Boing-boing-like entries which links to fun stuff I found on the web (many of them through boing-boing).
2009.11.2000:41:20 GMTFeynman's Messenger Lectures onlineJust found out something rather cool: Microsoft Research, through Project Tuva, is publishing videos of Richard Feynman's Messenger Lectures. Go watch.
2009.11.1518:19:32 GMTChicken soupChicken soup is not just good for the soul. It has been scientifically proven to mitigate inflammation. Maybe mommy's chicken soup was the reason that the same bug that took Pin out of commission for
2009.09.2815:12:09 BSTCausality of generalized wave-maps--paper on arXivOh, almost forgot. New paper on arXiv. Gary Gibbons showed via explicit computations using eigenvalues that the Skyrmion equation obeys the dominant energy condition. In my paper, I proved the dominan
2009.06.1211:42:48 EDTIntroducing my new blog: Asking QuestionsAfter thinking about it for a while, I've decided that I will get a WordPress account. Most of the reasons are given in this post from a few months ago. In any case, this will not mean the death of bl
2009.05.3100:27:49 EDTA list of Japanese restaurantsMom was on a plane, and sat next to a Japanese ex-pat, so she asked for restaurant recommendations. This is the list: Restaurant RIKI 141 E 45 St. Phone: 212-986-1109 Sakagura 211 E 43 St. B1F. Phone
2008.04.2415:37:35 EDTOn Doron ZeilbergerScanning through the offered seminars today, I came across an entry that I've already mostly missed (in part because my office hourse): Between 2:15pm and 3:15pm today, Professor Doron Zeilberger of
2008.03.2710:22:22 EDTNew Upper Bound for Rubik's Cube SolutionsPosted on the arXiv: Twenty-Five Moves Suffice for the Rubik's Cube. Tomas Rokicki (Stanford trained computer scientist [I didn't know CS can be listed on the Math Genealogy Project...]; logic puzzle
2008.03.1012:04:06 EDTMyth of the underdogAn interesting article titled "Bad Science Journalism and the Myth of the Oppressed Underdog" was posted on ScientificBlogging. This got me thinking, the Myth of the Oppressed Underdog really isn't a
2008.02.1002:57:29 ESTWeights and measures: goldsmith editionStop me if you've heard this one... Which weighs more: a pound of gold or a pound of feathers? No, they don't weigh the same. And no, it is not because of buoyancy. Gold, like all precious metals or g
2007.10.2517:23:59 EDTThe spirit of scienceHomer Jacobson retired from teaching chemistry at Brooklyn College twenty years ago. On a whim, he googled himself. He was rather shocked to see that a paper that he wrote for the American Scientist i
2007.10.2222:38:52 EDTThe largest "landfill" on earthSome disturbing news: in the middle of the Pacific, roughly halfway between San Francisco and Hawai'i, is the North Pacific Gyre. It is a clockwise circulating vortex of ocean currents that covers abo
2007.10.1919:59:39 EDTWhat's your equation?Edge's "World Question Center" debuted a project where they asked scientists "What is your formula? Your Equation? Your Algorithm?" Here are the responses that they collected. The overwhelming respons
2007.03.1513:55:06 EDTRare Chinese coins collectionThe Princeton University Library has recently acquired a set of rare coins collected by the late Souheng Wu. The coins will be integrated into the Rare Books and Special Collections' Numismatics Colle
2007.01.1119:04:46 ESTRIP: Robert Anton WilsonCo-author of the Illuminatus! Trilogy (The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, and Leviathan), Discordian, and much more. Now the Historical Illuminatus Chronicles will never be finished :( Some lin
2006.09.1618:30:22 EDTHydrino talkAt the invitation of Eric Krieg, I spoke today to the Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking on the subject of "Classical Quantum Mechanics", a "theory" by Randell Mills, MD, which purports to
2006.08.2114:36:39 EDTBuddy's BluesBuddy Rich, one of the best drummers ever, and also one of the world's biggest pricks. He was well known for being verbally abusive to his band members. Now someone took the time and transcribed his r
2006.08.0223:08:24 EDTCurious inventionsThe AMOEBA (Advanced Multiple Organized Experimental Basin) is a water tank. Invented by Mitsui Engineering, the device features oscillators at around the circumference of the circular tank, whose syn
2006.06.2418:42:43 EDTRIP: Harriet the TortoiseHarriet the Tortoise just passed away, at the estimated age of 176. She was housed in the Australia Zoo in southeast Queensland; she suffered a heart attack. Apparently she spent some time at the Bota
2006.06.1416:44:10 EDTPooh, Drugs, and Good OmensSome link dumps. Pathology in the Hundred Acre Woods is an article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by Sarah E. Shea et al of the Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics,
2006.05.1416:40:42 EDTLightCone, Skywalk, and Roman Legionnaires in ChinaLight Cone. Via boingboing, I found a neat little website that generates RSS feeds (based on one's DOB) of stars which the news of one's birth could possibly be known. In other words, stars within (on
2006.04.2200:23:52 EDTBadminton videos on YouTubeSome really cool badminton videos that I found on YouTube: Some segments from Melbourne 2006 Semis. Much of the video is from the women's doubles match where the Chinese were just dominating, and the
2006.04.1317:41:05 EDTThe most expensive sandwichBBC carries a report on the McDonald sandwich--not made by the fastfood joint, but by chef Scott McDonald--now selling for a limited time (until the Monday after Easter) at the London department store
2006.02.2811:01:46 ESTPrinciple of Least Dog ActionAn article in ScienceNews reports that a mathematician at Hope College observed a curious phenomenon: his dog seems to know calculus. Tim Pennings (is/was) the chair of the math department at Hope Col
2006.01.2617:54:57 ESTH.M., a man who cannot form new memoryHenry M., referred to in the psychology community as "H.M.", was 27 in 1953 and suffered from epilepsy. He underwent an experimental treatment by Dr. William Scoville: to treat Henry's temporal lobe e
2006.01.1218:13:50 ESTID in CA; Green Ham; Pagan scoutsEggs and Green Ham. Scientists from National Taiwanese University's Department of Animal Science and Technology say that they are the first to produce pigs that are through and through green-fluoresce
2006.01.1215:00:56 ESTMosquitoes rhymes with FritosS forward this link from Straight Dope to me: Schroedinger's Cat: the Epic Poem
2006.01.0319:08:06 ESTThe new-year collection of interesting linksA collection of the weird and funny. The official red button appreciation page. It is better experienced than read. link. Cat calls 911. A disabled man in Columbus, Ohio fell out of his wheelchair. Hi
2005.12.1518:26:10 ESTPhysicist's Bill of RightsWe hold these postulates to be intuitively obvious, that all physicists are born equal, to a first approximation, and are endowed by their creator with certain discrete privileges, among them a mean r
2005.12.0920:30:11 ESTJournal: snow, library computer bug, pooh have you ever witnessed lightning and thunder during a blizzard? i have now! Says S. White seems to be blanketing Massachusetts. Her flight out of Logan tonight was delayed until tomorrow morning. M
2005.12.0422:12:34 ESTHurricane EpsilonPaul Erdös would be laughing uncontrollably. Record breaking 14 Hurricanes in this season. December hurricanes are rare, the last one was December 30, 1954. Tangentially related, An Erdös La
2005.11.1623:11:47 ESTFolding Paper: beyond Conventional WisdomThe conventional wisdom: It is impossible to fold any piece of paper, no matter how big, small, thin, or thick, more than 8 times. It has been cited by many sources and quoted often in kids' programs.
2005.11.0721:43:25 ESTCow-tipping: Fact or myth?I smell an Ig Nobel in the making. Link to TimesOnline article. Apparently Margo Lillie, Ph.D. research associate of zoology at UBC (the same department that gave us a study of Herring Farts, which wo
2005.10.2823:56:21 EDTRIP: Richard E. SmalleyRichard Smalley (June 6, 1943 - October 28, 2005) was one of the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996, as a co-discoverer of Buckey-balls. He earned his Ph.D. at Princeton's Department o
2005.09.2116:59:00 EDTNaughtiness in the English LanguageAn article appeared in the New York Times titled Almost before we spoke, we swore. It reports on scientific inquiry to the social/linguistic/neurological significances of cursing. According to the art
2005.09.1201:22:05 EDTWhy science reporting tends to be rubbishAs if to affirm my assertions in this entry, The Guardian is carrying a story on why most science reporting are rubbish, which also included the very informational link to BadScience. To summarize: th
2005.09.1013:09:18 EDTKatrina: the bleak aftermathThe biggest threat of hurricane Katrina is slowly manifesting itself, and people are starting to notice. From the fallout of one the most horrifying disasters in American history, we can, unfortunatel
2005.09.0801:39:39 EDTTesanovic on Austin Convention CenterFirst hand account of conditions at Austin Convention Center. It is written by Jasmina Tesanovic, a writer and filmmaker from Serbia. Quote: ... This center for refugees is well-organized, compared t
2005.09.0420:23:48 EDTThe Decline and Fall of TROnce we thought they were the ruthless rulers of the ancient world, chasing down cars and eating lawyers. Then we realized they might not be so terrorizing after all because of their short small forea
2005.09.0212:59:10 EDTUnprepared for Disaster: KatrinaBack in early 2001, "the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked the potential damage to New Orleans as among the three likeliest, most castastrophic disasters facing this country.". The other two
2005.08.2317:42:50 EDTHigh Speed Strobe PhotographyHigh Speed flash photography of Balloons Popping. At the FOO Camp recently, people demonstrated home-brew High Speed Flash Cameras. They invited people to pop balloons with a needle and caught the bal
2005.08.2301:14:21 EDTThe Booming DunesI just saw a program on NOVA about this, and it is extremely neat. In some places around the world, sand sings. Marco Polo heard it in the Gobi, Darwin heard it in the Chilean desert, and it has been
2005.08.2222:16:40 EDTDigital cameras promote wastefulness (unfinished)Via boingboing, I found a link to this extremely cute gallery on flickr.com of photos of "faces" found in everyday objects. Here's what boingboing has to say on the topic: According to Wikipedia, par
2005.08.1822:30:24 EDTJournal (in memoriam of PG)After three months, I pulled out the ol' saxophone again. I was a bit rusty and playing with some of the up-tempo tunes was difficult for me. I should spend some time to work on my scales again. In ge
2005.08.1713:51:35 EDTMinistry of ReshelvingJane McGonigal is launching The Ministry of Reshelving project. The goal is to relocate a total of 1984 copies of George Orwell's 1984 from its improperly shelved place at local bookstores (often: fic
2005.05.0922:09:00 EDTStoker's Dracula as a blogSomeone is posting Stoker's Dracula in blog form. It is particularly appropriate since 1) it is out of copyright (legality is always important) 2) it is one of the best representatives of the epistola
2005.05.0901:00:00 EDTOmnificent English Dictionary in Limerick FormThe OEDILF is an attempt to write at least one "definitive" limerick for every word in the English language. A little background can be found here. An example: Abacus The abacus is a device That does
2005.05.0900:51:00 EDTSelf Referential Aptitude TestThe Self Referential Aptitude Test is a self-contained logic puzzle: all the ingredients needed to solve the puzzle is right there. It took me about 15 minutes to find the answer.
2005.05.0622:28:00 EDTBetter than Bash.orgOverheard in New York: a collection of funny quotes.
2005.05.0421:55:00 EDTCourtney Love does the Mathdaviews hosts Courtney Love's message to RIAA. An excerpt: Tipping/music as service I know my place. I'm a waiter. I'm in the service industry. I live on tips. Occasionally, I'm going to get stiffe
2005.05.0416:33:00 EDTBrazil opposes US terms for AIDS moneyThe Guardian reports that Brazil is rejecting the US AIDS aid because of the strings attached to the money imposed by our administration's faith-based policies. Quote: The demand from the US administ
2005.05.0416:17:00 EDTentertainmentThe Seven Gummie Sins: re-enactment of the seven deadlies by gummie bears. Guardians of Clan Donald decided that McDonald's might be a shame on their name. Texan legislation bans suggestive cheerleadi
2005.05.0301:04:00 EDTCanceledFlight, hasnomuffinsTwo links from the lovely S: Canceled Flight: 101 tried and true pigeon killing methods. hasnomuffin: a LJ community dedicated to the state of muffinlessness.
Anime/Manga (3) News, reviews, recent purchase, thoughts, and pretty much everything about Anime and Manga.
Books (7) Book reviews primarily. Sometimes recommendations of new publications or mentioning of books I really want.
Chinese (33) Posts written in Chinese, posts about the Chinese language or culture, or posts concerning my experience being of Chinese descent. (以中文寫作, 或是內容有關於中國語言及文化, 和我個人的華人經驗的文章.)
Creations (12) My creations, could be musical, literary, graphical, or in other formats, but generally fall under the category of Art.
German (1) Posts written in German. It will be empty for a while, until I become passable writing in German.
French (1) Posts written in French. (Les entreés écrivées en français.)
Religion (1) My thoughts about religion in general, specific news about the various religions.
Japanese (1) Posts written in Japanese. It will be sparse until my Japanese becomes better.
Linky! (55) Boing-boing-like entries which links to fun stuff I found on the web (many of them through boing-boing).
Linux (22) Things related to the Linux operating systems. Particularly prominent on things about Gentoo, my preferred flavor.
Mathematics (59) Posts about mathematics. Upcoming conferences, conference descriptions, papers I am reading, papers I am writing, pre-prints, all sorts of goodies. Also some of my thoughts about mathematical education and such.
Movies (1) Movies I saw recently. Reviews. Movies I plan to see in the future. Expectations.
Music (10) Posts about the music I listen to or the music I play. Things about the music industry usually don't go here (they end up, almost always, in the outrageous! category.
Politics (7) Things that, unfortunately, I have to deal with as an American in a democratic republic, but about which I really wish I could just stop caring.