-
The author of Skulls in the Stars is an associate professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
-
-
-
-
-
-
Category Archives: Sports
Skydives at CarolinaFest 2012!
I’ve been quite busy and having a hard time putting together some science posts. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a video of a couple of skydives I did a bit over a week ago at CarolinaFest 2012 at … Continue reading
Posted in Sports
Leave a comment
My 1000th skydive!
Well, I finally did it — I made my 1000th skydive! On the 18th of December, 2011, my friends came out to join me in celebrating this milestone. The video is posted below. We had done a practice jump (number … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Sports
8 Comments
5-way formation skydive!
It occurred to me, after some discussion on Twitter, that I haven’t posted any skydiving videos for a while! Part of the problem is that I haven’t had that many videos taken over the past half-year; the other part of … Continue reading
A new paper airplane world record!
Via The Huffington Post, I found this story pretty exciting: a Japanese man has made a new world record for the longest duration flight of a paper airplane! Only one man – Japanese paper airplane virtuoso Takuo Toda – has … Continue reading
Posted in Science news, Sports
Leave a comment
On passing adult bronze ‘moves in the field’
Whew! One more stressful deadline is passed, and successfully! On Sunday, I passed my adult bronze ‘moves in the field’ figure skating test! Of course, most readers probably have no idea what that means. The USFSA (U.S. Figure Skating Association) … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Sports
5 Comments
Skating a rollercoaster?
I know people will call me nuts, but this looks like fun: via The Daily Mail, we learn that an extreme sports enthusiast took a high-speed ride on a rollercoaster — on specially designed roller skates! An adrenaline junkie has … Continue reading
Posted in Sports
2 Comments
900th skydive milestone!
Just a short note: yesterday I made three skydives, the third of which was my 900th! Up until the 1000th jump, skydivers tend to treat every 100th jump as a personal milestone. Due to work, I’ve been jumping quite irregularly, … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Sports
3 Comments
Back in the air!
The weather has finally been getting nice enough again to get some consistent skydiving in and not freeze one’s ass off at the same time! The following video is actually back from January, but I finally got around to uploading … Continue reading
Posted in Sports
3 Comments
Swoop bowling!
This is my busy class day today, so I don’t have time for a detailed post. However, a friend of mine sent me a video of his recent skydiving exploits, which he refers to as ‘swoop bowling’. I present the … Continue reading
Posted in Sports
2 Comments
‘Fusion Man’ tools across the Channel
I’ve previously mentioned the exploits of Yves Rossy, aka “Fusion Man”, a daredevil who had successfully built and tested a jet-powered wing. Now, according to CNN, Rossy has taken a flight across the English Channel! The 22-mile flight from Calais … Continue reading
Posted in Sports
Leave a comment
