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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a 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. -
Author Archives: skullsinthestars
The Giant’s Shoulders #7 is up!
The seventh edition of The Giant’s Shoulders is up at The Questionable Authority, with entries ranging from 1789 to 1971! Many thanks to Mike for putting it together! The next edition is scheduled for release on February 16th, at Greg … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Off to ScienceOnline ’09!
I head out this afternoon to go to ScienceOnline ’09, the third annual science blogging conference held in NC: I’ll be part of a panel discussing “The Web and the History of Science“, with excellent science bloggers scicurious and Laelaps. … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
5 Comments
A double loss for cinema: Montalban and McGoohan
Via Pharyngula, we learn that the last two days resulted in the loss of two of entertainment’s coolest actors: Patrick McGoohan died on Tuesday, while Ricardo Montalban died on Wednesday. It is strangely appropriate for their deaths to more or … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
7 Comments
Faraday’s unified theory of… electricity? (1833)
This is the second in a series of posts describing the researches of the super-experimentalist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) into electricity and magnetism. In the first post of the series, I discussed his first paper on his electrical research, in which … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
7 Comments
3 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #7!
One more reminder: there are 3 days left until the deadline for the 7th edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, to be held at The Questionable Authority. Entries can be submitted through blogcarnival.com or directly to the host blog, as usual! … Continue reading
Posted in Science news
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World air traffic over 24 hours…
I’ve been very busy with work, among other things (Fallout 3) over the past week or so, and haven’t had much time or energy to put together a coherent blog post. In the meantime, I stumbled across this nifty video … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
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Thomas M. Disch’s The Prisoner
Recently I started investigating the works of author Thomas M. Disch, a well-known horror author and generally remarkable fellow who committed suicide in 2008. His book The M.D.: A Horror Story was one of the books I read in my … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller, Weird fiction
3 Comments
More travel…
I’m heading out of town again today, for a work-related meeting. I’m not enthusiastic, especially after the catastrophe which was my return trip from the holidays. With that in mind, I see that Tom Tomorrow has relinked to one of … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Silliness
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A little rant about that 2012 nonsense…
Up until this week, I hadn’t been in a bookstore for a while. I’m trying to save money, I have a backlogue of interesting books to read (and blog about), and I was expecting to get a number of books … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
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h-index of 13!
What a great way to start the new year! According to the Web of Science, my h-index has climbed to 13 this week! For those not familiar with it, the Hirsch index is a (rough) measure of the importance of … Continue reading
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