therandomtexan
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Oh, Xmas Tree, Oh Xmas Tree
Many folks spend hours and a pile of cash to get the “perfect” Xmas tree. Not me. Some 20 years ago, the Mrs developed a liking for those fancy glass Xmas ornaments, so we promptly hit the after-Holiday sales and started a collection. Came the next Xmas, and we weren’t happy with how the ornaments Read more
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Oh Noes! Seawater to Volcanoes! and…
…newpaper reporters who can’t divide or have any sense of proportion: While also factoring in temperatures and pressures down below, the researchers concluded that 3 billion teragrams — or a billion kilograms — are being pulled down every million years. Lemme see here: 3 billion (3×109) kilograms every million (106) years, works out to an Read more
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“I want to make this the best I can for them”
While the Man dithers in the aftermath of the Camp Fire, trying to get his sh*t togther, the Little Folks get it I say “That seems like a thankless task.” “Not at all,” she replies. “Not at all.” “Really? Why the hell not?” “Hey, I do this job every day in this store. It’s my Read more
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Feynman’s 4-Step Learning Process
From the man who showed up rocket scientists, a simple checklist: pick a topic you want to understand and start studying it pretend to teach your topic to a classroom* go back to the books when you get stuck** simplify and use analogies Exactly the technique I use to “get smart” on lots of stuff Read more
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“Security concerns”
But today there are reports that the British government has said that it will not offer asylum to Asia Bibi. The reason being “security concerns” — that weasel term now used by all officialdom whenever it needs one last reason to avoid doing the right thing. Thanks to Douglas Murray, writing in the National Review, Read more
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Past performance is no indication of future…
I am such a slow pony. I’ve just web-surfed my way into discovering Rob Hyndman’s Time Series Data Library, which has hundreds of time-series datasets suitable for every teaching need. I was looking for one of my old faves, from that hoary old classic, Forecasting, Time Series, and Regression, and voila! there it is. Read more
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To every thing, there is a season
Most of us are aware of the seasonal cycle of influenza outbreaks, which for Americans peak in the winter. In a new paper, Micaela Martinez, PhD, a scientist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, makes a case that all infectious diseases have a seasonal element. The “Pearl” article appears in the journal Read more
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Hunting the Wild Placebo
The New York Times’ Gary Greenberg asks “What if the Placebo Effect Isn’t a Trick?” and gets some interesting answers. Along the way, he tells the interesting history of the placebo and how it has become a standard in FDA=approved clinical trials. My only question for the FDA is this: if someone were to attempt Read more
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“This is the greatest country in the world.”
An American veteran brings his Ukranian bride to the States for a honeymoon, and gets to see his country through fresh eyes. And understands why not to sweat the small stuff: …it’s all too easy to misjudge the gravity of life’s problems when you’re used to peace and prosperity—after all, there’s no microaggression, no trigger, Read more
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Larry the Barbarian
Over at Monster Hunter Nation, Larry Correia puts us hip to a delightful and creative approach to F&SF book covers: incorporating the author as a cover character. This one of L.C. and wife rocks it: If you’re not tuned into Larry’s worldview, you can get the 2-minute summary by clicking to the adjacent blog entry Read more
The Random Texan 