catdynamics | April 22, 2009ghost observatory images
wanton spending by university bureaucrats
planets and cold fusion
Really cool observatory image
Cold Fusion? Again? Nanoscale braves an old topic bubbling again
Where does the overhead go anyway? Read the comments as you ponder
Sean wrote a paper. About extra dimensions and shit
Greg has a movie of HD 80606b - it is a movie, of a planet, in another solar system
Greg on GJ581e - good stuff on timing.
But, folk, GJ 582d is not really habitable. Lets not oversell this.
New Scibling - Guilty Planet
The life of junior faculty
National Initiative to Built The Quantum…
catdynamics | April 22, 2009Official, from IMF...
global economic prospects suck
IMF report: Global Prospects and Policies (pdf large)
they predict economic growth in the US in the second half of 2010...
IF good policies for recovery are implemented, and recovery in first half of 2011 if poor policies are implemented
hmmm...
recovery in the third half of next year!
oil prices are projected somewhere between $20 and $160 per barrel.
That is what we call confident economic forecasting!
Forward Looking Cliff Diving (click to embiggen)
h/t CR of course
catdynamics | April 22, 2009Game of Thrones is being made into a TV series
by HBO I am glad to say.
Hope they do as well as "Rome". Could be really cool.
But who to play the characters?
Can we agree that Tobey Maguire ought to be banned from being in it?
That Ian McKellen will somehow be in it.
That Judi Dench ought to be in it?
And that inevitably Sean Bean will be, and has some chance of being cast well...
h/t kos
catdynamics | April 21, 2009Two Earth Mass Planet found in close orbit around a red dwarf star
Gliese 581 is an M3 red dwarf, it has a mass of about a third that of the Sun, slightly lower metal content and is about the same age probably a bit older than the Sun, we think.
It is about 20 light years away.
Gliese 581 was known to have three planets already:
Gl 581b - 1/20th of Jupiter mass in a 5 day orbit == ok, 16 Earth masses
Gl 581c - 1/60th of Jupiter mass in a 13 day orbit == 5 Earth masses
Gl 581d - 1/50th of Jupiter mass in 67 day eccentric orbit == 7 Earth masses
Now there is Gl 581e, discovered with high…
catdynamics | April 20, 2009guy in Bergen NorwayNew Jersey claims to have leaked results of the stress tests for the top 19 US banks
it is curious, scary if true
I am not vouching for this site, just pointing
that will teach me to do quick posts late at night, eh...?
catdynamics | April 20, 2009Alda explains how some people might have come to believe in elves...
happy partying elves, inside the mountains
My Iceland: the glamorous opulence of the hidden people
"...When we were about halfway along the full stretch of the rock face to our right, we suddenly heard this amazing sound. It was a huge party going on somewhere, a banquet, with hundreds of people laughing and talking, classes clinking, cutlery scraping on dinnerware - a cacophony of merriment coming from somewhere beyond the cliffs.
We stopped dead in our tracks, looked at each other with bewildered expressions, then…
catdynamics | April 20, 2009in which we present:
the planet pool,
why we wear black
and the war on Iceland
among others
Pick a planet host
Kepler has First Light and the field is published (more on this later)
The Lab Lemming is running a pool on which star will have the most earth like planet detected...
but, what if you like to wear black AND you're a scientist...?
The FSP is on form
Easily Distracted: heterogenous prioritization in making decisions on where to cut in academia
I don't entirely agree, but the SLACs have different perspectives on how these things work
forbidden physics
The War Against Iceland
- at 6…
catdynamics | April 18, 2009Elizabeth Warren on the Daily Show
I think she was about to curse...
ok, so this was some time ago, I'm behind
question is, why don't prime time news shows do interviews like this?
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
M - Th 11p / 10c
Elizabeth Warren Pt. 1
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes
Economic Crisis
Political Humor
I like her
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
M - Th 11p / 10c
Elizabeth Warren Pt. 2
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes
Economic Crisis
Political Humor
catdynamics | April 15, 2009President Obama is this year's commencement speaker at the Arizona State University
ASU decided, somewhat unusually, not to give him an honourary degree
The Huffington Post has been all over this
Stupid move.
Here is the list of all past ASU honourary degree recipients
usual mix of local politicos, senior scientists and random nominees including some people who apparently played some sort of game.
To say:
""University spokeswoman Sharon Keeler said Tuesday that the University awards honorary degrees to recognize individuals for their work and accomplishments spanning their lifetime. '…
catdynamics | April 13, 2009on that last good friday nine astronomers gathered for the last time for the dreaded 11 am rapid fire discussion session in the Founder's Room at the Kavli Institute
there were six degenerate faculty types
two post-AGB hot stars headed for the cooling sequence of the tenure track
and one lone sub-giant, fresh off the graduate main sequence...
we chatted a bit about Pismis 24
it is a very nice cluster
then, just as we were about to pack it up and go to lunch early,
Glenn brought up SN
again
ok, he had an idea,
ok, it was kinda an interesting idea,
ok, so some of us couldn't resist asking…
catdynamics | April 11, 2009The FDIC has solicited comments from bankers and investors on the massive "Legacy Loan Program"
One comment in particular summarises the issues well and proposes a way forward that may be acceptable to the investment community
Must read.
h/t CR of course
catdynamics | April 10, 2009There is much blogospheric chatter right now about how newspapers will survive the combination of recession, with associated collapse in advertising revenue; the maturing of the internet as multi-media; and the obsolete business model of most newspapers.
kos and atrios are, rightly, much disdainful of the "Morton Plan"
"The Morton Plan" for saving newspapers. I call on all you publishers to decide individually (to ward off the antitrust folks) to charge for Internet access to your newspaper content: Offer your readers the choice of getting their paper online, with the advantages of expanded…
catdynamics | April 9, 2009Curious little thing bubbling in the blogosphere: a lawyer was fired
Above the Law has the details - a partner, in a top law firm (S&C) escorted out of the bulding by security, according to the stories; working in corporate law
here is S&C's list of major financial institution thing's they've been doing recently
it is an interesting list:
advising AIG on their $85 billion
Lehman's on how to go into bankruptcy
JPMorgan on the WaMu takeover
Goldman Sachs on their deal with Berkshire and Buffet
Fannie Mae in connection with its federalization
Bear Sterns in connection with its sale to…
catdynamics | April 9, 2009 we go link mad here at sciblogs...
because, everybody?
linking is good!
Could drilling cause eruptions?
why, yes, they can, sorta.
borrow money at 0%, and lend it back short term to underemployed people at 120%APR
yes, life is good if you're a banker... this week
no stress, no fail
you will pass any test if the examiner is willing to indefinitely provide you with what is needed to get the right answer eventually
The PI as CEO Drug Monkey resuscitates and oldie but goodie
so where is my bonus?
Janet, if that is her real name, outs some pseudonymous bloggers...
'bout time
Lawyerland: they can'…
catdynamics | April 9, 2009So what did I learn...
Flying fish make great "rationality tokens"
Multiple Populations are probably real and a problem.
I owe Bob, Jay, Chris and others an apology, they've been saying this for decades...
Intermediate Mass Black Holes are Important and Interesting.
But, we need to calm down a little bit about them.
We don't understand as much as we used to.
Δ Y?
Really?
Maybe.
Interesting...
Somebody Really Really Really needs to go and compile a HST level quality, homogenous catalog of globular cluster parameters etc
Existing catalogs rely too much on heterogenous, largely pre-CCD…
catdynamics | April 9, 2009the Kavli Institute program on Dynamics and Evolution of Globular Clusters is reaching the end, and we highlight the important issues...
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest
Key topics:
Stellar Content
Present Day Mass Functions, M/L
Intermediate Mass Black Holes
Blue Stragglers
Binary Fraction
Planets
Multiple Populations: not just Δ Y
Funny IMF or Funny dynamics.
AGB or rapidly rotating high mass stars?
LMXBs, BHs, CVs
Structure
Milky Way Catalog
Models: King, Wilson etc
Surface Brightness Profile
Core Collapse, Post-Core Collapse…
catdynamics | April 9, 2009and it comes down to this...
double first, Caltech doctorate, postdocs at top research institutions, personal fellowship, tenure-track, tenure...
and the forecast is for rain.
The good news is that since I am tenured I can probably still afford to buy even a new pair of Nikes.
The bad news is that since I am tenured I probably do not have the time to do so anytime soon.
Ah well, I really hate shopping anyway.
catdynamics | April 9, 2009"...we really do not understand the quantum theory in an intuitive manner because quantum laws are so radically different from the classical laws of physics. The dichotomy that the modern world is quantum, but the precise meaning of the quantum remains elusive, disturbed the stalwarts of physics such as Einstein, Schrodinger, and Feynman, and continues to baffle physicists even today. This lecture will explore this curious state of affairs..."
A few weeks ago, Prof Sankar Das Sarma gave a public lecture at the Kavli Institute on "Quantum Reality"
The online lecture is here - video and…
catdynamics | April 8, 2009I am on a quest for the perfect egg salad sandwich
I could make it, with the better half's oatmeal honey whole wheat bread, a little bit of mayo and way too much onion
or there's this bakery near Pasadena, whose name I forget, which makes a near perfect nutty whole grain bread...
or, sigh, Gayle's!
but, that is not my quest: it is to find the perfect grab'n'go egg salad sandwich
real mayo, but no so much it is runny, eggs and onion
gentle use of herbs and spices, maybe
and the bread must be good, firm and hold the salad
lettuce in moderation may be tolerated
oh, and one that is reliably…