I made it to Charlottesville, and am all checked in to the Econo Lodge, which is a little more Econo than I was expecting. It’s an old-school motel, with rooms that open right into the parking lot, the sort of place where the towels are tiny and scratchy, the pillows and mattresses are thin, and… Continue reading Dorky Poll: How Do You Like Your Waves?
Category: Silliness
Grammar Nerd Poll
This has nothing to do with the substance of Steve Benen’s post about conservative preparations for judicial confirmation hearings, but the quote he used from a New York Times article is the proximate cause for this Grammar Nerd Poll: What is the plural of “memorandum”? A) “Memorandums” B) “Memoranda” C) “More than one memorandum” D)… Continue reading Grammar Nerd Poll
Fairy-Tale Physics 2: Spinning Gold
You might think that Monday’s discourse on thermodynamics in the Goldilocks story was the only children’s story in which physics plays a role, but that’s not true. Physics is everywhere in fairy tales. Take, for example, the story of Rumpelstiltskin, in which a mysterious little man demands a terrible price for helping a miller’s daughter… Continue reading Fairy-Tale Physics 2: Spinning Gold
The Faulty Thermodynamics of Children’s Stories
SteelyKid is not yet at the stage where I can usefully read to her– she likes sitting on my lap while I read just fine, but she’s more interested in trying to eat the pages than listening to the story. I was reminded this morning, though, that when she gets to bedtime-story age, I’m going… Continue reading The Faulty Thermodynamics of Children’s Stories
Dorky Poll: Favorite Wavelength
I have two labs today, and a lunch meeting, so no time for detailed blogging about science. It’s been a while since I did a Dorky Poll, though, so here’s one to keep people entertained while I’m working: What’s your favorite color? “What’s dorky about that?” you ask. You need to give your answer in… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Favorite Wavelength
Sunny Afternoon of the Ninja Squirrels
The dog comes into the office looking disgusted. “Well, you’ve really done it now, dude.” “What? What did I do?” “You had to go and put a bird feeder in the front window, didn’t you?” “What about it?” We put a thistle-seed feeder in front of the bay window in the living room, and I… Continue reading Sunny Afternoon of the Ninja Squirrels
Physics Has a Flavor
SteelyKid is fascinated by the John Archibald Wheeler tribute issue of Physics Today:
Social Media and the Animal Kingdom
I’m putting the finishing touches on Monday’s lecture notes when the dog comes into the library, looking concerned. “Shouldn’t I be doing something to promote the book?” she asks. “Since it won’t be out for another nine months, I don’t think it’s that urgent.” “But aren’t there more Internetty things I could be doing?” “Well,… Continue reading Social Media and the Animal Kingdom
Physics Can Fix This
One of the NCAA pools I’m in has a copy of Obama’s bracket entered, and the last I checked, I’m a couple of games up on him. This means I’m as qualified as anyone else to offer a plan to fix the financial crisis, and I have just the plan we need. On the question… Continue reading Physics Can Fix This
The NCAA Physics Tournament
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket was announced yesterday, which has kicked off the usual round of people “predicting” the outcomes based on totally silly criteria like the Academic Progress Rate of the schools in question. This is, of course, completely frivolous. What you really need is solid, relevant information. Like predictions based on the… Continue reading The NCAA Physics Tournament