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.

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Have historians gotten the date of Caesar's invasion of the island of Britain wrong?

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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????"

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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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Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Just when you thought you knew somebody...it looks like Regulus is a binary star! Time to start rewriting a lot of science fiction stories!

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Our solar system on a t-shirt, using fonts of relative sizes. Neat!

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You whippersnappers might appreciate this. Rich Love talks about the changes in technology from the 1970's to 2008.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This is pretty nifty. The "missing link" in electronic circuit theory, the memristor, has been invented. Time to re-write all those textbooks!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:41 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Hmmm...time for another little ice age?

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Some nice pictures of early...valves...I mean, tubes! Great stuff, reminds me of my grandfather's amateur radio setup. More nifty stuff here, as well. You can find an occasional supplier, but it is becoming more difficult. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 11:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ever since William Gibson's Pattern Recognition came out, it has been impossible to purchase a Curat calculator. Now you can play with one to your heart's content, in a virtual fashion (all sorts of good stuff on the gadget can be found here).

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Related to the previous posting, I'd love to get this for my house.

Back Off I'm Doing Science.

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Fred's Reading Report (April 200

O.K., it's that time of the month again!

Eighteen books YTD! 187 short works!

Which is to say...there's good news and there's bad news. For short works, if the goal is one short a day, I needed to be at 121 stories by the end of April. So, I've exceeded that goal. For long form, 18 books is better than one book a month for a year, so I'm way ahead of 99.99% of the people I know (many barely manage a book a year, for all love). more...

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John A. Wheeler, a physicist who sparked his students with the force of metaphor, and who gave us such terms as "black hole" and "many worlds" has moved into another world.

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NASA has launched (har har) a new website dedicated to showing its work in the various fields of science.

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"Caffeine is a safe and readily available drug and its ability to stabilise the blood brain barrier means it could have an important part to play in therapies against neurological disorders."

Daily caffeine protects the brain? Works for me! Does this mean I can write off my daily intake on my taxes as a health cost?

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:07 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Fred's Reading Report (March 200

It was the best of times...oh, never mind!

Reading was impacted by a temporary increase in hours worked. So, I feel like I have not done as well as the first two months of the year.

Books read: 7. Bourdain...A Cook's Tour. O'Brian...Master & Commander. Pournelle...The Endless Frontier, Volume 1. Ramsay...Roasting in Hell's Kitchen. Ringo...The Last Centurion. Ringo...Princess of Wands. Whittemore...Quin's Shanghai Circus.

134 short works read. Goal for the year 365; goal for month, to reach 91; goal for next month...121 (so I'm ahead for the year, so far!)

Current reads, on deck, on Mount Toberead...I'm increasingly shuffling the piles, so it is easier just to list what is finished rather than what is being read!

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