A Moment Of Silence, Please

This has been a sad week.

Today, Neil Armstrong passed away.

SFGate Article

A pioneer that will be truly missed

But also, William Windom passed on Monday. His best remembered performance, at least among fandom



Also on Monday we lost Phyllis Diller, a pioneer in comedy, and Tony Scott, a brilliant filmmaker.

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Curiosity and Wonder

NASA recently released an amazing video. A bird's eye (err ship's eye) view of the landing of Curiosity on Mars.


Video streaming by Ustream

All I can say is... WOW!

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Science Fun for the Whole Family

Yesterday, I had an enjoyable morning helping my neighbor set up his booth at the USA Science and Engineering Festival at the Washington Convention Center (Mount Vernon Square). The existence of said Festival was unbeknownst to me prior to yesterday's volunteering. The first Festival occurred 2 years ago on the Mall and they upgraded to an indoor venue this time around. Aerospace, environment, robots, bugs, chemistry. It's all there! While unloading cargo in the bowels of the convention center, I saw no less than 5 dewers of liquid nitrogen being filled and hauled up!

The expo floor has a mix of science and engineering booths aimed at various ages from Elementary to High School. And there are shows on several stages throughout the day. If you have some free time and feel the urge to see and do some science, head on over! My neighbor Bob is at the Mars Society booth (across the aisle from Georgia Tech booth) and has several hands-on demos including landing/impact craters! Tell him Nick sent you. Though, I'm not sure if that gets you a bonus or escorted from the floor.

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of... Hail Cannon Fire?

Bucolic Bennington, Vermont is rocked by a weather cannon and the neighbors are not amused. As a veteran of numerous experiments involving butane-vapor artillery* I completely understand the determination of the gun's owner to keep firing despite community opposition and the apparent lack of scientific justification for any of this.

I eagerly await JJV's Second Amendment-inspired musings.

*Valuable side contribution to science: Duct tape can melt, more or less. Who knew?

Oh, Sure, As If We Didn't Know This Already

Scientists are theorizing that sarcasm is an "evolutionary survival tool."

I submit as counter-evidence the fact that my friends and I do not bestride the world like a colossus.