Steinn Sigurðsson
Professor of Astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University. Science Editor at Astrophysical Journal. Icelandic. Herder of Cats.
catdynamics
Posts by this author
December 29, 2006
Last friday of the year, so we ask the Mighty iPod - what will be up in the next year?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Truth No. 2 - Dixie Chicks
The Crossing: Hickory Dickory Dock
The Crown: Torture Me - Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Root: Lack of Knowledge - Violent Femmes
The Past…
December 28, 2006
I am doing an NSF study on career outcomes for NSF applicants and grant recipients.
The above is, verbatim, a question.
I guess the survey writer either has a very good sense of humour, or none at all.
December 27, 2006
COROT launched successfully on a Soyuz
COROT is a small transit survey telescope, launched by CNES (France) to look for low mass planets. Secondary science is astroseismology and stellar structure from high precision photometry time series.
Good luck.
December 26, 2006
What's a time in your career when you were criticized extremely harshly by someone you respect? Did it help you or set your career back?...
When I were a lad we used to have to walk to grad school, barefoot through the snow, up-hill both ways.
Not. I actually lived 1.5 blocks from my office, in…
December 25, 2006
Gleðileg Jól!
Another blast from the past of Ye Olde Blogge
You're in grad school. Yay.
Now wtf do you do...
Well, you need to jump through the hurdles first.
Most places have some course and seminar requirements, you may in some cases test out of them or waive them, but think about whether you…
December 24, 2006
More repeats from Ye Olde Blogge
So you want to be an astrophysicist?
You've suffered through 3-4 years of undergrad, and you're ready for more.
You picked the places to apply to (or have you...?), and you're ready for the paperwork.
So what do you do. First you apply to the departments. As a rule…
December 23, 2006
Razib reminds us of the reason for the season
So celebrate the Feast of Holy St Thorlacius. Eat some rotten skate.
'Cause you never know, the Sun might not come up tomorrow if you don't.
Any excuse...
December 23, 2006
Prospective graduate students: for when you visit - a classic
December 22, 2006
2007 year budget to clone the 2006 budget with no earmarks or emergency appropriations
This implies no increases for NASA or NSF.
"...NASA expects to adjust priorities within the Science, Aeronautics and Exploration appropriations account to manage the impact."
This is otherwise know as "find some…
December 22, 2006
Billy Bragg podcast #6 is up: Talking with the Taxman about Poetry
Oh, joyous season!
December 22, 2006
Seasonal friday, and we ask the iPod quickly: What IS The One Sentence Summary?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Fantasia
The Crossing: Spring - Vivaldi
The Crown: Flesh and Blood - Roxy Music
The Root: Do You Really Want to Hurt Me - Roxy Music
The Past: King Rocker - Generation…
December 22, 2006
Print your own Hubble Holiday cards
For those who rightly feel that any card postmarked before the 13th day of Winter Solstice counts...
Spotted on Bad Astronomy
December 22, 2006
Bummer, witnesses too.
"...Children watched in horror as a Santa Claus collapsed and died as he handed out presents at a Christmas party on Sunday..."
Fortunately some of us have 13 christmas elves to fall back on.
The rest of you will probably have to rely on Tim Allen...
December 21, 2006
Happy Winter Solstice!
Gleðileg Jól!
Festive Yule.
I just wrote "Merry Christmas" in elvish.
You see, we found ourselves in a position where we have folded four separate winter solstice festival traditions into the season, much the the delight of the munchkins.
However, the Big Kid is definitely…
December 21, 2006
So, you want to be an astrophysicist? You're an undergraduate, doing astronomy or physics (or possibly engineering, mathematics or computer science, or something), should you go to grad school?
Yet another repost installment from Ye Olde Blogge
Why is there a question? Well, it is several years of…
December 20, 2006
ATP and BEFS selections have been announced, and letters should have arrived.
Well, except maybe in Colorado +/- 1 state.
Sounds like hit rate was about 12-15%. Fewer submitted proposals than I'd have expected, somewhat higher success rate (but not high enough...).
More worryingly, ROSES '07 is…
December 20, 2006
More re-runs from Ye Olde Blogge
So, now you're at university, and you're headed for grad school ...
(the following is horribly UScentric, 'cause that's where I am right now, the general principles are broadly applicable, the actual getting into grad school procedure bit in future post will be both…
December 20, 2006
This is completely unrelated to anything.
But, why is the Texas hold'em version of poker the one that is currently so popular?
I don't gamble. Don't have any emotional need to, and know far too much mathematics to even contemplate it.
Only temptation I've ever had to do so was in considering…
December 20, 2006
US considers naval build-up as warning to Iran
"...Under the proposed build-up, first reported by CBS television, the Pentagon would send an aircraft carrier to join one already in the region. The proposed deployment was described as a message to Tehran not to take provocative steps, and was not…
December 19, 2006
Part 2 of Ye Olde Blog So You Want To Be an Astrophysicist? series.
Lightly re-edited.
Should you do astronomy as an undergrad? (the following is in part shamelessly cribbed from prof Charlton's freshman seminar for our majors):
Do you like stars and stuff? If not, you probably should look for an…
December 18, 2006
Lightly edited reruns from Ye Olde Blog.
This is part 0, tentatively aimed at US high school students wanted to end up doing an astrophysics PhD.
(rant on US high school system observed from outside deleted - see link above if you care).
So, what should YOU do, wanting to get into a good…
December 18, 2006
NASA and Google announce a formal relationship (from NASAwatch)
Google is God.
Do no evil.
Best of all, Google is much prompter and more efficient about disbursing payment...
...hey, that gives me an idea.
Use google rank to allocated PI funds! Dood.
Entirely different ways to game the system!
...…
December 18, 2006
Having rolled through the Icelandic cover of Jona Lewie's "Stop the Cavalry" in my random walk through seasonal music, I had the misfortune of hitting a cover of "Merry Xmas Everybody" done by the Smurfs, in Icelandic.
My ears are now bleeding.
PS interestingly, "dub-i-dub-i-dum-dum" translates to…
December 15, 2006
New SciBling OmniBrain notes a crucial new astrological discovery.
I am skeptical, Ophiuchians were omitted
so what is your sign? and why do police officers hate people born in later winter and early spring?
December 15, 2006
The Big Picture
30 square degree deep sky image taken by the Oschin Palomar telescope, cutting through Virgo.
Now mounted at Griffith Observatory as a single 3000 square foot image.
That is less than 0.1% of the sky.
December 15, 2006
Seasonal friday, and we ask the iPod - what is the meaning of the lone top quark discovery at Fermilab?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Cold and Bitter Tears - Billy Bragg
The Crossing: Let It Snow - traditional
The Crown: La serenade interrompue - Claudio Arrau
The Root:…
December 14, 2006
NASA has stopped sending of Microsoft Word Documents to the International Space Station.
Heh.
December 14, 2006
ROSES 2006 is amended - might be the last one before ROSES 2007?!
With this amendment to ROSES-2006, NASA reestablishes a proposal opportunity in Appendix C.18 entitled "Astrobiology: Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology."
The goal of NASA's Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology program is to…