Up-Goer Five Text Editor

If any of you want to try explaining an idea using only the ten hundred most common words in the English language, you can try at this page.

(Tip of the cap to Lan Ma.)

Essay in Physics Today: "Commentary: In Defense of Crazy Ideas"

This essay by David Stevenson does a very good job of making an excellent point.

(And, apropos, I received an e-mail called "What is Reality?", from a group of people working on a crazy idea, while I was reading this article.)

P.S. David Stevenson is a great classroom lecturer. I had him for half of AMa 95 at Caltech.

A Victory for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

This SMBC from a few years ago is a big win. (Today is the first time I saw it.) So much truth!

Also, hooray for chaotic dynamics! ;)

Ideas >> People >> Drinks

I am going to bring up this 'issue' of SMBC the next time --- it will be soon, I am sure --- that people discuss something like wine at Somerville's High Table.

This one isn't funny per se, but it's dead-on accurate.

The Power of Fun-Noodles

So I was just walking past Walgreen's on Middlefield Road, and I noticed several large open boxes of fun-noodles (i.e., funnoodles --- or, apparently, "pool noodles" if one wants to use the official name) outside of the store. They appear like they might be on bulk sale (fingers crossed!), and the Techer in my soul screams "Opportunity!"

And there is a university nearby to whom we could demonstrate some Techer ingenuity...

So, who's with me?

(Honestly, I suspect that even in bulk, this is probably a several-hundred-dollar purchase. Where is the prank fund when I need it? And I'm doing work right now instead of actually trying to get this to work. But I have to admit that my heart and soul are both calling me...)

The Perils of Good Ideas

It's never a good idea to have a good idea. Do you know what happens when you have a good idea in front of your colleagues? You get put on a committee--that's what. Bloody Hell!