| For those in the Ithaca Area |
[Jun. 21st, 2009|01:28 pm] |
For my friends in the Ithaca area:
This upcoming Saturday (the 27th), I'll be doing a demonstration at the Ithaca ScienCenter at 2 pm. I'll be setting off a chain reaction of several hundred mousetraps and a thousand ping pong balls. I'll also be talking briefly about exponential growth, chain reactions, etc, but the real draw here is the big explosion.
If the ScienCenter has been on your list of things to get to (or back to) for a while, I encourage you to come out this Saturday (the first Saturday of summer and summer vacation).
For those of you not in the Ithaca area, my hope is to have a video of the event up afterwards.
http://www.sciencenter.org/whatsnew/eventscalendar.asp |
|
|
| What's going to mess you up? |
[May. 7th, 2009|04:47 pm] |
Just finished "All Tomorrow's Parties" by William Gibson. Solid Gibson, with a richly detailed universe that isn't quite believeable to me.
He talked at one point about bohemian enclaves being the unconscious R&D of society, and that they were commercialized too quickly to have an effect. I thought it was an interesting idea with some debatable points and interesting observations. It made me wonder if the google-campus type complex is an effort to recreate a similar phenomenon.
The thing that I'm curious at the moment though is he has a throw away line about hunting with a sling(shot?) and wet clay. Something about damp clay being an effective projectile. It seemed odd that you'd want something still malleable instead of hard. Anyone have experience with non-hard sling or slingshot projectiles? It got me wondering about momentum versus energy transfer. If I throw something hard at you and it bounces off, I can transfer twice the initial momentum but no energy to you (in the limit of a perfect elastic collision). Compare that to the limit of a perfectly inelastic collision where I transfer all the energy and the initial momentum to you.
Is it more damaging to adsorb 2P or P+E? I'm thinking here just of things that stop at your external surface, not talking about bullets getting inside of you and messing you up.
When taking a fall in judo (and to my knowledge other martial arts) you slap "to dissipate the energy". Which I always thought of just moving the energy to more expendable parts of your body (i.e. your arms instead of your head). I know it hurts less when you bounce off the mat when you stick to the mat, but that might be a function of you tend to not bounce when the person throwing you comes down on top of you.
Thoughts/experience with how the human body takes damage? |
|
|
| Theaters vs Home Entertainment Systems |
[Apr. 13th, 2009|09:32 am] |
I recently saw Monsters vs Aliens in 3D at a local theater. The new 3D tech was impressive and not obtrusive. The glasses felt like sunglasses (I regularly wear glasses, and these fit over them just fine. The friend I went with doesn't usually wear glasses, and also wasn't bothered by them). The most distracting them about them was playing with them to look at the polarization and how two sets of glasses interact (I'm a physicist, it's what we do).
The movie was entertaining. It's a silly kids movie. Has some reasonable messages about self-empowerment. It also has a lot of references for adults (throw away in-jokes to things like Simeon Says, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, and probably more that I'm missing).
The movie in no way requires 3D. There were a couple of shots where I had a "okay, that was a cool trick" that worked better in 3D, but nothing major. It's been a long time since I last saw a 3D film, but I was struck that this one usually seemed to add depth to the screen, rather than have things come out of the screen. Made it feel more like a window into another world rather than an immersive experience, although it was a more immersive experience than a flat screen.
As for the subject of this post, this is something theaters can do that (for now) home entertainment systems can't. To my knowledge, there aren't any flat screens that are accepting polarization information for their images. I like there are places that can sink the capital into creating an experience that I can't get at home, that makes theaters special. If I were a theater owner/manager, I'd be all over this and clamoring for more films that gave a unique experience outside the home.
As a theater patron (and granted, I'm an infrequent one, my last in theater film was Iron Man), I want the cost of two tickets to a weekday 2:30 showing to be less than $20 (I think this clocked in at $23, and that's without any food or drink purchased). Drop the prices a bit, and you'll see me in the theater for something like this a lot more than you have. And it looks like theaters could really use the business, as my friend and I were the only ones at the show. |
|
|
| ALL done |
[Feb. 20th, 2009|09:37 am] |
Heyo all,
I hadn't realized I hadn't put up the final update. But the paperwork and everything is done. I've completed all requirements for a PhD in Physics from Cornell. I have an official letter that says I'm done (watermark and seal and everything).
The last paperwork stuff wasn't too big of a problem, and saying it was completed got left behind as things were really busy (Dance Flurry, flying across country, etc).
But I'm completely done now. |
|
|
| Done! |
[Feb. 5th, 2009|02:25 pm] |
|
Heyo all, passed my B exam thesis defense today. All that's left is paperwork. |
|
|
| I feel...odd... |
[Jan. 30th, 2009|06:22 pm] |
Hello all,
I've submitted my thesis to my committee. The version I submit to them (which won't be the final version, but is very hopefully pretty close) is available here.
(For a historical prospective, here's my undergraduate thesis).
I'm scheduled to defend on Thursday, February 5 at 10:30 am in Clark 309. The defense is open to the public.
I'm not out of the cave yet, but I can see a light. *hugs* to you all.
|
|
|
| Some excellent news for January 20 |
[Jan. 21st, 2009|10:56 am] |
So, I'm sure a lot of my friends spent some chunk of yesterday watching the inauguration. I didn't. I briefly checked the news mid-afternoon to make sure nothing untoward had happened, but I spent almost all of yesterday editing my thesis.
The upshot being that last night I e-mailed my adviser a complete draft of my entire thesis.
There will of course be much re-writing with associated gnashing of teeth, but it's nice to have sent that off. |
|
|
| Goodnight |
[Nov. 4th, 2008|10:50 pm] |
Goodnight world, I'm going to bed with the firm belief Obama will be our next president.
That's a good feeling. It's not perfect. Obama isn't perfect. There are various things around the country that didn't go the way I wanted (unless some things swing back overnight). But Obama is in, and that's really nice. |
|
|
| wasting brain cycles |
[Oct. 17th, 2008|12:21 pm] |
I'm trying to write my thesis, but I've got a bit of a song stuck in my head, and I can't figure out what song it is or who sings it. I've got it somewhere in my music collection, but can't find it.
The line I've got, part of the chorus, sung by a girl, somewhat poppy tune: "I'm the kind of lover who won't blow your cover, what kind of lover am I?" which then repeats.
Help? |
|
|
| Gah |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|10:37 pm] |
I have started writing my thesis.
I've been nervous, afraid, and annoyed at the prospect for years now.
I can't say that I'm enjoying writing it, but it does feel a little nice to finally have started a (slowly) growing file of words
My brother suggested that if you're having a real tough time getting started, you use the FUCK method of writing a thesis. You open up a document, and you type FUCK over and over again until you're so bored with typing FUCK that you type anything else, and then from there you're typing and can bring it around to your thesis. You can't edit a blank page after all (a saying of my fathers).
For me, when I have a distasteful project, I tend to try to distract myself. That being said, I'm going to make a point of not being that active on livejournal or e-mail or such (not that I do that much anyway). I won't disappear completely, but expect to see even less of me until probably the new year.
See you on the other side.
|
|
|
| Stuck in lab memeage |
[Sep. 28th, 2008|05:11 pm] |
[01] Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey?
There are lots of things that take guts, this takes boredom
[02] Would you do meth if it was legalized?
Nope, but I don't even drink. I do think the current tactics in the "war on drugs" have some problems, but don't have a clean better way of doing it
[03] Abortion: for or against it?
I'd hope that it would never be needed. I think it would be nice to have a system where conception requires the active pre-consent of both participants (while allowing sexual intercourse). Ideally some reversible sterilization (all genders) implemented at/before puberty. That's currently not technically/economically feasible, and odds are if we got there it would be implemented in such a way as to oppress some minority, as well as probably offending a lot of folks. So given the world I currently live in; yes, I think abortion should be an option in the first trimester or where life of mother is at stake.
[04] Do you think the world would fail with a female president?
No. I think some people's brains might fail, but I'd argue it's only cutting the last few percent at that point anyway. Given what the world has not failed in the face of, a female president wouldn't even be a blip, nor should it be.
[05] Do you support the death penalty? [changed from "believe in" to "support"]
I did for a long time. I'm a lot more conflicted about it these days. I feel it can be a deterrent, and protecting the innocent is important. The flip side is the mistake where an innocent is executed. I've heard financial arguments that it actually costs more to execute someone than it does to incarcerate them for life. I don't know what else to do with a prisoner who murders prisoners and/or guards beside execute them. As with the war on drugs, I feel that the prison system has more problems than I'm cognizant of, but don't have an answer for improvement. Short answer, no, I don't support the death penalty.
[06] Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
Marijuana is like abortion, I support choice for both, but an ideal world wouldn't require either.
[07] Are you for or against premarital sex?
A good friend astutely observed "You test drive a car, and you keep that for 5 years." Libido, attitudes about, compatibility, etc. these are things I think it's good ot have worked out how you mesh ahead of time. There are of course compromises in a relationship, but it makes sense to me to have a base of knowledge to draw from about yourself and the relationship before entering into a marriage. I was well into my 20s before I had sex, and really, I wasn't ready until well into my 20s. That's me. I'm still not ready (by a longish shot) to get married. So while I think premarital sex is a good idea, I'm fine with the age of consent being 18. There's a lot of stuff that gets wrapped up in it that I think shouldn't be tossed at someone till they've had a chance to work through some things in a way that just takes time.
I'll toss out there that post-marital sex is also a good idea, and for some people in some relationships, it doesn't require just being with their spouse. I support that, but believe that it isn't possible for everyone and requires honest and communication, just like main stream relationships.
[08] Do you believe in God?
This one has oscillated over the years. Christian god? No. Something with higher cognizance, intelligence, and awareness than humans? Probably, it's a big universe. Something benevolent with a guiding plan and good will that will make everything okay in the end? Only occasionally, and less and less as I age. I firmly believe that if there was something like a christian god (the mythos I'm most familiar with), there's no way humanity would have enough on the ball to write a definitive guidebook to it. A god that creates a race with free will, and then makes sure it gets the exact message it's trying to send? Not gonna happen.
[09] Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
In the world we have currently, yes.
If I could throw a switch to do it my way, I'd completely remove marriage as a term that has any legal significance. I'd give it to public and let folks define when they were married and how they chose to use the term. Two kids in 2nd grade want to say they're married, they have as much claim to it as folks together for 60 years, and the word would mean as much as what 2nd graders say.
I'd create a list of all the rights that are associated with marriage, and allow people to legally enter into as many of those as they wish with as many people as they wish. Where conflicts would be created, a hiearchy or priority list would be needed. Businesses and health insurance companies would be allowed to specify what benifits they were willing to extend to the people you were connected to, how many people would qualify, and how legally connected to people you'd have to be for them to qualify as tied to you. Taxes and government regulations would also dial-in depending on legal connection.
I wonder what percentage of people who are currently married would immediately sign up for all of the legal rights and ties of marriage if they were asked today to select them piecemeal?
As an aside, I think the health insurance thing should be a moot point because we should all have health care. If we're going to keep people incarcerated in prison for their entire life, we should be taking care of the health of citizens who haven't broken the law.
[10] Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA?
No. I think it's a choice they make, with consequences they're aware of. They're taking jobs that people want to give them because other people don't want them. If they're breaking laws besides not being a citizen while being here, then there needs to be a way to punish that. If they're hear to work and are willing to pay taxes, we should have a way for them to become citizens.
[11] A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
I have never met a 12 year old who is ready to be a parent. I don't know that anyone is ever ready to be a parent until they are a parent, but with the training society gives us currently, I don't think a 12 year old would be ready or should keep a baby. I feel that any 12 year old that had a child is probably particularly lacking in being prepared by their own parents, so it'd be best to cut that vicious cycle short. I'd support the 12 year old being involved in the kids life, but not being the legal guardian (and in all likelyhood, the grandparents shouldn't be either).
[12] Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
I think we have a cultural problem with alcohol that isn't going to be solved by lowering the age to 18. I think it's stupid you can join the army and vote at 18 (and be responsible for your country) if you can't be trusted with smoking or drinking (taking care of yourself). I think with education and a culture shift, 18 would be a reasonable drinking age. In terms of getting there, I'm not sure which is the cart, and which is the horse.
[13] Should the war in Iraq be called off?
What, take our ball and go home because we don't like how the game went? "called off" no. It happened, we went in and started something. We do have responsibility to not have made things worse, and that won't happen in the short term if we got everyone on a plane tomorrow. Long term, I think we should be out of there as soon as possible, because if they think we're there indefinitely, whatever they come up with be contingent on us being there. They need to know we're leaving, and that should happen as quickly as doesn't plunge them into chaos and anarchy. If we can't leave without that happening, we apologize profusely, and offer to bring anyone who can't live safely there here where they will be given a chance to live their life. This would probably mean we'd bring people who want to harm the USA into the country. They'd be innocent until proved guilty. Although there would probably be a huge resentment towards them from segments of the population, I think we owe it to them to offer, and protect them while they're here. They'd have to work here, but would need help getting started.
[14] Assisted suicide is illegal: should it be?
No. I think it should require an extensive psychological and medical evaluation beforehand, but that it's an option that should exist. Something I would hope no one would ever need, but I think we'd get less suicide if people thought "the way to kill yourself is go to this facility and have them do it painlessly" and then those people talk to you and talk you down. I think a lot of suicide is impulse and research shows if you remove the availability of impulsive methods, you reduce the amount of suicide (the classic case is when England stopped using syn-gas to cook and people stopped killing themselves by sticking their head in the oven). Unfortunately, impulsive methods of suicide (bridge jumping, etc) often have higher success rates than planned out, building over time methods (cutting, pills). I think non-assisted suicide should be illegal, and culturally if it became the norm to turn to a staffed facility when suicide was treated, but was the last possible option, suicide would decrease and more people would be helped.
[15] Do you believe in spanking your children?
It happened to me, and while I won't claim to be just fine, I think the issues I have stem from things other than spanking. I don't know that it helped though. This is one that I was okay with for a long time, and am beginning to believe there is more research I have to do before it's something I should decide on. I don't think "wait till your father gets home" is a reasonable way to go about it. It should be immediate feedback if it happens. It'd be nice if it didn't have to happen, and I think that niceness is possible.
[16] Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
Yes. I could do a lot of good for a lot of people with a million dollars. I appreciate that the flag is important to people, and do not like seeing it treated with disrespect, but I'm more interested in accomplishing things than I am in maintaining symbols. I do not support a constitutional amendment banning flag burning, despite having been honorably discharged from the military (ROTC scholarship I had for half a year of college, I'm only a vetran through legal triviality). I appreciate the sacrifice and courage of the members of our armed forces and civil service. I don't think they fought/died "for the flag." They did what they did for their country (at best), which is much bigger than the flag. The flag can serve to represent things, but it not those things. Some people want to communicate a set of ideals, values, and attitudes, and use an american flag to do so. Other people want to communicate displeasure, frustration, and anger, and use burning the same flag to do so. In both cases, the flag is a tool for communication. Now, I don't support someones right to yell and scream and hurl insults and vulgarities in someone's face. There's a difference between communication and intimidation. I don't think people have a right to intimidate other people, but flag burning can be done as communication not intimidation.
On the flip side, I admit to laughing at the guy who set himself on fire trying to burn an american flag (ytmnd link here, with obnoxious music)
[17] Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama?
Obama
[18] Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
No. I'm more afraid of a society where polite discourse is avoided for fear of offending
|
|
|
| linkage |
[Sep. 26th, 2008|10:52 am] |
I didn't know that Muhammad Ali fought, and beat, Superman
I'm not a huge comic fan, but that entertains me. It sounds like they really did a good job of being as realistic as the premise would permit, and being appropriately heroic on all sides.
And in the 'truth stranger than fiction' category: Jet Man has crossed the English Channel
In some ways, it's not that impressive. It's just a really stripped down airplane, and he didn't take off himself, he jumped out of a launch plane. Still, the geek part of me thinks that strapping a wing with engines to your back and flying is pretty darn spiffy.
|
|
|
| Golden Dragon Chinese Acrobats |
[Sep. 14th, 2008|04:51 pm] |
Yesterday, I went and saw the Golden Dragon Chinese Acrobats.
They were incredible. Very much worth going to see. Good showmanship and good stunts.
One of my favorite balance acts
Golden Dragon Chinese Acrobats video
I saw maybe 70% of the acts they show in the video (plus many more not shown). The video gave it more of a Cirque Du Soleil feel than the show I saw (at least, I think so, I've only seen Cirque Du Soleil on TV, never live).
Anyway, highly enjoyed, strongly recommended for anyone who enjoys displays of balance, coordination, flexibility, strength, daring, and physical displays of trust.
|
|
|
| September 11 |
[Sep. 11th, 2008|02:18 pm] |
Today is September 11, also known to some as Patriot's Day.
Today, I've donated blood, helped someone with bus fair (when they were getting on the bus), and donated to Run for a Cure.
I want to honor the members of our armed and civil service, but I feel folks should have their own definition of patriot. |
|
|
| lifeskills for the apocolipse |
[Sep. 8th, 2008|01:12 pm] |
So, this weekend I went out and helped a friend cull some roosters from his flock. That's turn them from birds running around the yard, to food in the freezer.
His description of the process is much more complete than mine would be.
I will add that plucked chickens look remarkably like rubber chickens. The rubber chicken guys do a pretty good job (although we chopped the heads off before plucking, and the rubber ones usually have heads).
My housemates were betting I'd come back a hunter or a vegetarian. No big changes in my life. Processing chickens is not something I enjoy doing. I'm okay with having it done efficiently by people/machines other than me. I do feel glad that it's something I know how to do, and have faced doing. It's part of what I want to acknowledge as a meat eater.
So, thanks to my friend for the opportunity and the instruction. He does this occasionally, so if this is something you'd also like to have done, drop me a line.
|
|
|
| LJ iconification? |
[Sep. 5th, 2008|10:18 am] |
So, I don't know how to make lj icons, but if I did, I would totally take the second to last frame of today's Punch and Pie for a lj icon. Possibly flashing it to the last panel.
Just thought I'd point that out to folks who might be more icon inclined than I.
Edited to thank a_triath for his awesomeness!
Now I just need to think through something to justify it...
|
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
larrythelabrat's journal