Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Obama on scotusblog.
That guy know how to make a cameo.
Recommended Citation: SCOTUSblog Obama, A Responsibility I Take Seriously, SCOTUSblog(Feb. 24, 2016, 8:00 AM), http://www.scotusblog.com/2016/02/a-responsibility-i-take-seriously/
That guy know how to make a cameo.
Recommended Citation: SCOTUSblog Obama, A Responsibility I Take Seriously, SCOTUSblog(Feb. 24, 2016, 8:00 AM), http://www.scotusblog.com/2016/02/a-responsibility-i-take-seriously/
Monday, February 22, 2016
http://www.danijohnson.com/
a guy at the next table has a self-help book and he says her web site's good so i'm noting it here so i can look at it later.
a guy at the next table has a self-help book and he says her web site's good so i'm noting it here so i can look at it later.
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Dear Jurisprudence: Lithwick on Scalia, Q& A.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
https://www.good.is/articles/radical-mycology-book-peter-mccoy-remediation-mushrooms-fungi
radical mycology book reviewed. a 700 page intro to the fungal kingdom. accessible but technical as well.
radical mycology book reviewed. a 700 page intro to the fungal kingdom. accessible but technical as well.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
http://www.centauri-dreams.org
as a sidebar with a nice set of links about exoplanet research, if you are into that sort of thing.
as a sidebar with a nice set of links about exoplanet research, if you are into that sort of thing.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge
find out if you can be a pearl sorter: how well do you see colors?
my results were average for being male and old.
find out if you can be a pearl sorter: how well do you see colors?
my results were average for being male and old.
LIGO finally pays off, gravity waves detected in black hole collision.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/gravitational-waves-einstein-s-ripples-spacetime-spotted-first-time
This proves that black holes do exist, and that gravity waves do exist, something Einstein predicted but hadn't been verified until now. LIGO's data has always been negative so far, building better bigger more expensive tax-funded antennas, and reporting back "still no gravity waves."
Now they found them. I am not a fan of tax-funded science, especially in the United States which the founders set up to be a small government which would be an umpire in society.
On the other hand, there have been military applications of Einstein's theories, and this work could be considered part of that, although there are no known immediate applications. Sometimes investing in basic science pays off better than more boots on the ground. Gravity waves probably won't lead to some fancy new space drive or weapon, but it's also too soon to rule out possible future applications.
Answering fundamental questions about the structure of reality is a useful step in designing new methods of space travel or universe-hacking. In the short term, this will be a Nobel prize Obama can take a little credit for, unlike his last one. In the longer term, I don't know what the fallout will be from this discovery. I am snowed in in Indiana and neglecting my chores to write instead about things like gravity waves, as though I were back in Jr. High. Still, it's one of the more exciting things that's happened around here today.
http://stuver.blogspot.com/2012/01/q-how-can-gravitational-waves-help.html
Good discussion of practical applications.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/gravitational-waves-einstein-s-ripples-spacetime-spotted-first-time
This proves that black holes do exist, and that gravity waves do exist, something Einstein predicted but hadn't been verified until now. LIGO's data has always been negative so far, building better bigger more expensive tax-funded antennas, and reporting back "still no gravity waves."
Now they found them. I am not a fan of tax-funded science, especially in the United States which the founders set up to be a small government which would be an umpire in society.
On the other hand, there have been military applications of Einstein's theories, and this work could be considered part of that, although there are no known immediate applications. Sometimes investing in basic science pays off better than more boots on the ground. Gravity waves probably won't lead to some fancy new space drive or weapon, but it's also too soon to rule out possible future applications.
Answering fundamental questions about the structure of reality is a useful step in designing new methods of space travel or universe-hacking. In the short term, this will be a Nobel prize Obama can take a little credit for, unlike his last one. In the longer term, I don't know what the fallout will be from this discovery. I am snowed in in Indiana and neglecting my chores to write instead about things like gravity waves, as though I were back in Jr. High. Still, it's one of the more exciting things that's happened around here today.
http://stuver.blogspot.com/2012/01/q-how-can-gravitational-waves-help.html
Good discussion of practical applications.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
WASHINGTON -
The Justice Department has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Ferguson, one day after the city council voted to revise an agreement aimed at improving how police and courts treat poor people and minorities in the St. Louis suburb.
Wind power produced half of Iowa's electricity in November, and produced half of Scotland's electricty last year. That's cherry picking the data for places with a lot of wind and small populations,
but it's a model the rest of the world can follow. Wind power costs have come down 66% in the last 6 years, said one source I looked at. The 4th quarter of 2015 was the third highest quarter for installation of new wind capacity. The tax credit program was extended for this year, with gradual phaseout over 4-5 years as the market takes over. I don't know what the current crash in oil prices is doing to the wind energy market.
Meanwhile it's 13 degrees out and I'm trying to stay in and bundled up.
but it's a model the rest of the world can follow. Wind power costs have come down 66% in the last 6 years, said one source I looked at. The 4th quarter of 2015 was the third highest quarter for installation of new wind capacity. The tax credit program was extended for this year, with gradual phaseout over 4-5 years as the market takes over. I don't know what the current crash in oil prices is doing to the wind energy market.
Meanwhile it's 13 degrees out and I'm trying to stay in and bundled up.
Friday, February 05, 2016
https://foursquare.com/v/murphy-arts-building/4b6099c6f964a52096ef29e3
Murphy Arts Building
Murphy Arts Building
It was First Friday, so I went to a gallery space in hipsterville. Had a good time, a drink and half, saw some art, ran into someone who's met met before and his friend invited me to their jazz house shows after I commented on his miles davis button.
Thursday, February 04, 2016
http://zenhabits.net/tynans-rules/
i endorse these, except the one about wearing wool, for vegan reasons, and also he's talking about merino wool, otherwise it would be itchy. i sometimes buy second hand wool suits but have not tried the other wool stuff he wears - socks underwear etc. i don't run into it at thrift stores, but then i haven't been looking.
i endorse these, except the one about wearing wool, for vegan reasons, and also he's talking about merino wool, otherwise it would be itchy. i sometimes buy second hand wool suits but have not tried the other wool stuff he wears - socks underwear etc. i don't run into it at thrift stores, but then i haven't been looking.
Tuesday, February 02, 2016
http://flavorwire.com/558854/louis-c-k-may-have-just-revolutionized-entertainment-all-over-again-with-horace-and-pete
I liked this article because up until now I didn't know what this new "Horace and Pete" product was. Now I'm torn between my love for Louis and my hate for Alda. I could see this being well suited to a "netflix and chill" type date, if I ever get one of those. I mean, I'd be ok with spending $5 to watch this with someone else, when I might not spend that much just to watch it myself. I have pretty strong sales resistance when it comes to not buying things online, or at least that's what I tell myself.
(posting this comment here on my blog because i couldn't post it at flavorwire without it raping my twitter to google+ or facebook or whatever, and i've forgotten my openID logon.)
I liked this article because up until now I didn't know what this new "Horace and Pete" product was. Now I'm torn between my love for Louis and my hate for Alda. I could see this being well suited to a "netflix and chill" type date, if I ever get one of those. I mean, I'd be ok with spending $5 to watch this with someone else, when I might not spend that much just to watch it myself. I have pretty strong sales resistance when it comes to not buying things online, or at least that's what I tell myself.
(posting this comment here on my blog because i couldn't post it at flavorwire without it raping my twitter to google+ or facebook or whatever, and i've forgotten my openID logon.)
