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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Clay's LiveJournal:
| Monday, August 11th, 2008 | |
| 9:55 am | |
| Thursday, August 7th, 2008 | |
| 9:35 am | Firefox update - question So, I upgraded from Firefox 2.0 to Firefox 3.0. I'm sure it's more secure and all, and that's great, but I really dislike the new autocomplete function on the address bar. I'm accustomed to using that for accessing things (I generally prefer typing to mousing for repeated tasks), and it has become much more difficult. The address bar now autocompletes from page titles as well as from addresses, and from any part of the address... so if I start typing, say, "mail" I will not get only things like mail.server.net and mail.agency.gov, but any page from their trees, and anything with the word "mail" in it (including the letters to the editor page of several newspapers that I've read lately). This is especially frustrating since the new version displays its findings in a much larger font, with icons, so I can't even easily scroll down to the one I want. (This is also annoying since I use it in public spaces and don't necessarily want anyone standing near me to see my page history displayed in large text... like, say, the titles of not-yet-published papers). Does anyone know of any way to modify it to get my old functionality back? Current Mood:  annoyed |
| Friday, August 1st, 2008 | |
| 8:37 am | |
| Monday, May 5th, 2008 | |
| 7:37 am | Physics Really Is Still Phun OK, it's time once again for Physics is Phun. This Thursday through Saturday evenings, May 8-10, will be our last Physics is Phun show of the semester. The theme this time is the (rather oddly named) Physics IQ Test- a collection of puzzles and questions on various physics demonstrations, some quite easy and some rather counterintuitive. Come try them out, test your physics intuition, and have The show repeats at 7pm each of the three evenings in the U-MD physics lecture halls (directions in the above link). There are hands-on demos at 7, then the lecture presentation at 7:30. Also, if you;re interested, we're still hunting for volunteers to help present the hands-on demos at the beginning of the program. If you'd like to help out, and get free pizza and a tacky physics t-shirt, sign up with the office (again as in the link above, so we know how much pizza to get), and come by at 5:45 the evening of the show for training and pizza. (Yes, this is, frustratingly, the same time as the 48 Hour Film Project screenings, and they're much cooler than us, but maybe think about physics for evenings you're not seeing movies?) Current Mood:  nerdy |
| Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 | |
| 7:58 am | |
| Monday, March 10th, 2008 | |
| 11:20 am | Physics is Phun: Now in Color Well, it is, because that's the topic this time: the physics of color; the mixing of colors in light; color filters and the spectrum; how we see, print, and display color; and even how to trick our eyes into seeing colors that aren't there. ( Details ) So, if you're interested, come check it out! It's even fun, when we can spell. |
| Monday, January 7th, 2008 | |
| 7:38 pm | Physics is Phun: The Atom! OK, I admit it's hard to make a word that short sound dramatic, but it's time for another Physics is Phun show at U-MD. Our topic this time: The Atom. We're doing things with atomic* spectra, fluoresence and phosphoresence, and the photoelectic effect, among other things. Basically, we're bouncing photons off electrons and watching what happens. ( Details ) So, if you're interested, and have an evening to dispose, consider coming by! Current Mood: nerdy |
| Monday, December 24th, 2007 | |
| 8:36 am | |
| Monday, October 29th, 2007 | |
| 11:42 am | It's Physics "Why is the sky blue?" "The sky appears blue because air scatters short-wavelength light more than longer wavelengths. When we look toward a part of the sky not near the sun, the blue color we see is blue light waves scattered down toward us from the white sunlight passing through the air overhead... Scattering and absorption are major causes of the attenuation of radiation by the atmosphere. Scattering varies as a function of the ratio of the particle diameter to the wavelength of the radiation. When this ratio is less than about one-tenth, Rayleigh scattering occurs in which the scattering coefficient varies inversely as the fourth power of the wavelength. At larger values of the ratio of particle diameter to wavelength, the scattering varies in a complex fashion described, for spherical particles, by the Mie theory; at a ratio of the order of 10, the laws of geometric optics begin to apply." 1 *blinks* "Umm... because it's physics." So, it's time for the fall program of Physics is Phun at U-MD. The topic this time: It's Physics, the fun but complicated answers to simple questions we asked when we were small. We're doing the program three times, this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings (November 1-3), at 7PM. It should be Details are here. We're also still hunting for a few volunteers to help show off the pre-lecture toys. If you're interested, sign up with Bernie's office as per the instructions on the page linked above (or just tell me, if needs be, and I can go to the office and pretend to be you), and then show up before the show at 6 for training. (Signing up is important, so we know how much pizza to get for the volunteers. Pizza is phun, right?) |
| Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 | |
| 2:58 pm | Literary Botticelli returns OK, picking up from ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} chickenfeet2003 (and Guy Crouchback), here's another round of everyone's favorite game.Yes, I'm lazy, and I'm going to copy this from the last time I wrote the explanation: A game of Botticelli. The complete rules are here, but the basic idea: I'm thinking of someone whose begins with a particular letter, and who is somehow associated with literature or the written word (whether as a creator thereof, or a character, or any number of other possibilities). Someone will take a guess as to my identity in the form of a question, such as "Did you write a book about a scholar who makes a deal with a devil?" To this I might reply "Yes, I am Johann Wolfgang von Goethe," or "No, I am not Johann Wolfgang von Goethe." If you guessed right, you win; if you guessed wrong, but I knew who you were thinking of, it's someone else's turn. The third possibility would be that I reply something like "No, and I'm not sure who did," at which point you could ask a more general question to narrow down the possible candidates, such as "Are you from Europe?", at which point I would give an answer and it becomes someone else's turn. Please, be sure to wait until the last person's turn finishes before starting yours. It gets confusing otherwise. If these instructions seem unclear, read Kat's much longer and coherent explanation above, or see recent games here or here. So, my name begins with D. I am neither fictional, nor male. I am American, but not African-American. I am a writer, of a sort, but not a screenwriter. (Perhaps I am something else as well?) I flourished in or since the 20th century. I am not "HD" (Hilda Doolittle), Annie Dillard, Diane Duane, Katherine Dunn, or Pamela Dean. intertext wins it: Ellen DatlowNew round here. Current Mood:  hopeful |
| Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 | |
| 5:04 pm | GAME: Literary Botticelli So, picking up from kinetikatrue, A game of Botticelli. The complete rules are here, but the basic idea: I'm thinking of someone whose begins with a particular letter, and who is somehow associated with literature or the written word (whether as a creator thereof, or a character, or any number of other possibilities). Someone will take a guess as to my identity in the form of a question, such as "Did you write a book about a scholar who makes a deal with a devil?" To this I might reply "Yes, I am Johann Wolfgang von Goethe," or "No, I am not Johann Wolfgang von Goethe." If you guessed right, you win; if you guessed wrong, but I knew who you were thinking of, it's someone else's turn. The third possibility would be that I reply something like "No, and I'm not sure who did," at which point you could ask a more general question to narrow down the possible candidates, such as "Are you from Europe?", at which point I would give an answer and it becomes someone else's turn.If these instructions seem unclear, read Kat's much longer and coherent explanation above, or see a recent game here. So, my name begins with O. I am a still-living fictional character appearing in children's literature written by an American writer after 1900. I am Ozma. Congratulations, redhilltown! Current Mood:  quixotic |
| Monday, April 30th, 2007 | |
| 7:38 pm | Once More, With Physics (Yes, I know, but this is the last one of the season.) So, the U of MD is having yet another Physics is Phun show this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, May 3-5. Details are, as always, here. This time, the topic is "Seeing the Light." We'll be looking at lenses, mirrors, lasers, holograms, and the human(oid) eye. So, the program starts each evening at 7pm in the UMD Physics Building; see the flier linked above for directions. Also, we're still hunting for a few willing and nerdy volunteers to help demonstrate things before the show; once again, see the flier for details and all that. It ought to be fun. I hope it is, anyway. Current Mood: geeky |
| Monday, March 12th, 2007 | |
| 4:30 pm | Physics and All That (Yes, I know this seems to be all I ever post about any more.) So, it's once again time for U-MD's Physics is Phun show, this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, March 15-17. We're doing a show entitled "The Sound of Science," which is not my fault. We'll be talking about how sounds are made, electronic synthesis of sounds, the properties of musical sounds, and how ears and voices work. This may be your one chance to get to see the Fourier spectrum of a physics professor playing a Baroque crumhorn! Also, there is fire (see video). Phire is Phun, right? Anyway, the program starts at 7pm each evening (same program each of the three evenings). We're also still looking for a few volunteers to help show off the toys; if you'd be interested in this stunningly geeky way to spend an evening, sign up as per the instructions on the page above (or just tell me, if needs be, and I can go to the office and pretend to be you), and show up at 6 for pizza & training. Note: If you want more warning of these shows, rather than just waiting for me to remember to post about it, there's an e-mailing list (as we boldly step into the 1980s). UMD is also hosting NASA-Goddard's Eyes on the Sky lectures on exciting developments in astronomy and space exploration; the next one (on space storms) is coming up on March 29; you can register at the website above. Another UMD event coming up, the first few days of the week after Physics is Phun, is probably exciting only to me, but I'm pretty excited- spring break. Time off! Yay! Current Mood:  working |
| Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 | |
| 9:41 pm | Yes, once again with the physics It's Physics is Phun time again at U-MD. Shows this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The topic: Making Waves. Deatils here. Current Mood: too tired to write much |
| Thursday, October 26th, 2006 | |
| 11:47 am | Physics is Phun (Yes, again) Well, folks, it's time to start another year of Physics is Phun shows. One week from now, the evenings of November 2, 3, and 4, my uni will be hosting our public shows of We'll be discussing things that vibrate- no, not like that- I mean like oscillators and collapsing bridges and so forth. Fun stuff. Anyway, each of those nights we'll be repeated the show. Hands-on sessions with fun toys start at 7PM, the lecture starts at 7:30. I'f you're interested in volunteering to help out with showing off fun toys to the visiting public, come at 6; be sure to sign up (as per instructions behind the link above, ideally; or by telling me, if you trust me to actually remember and to have time to read my e-mail) so we know how much pizza to order. Should be a fun time! Current Mood: busy |
| Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 | |
| 9:52 am | physics happens Yep, it's another Physics is Phun show, May 4-6 at 7pm at U-MD. This time, the show is entitled "When You're Hot, You're Hot: Thermodynamics and its Applications," or, my personal subtitle: "Fire! Fire! Fire" Fun with fire, explosions, liquid nitrogen, and other such fun stuff. |
| Thursday, March 9th, 2006 | |
| 8:30 pm | That time again Yet another Physics is Phun show in MD, Thursday-Saturday evenings (March 16-18). Details at http://www.physics.umd.edu/deptinfo/fac This week's program: Going In Circles With Physics: physics demonstrations of rotation and angular momentum, including gyroscopes and hurricanes, tops and swings and other fun things. Current Mood: busy |
| Thursday, February 9th, 2006 | |
| 10:24 am | random book thoughts Fun children's book read recently: Becoming Naomi Leon, by Pam Munoz Ryan. It's a fun story about what does- and does not- make a family. Amusing quote of the day, from a different book: " I'm a dragon. It's my job to annoy people. " -from Requiem for the Sun, by Elizabeth Haydon. Book I'm finally getting around to reading, after being told I should for 15+ years: Tristram Shandy, by Laurence Sterne. Current Mood: distracted |
| Tuesday, July 26th, 2005 | |
| 11:21 am | |
| Friday, June 17th, 2005 | |
| 7:44 pm | Pastwastard -Ibid |