Monthly Archives: July 2008

Richard Marsh’s The Magnetic Girl

Posted on July 7, 2008 by skullsinthestars

I thought I’d do a post on one more book by Richard Marsh that I’ve read, The Magnetic Girl (1903), currently only available on Google books. The Magnetic Girl is significantly different than the other books by Marsh that I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy fiction | 2 Comments

Lawn chair ballooning lives on!

Posted on July 6, 2008 by skullsinthestars

Via CNN, I learn today that Kent Couch of Bend, Oregon managed to fly 200 miles from Oregon to Idaho in a lawn chair ‘powered’ by helium balloons. Such stories have long been ‘urban legend’ fodder, ever since the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports | Leave a comment

What a drag: Arago’s Experiment (1810)

Posted on July 5, 2008 by skullsinthestars

Note: This post is my contribution to the first-ever edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, a new blog event compiling posts concerning classic science papers. I’ve been meaning to get back to my series of posts on relativity, but things have … Continue reading →

Posted in History of science, Optics, Physics, Relativity | 20 Comments

Metropolis, complete at last (?)

Posted on July 4, 2008 by skullsinthestars

Via Blake at Science After Sunclipse, I learn that a complete version of Fritz Lang’s silent masterpiece Metropolis has been found in Buenos Aires. I’m quite excited about this.  For those who haven’t seen it, Metropolis is arguably the greatest … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment | Leave a comment

An old, old die…

Posted on July 3, 2008 by skullsinthestars

As long as I’ve got dice on my mind, I should point out this glass 20-sided die that dates back to 2nd century Rome: But $17,925 for it? I have old Dungeons and Dragons dice that look to be in … Continue reading →

Posted in Silliness | Leave a comment

How well do YOU know Africa?

Posted on July 3, 2008 by skullsinthestars

Via The Carpetbagger Report, we learn that McCain confused Somalia with Sudan in a discussion with reporters several days ago.  This was probably him misspeaking, but he’s been doing that a lot lately and it isn’t an encouraging sign. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 3 Comments

Very odd odds: Unusual dice

Posted on July 3, 2008 by skullsinthestars

I’m still in the midst of a massive move into a new house, but everything has at least been moved from point A to point B; now the unpacking, organizing and fixing of things begins. I’ll hopefully get back to … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics, role-playing games | 12 Comments

Still moving…

Posted on July 1, 2008 by skullsinthestars

Whew!  The fiancée and I are finally in the new house, after about four days of continuous work.  I’ll try and get back into the blogging swing o’ things in a couple of days, though of course we’ve still got … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell? | Leave a comment