a peek at the peak district

i spent last weekend celebrating my birthday in the peak district of central england. we hiked though the hills and dales on a pleasantly crisp and warm day with blue skies!


a big dam built in the late 19th century.


a slowly uncurling fern.

war on drugs

in this video, dr. carl hart, a psychologist at the university of columbia, discusses some interesting ideas about the public's perceptions of drug use and abuse, and comments on some of the existing drug policies in the US. i've always thought the "war on drugs" was improperly directed. it seems to waste a lot of money on petty issues (i.e. arrests for marijuana possession) instead of focusing resources and energy on dealing with more hazardous substances.

the sun: right now!

in case youre wondering, this is what the sun looks like right now in the ultraviolet as imaged by the SOHO telescope.


it looks like a round prominence recently broke around the 4 o'clock angle, but otherwise things are pretty calm right now.

get updated images of the sun at anytime here!

props and perspective

from something beautiful

30 shades of red

i've actually been looking forward to turning thirty. i've celebrated thoroughly by enjoying a sunny weekend in the peak district with friends (pictures soon), despite acquiring tonsillitis last week. how many 30 year olds get tonsillitis, anyway? i dont know, but this one did!

i never created a list of "things to do before i turn X years old." i certainly have things i'd like to experience in life, but it seems silly to me to put a timeframe on most activities. why create pressure like that for myself? most likely my interests or circumstances will change over time, and i want to allow freedom for that to happen! expectations are inevitably met with disappointment when we're so focused on a goal that we forget to enjoy the intervening events!


for a bit of birthday fun, here is a picture of my big-cheeked self on my 3rd birthday. my family jokes that when i was a baby, you could see my cheeks from behind!


since trying to recreate old photographs is highly entertaining, here is my 30 year old self today:


i've nearly grown into my cheeks, i think.

it's also a good day to remember this piece of wisdom from jessica hagy...

love is like pi

by andrew le

the closest star

what is the closest star to earth? the sun, of course! here's my latest appearance on the sixty symbols video project. we talk about the sun and the little circle-with-a-dot-inside symbol that astronomers use to represent it.

>

star wars > star trek

the beatles > elvis

neko case > new pornographers

snoopy > marmaduke

cats > dogs

mork > alf

sawyer > jack

snow > rain

milkshake > malt

skyline chili > gold star (shout out to cincinnati!)

yellow bananas > green bananas

birthmonth > birthday

30 > 29

"fringe" > "bangs"

mac > pc

emacs > vi

anything > IRAF

less > more (odd but true)

two wheels > four wheels

no makeup > makeup

herbs > no herbs

homegrown > store-bought

oven > microwave

acoustic > electric

live > recorded

snail mail > email

obama >> bush

barcelona fc > manchester united

liverpool fc > [insert club name here]

belgian beer > any other beer

curiosity > boredom

knowledge > memorization

truth > fallacy

spirituality > religion

the universe > everything

t > 0

v !> c

pluto > plutoid

xkcd !> abstruse goose




ps. the symbol !> means "not greater than"

beer levitation

here's my new favorite installment of the sixty symbols project! what do you get when you put a few drops of beer over a big powerful magnet?? levitating beer! awesome.



science is so fun!