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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. -
Category Archives: … the Hell?
University of Chicago undergraduates vs. Westboro Baptist!
I did my undergraduate work at the University of Chicago, and though I can vouch for the fact that we all took ourselves way too seriously in general, it turns out the kids there now are okay! The homophobic Westboro … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Religion, Silliness
3 Comments
Adventures in iRiff-ery!
I’ve been a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 for years. If you’re not familiar, the show consisted of a human host and two wisecracking (puppet) robots ridiculing bad science fiction, fantasy, and horror films, and was generally a … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment
7 Comments
The NSF online porn scandal!
Finally I have a post topic (almost) as attention-getting as scicurious’ posts (see, for instance, here and here)! It was reported a few days ago that an internal investigation by the National Science Foundation’s inspector general has revealed numerous cases … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
3 Comments
Nazi zombies threaten Austin, TX!
… at least that’s what a pair of electronic road signs warned drivers on Wednesday: Station KXAN in Austin has the details. Apparently a group of enterprising prankster hackers changed the messages on the road signs to warn of a … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Silliness
10 Comments
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?
20 Comments
John McCain: Angry, anti-science miser
As the economic crisis has deepened, McCain’s biggest talking point about the economy has been the proliferation of “earmarks” in government, those state projects that legislators add to Federal budget requests for their home states. For me, a discussion of … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Politics, Science news
4 Comments
Pictures of gas crisis in Soviet Carolinastan!
Yesterday I complained about the gas shortage that’s hitting parts of the southeast, including the western Carolinas, really hard. The Colonial Pipeline which provides the area with fuel has been operating at severely reduced capacity, because the refineries which feed … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
2 Comments
Stations, stations everywhere, but not a drop of gas
I’ve been a little distracted from blogging for the past week by the gas crisis that has settled slowly but inexorably over the region. Parts of the southeast have been in the midst of a massive gas shortage since Hurricane … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
3 Comments
Ebert writes a mean ‘Poe’
A few days ago, it was noted that Roger Ebert had posted an article titled, “Creationism: Your questions answered“. The article gives a straight-faced accounting of creationist beliefs, which was somewhat shocking to many fans who were familiar with Ebert’s … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
3 Comments
The Republican war on intelligence
Back in 2004, I had the pleasure of hearing Hillary Clinton speak at the Optical Society of America Annual Meeting in Rochester, NY. After her prepared remarks, she took questions from the audience. One questioner asked about some Bush administration … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, General science, Politics
5 Comments
