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“In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms."
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Lightweight!
Pac-Man Fever, by Buckner & Garcia, via Wikipedia A Pac-Man song? I should not have found that surprising, but I did. Originally called...
Sep 244 min read


Grand Ultimate Coding!
Tai Chi Single Whip – sculpture by Ju Ming, via Wikipedia.org Even though I’ve written several times about martial arts training,...
Sep 175 min read


The Same Answer
42 and Douglas Adams – Numberphile, via YouTube I suppose it’s not surprising that I’ve mentioned The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy...
Sep 35 min read


Deep Cuts!
The Knife performing at Melt! Festival in 2013 Connections are fun, and humans are very good at making them. Let’s start at the end, and...
Aug 134 min read


I Know Nothing!
Stg Schultz, Hogan’s Heroes, via YouTube For those who don’t immediately hear the words “I know nothing. NOTHING!”, this is Sgt Schultz ,...
Jul 305 min read


Signal vs Noise!
Tux, the Linux Mascot, via Wikipedia This is Tux . He is a penguin. He’s also the official mascot of the Linux kernel , which is the...
Jun 45 min read


Haven
Tuwiuwok Bluff, via Haven, Maine fan wiki When I thought about the TV series Haven , I remembered vague details, and thought it must have...
Mar 54 min read


End of an Epoch!
Let’s talk about the end of the world, shall we? Or maybe not. Fortunately, some stories of impending doom are overestimated, and some...
Nov 13, 20246 min read


Rasputin
It’s been more than two years since I last posted, so I’m trying to remember which buttons to press to make this happen. Life has a...
Oct 9, 20245 min read


Jellies!
When the COVID-19 pandemic began (need to be specific here, to avoid confusion ...), I recall a lot of people emphasizing the need to...
Jul 24, 20223 min read


Move the Earth!
“Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth” “δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω” Archimedes is described as a...
Jun 26, 20224 min read


Silos!
“Why can’t we all just get along?” This was the question asked by the incomparable Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks! Nicholson’s...
May 1, 20223 min read


Relativity!
M. C. Escher has always been one of my favourite artists. From the moment I first saw his work (I think it might have been Waterfall ),...
Apr 17, 20224 min read


The Wall!
#TIL that the iconic image of the album cover for the famous album The Wall was not actually the original cover. In fact, the text “Pink...
Apr 3, 20225 min read


Moo!
A farmer asked a physicist to help him figure out how to increase milk production. After gathering data and studying the problem, the...
Feb 13, 20225 min read


Lingua Franca!
Recently, I was listening to an old episode of The Skeptics Guide to the Universe , (actually, episode 803, dated 28-Nov-2020 ), in which...
Feb 6, 20226 min read


The Internet is on fire!
I found the image above when searching for a good image of fire, and it seemed just about perfect on multiple levels. Buster Keaton (...
Jan 2, 20224 min read


The Haywain!
In the late 1980’s I liked to collect “taglines” to include in my interactions with people. While these included many “pithy” statements...
Dec 12, 20214 min read


When it hits the fan!
I’ve heard a number of people say that they “don’t like X”, only to discover that their only exposure has been some “pop culture” version...
Dec 5, 20214 min read


Songs in the Key of Life!
Stevie Wonder is one of those truly great artists whose music permeates our culture. I had never actually listened to the album “Songs...
Nov 28, 20213 min read
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