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Dynamics of Cats

Speculations on astronomy, astrophysics, news I find interesting, theoretical issues, science and science policy. I will digress into computational physics, science fiction and general issues and basically whatever I feel like whenever. And, of course, cats.

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steinn.jpg Working for an analytic exactapproximate solution to the herding problem

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June 30, 2006

iPod iChing - LIGO and IMBH ringdowns

Category: random

Topical friday and so we ask the Mighty One a Topical Question:...

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Hubbles News: ACS looks live

Category: astro

Side 2 (spare) electronics were powered up on the Advanced Camera for Surveys. Preliminary indications are that they are in good shape and that the ACS will be live and taking science data again by July 4th. Looks good....

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June 29, 2006

No more Exploding Spaceship Bikini Babes with Large Guns

Category: random

Jim Baen died. He was publisher of Baen Books, the primary source of libertarian and military oriented science fiction, with emphasis on the above. He discovered and promoted some excellent authors, and kept teenage boys everywhere amused for hours....

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June 28, 2006

Song of the Science Policy Successes

Category: science

ScienceBlogger asks: "What are some unsung successes that have occurred as a result of using science to guide policy?" Um, errr......

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Las Cumbres Observatory: A Seriously Good Idea

Category: astro

The Las Cumbres Observatory is a private foundation planning a network of 5-7 homogenous 2m telescopes around the world, and an associate network of smaller educational telescopes for schools....

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launch trail in the sunset

Category: science

From space.com Vandenberg AFB launched an NRO sat on a Delta 4 last night. Launch was scheduled around 8 pm, I had dinner obligations but we sat outside and I was facing the right way, less than perfect angle,...

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Space: top ten strange things

Category: astro

space.com is running the top ten weird things in space. Some of the choices don't seem that strange, but then familiarity does bring contempt. Go vote. Vote early. Vote often....

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June 27, 2006

I am, Spiderman...

Category: random

Your results:You are Spider-Man Spider-Man 70% Hulk 65% Green Lantern 55% Robin 52% Superman 50% Batman 40% Iron Man 40% The Flash 35% Supergirl 30% Catwoman 30% Wonder Woman 20% You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have...

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World Cup Lessons

Category: random

The first few minutes are not warm up. The game is still on even if it is the last minute. Fascinating game Gha vs Bra. The Ghanan's are dominating the midfield and the Brazilians are relying on the quick counter....

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June 26, 2006

40 signs of Rain

Category: random

DC flooded, more on the way You should sooo read this book - 40 signs of rain by KSR NSF panels, biotech, global climate change, NSA, and Tibetan Monks. What more could you want? Sequel is good to....

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Barnard's comet!

Category: astro

There it is, back after a hundred years in the outer system. From CARA - the Cometary Archive for Amateur Astronomers in Italy. Nice one....

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Socceroos!

Category: random

Good game by the Ozzies, they are actually somewhat dominating the midfield at halftime and the Italians are trying to slow things down to regain control. Toni looks a bit off pace, he's had good shots, very good shots, but...

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June 25, 2006

Barnard's Comet of 1889 Returns

Category: astro

The Minor Planet Center reports the discovery by L. Buzzi of the Schiaparelli Observatory, Varese, Italy of comet P/2006 M3. Computations by Green strongly suggests it is Barnard's comet of 1889 (c). Returning with a about a 128 year period....

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Please learn from my mistake

Category: random

Quick trip to California, and between life, the neighbours dogs, and a late connection I was drive to the ultimate in desperation......

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Sad news from Santa Cruz

Category: academia

The newly instated University of California at Santa Cruz Chancellor, Prof D. Denton died saturday in San Francisco in a fall from a tall building....

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June 23, 2006

iPod iChing -the deathspirals...

Category: random

Rainy friday, and we approach the mighty iPod with a topical question. Oh, mighty iPod, when LISA is finally launched, will it see shitloads of EMRIs? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh....

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June 22, 2006

In Defence of Hawking: Daily Show and Colbert attack

Category: random

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are on a roll tonight. I too think the WSJ editorial board should be left behind to tough it out in the event of a suitable catastrophe. like the SCOTUS ruling gay marriage constitutional....

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Ask a Sb: What makes a good science teacher?

Category: academia

I don't know. But I'll answer anyway....

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Skyr

Category: random

I just bought $100 of skyr. Vanilla and blueberry, both. And I transported it across State boundaries. And now I am going to enjoy it. With my wife. The kids are asleep. Phbt....

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June 21, 2006

Hubble Trouble: ACS down

Category: astro

NASAwatch reports ACS outage Electronics problems. ACS observations suspended for a week while a tiger team studies the issue. Could be resolved quickly, or could be Really Bad News....

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How do you despin a black hole?

Category: astro

From Andrew Hamilton's black hole image collection There are, for most practical purposed, two qualitatively distinct types of black holes: Schwarzschild - which are spherical and not spinning and Kerr - axisymmetric and spinning So... I know how to...

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June 20, 2006

Moon gets hit

Category: astro

Video of meteor striking the Moon Bad Astronomy has it also Comparable to the one that hit Norway recently! oops. video bit too big, cut header image down and left link, go take a peek...

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Women in Academia: Stars

Category: academia

RPM writes about a senior female scientist resigning a post over a failure to hire a female editor Astronomy is one of the sciences with very low senior female presence, not the lowest, but way down there. The incident...

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that's unusual

Category: random

Seen on floppingaces.net Operation "Valiant Shield" - 3 aircraft carriers doing operations together in the Pacific, off Guam, first time in 30 years. USS Enterprise is in the Persian gulf and as far as I can tell three other...

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2-2

Category: random

Bloomin' heck, that combined the best and worst football I've seen for a while. Good fun, but both teams need to be a bit more consistent if they're going to get through the next round... Sunday morning should be...

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There's Gold in them thar Spacecraft: LISA 6

Category: astro

The actual LISA spacecraft Or, one of the three modules....

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A random shortcut

Category: science

Beautiful post by Tara on network connectivity and outbreak of exponential spread in disease transmission....

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June 19, 2006

Seeing in the Dark: LISA 6

Category: astro

Bats' ears at AMNH To really see in the dark, at some point you must abandon the light......

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June 18, 2006

The Italian Diving Team

Category: random

Happy Father's Day! The Big Kid sat through all of USA vs Italy, and enjoyed it....

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June 16, 2006

iPod iChing - to infinity and beyond

Category: random

It is friday, and I am late. We ask the Great and Mighty iPod: is there a reason for us to get a manned presence off Earth on a time scale of a century or less? Whoosh goes the...

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17 years in harbour

Category: random

Hvalur 8 RE-388 The Icelandic whaling fleet has been in harbour for 17 years now....

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Answer a ScienceBlogger

Category: academia

How is it that all the PIs (Tara, PZ, Orac et al.), various grad students, post-docs, etc. find time to fulfill their primary objectives (day jobs) and blog so prolifically?......

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I feel all dirty now

Category: random

So, I popped down to the campus bookstore and browsed C*u*ters latest tome on the "Church of Liberalism"......

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Donors Choose - SEED charity match

Category: random

SEED is doing a $10,000 match to charity donations to the "Donors Choose" educational charity. Sounds like a good cause, and a lot of the Sb bloggers jumped in. If you want to chip in, go for it, can...

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June 15, 2006

Conservative Cosmology

Category: astro

I am hearing an irritating buzz in my ear... Apparently cosmology is liberal. Can someone tell me, what is a conservative cosmology? And what is the distinction?...

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so you know

Category: astro

Astrology is crap You can not buy a star name Yes, there really was a Big Bang...

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In defence of space cadets

Category: astro

So Stephen Hawking spoke in defence of off-planet colonization and got pounced by, among others, a trio of tough sciencebloggers. Shelley, grrlscientist, and PZ. Also Chris Clarke......

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One of my favourite clusters

Category: astro

European Southern Observatory press release on globular cluster 47 Tucanae 47 Tuc is one of my favourite globulars. It is large, quite dense, metal rich as globulars go, and it is gorgeous. It is full of pulsars, blue stragglers,...

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Sex is better sober

Category: science

Aftenposten reports a survey of 1736 Norwegians finds the majority think sex is better sober The majority is larger for the women. A full 1/4 of the men, and a surprising 1/5 of the women think sex is better...

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June 14, 2006

Maybe the Norwegians can borrow the spare

Category: astro

the Spirit Rover discovers a possible meteorite, on Mars That is one way to find a meteorite, I wonder how the Rover spares would do north and east of Tromsø in mid-summer, there's Nkr 100,000 at stake. About 870...

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Dangeral Freedom

Category: academia

Bérubé pontificates on Academic Freedom Read it. I don't want to tell you how much time was wasted chasing down the false allegation of the the "bio instructor who showed a Michael Moore movie in class" last year, this...

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Guardian mail orders 1/2000th of smallpox virus

Category: science

Interesting piece of journalism by the Grauniad They ordered a 78 "letter" piece of DNA for a smallpox envelope protein. As they note, the actual genome is rather longer than that, but as they also note, there are techniques for...

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June 13, 2006

Day in the life...

Category: random

Pancake family brunch; soccer (Big Kid playing, me assistant coach temp); ballet (family appreciation day); pig roast with belly dancing (really, organic pig at that). There are worse ways to spend a day....

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Call that a meteorite?

Category: astro

As reported by Uncertain Principles and Bad Astronomy, there was a meteorite impact in Northern Norway - Tromsø area....

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June 12, 2006

World Cup - commentating lows

Category: random

Ok, I caught 5 mins of ESPN coverage this afternoon (during a commercial break in SpongeBob), and the commentator is standing in a suit, on an open floor, holding a soccer ball. Why is he doing that?...

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Eating Sb Pi

Category: random

Jane over at Ethics and Science tags the New Kids on the block with a Neighbourhood Pi mem We obey, and please mam, may we have some more?...

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June 11, 2006

Answer a Science Blogger

Category: random

Stochastic, our master's voice, asks: Assuming that time and money were not obstacles, what area of scientific research, outside of your own discipline, would you most like to explore? Why? Well, of course it'd be...

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June 9, 2006

iPod iChing - Oh Brave New World!

Category: random

Every friday, life permitting, we do an "iPod iChing". It is well known that the randomizer on the iPod is oracular, and in recent times it has been used widely on the Net as a fountain of wisdom. ......

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The Origin of Dust

Category: astro

Spitzer has an interesting press release... Dusty SN2003gd The Spitzer infrared space observatory recently did followup imaging of a type II supernova in the nearby spiral galaxy M74. Type II supernovae occur when a short lived massive star (>...

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