Mighty Reason

2006-10-30T21:51:00.000Z

UPDATE: I have re-enabled mightyreason.com -- Tech support explained what I needed to do!

Much Stupidity

2006-10-30T14:23:00.000Z

UPDATE: I have re-enabled mightyreason.com -- Tech support explained what I needed to do!

I forgot to renew the mightyreason.com domain and so I am now dealing with many problems. To continue to reach me, you can use reason (at) tuffmail (dot) com until I come up with a more permanent fix.

Currently I just hate myself for being so crap that I let this happen.

UPDATE: I have re-enabled mightyreason.com -- Tech support explained what I needed to do!

Vindicated

2006-10-21T21:32:00.000Z

Hooray! We got our experimental paper which was submitted to PRL on April 19th accepted by the editors on October 11th. We are very happy and bought drinks for coworkers to celebrate. We are now working on turning the theory chapter of thesis into a theory paper.

This is posted from Edinburgh, where I am staying yet again for the weekend. Last night was another dancing night at Citrus. Today was a bit of sleeping then a bit of shopping. Tomorrow I should pick a Halloween costume.

I would write something about the tyranny that Bush has created and which Congress has just rubber stamped, but that would be tiresome for you to read. Just remember: the president seized all those power unlawfully long before Congress came along with its useless fig leaf of legislation. If you think the president would have relinquished the powers in the face of (so far non-existent) congressional opposition then you should go cold turkey on those happy pills you are taking.

Humor reminder: Go read http://www.xkcd.com/ including the archive...

Four weeks

2006-10-09T10:57:00.000Z

How have I been spending the 4 weeks since my last post?

4 Nights in Prague.
8 Nights in St Andrews.
16 Nights in Edinburgh.

A couple of friends from Texas can up to visit my in Edinburgh for 4 days. That was a blast, and it was a great change to catch up with them.

But the new computer getting turned on the Maths building required a power cut to the Physics building on Saturday. And then it all went "kerbloowee" and the power has still not been restored. The generators will up and running by this evening, but that will not let me run any of the laser systems. What lasers? Why our new laser of course. It is a Femtosource Rainbow which was installed last week by its creator, and managed to produce state of the art short pulses, only 5.8 femto seconds long (by a FWHM definition). Which is about 2.1 cycles of light at the carried wavelength of 800 nm.

Friday the 13th will be another party in Edinburgh. I may costume since "fancy dress" is recommended. Also need to plan ahead for Halloween.

2006-09-11T08:00:00.000Z

New Weird Al video: White and Nerdy (and lyrics)

Tanzen

2006-08-31T20:40:00.000Z

Mood: excited. Reason: Going dancing this weekend. Unrelated: CNN.

Fringe 2: Laugh Harder

2006-08-28T13:12:00.000Z

I caught some of the end of Fringe this past weekend.

Paradox: Set Phasers to Pun! "Space! Big isn't it? These are the journeys of the spaceship, Nebula. Its mission: to explore new possibilities for parody, to seek out bad puns, to use appropriate grammar in original ways. Achingly funny. www.twoshadesofblue.org.uk"

The humor was based on puns. If your sense of humor is more evolved then you won't like it much. References to StarTrek/StarWars/DrWho/QuantumLeap/Babylon5
I liked it.

Four on the Floor "Featuring winners and finalists from the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year 2006. The competition has unrivalled ability to spot future stars; previous finalists include Ardal O'Hanlon, Omid Djalili, Daniel Kitson and Simon Pegg."

Not the funniest bunch.

Pluck - The Specialists "The world's most stupid musicians are back! Pluck's international hit show returns, revamped, for five days only. Mozart meets Marx Brothers! 'Gloriously funny' Scotsman. 'I laughed so hard it really hurt' Three Weeks. Directed by Cal McCrystal."

Amazing and Funny. They did physical comedy while playing violin/viola/cello.

Nick Doody - Before He Kills Again "Quiet neighbour Nick Doody never meant to do it. Take that, political establishment and all major religions! You drove him to this... 'Superb... you found yourself laughing whilst consciously trying to bite your lip' www.bbc.co.uk"

Great dark humor. Opened with a song, sort of an ode to clowns. Too bad I can't get a copy of this song.

Next stop: Prague.

The Meme that ate Manhatten

2006-08-16T16:32:00.000Z

I am finially following up the game of tag, so via Third Wavefunction:

1. One book that changed your life?

Perhaps I don't have a good answer to this because I generally do not read the types of books that change people's lives. I became a scientist via an accumulation of math and science book exposure. For the fiction, there is no particular life altering book, though some are much better than others. Literature...I could read them and occasionally analyze them for class. So I will have to go with role-playing rule books. If I had never read those, then my life would clearly have been different. And that started with Dungeons and Dragons.

2. One book that you have read more than once?

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values" by Robert Pirsig. I think I have read it twice. lite-pseudo-philosophy. But it is a more interesting answer than scifi or a textbook. I read it first as part of the Dean's Scholars program seminar in college, and enjoyed the discussions we had around it. Your mileage may vary.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

"The Idiot's Guide to Island Survival", or maybe the complete works of Shakespeare. That would be a good amount of bang-for-buck. Perhaps learn iambic pentameter. Or maybe write sonnets in the white sand.

4. One book that made you laugh?

"Cryptonomicon" by Neil Stephenson. Really good geek humor and a good story. Not everyone likes it, but there are many of us who do. The amount of material he covers is quite large, and keeping a story together with that much in it was no small feat.

5. One book that made you cry?

I can't recall one right now from fiction. There have been some very sad short stories. From non-fiction there is certainly a lot of painfully sad history that I have read. But actuall book inspired tears aren't something I recall, but it might simply be a casualty of my poor memory.

6. One book you wish had been written?

"The Whole Truth" by R. M. Nixon. After the pardon it would have been relevatory to get the full story of all the criminal activity and intent. And it would have damned his former staff, e.g. Cheney and Rumsfeld. And perhaps explained the Vietnam war better. And perhaps revealed the "Southern Strategy".

7. One book you wish had never been written?

I could try and wish away whole political movements by erasing "Holy Bible", "Mein Kampf", "Koran", or "The Communist Manifesto" but that is over-rating their effect on history. I think I will go with "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion".

8. One book you are currently reading?

"The Perfect Heresy: The Revolutionary Life and Death of the Medieval Cathars" by Stephen O'Shea. It covers the suppression of a large group of heretics and those who had learned to tolerate them in the early 13th century. A good reminder of how monstrously brutal the times were, in this case at the direction of the Popes.

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. It is a well recommended yarn.

Fringe!

2006-08-14T16:55:00.000Z

This past weekend I dropped by Edinburgh, but not as I knew it. The Fringe Festival is ongoing this month: hundreds of venues running comedy/dance/plays/shows/etc all day and night. I saw

Chanbara : "This extraordinary new show, from the creators of the Yamato Drummers and the sword masters behind Kill Bill, combines the power of the Taiko drums and the Samurai sword in a breathtaking and explosive spectacle."
This is So Not About the Simpsons (American Voyeurs) : "Welshwoman Judith Owen, ('Keenly observational chanteuse' New York Times) and Harry Shearer (The Simpsons, This is Spinal Tap) dissect American democracy and cosmetic surgery with music, incisive humour and derisive video."
Puppet City: A Korean Fantasy : "Let the characters of Puppet City lead you on a fantastic journey to their unforgettable land of music and dance. Open your eyes to a magical new world. Suitable for all ages!"
Jump - Martial Arts Comedy : "2005's sell-out extravaganza of feet, fists and fun that entertains all ages with hilarious spectacular acrobatics. 'One of the best shows you'll ever see' Scotsman. 'Did I give it 5 stars? Make that 50!' Evening Standard."
A MidsummernightsTree : "Uniquely magical evening of sensuous cabaret beneath the stars. A leaf-canopied circus fantasy at sunset, with music and fire. For lovers of world-class acrobatics, dreamers and romantics of all ages. Featuring stars of 'La Clique'. 8 shows only. (Please bring suitable outdoor clothing, a torch and something to sit on.)"
The Midnight Carousel : "Decadent beasts and bewitching beauties: a late-night whirl of cabaret, burlesque and other dark doings hosted by Dusty Limits, master of comic cabaret, the 'New Age Noel Coward' Backstage NY. Dress to beguile, dance till dawn. www.midnightcarousel.net"

1 was impressive; where else can you see saumari sword technique?
2 was funny but not as much as I had expected, given Shearer
3 was very amusing and beautiful; it was funnier than I expected
4 was fantastically done and hilarious; seeing it done live was impressive
5 was amazing to behold, had to remember to blink
6 was variously entertaining, of course; opened with Tom Lehrer's Vatican Rag

Continuum

2006-08-04T19:37:00.000Z

The trip to Leicester for Continuum via train was a bit slow...I ran 2 hours late getting there becuase the first train run 2 hours and 40 minutes late.

But I have some pictures of that and other things up. You may find me dressed a shaman and as a pirate.

The games were fun, and I got to play with very experience folks, which made holding my own all that more rewarding. I was a siberian shaman (I bought the drum in the picture before getting on the train), a goth rock star (and vampire; Led Zeppelin t-shirt not in the photos), and a theater owner (in hoc to the mob; no real costume or any photos). Not bad for two days.

Note: two week to snakes on a plane. Don't forget to book early.

FCUP 3/n

2006-07-24T21:32:00.000Z

Work is at a busy stage this week. So no new movies for now. But unlike the ninja, I like Pirates of the Carribbean. The Superman movie was just not working for me.

As an aside, the Lamont campaign is a small source of good news to me in the world right now.

Futile Catch-Up post, part 2 of n

2006-07-22T21:59:00.000Z

(skip skip skip)

June and July have been a bit more social and busy

June : House cooling party, Edinburgh (a vast number of people)
July 7/8/9th: House warming/Birthday party, Edinburgh (also, PoTC:DMC)
July 14/15/16th: Beach party in St Monan's (also, Anstruther fish and chips)
July 21st: Pirate (avast!) themed birthday outing in Edinburgh (also, Superman Returns)

I have leaned the magic term here is "freeform" LARP. Good News: There are several running at http://www.Continuum.uk.net/ and Bad News: it is next weekend ! Thus I may need to do much last minute planning to squeeze into small parts in some of the games, travel to Leicester (where?) and find a place to sleep.

Edinburgh cows

2006-07-04T19:45:00.000Z

Edinburgh is still infested with bovine-vermin (bovermine? bovinmin?).

I am Cow

2006-07-04T19:40:00.000Z

Not only Edinburgh, but Boston has this cow madness. I took this on my trip back to the USA.

I used to live at the subway stop behind the cow's ear.

Futile Catch-Up post, part 1 of n

2006-07-04T19:22:00.000Z

So I have been ultra-lax about dating-up this 'log.

What has transpired in the interim

*) Went back to Boston area for Graduation ceremonies. (insert joke about getting phd hood).

*) Did the above while suffering from some bastard Scottish viral cold.

*) Did not feel much like posting about "Woe to me, I have a damn cold" so I
avoided writing blogger entries. You are welcome.

More catch-up posting to come.

Gah! Reviewer!

2006-05-27T13:03:00.000Z

I have a paper undergoing peer review. The first review came back and now we are formulating a rebuttal. I am find myself writing "the referee misunderstood" and "I cannot understand the referee" an awful lot. At some point this made me start to wonder if our paper is really hard to understand, but the referee also insists we made a sign error ('+' vs '-') which is not the case.

Put the argument into a concrete shape, into an image, some hard phrase, round and solid as a ball, which they can see and handle and carry home with them, and the cause is half won. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rocks and Trees and WATER!

2006-05-25T08:53:00.000Z

Last night I ducked over to Edingurgh for the Arrogant Worms with a group of fans. It was fun, with plenty of audience participation and sing-a-long and sheep and I contributed some mocking laughter. So in the excitement of the intermission I bought several CDs worth.

Meanwhile...Anyone Reading This?...has anyone else heard spiffy music and song recently?

late update

2006-05-22T01:57:00.000Z

There are 94 new statues in Edinbugh -- all of them are painted cows:

http://cowparade-edinburgh.co.uk/

More on my trip later.

Titles Are Not Titles

2006-05-19T18:34:00.000Z

Pollution is Life
War is Peace
Feces is Food
Freedom is Slavery
Urine is Healthy
Ignorance is Strength
Truth is Inconvenient

(backup link for video 1)
(backup link for video 2)

Fitzmas...?

2006-05-17T17:58:00.000Z

Jason Leopold is "Still Confident About Rove Indictment Article"

I have read a second rumor that he will reveal his anonymous source if the source turns out to have lied to him.

Antici...

First Light

2006-05-15T20:40:00.000Z

Today was partly an in-lab day. The new probe laser was installed and turned on. It produced a glowing spot on the IR sensative card and then was shut off. The pipes above the ceiling are getting some maintenance done in the morning, so work will resume after that is completed.

The Church committee was before my time. But I am learning via the flashbacks. Senator Church said, about the NSA:

"I don't want to see this country ever go across the bridge. I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision, so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return."

Loading...

2006-05-14T16:55:00.000Z

The photos of 2006, including my 4 trips are uploaded!

The Scotland bit has a sub theme of "backs of heads of statues".
The Rome bit is mainly "very old stuff", "cats".
The Florence bit is "old stuff".
The London bit has "very old stuff", "Time-traveling elephant", "Dali", "Eye", "Tower"

"Most Christians' view of evangelism are along the same lines of the propaganda campaigns of Nazi Germany. They have this 'us against them' concept, and they destroy art. They want to make films and music that make their philosophical position look good, which is not the same as art." ~ Frank Hart, leader for Atomic Opera

Fitzmas

2006-05-14T11:58:00.000Z

(If you don't know what Fitzmas is, just look it up here.)

Patrick Fitzgerald appears to have gotten to the "indict Karl Rove" stage of justice. In addition, there is now this piece of evidence: Margin Notes by Dick. Here we see Ambassador Wilson's New York Times OP-ED article with handwritten margin notes by Dick Cheney:

"Have they done this sort of thing before? Send an Amb. [sic] to answer a question? Do we ordinarily send people out pro bono to work for us? Or did his wife send him on a junket?"

Must go shop for Champaign. What is a frog-march? Ah, right.

The indictments against Scooter Libby were announced at a press conference Friday by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. Trim, soft-spoken, manly Patrick Fitzgerald. His clear, steady voice, piercing blue eyes and impeachable integrity restoring my faith in America and making me want to do things I have never done before. I love you, Patrick Fitzgerald, because you don't lie to me. I love you. -- Tina Fey, SNL

Ephemeral Images

2006-05-13T22:09:00.000Z

The previous host of my photos is offline. A more stable home has been acquired, so the URL has ... not changed (yeah for planning).

Currently the old material is being uploaded, so the new material will take a bit longer than I had hoped (more time for pithy comments). Even from the office, the upload speed to the server (in the US, I think) takes a while.

Meanwhile: Are you happy with your phone service provider?

"…the worst instrument of arbitrary power, the most destructive of English liberty and the fundamental principles of law, that ever was found in an English law-book. I will to my dying day oppose, with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery and villainy as this Writ of Assistance is." -- James Otis, 1761

P.O.N.Y.: Person Optimized for Nocturnal Yelling

2006-05-12T09:35:00.000Z

New poll: 29%

#250

Vampires need not apply

2006-05-12T08:56:00.000Z

After all my whining about how early it got dark in the winter, you might wonder about light in the summer. I am writing today to satisfy your curiousity.

Some definitions will help:

Civil Twilight Definitions:
According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, civil twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 6 degrees below the horizon. This is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under good atmospheric conditions in the absence of moonlight or other illumination. In the morning before the beginning of civil twilight and in the evening after the end of civil twilight, artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities. Complete darkness, however, ends sometime prior to the beginning of morning civil twilight and begins sometime after the end of evening civil twilight.

Visible Light:
The moment when the sun is 15 degrees below the horizon. This is approximately when any light in the sky can be detected with the naked eye. It is halfway between the definitions of Nautical Twilight (12 degrees) and Astronomical Twilight (18 degrees).

On this day, May 12th 2006, I have the following data times (GMT+1 hour daylight savings):
Sunrise,Sunset: 5:03 am, 9:12 pm (Transit 1:07 pm)
Civil Twilight: 4:14 am, 10:01 pm
Visible Light: 1:52 am, 12:22 am

On May 15th, the visible light will be simply "ALL DAY". This will be true through July 29th. So there will be no true darkness for 76 days by my count.

The Summer Solstice is June 21st, which will have
Sunrise,Sunset: 4:22 am, 10:04 pm (Transit 1:13 pm)
Civil Twilight: 3:17 am, 11:08 pm
So there will be only 4 hours and 9 minutes with sub-twilight conditions.

Return to duty

2006-05-10T14:44:00.000Z

I am back. And the equipment we had ordered for the lab just arrived. Now for the paperwork and assembly to get it turned on...

As for photos, those will soon be posted in the usual place in small batches.

Turn around, Turn around

2006-04-24T08:35:00.001Z

My parents an dI are back from Edinburgh. Now I must pack for Italy. I probably don't have time to post any pictures quite yet.

Turn around, Turn around

2006-04-24T08:35:00.000Z

My parents an dI are back from Edinburgh. Now I must pack for Italy. I probably don't have time to post any pictures quite yet.

2006-04-19T09:33:00.000Z

One day left before my parents arrive to visit. This will also involve a trip to
Italy and London. And now for a science interlude, and the area is medicine:

More than 80,000 people required hospital treatment for lawn mower injuries in 2004, which means about 2 out of every 1,000 injury-related emergency room visits is because of a lawn mower injury. The rate is about half the number treated for firearms injuries annually

Note that this does not mean lawnmowers kill people at such a comparable rate, just injure them.

I command you

2006-04-16T10:17:00.000Z

I have heard that the super excellent talk on evolution from the Royal Society is up. This is a one hour lecture for the public, but technically the British public. It is by Steve Jones, and did I mention it is excellent?

Go forth and become smarter!

#521

Core Concerns

2006-04-16T09:38:00.000Z

We took a bus from St Andrews to Crail (that's with a C, not a G), and walked to Anstruther for lunch (fish (haddock) and chips -- salt, no vinegar). And then on through Pittenweem to St Monance. I mapped it out here. (I have not seen that insert on google maps before -- in the lower right hand corner I can drag the visible area...). I will post pictures later.

We discusses various random things, including wind farms vs nuclear power. I'd rather live near a wind farm. Today I see an article in the post by one of Greenpeace's founders advocating nuclear power. Which is nice to see: a goal-oriented risk-comparing realistic basis for taking a position.

#291

2006-04-15T06:46:00.000Z

Quick amusement: The canonical blog post has reached 791 comments and counting...

Aibohphobia

2006-04-14T22:13:00.000Z

I will be going out of doors on Saturday and walking. "To a bookstore?", you ask. "No". "To a coffee shop?" "No again" "Apple opened a new store?" "Not recently" "I'm stumped"

I'll just be walking a trail/path/byway that traverses some interesting countryside.
Why? Because if I don't go look at this countryside people might start to suspect I don't like the countryside and I am not sure what they do to people like that.

And finally, a link not on science or politics but on history.

RoyalSoc

2006-04-11T21:02:00.000Z

I watched the RoyalSoc Live WebCasT about evolution. It was really a fantastic one hour talk. I don't know if they will post it for archival viewing ( perhaps it would appear at http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/page.asp?id=3094 ) but it is not up on the 'net now.

I am making slow progress through my "inbox", soon I may turn the tide of battle.

"I'm sure we all agree that we ought to love one another, and I know there are people in the world who do not love their fellow human beings — and I hate people like that!" ~ Tom Lehrer

abnormal service continues

2006-04-10T17:45:00.000Z

Sorry, I am currently overwhelmed by things piling up, and losing time to being sick has made it acute. Once I have caught up at work, perpare for my parents visit, do another fellowship app, finish financial things, and save the world from the little lizards I will be able to write more often.

So go read something else the meantime:
A Question of Status
The Great Shrill One
The Royal Society
Self Incrimination

Our constitution protects aliens, drunks and U.S. Senators.-- Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)

Abnormal service is resumed

2006-04-07T20:53:00.000Z

So I did not post much last weekend since I was in Edinburgh. Then I was very busy putting a fellowship application together.

Then I caught what I will call "the flu". I can recall having "the flu" in 1984 and 2000 and now 2006. So I don't have to deal with this very often. I have worked my way back onto solid food and back onto the internet today. And I hand delivered the application to the destination in Edinburgh. I would have gotten someone who was not ill to do it, but the two most likely co-workers for the job were not back onto solid food yet.

And what do I learn when I get into contact with the world outside my flat? One dead swan, and I am now in a "wild bird risk area".

Experts are warning the swan may not be an isolated case, with surveillance zones in force around Cellardyke, Fife, where the dead swan was found. -- BBC

Short Cipher

2006-04-01T09:56:00.000Z

http://www.thinkgeek.com/
http://slashdot.org/

And the much less funny:

http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2006/03/31#id-card-1
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2006/03/31#id-card-2
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_digbysblog_archive.html#114384025367592891

Off to Edinburgh...

Election Tech

2006-03-27T14:55:00.000Z

"Now he is required under federal laws instituted after the Florida voting debacle in 2000 to acquire 160 voting machines for disabled people -- and none of the state-approved vendors will provide the machines.

A spokesman said Diebold will not sell to Sancho without assurances that he will not permit more such tests, which the company considers a reckless use of the machines."

I suggest you read this. How paranoid is paranoid enough?

Brother Spikey Mace of Reasoned Discussion

2006-03-26T23:34:00.000Z

I have determined the optimal beverage arc for a weedend day: A Huge Latte at Northpoint with late breakfast followed by a Totally Wicked Chai Latte at BeanScene for late lunch. This produces the optimal mindset for housekeeping and then writing.

I am no longer living in GMT, but rather BST. This will help those of you who call me to...wait, nevermind, this doen't apply to any of you.

I suppose I could point to something sciency (details in gr-qc/0603033 and gr-qc/0603032), but I am worried this result is not actually true (which usually means it is false). It looks good at first glance, but that could also be said for the first cold fusion annoucements.

I will outsource the political part of this post. And use old material for the final quote-thing:

Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States. We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions. Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the secretary.

The best disinfectant

2006-03-25T23:11:00.000Z

Mostly writing today. Later, I made contact with what passes for the local LARP group. It is different than what I have dealt with before.

Step 0: It is 10:30 pm on Saturday night and dinner is required.

Step 1: Turn on oven to heat.

Step 2: Go to Tesco's and shop for something to eat.

Step 3: Return home and place item in heated oven according to instructions, set timer.

Step 4: Wait

Step 5: Mmmmmm

"Besides, I'd always had a guilty preference for fiction. Since I
seemed now to be *living* fiction, this proved to have been an
entirely reasonable choice." -- by Robin McKinley

2006-03-24T18:18:00.000Z

The Astrosoc trip to Dundee for the observatory/planetarium + bowling in Dundee went fine last night. But the sky was overcast and I only scored 114.

I can report that Lamb & Mint is a fine flavor (sorry, flavour) of crisp. I had it as a side to a corned beef sandwich, and it was tasty. [ No more chip blogging ].

And a chart.

Everything is an experiment

2006-03-23T08:15:00.000Z

I have an assorted bag of Walkers from Tesco's that contains the MSG/Lamb powder derived "crisps". The others are Ready Salted (Potatoes, sunflower oil (34%) , salt) and Roast Chicken (roast chicken flavour (MSG)) and Smoky Bacon (smoky bacon flavour (MSG)).

Now I just need to finish the experimental desgin. What does one eat with "Lamb & Mint" potato chips?

And tonight the AstroSoc goes to Dundee for the observatory, looking at the sky (i.e. clouds), and MegaBowl bowling. I will be going along. If you like cosmology there's also the latest WMAP data: "WMAP polarization data allow scientists to discriminate between
competing models of inflation for the first time. "

Filming on location for Walker: Texas Ranger, Chuck Norris brought a stillborn baby lamb back to life by giving it a prolonged beard rub. Shortly after the farm animal sprang back to life and a crowd had gathered, Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked the animal, breaking its neck, to remind the crew once more that Chuck giveth, and the good Chuck, he taketh away.

Wheee...

2006-03-20T22:36:00.000Z

I had ordered the boxed set of Firefly DVDs when it went on sale, and now they are here. The dialog is very snarky. And some parts for the lab came in, except for one I needed which is on the way later, so I had to improvise with a coupler for the wrong wavelength. It was only one tenth as efficient as I wanted, even with the multimode core attached (well, loosely attached, I had to unscrew it to put it in the focal plane).

The DVDs will help tide me over until snakes on a plane.

Jayne: [To Wash] Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I beat you with until you remember I'm in charge.

...don

...a sticky, dark brown substance...

2006-03-18T23:23:00.000Z

So what should I write about today? Wax? Donuts? Wax Donuts?

No, I shall write about small bags of potato chips. But not as you know them. Small bags of potato chips from Britain. Behold: Walkers. The flavors (left side) read like their R&D folks were simultaneously on something, reading Dahl, and inventing. I have seen these ("Though right now I could murder for a bag of Prawn Cocktail") for sale in most of the sandwich shops. Which is to say, most places that allow money to be exchanged for food. Their Sensations make me think "they never did get the blueberries right...", and their Latinos remind my of the girl scouts from the Addams Family movie and Soylent Cola ("Oh. How is it? It varies from person to person") from Futurama.

Also unlike America, there is a much greater sentiment against genetically modified food. I don't share this bias; genetic modifications can be rather cute.

Someone once tried to tell Chuck Norris that roundhouse kicks aren't the best way to kick someone. This has been recorded by historians as the worst mistake anyone has ever made.

This is what we do to pickles we like...

2006-03-17T14:22:00.000Z

I just went to one of the last local events for "Science Week", the talk by physicist / author Simon Singh about his new book, The Big Bang. It was a very light, multimedia lecture. It had clips of an acapella science song, the illuminating electrocution of a gherkin, listening to "Stairway to Heaven" forwards and backwards, well-endowed astronomers, and so on.

And there will be no political stories, it is too depressing. Who will save us?

Kinda Busy

2006-03-15T21:27:00.000Z

Sunday was snow. It actually accumulated before melting.

So the Ig Nobel talk on Monday night was good -- but one of the speakers was quite Creepy. People who enjoy taxidermy have a responsibility to be less creepy than Norman Bates.

Afterwards a few us went to get food (late) at the Grill House, which is Mexican cuisine. They actually have (frozen and classic) margaritas. But I don't think much of the tequila they were using, though it was strong.

Yesterday was boring. It happens. I'll recover.

"No leadership, no strategy, no coordination, no structure and inaccessible to ordinary Iraqis." -- Guardian

Let this be a warning to others

2006-03-11T14:53:00.000Z

The Ig Nobel talks come though Scotland for National Science Week -- I am going to the St Andrews talk on Monday. But I will not be joining the LFHCfS this month as I just got sheared. We are having pleasant snow this weekend; a few flakes fall and melt on the wet ground. And finially, My parents have bought tickets to come and visit

Short-attention-span-news: Republicans -- No crime too big, no crime too small. And to "balance" the links to the carnival here is some history. And a shout out to NASA -- good work on parking the probe.

I have restocked my kitchen with coffee beans and carbohydrates. Time to write!

TV News Announcer: [News report after Santas disappearance] And mrs Claus has positively identified the kidnapers as martians.

Aleph_0 bottles of beer on the wall...

2006-03-09T18:58:00.000Z

A little more info on the union dispute is available: a summary (pdf) and the union's news page. I have largely ignored the dispute for the moment.

A piece of equiptment that my group worked on purchasing before I arrived has finially arrived. It's an optical spectrum analyzer. It shows us power versus frequency of light.

Last night was a "Café Scientifique" discussion at a local restuarant / pub:

In this Café, three theoretical physicists will discuss their opinions of the mysteries and challenges of quantum mechanics.

There will be one next week (National Science Week) on the genetics of red hair (St. Patrick's day is also next week).

And there is another great carnival, with wonderful scholarship. Do you believe?

Moving target

2006-03-07T11:01:00.000Z

We were going to give up and buy the new unit. But this "1550" model has changed out from under us, and so we need a "1520" unit. So now I have to ask all the same questions again to get the specifications we need to be sure that the "1520" will do what we want/need it to do. Meanwhile, the salesmen looking for the used unit have given up as well.

Also, there is a labor strike today: http://www.aut.org.uk/ "Association of University Teachers".

* Universities across the UK will be brought to a complete halt on Tuesday 7 March by a day of strike action, with an assessment boycott beginning the following day.

* Lecturers, researchers and academic related staff will refuse to cover colleagues’ work, mark students' work or take part in the exam process as part as an ongoing boycott.

Power Of Imagination

2006-03-03T08:34:00.000Z

I have never read 1984. But I think they are serializing it on Fox News:

Hundreds of Iraqis have been killed since the Feb. 22 bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra unleashed a wave sectarian violence. An extraordinary daytime curfew and vehicle restrictions helped curb the worst of the sectarian killing, but attacks continued this week. -- ap

A deep breath and...

2006-03-01T18:52:00.000Z

There was no progress yesterday on either hearing from a salesman that a used unit has been spotted in the wild or on giving up and purchasing a new probe laser, and today the original salesperson asked if were interested in a more common variety of used laser that operates at a longer, yet overlapping, range of wavelengths; to which I replied that I had proposed buying one those systems while waiting for a proper used unit to become available, but we had decided this was not an efficient plan, after which I received email from another salesman that he had a lead on tea proper used unit that we wanted to buy, which triggered a quick call from from me to him so that I could request that they put a hold on the rare equipotent while my boss puts together the proper purchase order, and after this call I tried to print the quote but the printer was off-line so I had to use my boss' printer instead so I could get the hardcopy which I gave him, interrupting his instruction of a lab course.

Oh, look, shiny science...I think I like the "Eugenics doesn't work. Ask why, asshole" post the best.

Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.

But more than half can name at least two members of the cartoon family, according to a survey. -- msbnc

Psych!

2006-02-27T22:04:00.000Z

We were going to buy a new probe laser, but wanted to buy used one if possible, though it wasn't since there was not a used unit available, and so we started the paperwork to buy a new probe laser until the end of last week when I got a quote for a newly available used unit, which I called to get more infomation on today while my boss stopped the paperwork on the new laser, and I got more details on the used unit from the salesman in America tonight, but just now I received a new email about the used unit saying it is no longer available and so we may be the new probe laser after all along with a fresh supply of periods.

Charlene's crowd most definitely did take it personally. It wasn't being told that they were wrong that offended them, though - it was the underlying assumption that a person COULD be right or wrong about ANYTHING. -- Cryptonomicon

Why Attack Iraq?

2006-02-26T13:21:00.000Z

There is still great confusion about why America invaded Iraq. I can not say that I have seen plausible evidence for any reason. This post is mainly me talking to myself out loud. Let's see what new evidence has become public. This connecting the dots over time is something the internet is good at. Back in September of 2002, CBS reported:

CBS News has learned that barely five hours after American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was telling his aides to come up with plans for striking Iraq — even though there was no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the attacks.

Much more detail is in the CBS article.

Full details are now available: thanks to OutragedModerates the handwritten notes from Rumsfeld's meeting on September 11th, 2001 can be seen here. It is too bad CBS did not do the followup reporting with the Freedom of Information Act request, but that is why "journalist" applies to anyone who wants the title, not just a few corporate employees. But the raw notes make a case that CBS understated Rumsfeld eagerness. It appears that on 9/11 he learned about the strong link between the hijackers and Al Queda / Osama Bin Laden and proceeded to order Gen. Meyers to "judge whether good enough [to] hit S.H. at same time". (Saddam Hussein)

Repeating that: With the evidence piling up that "U.B.L." was attacking, Rumsfeld wanted evidence to "hit S.H." as well.

What can I extrapolate? At the very least S.H. was on Rumsfeld's mind -- he was looking for a reason to hit S.H. -- and this inclination likely predates the 9/11 attacks. The President and Vice President worked very hard to link 9/11 with S.H. in their statements while trying to carefully stop short of obviously lying. It seems more probable that all three were looking for a reason to hit S.H. before 9/11 than it is that it only occured to some of them afterward. This still does not tell me why they wanted to hit S.H. so badly, but it does limit a discussion of motives to pre-9/11 history.

But Bush was president for only 8.5 months at that point. Did they decide to look for a reason to hit S.H. before or after taking office? Bush's statements before becoming president indicate he wanted to remove S.H.; this moves the explanation even earlier in time. I predict historians will have "quite a time" writing different books about this as more evidence comes to light, piece by piece.

Others have composed a hypothetical recreation of the decisions.

Political Satire?

2006-02-26T13:03:00.000Z

Well, this is too good not to post. The Carpetbagger Report links to a story from the state legislature of Ohio. In Akron:

Hagan said his legislation was written in response to a bill introduced in the Ohio House this month by state Rep. Ron Hood, R-Ashville, that is aimed at prohibiting gay adoption.

What is Hagan's legislation? Well..

To further lampoon Hood's bill, Hagan wrote in his mock proposal that "credible research" shows that adopted children raised in Republican households are more at risk for developing "emotional problems, social stigmas, inflated egos, and alarming lack of tolerance for others they deem different than themselves and an air of overconfidence to mask their insecurities."

However, Hagan admitted that he has no scientific evidence to support the above claims.

So what is Hagan's fraudulently scientific bill?

State Sen. Robert Hagan sent out e-mails to fellow lawmakers late Wednesday night, stating that he intends to "introduce legislation in the near future that would ban households with one or more Republican voters from adopting children or acting as foster parents." The e-mail ended with a request for co-sponsorship.

Brilliant. As a countermeasure to homophobia it has garnered enough attention to get press coverage. That's great opposition work. The "...alarming lack of tolerance..." is my favorite jab.

with the power of 1000 suns

2006-02-25T21:28:00.000Z

Brief recap of things here: I am feeling much much better, with only a few random coughs today. This has allowed me to concentrate on shopping and cleanup. Shopping in the form of restocking Kleenex and books (e.g. Altered Carbon). Cleanup in the form of bagging up trash and recycling and supervision intensive laundry (tumble dry low is tricky to do with my machine).

And shopping in the form of a Microwave (with grill capabilities). At the moment I have used its incredible powers to tell time, but soon, soon I will do more shopping -- for food!

And a visual lesson on politics and the "news media":
And to think I spent much of 1996-2001 getting upset about bad trademark/copyright/patent legal issues and precedents. What a simple time that was. Now we are left to ponder "ALL-OUT CIVIL WAR IN IRAQ: COULD IT BE A GOOD THING?"

I think a partial civil war, let's say 10-20% of an all-out civil war, might be pleasant for our troops and our victory strategy. Or perhaps if it verges-on-all-out-civil-war and the leaders of Iraqi factions say to each other "Whoa, that was close -- we almost killed each other. Perhaps we should be competitors in an un-violent democratic process instead." And it could always be worse that a civil war -- other countries could start supporting different sides, like that time France helped the colonists revolt against England. But its not like an all-out civil war could be that violent, they can't even fight without us : "Pentagon: Iraqi troops downgraded. No Iraqi battalion capable of fighting without U.S. support". Divide and Conquer let the British leverage small numbers of troops and we don't have enough troops, so maybe if they break up into tiny little factions we can win! And then the grateful Iraqi people will award our battalions ponies.

Bent

2006-02-23T20:34:00.000Z

I really need to straighten up around here, hmm...nah, I'll post an entry! I am feeling better, and I'll skip the big Q for tonight.

Should I look at what politics dragged in? There is this debate over the UAE port takeover.

...according to our Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England:

If the furor over the port deal should go on, Mr. England said, it would give enemies of the United States aid and comfort: "They want us to become distrustful, they want us to become paranoid and isolationist."

This statement is so cartoonishly evil, I'm not sure what to say. Their evil-spokesperson is accusing the other side of the debate of TREASON, a capital offense, for creating a "furor". It would be nice if CNN or ABC or CBS or NBC or a newspaper would devote a little time to the question: Why does the administration think it can get away with accusations like this?

So far no one in the adminstration has rasied his hand and said "I/we approved this deal". The president threatened his first veto if congress blocked the deal, but then claims not have known anything about it before it was announced in the media. Rumsfeld is on a committee which may have approved it, but claims not to have heard about it. Two admin officials have ties to the company, and one of them, Snow, claims to have had nothing to do with it. They claim the deal has been properly studied, but I have no idea who studied it. This seems rotten to me. I'm paranoid -- about Bush's decisions.

Scottish engineering

2006-02-23T00:49:00.000Z

I hereby point to two things

Now where did I put that syrup...

It's not about me

2006-02-21T17:52:00.000Z

Quick political post, shamelessly compressed from kos. One:

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Monday that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize his 2002 meeting with President Bush, but denied the money came from the Malaysian government.

And Two:

“I don’t think the (Malaysian) Government paid. But I must admit the Heritage Foundation (a US think tank) arranged it.
“I did not touch the money. But, I think somebody paid. That is their practice,” he [Dr Mahathir] said. “That is their system. It is not corruption at all. It is very open.”

And Three:

Abramoff contacted presidential adviser Karl Rove on at least four occasions to help arrange a meeting, according to an eyewitness to the activities.
Finally, this former associate said, Rove's office called to tell Abramoff personally that the Malaysian leader would get an official White House invitation. In May 2002, Mahathir met with Bush in the Oval Office.

So now we know the going rate for a bribe to have an Oval Office meeting with President Bush. Let me quote Article II, section 4:

The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

There is that b-word again. And I will definately quote Zoolander:

Mugatu: Do as you are trained... AND KILL THE MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER!

Brand K

2006-02-19T21:20:00.000Z

Emergency scientific sampling of tissues from Tesco indicates the "Kleenex Ultra Soft" has less friction than "Kleenex Balsam" or "Softie Balmex Ultra". No animals were harmed in these measurements.

Chuck Norris doesn't shave, he kicks himself in the face because the only thing that can cut Chuck Norris is Chuck Norris.

Abracadabra

2006-02-18T13:59:00.000Z

Aha..I remembered my blogger password, so I may post from Edinburgh. Last night was excellent -- meeting up with a slightly larger the group of people over the course of the evening at the pub. And after that, sandwich and dancing at a club. Today I slept in a bit and I'll take in a few more sights.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love

33.0027397260274

2006-02-17T14:04:00.000Z

My brithday dinner went quite well last night, and was followed by our group visiting a couple of pubs and a bit of wine at the other postdoc's home. Good times.

I am packed for Edinburgh tonight. I have almost everything I need.

And it is also Science Friday. And a dose of politics:

Lantos, to Microsoft: Is your company ashamed?

Microsoft: We comply with legally binding orders whether it's here in the U.S. or China.

Lantos: Well, IBM complied with legal orders when they cooperated with Nazi Germany. Those were legal orders under the Nazi German system...Do you think that IBM during that period had something to be ashamed of?

Note: Godwin's Law does not apply here because Lantos gets to compare people with Nazis since he "is the only member of Congress who is a Holocaust survivor."

Reality based Media

2006-02-16T09:46:00.000Z

The Daou Report by Peter Daou at Salon.com has a challenge, backed by a relentlessly long pile of observations and facts. So you do you get your news from? As for myself, I pay for only one source -- a subscription to salon.com.

"Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds." ~ Henry Adams

2006-02-15T18:02:00.000Z

"You know, I just have one simple request and that is to have sharks with freakin' laser beams attached to their heads!" We are almost done shopping for a probe laser -- but there are still at least 3 candidates and they range from £ 5000 to £ 15000 and from 6 to 50 mW. Or maybe we'll just by a nice car...

Tomorrow I have arranged for the lab group to go out for dinner. The theme will be numeric palindromes.

Dr. Evil: Scott, I want you to meet daddy's nemesis, Austin Powers
Scott Evil: What? Are you feeding him? Why don't you just kill him?
Dr. Evil: I have an even better idea. I'm going to place him in an easily escapable situation involving an overly elaborate and exotic death.

What's on my mind

2006-02-12T22:01:00.000Z

Sekou Sundiata's performance, "Blessing the Boats", was great. Glasgow came with the subway option already installed, which was not as handy as you might have thought, since I think they lost the instructions somewhere. I stopped by Edinburgh on the way (Y? for the comics), but it turned out that I saw a comic shop in Glasgow nearly immediately. The return today via Edinburgh was another scouting mission, which may have produced useful intelligence. I cannot comment further at this time. It could have gone better, but at least I did not shoot anyone this weekend, unlike the Vice President.

Plans for next weekend are already being made. This is called planning ahead, from what I have gleaned from others. There may be future in it.

11111 and 100001 are both palindromic numbers, discuss.

In the spirit of planning ahead, hmm...

Mon : 48 F / 42 F, Wet
Tue: 51 F / 41 F, Wet
Wed: 48 F / 37 F
Thu: 44 F /37 F
Fri: 50 F / 32 F

Which is in contrast to "Big Snowstorm Causes Disruptions in New York Area. The storm closed airports and for several hours virtually paralyzed traffic in New York City"

It'll be a merciful death compared with what he suspect lurks out there, in the unexplored vastness beyond the gates. The vastness that made Nixon cancel the manned space program, leaving just the standing joke of a white-elephant shuttle, when he realised just how hideously dangerous the space race might become. The darkness that broke Jimmy Carter's faith and turned Lyndon B. Johnson into an alcoholic. -- A Colder War by Charles Stross

Half a plan

2006-02-10T20:59:00.000Z

So the plan to hit Edinburgh tonight and Glasgow on the morrow is foiled by it taking too long to try and find a hostel that has room tonight. But Glasgow is fully planned and provisioned for Saturday night. I will probably still stop off in Edinburgh coming or going or both. And I am forewarned now for next week's trip to Edinburgh.

The new coffee this morning, aka "Rocco", was excellent. I decline to write a whole paragraph about, however.

And if any of you are on speaking terms with any republicans, ask them whether this appointment of Nicole R. Nason is appropriate.

David St. Hubbins: It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever.

What is Y f = f (Y f) in RPN?

2006-02-09T23:40:00.000Z

I will take a second to point out that the previous post that mentioned
poetry, just got a comment from the person I linked to.
How that post was found is nice mystery to savor.

Work has been busy, so I don't have either much time to post. But
this is okay since I have less to post about. There is new
espresso/cappuccino machine in the physics staff lounge. This
triggered another email from the department head:

There has been much speculation since the appearance of the new coffee
machine in the SCR, but I am now in a position to reveal our plans. The
other day Mary, Lesley and I spent 40 minutes assisting a skilled beverage
engineer to optimise the various products on offer. This included
producing a decent crema on the espresso and black coffee option via an
optimisation of the delicate interplay between grind size, mass of coffee
and pressure.

And this reminds me: I now have a grinder for coffee beans, and some coffee beans. So now I just need to have enough time in the morning to make coffee.

There is also the small matter of my dead calculator. I will try a few more resuccitation attempts, but I have had it half my life. Perhaps it has finially perished for good. In which case I may need to consider what a new calculator is worth to me.

Recipe

2006-02-07T23:00:00.000Z

I got a bit done in the lab, mostly measuring the width of a laser beam -- or rather the undergrad measuring it. I did manage to get temporarily locked out of my apartment this morning, leaving my keys and wallet inside. Though penniless, I was holding a bag of blueberry muffins (luck). And I did have my spare key stashed in my office for just this kind of morning (planning).

Last Sunday's post had many links to people reacting to Mr Deutsch's attempts at censoring NASA scientists. At that time I forbore to poke fun at him for being a 2003 journalism graduate from Texas A&M University. I was right not to ridicule him for his degree...for it now seems that he does have a college degree:

At this point, while I am unaware of whether Deutsch graduated from college at all, it is clear that he did not graduate from A&M, and he may have intentionally misled people to believe that he did.

So this guy apparently the school newspaper to help Bush get elected and poof, he gets a cushy job as political censor. Nice work if you can get it and still sleep at night. But revenge is dish best served with a side helping of public humilation. Also note: I think that Texas A&M no longer has a journalism department, per se, just an agricultural journalism degree. Perhaps Mr. Deutsch may have been a little unbalanced at such an academic place as NASA with no real credentials of his own.

But there was a new commedian performing today in front of congress: the "Gonzo" attorney general. He claimed: "President Washington, President Lincoln, President Wilson, President Roosevelt have all authorized electronic surveillance on a far broader scale." and this one:

I think, based on my experience, it is true -- you would assume that the enemy is presuming that we are engaged in some kind of surveillance.
But if they're not reminded about it all the time in the newspapers and in stories, they sometimes forget.

(LAUGHTER)

Yes, the record shows that he is a funny, funny guy.

Bonus journalism + politics story: Why you should never waste time with Time again.

UPDATE: Deutsch did lie on resume and has resigned.

Krugmonday

2006-02-06T23:53:00.000Z

Monday was, locally, uneventful. But through a family connection I have been told Sekou Sundiatas is excellent, and I may now be on guest list. That is something which does not occur with measurable frequency. The performance Saturday night in Glasgow might be achievable.

I did not see any Superbowl TV -- were there any instant-classic commericials?

And my fingers, possessed, post links to some politics.

YAFW, Sunday edition

2006-02-05T15:34:00.000Z

Whoops, back to the Republican War on Science:

The Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion," Mr. Deutsch wrote, adding, "It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator."

Longer commentaries: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. I have an opinion of Mr. Deutsch, but that will take too long to express. Do I feel better posting this? Well, it beats having fun writing more of the draft paper. Onward...

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe...." -- Albert Einstein

YAFW

2006-02-04T23:34:00.000Z

While I would rather be going to a museum, I am having Yet Another Fun Weekend writing the paper. This is good, especially since there is a bit more theory written up. And while it is fairly cold, there is no freezing rain or snow, unlike a Boston winter.

I can't access my blog page to view it right now. So I assume blogger is updating something. Or hacked. Other blogs there are also down.

Enjoy some psycho-science: "At least in some cases, negative thinking could still work to a person's advantage." Hmmm...

And news which, apparently unlike truth, does not set you free: "Officials see a pattern of corruption enabling the flow of oil money to the insurgency that threatens to undermine Iraq's economy."

But the really screwed up story this week concerns the political cartoons originally published by a Danish newpaper, now republished widely in Europe:

A dozen caricatures of the prophet originally appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September. The Muslims consider some of the images particularly demeaning, including one of the Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse.

In addition to boycotting Danish dairy products:

Muslim demonstrators in Damascus, Syria, torched the Norwegian Embassy and the building housing Denmark's embassy, because newspapers in those countries had published what they consider blasphemous depictions of Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

Whee..looting and burning to protest blasphemy. But not killing, for that it takes a game show.

But I would not want to let the Catholic's off, since they have commented:

"The freedom of thought and expression, confirmed in the Declaration of Human Rights, can not include the right to offend religious feelings of the faithful. That principle obviously applies to any religion," the Vatican said.
"Any form of excessive criticism or derision of others denotes a lack of human sensitivity and can in some cases constitute an unacceptable provocation," it said in a statement issued in response to media demands for the Church's opinion.

And the official in this story is even worse:"The cardinal said secular societies should not assume a right to offend religious sentiments." Or what, Cardinal? Or what? What about protestant societies? muslim ones? What if they offend you?

The word of the year, 2005

2006-02-02T09:11:00.000Z

From the NYT:

Diplomatically, Mr. Bush's ambitious call for the replacement of 75 percent of the United States' Mideast oil imports with ethanol and other energy sources by 2025 upset Saudi Arabia, the main American oil supplier in the Persian Gulf. In an interview on Wednesday, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Prince Turki al-Faisal, said he would have to ask Mr. Bush's office "what he exactly meant by that."

From KnightRidder:

WASHINGTON - One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally.

"Maybe the White House press corps can ask Scotty which parts of the speech Bush meant literally, and which parts were, um, not literal." -- kos

And now for Truthiness:

As defined by Colbert, "truthiness" refers to the quality by which someone purports to know something emotionally or instinctively, without regard to evidence or to what the person might conclude from intellectual examination. By using the term as part of his satirical routine, Colbert seeks to critique the tendency to rely upon "truthiness".

whose definition fits pretty well with this explanation:

Asked why the president used the words "the Middle East" when he didn't really mean them, one administration official said Bush wanted to dramatize the issue in a way that "every American sitting out there listening to the speech understands." The official spoke only on condition of anonymity because he feared that his remarks might get him in trouble.

"I think I know who the real pig-men are"

2006-02-01T20:18:00.001Z

Warning: This irony that is so painful it is about to cause organ failure or
death.

Cindy Sheehan was invited to attend the SOTU by Rep. Lynn Woolsey.

Minutes before the President of the United States would tell the Congress how much he appreciates "responsible criticism and counsel," the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq was dragged from a gallery overlooking the House chamber where Bush would speak, handcuffed and arrested for the "crime" of wearing a T-shirt that read: "2245 Dead. How many more?"

Context, The Law:

As the Bynum court explained: "Believing that the Capitol Police needed guidance in determining what behavior constitutes a 'demonstration,' the United States Capitol Police Board issued a regulation that interprets 'demonstration activity,'" and that regulation specifically provides that it "does not include merely wearing Tee shirts, buttons or other similar articles of apparel that convey a message. Traffic Regulations for the Capitol Grounds, § 158" (emphasis added).

So the Capitol Police are inside the hall of Congress, arresting "dissidents" who are invited guests of Democratic members of Congress.

And if you thought "Great..the President said good things about Science!" then you should remember he also asked for action to stop "creating human-animal hybrids":

It's pure political calculus. He throws away the mad scientist and pig-man vote, and wins the religious ignoramus vote…and we know which one has the majority here. But guess what? Creating chimeras is legitimate and useful scientific research; it's really happening

uPS

2006-01-31T21:28:00.000Z

My replacement iPod arrived, and I had to stay home until they delivered it at lunchtime, since they could not avoid getting an in person signature and could not alter the delivery coordinates.

Frost clings to parts of the world, grass is white at night.

I think kookster's comment is an excellent response. Will anyone with a TV play a SOTU drinking game?

Sanctity of Marriage

2006-01-29T13:39:00.000Z

From Reuters:

U.S. forces in Iraq, in two instances described in military documents, took custody of the wives of men believed to be insurgents in an apparent attempt to pressure the suspects into giving themselves up.

Both incidents occurred in 2004. In one, members of a shadowy military task force seized a mother who had three young children, still nursing the youngest, "in order to leverage" her husband's surrender, according to an account by a civilian Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence officer.

In the other, an e-mail exchange includes a U.S. military officer asking "have you tacked a note on the door and challenged him to come get his wife?"

The documents were among thousands obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union from the government under court order through the Freedom of Information Act.

It is short -- you should read the rest. I think the United States is running though the prohibitions in the Geneva Conventions as a list of todo items. Bonus question: Will it be possible to use our military as a peacekeeping force in the years ahead?

Merely Mortal

2006-01-28T23:07:00.000Z

There once was a nine syllable line,
which was given two partners to rhyme.
Its rhythm was catchy,
lyrical and flashy,
but alas, falls short of divine.

Which I think compares well to Isaac Asimov. (Hint : use the look inside feature, e.g. suprise-me)

But what about the motive?

2006-01-27T21:07:00.000Z

I need help focusing on finishing the first draft of the paper. It can sound like a fund raising drive: Any amount of prodding you can spare, small or not-small, would be welcome this weekend.

Bonus links: underground dance.

But it could be worse:

Darling Readers, Mr. Darjeeling's head has exploded!!!! Today out of nowhere Mr. Darjeeling dropped dead from an explosion of the head. -- Wendy Darling

Salt is food

2006-01-26T00:20:00.000Z

I just has a local brand of Ramen style noodle for dinner. As a poor grad student I avoided such fare on priciple. But after enough £ 6 meals, maybe a cheap dinner now and then is a good thing.

Also, weekend plans may be scrapped.

Mysterious men in black helicopters and black uniforms responded to Cardinal Ngozi's press release by showing up in Africa yesterday to assist with relief efforts. With no flags or other identifying markings, however, there is a mystery as to the identity of these helpful people. Today they showed up again, and were joined by another group, this one in a tan motif.

Unclever

2006-01-24T22:36:00.000Z

Sometimes having access to all the information on billions of web pages just means you read something a bit more clever than what you were going to write.

And as others have done, I too shall recommend poetry.

Tyler Durden: How's that working out for you?
Narrator: What?
Tyler Durden: Being clever.
Narrator: Great.
Tyler Durden: Keep it up then... Right up.

1/3 Henry

2006-01-23T21:30:00.000Z

The "east sands leisure center" here in St Andrews has a pool, squash courts, and gym. To use the gym requires 3 induction visits. The next two for me are Thursday and Friday.

"The people of Africa, being poor in natural strike-team and briefcase-full-of-dollars resources, cannot defeat the rebels on their own. For the welfare of millions, in fact the lives of tens of millions, I plead with you and your governments to aid us in our hour of need." -- Cardinal Ngozi, 2025, Only the Holy See

2006-01-22T23:44:00.000Z

...make the fun stop. for the love of humanity, make it stop...

Writing is hard work and bad for the health. --E. B. White

2006-01-19T21:07:00.000Z

...having fun...

No rest for the wicked

2006-01-18T20:24:00.000Z

I have been slacking on writing up my thesis work as a draft paper. I must go ...have fun... doing that. I will be ...having fun... for the rest of the week with this. So I may not have time for clever blog posts until I am done ...having fun... with this.

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. -- Douglas Adams

About the Benjamin

2006-01-17T21:24:00.000Z

Three centuries ago today in 1706, Benjamin Franklin was born. From 1757 to 1762, as member of the Pennsylvania assembly, he traveled around London. In particular, in 1759 the University of St. Andrews awarded him an honorary law degree. Of course, this was before he betrayed Britain...

More spectra were taken in the lab today. Cheese is being consumed. Music wafts from the speakers. More than wafting would require bigger speakers. That is all.

All the heretics I have known have been virtuous men. -- B.F.

Somebody w/ a Number

2006-01-16T21:37:00.000Z

In this weekend's mail was my National Insurace Number, so I am somebody now.

I finished reading "The Stars My Destination", (by Alfred Bester from 1956 -- but I have a new printing, of course. And Neil Gaiman wrote the forward). I only bought it Sunday, which indicates that I do not need Otolaryngology related care.

And while I said that I could not visit-and-presumably-enjoy _&Firkin here, you may still-or-soon have that opportunity.

But today was mainly aligning optics and testing out the spectrometer.

Executive summary of condensed highlights

2006-01-15T20:50:00.000Z

I have returned to St Andrews from Edinburgh.

I have learned that the bed at the hostel is closer to "barely acceptable" than "as good as a futon".

The Friday night plan to meet up with folks at a pub went brilliantly.

I spent Saturday getting my first haircut in another country and then going out to Vegas! night at Ego. This jogged my memory about swing dancing a bit, but also drove home that I can't actually do it anymore.

On Sunday I saw that the previously recommended pub "Physician & Firkin" is gone.

Most likely return to Edinburgh : in two weeks (some of 27th, 28th, 29th).

Inquiries are welcome from those who have questions about this Executive summary of condensed highlights.

Acceptable damage

2006-01-12T21:11:00.000Z

The MIA fiber cleaver was located by the other group. So the first step is to cut away the acrylic jacket from the silica core. Another learning day in the lab, for the grad student and myself. This removal accomplish by holding a razor blade and scraping away at the fiber. At an angle of course. And it is 1/8th of millimeter thick with the jacket. So you watch through a powerful microscope while you hold the fiber with one hand and cut with the other. We needed to cut away the jacket from 30 mm at the end. Only 7 mm ended up breaking off before we finished, which was within expectations. And the cleaver...will be tomorrow's step.

Must pack. Dry cleaning was done since the previous trip; choices...

This may be last inane post for a few days.

So to keep you amused: Zoom in on the Orion nebula. Not just pretty, but Science!

Two, yes Two posts in One!

2006-01-11T12:55:00.000Z

Was I in a coma yesterday? Was I without power? Did I have to handle a ticking time bomb? No! I was just absent minded.

I made various bookings and arrangements to go back to Edinburgh the Friday night through Sunday. I will be staying in a hostel, and meeting up with people I became acquainted with during my New Year's trip. And I watched a borrowed dvd.

This morning the WRT54GS wireless router I won on ebay arrived. Setting it up will occupy me tonight.

Today I was working with a grad student in the lab until we could not find a part we wanted to use. Now back to placing order and making telephone calls.

Meanwhile, a nominee that thinks the previously rejected Bork was ideal is slowly dodging the Senators' questions. There is no excuse not to filibuster his ass. Among other reason, replacing Sandra Day O'Conner with an anti-feminist is sick, and shows the sickness of those who will not oppose him.

One million dollars!

2006-01-09T19:33:00.000Z

So today was a bit productive in the lab: aligning some mirrors.

Dr. Evil: Back in the 60's, I developed a weather changing machine which was in essence a sophisticated heat beam which we called a 'laser.' Using these 'lasers' we'd punch a hole in the protective layer around the world which we called the 'ozone' layer. Slowly but surely ultraviolet rays would pour in, increasing the risk for skin cancer, that is...unless the world pays us a hefty ransom?
No. 2: Ahem....that also already has happened.
Dr. Evil: Shit!

Further Thought

2006-01-08T23:39:00.001Z

Perhaps I should reconsider the where.

2006-01-08T17:45:00.000Z

Today's questions are:

When do I go back to Edinburgh?
Where do I stay in Edinburgh?
What do I do in Edinburgh?

I need my fix. And while pondering all that, I have laundry to do.

More wishes..

2006-01-07T19:34:00.000Z

Thanks to the modern power of e-bay (hmmm...not too many "e-something" companies left), I have fulfilled my (rather short) wish list. Soon I will have wireless 802.11g capabilities at home.

Now I need a new wish.

Personal Id Number Number

2006-01-06T20:37:00.000Z

The final piece of the banking puzzle arrived -- the P.I.N. for the RBOS card.

And I have been told there is some brouhaha in a UK political party going on.

...this just in... "Disgraced Congressman 'Wore a Wire'

Sources tell TIME that Duke Cunningham wore a wire after agreeing to cooperate with a graft probe "

This is the Republican Congressman who plead guilty as I was at the airport, leaving America behind.

Fastest "Mesh Canoe"

2006-01-05T14:53:00.000Z

As a hobby, I have been tweaking Haskell entries to the "The Computer Language Shootout Benchmarks". So far, I have helped submit an entry to "Chameneos", which to my surprise is winning.

And crime news. It is true that G.W.Bush told some members of Congress some things about the double-secret NSA lets-violate-FISA-with-extreme-prejudice program. Since this was surveillance not a covert program, they were legally required to tell the intelligence committees. But the president deliberately broke, and continues to break, this law as well.

The National Security Act requires that "The President shall ensure that the congressional intelligence committees are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States . . . ." 50 U.S.C. § 413(a)(1). The Act makes clear that the requirement to keep the committees informed may not be evaded on the grounds that "providing the information to the congressional intelligence committees would constitute the unauthorized disclosure of classified information." 50 U.S.C. § 413(e).

So that is at least two laws and several bits of the Constitution that he has violated.

"If the city was dreaming," he told me, "then the city is asleep. And I do not fear cities sleeping, stretched out unconscious around their rivers and estuaries, like cats in the moonlight. Sleeping cities are tame and harmless things. What I fear," he said, "is that one day he cities will waken. That one day the cities will rise."

From SANDMAN #51: "A Tale of Two Cities"

The 5 R's

2006-01-04T17:18:00.000Z

So my iPod has failed its five R's. So I will have to convince Apple that I have indeed bought AppleCare for it, that I now live in the UK, and that I need to send it somewhere. Their automated system did not let me edit which country I was living in. @#$@#$!%$

kookster has been writing about poetry, culture, and the new year. I will simply start by pointing to the online diary and the online journal of Charles Stross. I recommend most of his science fiction (as seen on the diary). Plus, he is in Edinburgh.

So, if a city has a personality, maybe it also has a soul. Maybe it dreams. That is where I believe we have come. We are in the dreams of the city. That's why certain places hover on the brink of recognition; why we almost know where we are.

The old man's theory, in SANDMAN #51: "A Tale of Two Cities"

Castles don't have phones

2006-01-03T18:16:00.000Z

I added three more photo groups. Some views from my flat, a scouting trip to Edinburgh last Thursday (four pages of thumbnails (castle)), and a handful of new year pics.

On New Year's I ended up hangning around with an every increasing number of people from Australia, though the original bunch were all travelling from where they work in London. I did briefly meet one person from America (Austin, actually).

On Jan 1st, I went out to the club without my camera.

The roads mixed him up, turned him around. Here, he would pass a cathedral or museum, there, a skyscraper or a fountain -- always hauntingly familiar. But he never passed the same landmark twice, could never find the road to return him to the landmark again.

Wandering a city of dreams, in SANDMAN #51: "A Tale of Two Cities"

2006-01-02T14:58:00.000Z

Fun was had, and now normal service is being resumed.

A carving on a wall above a door on a condemned house; a bright flash of sunlight reflecting off the railings of a park, making them serried spears to guard the green grass and running children; a gravestone in a churchyard, eroded by wind and rain and time until the words on the stone had been lost but the mosses and lichens still spelled out letters from forgotten alphabets... all these sights, and many others, he treasured and collected.

Robert's lunchtime walks, in SANDMAN #51: "A Tale of Two Cities"

Hogmanay

2005-12-31T11:40:00.000Z

Off to Edingurgh. There is a good chance that this will not be updated in a timely way.

UK Memos

2005-12-30T20:45:00.000Z

So...today was a headache day, and really no work was done. Not even getting the pictures from yesterday online.

But, I can still write about something that is not my life: here.

It's about Uzbekistan. There is a book by a former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is not a nice place, because of its extremely unpleasant government. Which the USA is very very very friendly towards (i.e. we give the dictator a lot of money each year). Which means the UK is sorta friendly towards.

So UK government wants to censor his book for political purposes.:

The British Foreign Office is now seeking to block publication of Craig Murray's forthcoming book, which documents his time as Ambassador to Uzbekistan. The Foreign Office has demanded that Craig Murray remove all references to two especially damning British government documents, indicating that our government was knowingly receiving information extracted by the Uzbeks through torture, and return every copy that he has in his possession.

Craig Murray is refusing to do this. Instead, the documents are today being published simultaneously on blogs all around the world.

So it has a UK angle, so I'm writing about it. The relevant memos have been leak to the internet. Enjoy them, they were written by a sane person trying to tell his government to do the right thing morally, legally, and strategically.

Uzbekistan tortures (its own) people (e.g. children) into confessing that they are connected to Al Qaida, tortures government opponents, etc. etc. From an article two years ago:

According to a forensic report commissioned by the British embassy, in August two prisoners were even boiled to death.

Remember the good old days, when Rumsfeld and Reagan allied themselves with Saddam Hussein? We let him know that even though he used chemical weapons on the Kurds that we just did not care.

This is exactly like that.

Well, not quite. This time it's torture and we do that too.

Is it 2008 yet?

"Rabble, rabble, rabble"

2005-12-29T22:33:00.000Z

Unexpectedly, the Kirkcaldy appointment went smoothly and finished early. So I was off to Edinburgh.

The train station is at the center of the (interesting section and geometric) center of the city.

I did not expect the Ferris wheel.

There is indeed a castle. The decision to buy a large memory card for my camera became justified.

The was a fudge shop, unlike St Andrews. This is another very good reason to visit with a large backpack.

The comic book shop I found was closed. So I had dinner.

I did not expect the torch wielding mob of 12000 people. (Not candles -- candles are Christian.)