USS Requin

Images from an extended tour of a cold war submarine. (We liked the tour we took last year so much, my son and I came back.) [portfolio_slideshow size=medium trans=scrollHorz ] Similar:Blessing the “American sweet gum tree” that grew from a seed that Artemis I carried around…AwesomeAn Experimental Autism Treatment Cost Me My MarriageInteresting essay challenging…

Stage Right Greensburg Wizard of Oz

My daughter, as the wizard, with her talented castmates, in our local theater school’s preteen summer camp musical. Similar:Realm of Fear (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 2) When transporters reveal Barcl…Rewatching ST:TNG When the Enterprise…CultureAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAestheticsIn January 2000, I was blogging about dancing paperclips, the transience…

Bluejay Catching a Bug

My friend and colleague, Balázs Tarnai, shared these pictures of a bluejay catching a bug on his garage roof. Similar:Vote for your favorite Monopoly token — or else!One of the six current game pieces will …AestheticsAdded multiple swappable upper storeys. Next I will make slightly fewer variations of a sl…Added multiple swappable upper storeys. …AestheticsThe…

LEGO figures flying on NASA Jupiter probe

LEGO figurines representing the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and Galileo Galilei are flying to Jupiter. (NASA/LEGO) August 4, 2011 — They have launched aboard the space shuttle, visited the space station, and flown to Mars. Now, three more “very special” LEGO figurines are set to fly to Jupiter with NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The…

Textbooks for Fall 2011

Students are starting to contact me asking about books. I will have the course websites up in a week or two, but for now, here are the textbooks. LA101 “Seminar in Thinking and Writing” From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader, Second Edition (ISBN 978-0-312-60141-6) The SF Writer, Fifth Edition (ISBN 978-0-205-75197-6) EL200…

The 1982 Tron Holiday Special

Sides: split. Gut: busted. Milk droplets: transferred to computer screen via nasal passages. The 1982 Tron Holiday Special from Rip Taylor via The 1982 Tron Holiday Special from Rip Taylor, Scott Gairdner, Ryan Perez, PerryAdamSmith, Nick Mundy, Funny Or Die, dannyjelinek, BoTown Sound, and James Codeglia. Similar:Another delightful caricature by Rebecca ScassellatiAestheticsThe Best of Both…

Are We Alone? New Analysis Suggests Life Could Be Extremely Rare In the Universe| Statistics Crush Optimism in Search for Extraterrestrials | Search for Life, SETI | Space.com

Again with the mean scientists! Using a statistical method called Bayesian reasoning, they argue that the life here on Earth could be common, or it could be extremely rare — there’s no reason to prefer one conclusion over the other. With their new analysis, Spiegel and Turner say they have erased the one Drake factor…