Author Archives: Anton

you say you want a revolution

Posted on Wednesday, 2006 May 24 by Anton

Paul Kay of Language Log is puzzled by a bit of Washington jargon: It’s easy to see what Ms. Stolberg intends by the “reverse revolving door” because we’re familiar with the revolving door as a characterization of the frequent passage … Continue reading →

Posted in general | 1 Comment

surnames in that other English-speaking country

Posted on Tuesday, 2006 May 23 by Anton

Once upon a time I linked to a website that will show you the relative frequency of a given surname in each of These United States. Apothecary’s Drawer cites one that does the same for counties(?) of Great Britain. Sherwood … Continue reading →

Posted in humanities | Leave a comment

i read the funnies so . .

Posted on Monday, 2006 May 22 by Anton

How long had Jon Rosenberg been saving this pun? “Google is ruining everything.” Is it me or is Maritza Campos‘s command of English slipping a bit? March 27: So that’s why you were hiding it from us? What did you … Continue reading →

Posted in cartoons | Leave a comment

the panes of perception

Posted on Thursday, 2006 May 18 by Anton

Once, years ago, I got new eyeglasses and was startled because the world seemed flat. I had come to rely on blur as a distance cue, and that was suddenly taken from me. The effect was brief; binocularity reasserted itself … Continue reading →

Posted in me!me!me! | Leave a comment

things that go round

Posted on Wednesday, 2006 May 17 by Anton

weird orbits (cited by John Baez) rotating infrared Titan

Posted in astronomy, mathematics | Leave a comment

how sick on average?

Posted on Saturday, 2006 May 13 by Anton

I’ve been hearing on the radio a statement that hospital emergency rooms in California admit 25 thousand people every hour. That’s equivalent to the entire population every eight weeks. –??–

Posted in medicine | Leave a comment

I could get a swelled head

Posted on Friday, 2006 May 12 by Anton

Someone wrote to me out of the blue with a mathematical question. Though the statement of the problem was not clear enough for me to solve it, I told him how I’d approach it, and he was happy. I asked … Continue reading →