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| Saturday, November 14th, 2009 | | 1:48 pm |
Here's what I want: when I go to your presentation, I want to be able download your data set while you talk (or at least a sizable fraction of it, randomly selected so I can be sure you aren't cherry-picking), and I want to be able explore some revealing visualizations while you talk -- on my phone. And I want to be able to give you my data while I'm talking, so my presentation is both dissemination of data and analysis that helps to provide context. Bonus points if, when the talk is done, I get to take the data home with me to do more powerful analysis on my home machine. Does this exist for android or iphone? | | Friday, July 31st, 2009 | | 1:27 pm |
So close!
I just got a legit request from a staff writer at Physics Today to comment on an article that is tantalizingly close to genuinely being within my expertise. Alas -- I had to send it to one of our collaborators. At least I got a nice thanks from the writer for pointing them to someone more appropriate. In other news, I'm really becoming a public physicist. My first first author is in final draft mode -- we'll probably send it out by the middle of next week, my first second author was just sent to me for my comments, and my first conference poster went pretty well last weekend. And Galen is sleeping peacefully enough in the sling that I can turn down the vacuum cleaner sound I recorded. That vacuum cleaner is magic! Current Mood:  accomplished | | Friday, June 12th, 2009 | | 5:41 am |
| | Friday, May 29th, 2009 | | 6:22 pm |
Topology/geometry question
Suppose I wanted to look at knots, or maybe open strands. And suppose I wanted to characterize the properties of a particular instance of said knot, maybe in addition to the invariants that characterize what the knot is even if I pick it up, move it, turn it over, and turn it. What would be the umbrella term I would use to name the class of properties that do change when I twist, move, etc said knot? Basically, where would I look for background, given that mathematicians don't study instances? | | Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 | | 2:32 pm |
equal protection
For reasons elaborated below, I conclude that requiring discrimination
against a minority group on the basis of a suspect classification strikes at the core
of the promise of equality that underlies our California Constitution and thus
“represents such a drastic and far-reaching change in the nature and operation of
our governmental structure that it must be considered a ‘revision’ of the state
Constitution rather than a mere ‘amendment’ thereof.” (Amador Valley Joint
Union High Sch. Dist. v. State Bd. of Equalization (1978) 22 Cal.3d 208, 221
(Amador Valley).) The rule the majority crafts today not only allows same-sex
couples to be stripped of the right to marry that this court recognized in the
Marriage Cases, it places at risk the state constitutional rights of all disfavored
minorities. It weakens the status of our state Constitution as a bulwark of
fundamental rights for minorities protected from the will of the majority. I
therefore dissent.From Moreno's dissent, pg. 152 of the pdf at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S168047.PDFI'm curious what people with actual legal training think of this, but I found Moreno's dissent pretty inspiring. I've been wanting someone to clearly express the principle that the role of the courts is supposed to be to protect minority rights, regardless of what the majority thinks, and that popular suppression of minority rights is incompatible with equal protection. This was it -- too bad it was the dissent. | | Sunday, December 21st, 2008 | | 8:37 am |
Happy Birthday ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) bettsbaby! Current Mood: happy | | Thursday, November 6th, 2008 | | 7:10 pm |
Today's cool. (requires Flash) Click on the "Voting Shifts" box on the left. So even though overall levels still show the "Rural = Republican" and "Urban = Democratic" dynamic, only Border states showed Republican gains this time around at the county level. So perhaps things are changing (slowly) toward less fractured. It's also interesting comparing to '92 and '96 -- it makes a big difference having a Democrat from the South in the mix. Current Mood:  curious | | 6:22 pm |
Today's stupid: Massachusetts town plans to ban sale of rolling papers in response to statewide decriminalization of marijuana possession. Current Mood: amused | | Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 | | 4:53 pm |
Part 2
So the party was inspirational too. It is difficult to express how humbling it was to be in a room full of joyfully crying adults as some semblance of the decent man John McCain used to be came through in his concession speech. And the sight of the Obama family walking out on that stage. And his speech. We were all bawling. I wanted him to say, "Our long national nightmare is finally over." :) Except of course, that it isn't over. 11000 couples in California got shafted. Over 100,000 service members are STILL in Iraq. The incredible symbol of a black man as President-elect still doesn't FIX everything that was done to Africa and Africans. The system still doesn't work. There is work to be done. And the most inspiring part of the night was that President-elect Obama said the same thing. And so did all our friends at the party, and so have a number of my friends today on LJ and in my department. As inspired as I am by Barack Obama, I think the best thing we could do is to keep moving forward -- to do something, small or big, to move things in the direction we want to go. The trap of great charismatic leaders is that we come to believe we need _them_, them specifically, to accomplish anything. We think we need a particular Gandhi or a particular King, or a particular Obama to save us, which means we sit around for years waiting, wondering when they will show up. Well now much of America has that figure, but I think we need to work harder, both with him when he's right, and against him when he's wrong -- and most of the time, completely oblivious to him and the rest, because we know what needs to be done in our neighborhood, and we're going to do it. Obvious caveats about thinking globally apply, of course. But let's get something done! Current Mood:  hopeful | | 4:34 pm |
Part 1
Yesterday was inspiring. bettsbaby and I voted first thing in the morning, then drove to Nashua, New Hampshire, where we found a call center filled to bursting, but we were sent to another campaign office -- in a warehouse -- that had a steady stream of cars and buses coming and going, with 3 groups of canvassers being trained at a time. We were given a packet of pamphlets, a list of addresses, and polling place information for a relatively remote neighborhood, and then we set off just the two of us, knocking on doors to remind people to vote. The work done in the past few weeks by people like martian687 ensured that we knocked on all the right doors. Every person we spoke to had voted already, many of the rest had Obama signs in their yards. We returned our packet, for another group to return to the empty houses for a second round of knocking, and were sent to a polling place farther north. When we got there, we were enlisted in a tracking operation. There were campaign workers who were certified as election observers inside the polling place who recorded the names of everyone who came in to vote. Every 45 minutes, we swapped out their notebook of names, and entered all the voter ID numbers into PDA's, and synced them to a campaign website. At 6pm, we stopped, and the lists were used to target the last round of phone calls in this precinct to registered voters who had been previously identified as likely Obama supporters, but who had not yet voted. What we did was relatively small, but the sheer number of people involved -- thousands of volunteers from all over New England, the carnival atmosphere, the incredible organization and sophistication of the effort, and, obviously, the wishes of the New Hampshire voters, carried the state. We got home to a party with friends by 9:00. Pennsylvania had already been called, and we started to believe. Current Mood: hopeful | | Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 | | 10:50 pm |
Spring is ....
1. Rhubarb pie 2. Clearing the garden 3. Pollen -- everywhere 4. White wines 5. Waking up verrrry slowwwwwllllly 6. 5 year old down the street learning to ride a bike 7. Del's natural frozen lemonade 8. Bright days, chilly sunset 9. Mucus -- see number 3 10. Here. :) Current Mood: calm | | Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 | | 3:01 pm |
Fortune
Last night Sara and I were talking about our financial concerns as we were picking up Chinese take-out. We were so hungry that we split one of the fortune cookies in the car on the way home. Our fortune? "You will enjoy good health. That is your form of wealth." Current Mood: Lucky | | Saturday, September 29th, 2007 | | 1:52 pm |
Home advice (again)
Vinyl soffits vs. stripping, caulking/repairing/replacing the wood and repainting. The painting route is cheaper now and preserves the look and feel of the house. The vinyl soffits cost twice as much now (1000 vs. 2000), supposedly last 20 years, and can come in styles that mostly preserve the look of the house. We will "probably" only be living here another 3 years at most. So it is probably more a question of "Which would you rather buy -- a house that has eaves that will last for 15 years without maintenance but look a little funny; or a house with wood eaves that look great but which will probably require repainting, etc. within about 3-4 years?" | | Friday, July 20th, 2007 | | 8:12 am |
As if I didn't have enough work to do... GirlGenius101 caught up to the advanced class today! Now I must -- oops, _can_, read the whole thing straight through! Current Mood:  busy | | Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 | | 8:57 pm |
| | Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 | | 3:27 pm |
Finished
As of about 20 minutes ago, I am completely finished with all coursework requirements. Ever. Which is not to say that I am close to graduating, or that I won't be taking any more courses -- cause of course I'm not, and I will. But I don't have to anymore, unless I choose to. And that is such a profoundly good feeling that I'm going to go take a walk in the sunshine right now. :) | | Friday, February 9th, 2007 | | 4:05 pm |
Following coldtortuga's furnace problem, and my own "Boiler fire of '04", I've had to drive home to Rhode Island in the middle of the night _TWICE_ in the last week. First time, a week ago, to relight the furnace pilot light after our housemate somehow put it out, and couldn't get it relit. Second time, just last night after our 12-year old water heater finally rusted through and leaked all over the basement floor. So I spent some hours in the night mopping, and making sure to avoid a repeat of the "Boiler fire of '04", and now most of today trying to track down a plumber who has heard of tankless water heaters and won't give me too much lip for wanting one. It looks to me like the _ideal_ time to get one, what with a $300 tax credit, a house that never uses all of the 40gallon water tank, and a pressing need for a hot shower. Anybody have tankless heater brand recommendations? Or any reasons why we shouldn't get one? (assuming I can find someone who will install it) | | Saturday, November 11th, 2006 | | 9:18 am |
Election results
Has anyone seen a good digest of exit poll results from Tuesday? I'm curious about what people claimed about their biggest concerns says about what is likely to happen in 2008. Based on my quick read of a couple of local polls, it looks like corruption was a bigger issue than Iraq -- which boggles my mind. It would seem to suggest that the Democrats will have to be _perfect_ corruption wise to survive whatever they do on Iraq, civil liberties, police powers, etc. And it makes it a lot less likely they will do anything useful on social issues. Any thoughts on useful things that they could be pushed into doing, that they might be too afraid to do otherwise? For those that care, I ended up going with Sheldon Whitehouse. I sent an email to Chafee explaining my decision, and telling him to run again as an independent. He responded within 12 hours thanking me for my thoughts. And as of yesterday, he seems to be publicly mulling leaving the GOP. | | Monday, November 6th, 2006 | | 10:09 pm |
Damn. Somebody beat me to it -- A People's History of Science: Miners, Midwives, and "Low Mechaniks"So far, it's pretty good. I haven't really gotten to any of the conclusions (or evidence) yet, but I like the framework he's set up. At least "A People's History of Mathematics" is still available -- but I don't really think I'm the person to write it. | | Saturday, November 4th, 2006 | | 12:50 am |
Election
So I'm torn. A strange place for me on the eve of an election. I voted for Ralph Nader in 200_4_. And I'd do it again. But I live in Rhode Island, the safest of safe blue states -- so my vote didn't count. But this time it might actually make a difference, and I'm feeling more... responsible. I absolutely do not want a republican majority in either the House or the Senate. I think limited government would probably be a good thing for a while. So I should vote for Sheldon Whitehouse, the democratic challenger, who, at the moment, is ahead in the polls. The problem is that I actually _like_ Lincoln Chafee. I agree with him on most issues. He actually has a conscience and votes it. I would prefer to reward that sort of thing. The only problem is that he won't freaking leave the Republican party already. It's a weird campaign. The two of them actually agree with each other on everything. I can't find a significant difference in their platforms. In the absence of real disagreement, the two parties have been pouring a ton of money into making vicious ads, with the RNC attacking Whitehouse's experience and track record when he was RI Attorney General, and the DNC, of course, attacking George W. Bush. The only good ad I've seen was one of Chafee's that was obviously _not_ made by the RNC, explaining how he had in fact voted against the Iraq war. What should I do? |
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