Author Archives: skullsinthestars

Vortices in beams of light and vortex coronagraphy video!

Posted on March 19, 2020

I while ago, I shared slides from a talk I gave at the Charlotte Amateur Astronomy Club on “Vortices in beams of light and vortex coronagraphy.” Now that I, like everyone else, am more or less homebound, I thought I … Continue reading →

Posted in Optics, Physics | Leave a comment

Old School Dungeons & Dragons: Part 13

Posted on March 11, 2020

Here’s my latest wrap-up of twitter-posted old school Dungeons & Dragons threads! Going to post these more frequently, with fewer entries, because my last few posts were over 4000 words each!  So without further ado… The Dragonlance Game (1988), by … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction, role-playing games | 3 Comments

Ruby Payne-Scott and the mystery of sunspots

Posted on March 9, 2020

This post is in belated honor of International Women’s Day 2020, March 8th, and highlights an important woman physicist who I was unaware of until recently! I think almost everybody is familiar with the phenomenon of sunspots: relatively dark patches … Continue reading →

Posted in History of science, Physics, Women in science | Leave a comment

Book signing at Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville on March 18th!

Posted on February 12, 2020

I am happy to announce that my next book signing for Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics will take place on March 18th at 6 pm at Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville! Please consider coming out to hear me read from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal, Physics | 2 Comments

The Influence, by Ramsey Campbell

Posted on February 10, 2020

I’ve been trying to get together enough focus to start reading fiction regularly again, and there was no better way to spark that interest and begin 2020 than by reading one of my favorite authors of all time, Ramsey Campbell.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror | 3 Comments

Visualizing the geometric phase of light!

Posted on February 5, 2020

Another post inspired by my book on Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics! I talk about geometric phases in the book in the context of falling cats, but here I focus on the polarization of light. I regularly argue that most … Continue reading →

Posted in Optics, Physics | Leave a comment

Old School Dungeons & Dragons: Part 12

Posted on January 23, 2020

Time again for another compilation of old School Dungeons & Dragons posts from twitter! I am still not tired of exploring the history and mechanics of classic RPGs and the adventures written for them. Bughunters (1993), by Lester Smith. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction | 7 Comments

Fake Book Titles Extravaganza #3!

Posted on January 21, 2020

Time for another round of Fake Book Titles that I’ve done, compiled from twitter!  You can see compilation 1 and compilation 2 at the links. These have proven to be a welcome distraction in stressful times. And, wow, I’ve done … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, Silliness | 4 Comments

About a cat flip video!

Posted on January 18, 2020

Okay, even though my book is now out in the world and I spent years working on it, I still manage to come across new things that surprise me about the problem of the falling cat!  A good example of … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Physics | 3 Comments

A few more Falling Felines bits of news!

Posted on January 8, 2020

If you’re still not tired of Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics news, yesterday was a good day for new posts, which I thought I’d compile here, along with some earlier stuff I forgot to share! The Curiosity Daily Podcast interviewed … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, History of science, Personal | Leave a comment