Monthly Archives: December 2005

let’s get Physical

A few months ago, a grad student at MIT asked permission to use my illustration of a diamond crystal in an article for Physics World. I got the December issue in today’s mail. Wow — my modest doodle (re-rendered, for … Continue reading

Posted in me!me!me!, sciences | 1 Comment

warm globally, cool locally

My car was covered with frost this morning. Its north-facing window had large crystal domains, looking like galvanized metal.

Posted in California | Leave a comment

pun history

There are scholars of slang who hunt for earliest documentable uses. Does anyone do the same for puns? In 1971, Larry Niven and David Gerrold published a novel The Flying Sorcerors. Recently for the first time I found that pun … Continue reading

Posted in language | 2 Comments

pseudosecurity watch

papersplease.org has info on Deborah Davis (busted for refusing to show her papers when a city bus crossed Fed turf), Dudley Hiibel (busted under Nevada law for failing to comply with an arbitrary demand for his papers) and John Gilmore … Continue reading

Posted in security theater | 1 Comment

a buggy spammer?

In the past few days I’ve received dozens of robot comments whose only plausible purpose is to see what will get through the filters. Most of them contained exactly three links to well-known entities, most of them in entertainment or … Continue reading

Posted in blogdom, spam | Leave a comment

vile bile

Progressives don’t allow us white males many privileges as such, but a great one is that no matter what political opinions we may hold we don’t get slimed in racist language for them.

Posted in race | Leave a comment

Liberty Car

Steven Hilton wants to cover his car with Libertarian campaign stickers. Got any?

Posted in politics | Leave a comment