links for 2009-06-24

Can an exploding hammer lift a guy? Inquiring minds want to know...

"This is the only instance in all of scientific history that the anthropic principle has been used to successfully predict anything. And for this, Willie Fowler won the Nobel Prize, and although he credits Fred Hoyle tremendously, Hoyle was left out. Somehow, understanding where practically all the matter on our world comes from -- and on all worlds, for that matter -- didn't merit it. "

"Yesterday we dumped a bucket of electrons on the Statue of Liberty and watched what happened. The most important thing we saw is that all the charge immediately distributes itself over the outside surface of the statue in such a way so that the electric field within the statue is zero. We also noted that the field was high on sharp points like the spikes in the crown, but we left that without further explanation. Today we fix that."

"New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found substantial reductions in binge drinking since the national drinking age was set at 21 two decades ago, with one exception: college students. The rates of binge drinking in male collegians remain unchanged, but the rates in female collegians have increased dramatically. "

"Recently, I had a discussion whether physics is more in need of postdoc or faculty positions. Weird enough, the postdocs present suggested we need more postdocs. As far as I am concerned, the trend to run scientific research increasingly on postdoc positions, non-faculty short-term contracts that are in many cases supervised, is disastrous. I argued many times before short-term contracts favor short-term projects. As a result, ambitious, work-, and time-intensive projects suffer. Besides this, who wants to remain a postdoc forever? Thus, clearly more faculty positions are needed. But tenure?"

Ah, the majesty of New York's legislative branch...

"Free food is an interesting phenomenon. How is detected? Should you feel guilty about getting it? Is there a line at which pursuit of free food becomes tacky? Sci has had many young grad students, eyes full of shining hope, ask her these questions. And in these trying times, it is harder than ever to find free food. And thus, to you, she will spread her knowledge. Use it wisely, and not for evil."

"Though fiercely proud of its many cuisines, Japan is surprisingly open to food-related businesses from overseas. I instantly marked the Subway franchise as the place to turn off the main drag to get to the hotel. An array of recognizable names welcomes visitors to Gaien-Higashi Street: Wolfgang Puck, McDonald's, Outback Steakhouse, the Hard Rock Café (with Hello Kitty playing the guitar in the window). And there's even the ne plus ultra mediocre American cuisine: T.G.I. Friday's. I've traveled about 20 hours and 7,000-odd miles to wind up in a strip mall. "

"[C]onsider the following thought experiment. In 1963, as King delivers his famous speech to the March on Washington, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev delivers a public message of his own to the protesters. âWe would like to tell these brave voices of freedom,â Khrushchev says, âthat they have the full support and solidarity of the USSR. The Soviet Union and the United States Communist Party are ready and willing to perform any measures within our power to help our American brothers and sisters obtain their rights from this oppressive regime.""