Steven Gould’s 1992 YA novel Jumper is one of my favorites in the category, a story about an abused teen who discovers that he has the ability to teleport, and how he uses that power to make a better life for himself. It’s very much in the tradition of the famous Heinlein juveniles, though with […]
Month: September 2007
Non-Dorky Poll: Silver and Gold
The Silver Pavilion: The Golden Pavilion: Which do you like better?
Occasional Random Pop Songs Post
I had a 9pm intramural hoops game last night (the other team didn’t show, so we won by forfeit, but it still pushed bedtime back a bit), and I have an 8am meeting today, not to mention the beginning of a nasty head cold that is turning my brain to cotton wool. Sounds like a […]
Many Worlds, Many Headaches
So, I’ve put myself into a position where I need to spend a substantial amount of time thinking about weird foundational issues in quantum mechanics. This has revealed to me just why it is that not that many people spend a substantial amount of time thinking about weird foundational issues in quantum mechanics. Let’s consider […]
Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions
Physics World has a somewhat puzzling news article about the solar system: Physicists have known for some time that the motions of Pluto and the inner planets are chaotic. This means that a small external force on a planet could, over time, cause a major change in the position of the planet within its orbit. […]
Guilty Pleasures
Sean Carroll is disappointed with academia, at least as revealed through the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s article on guilty pleasures of academics: As it turns out, compared to my colleagues I’m some sort of cross between Hunter S. Thompson and Caligula. Get a load of some of these guilty pleasures: Sudoku. Riding a bike. And […]
Pimp Me New Music
It’s been over a month since I last hit iTunes for new music, which is a long time for me. I’m going to be going on a mini buying spree tonight, so I have a simple question for my musically inclined readers: What albums from the last couple of months should I be getting at […]
Non-Dorky Poll: Giant Buddha Smackdown
A simple question: We have the Great Buddha at Nara: and the Great Buddha at Kamakura: Which is better?
The Great Beer Mystery
I was just reminded again of a mysterious thing in Yokohama, that some readers may be able to help with. One of the first nights we were in Yokohama, I went up to the bar on the 70th floor, just to see what it was like. I was neither cool enough nor rich enough to […]
Good Sports Weekend
I had a long post about Norman Spinrad all typed up when Firefox crashed, so you’ll have to wait for train-wrecky SF goodness. So here’s some sports commentary to pass the time. It was a good sports weekend in Chateau Steelypips: 1) I don’t really follow college football, but I do have a certain affection […]