Random
rallain | March 14, 2009I don't know if you noticed, but this blog has been down almost a week. Several things happened. First, I was hosted by Lunarpages. That didn't go so well. They ARE cheap, but maybe that is for a reason. I won't really go into details except to say that they have CPU limits, but you can't really see your usage.
The next problem was that I decided to move to slicehost. Slicehost basically gives you a virtual linux server, but you have to do all the servery stuff. I thought I was up to the task, but apparently not. Setting up a linux server (to me) is like trying to put together a LEGO…
catdynamics | March 13, 2009the harder they fall
continuing lazy friday music blogging
Jimmy Cliff, mon
what the heck, studio version also
catdynamics | March 13, 2009he's got a degree in economics
maths, physics and bionics
can't do to many Undertones on lazy friday music blogging
catdynamics | March 12, 2009USS Chung-Hoon is headed for the South China Sea, where there have been recent minor confrontation between US and Chinese vessels
Chung-Hoon is a Burke class Aegis destroyer - good radar, but curious choice for sea defence, heavy on missiles and a bit slow and heavy to be playing bumping games.
Would have thought a frigate or two would be a better choice, nimbler better against surface harassment.
But, she's not the only ship at sea.
In fact were W still president, my eyebrows would be twitching, because the Eisenhower is overlapping with the Roosevelt in the Middle East, with the latter…
catdynamics | March 11, 2009PZ mocks the elves - he has doomed himself.
The elves will not be mocked.
Elf festival for summer solstice
Ok folks, so Iceland adopted christianity from Europe, peacfully, by democratic vote, intellectual debate, possibly a touch of bribery, and the threat of invasion and conversion by force;
we took on the monetarist deregulation superstition from the US, and paid the price;
we even let our children watch Disney's corruption of the classic myths.
Through it all we've been remarkably tolerant, pluralistic, forbearing and understanding.
But now PZ, in his zeal, has challenged the essence…
catdynamics | March 11, 2009everybody had been wondering what would lead personal consumer expenditure out of recession...
Apples
Shuffles specifically.
Drool.
But, does it come with its own set of tweezers?
Now just give me some of that stimulus grant and I'll get an 8 core custom Mac Pro exercising - what is not to like: it stimulates the Bay Area, ad agencies, UPS, disk manufacturers and semi fabs!
And Pennsylvania utilities...
I could use 2 or 3, easy...
Then we just need the rumoured 10" ebook/netbook from Apple and we're set for another 6-12 months.
catdynamics | March 11, 2009Flashback!
live
by Derrick Morgan an' Skankin' Time, mon.
album version
FabricLive.07 - great great collection.
catdynamics | March 8, 2009in which I ponder further a physicist's amateur perspective on the stupidities my ex-colleagues perpetrated
I have ranted before on the current aspects of the fiscal crisis, including the credit default swaps (CDS)
now, I don't pretent to be an expert, but I am somewhat numerate and the basic theory of CDS makes for interesting reading.
There are two root problems: one is the basic toy model assumes default probabilities are independent events (exponential in time, really? come on lads you can do better than that...) and uncorrelated; but, the other problem is that the amplitude of the…
catdynamics | March 5, 2009some friday random music blogging
1 in 10
and, by request, your thematic ska special
catdynamics | March 5, 2009I actually got the "heads up" about this last night in time to catch the west coast showing.
Cancelling on the Daily Show clearly inspires them to ever greater journalism.
If you didn't see this, you ought to watch it.
*/
The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
CNBC Gives Financial Advice
Daily Show Full EpisodesImportant Things With Demetri Martin
Political HumorJoke of the Day
Plus, all the kewl kids are posting it, so this way you don't have to go to their blogs to find the links.
*/
The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
The Dow Knows All
Daily Show…
catdynamics | March 2, 2009so, as you may have heard, AIG, the insurance giant "lost" $61 billion and change this last quarter...
welll, I found it, I think,
but I can't be sure, since it could be someone else's $60 billion, I mean one big pile of used $20s looks much like another;
anyway, the US taxpayers are going to cover AIG on this one,
so "finders keepers", eh?
and the tens of trillions in Credit Default Swaps that the major ex-investment banks are carrying on their balance sheets
they're also mine,
well most of them,
I think Goldman Sachs got some too
it was such a deal, I mean the odds were ridiculously good
I…
catdynamics | March 2, 2009once, when the Net was young, I made the mistake of doing an image search for "Miranda",
in class.
It was a natural enough a mistake, a student had asked a question about the moons of Saturn and I recalled a recent NASA image which illustrated the point I wanted to make.
Try it.
the class got a bit of an eyeful for a brief second, and a good giggle while I rapidly narrowed the search and found what I was looking for
I, of course, being an adult and stuff, have "Safe Search Off" normally.
Although that was a class computer and had generic preferences set. To "Off" I gather.
I'm not squeamish…
catdynamics | March 2, 2009is it worth blogging about science?
one of my doubts about blogging is that it really ought to be more about science
I worry when I see my ratio of random entries creep up, fillers, random rants, political stuff
but I am not terribly interested in being a conduit for press releases, or in doing gee-whizz lay person outreach, or even in patiently explaining the basics - for one thing those niches are already filled by competent and interested bloggers
so while on my current visit to the Kavli Institute, having it as part of my task to blog an ongoing workshop on an actual focused research…
catdynamics | March 2, 2009is that I will agree to take on a major administrative role of some sort
and find that I actually like it...
actually, I fear that I would like it, yet not actually be any good at it
I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if I liked and were good at it
ok, so that isn't really my greatest fear: I mean it is not up there with a giant asteroid hitting the Earth, or a bankrupt financial institution losing $60 billion in a quarter and getting bailed out by the taxpayer or a giant pandemic with high mortality rates
but, on a personal, career scale; it is definitely way up there
catdynamics | February 26, 2009to the Astronomy Unit of the SB Natural History Museum, and the UCSB Circus of Physics
good show
but, guys, next time calculate the EMF first, or even just do a dry run, taking the head off the physicist's daughter would sooooo not have been a career move...
worked out well as it happened though
catdynamics | February 24, 2009is the Light of an Oncoming Train
classic
haven't had gratuitous youtube blogging for a while
Pugh! Pugh!
Barney, McGrew!
Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub!
rallain | February 17, 2009A quick note. I am back from the AAPT meeting in Chicago. My first surprise was from my hosting company (lunarpages). They said that I had once again gone over my CPU usage for my site. I am really not sure why and I can't really see my CPU usage. Anyway, the short story is that I either have to upgrade my service or move to another hosting company. Does anyone have a hosting company they could recommend? I will probably just stay with lunarpages because I don't have time to mess around with moving.
Another note, I am going to give a few summary posts of some of the awesome (or…
catdynamics | February 5, 2009Sign of the times.
Sotheby's Realty closes Aspen office
Hm, wonder how low those nice "smaller" pseudo-victorian homes on the north side, by the ACP are going to.