2006 Was Just This Year, You Know: I lost a lot of weight, read a lot of books, taught a lot of classes, did a bit of research, and oh, yeah, I got tenure.
Dorky Poll: Favorite Tool: In the comments to the post where I noted how many more people had least favorite textbooks than favorite ones, dr. dave writes: "Textbooks... particularly SCIENCE textbooks, are not really written to be ENJOYED by anyone."
Maryland vs. Duke: One-sentence review of this game: I don't think I've ever seen so many two-foot shots missed in a Division I game.
On the Superiority of String Theory: As we look at science in general, and physics in particular, a clear pattern emerges: the scientific endeavours most worthy of praise and acclaim are the most abstract and mathematical sciences.
Undergraduate Research: Why It Works: I wrote yesterday's post about the undergraduate research study very quickly, basically just to note the existence of the survey.
Less Dorky Poll: Pleasure Reading: I'm kind of fried this morning-- it's been a long week full of after-work events associated with the end of the year-- so I'm not up to doing weighty posts about physics, so here's a lighter discussion topic: "What's the last non-Internet thing you read for fun?"
You Gripe About What You Know: Via PZ, a blog on biology and science fiction is griping that biology gets no respect, and links to a Jack Cohen article complaining that authors and filmmakers don't take biology seriously.
Physics "News" Solid State Edition: I'm on vacation this week, and taking this opportunity to clear out a large backlog of news items that I flagged as interesting, but never got around to commenting on.
Arithmetic and Music (special guest-blogger post): Taking a break from all this physics, I thought I'd talk a little about music and some related mathematical coincidences.
Help School Children: DonorsChoose Fundraiser: As you may or may not remember from last year, a number of us at ScienceBlogs participated in a charity drive, raising $34,000 for the educational charity DonorsChoose.
Stephen Colbert Is Afraid of Me: Well, so are all the other Presidential hopefuls-- not one of them has responded to my offer to endorse any candidate who will play me in basketball-- but I particularly want to address Colbert.
Ninja Squirrel: "Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake! Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake!"
"the scientific endeavours most worthy of praise and acclaim are the most abstract and mathematical sciences."
50% chance you'll eat those words given two days of scut lab calorimetry. 50% chance Uncle Al will apologize. Answer in 12 days. "It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong," Richard P. Feynman. A stained bench beats S((U2)xU(3)) every time.