Dynamics of Cats

Really Scary

Category: astro

Me, in a suit, on the Daily Show (old NASA video clip)

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 4:09 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

pumpkin nebula

Category: astro

seasonal pretty pictures...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 10:03 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

steal from the best...

Category: academia

article claims the new US Army "Counterinsurgency Manual" is substantially plagiarised...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:50 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

atlantic carriers deploying?

Category: random

li'l news items of note:...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:14 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

scary shorts for faculty

Category: academia

seasonal snippets for our seniors...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 3:30 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

maybe JoePa should try a lateral

Category: random

most fun football game since Cal vs Stanford or maybe USC vs UCLA shootout of 1990

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:53 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Harry Potter and the Redemption of Deconstructionism

Category: academia

love of fellow man, sacrifice and redemption - deconstruction of Harry

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:55 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

iPod iChing - wazzup

Category: random

It is a rainy, autumnal friday, and many things are in mind. So, oh Mighty iPod One. What lies in store for us in the next year? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 12:40 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

LOLcat Bible

Category: random

LOLcat Bible: official translation wiki Say no more. h/t kos...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 3:41 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

#1 blog meme

Category: random

From Chad, statements typed into Google which return this blog as the top hit...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 3:04 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

children of our time

Category: academia

Schools around here get a lot of parent volunteers and rely heavily on them. Some of the kids have an interesting attitude about this....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:05 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

return of Santa Ana?

Category: science

Accuweather is now forecasting return of Santa Ana conditions late saturday persisting for sunday and monday - though not predicted to be as strong as this week's winds. This is bad news for the wildfire situation in southern california,...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 1:44 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Life on a lonely planet

Category: astro

Free floating Earth-Moon systems in interstellar space may sustain a biosphere.

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 3:31 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Palomar threatened? - update

Category: astro

San Diego Tribune is reporting the reservation fire has reached South Grade road on Palomar mountain. Am I correct in thinking this is the switchback road that goes straight up to the observatory? So the fire is 5-10 miles away...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 9:18 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Grauniad of America

Category: random

The Guardian: America Ooh. h/t Brad deLong...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:52 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

duh

Category: random

One of the minor joys in life is to pick a sporty-ish car out of the executive-elite-super-premium-platinum line at the car rental at LAX and hit the three-level exchange in downtown LA with KROQ on heading for Pasadena, as long...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 1:55 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

carrier watch watch

Category: random

The Yorkshire Ranter avoids the topic of rugby, but does summarises the current strategic situation - the US carrier groups are refurbishing (well, the Kitty Hawk just left harbour for fall deployment and exercises in the west pacific, and...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:06 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

think globally act erratically

Category: science

I have family (in-laws) and lots of old friends in SoCal, so I checked in on the fires on-line this morning - looks bad. But, really, it is a local disaster, right?...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:45 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

FYI

Category: random

Some time ago I was asked to nominate candidates for an honorary degree from Penn State. For the record, I nominated V. Wilson (née Plame), Penn State alumnae, for services to the nation. I was thanked, most politely, for...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:43 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

indecisions '08

Category: random

in a rational US the '08 election would be...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:32 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

iPod iChing -

Category: random

Stormy, angry friday. So, we ask the Mighty iPod - anything big going to break in early/mid January? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:43 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Osama bin Laden hates Björk

Category: random

and apparently he is afraid of Geysir......

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 12:17 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

on the failure of capitalism

Category: random

phone company rant #2

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:39 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Principles for Academic Survival

Category: academia

a report from the ad hoc subcomittee for the review and abolition of committees, of the committee on committees

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:55 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

lo tech

Category: random

Nine years ago, in what seemed like a good move at the time, I bought a BIG box of "overhead transparencies"...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 3:18 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

should I go to Texas?

Category: astro

The deadline for registering for the next annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society is coming up on wednesday......

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 4:22 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

spitting jewels

Category: astro

random thoughts on the discovery that black hole outflows contain rubies and sapphires Corundum grains are always nice, even a micron at a time....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:37 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

sign of the times

Category: random

playing "cowboys and indians" is no longer cool

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:32 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

it's a joke

Category: science

The NSF is doing a time audit (Nature 4 Oct p 512 - sub) to check that grant recipients are actually spending the promised time on their research....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 12:37 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

iPod iChing - Inconvenient Truths

Category: random

A Most Noble Autumnal friday. So we ask the Mighty and Omnipotent iPod: what now for Al Gore? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 12:00 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Grand Slam

Category: science

Congratulations to the IPCC and Al Gore for the Nobel Peace Prize...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 10:11 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Euro Nobels

Category: science

This year Nobel prizes, to date, are a sweep for Europe. Is this a trend, or a fluke?...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 10:28 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

yet more NASA snippets

Category: astro

I have once more ventured within one of the strange spiky toroidal concrete circles that envelope US centers of power, and I emerge with unverified anecdotal speculative rumours...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:35 PM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

swinging both ways

Category: astro

do you lead, or trail?...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 10:38 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

another good deedy

Category: random

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 10:31 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

10,000 reasons to vote for Shelley

Category: random

CollegeScholarships.org is offering $10,000 to the student blogger who...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 10:23 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Nobel in Physics - Fert and Grunberg

Category: science

2007 Nobel Prize in physics goes to Fert and Grünberg for Giant Magnetoresistance...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 7:56 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

iPod iChing - a most Nobel endeavour

Category: random

It is the season for the Swedish Academy to ponder, and we ask the Mighty iPod, what is your prediction for who will win the Nobel Prize this year? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 12:00 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

"Golden Dragons" are coming home

Category: random

Army's most deployed brigade coming home 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division is packing up and headed home. Finally....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 4:43 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Hillary on science

Category: science

Hillary on science. Itemized policy list. Wonkish. Substantive. Interesting she chose to speak on it at all.

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 3:29 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

astrobiology 2.0

Category: astro

I gather NASA has discovered web 2.0 and social networking. From a series of very interesting conversations I've had recently had, there is both growing awareness of a semi-official NASA presence in web 2.0 realms, and an interest in making...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:54 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Rumours of War

Category: random

"Life goes on as it did before As the country drifts slowly to war"...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 10:13 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

iPod iChing - next 50 years

Category: random

Hot and sultry friday. Happy, happy autumn. So, we ask the iPod, in commemmoration of yestarday's anniversary... This whole space travel thing, what will come of that? Whoosh goes the randomizer. Whoosh....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 9:59 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

science funding snippets

Category: science

Mikulski-Hutchison put in extra billion into NASA appropriations in Senate and HR3737 - House votes to save Arecibo - doesn't come with money, just orders to NSF. I bow in awe to Cornell's powers....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:27 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

war of the sexes

Category: random

"Girls go to College to get more knowledge; Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider" by Á. age 6 1/4...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 10:44 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

New Travelers: Philosophia Naturalis #14

Category: astro

Fifty years ago today, the first tiny step was taken off planet. We may be more introspective nowadays, but we sure know how to Have Fun 2.0 Here is a selection of finds from the blogosphere, trawled up over the...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 12:00 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

avatar

Category: random

anyone know who was first to use avatar in fiction to describe the virtual persona representation of a real person either in cyberspace or as telepresence? It is not in True Names, which would have been my first guess....

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:57 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

NASA snippet

Category: astro

NASA may be rolling back their "full cost accounting" scheme...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:09 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

worst f'ing Icelandic accent ever

Category: random

Ugh. Outfit is wrong. Flag colour is wrong (shade of blue, dood) And no no no hockey sticks! You think we're Finns or something?...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:24 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

what the "more reasonable people" are saying

Category: random

"ten dead American soldiers and four burned trucks"...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 2:54 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Bushehr rumours

Category: random

unconfirmed report that Russia pulled all its technicians out of Bushehr...

Read on »

Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson at 11:28 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks