Monthly Archives: November 2010

Did NASA Discover Life in the Saturnian System?

Posted on 30 November 2010 by Joseph Shoer

Um, no. NASA put out this press release, which inspired a blogger to post some speculation based on the credentials of the participants in the press conference: if I had to guess at what NASA is going to reveal on … Continue reading →

Posted in NASA, Science, Skepticism, Space | 2 Comments

A Grad Student Milestone

Posted on 19 November 2010 by Joseph Shoer

I have started collecting my materials and papers into a dissertation draft, and today came up with a pleasant surprise. I visited the web site of the AIAA, an organization that publishes some of the journals I’ve submitted to, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Graduate school, Science | 3 Comments

I am annoyed at smartphones, because I am about to get one

Posted on 14 November 2010 by Joseph Shoer

Two reasons. One has to do with the carriers. Modern cellular networks are entirely digital. Make a call, and the phone is digitizing your voice and sending bits through a radio network. Send a text, and the phone is sending … Continue reading →

Posted in Gadgets | 2 Comments

Disconnects

Posted on 8 November 2010 by Joseph Shoer

Tonight, a friend of a friend came over to my apartment so we could all make chili together. During this process, we came to a point when we needed to defrost a bunch of ground beef. When I moved to … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Gadgets, People, Science, Skepticism, Social commentary | 2 Comments

This is the most poetic image I have ever seen come from the ISS program

Posted on 8 November 2010 by Joseph Shoer

I think this is right up there with Bruce McCandless’s EVA photo and the Earthrise viewed from Apollo 8: Wow. This is an image that has been in our imaginations for a long time. And we can do this now.

Posted in NASA, Photography, Science Fiction, Space | Leave a comment

Since, according to my TV, it’s time to think about holiday gifts already…

Posted on 3 November 2010 by Joseph Shoer

…and, because I got my girlfriend a giant Lego space shuttle for her birthday, I got a Lego catalog in the mail… This is totally my gift list this year!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Water and Lights…

Posted on 1 November 2010 by Joseph Shoer

I recently picked up some food coloring for a little sanity-check experiment in my lab. Yesterday, I was feeling a little artistic and a little physicsy, so I decided to play with the coloring, some clear glasses, a couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Photography | Leave a comment