Because I’m a Bad Person: (Context here, here, and here, Flickr group here.)
Category: Silliness
Tachyon Movies
Via a back channel, the Gardner Project of EniTech Research. They have an argon laser, so you know it’s science!
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
Mixed Nuts
I took a much-needed Luddite Day yesterday, shutting down the computer and spending the afternoon loafing on the couch reading. I had meant to have a new stereo installed in my car and do some Christmas shopping while I waited, but we got a moderately significant snowstorm yesterday afternoon, so I pushed the installation and… Continue reading Mixed Nuts
University of Pharyngula?
One of the alternately entertaining and depressing things about the culture wars in the US is the existence of a sort of parallel academic universe, in the form of vanity universities like Oral Roberts University, Bob Jones University, and Jerry Fallwell’s Liberty University. These provide both a thin veneer of credibility for pseudo-academic nonsense and… Continue reading University of Pharyngula?
Santa Claus is a Physicist
Dave Ng over at the World’s Fair is at it again, asking what sort of science background Santa Claus has: So the premise is that Santa is at least several hundred years old, and you’ve got to assume that somewhere along the line, he spent some time in academia and probably got a degree or… Continue reading Santa Claus is a Physicist
Smack Talking, Geek Style
John Scalzi is talking a big game: I was just taking one of those Internet tests to see how much of a geek I am, when I suddenly thought, what the fuck am I doing? I’m a published science fiction writer. Do not pass “go,” do not collect $200, you know? Just go straight to… Continue reading Smack Talking, Geek Style
Dorky Poll: The View from (Outside) Your Office
The building where my office is is one of those 60’s era brick buildings with lots of basically identical little offices arranged along indistinguishable hallways. Tenured professors are known to get lost in there trying to find specific offices. To make it a little easier, some of us decorate our doors: The key identifying the… Continue reading Dorky Poll: The View from (Outside) Your Office
Ninja Squirrel
“Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake! Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake!” “Stop that! What in hell are you barking at?” I look out the window. “It’s a squirrel. Why are you barking like that at a single squirrel on the tree outside?” “It’s an evil squirrel! A threat to the home!” “No, it’s not. It’s little and furry… Continue reading Ninja Squirrel
Dorky Poll: Cleanliness is Next to…?
Via Kate, a story from a legal blog about a decisions in the case of a messy professor: “Clean your room or get out!” Words from a frustrated parent to a messy teenager? Not quite. The mess-maker in this case was a chemistry professor at the University of Texas, who ignored repeated warnings to clean… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Cleanliness is Next to…?