Links for 2010-06-23

"Do you have a sample you'd like to send us to have scanned by one of our Scanning Electron Microscopes or our Tabletop SEM?

Just download the sample submission form below, fill it out, and mail it in along with your sample, and we'll post your images online for the world to see."

"The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is proud to announce the third annual "Dance Your Ph.D." interpretative dance video contest. The contest, which is open to anyone with a Ph.D. or pursuing a Ph.D. in a science-related field, asks scientists to transform their research into an interpretive dance. Winners of each of the four categories (physics, chemistry, biology, and social sciences) will receive $500, then compete head-to-head for an additional $500 grand prize for best overall dance."

A detailed article that does not mention the real cause of the meltdown: bad karma from failing to buy translation rights to _How to Teach Physics to Your Dog_...

"Elena Kagan is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, so now is the time for depressed Supreme Court correspondents to write their depressing articles about how hollow and pointless the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings will be. After which we will pack up our laptops, our notepads, and our small silver flasks, and plod off to cover them again. This year's festivities are particularly rich with irony, as the nominee herself has beaten us to the punch, having predicted 15 years ago that her hearing would be a hollow, pointless sham. "

"In a brief conversation with a professor on campus recently, I was reminded of a basic assumption gap. I made a reference to pass rates -- the percentage of students who achieve passing grades in any given semester -- and the efforts we're making there. My assumption was that pass rates are scandalously low, and that we need to improve them. He concurred that there was a problem with pass rates, but defined the problem differently. To him, the issue was that our pass rates are much too high. We need to get tougher, he argued, so we wouldn't have so many weak performers in second-year classes."

"Members of the South Africa Vuvuzela Philharmonic Orchestra, widely considered to be among the best large-scale monotonic wind instrument ensembles in the world, told reporters Friday they were furious over the recent outbreaks of international soccer matches during their traditional outdoor concerts.

"I cannot imagine what is getting into these football teams that they would suddenly begin full-scale international competition just when we are beginning our 2010 concert series," said Dr. Stefan Coetzee, the Philharmonic's program and concert director. "It is disrespectful to the performers, it is disrespectful to the music itself, and by extension, it is disrespectful to the great nation of South Africa.""