Irish Class, October 1, 2012
Rang Gaeilge, an 1ú lá Mí Dheireadh Fómhair 2012
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Monday Night Irish Class, October 1, 2012
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Tag Archives: fandom
So You Want to Discover the Higgs Boson?
A talk at Chicon 7. Friday, August 31, 2012. This was one of the best science talks I have heard in my life.
So You Want to Discover the Higgs Boson?
The Large Hadron Collider in Geneva recently announced the discovery of the Higgs Boson, the particle long theorized to give mass to matter. But how do physicists detect particles… and how do we know this one is the Higgs? Hear a Ph.D. physicist teach the basics of particle detector technology (no physics background required!) and answer your questions about the massive machines used to study the smallest stuff in nature.
Curiosity: The Mars Science Laboratory
Notes from a panel at Chicon 7. Saturday, September 1, 2012, with weblinks and occasional
amplifications added.
Curiosity: The Mars Science Laboratory
The Mars Science Laboratory has the ambitious mission to study the climate, geology, and potential for life of Mars. Weeks after landing, what have we learned? What do we expect to find out in the coming months?
Bill Higgins [beamjockey], Brother Guy Consolmagno [brotherguy]
Windycon 38
Windycon 2011
We spent this past weekend in Chicagoland, at Windycon, as we did in 2008 and 2009 (Also see these posts). Our old friend Frank Hayes was Music GOH and Christian Ready was Toastmaster, so we had been looking forward to this. We were not disappointed. Continue reading
Blast from the past
I was cleaning out a closet this afternoon and came across the center pages of the program for Minicon 12, which I attended back in 1977. At 2:30 PM, on Saturday, April 9, there was this event:
Debate: “Resolved: Science Fiction Should Get Out of the Classroom and Back into the Gutter Where It Belongs” with Lester del Rey and Ivor Rogers
I must have been there, but I do not remember anything about it. It is an old issue and not to be taken too seriously,
Convergence 2011
Convergence 2011
We just got back from Convergence,
the biggest of the local SF cons. We have been going there for some years,
including 2010,
2009 , 2008,
2007 and
2006
We actually did the full four days of the Con, staying over Thursday night as well as Friday and Saturday.
We need to be training for Worldcon in Chicago next year :-)> It was a good time for us. carpe_noctum_93
was able to join us Friday and Saturday in the early evening. Our son J was sick Thursday, but joined us on
Friday.
Joss Whedon teaches Physics
mia_mcdavid has been introducing our foster daughter, carpe_noctum_93, to the wonders of Joss Whedon’s creation, going through our complete DVD collections of both Buffy and Angel. Back in July I heard Jennifer Ouellette speak at Convergence, and decided it was time to read her book, The Physics of the Buffyverse.
Behind the fantastic properties of the vampires, demons, etc., there is actually a lot of good physics in the series. From electricity and the mechanics of martial arts to the Many World Interpretation of quantum mechanics, the writers of the series drew upon wide variety of concepts in physics. Ouellette neatly disentangles the real science from the fantastic elements, maintaining a witty style quite appropriate for the subject matter. It is absolutely non-technical—no math needed (Though that reminds me that I want to read her latest book).
Convergence 2010 — General Notes
Convergence 2010 — Physics and Fantasy
Convergence 2010 — Physics and Fantasy
Perpetual motion machines, cold fusion, free energy and other fake science stories. Where do they come from and what does physics really allow?
Notes from a panel at Convergence 2010, with web links, comments, and one smart-assed quote.
Another attraction in DC
mia_mcdavid and I heard Christian Ready talk about this Friday night at Windycon.
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 
