Breaking news: Physics has a serious image problem. Okay, that's not really news to anyone engaged in the Sisyphean task of physics-related education and outreach …
Science Writer Throwdown: Fear and Loathing of Physics Continue Reading >>
The ‘Golden Fleece’ awards made perfect sense in the abstract: identifying places the government was wasting taxpayer money, and even better if you can make it seem terribly frivolous. The execution of the idea, however, often failed due to an arrogance, if you will, in believing that anyone can look at the title or summary of a scientific grant or paper and decide whether it is ‘worthy’.
Sometimes one makes spur-of-the-moment media decisions that do not, in the end, prove worthwhile. A couple of days ago I received the following email from …
Since joining Twitter earlier this year, I've become a Tweet-happy fool, easily overtaking the Spousal Unit in sheer volume of Tweets. (It helps that so …
In my grouchier moments (one of which I am having right now), I am considering a public relations campaign to make fun of people who can’t do simple math and shame them into either acquiring some fundamental skills or staying quiet and not bothering the rest of us with their ignorance.
If Shakespeare were alive today, he might suggest that PR/branding/marketing people should go before lawyers. The spin doctor’s job is to make their company look good – even when it shouldn’t. The existence of spin doctors is reason number one why we must fix our badly broken education system. If science teaches one thing, it is skepticism: People shouldn’t be so anxious to be told what to think.
A couple years back when I switched jobs from the mighty JPL to a small (but still mighty!) private lab, they handed me a couple …
the shoe bomber theory of purchasing regulations Continue Reading >>
I'm just wrapping a 70+ hour work week. Our offices and labs were moved this weekend. The labs, machine shop, and clean room are bright and …
I thought I'd start out the new year with a little old news and and old, old rant. Just let me just get on my …
I have been working on a symposium for just about two years, and as far as I can tell, it will never, ever end. It …
