April 2007 Archives

Inventing the Muon

By
Erica
on April 26, 2007 11:32 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Muon Physics Advanced Laboratory Instrument by TeachSpin I am not precisely certain that I believe in this fantastical entity known as the "muon". I mean, really. It is like a couple physics majors had a drunken IMversation:
Dweeb: Yah, so like, cows, man. Dork: ...wtf-ever. Are you done with the labs? Can I get your data? Dweeb: You mooch. Help me w/my senior project and I'll give you my data. Dork: ...ok? Dweeb: So, cows. Like, I was thinking, invent a new particle. A cow-shaped particle. Dork: ... Dweeb: Yeah, and we can design elaborate machinery to light up and make clicking noises and construct appropriately logarithmic charts of random data to support these cow particles. Dork: ...how is this less work than real physics? Dweeb: JFC, COWS. *** Dork has gone idle. Dweeb: LOL We can call them moo-ons.
And that was basically how that happened.

Call to action:

By
Erica
on April 24, 2007 9:34 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)
From The National Association for Gifted Children:
URGENT ALERT FOR APRIL 23 and 24 Senator Charles Grassley (Iowa) is offering an amendment on the Senate floor to S.761 that would stabilize funding for the Javits program by creating a dedicated funding stream. S.761 is legislation that addresses America's ability to compete in the global economy by focusing in part on math and science education and teacher training. The legislation also supports gifted students by aiding states in creating or expanding speciality math-science high schools, and by providing internships at the various national energy laboratories across the country. Senator Grassley's amendment would generate new income for the Javits program by increasing the H-1B visa fee, which is paid for by companies that hire highly skilled international workers typically working in specialty occupations such as engineering, computer programming, medicine and architecture. By allocating this income to the Javits program, Congress is investing in America's most advanced learners with the funds that companies use to invest in international workers. Please email your Senators today and urge them to support the Grassley H-1B visa amendment to S.761. You can find your Senator's email address (or web-based email address) at www.senate.gov.
Follow the link to get sample text you can use in emailing your Senator.

Two Books I’d Like

By
Erica
on April 23, 2007 11:54 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Tomorrow's People" (Susan Greenfield)

"The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals" (Michael Pollan)

Garden

By
Erica
on April 16, 2007 3:53 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)
To be followed by a more substantial talk about gardening and what I'm doing. Is it bad when you need a map to know what's where? Plantings, April 16, 2007 Key:
  • SSP - Sugar Snap Peas
  • Spin - Spinach
  • Mesc - Mesculun Blend (salad greens, basically)
  • Rosa - Rosalita Romaine lettuce
  • Gmt Lett - Gourmet lettuce blend
  • Carr TdP - Carrot, Tonda di Parigi variety
  • Carr Danv - Carrot, Danvers 126 variety
  • Carr Purp - Carrot, Purple Haze variety
  • Pot8 - Potatoes, Yukon Gold variety
  • Strw Berry - ...strawberries. :)

Windowsill Flower Pot | iStockphoto.com

By
Erica
on April 9, 2007 8:26 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)
Royalty free stock image | Windowsill Flower Pot | iStockphoto.com Check it out - one of my photos in the dollar bin. Just in time for spring! (Ok, so a slighly gothy spring, but still!) Go get it, for cheap!

Incredible phenomena will occur

By
Erica
on April 3, 2007 12:27 PM | | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)
My lab manual for the course I'm taking on climate and waters (Philip Suckling's Studies in Weather and Climate) on tornados rated F5 on the Fujita Tornado Scale:
F5: 261-318 mph Incredible Tornado. Incredible damage: Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distance to disintegrate; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 300 ft (100 m); trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur.
Editorial comment: Needs more exclamation points. :) Edit: Fine. Because you all have no imaginations, this is what was in my head:
INCREDIBLE TORNADO! INCREDIBLE DAMAGEZ!!! STRONG FRAME HOUSES NO LONGER IN KANSAS TOTO!!!!1!1! SERIOSLY WERE TALKING LIKE CAR-SIZED SHIT FLYING AT YOU!!!!! TREES DEBARKED! THEY CAN NO LONGER BARK PPL!!! INCREDIBLE PHENOMENA WILL OCCUR!!!! POSSIBLY PSYCHICS!!!! ONLY $39.95!!!!!
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