Links for 2010-12-07

"Starting January 2011, we will be launching our first digital editions of Locus magazine. Subscriptions will be available in, at minimum, PDF format, and we hope to have e-pub and Kindle versions also. We plan to primarily distribute from our own website, though we will be looking into other distribution options as well. Many of our readers have requested digital editions, and we are excited to be able to offer this alternative."

"My last estimation for cooking a turkey by dropping it was both complicated and probably wrong. Clearly, I am not a master of aerodynamics. Let me try something else.

Suppose that I just drop the turkey by picking it up, say 1.5 meters. Clearly this alone will not be enough to cook the turkey. But I can repeat this whole process until the turkey is cooked and ready for a delicious dinner with a nice side of cranberry sauce."

"Often in a scientific article some of the most important info is in a separate "supplemental info" section that is posted online, separate from the regular article.  When I download a paper, I generally download the regular article and the supporting info, then combine the .pdf's.  It would be nice if journals offered bundled files with both already put together.  And, in journals that have articles that explain the research articles to a non-specialist, it would be even better if you could download a single package of summary, research article, and supporting info."

"This amazing scene was captured by Arthur Lovell of Oxford, UK, around 2pm on November 4, 2010, when a large section of overhanging sandstone rock from the cathedral-like gorge wall fell into the plunge-pool below, creating a massive wave. The rock is estimated at 54 ft (16.5 m) across, and the void it left can be seen in the before and after photos to the left. Taughannock Falls itself is 215 ft (65.5 m) and the surrounding gorge walls extend over 100 ft higher."