Two Views on Gravity Part 2: Geometry

Sometimes analogies just feel right. For instance, “as hard to find as a needle in a hay stack” is often a good way to describe trying to find a needed quote in a half-remembered book. The mental image and the actual task just fit. In physics, I sometimes feel like the hardest part is finding the...

Monday Must Haves 1: Must Haves for the Rabid Traveler

Okay, so this is a bit off topic, but … There are a series of questions I keep getting, “How do you stay connected while you travel?” “What is your recording set up?” “What books do you…?” “How do you…?” So, I’m going to (in a desperate...

An academic life punctuated by bullets, part 2

There are some titles that should never be reused. This is part 2 of this post I wrote in 2007. This older post is better than this one. Please read the older post here. Earlier this evening I got an IM from a friend alerting me that this afternoon there had been a shooting at the University of Alabama...

Come here & hear Steve Squyres at SIUE?

If you’re like me, you’ve been following NASA’s desperate attempt to free Spirit, and the ongoing roving of the rugged little Opportunity. These two rovers, with Captain Jack like habits of not dying, are in part the creation of Steven Squyres. Next week, on Wednesday night, Squyres will be...

Two views on gravity Part 1: Particle Zoo

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been busy teaching particle physics to two very different populations. First I work with working with little kids through the Davidson Institute, going over the ins and outs of making atoms. Then I took on particles again with my physics for poets class at SIUE....