There are two types of stories about major astronomical observatories. There are stories about new discoveries and observation technologies and then there are stories about how batshit crazy people are! Lately a rash of batshit crazy has broken out over the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea. The ignorant press is casting … Continue reading Mauna Kea Morons on the March
What hobbies do you have? Have you learned anything useful from them?
This is my first "cross-posted" entry. I composed this on Quora. I was asked to answer the title question and I did. I probably won't do this very often. Still, a little experimenting is fun. Answer by John Baker: The short answer is many and yes. The longer answer is pretty much everything I do, that … Continue reading What hobbies do you have? Have you learned anything useful from them?
Dark Energy Entities
I've been having fun on a new social media site called Quora. Quora operates on the StackOverFlow principle. People pose questions and others answer. The act of asking of sincere questions, even silly ones, seems to take the wind out of troll sails. Political sites quickly degenerate into primate poo tossing contests. I enjoy pitching … Continue reading Dark Energy Entities
Cutting the Stinking Tauntaun and other Adventures in Software Archeology
The other day a software project that I had spent a year on was “put on the shelf.” A year of effort was unceremoniously flushed down the software sewer. A number of colleagues asked me, “How do you feel about this?” Would you believe relieved? This is not false bravado or stupid sunny optimism. I … Continue reading Cutting the Stinking Tauntaun and other Adventures in Software Archeology
JOD Update: Version 0.9.97*
In the last year much has changed in the J world. There are new official J 8.0x builds for all supported platforms.The QT based IDE JDE has matured and is in widespread use.The column oriented J database JD is drawing new users to J and enticing J veterans to reconsider how we use databases.There is … Continue reading JOD Update: Version 0.9.97*
Mahin and Carl
On the very memorable date of New Year’s Eve my wife’s mother Mahin died. From now on the dropping ball will remind us of her. Mahin had a long and honorable life. She was loved by children, grandchildren, and in-laws. She was the calm matriarch in the storm of her family. I meet her late … Continue reading Mahin and Carl
Ferguson and Dark Matter
For the last month the big story here in St. Louis has been Ferguson. At least that’s what media hucksters have sold as the big story. You will have to excuse me; my interests rarely align with “the news.” I don’t watch broadcast TV, listen to the radio, or pay for newspapers. Despite my media … Continue reading Ferguson and Dark Matter
Incoherent Interstellar
Don't look for plot points in Black Holes! Christopher Nolan has made some excellent commercially successful films like Inception, The Dark Knight, and Mememto. When word got out that he was working on a serious science fiction film expectations got out of hand. Those of us old enough to remember the first screenings of 2001 … Continue reading Incoherent Interstellar
I Voted for Nothing
I have just returned from another biannual exercise in futility: voting in mid-term US elections. Once again my preferred candidate, none of the above, was not on the ballot; so, once again, I held my nose and did my best to sabotage the fetid dreams of the rotting things that were. Any barely sentient ape … Continue reading I Voted for Nothing
Photospheres Away!
Photographers are notorious gear-heads. Everybody has a favorite lens, camera or tripod and, no matter how much gear we have, more is always better! Hey, somebody has to stimulate the moribund Obama economy. Gear lust is not entirely irrational. Good cameras really do take “technically” better pictures than mediocre or poor cameras but here’s the … Continue reading Photospheres Away!
Analyze the Data not the Drivel 