Follow the link to see some wicked awesome pictures of the Large Hadron Collider. They’re “Wicked Awesome” because the pictures are from the Boston Globe. At least I didn’t use “Wicked Pissa!” Update: Best comment on the comment stream: “pfft this thing again? i have one in my backyard.”
Category Archives: Science
Another Myth Comes Tumbling Down
Apparently the quote commonly attributed to Wolfgang Pauli, “This isn’t right; it’s not even wrong!” might not have been said by the man. It’s possible that it grew in the telling. It’s such a great quote, though, no matter who crafted it.
Anti-Plush
Physics is Phun points us toward a website that sells plush toys that represent the various subatomic particles, both actual and theoretical. I point out that they missed something that comes straight from the science fiction canon. I’m daring to assume here that not everyone already reading my blog is reading Jim’s.
We're All Hypocrites
I read a science article in the NY Times yesterday about how we have the innate ability to justify our choices, internally, despite an objective evaluation that what we did was immoral in a general sense. It seems that when presented with the choice between an easy task or a hard task, knowing that another …
Are MMORPGs Addictive?
Cognitive Daily shows the results from a limited study of how several computer games affect college students. Are MMORPGs the new reefer? Perhaps. I do not play WOW or Age of Conan or any of the other MMORPGs. I’ve refused because I’ve seen since the inception of Ultima and EverQuest just how much valuable time …
Poison Ivy
Today’s Xkcd hits a bit close to home for me. One of my fun surprises when I moved to Atlanta was just how big poison ivy can grow around here. A tip: if you’re hiking in Georgia, don’t lean against the four-inch-thick hairy vine that’s growing up the side of a tree. For that matter, …
New Walking Robot
Cornell has pushed the envelope when it comes to designing machines to efficiently move themselves around. A walking robot, intended to show walking energy-efficiency rather than self-reliance, has walked 5.6 miles on one battery charge, which from the size of the robot seems impressive. Check out the link for the news release.
Blog Withdrawal -or- LOLCATS are eating my Soul
I’ve spent the last 6 weeks to two months ignoring the blogosphere, even my own tiny segment of it. This has consequences. For one thing, those persons who are used to having me drop my tidbits of wisdom on their comment streams are being denied my presence. For another, I’m entirely out of date on …
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Evolution in 10 minutes
Gacked from the Bad Astronomer’s blog. Oftentimes, you have to already have a degree in biology to refute the weird assertions people make about evolution. That speciation hasn’t been observed is one I always have a problem with because, ahem, I’m not a biologist and I don’t keep the details at the front of my …
Chemistry et Oscillation
Jim Cronen, of Jamescronen.com, twittered about this youtube video. It’s wicked. Make sure you go to his site if you have comments. Edit: 2204. Right after I posted this, my little quote engine in the sidebar came up with Charlie was a Chemist But Charlie is no more What Charlie thought was H20 Was H2SO4