Monthly Archives: February 2009

Michael Faraday, scientific rock-star!

Posted on February 28, 2009 by skullsinthestars

I’ve been planning another post on the scientific discoveries of Michael Faraday, but in the process of researching his work on so-called Faraday rotation, I came across a wonderful story which is too charming not to share! By 1844, Faraday … Continue reading →

Posted in History of science | 4 Comments

Faking tilt-shift photography, via Photoshop

Posted on February 27, 2009 by skullsinthestars

I recently took another look at my post on depth of focus and depth of field, and noticed to my chagrin that the link to the original ‘miniworld’ pics, which show how a real scene can be made to look … Continue reading →

Posted in Optics | 2 Comments

Adventures in iRiff-ery!

Posted on February 26, 2009 by skullsinthestars

I’ve been a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 for years.   If you’re not familiar, the show consisted of a human host and two wisecracking (puppet) robots ridiculing bad science fiction, fantasy, and horror films, and was generally a … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment | 7 Comments

Bobby Jindal hates lifesaving research!

Posted on February 25, 2009 by skullsinthestars

This one’s been bugging me all day, and although others have tackled it admirably, I wanted to give my perspective, and an amateur would-be vulcanologist.  In the Republican response to President Obama’s speech last night, in which he strongly defended … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Science news | 3 Comments

E is for Edward, who birthday was today…

Posted on February 22, 2009 by skullsinthestars

Via The Greenbelt, I see that today was the birthday of macabre artist Edward Gorey (1925-2000), who produced such bizarre and twisted classics such as The Gashlycrumb Tinies and The Curious Sofa.  It is an interesting coincidence since I just … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment | 9 Comments

A. Merritt’s Dwellers in the Mirage

Posted on February 22, 2009 by skullsinthestars

Abraham Merritt (1888-1943) was one of the greats of pulp fiction, although up until recently his work was largely forgotten.  Recently, two of his novels were reprinted, The Moon Pool (1919) and The Metal Monster (1920), both of which I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure fiction, Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Weird fiction | 7 Comments

A personal academic milestone!

Posted on February 17, 2009 by skullsinthestars

Well, I’ve managed to graduate my first doctoral student!  I was confident in his ability to pass the dissertation defense, but I was still probably as nervous as he was.  Did I train him well enough?  Is his research sound … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | 11 Comments

The Giant’s Shoulders #8 is up!

Posted on February 15, 2009 by skullsinthestars

The eighth edition of The Giant’s Shoulders is up at Greg Laden’s Blog, with a special emphasis on birthday boy Charles Darwin!  Many thanks to Greg for putting it together! The next edition will appear on March 16th at The … Continue reading →

Posted in General science, Science news | Leave a comment

Do optics like Darwin’s Dad!

Posted on February 12, 2009 by skullsinthestars

A few days ago, I was wondeirng what else I could contribute to the celebration of the birthday of Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution which forms the cornerstone of modern biology.   Of course, I’m an optical physicist, … Continue reading →

Posted in History of science, Optics | Leave a comment

Upcoming horror game: The Path

Posted on February 10, 2009 by skullsinthestars

Via StumbleUpon, I came across the website for a short horror game which will be released in March or April 2009:  The Path.  Produced by a small independent game company called Tale of Tales (and I mean small: two programmers), … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Horror | 4 Comments