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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
Some random tips on scientific public speaking
I’m currently in San Jose, at Photonics West, the biggest optics meeting of the SPIE (Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, originally.) I’m only here briefly, and pretty burned out on meetings for the moment. I did see some nice talks … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
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My “Cloverfield” Review (sans spoilers)
The girlfriend and I just got back a little while ago from seeing Cloverfield and, this being a horror blog among other things, I thought I would give my impressions of the film (along with probably half the blogosphere).
Posted in Entertainment, Horror
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More conspiracy-mongering about anti-depressants (revised)
I normally enjoy reading Crooks & Liars, the liberal video weblog, but a post today hit upon a pet peeve of mine. To quote the original news article, An analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that … Continue reading
Giant ‘UFO’ spotted over Texas!
Man, if this post doesn’t get my blog stats up, I can’t imagine anything will! Citizens of Stephenville, Texas have for several weeks now reported seeing an unidentifiable object flying over the city. To quote CNN: Several dozen people — … Continue reading
Big, previously unknown palm tree discovered!
From CNN, we get news that a previously unknown species of palm tree has been “discovered” on Madagascar! I put “discovered” in quotation marks because, as CNN says, The palm tree, which grows to 66 feet in height and has … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Science news
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Optics basics: Defining the velocity of a wave
How do we define how fast a wave is going? The question at first glance seems obvious. When we discussed harmonic waves in a previous post, we observed that the velocity of the wave could be measured by measuring how … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Optics basics
4 Comments
Robber shoots himself in groin!
A few years back, I was very interested in reading about very dumb criminals. My interest was rekindled by this story: Police said a Kokomo man accidentally shot himself in the genitals as he robbed a convenience store early Tuesday. … Continue reading
An up-and-coming musician… Jeanette Hawkins!
Most of my flights around the country are rather dull, if not genuinely unpleasant. On the flight back from San Antonio, though, I ended up having a conversation with my row-mates, one of whom is a charming young woman and … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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Two nice books on movie physics!
One of the nice Christmas gift surprises this past year was a pair of books from my girlfriend’s sister! (Thanks!) Both books deal with the physics of Hollywood movies, though from slightly different points of view: Don’t Try This At … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Physics
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Incredibly stupid conservative quote of the week
I’m always amazed at some of the ridiculous things that come out of the mouths of the so-called ‘conservative elite’. Here’s Jonah Goldberg, defending the premise of his book Liberal Fascism on Salon.com (h/t Crooks and Liars): To sort of … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Politics
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Skulls in the Stars 