Links Dump
drorzel | March 20, 2008
HLS: News: Harvard Law School launches new Public Service Initiative
"Harvard Law School is announcing that it will pay the third year of tuition for all future students who commit to work in public service for five years following graduation. "
(tags: academia economics law society)
Oh, he's good « Liberal Fascism
"[W]hen the wingnut feels threatened, it excretes a foul substance which forms a protective layer of disingenuous stupidity designed to deflect dissonant facts and beliefs which could damage the wingnut's tender underbelly of pure stupid. "
(tags: US politics video youtube…
drorzel | March 19, 2008
First-ever spring break quidditch tour March 22-29
The Middlebury Quidditch Club hits the road.
(tags: academia books sports silly SF)
Tenure, the Movie :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, and Views and Jobs
"I'm not sure how much I'll expect accuracy out of a Luke Wilson comedy about my profession," he said. "As long as the film is a relatively sympathetic portrayal of the difficulties of going through the tenure process and has a decent indie rock
(tags: academia movies silly culture society)
Loopy photons clarify 'spookiness' of quantum physics
A remarkably…
drorzel | March 18, 2008
xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe
Zombie Feynman!
(tags: comics science society physics silly)
Shtetl-Optimized » Blog Archive » Mistake of the Week: "But even he says so, and he's an X!"
"Given any exotic mixture of belief and group affiliation, there's almost certainly at least one person on Earth who fits the bill -- and who's even available to speak at your next engagement."
(tags: politics religion society science)
Physics Buzz: Katrina's Impact on Physics in New Orleans
"A session at the APS March Meeting focused on something I'd…
drorzel | March 17, 2008
Jacks of Science â A Large Hadron Leprechaun Hunt
Leprechauns have infested the ATLAS detector. Get the hose.
(tags: physics silly pictures)
Crooked Timber » » A Primer on Irish Culture
Three gifted singers who have kissed the Blarney Stone.
(tags: music silly video youtube)
Swans on Tea » Lab Pix: All (Well, Some) Things, Great and Small
First-rate laser-table porn.
(tags: physics optics science pictures experiment)
YouTube - Helsinki Complaints Choir
"We always lose to Sweden in hockey and Eurovision."
(tags: art music culture society)
drorzel | March 16, 2008
I Watched This On Purpose: Hitman | The A.V. Club
"[A] new feature that will explore the impulse to spend time with entertainments that are unlikely to reward us in any meaningful way, or sometimes any way at all."
(tags: movies stupid)
Bad Movie Physics: A Report Card
"We rated 18 movies based on how many laws of physics they mangled, and here's our report card."
(tags: movies physics science SF silly)
Got Medieval: Did They Have Fan Fiction in the Middle Ages? (GP)
"Lancelot is totally a Mary Sue."
(tags: blogs history literature writing culture)
drorzel | March 15, 2008
Alpha Centauri might harbour an 'Earth' - physicsworld.com
SF fans and space enthusiasts worldwide commence drooling.
(tags: science astronomy planets space news SF)
NPR: It Isn't Rocket Science: How Best to Board a Plane
Science explains why Southwest is more efficient than other airlines.
(tags: science math computing travel)
The World's Smallest Diamond Ring -- Physics News Update 858
Lots of interesting physics being done with diamond crystals.
(tags: physics quantum experiment nano meetings science news)
The Frontal Cortex : Algebra Education and John Dewey
"The solution, I think…
drorzel | March 14, 2008
The Smart Set: Sequins & Scandals - November 8, 2007
"Figure skating is the quintessential American sport, not merely because it is fiercely individualistic while at the same time incredibly conformist, but also because the athletes and fans, like the American electorate, have an extraordinarily high tolera
(tags: sports stupid society culture)
What a Star's Orbiting Disk Is Made Of - New York Times
Sand.
(tags: astronomy science news)
nanoscale views: March Meeting III
More from New Orleans.
(tags: physics meetings science news)
News from the March 2008 American Physical Society…
drorzel | March 13, 2008
nanoscale views: March APS Meeting II
The latest from New Orleans.
(tags: physics meetings science news)
Whatever » The Problem With 1,000 True Fans
"The problem is that Kevin Kelly, in his enthusiasm, wants to make it seem that getting 1,000 people to give you $100 is no great trick."
(tags: economics books comics music publishing culture society internet)
WMAP gives thumbs-up to cosmology models - physicsworld.com
"As well as placing tighter constraints on parameters such as the age and content of the universe, the five-year WMAP data provide new, independent evidence for a cosmic…
drorzel | March 12, 2008
Bad Baby Names - A Boy Named Sue, and a Theory of Names - John Tierney - New York Times
"During his 1969 concert at San Quentin prison, Johnny Cash proposed a paradigm shift in the field of developmental psychology. "
(tags: kid-stuff psychology science society culture music)
Gen Ed Reform -- Supersized :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, and Views and Jobs
'"What we're trying to do is present the material in a more coherent way," Beise said. "Students should be able to pick a theme and find courses in the sciences and humanities that are related."'
(tags: academia…
drorzel | March 11, 2008
Southern Baptists Back a Shift on Climate Change - New York Times
'[T]he new declaration, which will be released Monday, states, "Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed."'
(tags: politics religion science news environment)
Jacks of Science â Top 10 Greatest Video Game Scientists
"Professor Oaks is known for his generous public outreach intitiative. You can't go wrong with a selection of a free water turtle, free fire lizard or free plant dinosaur. "
(tags: silly games science)
God Hates Elves…
drorzel | March 10, 2008
Math Suggests College Frenzy Will Soon Ease - New York Times
Changing demographics make admissions offices nervous
(tags: academia education society culture)
drorzel | March 8, 2008
Let's Play a Game, Part 2: Game Trees and Totally Finite Games « Intrinsically Knotted
Classifying games based on possible moves and winning strategies.
(tags: math science academia games)
...yet I'll hammer it out
The Mentally Scarring Public Service Announcement Tournament. With YouTube links, so you can experience the trauma yourself.
(tags: youtube video television society)
The Sexual Paradox - Susan Pinker - Book Review - New York Times
'"If you were to predict the future on the basis of school achievement alone," Pinker writes, "the world would be a matriarchy."'
(tags: sex gender…
drorzel | March 7, 2008
The Silly Little Show-Biz Book Club: Rollin' With Dre | The A.V. Club
"I will read all these terrible books so you don't have to. It's my latest attempt to transform the stupid, pointless shit I do in my free time into the stupid, pointless shit I am obligated do for my job."
(tags: books music movies television society culture silly)
Primer: Alan Moore | The A.V. Club
A guide to the essential work of everyone's favorite cranky comics auteur.
(tags: books comics review)
Einstein Versus the Physical Review - Physics Today September 2005
"[I]t is likely that the [1937] gravitational wave…
drorzel | March 6, 2008
nanoscale views: Reviewing- why, how, and how often?
"well written, thorough, timely referee reports almost always improve the quality of scientific papers"
(tags: academia science physics articles writing)
Shtetl-Optimized » Blog Archive » Long-dreaded politics post
"[A]fter seven years of Bush, to ask whether I'd "prefer" Hillary or Obama is like asking a drowning person surrounded by sharks which of two lifeboats he prefers to be rescued by (and adding, in case it's helpful, that one lifeboat is rowed by a
(tags: US politics)
Gravity-test constrains new forces - physicsworld.com
"…
drorzel | March 5, 2008
The Quantum Pontiff : Twins in Donut Space
Mmmmmm.... Paradoxical Donuts......
(tags: physics relativity theory)
Laelaps : Preaching to the choir
"Has there ever been a time when science has been highly valued by the general public? "
(tags: science society class-war culture history)
Shockwave traffic jam recreated for first time - tech - 04 March 2008 - New Scientist Tech
Japanese scientists create flawless simulation of Washington, DC. Make sure to watch the video.
(tags: physics psychology science video youtube)
Richard Feynman Needs His Orange Juice | Cosmic Variance
What can I…
drorzel | March 4, 2008
Information Processing: Bell and GHZ: spooky action at a distance
Comments and references on one of the great examples of quantum weirdness.
(tags: physics quantum science academia education)
Can I See My Grade? :: Inside Higher Ed :: Jobs, News and Views for All of Higher Education
""Can I see my grade?" There's simply no defense against this question. You can reply as Harried Professor or Good Buddy. You can comprehend yourself or be comprehended as Registrar or Service Rep."
(tags: academia education)
BostonHerald.com - Blogs: Working Stiff» Blog Archive » What would Einstein put on…
drorzel | March 3, 2008
Shtetl-Optimized » Blog Archive » Penrose's Gödel argument in rap
"About as logically sound as the original, and with a somewhat better backbeat"
(tags: math music silly)
(Don't Taunt) The Reaper: 26 tempting but inappropriate funeral songs | The A.V. Club
"What able-minded young person hasn't thought about drafting a will for the sole purpose of demanding that a particularly funny, appropriately inappropriate song be played at his or her send-off?"
(tags: music silly)
Physicists roll out nanotube paper - physicsworld.com
"Invented by physicists at Tsinghua University, China, the new…
drorzel | March 2, 2008
Please Call Earth. We Still Haven't Found You. - New York Times
SETI: still searching after all these years.
(tags: science space astronomy)
YouTube - Life at the Olin Outpost
Clearly, they don't assign enough homework at Carleton...
(tags: academia youtube video silly physics music)
Crooked Timber » » A lot or a little, part 2
"What are the sums of money worth paying attention to in terms of economic magnitude?"
(tags: economics politics social-science)
The Reality-Based Community: Teaching
Obama says the right things about education, and gets big applause anyway.
(tags: education…
drorzel | March 1, 2008
Stephen Huneck Gallery at Dog Mountain Vermont
" I wanted to build a chapel, one that celebrated the spiritual bond we have with our dogs, and that would be open to dogs and people. People of any faith or belief system."
(tags: dog religion art animals)
Such Madness - New York Times
Let the hype assault begin...
(tags: basketball sports)
Michael Nielsen » Questions
Big picture questions about science, the Web, and everything.
(tags: science society culture internet politics education academia)
Idiom Shortage Leaves Nation All Sewed Up In Horse Pies | The Onion - America's Finest News…
drorzel | February 29, 2008
slacktivist: More on subsidiarity
"[W]here it exists here in America, inefficient Big Government tends to be the direct and predictable result of anti-regulation, anti-government laissez-faire and libertarian-ish ideologies"
(tags: economics politics US society)
Second Law of Thermodynamics with Discrete Quantum Feedback Control
You still can't win, but you can do a little better than with a classical heat engine.
(tags: physics quantum energy science articles)
Control of Interaction-Induced Dephasing of Bloch Oscillations
They manage to maintain quantum oscillations in a BEC in an…