You've read the blog, now try the book: How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is published by Scribner, and available wherever books are sold.
"Uncertain Principles" features the miscellaneous ramblings of a physicist at a small liberal arts college. Physics, politics, pop culture, and occasional conversations with his dog.
"Prof. Orzel gives the impression of an everyday guy who just happens to have a vast but hidden knowledge of physics." (anonymous student evaluation comment)
Emmy is a German Shepherd mix, and the Queen of Niskayuna. She likes treats, walks, chasing bunnies, and quantum physics.
I think I've mentioned before that I'm on the local committee that selects nominees for the Watson Fellowship, which is one of the best committees to be on, because you get to interact with some of our best students doing things that they really love. This year, we're thrilled to have two of our nominees selected as members of the 2010-2011 awardees:
Frederick Franke, Union College Out of the Kitchen and Into the Fire: Exploring Open-Fire Cooking Methods South Africa, New Zealand, India, Jamaica, Turkey
People don't generally like to eat alone; food is a necessity, but it also serves to bring us together, reinforcing and creating social bonds. As a result, food, and even cooking methods reflect cultural identity. I intend to explore the open fire cooking methods--hangi, tandoor, braai, doner kebap, and jerk--in their corresponding countries, finding out how each method draws people together. I will examine more than just the method of cooking, but also the markets, butchers, fishmongers, and farms, to immerse myself in the global society of food.
James Morton, Union College Large Format Cargo: Photographing the Shipping Industry South Korea, Australia, India, Singapore, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
The maritime shipping industry transporting the majority of global trade is essential to our modern economy. Despite being vital to the consumer style in which so many of us live, the industry is rarely given a second thought. My project combines my passions for photography and the sea. I will photograph and explore, using large format color film, the modern merchant trade. I will look at the life cycle of merchant ships from construction, to active use, and to scrapping. I will also explore working ports around the world as well as the surrounding industrial areas.
Congratulations to Radhe and James. They're great projects, and I'm sure they'll be fantastic experiences.
We've had a hard time convincing her that anything that isn't either 1) crunchy, or 2) goopy is food. Cooked vegetables, she'll pick up, look at, and toss aside laughing. Cooked meat is similarly rejected. This week, though, we discovered that she'll eat bacon, which evidently is crispy enough to overcome its Meat Nature. Also, bread is ok, probably because in addition to being yummy, it can be ripped into lots of little pieces that can be scattered all over the table.
Emmy, of course, is insanely jealous that SteelyKid gets bacon. It's very hard to be the Queen.
Lots of good suggestions as to Portland activities for my trip to the March Meeting next week. There's a second, related problem that I also need help with: What should I do at the meeting itself?
My usual conference is DAMOP, which I'll be going to in May, so while DAMOP is a participating division, and offers some cool-sounding sessions, it seems a little silly to go to the March Meeting and go to DAMOP talks. The whole point of being at the gigantic meeting is to see different stuff than usual.
The problem is, the scientific program includes forty-odd parallel sessions in each time slot, most of those featuring a dozen or so 12-minute talks, which are generally incomprehensible if you're outside the field. The invited talks are longer, and often better, but still variable. And there are so many of them...
So, here's my question for readers who know stuff about non-AMO physics: What sessions should I be attending at the March Meeting? I'm interested in invited talks, ideally by people who are good speakers, that will be reasonably comprehensible to someone outside the field. There are a couple of things I've already identified, but the only block that is definitely out of the question is the Tuesday 11:15 block (J sessions), when I'm speaking.
If there's something at the March Meeting that you think of as an absolute must-see, leave a comment and let me know.
Several items in the general category of charitable activity:
Kate is running the Con or Bust auction again this year, with proceeds going to support people of color interested in attending SFF cons, principally Wiscon. Bidding is open through Saturday at 11:59pm ET, and items up for bid include many things that may be of interest to readers of this blog, including a certain book, plus a bunch of other stuff I will put below the fold.
I got email from the Nobel Prize committee the other day. Well, OK, the webmaster for Nobelprize.org. They have an "Ask a Nobel laureate" feature going on their YouTube channel, and the current laureate taking questions is Albert Fert, one of the Physics laureates from 2007. You can record a question for him through March 19, and they'll record and post his answers after that.
The favorite educational charity of ScienceBlogs, DonorsChoose is in another of these online contests to win money from major corporations, in this case the Pepsi Refresh Project. If they get enough votes, they can siphon off a tiny fraction of a percent of the money Pepsi earns selling junk to kids, and put it toward classroom and library supplies for schools. If this sounds good to you, go over there and vote.
And there's your charity shilling for the moment. I'll put a list of the Con or Bust items Kate thought might especially appeal to ScienceBlogs readers below the fold:
On this morning's walk, a woman stopped me and Emmy to say that she recognized us from a picture. Emmy was adopted from the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society shelter back in 2003, and when they heard about How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, they contacted me about writing Emmy up as a distinguished alumna. And, in fact, there's a piece in their print newsletter, including a picture of the two of us sitting by the couch (page 8 of the PDF newsletter for February 2010).
Emmy, of course, regards this as no more than her due. She's hoping to be invited to give a commencement address at some point, but no offers yet.
In other book publicity news, a Binghamton tv station did a story about the book after Friday's signing. The text at that link is what ran over the video they shot, with one quote from me. When I played it off my parents' DVR the next morning, and my picture popped up on the screen, SteelyKid pointed right at it and yelled "Daddy!" That was the best part of the whole deal.
A week or so ago, I had also heard that a piece about the book was going to be in a Finnish magazine, but as I'm not in Finland, and don't read Finnish, I don't know if it has. If you know, please let me know, and if possible point me to whatever they published.
But, really, the important thing is Emmy's profile story.
I'm going to be attending the March Meeting of the American Physical Society next week, in Portland, OR. This will be held at the Oregon Convention Center, which is apparently on the opposite side of the river from every hotel in the city.
I have never been to Portland (or, indeed, anything in the Pacific Northwest) before, so I have no idea what there is to do there. I'm sure that at least some of my readers have been there or are from there, though, so here's your chance to clue me in: What essential Portland activities/ eateries/ whatever should I make sure not to miss while I'm there?
I am mostly interested in food/ bar type activities in the downtown area, as I'll be at the meeting most of the day, so will really only be free to do stuff at lunch and dinner. I haven't yet gone through the incredibly intimidating program book to see what, exactly, is on offer, so there's a slight chance I'll do some walking around in the city during the day, but not much.
I'm sitting at the computer typing, when Emmy bumps up against my legs. I look down, and she's sniffing the floor around my feet intently.
"What are you doing down there?"
"I'm looking for steak!" she says, wagging her tail hopefully.
"I'm pretty certain that there's no steak down there," I say. "I've never eaten steak at the computer, and I've certainly never dropped any on the floor."
"You did in some universe," she says, still sniffing.
If this is new to you, and you like that, well, there's a whole book's worth, along with (relatively) straight explanations of the physics involved. Available, as they say, wherever books are sold.
Here we see SteelyKid kickin' back in her babypod, sharing a meal of Cheerios and dried fruit with Appa:
SteelyKid says "You know, Daddy, if we traveled by sky bison, you wouldn't have to worry about the wiring in your car, and you wouldn't be faced with driving a giant rental pick-up truck to Vestal tomorrow..."
It's been an absurdly good hoops week at Chateau Steelypips-- Syracuse won a big one to take over the (admittedly meaningless) #1 spot in the polls, and now Maryland beat Duke in a tough game to move into a tie for the top spot in the (admittedly down) ACC. If both Duke (home to UNC) and Maryland (at UVA) win this weekend, they'll split the regular-season not-a-title. Go Tar Heels!
Kind of a weird game. It was Senior Night for Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes, and Landon Milbourne, which is always a risky business-- especially for a player as volatile as Vasquez. They came out all fired up, with the crowd going nuts, and led by 14 in the first half, then went ice, ice cold. They scored something like two field goals in an 11-minute stretch, and let Duke all the way back. Duke led by three early in the second half, then the Terps led by three, and then they spent most of the last eight minutes trading one-point leads.
The final margin of 79-72 is entirely due to a weird spurt Maryland got in the final minute. The game was tied, then Maryland got a basket by freshman forward Jordan Williams. Duke missed two decent looks at a three, then Vasquez hit a completely ridiculous runner in the lane, and it was all over but the fouling. The Terps hit their free throws, and it ended up a seven-point game.
This was certainly an intense game, and the refs mostly let them whale on each other, but it wasn't really a brilliant display of basketball. The ACC is way, way down this year, and while Duke is clearly the class of the league, I don't think they're a great team. Both of these teams are heavily guard-oriented, and while Duke should've had a decisive size advantage, they weren't really able to do anything with it. They're both vulnerable to a team with good inside play, which they don't seem to have in the ACC this year, but I would expect most of the good Big East teams to take them apart.
