Big rainstorm coming, and so I don’t think this beauty will be here in 24 hours:
These flowers are quite large compared to other roses I’ve shown from the garden – about 6 inches across. There’s a lot of pink, tending toward orange toward the centre. The powerful scent is just marvellous!
As you may know, Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” has been nominated for an Oscar. If you want to hear more from the man himself (see also his remarks in the previous post), here’s an interview with him on NPR’s Fresh Air. It first aired last year, but it is very current. It’s so good to hear a politician speak so intelligently on these matters.
You know, the last few weeks […] Click to continue reading this post
Calling all scientists and engineers. You’ll get a $25 million prize from Virgin’s Richard Branson if you find a way to extract greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Get to work!
Continuing his admirable campaign to do more useful things with his money instead of engaging in the (let’s face it) mostly silly stunts that used to characterize news stories about him, Richard Branson announced his new prize today in London (in the company of Al Gore). People are indeed working on this sort of thing, in case you’re wondering (see a post I did earlier, for example).
No, this is not a replacement for increasing our efforts to change our habits […] Click to continue reading this post
Yes, it does matter. And it does matter:
(Simulated ILC collision by Norman Graf, showing production and decay products of the Z particles that areso important in electroweak physics.)
The high energy physics community is excited abut the Large Hadron Collider’s […] Click to continue reading this post
Sorry, but it is just funny to me. There’s a history here, which adds to the humour. Start with the description by captain Todd Rogers: “Vera walked down the aisle and used the pad of papers she was holding in her hands to kind of — the term I use … Click to continue reading this post
Did anyone else spot the Poincaré conjecture reference on Monday’s episode of Aaron Sorkin’s excellent Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? (Recall that I mentioned another science reference on this show in an earlier post.) A writer is trying to find a punchline to a joke. The joke is supposed to be in the style of the headline news on Saturday Night Live… […] Click to continue reading this post
The title of Monday’s colloquium was “The Cryogenic World of Triton”, and the speaker was Gary Peterson of the Department of Geological Sciences, San Diego State University. Here he is in action:
The talk was very qualitative. Perhaps at times too qualitative for a lot of the Physicist audience, I’ve gathered from comments, but everyone agreed that it was still very interesting. Some of the qualitative aspects were necessary, since there’s not much data available for the sorts of things he wanted to talk about. So he was extrapolating […] Click to continue reading this post
Well, I tried to avoid blogging about this, starting yesterday since I was really annoyed that its initial appearance as a story was in the Science section of a number of organizations, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with science. But now that it has arrived in the more general news sections of some publications (see a nice Independent UK article here, for example), I am happier to talk about it, and also to briefly remark upon any tentative connection with science that might be there.
The case is the one concerning the arrest of astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak on what has now been alleged to be attempted first-degree murder. (It stated out as mere vehicle burglary, battery, and destruction of evidence, but was later upgraded.) Basically, in case you’ve not heard, Ms Nowak drove 950 miles from Texas to Florida to stalk and […] Click to continue reading this post
This is a joke (the title) that works rather well, while being a serious issue as well. It’s all about trying to reduce our energy waste here in California, and contribute to the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The idea is to change from the garden variety incandescent bulbs … Click to continue reading this post
I learned from Amara about this matter (anti-Scientology activist Keith Henson being arrested) from comments here, here and here, and it seems (from a look at the chatter on the web) that this is worth keeping an eye on. Some information can be round here and here is a blog … Click to continue reading this post
It is an awful pun, but I’m pleased to see it all the same:
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(Click for larger.) Third and Fairfax.
I don’t need much of an excuse to whip out the craft and drawing tools. Been working (a little bit every night) on framing various things for hanging on the walls at home. I’d forgotten how excellent Exacto knives are! (Are there “Approximato” knives, by the way? I want one.) You might not believe this, but […] Click to continue reading this post
Wanna see my new car? Well, ok, I’ll grant you a glance: […] Click to continue reading this post
I always love it when these pop their heads out to sample the sun: […] Click to continue reading this post
All very mysterious. Can’t tell you anything about it until it is all over. Maybe not even then. Lots of meetings to take place at a hotel or hotels. Locations undisclosed until the last minute. Got the call to pick up my instructions and briefing data from an office. Large white sealed package with just my name on….[…] Click to continue reading this post
