’t the sensation they used to be. They haven’t disappeared, of course. Last month, Suffolk County, N.Y., police found the bodies of four women dumped near a beach in Long Island. Philadelphia police have attributed the murders of three… Continue reading Links for 2011-01-06
This Day Needs a Reboot
Kate and SteelyKid have colds (well, they’re sharing the same cold), so SteelyKid is waking up a lot during the night. Since Kate needs rest as well, she put earplugs in last night (she’s a much lighter sleeper than I am), and I took baby-soothing duty. So I was up half the night. I come… Continue reading This Day Needs a Reboot
The Four Percent Universe by Richard Panek
Back in the fall, I got an email from my UK publisher asking me if I’d be willing to read and possibly blurb a forthcoming book, The Four Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality by Richard Panek. The book isn’t exactly in my field, but there… Continue reading The Four Percent Universe by Richard Panek
Links for 2011-01-05
To Beat Back Poverty, Pay the Poor – NYTimes.com “Today, however, Brazil’s level of economic inequality is dropping at a faster rate than that of almost any other country. Between 2003 and 2009, the income of poor Brazilians has grown seven times as much as the income of rich Brazilians. Poverty has fallen during that time… Continue reading Links for 2011-01-05
First Impressions, In Person and Online
There was a faintly awful essay by Melissa Nicolas at Inside Higher Ed yesterday, giving MLA job candidates advice on how to dress: Let’s start with your shoes. Anyone who has been to MLA knows that it is a big conference, and whether you are on a search committee, attending sessions, or interviewing, you are… Continue reading First Impressions, In Person and Online
Links for 2011-01-04
nsf.gov – SRS The End of Mandatory Retirement for Doctoral Scientists and Engineers in Postsecondary Institutions: Retirement Patterns 10 Years Later – US National Science Foundation (NSF) “Mandatory retirement in postsecondary educational institutions ended in 1994. In this paper, examination of retirements in 1993 (just before the end of this practice) and again 10 years… Continue reading Links for 2011-01-04
Academic Poll: Synchronization
The clock in my classroom for this term appears to be set five minutes slow. Which is an improvement over the one in the hall that’s ten minutes slow, but kind of plays hell with starting and ending class on time. It is, however, a great excuse for a poll: Clocks in academic buildings should… Continue reading Academic Poll: Synchronization
Dorky Poll: Favorite Newtonian Rule?
It’s the first day of the new term, and the projector bulb that was working on Friday decided to stop working by Sunday. After that bit of excitement this morning, plus my lecture, I’m beat. I always forget how much talking is involved in intro physics lectures. My class for the term is the first… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Favorite Newtonian Rule?
Links for 2011-01-03
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Selected Nuclear Materials and Engineering Systems “I know what you’re thinking : crystallographic and thermodynamic data of ternary alloy systems is a such a hackneyed plot device. But Landolt-Börnstein work their magic in such a subtle and layered way that at 3am when you are reading just one more page, you suddenly… Continue reading Links for 2011-01-03