catdynamics | April 4, 2008Rainy, rainy friday, again.
So, we have consulted and met, and we ask the iPod: you know what we ask, what should we do?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz - Three Tenors
The Crossing: Walk of Life - Dire Straits
The Crown: A New England - Billy Bragg
The Root: San Antonio Foam Party - Half Man, Half Biscuit
The Past: Let's Do Rock Steady - Bodysnatchers
The Future: Peter & the Wolf: Grandfather - Prokoviev
The Questioner: Meet on the Ledge - Fairport Convention
The House: De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da - Police
The Inside: In Un Palco Della Scala -…
catdynamics | April 1, 2008What would you do about Yoo at UC?
Brad deLong contemplates a moral issue - can a colleague's tenure be challenged for his actions outside academia, and if so in what circumstances.
At issue is Prof Yoo's long classified memo from the Department of Justice offering legal rationale for torture based on a theory of unitary executive.
The memo is, by all accounts, shoddy at best, profoundly dishonest at worst.
It also appears, to a non-lawyer, to subvert the Constitution of the United States and to act to actively undermine the Federal Government.
It is not against academic principles to argue…
catdynamics | April 1, 2008All of these are true:
Iceland is being attacked by bankrupt bears
This is why you do not want to do that
Economists actually use the "percentage" buttons on calculators
catdynamics | April 1, 2008stumble on the step
slug flies high, I lose my zen
sad inner eye cries
I must go to California ASAP and confront my materialism
catdynamics | April 1, 2008it is a busy news day, with a number of breakthroughs reported in different fields, and a lot of changes here at ScienceBlogs
I'll try to update as more reports come in
The Quantum Pontiff reports a potential breakthrough in quantum computing using bleeding edge fusion technology.
Virgle, a new joint venture between Virgin Galactic and Google, has bought Mars. Markets rose on the announcement.
There are rumours that the SEC was to investigate Google for insider trading, and that they had abused their privileged position at Ames to find out about the NASA breakthrough propulsion technology,…
catdynamics | March 31, 2008NASA announced this morning that the upgraded USS Enterprise successfully launched from Edwards AFB, mounting a new retrofitted main engine system.
USS Enterprise OV-101b coming in for landing from its surprise morning mission.
The Enterprise has been secretly refurbished with a new main engine system, and Cpt A. Stern, who recently stepped down from NASA's SMD took her for a first test drive - they picked up the New Horizons probe on the way and dropped it off at its intended destination, "I didn't want to have to wait any longer" Cpt Stern cryptically commented.
Hubble images of the…
catdynamics | March 31, 2008The essence of a good prank is to know when to stop
The incident of the Hula skirt was mildly amusing, although not really in the rank of Great Pranks of All Time, or even Great Pranks I Have Personally Experienced.
It was also mildly irritating, because it so happened my class quiz was out on my desk over that weekend, along with other random sensitive information like proposals for review, personnel letters and budget information.
Not that I think the pranksters were after that, or looked at it - if I thought they had, based on forensics, my reaction would have been different.
My main…
catdynamics | March 30, 2008The Chaos Computer Club, in an inspired hack to draw attention to some of the idiocies of biometric IDs, lifted the fingerprint of the German Interior Minister
they then published it, in their newsletter, on a plastic film for use as fake biometric on an ID scanner.
With instruction on how to do it with any set of lifter fingerprints, of course.
"Full Steam Ahead"
h/t y-ranter
read the rest of the y-ranter on some other shenaningans, including the underage arms supplier for the Pentagon, and the Mahdi army acquiring some Russian SAMs
catdynamics | March 30, 2008Obama giving a stump speech on the lawn just down from my office.
Good turnout, good weather, good speech.
Had to bail before the end, very intense crowd - Sen Casey, the PSU quarterback and Jay and Sue Paterno in attendance.
Standard speech, but he really does give amazingly good speeches, easily best I have heard, including some very good Euro pols.
catdynamics | March 28, 2008
Did I mention that our undergraduate students are really awesome!
Well, it is raining.
catdynamics | March 28, 2008Rainy friday. Wot? No Snow? Must be spring already.
So we bounce over to the Mighty iPod and ask, most chirpily: WTF was going on down at HQ?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Money - Pink Floyd
The Crossing: Introduction - The Lilac Fairy: Nutcracker - Tchaikovsky
The Crown:Fun, Fun, Fun - Beach Boys
The Root: Benjamin Franklin - Illinois school children
The Past: Love Rescue Me - U2
The Future: Pull The Wires From The Walls - The Delgados
The Questioner: Whiteness Thy Name is Meltonian - Half Man Half Biscuit
The House: I Want Candy - Bow Wow Wow
The Inside: Young Person…
catdynamics | March 26, 2008space.com interview with Weiler
he is, necessarily, non-committal on policy changes - sounds like the Mars folks have some tension over early sample return vs multiple medium sized flight ops
scary bit is the comment on university R&A - sounds like the individual PI grants are going to take a hit again
New Scientist confirms that Mather also stepped down at the same time as Chief Scientist. But, reading between the lines, sounds like they heard it from the same source I did and I haven't seen a confirmation from NASA on that.
The big known problem on the horizon is the Mars Science Lab…
catdynamics | March 26, 2008Quintessence - Obama
Cosmological Constant - Clinton
We don't need no steenkin' dark energy - McCain
Discuss.
catdynamics | March 26, 2008Stern out as SMD head.
Weiler in.
"NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin issued the following statement Wednesday regarding the announcement that Dr. S. Alan Stern, NASA associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, has decided to leave the agency.
"Alan has rendered invaluable service to NASA as the Principal Investigator for the Pluto/New Horizons mission, as a member of the NASA Advisory Council, and as the associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate. While I deeply regret his decision to leave NASA, I understand his reasons for doing so, and wish him all the…
catdynamics | March 25, 2008it has been yonks since I randomly rambled about middle eastern muddles, so why not now...
apparently some interesting things have happened: al-Sadr's Mahdi army has ended its truce and is fighting the Iraqi government and US troops - this could get confusing if the Iranians are backing both Shiite factions, or not.
And the Sunnis are getting peeved at broken promises, hoocoodanode?
At least the Turks seem to be no longer "excursing" into Iraq (how many divisions does it take to change from excursion to intrusion?).
Israelis are claiming that Hizbollah sent fighters (battalion units?) to…
catdynamics | March 25, 2008hm, so there is this country, facing a declining currency, rising inflation, turmoil in the stock market with large fluctuations in key indices on short terms, real estate market bubble that looks like it might be popping, and concern that risk perception is leading to an acute credit crunch
so... the central bank calls an emergency meeting and does what one should, as they have done before (though never quite so drastically)
Iceland raises interest rates to 15%
inflation is driven by increasing commodity costs and devaluing currency, although, unlike the US, Iceland is seeing some wage…
catdynamics | March 24, 2008would the person who left the flowery hula skirt in my office this weekend please come and collect it...
an explanation for how it got there would also be useful.
catdynamics | March 23, 2008Happy Holidays!
May his Noodly Appendages tickle you on this most festive of days.
Pagans often fail to understand the traditions of Pastafarianism.
As with all the other major faiths, the CoFSM has its traditions, its holy days.
Some have, admittedly, been compromised from their pure origin to accommodate the realities of modern life, and scholars make persuasive arguments that the early church parents co-opted the traditions, and pagan rituals of other faiths.
We are now in the holiest of all the Pasta days, the legendary Spaghetti Harvest.
As the docmentary above shows, this is an…