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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
Letchworth State Park: The panoramas
I mentioned in my post on Letchworth that I had a bunch of panorama photos to put together when I got home, and I’ve done so! They’re posted below…
Posted in Travel
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John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids (1951)
This continues my brief foray into 1950s/1960s horror/science fiction, which I started with John W. Campbell’s Who Goes There?, which was the source for The Thing From Another World and John Carpenter’s The Thing. Today let’s talk triffids! A couple … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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FiO: Day 4 and day 5
Well, I’m home! A hectic final few days at the FiO conference combined with a lack of hotel internet access prevented me from checking the blog very often (I would wander around the Hyatt, where I wasn’t staying, looking for … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Science news
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FiO 2008: Day three
All the ‘big ticket’ events took place on the first and second days, so by day 3 I settled into listening to some shorter talks on various subjects. Also, day 3 is about the time I start trying to actually … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Science news
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FiO 2008: Day two
My hotel’s wireless internet completely crapped out late Sunday night, and they still have not been able to get it fixed. Fortunately, there’s wireless connectivity in some of the conference center, so I thought I’d post an update while I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Science news
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Letchworth State Park in Autumn!
I brought my fiancée for the first few days of my stay in Rochester, both to introduce her to my former thesis advisor (who insisted I couldn’t get married until he approved of my choice) and to show her a … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
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‘Liveblogging’ the What’s Hot in Optics Today? session at FiO
I thought I’d experiment and try liveblogging a session about What’s Hot in Optics Today? at the OSA Annual Meeting. This was in fact one of the first sessions, and seemed interesting enough. Unfortunately, I couldn’t liveblog, because I didn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Science news
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Attending Frontiers in Optics 2008!
My blogging will probably be a bit slow over the next week, as I’m attending the Optical Society of America‘s annual meeting, Frontiers in Optics, being held in Rochester, NY. I’ll hopefully find some interesting optics-y topics to post about … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Science news
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The Bee Gees as a tool in cardiac resuscitation?
Via CNN, we learn an interesting little factoid: the 103 beats per minute rhythm of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive”, and its catchy, memorable tune, can be used by CPR practitioners to properly time their chest compressions! A small study … Continue reading
Posted in Science news, Silliness
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The Giant’s Shoulders #4 is up!
After a little delay, the fourth edition of The Giant’s Shoulders is up at Second Order Approximation! Thanks to Dave for putting it together! The next edition will be held at Podblack Blog on November 15th. It will already have … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Skulls in the Stars 