Holiday parties are right around the corner. So start practicing your quirky party tricks now!
2011
2010
2009
The quirkiness never ends at Richard Wiseman's blog.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
UC Davis physics faculty call for Chancellor to resign
From Cosmic Variance:
Chancellor Linda Katehi
November 22, 2011
UC Davis
Dear Chancellor Katehi:
With a heavy heart and substantial deliberation, we the undersigned faculty of the UC Davis physics department send you this letter expressing our lack of confidence in your leadership and calling for your prompt resignation in the wake of the outrageous, unnecessary, and brutal pepper spraying episode on campus Friday, Nov. 18.
The reasons for this are as follows.
• The demonstrations were nonviolent, and the student encampments posed no threat to the university community. The outcomes of sending in police in Oakland, Berkeley, New York City, Portland, and Seattle should have led you to exhaust all other options before resorting to police action.
• Authorizing force after a single day of encampments constitutes a gross violation of the UC Davis principles of community, especially the commitment to civility: “We affirm the right of freedom of expression within our community and affirm our commitment to the highest standards of civility and decency towards all.”
• Your response in the aftermath of these incidents has failed to restore trust in your leadership in the university community.
We have appreciated your leadership during these difficult times on working to maintain and enhance excellence at UC Davis. However, this incident and the inadequacy of your response to it has already irreparably damaged the image of UC Davis and caused the faculty, students, parents, and alumni of UC Davis to lose confidence in your leadership. At this point we feel that the best thing that you can do for this university is to take full responsibility and resign immediately. Our campus community deserves a fresh start.
Sincerely,
Andreas Albrecht (chair)
Marusa Bradac
Steve Carlip
Hsin-Chia Cheng
Maxwell Chertok
John Conway
Daniel Cox
James P. Crutchfield
Glen Erickson
Chris Fassnacht
Daniel Ferenc
Ching Fong
Giulia Galli
Nemanja Kaloper
Joe Kiskis
Lloyd Knox
Dick Lander
Lori Lubin
Markus Luty
Michael Mulhearn
David Pellett
Wendell Potter
Sergey Savrasov
Richard Scalettar
Robert Svoboda
John Terning
Mani Tripathi
David Webb
David Wittman
Dong Yu
Gergely Zimanyi
Chancellor Linda Katehi
November 22, 2011
UC Davis
Dear Chancellor Katehi:
With a heavy heart and substantial deliberation, we the undersigned faculty of the UC Davis physics department send you this letter expressing our lack of confidence in your leadership and calling for your prompt resignation in the wake of the outrageous, unnecessary, and brutal pepper spraying episode on campus Friday, Nov. 18.
The reasons for this are as follows.
• The demonstrations were nonviolent, and the student encampments posed no threat to the university community. The outcomes of sending in police in Oakland, Berkeley, New York City, Portland, and Seattle should have led you to exhaust all other options before resorting to police action.
• Authorizing force after a single day of encampments constitutes a gross violation of the UC Davis principles of community, especially the commitment to civility: “We affirm the right of freedom of expression within our community and affirm our commitment to the highest standards of civility and decency towards all.”
• Your response in the aftermath of these incidents has failed to restore trust in your leadership in the university community.
We have appreciated your leadership during these difficult times on working to maintain and enhance excellence at UC Davis. However, this incident and the inadequacy of your response to it has already irreparably damaged the image of UC Davis and caused the faculty, students, parents, and alumni of UC Davis to lose confidence in your leadership. At this point we feel that the best thing that you can do for this university is to take full responsibility and resign immediately. Our campus community deserves a fresh start.
Sincerely,
Andreas Albrecht (chair)
Marusa Bradac
Steve Carlip
Hsin-Chia Cheng
Maxwell Chertok
John Conway
Daniel Cox
James P. Crutchfield
Glen Erickson
Chris Fassnacht
Daniel Ferenc
Ching Fong
Giulia Galli
Nemanja Kaloper
Joe Kiskis
Lloyd Knox
Dick Lander
Lori Lubin
Markus Luty
Michael Mulhearn
David Pellett
Wendell Potter
Sergey Savrasov
Richard Scalettar
Robert Svoboda
John Terning
Mani Tripathi
David Webb
David Wittman
Dong Yu
Gergely Zimanyi
Power Balance-type products continue to THRIVE
Power Balance hit a rough patch yesterday. Nice to see that the Sacramento Kings, who are owed $100,000 from Power Balance, still believe in the snake-oil merchant. Kings owners, the Maloofs, have been accused of many things. Over-education or staggering intelligence haven't been any of them.
But it's not as if "magical apparel accessories" have fallen by the wayside. Here are a few bogus products on offer for gullible folks with money to spent.
Some of these charlatans avoid making claims in the text of their websites. But who reads websites? The wild claims are made (with amusing animations) in their slickly produced videos. See for yourself.
Phiten (Click the link to go to Phiten's lawyer-approved technology page.)
Powered by "aqueous titanium." Phiten assures us that titanium doesn't want to be aqueous. Phiten has developed a method for aquifying titanium and infusing it into wristbands and necklaces. Therefore, Phiten products must improve athletic performance. Wait, what?
There's this from eHow. (Now I know that nothing on eHow is to be believed.)
"The magnetized titanium bracelets are also believed to hold a positive charge. In alternative medicine, pain is said to have a negative charge. If you will remember back to middle school science class, you will know that a positive charge and a negative charge cancel out one another. Thus, the titanium bracelet relieves pain by neutralizing it."
The juxtaposing of alternative medicine belief (woo) with middle school science (reality) is typical of homeopathetics. It turns out that neither pain nor titanium are charged. And titanium isn't even magnetic (ferromagnetic). But that's just piling on.
Trion:Z (Click the link to go to their mind-boggling "technology" page.)
Powered by magnets and Mineon fibers (which produce abundant amounts of negative ions). I don't know what kind of material can be counted on to release an endless stream of ions. Except for radioactive sources. Remember, radioactive objects were once marketed as health-enhancers.
Chances are that no ions are given off by Trion:Z products.
Sadly, you can get a Trion:Z necklace bearing the University of Michigan's licensed block M logo. Other money-grubbing "institutions of higher learning" have signed on to this hollow profiteering enterprise, too. But the block M just hurts.
8ight: Keys to Health (Click the link to see 8ight's mind-numbing science page.)
No bogus claims in that video ad!
Powered by holograms, just like Power Balance. There are people with the title of "Dr." who support 8ight. The Southeastern Conference is well represented in 8ight's offerings.
There are more where they came from. And they'll thrive as long as people are prepared to surrender cash for these products. Power Balance is on its way out, but there is no shortage of copy-cats. If anything, they're probably rubbing hands together with glee at the prospect of the "market leader" going down in flames. Let's hope the fire spreads.
But it's not as if "magical apparel accessories" have fallen by the wayside. Here are a few bogus products on offer for gullible folks with money to spent.
Some of these charlatans avoid making claims in the text of their websites. But who reads websites? The wild claims are made (with amusing animations) in their slickly produced videos. See for yourself.
Phiten (Click the link to go to Phiten's lawyer-approved technology page.)
Powered by "aqueous titanium." Phiten assures us that titanium doesn't want to be aqueous. Phiten has developed a method for aquifying titanium and infusing it into wristbands and necklaces. Therefore, Phiten products must improve athletic performance. Wait, what?
There's this from eHow. (Now I know that nothing on eHow is to be believed.)
"The magnetized titanium bracelets are also believed to hold a positive charge. In alternative medicine, pain is said to have a negative charge. If you will remember back to middle school science class, you will know that a positive charge and a negative charge cancel out one another. Thus, the titanium bracelet relieves pain by neutralizing it."
The juxtaposing of alternative medicine belief (woo) with middle school science (reality) is typical of homeopathetics. It turns out that neither pain nor titanium are charged. And titanium isn't even magnetic (ferromagnetic). But that's just piling on.
Trion:Z (Click the link to go to their mind-boggling "technology" page.)
Powered by magnets and Mineon fibers (which produce abundant amounts of negative ions). I don't know what kind of material can be counted on to release an endless stream of ions. Except for radioactive sources. Remember, radioactive objects were once marketed as health-enhancers.
Chances are that no ions are given off by Trion:Z products.
Sadly, you can get a Trion:Z necklace bearing the University of Michigan's licensed block M logo. Other money-grubbing "institutions of higher learning" have signed on to this hollow profiteering enterprise, too. But the block M just hurts.
8ight: Keys to Health (Click the link to see 8ight's mind-numbing science page.)
No bogus claims in that video ad!
Powered by holograms, just like Power Balance. There are people with the title of "Dr." who support 8ight. The Southeastern Conference is well represented in 8ight's offerings.
There are more where they came from. And they'll thrive as long as people are prepared to surrender cash for these products. Power Balance is on its way out, but there is no shortage of copy-cats. If anything, they're probably rubbing hands together with glee at the prospect of the "market leader" going down in flames. Let's hope the fire spreads.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Power Balance settlement bankruptcy media dump
Look for stories that document the fact that the bracelets don't do what they claim to do. Actually, don't. You won't find them here. These articles simply document the legal and business aspects of the news.
The Sacramento Bee - City Beat
The Sacramento Press
Business Insider
International Business News
KCRA - NBC - Channel 3: Text - Video: ?
KXTV - ABC - Channel 10: Text - Video: ?
KOVR - CBS - Channel 13: Text and Video - Video: via Yahoo!
KTXL - Fox - Channel 40: Text and Video (Leave it to Fox to give Power Balance a pass!)
Power Balance Naming Rights to be Vacated?
KFBK - AM1530 - Text - Audio (Another generous report from a right-wing media outlet.)
KYMX - Mix96 - Text
Huffington Post
Associated Press
Yahoo's The Post Game
CSU Sacramento's The State Hornet
"I wear one because I believe they help to balance electromagnetic energy," says Dr. Kristofer Chaffin, Sacramento Kings chiropractor, of the "hologram-powered" Power Balance bracelets. Tells you everything you need to know about chiropractic.
What did I miss?
The Sacramento Bee - City Beat
The Sacramento Press
Business Insider
International Business News
KCRA - NBC - Channel 3: Text - Video: ?
KXTV - ABC - Channel 10: Text - Video: ?
KOVR - CBS - Channel 13: Text and Video - Video: via Yahoo!
KTXL - Fox - Channel 40: Text and Video (Leave it to Fox to give Power Balance a pass!)
Power Balance Naming Rights to be Vacated?
KFBK - AM1530 - Text - Audio (Another generous report from a right-wing media outlet.)
KYMX - Mix96 - Text
Huffington Post
Associated Press
Yahoo's The Post Game
CSU Sacramento's The State Hornet
"I wear one because I believe they help to balance electromagnetic energy," says Dr. Kristofer Chaffin, Sacramento Kings chiropractor, of the "hologram-powered" Power Balance bracelets. Tells you everything you need to know about chiropractic.
What did I miss?
TMZ reports Power Balance to crash and burn
UPDATE: The Sacramento Bee's got the story! Huzzah!
BREAKING:
POWER BALANCE BRACELETS
Forced to Pay $57 Million,
Expected to Close Shop
The Blog of Phyz is not really about breaking news or linking to the Thirty Mile Zone . But desperate times and desperate measures, you know.
Hope it pans out. And kudos to those who slayed this dragon. Thanks to Sacramento Area Skeptics' Shane Trimmer and What's The Harm's Tim Farley for the heads up.
Hey Phiten! You're next.
BREAKING:
POWER BALANCE BRACELETS
Forced to Pay $57 Million,
Expected to Close Shop
The Blog of Phyz is not really about breaking news or linking to the Thirty Mile Zone . But desperate times and desperate measures, you know.
Hope it pans out. And kudos to those who slayed this dragon. Thanks to Sacramento Area Skeptics' Shane Trimmer and What's The Harm's Tim Farley for the heads up.
Hey Phiten! You're next.
Nailed! And Nailed: With Numbers
Physics: Cinema Classics is a treasure trove of physics video clips depicting demos, animations, and representations of physics phenomena. Our school purchased the LaserDisc in the early 1990s and the DVD set a few years ago. I'd love to give P:CC an enthusiastic thumb's up, but he mechanics of the DVD operation leave much to be desired. Navigating through demos is a nightmare; I'd prefer to have each demo as a QuickTime (or equivalent) file.
In any case, one vignette from the P:CC's Disc 5: Conservation Laws is a 1968 Project Physics gem called called "Nails into Wood." It's the kind of simple but clever demo I can really sink my pedagogical teeth into.
After developing qualitative and quantitative video demo sheets to accompany the clips, I built expanded Keynote representations of the demo. We travel to the Moon and Jupiter, and use mathematical analysis and estimation along the way. I tinkered and fussed with the presos over the past couple of days and decided they were ready for prime time. So I froze them into interactive QuickTimes and posted them to The Book of Phyz on the Energy page.
Nailed! - Student Sheet PDF
Nailed! - Presentation iQT
Nailed: With Numbers - Student Sheet PDF
Nailed: With Numbers - Presentation iQT
In any case, one vignette from the P:CC's Disc 5: Conservation Laws is a 1968 Project Physics gem called called "Nails into Wood." It's the kind of simple but clever demo I can really sink my pedagogical teeth into.
After developing qualitative and quantitative video demo sheets to accompany the clips, I built expanded Keynote representations of the demo. We travel to the Moon and Jupiter, and use mathematical analysis and estimation along the way. I tinkered and fussed with the presos over the past couple of days and decided they were ready for prime time. So I froze them into interactive QuickTimes and posted them to The Book of Phyz on the Energy page.
Nailed! - Student Sheet PDF
Nailed! - Presentation iQT
Nailed: With Numbers - Student Sheet PDF
Nailed: With Numbers - Presentation iQT
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Dark Side of the Earth - The Mini-Lesson
Who are we without our quirks? My quirks are many. Some I treasure; some I loathe.
But anyway...
I was so taken by the grooviness of the ISS time lapse video (one post down), that I had to turn it into curriculum material somehow. That's a quirk I have. When I see something that strikes me as stunningly groovy, I have to turn it into a lesson of some kind.
So I created a Word document, reprinted the credits listed with the film on Vimeo, then decided on an angle to take.
The video is a visual feast. No narration. No subtitles. No sweeping principles; no factoids. Just imagery. And, of course, all the grooviness.
So my angle was "treasure hunt." Identify the timecode when X appears in the film. When can you see the Moon reflected in the water of the Earth? When is the aurora so strong that red and green bands can be seen? And so on for several scene descriptions.
And I give the answer to the biggest, grooviest puzzler I saw in the video: The illuminated border between India and Pakistan. Thanks to commenter Adrienne at Bad Astronomy for sussing that one out! Watch the video looking for it and see if a "whoa!" doesn't involuntarily slip out of your mouth when it passes underneath.
Word and PDF versions of my question sheet can be found in the folder/link below.
EARTH
I'll give it to my students as an optional assignment over Thanksgiving Break. I'd hate to leave them with nothing to do!
But anyway...
I was so taken by the grooviness of the ISS time lapse video (one post down), that I had to turn it into curriculum material somehow. That's a quirk I have. When I see something that strikes me as stunningly groovy, I have to turn it into a lesson of some kind.
So I created a Word document, reprinted the credits listed with the film on Vimeo, then decided on an angle to take.
The video is a visual feast. No narration. No subtitles. No sweeping principles; no factoids. Just imagery. And, of course, all the grooviness.
So my angle was "treasure hunt." Identify the timecode when X appears in the film. When can you see the Moon reflected in the water of the Earth? When is the aurora so strong that red and green bands can be seen? And so on for several scene descriptions.
And I give the answer to the biggest, grooviest puzzler I saw in the video: The illuminated border between India and Pakistan. Thanks to commenter Adrienne at Bad Astronomy for sussing that one out! Watch the video looking for it and see if a "whoa!" doesn't involuntarily slip out of your mouth when it passes underneath.
Word and PDF versions of my question sheet can be found in the folder/link below.
EARTH
I'll give it to my students as an optional assignment over Thanksgiving Break. I'd hate to leave them with nothing to do!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Dark Side of the Earth
Wow! HD. Full screen. Wow!
Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.
Shooting locations in order of appearance:
1. Aurora Borealis Pass over the United States at Night
2. Aurora Borealis and eastern United States at Night
3. Aurora Australis from Madagascar to southwest of Australia
4. Aurora Australis south of Australia
5. Northwest coast of United States to Central South America at Night
6. Aurora Australis from the Southern to the Northern Pacific Ocean
7. Halfway around the World
8. Night Pass over Central Africa and the Middle East
9. Evening Pass over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East
10. Pass over Canada and Central United States at Night
11. Pass over Southern California to Hudson Bay
12. Islands in the Philippine Sea at Night
13. Pass over Eastern Asia to Philippine Sea and Guam
14. Views of the Mideast at Night
15. Night Pass over Mediterranean Sea
16. Aurora Borealis and the United States at Night
17. Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean
18. Eastern Europe to Southeastern Asia at Night
Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.
Shooting locations in order of appearance:
1. Aurora Borealis Pass over the United States at Night
2. Aurora Borealis and eastern United States at Night
3. Aurora Australis from Madagascar to southwest of Australia
4. Aurora Australis south of Australia
5. Northwest coast of United States to Central South America at Night
6. Aurora Australis from the Southern to the Northern Pacific Ocean
7. Halfway around the World
8. Night Pass over Central Africa and the Middle East
9. Evening Pass over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East
10. Pass over Canada and Central United States at Night
11. Pass over Southern California to Hudson Bay
12. Islands in the Philippine Sea at Night
13. Pass over Eastern Asia to Philippine Sea and Guam
14. Views of the Mideast at Night
15. Night Pass over Mediterranean Sea
16. Aurora Borealis and the United States at Night
17. Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean
18. Eastern Europe to Southeastern Asia at Night
PhyzSketches: Energy Transformations
I've updated, upgraded, and posted the latest and greatest versions of my PhyzSketches lessons involving energy transfers and transformations. One lesson focuses on a pole vaulter, the other on shooting a toy dart.
PhyzSketches: Energy Transformations (Student worksheet)
PhyzSketches: Energy Transformations (Instructor's key)
PhyzSketches: Pole Vault Preso (Interactive QuickTime HD)
PhyzSketches: Dart Gun Preso (Interactive QuickTime HD)
As is always the case, I post interactive QuickTime files that anyone can play on any modern computer.
I use Apple's Mac-only Keynote to produce presentations and I use fonts that you don't likely have. So the source file would have limited value.
I've been up-rezzing my QuickTime files to 1650x1080, so they look pretty good in terms of resolution.
PhyzSketches: Energy Transformations (Student worksheet)
PhyzSketches: Energy Transformations (Instructor's key)
PhyzSketches: Pole Vault Preso (Interactive QuickTime HD)
PhyzSketches: Dart Gun Preso (Interactive QuickTime HD)
As is always the case, I post interactive QuickTime files that anyone can play on any modern computer.
I use Apple's Mac-only Keynote to produce presentations and I use fonts that you don't likely have. So the source file would have limited value.
I've been up-rezzing my QuickTime files to 1650x1080, so they look pretty good in terms of resolution.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)