I'm saddling up and getting ready to hit the trail for Portland State University and the 2013 AAPT Summer Meeting, July 13-17. I'm taking the scenic route and several days to get there. There will be stops in Yreka, Bandon, and Astoria along the way. Photographs may be taken; a zip line may be zipped.
At AAPT SM13 I'll be attending the W04 AP Physics 1 and 2 workshop led by Martha Lietz on Saturday and I'll be hosting the W42 Skepticism in the Classroom workshop on Sunday.
I've got my preliminary schedule of sessions and activities worked out, but I'm flexible enough to change plans at any time. (That's how I wound up at David Saltzberg's talk in Ann Arbor, and that turned out well.)
I look forward to the High School Share-a-thon and the Tuesday Night Demo Show: perennial favorites. I look forward to seeing PSU's giant barometer. And I very much look forward to reconnecting with friends I only get to see once a year (at these meetings). I'm a wee bit bummed that I'll be missing out on The Amazing Meeting which will be going on in Las Vegas July 11-14. This is the first time these two meetings have conflicted. I hope it's also the last.
The Amaz!ng Meeting 2011: TAM9 From Outer Space. It was too big and there's too much to say for me to even attempt a summary post. I'm still tingly from all the skeptical goodness of the conference and the conferees.
The speakers are always wonderful and the attendees? You want to meet more of them than the space-time continuum allows.
One highlight was running into a former student who said he was there because of the skepticism lessons I sprinkled throughout the school year. Wow! As if I wasn't buzzed enough from the "teacher crack" that the story of Jessica Scheimer provided. It may be quite a while before I come down.
One thing I like to imagine I can do better than most at TAM is getting photos of the presenters in action. The photographic conditions are less than ideal, and I don't use flash. Anyway, I'll use this post to link to my Flickr TAM9 photo albums as I finish the post-processing on them. I tried using my "big-boy" gear for the first time at TAM this year: Canon 60D, 24-105mm lens, 100-400mm lens, ballhead and tripod. My trusty 32 GB SD card had enough capacity for each day's shoot. The camera battery didn't fail, but I always switched to the backup in the afternoon at a convenient moment to avoid an inopportune outage.
Active links are completed albums. Inactive links are "in progress."
This is your friendly reminder to get it in gear if you want to go to this year's premiere celebration of science, skepticism, and critical thinking. The Amaz!ng Meeting 2011 (TAM 9) will be held July 14-17 at the South Point Hotel, Casino, and Spa in Las Vegas.
The luminaries scheduled to appear include Bill Nye (The Science Guy), Mythbuster Adam Savage, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lawrence Krauss, Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer, Phil Plait, PZ Myers, magicians Penn & Teller and Banachek, Skepics' Guide to the Universe and Skepticality talents, awesome Aussies Karen Stollznow and Richard Saunders, Brit-wit Richard Wiseman, entertainer George Hrab, and many, many, many more.
It's difficult to describe this conference beyond the term, "Amazing." I will say that I've been to TAMs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and that I intend to go as long as
a. they are held and
b. I am alive.
For what it's worth, I do not make that claim regarding any other conference or meeting series that I attend other than TAM.
The attendance for TAM has grown every year (and throughout the Great Recession) because if you're anything like me, you get hooked at your first TAM and never miss another. Best. Addiction. Ever.
Bill Prady is an executive producer on The Big Bang Theory. David Saltzberg is the science consultant on The Big Bang Theory.
So I'm in Big Bang heaven! The show's audience has grown from 8 million to 10 million. The hope is to grow that to 13 million with a better time slot in season three.
Saltzberg related a story about a nice email exchange with a young lady enrolled high school physics regarding how far the Earth moved during an on-screen kiss. He also received a touching note from Isaac Asimov's granddaughter.
One thing I will put David Saltzberg on the spot for is his intent to have the show produce a teacher DVD with science-related clips perhaps after season three. He mentioned it, but it's not always easy for people in his position to see the true value of such a thing. During Q&A, I told Saltzberg how I use a Big Bang clip in my class. Surprisingly, he was aware of my blog post relating that lesson, and assured me that Bill Prady was aware of it, too. So much for my theory that only three people (including my mother) ever read this blog.
The Amazing Meeting 7 was held July 9-12 at the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa in Las Vegas Nevada. The Big Bang Theory producer, Bill Prady, was the keynote speaker. He was joined by luminaries Penn & Teller, Mythbuster Adam Savage, Bad Astronomer Phil Plait, Jamy Ian Swiss, and many, many more. Events were many, opportunities for sleep were few.
Over the years, TAM attendance has grown from 150 at TAM1 to over 800 at TAM6. Between TAM6 and TAM7, however, the global economy tanked. And TAM travel, attendance, and lodging adds up. Nevertheless, TAM7 brought in well over 1000 attendees.
I wrangled a conference seat that turned out to be much better than I deserved. Front row center. It was a better seat than The Amazing Randi had. So I did my best to get nice pictures to share with those whose view was obstructed by heads. The result?
I serendipitously brought my Casio EX-F1, and my serendipity was rewarded. Fellow physics teacher, Matt Lowry from Chicago, performed the bed of nails demonstration at the first annual TAM Ham Talent Show. I caught this:
The web should be reverberating with more and more reports of TAM7; I won't try to replicate the work of others. I'm getting ready to visit friends and family in Michigan before attending the American Association of Physics Teachers Summer Meeting in Ann Arbor.
I have just returned from The Amaz!ng Meeting 7 (TAM7). Much to do in catching up. But first this.
As you may know, the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) has long administered the Million Dollar Challenge (MDC). In hopes of verifying objectively observable paranormal, supernatural, or psychic phenomena, James Randi offered $1,000,000.00 to anyone who prove such abilities.
Potential claimants of the million dollar prize complete an application and the application is processed by the JREF. In the application, the claimant states what they can do and the extent to which they can do it.
The JREF and the MDC claimant then design a test (protocol) that will allow the claimant to demonstrate their ability. The claimant must pass a preliminary test and a final test. The protocol is carefully designed to prevent fraud or trickery on the part of the claimant or the JREF. Both parties must sign their agreement to the protocol.
Claimants who make if as far as the preliminary test have so far failed. Without exception, as far as I know. Although they agree to the protocol before the test, their failure in the test compels them to find fault with the protocol. If it does nothing else for them, the actual test opens claimant's eyes to previously-hidden inadequacies in the protocol. Sadly, the test rarely drives claimants to the conclusion that their psychic abilities do not exist.
TAM7 attendees were allowed to witness the test live in the room, provided they signed and swore an oath of audience silence. All cell phones off (not set to vibrate--off). No noise, no disturbance, and an assurance of swift removal for any violation. All this out of respect for the claimant and the administration of the protocol. Hundreds of TAM7 attendees watched live, more watched online via a live streaming on the web.
I was there, in person, about 40 feet from the Connie Sonne and JREF MDC administrator, Banachek.
The short version of the protocol is this: a single deck of cards was sorted by suit. The face cards were removed. Each card was placed in a small envelope. Each small envelope was placed in a slightly larger envelope, so that each card was secure in two envelopes. The cards of each suit (clubs, hearts, spades, and diamonds) were then placed in a larger envelope. This part of the protocol was completed in advance of the test and the collection of envelopes remained in the hands of a private security company until the administration of the test.
Banachek opened, in succession, the large envelope for each of three suits. For each suit, Banachek laid out the 10 envelopes (cards 1-10, where 1 is represented by the ace) directly in front of Sonne. Banachek then rolled a 10-sided die. Sonne then doused to find the card that matched the roll of the die.
When the clubs were laid out, the result from the rolled die was 3. When the hearts were laid out, the result from the rolled die was 7. When the spades were laid out, the result from the rolled die was 1. Sonne dowsed for each card. She made her selections. Then came the moment of truth.
In celebration of the last day to book rooms at the South Point Hotel, Resort & Spa at the group rate for The Amaz!ng Meeting 7 (July 9-12, Las Vegas), I present a video debunk of The Pantry Ghost. Fasten your seatbelts...
The Sacramento PTSOS New Teacher Workshop 2 was held January 24 at Rio Americano High School. Steve Keith and Dean Baird led an energetic group of teachers through demonstrations, discussions, and projects on the topics of heat and waves.
Though we try to work through the day slowly enough that all the information can be absorbed at a reasonable pace, it might be helpful to review some of the info links discussed.
Here's a brief list of some of the topics we planned to cover. (Sometimes the day gets away from us before we get to all of them.)
My Web Video page gives access to video clips of the Leidenfrost Effect. And don't forget that nice video clip, "Putting Firewalkers to the Test." What an excellent example of Science shutting down the Woo! If you like that kind of thing, you might consider attending James Randi's The Amaz!ng Meeting in Las Vegas this summer.
We looked at (and listened to) Pasco's WavePort software. Lots of potential there. Try it for free when you get to waves and run the activities I designed for use in conjunction with it.
We also ran PhET's Wave Interference simulator. I wrote an activity for that simulator focused on the basics, but our participants ran through it like kids in a candy store, finding the interference modes, and the sound-generator, and the light/color-generator.
I use the Physics: Cinema Classics clip on the Bell Jar to show that "In space, no one can hear you scream." (Reference: Waves (I)>Periodic Waves>Sound.)
As a flashy demo combining heat, sound, and waves, Steve brought his Ruben's Tube. The Mythbusters have a nice Ruben's Tube clip on YouTube.
They also have a nice clip of another demo that Steve showed: Fun with Gas! (And kids: even if you can get your hands on sulfur hexafluoride, don't try this at home!)
My Web Video page gives access to a few supersonic fighter jet video clips. Nice when talking about shock waves and sonic booms. Another sonic boom classic is the opening sequence from the Imax film, The Dream is Alive.
We finished the day with Steve's "String Machine" make-n-take. He brought the parts and tools; PTSOSers brought the energy and labor! The Exploratorium has a similar String Machine snack posted online. This project garnered rave reviews from power-tool-wielding participants.
If you like the Mythbusters and/or are intrigued by the backmasking site (and our ability to fool ourselves), please look in to the James Randi Educational Foundation and The Amaz!ng Meeting. Science teachers play a critical role in teaching critical thinking and skepticism. The JREF and TAM are great resources in that regard.
Also in the day's binder pages was the latest set of Released Test Questions from the California Standards Test in Physics. An updated set with 15 more questions should be appearing soon. Check the "Physics RTQ" link to the right. The 2008 edition had 74 RTQs. The 2009 edition should have 89.
Actually the adventure began in the spring of 2007, when the James Randi Educational Foundation announced The Amazing Adventure 3: The Galápagos. They had chartered a "cruise" through Darwin's archipelago. The ship is Celebrity's Xpedition and holds fewer than 100 guests, so it's not one of those superhotels that floats seven stories high above the water. But it's large for the waters of the Galápagos. I'm nowhere near being able to afford such a cruise, but I could not miss the chance to sail with Randi and dozens of skeptics through the islands that inspired The Origin of Species and the modern notion of natural selection. So I booked passage.
The Amazing Adventure 3 begins and ends in Quito, Ecuador. So flights to and from had to be booked. I did so in September of 2007. Today I was given notification that my flight itinerary had been changed. Usually this means a flight time has been changed by five minutes. But this one involved whole new flights. With a 10-minute layover between flights 2 and 3 of the journey from Sacramento to Quito.
So much for booking a $1000 flight nearly a year in advance. The apologies flowed freely when I called OrbitzTLC. Apologies don't get you from Sacramento to Quito on the day you booked. One helpful suggestion was to fly out of Los Angeles instead of Sacramento. It's all just California when viewed from Bangalore. I wonder how many Detroitians are asked to rebook with departures from NYC. Probably not so many.
After more failure from Orbitz, I suggested they book my flights starting a day in advance (to this point they had been keen to get me in a day late). So that's what I've got now. Though I had meticulously reserved shady window seats (window seats opposite the sun) for all flights, who knows how many middle seats I'll be dealt now?
Orbitz was willing to cut me loose and fend for myself with 5 days to go before a flight booked nearly a year ago. Gutsy operation they run. While on hold, I was able to see what Travelocity had to offer. One seat left on a couple of sweet $2300 fares.
Ultimately, this snafu is American's fault. They must have cancelled my DFW-MIA flight. Hey, now that the flights had to be rebooked, I'll probably get to pay the new baggage fee that I would have been spared if I didn't need to rebook. Excellent.
As it is, I now need to book a hotel for my newly-required overnight in Dallas. Always good to get a chance to pay more out-of-pocket for the privilege of additional inconveniences.
When they screw up the return flights, the result will be missing a second of the first two days of school.
When TAM6 closed on Sunday, June 22, I promptly took a nap.
After that, I joined some JREF friends for dinner at The Peppermill. At midnight, I ventured out for a photoshoot. By then the temperature had dipped below the century mark, though the wind and the dry were in full force.
I loaded up my shooting vest, grabbed my travel tripod, and hit The Strip. I shot until about 3am and hardly made a dent in the huge tracts of land occupied by The Strip. But I caught a few keepers. And now have finally posted them on SmugMug.
