Janet D. Stemwedel
Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an associate professor of philosophy at San Jose State University. Before becoming a philosopher, she earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.
jstemwedel
Posts by this author
March 28, 2007
Steve Gimbel has a provocative post that suggests the costs of undergraduate lab classes may outweigh the benefits. Quoth Steve:
[E]verything I know about physics, I learned from my theory classes. You see, science classes come in two flavors. There are theory classes where a prof stands in front…
March 27, 2007
If you got here by following the link from Dennis Overbye's story about the movie Dark Matter, you may want to read the post he quotes about Theodore Streleski and the dangers of extreme power imbalance between graduate students and their advisors. (It's also possible that this time next year I…
March 26, 2007
As we head into the Science Spring Showdown Sweet Sixteen, it seemed prudent to turn to some experts for their predictions on the two remaining games in the chemistry region, Acid vs. d-orbitals and Fossil fuels vs. Erlenmeyer flask. (Of course, we won't soon forget the exciting first and second…
March 23, 2007
The participants in the conversation recounted here were not under oath during the conversation, and there exists no official transcript of the conversation.
Dr. Free-Ride's better half: When we were filling water bottles for soccer practice today, your child had an interesting theory about what…
March 20, 2007
1st ROUND RESULTS | PRESS CENTER | PRINTABLE BRACKETS
Welcome to coverage of the 2007 Science Spring Showdown second round play in the Chemistry region. The fans in Chemical Arena resorted to a face centered cubic strategy to pack themselves into the stands. You could almost feel the electricity…
March 19, 2007
One of my students raised a really good question in class today, a question to which I do not know the answer -- but maybe you do.
We were discussing some of the Very Bad Experiments* that prompted current thinking** about what it is and is not ethically permissible to do with human subjects of…
March 19, 2007
PRESS CENTER | PRINTABLE BRACKETS
Even given a weekend to come back to equilibrium, some chemistry fans are still perturbed by some of the results of first round play in the MORTAR AND PESTLE bracket. FTIR's upset win over NMR has many a Monday morning spectroscopist splitting his peaks trying to…
March 16, 2007
PRESS CENTER | PRINTABLE BRACKETS
The March weather in California has taken a turn for the beautiful this afternoon, but to chemistry conference fans, the natural beauty of the great outdoors is no match for the beauty of the competitions inside the Chemical Arena. The crowds donned their safety…
March 16, 2007
Neither of the Free-Ride offspring considers leprechaun trapping a sport. That doesn't mean, however, that they won't try to catch a leprechaun.
In view of all the springtime sports excitement (here, here, here, here, and here), the sprogs take this opportunity to consider how their athletic…
March 14, 2007
PRESS CENTER | PRINTABLE BRACKETS
It's time for a quick run down of the teams from the Chemistry Conference who made it to the tournament this Spring -- some who we fully expected to see here, and a few surprises. But it's also time for you, the fans, to make some noise in support of your favorite…
March 13, 2007
There will be a real post again within a day or so. I've been doing stuff in the three-dimensional world. So you don't feel left out:
I started coaching U6 soccer again for the Spring season. It's been 4.5 months since the end of the Fall season. They still have microscopic attention spans.…
March 12, 2007
... especially if you've just lost an hour to an unseasonably early Daylight Savings (can I blame the groundhog for this?), here are some attractive time sinks:
Pick a bracket. Maybe you've already picked your bracket for the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Even ScienceBloggers partake in such…
March 12, 2007
Chris at Mixing Memory points to research that suggests musical preferences provide a window to the personality. I haven't seen the research yet but, at Chris's prompting, I'll throw myself into the ring as an experimental subject by listing 10 songs I like an awful lot*:
Red Hot Chili Peppers,…
March 10, 2007
As promised at the end of my post on polar and non-polar molecules, here's a basic concepts post on intermolecular forces. Intermolecular forces are the forces between molecules, whereas intramolecular forces are those within molecules. (The bonds that hold the atoms in a molecule together are…
March 9, 2007
There's a rumor* that, when he's in his cups, PZ Myers sounds like an overeducated -- some might say Shakespearian -- pirate.
Therefore, in honor of his birthday, I offer this sonnet:
Paul Myers' squids are nothing if not fun,
Eviscerating with their beaks aglow.
They squirt their ink upon each…
March 9, 2007
What list of basic concepts would be complete without a primer on polar and non-polar molecules?
You'll recall that chemists live in a world made up of atoms and various assemblies and modifications thereof, which are, in turn, made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons (which have…
March 9, 2007
At least in these parts, the March kindergarten homework packet is very leprechaun-centric. This raises some obvious questions about the status of leprechauns. Are they actual entities? Are they mythical? And how's a curious kid to decide?
Younger offspring: I think leprechauns are real, even…
March 6, 2007
Surely I am not the only academic who feels perpetually buried under -- well, under stuff that needs doing. It's a very daunting pile, and sometimes I think that the only plausible way that I could catch up would be to fake my own death.
But one must not lose perspective. Progress is made…
March 5, 2007
In a private communication, Sciencewoman asks:
Just out of curiosity, how have you been able to blog under your real name? Has your department been supportive? Are you post-tenure and immune from some of the pressures that the rest of us feel? Or is it that a philosophy department views outreach/…
March 3, 2007
As seen at Rants of a Feminist Engineer and See Jane Compute.
Ten Weird Things about Me:
1. I won the first NCAA basketball pool in which I participated, picking the teams in my bracket with absolutely no knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of their teams. Just based on my impressions of the…
March 2, 2007
Sitting here on the calendar between Chinese New Year and Saint Patrick's Day, it seemed like a good time for the sprogs to do some investigations of gambling devices -- in particular, dice.
Dr. Free-Ride: Will you roll dice for me?
Younger offspring: Can I use the purple ones?
Dr. Free-Ride:…
March 1, 2007
Just had an earthquake here. I'll post the USGS data on it when I have it.
UPDATE: Preliminary estimates put the magnitude at 4+. And more than 1000 people filed reports within about 10 minutes of the shaking.
We Californians are well trained.
March 1, 2007
This is another piece in the discussion currently raging about the latitude members of a profession ought to have to follow conscience over the dictates of the profession.
Professions are communities of a sort. What unites them is that the members of that community are taking on a certain set of…
March 1, 2007
The inaugural edition of Scientiae, the new women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics blog carnival, has been posted at Rants of a Feminist Engineer. Skookumchick has assembled an impressive array of posts dealing with joys as well as frustrations -- go check it out!
Also, the…
February 28, 2007
Over at BlogHer, Marianne Richmond has tagged everyone with a meme on personal media consumption. Given that I've already self-identified as a Luddite, I figured a little self-examination of my media habits might be worthwhile.
Web: Until last week, I didn't use a feed-reader. I'd get my daily…
February 28, 2007
On Abel's post on conscience clauses, Bob Koepp left this comment:
It's a pretty warped understanding of professionalism that would require professionals to violate their own sincere ethical beliefs. After all, someone lacking personal integrity probably isn't going to be much concerned with…
February 28, 2007
Abel at Terra Sigillata has a post about coscience clauses for pharmacists that's worth a read. In it, he takes issue with the stand of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), a professional pharmacy organization, recognizing "a pharmacist's right to decline to participate in…
February 27, 2007
It's my birthday today.
My numerically obsessive parents opted to mark the occasion by sending me Jack Benny and a Hitchcock film.
My offspring had a different idea about what sort of gift was appropriate:
Yes, a chameleon and a blue lizardy guy with white and black spots. (Can any of you…
February 26, 2007
My humble haiku,
Clobbered in the poll -- Unless
You vote, intervene.
Voting closes February 26, 11:59 PM EST -- so act now!
(If you want to be sure you're voting for mine, I reproduce them below the fold.)
The one of my two entries with the most votes so far:
A mature science
has no need for…
February 26, 2007
Skookumchick has declared a new blog carnival, Scientiae, organized around the broad topic of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (or STEM, for those who like acronyms). She's soliciting posts that fall under one or more of the following:
stories about being a woman in STEM…