Archive of Writings
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Talk at Michigan State tomorrow
Just a heads up on why I've gone quiet: Tomorrow I'm giving a talk at my alma mata, Michigan State University. I'll be talking about the International Year of Astronomy and focusing on New Media projects. If you're in the area and you can come, I'd love to see you...
Q: Who killed the Star Formation? A: The AGN did it.
One of the neat things about being a professional astronomer is sometimes knowing the authors of neat papers. Submitted to the arXiv on Friday was one such neat paper with an author list full of people I respect from their work and 1 collaborator. So let's just say...
A Bit of Levity
In light of all my personal technical difficulties and the internets current cry of "The world is ending," I decided that it was time for some levity. Way back when I was at Michigan State University I had a website on Physics and Astronomy humor that then migrated to...
Worst. Tech. Week. Ever.
For every good weekend, there is an equally bad one. Last weekend rocked. This one, um, did not. Preface - My laptop is at the Apple Store being repaired. This means my computer with all my best toys is not available for use. For those who have been following my...
NASA’s Manned Space Program; Dieing slowly?
The other day I had one of our first year graduate students ask me what I know about NASA. "I know some people on some of the science missions," I said, and I asked him why he was asking. Truth be told, he, like so many other bright, athletic minds, wants to be an...
Ghosts are NOT Dark Matter
Just a quick one tonight. At Dragon*Con (which I won't mention again until next summer) some fascinatingly misguided person suggested that ghosts are made of Dark Matter. Dark matter is the missing 22% of the stuff the universe is made of. This is stuff - it is just...
Dragon*Con: There and back again
I'm home from Dragon*Con and I feel like I've popped out of the Rabbit Hole. The past 4 days were an amazing adventure. On one hand, I was in Atlanta in much the same way that I attend many conferences - I was a scientist with presentations to give and a booth to man....
Dragon*Con: Day 3
I seem to be spending a ton of time hanging out with Skeptics at this conference. It is fun. But before getting into the serious, I'm going to be silly (thus the image at left). I've been hanging out with (left to right) Richard Saunders and Phil Plait a lot, and here...
Dragon*Con: Day 2
The PodSci panel just finished, and now Phil Plait is giving a talk based on his new book "Death from the Skies" (coming in October - it rocks, I read an pre-print). The room is utterly packed - people are lining the rows and James Randi is sitting in the front row...
Dragon*Con: Day 1
OMG That is sufficient to describe the day I had. I just left the Podcaster's party where I got to meet, greet, and unfortunately drink too much (again). I met Michael Shermer for the first time, and the Evil Genius, who was one of the first podcasters I listened to...