Yes, it is that time of year again. It is the third birthday of this blog, Asymptotia, and once again I’d like to thank everyone for reading, commenting, emailing, and otherwise participating in building the community we have here. It continues to be […] Click to continue reading this post
Friday saw two satisfying discoveries that may be of interest to you if you strive to use less energy and to reuse rather than replace.
The first is that the incandescent light bulbs with the small fitting that I was despairing over being able to replace with compact fluorescent bulbs can be replaced! I found in my local hardware store that companies have now (maybe for a while?) started making CFLs with the small fitting! Hurrah! Having now found this fitting, I think most fittings, shapes and sizes of bulbs that I’ve seen (in this context) can replaced by CFLs of similar fittings, shapes and sizes.
The second is just as satisfying. I went to Staples to buy another package of ink cartridges for my printer, and while in the checkout line I noticed an odd package […] Click to continue reading this post
Well, that was a hugely tiring day indeed. I’ve just returned from a full day of shooting for an episode of the the 
History Channel’s The Universe, and all I can do is collapse on the sofa for a long while.
I’ve grabbed the essentials (a nice cold Leffe, some tasty corn chips, a cup of tea – I made it before I got the Leffe idea – , some books I’m reading, etc) to have within easy reach so that I need not get up for a while. I simply don’t want to.
It was tiring mostly because it was so terribly hot for most of it. The first half of the […] Click to continue reading this post
When I’m feeling muddled or somewhat low, one of the things that reliably helps me find my foundation is going out into the garden and doing some work here and there, or simply checking on how various plants or fruits and vegetables are coming along. The work, the sounds and smells, the surroundings, and the cycles of renewal that are all over the garden are wonderfully uplifting to me.
So imagine how I felt yesterday when, feeling down for one reason or another, I went out into the garden and discovered that the six or seven wonderful tomatoes (of various types) – that I was giving just another day or two to become perfect – had all been taken! […] Click to continue reading this post
It was a routine Wednesday night down at the Edison bar, downtown Los Angeles, last week. This means: Fun with Acrobats!! It is part of their weekly “Incandescence: the Dark Side of Light” series, where throughout the night there are performers all over the floor of the bar, more set piece things on the stage, and rather splendid feats being performed from various points of the ceiling. The theatre group is called AiRealistic.
I thought I’d make a little film for you, of what (come to think of it) might make […] Click to continue reading this post
Well, I bet you have not read any articles connecting Michael Jackson and research in string theory before. No, even though I spend a lot of time and effort trying to bring science into everyday conversations people have about the broader culture, I cannot claim credit for this one. I was reading an excellent article* in the Village Voice written by Greg Tate, and to my surprise, there it was. It is by far the most thoughtful and insightful of any of the articles on Michael Jackson that I’ve read, and I’d already concluded that before noticing any mention of physics. I strongly recommend it, especially if you don’t know what all the fuss is about, or if you think that the fuss is only about some pop music.
Tate examines not just the impact of Jackson on the culture, and where he sits in the pantheon of black people who have made such impact (he’s mostly focusing on America), but also the role of adversity and struggle in focusing talent in a way that produces people who create at such a high level and which such seismic effect. He […] Click to continue reading this post
It is the birthday of a friend today, with a party to be held at a beach. The instructions were to bring something French to eat. I was in a baking mood this morning and so I decided, after some thought and research, to make an apple cake as a birthday present. Apparently this is a typical French-style cake. Well, it is French enough for me, with its simple combination of fruit and cake.
(Interestingly it is roughly reminiscent of the apricot/peach upside-down cake I was planning to make when I was shopping in the market, but I could not get a definitive source to tell me whether that type of cake was of French origin or not, so I decided to use the apples instead. I can just eat the apricots and peaches for lunch each day this week.)
Ok, here’s how I made it. […] Click to continue reading this post
Ok, I’ve no idea how many will get the joke, but that’s ok. (Click for larger view.)
This is something I was shown in the reception room of the Burbank recycling center on Friday.
I had a good look around and learned a few things, while filming an analogy for a […] Click to continue reading this post
The things I do for physics. (Including trying to remember how to play tennis after 15 years…) (Click for larger view.) […] Click to continue reading this post
“I’m Not Like Other Guys”. A quote from Thriller, in case you’re wondering. It’s appropriate. Michael Jackson was truly exceptional. (I’m focusing on the musician here, not the troubled person who unfortunately turned into a bit of a freakshow.)
Well, I feel like a big, bright piece of my childhood died today, and will feel this way for a while. I know it will pass, as it should (one must celebrate life and look forward) but there was so much joy in the music, and so much of it (the album Thriller especially) was so exceptional that it stood way apart from what was around at the time.
Even now when I hear a song from Thriller it sounds like it was created yesterday. […] Click to continue reading this post
I just felt in the mood, and half an hour later…
…cupcakes, strawberries, and cream. (Click for larger view.)
It all went in like this (after ten minutes of prep (1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 […] Click to continue reading this post
Well, it has been a busy few days. Since Sunday’s activities I’ve been up to my ears in various things. Interesting things, I’m happy to say, and only a few annoying things. Besides getting back on track with life in LA, I’ve been working (with a student collaborator) on various very interesting physics projects that I hope to find time to tell you about soon, involving various applications of string theory of the sort I mentioned in an earlier post.
I’ve also been working on the two films I’m making. They’re now in final iterations of editing, and in addition to working on the iterations writing notes with directions for my editor, I’ve been making some extra bits of special footage for one of them. I hope it won’t be too long now before I call them finished.
On top of that business, I’ve been communicating with several filmmakers about ideas and material for the History Channel show The Universe. (I’ve told you about […] Click to continue reading this post
One of the offerings for my 17 guests during my solstice celebratory cooking session yesterday. (Click for larger view.) For background, see yesterday’s post.
I produced five or six core dishes for the menu, overall. Boy, that was fun! (There were also some excellent dishes brought by guests, and I had various other things […] Click to continue reading this post
The Sun stood still earlier today! Don’t panic – It is Summer Solstice. I’m talking about an apparent motion of the sun, or, more accurately the migration of its path across the sky. Take a moment to think celestially for a bit and ponder the earth as it goes around the sun on its annual path. There’s a tilt to the earth’s own rotation axis, remember? (About 23 degrees). That tilt results in our seasons, and the path of the sun through the daily sky. Visualize this for a moment and it’ll make sense, if you let it. Today the sun’s path has got as northernmost as it will get, and it is now turning around, being more Southern each day until Winter Solstice. To turn around and change direction, you first have to stop. No way around it. So, the sun stood still today.
So, I decided to celebrate all this lovely geometry on the spur(ish) of the moment. Will you? I’m going to cook up several tasty dishes and have some friends around to […] Click to continue reading this post
(Words above followed by a deep sigh…)
There’s simply nothing as sweet as coming home. I say the words above and sigh deeply and satisfyingly and soak in the familiar shape and sound of my home and it feels great. Back home, back in a city I love.
Going away for a month or more on retreat is something I value highly. It is necessary to my state of mind. But I must eventually retreat from the retreat, and return home. The words of the title, said with a little extra pause just after the comma, and a sigh, in this context represents one of my […] Click to continue reading this post
