July 2008
25 posts
Phil: So your task now is to conceive the [ring].
Jared: Conceive the [ring]?
Phil: Yeah, doesn't that mean to hide it?
Lava Lamps
So lava lamps work by having a wax and water mixture that have similar densities. The density of the wax decreases faster than the water when heat is applied. It’s quite simple. But as I sit here watching a lava lamp run, I realize there are more dynamics than density. There is a viscous and surface tension force that causes bigger bubbles to absorb into each other faster than smaller...
Operation: Clean House
My roommate and I decided that it was time to clean house this week. We seek to unclutter life one corner of the room at a time.
In my move to reduce the amount of accumulated goods in my apartment, I have gained an appreciation for a simple life. When you strip all the extra crap away, life becomes a lot clearer and more pleasant. I want to make it my goal to minimize accumulating unused...
“Mankind does not exist for science’s sake, but science should be used to...”
– Joseph Petzval
The World's Largest Tsunami →
I really enjoyed this article on the world’s largest recorded tsunami. It recently celebrated its 50th birthday…if waves celebrate birthdays.
“The art of being sick is not the same as the art of getting well. Some cancer...”
– Tony Snow, The Jewish World Report, 2005.
1 tag
Education and Technology
So I’m looking for what other people think on this:
I am doing research with some high school teachers this summer, and a question has come into my head. Does technology really help us learn more? For instance, lots of well-off school districts are touting smart boards in every classroom, laptops for every student and projectors to train our nation’s future CEO’s, CFO’s,...
1 tag
Giant Lights
Call me a hippie if you wish, but I was hanging out with my girlfriend in a local grocery store when I was suddenly aware of the amount of electricity being used in the store. The lights were everywhere!
I’m not saying that I want a dark grocery store - rather, I want a more efficient grocery store. Why not design the inside of the store to be lighter, thus requiring less active...
Wii
So in case you haven’t figured it out - I have a thing for Wii. I never thought I’d be bringing it into my graduate laboratory to entertain a bunch of future Ph.Ds, though…
Electric Cars
I must admit, all these announcements for electric cars in 2010 has me quite excited (I have seen announcements from Nissan, VW, GM and Mercedes all claiming to have limited supplies of cars available by 2010). However, it causes me to think a bit more deeply about the source of power used to charge these vehicles. What good is an electric vehicle if the power company still uses 98% fossil fuel...
Looking to create a comments section...
So I’m looking to allow for comments about all of my posts. How do I incorporate this functionality into my tumblr? If anyone can help, I’d love that!
The Melting Pot - USA
No, I have nothing to say about that lovely fondue chain that holds a place very dear to my heart. Rather, I had the priviledge of watching a parade, concert and fireworks show this evening. The strangest thing happened - a whole bunch of people saw my Drexel shirt and praised it in some way. This resulted in two high fives. And continuing with the hand-to-hand theme, I smiled at a nice fellow...
Charles Manson
I was browsing another blog and came upon the names Surhan Surhan and Charles Manson. While both names are famous, I find that their historical significance is lost to most people my age, and especially to those younger than I. Given the very little I knew about these two characters and the extra time afforded me by this truly American holiday, I began an investigation. After finding little of...