Conspicuous Consumption on the Deck

I loved to cook on the grill. I got a cheap gas grill about 4 years ago and I use 3 to 4 times a week during the warm weather. Of course some people just like to show off their expensive equipment.
Though they have actually cooked on the grill only three times since they installed [...]

Picasa for Linux

I use Picasa for my photo management and editing. I find it has just the right level of features for my use. I use the cropping, redeye fixes, the auto contrast, and the fill light features most often. Well it is now available for linux. I will download it tonight and try it out. If [...]

The LHC Is Coming! The LHC Is Coming!

The Large Hadron Collider should begin operations next year, and we are hearing more and more about it in the popular press. Lawrence Krauss compares it to Gothic cathedrals.
The medieval cathedrals pushed the limits of available technology, involved the craftsmanship of literally thousands of skilled workers, and took generations (and sometimes centuries) to complete. Modern [...]

Use the Source Luke

I have a friend who built Root on his linux box from source. Root is an object-oriented data analysis framework, which is popular in high energy physics. Terrible name for a program that runs on Unix.
Well, I couldn't let someone else in the office out-geek me. I downloaded and built it from source also. I [...]

I Could Have Been Famous

Scientists are the rock stars of Asia according to an article at Seed.com. Japan, Korea, and China were all mentioned in the article. Of course it is not just any scientist. You have to have a Nobel Prize to reach rock star status, but some of that prestige must rub off on the poor woorking [...]

People Do Not Like Using Old Computers

A new survey of European workers show that they don't just dislike old computers but they actually take more sick leave. My computer is starting to show its age, and I am getting frustrated with it. The laptop that I bought for myself is newer, faster, and more pleasant to use. 
Technorati Tags: computers

Smarter Airline Boarding?

Soem airlines are hoping to improve the rugby scrum that they called boarding. Of course they are not doing this to make your flight more pleasent. They are doing it to improve profitability. 
"An airplane that spends an hour on the ground between flights might fly five trips a day," he explains. "Cut the turnaround time [...]

Not So Intelligent Design

McGill University researchers have discovered how the enzyme Caspase-12 shuts down human immune system. Apparently 20% of people of African descent have a gene to produce this enzyme.
Caspase-12 is found in around 20% of people of African descent, but was entirely lost from all other ethnicities around 60,000 years ago.
Capase-12 blocks an enzyme involved in [...]

More Neutrinos in the Popular Press

All Things Considered had a story on neutrinos yesterday. The mentioned MINOS as well and SNO and K2K. Fermilab was not mentioned. They merely said that physicists from the Midwest had done a new experiment detecting neutrinos that passed through the earth. It is a cute story with funky sound effects and some humorous sound [...]

Need to Warm Up the Tivo

Sunday morning is no time to watch TV. Luckily I have a DVR (generic Tivo) so I can record the CBS Sunday Morning show, which will have a report on Fermilab. I just heard that Kristyn Hartman, of the CBS Sunday Morning show, visited the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory on April 20 to report [...]