An interesting look at those little cubes and other geometric solids that rule the roleplaying game tabletop. Are they "fair"?

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 07:48 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 It's a small world, Fred. My office (when I'm in it) is just down the hall from Ed's at Wolfram Research.

Posted by: Bill White at July 24, 2008 09:50 AM (OiNdx)

2 If somebody starts humming Disney tunes, somebody is gonna get hurt...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at July 24, 2008 11:35 AM (jc70B)

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Well, too bad I'm not female...but if you are, and need an excuse to drink more coffee!

Of course, once you're done reading all the caveats, etc., you may shrug your shoulders and ignore the article and just drink coffee as usual. Or not. Maybe "balance" is all we need.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 04:49 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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It's nice this time of year when it is clear. The sun is done, it is starting to cool off. You can sit outside with a cool beverage and watch the bats. The stars start to pop out. Speed on to Spica. Arc on to Arcturus. If you know the sky fairly well, you can start to pick out constellations: spot two of the stars in the Big Dipper, and you can make the rest of the stars "pop" into existence.

Look there, in the east. It's the full Moon. To the left (well, to the right if you are "upside down" from my perspective) is Jupiter at its brightest. Even a relatively modest pair of binoculars would be handy right now. You could pick out what of the four largest moons are visible around Jupiter and see features on the Moon (although any phase other than full is best, as the craters show up better when the sun is not overhead!).

Check out the satellite tracking sites like Heavens Above. Check out when the ISS will be visible from your location: I caught it the other night and it was spectacular. As it moves through your sky it'll change in brightness and maybe even color. Keep checking when it'll be visible when the shuttle is up...there's nothing quite like seeing the two of them flying in formation or how much brighter the "dot" is when they are docked.

Yep, it's a beautiful night tonight.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 07:19 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The review can now be viewed here.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:26 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Have you seen the announcement about the new element that has been found?

Research has led to the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take from four days to four years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years; It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass. When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 01:04 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Come play in the universe.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 05:58 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Have historians gotten the date of Caesar's invasion of the island of Britain wrong?

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Plush microbes (or disease carriers) and plush sub-atomic particles. Can you imagine the conversation between a mother and father?

"Dear, I've given our daughter the clap."

"WHAT????"

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've read Homer's The Odyssey several times, including once in Latin (high school). One thing that has fascinated me about The Odyssey...as well as The Iliad...is how much "truth" there is to the epic. Amazing to find an occasional bit that has survived the passage of time, countless re-translations and re-interpretations and the like.

And then there's the fanciful side. For example, here's a depiction of the "cosmos" of The Odyssey...as a snowglobe.

Addendum: The scholarly paper (Adobe Acrobat).

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:18 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Equal rights for apes.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 07:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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