catdynamics | August 18, 2008There are all too few roman a clefs for life in modern academia
Changing Places, of course, and its sequels by Lodge; Smiley's Moo; and the classic, if dated, History Man by Bradbury.
(I'm tempted to add in the Rachel Papers by Amis but I won't.)
Now the legendary pseudonymous Female Science Professor has compiled some of her favourite blog entries into a (self-published) book, thereby attempting to prove that there really are some true gems in the self-publishing industry.
I have not read it, yet, but I am assured it must be good.
You just know it has to be good.
Yes, it really will be…
catdynamics | August 15, 2008Mars haz dust.
Phoenix get atom force microscopy images of individual dust grains
I'm happy.
Hope you're happy too.
more cat pictures
catdynamics | August 15, 2008Frantic friday as summer fares further.
We skip to the Mighty iPod, and curiously query: how will IXO, the surprise hybrid of Con-X and XEUS fare?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
iPod divination for newbies - believe it!
The Covering: The Flight of the Bumble-bee
The Crossing: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra: Variation II: Oboes
The Crown: Við Jólatréð
The Root: Bengali in Platforms - Morrissey
The Past: Sugardaddy - Billy Bragg
The Future: Hello, I Love You - Doors
The Questioner: London's Burning (live) - Clash
The House: (Nothing But) Flowers - Talking Heads
The Inside:…
catdynamics | August 14, 2008Krugman notes headline price inflation, 5.6% for the year, with an instantaneous rate of over 10%.
But, we are not to panic.
Because wages are declining, and the inflation is only commodity driven price inflation, not a wage inflation spiral.
Yeah, that will work.
So, anyone care to bet whether Krugman got a pay cut, a pay raise less than inflation, or a pay raise larger than inflation?
catdynamics | August 13, 2008Cassini did a flyby, piccies are here
Cassini main page
Raw images are online - all 500 or so
catdynamics | August 13, 2008This has been pointed to by many blogs, but just in case you didn't see it...
The ever popular Large Hadron Rap.
It is actually quite good.
Take a peek if you haven't come across it before.
catdynamics | August 13, 2008"...and the guiding is easy"
Yes, the Photomixers have a new video out!
Not as funny as Hotel Mauna Kea, but perfect for a moments distraction late at night at the computertelescope while waiting those five minutes for some autmagic task to complete.
Nice visuals.
catdynamics | August 13, 2008Ever? or Lately?
Julianne over at Cosmic Variance is doing a review of scientific impact of Hubble.
Julianne knows galaxies and stuff.
She wants input on what you feel Hubble has done, big time.
Especially if it involves actual stars and other bits found in galaxies, that make up galaxies or generally are at distances not measured in gigaparsecs...
catdynamics | August 12, 2008The astrodyke found some neat astro stuff
Movie of the variability of the x-ray sky from RXTE
and
Hubble Kaleidoscope from the Onion
catdynamics | August 12, 2008I am really bad about participating in the ScienceBlog collective initiatives, backchatter and other social initiatives
mostly this is because I am too busy or have an overinflated sense of selfimportance, I guess
so, this is a feeble attempt at a remedy:
1) Big Think is doing a Donor Choose challenge - $1 for student science projects (in USA) from Pfizer for clicks.
Er, so go click and stuff.
2) SEED is doing a ScienceBlog audience survey, this is important for their internal understanding of the actual audience, how it compares with their target audience and who they should be recruiting,…
catdynamics | August 12, 2008Brad DeLong channels John Yoo, because he has an obligation to do so
'cause linking is an intrinsic good
catdynamics | August 12, 2008should artificial performance enhancers be permitted in athletics?
Tierney at the NYT argues for "anything goes" for performance enhancement for athletes, specifically in the Olympics, but presumably also in all other sports.
Although as an aside he notes they should not be allowed for minors, presumably on the grounds that they can not make an informed decision.
A major reason to consider performance enhancement is that it is becoming near impossible to detect many modern performance enhancers and that it would be fairer to just open the field and see who has the best pharmacist, and most…
catdynamics | August 11, 2008Finns sweep the championships!
Not The Olympics Edition:
The sauna world championships, that is (or here, with picture).
I don't understand though: the Daily Mail story seems to prove they wore swimsuits!;
and, for some reason the men and women's events were separate; further, where is the ice and snow?
This doesn't sound right, why would any Finn host a sauna championship in the heat of summer?
Someone please tell me they at least provided birch for flogging...
catdynamics | August 11, 2008Don't forget the Perseid meteor shower is tonight
The Perseids are one of the more reliable annual meteor showers, and occur when the Earth passes through the dust tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle.
Gratuitous Perseid image from APoD
Expect rates of about one per minute, best viewing is after the moon sets at about 2 am, it is waningwaxing gibbous, unfortunately, little pastbefore full.
There are some speculations of localised peaks in the rate, the Swift-Tuttle tail is banded, it is relatively young and hasn't smoothed out well as it spreads out along the orbit.
So, may be some half-hour spikes…
catdynamics | August 10, 2008The Mad Scientist, in The Car, with the Flask.
emptywheel has an interesting post on whether Dr Ivins, of anthrax mailer fame, could actually have mailed the anthrax letters from Princeton, and had the correct frank, given his known whereabouts in the morning and afternoon of that day.
Answer is, maybe, if he drove fast, missed traffic, and there was no 5 pm pickup that day at that mailbox...
But, he is a bioweapons scientist, who knows exactly what is involved and has presumably read the report on mailing anthrax spores for maximum disruption.
He has envelopes with 2 gm of anthrax spores…
catdynamics | August 10, 2008"During the Olympic Games a truce or ekecheiria was observed. Three runners known as spondophoroi were sent from Elis to the various participant cities at each set of games to announce the beginning of the truce. During this period armies were forbidden from entering Olympia, wars were suspended and legal disputes and the use of the death penalty were forbidden."
I do not know the details of what happened in South Ossetia, why Saakashvili decided to try to force the issue just now, nor why the Russians decided to react so strongly just now.
Maybe it is to consolidate Russian supremacy in the…
catdynamics | August 8, 2008Fabulous friday, and we have just two letters of the Mighty iPod: VP?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
iPod divination for newbies - Believe it!
The Covering: Visitor for Mr Edmonds - Half Man Half Biscuit
The Crossing: Mbh - Billy Bragg
The Crown: Midnight Log - The Clash
The Root: Song 2 - Blur
The Past: Maria - Green Day
The Future: Menuett F-Dur KV4 - Mozart
The Questioner: My Perfect Cousin - Undertones
The House: Rite of Spring 6. Glorification of the Chosen One, Evocation of the Ancestors, Ritual Action of the Ancestors - Stravinsky
The Inside: Brindisi: Libiamo, Ne' Lieti Calici…
catdynamics | August 7, 2008Too much risk or too little risk?
via Calculated Risk
'cause linking is an intrinsic good