Monthly Archives: April 2012
You Came Here in That Thing?
You’re more delicious than I thought: A chocolate-filled chocolate Millennium Falcon. Mmmm. Special modifications. She’ll make point five past lightspeed into my mouth.
We Are Killers of Bliss
Laughter as Medicine: The Origin of a Meme
As any good science skeptic/happiness buzzkiller can immediately discern, this is bullshit. But are we Dementors or are we teachers? No, we are not here solely to suck the happiness out of the internet. We are defenders of reason and illuminators of the obscure.
I think this goes beyond “someone is wrong on the internet”. Geeks place a high value on correct information and especially so in cases like this: a medical tidbit. Perpetuating an urban legend with no basis in fact, on which people might base decisions that affect their health, can be dangerous. Steering people down a certain path might mean that they avoid legitimate treatment. I remember harrumphing at some comment at a family gathering, where somebody had mention some sham treatment (I don’t recall if it was homeopathic, or copper bracelets, or magnets or what) and was challenged with “What’s the harm?” The harm is in thinking this will work, and so you don’t consult an actual doctor with actual diagnostic ability and the ability to prescribe scientifically tested medications and treat you in ways that are proven to work better than doing nothing. And delaying that does harm.
Even when the outcomes are not potentially as dire as illness, you may still base decisions on these nuggets of anti-truth, and that’s not good. So yes, we are trying to stamp out ignorance, and since ignorance is bliss, it might seem like we suck all the fun out of the internet. So be it.
Jump Frog, Jump!
Holy crap. This is from the same company that has developed the Big Dog and Cheetah robots,
Sand Flea is an 11-lb robot with one trick up its sleeve: Normally it drives like an RC car, but when it needs to it can jump 30 feet into the air. An onboard stabilization system keeps it oriented during flight to improve the view from the video uplink and to control landings.
Networking
Ok, then! I am told to go up to the people I am interested in meeting, and INTRODUCE MYSELF! We all have name tags! I’m sure it’ll be fine! And I’ll just go up and say who I work for and drop some pithy comment that they will think is totally cool and in line with current perspectives on the field. Then I will smoothly invite them to my poster.
Except it doesn’t go like that at all. You go up to the person you want to meet at a conference or seminar? They WILL be talking to someone else. You can hover and looking annoying or weird, or try to butt in without interrupting and look annoying and weird. They will give you a sideways look to inquire WHY you are interrupting, and inform you with that look that you are annoying and weird.
I have no answers for this. When I was in grad school, I went to a conference or two with my prof, and he was really bad at introducing me/us to people he knew. He was just starting out, so I couldn’t drop his name when I was at a conference alone — few people knew him. So I really developed no contacts in grad school. I, too, felt the awkwardness of trying to introduce myself (and try not to forget that now that I’m in a more senior situation). My best progress was made at conferences where I gave a talk, because there were a few people who would come up to me afterwards to discuss details, and you have an excuse to talk to others who spoke in the same session, because they are now quite likely to know who you are and should be working in similar fields if you are speaking in the same session.
In my current job, there was a deliberate attempt to have me give talks at conferences when I first started, to give me exposure, and so that people would identify me as being with our group. That’s part of a much better atmosphere of having colleagues who introduce me to people they know.
There’s also part of networking where the people come to you — lab visits and seminars/colloquia, where you can have your professor make the introductions. Once you’ve done that, the second meeting (perhaps at a conference) is easier, since you can mention that you’ve already met and remind them of the circumstances. Even if they don’t remember, you’ve still gotten yourself into a conversation.
Round and Round it Goes …
Robert Howsare’s Drawing Apparatus
It’s a good thing this video is only 1 minute 45 seconds, because I could watch it for at least 17 minutes and 6 seconds, and really who has the time?
That's a Mighty Big Wind Chime You Got There
Aeolus – Acoustic Wind Pavilion
The sculpture a giant aeolian harp, designed to resonate and sing with the wind without any electrical power or amplification. Vibrations in strings attached to some of the tubes are transferred through skins covering the tops, and projected down through the tubes towards the viewer standing beneath the arch.
Where in the World are Henry David Thoreau's Plants?
Where Are Henry David Thoreau’s Plants Now?
[Thoreau’s] journals offer an unparalleled phenological record — that is, a log of the timing of events, like a first flower or leaf growth. Looking back through Thoreau’s logs, as well as those of later botanists, Primack and Miller-Rushing found the first flowering date for 43 of the most common species has moved up by an average of 10 days.