Archive of Writings
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In search of time
It is T-1 week to the beginning of classes. My syllabus are written (I'll photocopy what needs photocopied tomorrow). I still need to set up websites, but I have a shell in place at least. I'm really frustrated that summer is over. I'm honestly a bit concerned that it...
Citizen Scientists
My Astronomy Cast co-host Fraser Cain wrote an amazingly illustrated piece on amateur astronomers and their observing rigs for Wired online. My first reaction was, "Wow, that telescope as itty bitty wheels," (seriously, take a look at the scope on the right. It has...
Space Carnival #15
The traveling show has landed on my little blog for week 15. Please check out all the acts. A Babe in the Universe discusses how the private space industry has long believed that they can explore Space for less cost than NASA. This article discusses a plan that would...
Finding Dark Galaxies
One of the great mysteries of our universe is whether there are dark matter galaxies, devoid of stars, haunting the universe. From the COSMOS survey, we know that dark matter and visible matter are not always located in the same place. This implies that there may be...
The Largest Planet, A Monster, A Frenzy, and the search for media alluring adjectives
After spending roughly a week away from my press feed, I found myself face to face with a lot of intriguingly titled press releases. One announces: "Astronomers Find Largest Exoplanet to Date," and another teases "Monster Galaxy Pileup Sighted," and yet a third...
So you’ve attended 2 conferences in 7 days:
Now what are you going to do?
Let me preface this by saying I am sometimes a bit crazy. After AAPT and ASP, I decided I needed a brain break. The ASP conference ended at 3pm Sunday, and having checked out of my room at 2pm, I hatched a crazy plan to go to Disney. And I did. I rented a car from...
Online Education and Intellectual Property Protection
Currently, there is a movement to move classroom instruction onto the Internet. Software such as iTunes U and Blackboard both support the distribution of Audio, Video, and PDFs to students in a password protected environment. While this works to protect our personal...
Pluto: Still Not a Planet
Last night was the conference banquet and after party. Many of us stayed up too late. Many of us looked at our conference program this morning in hopes that maybe something boring was going on that we wouldn't mind sleeping through. All of us dragged ourselves out of...
Second Life Rocket Park
I have to admit that while I am normally an early and avid adopter of new technologies, Second Life has generally confused me. My avatar is ugly. I tend to wander lost. In a desperate attempt to become one of the cool techno kids who get this virtual world...
Teaching is not Telling – Ted G Slather
Currently I'm sitting in the opening session of the ASP's Cosmos in the Classroom. This is a much smaller and younger conference than the AAPT meeting from earlier this week. Looking around this room of people with mostly non-gray hair, I see a lot of old friends, and...