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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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April 30, 2007

three-peat

Category: astro

Neil de Grasse Tyson on the Colbert Report tonight. Third time. Talking Gliese 581 and "Night at the Planetarium" - the sequel. Excellent....

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April 29, 2007

fair cop

Category: astro

What is a fair non-science criterion for changing proposal funding priorities?...

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trans-Atlantic grumbles

Category: random

is it just me, or is it becoming genuinely hard to find a finite priced trans-atlantic flight this summer? to anywhere over the pond. I've done a fair bit of travel on these routes over the years and I...

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Don't look directly at Margaret

Category: astro

This is what happens when astronamers mix up the paperwork.

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April 27, 2007

elegance in foreign policy

Category: random

Russia has suspended its compliance with the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe over the issue of US forward based missile defence systems...

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World Bank Science Diluted

Category: science

Finanicial Times story on Wolfowitz aide trying to take out references to climate change in World Bank report via Brad deLong...

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iPod iChing - Wazzup with COROT Bro?

Category: random

Early stormy friday, and we ask the Omniscient iPod to prognosticate What will we hear from the early COROT discovery announcement due any day now? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh....

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Philosophia Naturalis #9

Category: astro

Philosophia Naturalis #9 is up at Science and Reason Lots of good stuff....

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April 26, 2007

NASA and political vulnerabilities

Category: science

Was NASA science funding redirected for party political purposes leading up to the 2004 or 2006 elections?...

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not fair?

Category: science

Shelley at Retrospectacle ran into a corporate tangle of moronicity to cut a long story short, she used a figure from a paper in discussing the article, which seems to be clear "fair use", and got a lawyer letter from...

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perspective

Category: academia

In 2005, Jon Stewart, who, may I say, is a comic genius and one of the top two or three deliverers of media news to the US populace, was paid $1.5 million for his work. In 2006, Mather and...

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April 25, 2007

systemic planet finding

Category: astro

if you want to help find planets, in the comfort of your home (as opposed to staying up all night on cold clear winter evenings), there is a place that you can go......

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told you so

Category: astro

we predicted Gliese 581 might have a planet in the habitable zone?!

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The Golden Dragons

Category: astro

2nd Battalion, 14th Regiment, 10th (Light) Infantry Division Busy folks....

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April 24, 2007

Planet in the Zone (Breaks Embargo)

Category: astro

The Swiss-French planet hunter team have a new interesting discovery. A low mass "super Earth" in a potential habitable zone. Nature news story UPDATE: Details are up on the Extrasolar Planet Encyclopedia and Udry's web page and here is the...

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April 23, 2007

spin

Category: random

do minor errors ruin good books?...

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100,000,000,000

Category: science

One hundred billion. One hundred thousand million. That is a lot, in most contexts. Astronomical even. Apparently, if you ask nicely, know the right people, you can have it, in cash. US dollars. Off budget, no questions asked, no supervision,...

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in search of the perfect hotel

Category: academia

it may be immodest, but there are a small number of things a hotel should do to achieve perfection......

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AGILE launch

Category: astro

AGILE - Italian gamma ray observatory, like a faster, lighter GLAST - launched successfully...

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April 20, 2007

pet food gone bad

Category: science

The toxic pet food problem is not going away...

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NASA: we hear that...

Category: astro

The Astrophysics division at the Science Mission Directorate has been renamed and has a new director....

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iPod iChing - what is the harm?

Category: random

Oh, mighty iPod, it is a sunny, scary friday, and we ask hubmly: is dark energy really bad for astronomy? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh....

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April 18, 2007

unintended consequences pt 2

Category: random

The humble 35mm film is rapidly vanishing, vanquished by ever improving digital cameras. But, in the process we're losing an invaluable resource:...

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April 16, 2007

la, la, la

Category: astro

Well, I got out of DC ahead of the latest Weather Channel paroxysm. Since I am now apparently a minor agent of chaos with deistic powers, I confidently predict snow in Happy Valley tonight. Pasadena is as lovely as...

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April 14, 2007

Well, knock me over with a feather...

Category: astro

Gravity Probe B reports its first results at the APS meeting......

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Reagan is going home

Category: random

USS Reagan is headed home...

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April 13, 2007

iPod iChing - early prognostications

Category: random

In view of the weather, we ask the iPod: wazzup iPod? Anything exciting coming our way? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh....

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April 12, 2007

Murphy's Supernova

Category: astro

I confidently predict when the next galactic supernova will take place......

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April 11, 2007

Vonnegut RIP

Category: random

Kurt Vonnegut RIP Dratt....

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arXiv mining: day 100

Category: astro

More than one paper per day is being submitted on dark energy

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April 10, 2007

The Sun Kings

Category: astro

In the autumn of 1859, the Earth was hit by a massive coronal ejection from the Sun. Aurora flared worldwide, compasses went wild and the telegraph system crashed....

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she's baaack

Category: random

Björk held an outdoor concert monday night to introduce her new album, Volta...

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April 9, 2007

"And the sun came up this morning"

Category: random

An ode to Princeton Professors: Don't try this at home......

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A modest offer

Category: random

Uwe Reinhardt, the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton makes a bold suggestion in the Daily Princetonian:...

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where to now?

Category: random

The aircraft carrier USS Reagan and its Carrier Strike Group have concluded 7th fleet operations...

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April 8, 2007

do they know what they like?

Category: science

'cause it is not art? The WaPo did something interesting:...

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April 7, 2007

an imminent crisis in astronomy

Category: astro

über, duper; hyper, super!...

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Baghdad, Indiana

Category: random

"like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime"...

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April 6, 2007

iPod iChing - to infinity and beyond

Category: random

Oh Good, Friday it is then. By special request, here in the urban area in which the true scientific miracle of the oracular omniscience of the iPod was first revealed, we ask a burning question: which of the Beyond...

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April 4, 2007

Beyond Einstein IV: Showdown in Chicago

Category: astro

The National Research Council's Assessment Committee for the Beyond Einstein program had a townhall meeting here in the Windy City. Much to my surprise, I was there also....

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planning

Category: academia

bloomin' heck, it is snowing!...

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April 3, 2007

Bushehr Installed

Category: random

Iran claims Bushehr nuclear power station is "logistically complete"...

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A Chief Scientist

Category: astro

John Mather is head of the Office of the Chief Scientist at NASA...

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Pet Food, Gluten and Food

Category:

The poisoned pet food story keeps getting bigger and more worrying. Pretty clear that some food grade (as opposed to feed grade) wheat gluten was in the contaminated batch and that the FDA is worried it got into the human...

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Bee CCD

Category: science

Apparently Bee hives are suffering massive die offs in parts of the US...

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arrogant astronomers

Category: astro

It seems likely astronomers are the most arrogant of academia!...

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April 2, 2007

High School Sex Networks

Category: academia

Bee at Backreaction points to a use for graph theory...

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Spinning Yarns

Category: astro

In honour of the occasion, Sean decided to poke the string theory pile It is an interesting thread, including the comments....

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playing in the sandbox

Category: academia

My student just got deployed to Iraq.

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April 1, 2007

now they just have to figure a way to monetize it...

Category: random

I think I finally figured what is going on with Iran and the hostages and the nuclear fuel and the aircraft carriers......

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life in a small town

Category: random

I don't know which is more annoying - seeing blue & maize clad athletes carrying another enormous trophy away from Penn State on the plane (well, two, actually, apparently, for men and women's gymnasts); or the fact that it even...

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