catdynamics | October 28, 2008giving a talk on blogging at Harvard tends to make one think,
in particular, what is the use of science blogging, and why are economists so good at blogging
it was a fun talk, for me at least,
decent turnout, considering I was squeezed in between the 12:30 seminar and the 4 o'clock talk, some good question
the occasion caused me to do some review of blog statistics and the general state of the blogosphere. The growth has definitely slowed, but science blogs in general and scienceblogs.com in particular are actually quite well positioned, considering their relatively niche position
but, has…
catdynamics | October 27, 2008Apparently I am giving a talk tuesday in the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area
Visualizing Astronomy at the Center for Astrophysics
Talk is at 2pm.
Lovely day in Boston this afternoon, I gather that is about to change, so come in from the cold and contemplate hierarchical social networks and viral blog memes.
catdynamics | October 26, 2008WFPC2 is back on.
Status Report #7
"The current primary camera on the Hubble Space Telescope is now back in active operation and will resume science observations shortly.
Just before 9:30 a.m. EDT this morning on board Hubble, the telescope's science computer began to send commands to Wide Field Planetary Camera-2. These commands brought the computer out of the quiescent, safe state in which it has waited since the computer shut down on October 16."
Hope they bring NICMOS back up also.
Expect an interim call for proposals for WFPC2/NIC within a week or two.
If it is really working again.
catdynamics | October 26, 2008the US is not positioned to launch any attacks in the Middle East this week before the election
for several years, one item worth pondering was whether Bush and Cheney would attempt to take out Iran's nuclear capability.
Time is running out, the next new moon is this week, and the election is imminent.
An attack would scramble the political situation, possibly turning the election, or not.
After this month we run into thanksgiving and christmas, and I don't see the US Armed Forces launching an attack the week before inauguration of a new President.
But, the USS Roosevelt is alone in the Gulf…
catdynamics | October 24, 2008frazzled autumnal friday
we stagger to the iPod and ask - capitulation coming?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Super Powers - Alpha Blondy
The Crossing: Brain Stew - Green Day
The Crown: Girl Trouble - Violent Femmes
The Root: Break Down the Door - Special AKA
The Past: It's Going To Happen - Undertones
The Future: Train in Vain (Stand By Me) - Clash
The Questioner: I Wanna Be Your Dog - Stooges
The House:Higgledy Piggledy Pop
The Inside:Lullaby
The Outcome: Tortured, Tangled Hearts - Dixie Chicks
Panic?
Oh crap.
Panic!
HREF="http://preposterousuniverse.blogspot.com/…
catdynamics | October 22, 2008XMM out of contact.
Observations suggest it is intact, signal from telescope has been detected,
attempts to recover control underway.
XMM loss of contact - ESA press release
"During the evening of Saturday 18 October, XMM-Newton was approaching the point of closest approach to our planet, or perigee, along its 48-hour highly elongated orbit around Earth. At that time, it was communicating normally with the Santiago ground station in Chile through one of its two antennas. After the spacecraft moved out of visibility from Santiago, its radio signal, routinely switched to the other antenna by a…
catdynamics | October 21, 2008More news on the NASA conference ban for 2009, and the possible impacts.
The source of the conference amendment (sec 1121 of HR 6063) is Sen Coburn, apparently, as noted in comments in the previous post.
NASAwatch links to the NASA memos on this policy
Two things are unambiguous:
NASA direct payment for conference activity is virtually prohibited, not just because of the spending cap, but also because of the reporting and audit requirements.
Secondly, NASA civil servant spending on conference travel is tightly capped and will be severly curtailed. The memos suggest that priority will be…
catdynamics | October 20, 2008US banks setting aside $70 billion for year end bonuses.
We conclude Bank of America is overgenerous and JP Morgan are cheap bastards.
from Grauniad:
"...Citigroup, [...], accrued $25.9bn for salaries and bonuses, an increase on the previous year of 4%. Earlier this week the bank accepted a $25bn investment by the US government as part of its bail-out plan.
At Goldman Sachs the figure was $11.4bn, Morgan Stanley $10.73bn, JP Morgan $6.53bn and Merrill Lynch $11.7bn."
It was just a week ago that we got the following:
Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase were told they would each get $25 billion; Bank…
catdynamics | October 20, 2008Last wednesday engineers switched the data management system on the Hubble to the spare "B-side" and the instruments sprung back to life.
The old Wide Field/Planetary Camera (2) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi Object Spectrograph came back to life.
The someone decided to turn on the Advanced Camera for Surveys Solar Blind Channel and it popped again.
Back in safe-mode, back to square one.
Aaaarrrrgggghhhhhh!
"...an anomaly occurred during the last steps of the commanding to the Advanced Camera for Surveys. At 1:40 pm, when the low voltage power supply to the ACS Solar Blind Channel…
catdynamics | October 18, 2008For a couple of hours on friday night, I got to feel like I was 18 again.
Billy Bragg was in town, playing the the State Theatre, before going on to Ithaca, where is playing the State Theatre tonight, strangely enough.
Billy was on form.
Mostly political Billy, not so much the romantic Billy, but funny and engaging, not the angry Billy.
I first saw Billy Bragg in concert at the Student Union at Sussex in the autumn of 1983. It was the first gig of an extraordinary lineup of up-and-coming bands that the Ents Committee had managed to book, best year since they got this unknown american "…
catdynamics | October 18, 2008Carnival of Space Time!
Again? Already?
Number 74, guess, at Lounge of the Lab Lemming.
catdynamics | October 16, 2008Cool autumnal friday and I have to cross all of Ohio, chased by several thousand wolverines.
We ask the Mighty iPod One: wazzup with J092712? Recoil, binary or just crowded?
Woosh goes the randomizer.
Woosh.
The Covering: Eyes on the Prize - Bruce Springsteen
The Crossing: The Pines of Rome I - Ottorino Respighi
The Crown: Take Down the Union Jack - Billy Bragg
The Root: Orgasm Addict - Buzzcocks
The Past: Levi Stubb's Tears - Billy Bragg
The Future: Sea Cruise - Rico
The Questioner: You Woke Up My Neighbourhood - Billy Bragg
The House: Ready to Run - Dixie Chicks
The Inside: Raquel -…
catdynamics | October 15, 2008Lobster market collapse!
Gordon Brown to blame.
Maine Lobster Crisis
"...Faced with high fuel and bait prices, fishermen were able to keep their heads above water with the price at $4 a pound, but the international financial crisis has sent shock waves that were felt in a fault line running from Iceland through Maritime Canada to coastal Maine.
The crisis in Maine is tied directly to the collapse of Icelandic banks which were key lenders to processors in Canada, according to Dane Somers, executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council. Without ready credit from those banks,…