Teaching Good Sex – NYTimes.com March 31, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Politics.add a comment
“First base, second base, third base, home run,” Al Vernacchio ticked off the classic baseball terms for sex acts. His goal was to prompt the students in Sexuality and Society — an elective for seniors at the private Friends’ Central School on Philadelphia’s affluent Main Line — to examine the assumptions buried in the venerable metaphor. “Give me some more,” urged the fast-talking 47-year-old, who teaches 9th- and 12th-grade English as well as human sexuality. Arrayed before Vernacchio was a circle of small desks occupied by 22 teenagers, six male and the rest female — a blur of sweatshirts and Ugg boots and form-fitting leggings.
Being Poor – Whatever March 31, 2013
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Being poor is six dollars short on the utility bill and no way to close the gap.Being poor is crying when you drop the mac and cheese on the floor.Being poor is knowing you work as hard as anyone, anywhere.Being poor is people surprised to discover you’re not actually stupid.Being poor is people surprised to discover you’re not actually lazy.Being poor is a six-hour wait in an emergency room with a sick child asleep on your lap.Being poor is never buying anything someone else hasn’t bought first.Being poor is picking the 10 cent ramen instead of the 12 cent ramen because that’s two extra packages for every dollar.
Oral History Transcript — Dr. Frank Oppenheimer March 29, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Exploratorium, Museum History, Science Museum Environment.add a comment
Oral History Transcript — Dr. Frank OppenheimerThis transcript may not be quoted, reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part by any means except with the written permission of the American Institute of Physics.This transcript is based on a tape-recorded interview deposited at the Center for History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics. The AIPs interviews have generally been transcribed from tape, edited by the interviewer for clarity, and then further edited by the interviewee. If this interview is important to you, you should consult earlier versions of the transcript or listen to the original tape. For many interviews, the AIP retains substantial files with further information about the interviewee and the interview itself. Please contact us for information about accessing these materials.Please bear in mind that: 1 This material is a transcript of the spoken word rather than a literary product; 2 An interview must be read with the awareness that different peoples memories about an event will often differ, and that memories can change with time for many reasons including subsequent experiences, interactions with others, and ones feelings about an event. Disclaimer: This transcript was scanned from a typescript, introducing occasional spelling errors. The original typescript is available.
Open access: The true cost of science publishing : Nature News & Comment March 28, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Academic Technology, Politics, Writing Advice and Insight.add a comment
Michael Eisen doesn’t hold back when invited to vent. “It’s still ludicrous how much it costs to publish research — let alone what we pay,” he declares. The biggest travesty, he says, is that the scientific community carries out peer review — a major part of scholarly publishing — for free, yet subscription-journal publishers charge billions of dollars per year, all told, for scientists to read the final product. “It’s a ridiculous transaction,” he says.
via Open access: The true cost of science publishing : Nature News & Comment.
A Confederacy of Reformers | Crazy Crawfish’s Blog March 28, 2013
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Flawed Evaluations popping up like mushrooms in Louisiana:
“Every one I’ve reviewed or seen reviewed by unaffiliated evaluators all of them have been revealed to be questionable at best, and outright absurd such as in the case of Louisiana’s Value Added system. Despite all these studies and findings, reformers and their allies still tout these kangaroo court evaluation systems as valid and necessary, and tie tenure and continuing employment and compensation to them.”
Remembering the California Museum of Science & Industry March 28, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Art and Science, Exploratorium, Museum History, Science Museum Environment.add a comment
As for images of the old CMSI, I am currently on a quest to acquire postcards, brochures, guidebooks, and any other memorabilia (especially from the 1970s; even photocopies will suffice).
Through exhaustive research, I have been able to amass a collection of precious images and articles and proudly display them on this site. I hope to add more as my search contiues, so please return soon for another look.
via Remembering the California Museum of Science & Industry.
Bitcoin: this is what a bubble looks like March 28, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Computer Security, Politics.add a comment
That’s the market capitalisation of Bitcoin, an innovative fiat currency which relies on some fancy cryptography to create a perfectly decentralised and unhackable store of value. The graph shows the total value of all bitcoins in circulation — and it’s currently peaking at a little over half a billion dollars.
In a sense, Bitcoins are the ultimate fiat currency. There is absolutely nothing valuable about them except the extent to which others are prepared to take them as payment for goods and services. The willingness relies on a certain level of trust that the currency will stay a useful store of value, measure of exchange and unit of account in the near future; but whereas normal currencies derive the trust from the fact that they are backed up by respectable governments and independent central banks, Bitcoin derives it from a complex, and essentially permanent, set of rules which issue new bit coins at a steadily declining rate until the early 22nd century, when the total quantity of bitcoins in circulation will be fixed forever.
Chemistry and the Public Sphere: Moments of Transition March 28, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Art and Science, Science Museum Environment.add a comment
.”Chemistry and the Public Sphere:
Moments of Transition
Marina 6
Chair: Jennifer Rampling (University of
Cambridge)
Commentator: Bernadette BensaudeVincent (Université Paris I, PanthéonSorbonne)
Sponsored by the Forum for the History of
the Chemical Sciences (FoHCS)
“Philosophical Instruments and Public
Display: New Modes of KnowledgeMaking and Demonstration in
Eighteenth-Century Chemistry
Courses,” John C. Powers (Virginia
Commonwealth University)
“Beyond Genius, Before Theory:
Recovering the Lost World of Practice
in Nineteenth-Century Chemistry,”
Catherine M. Jackson (University of
Notre Dame)
“Opportunity vs. Risk: The Changing
Culture of the Early 1960s,” Robert
Bud (Science Museum, London )
Part 1: Report from “Art as a Way of Knowing” Conference at Exploratorium March 28, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Exploratorium, Science Museum Environment.add a comment
Roger Malina outlined four generations of art/science collaborations, loosely as follows:
1st generation: tied to the arts in industry movement of the 1880s, marked by an emphasis on photography and film, and art and design, citing the Bauhaus as an example.
2nd generation: the establishment of interdisciplinary centers in the 1960s and 70s, such as Center for Advanced Visual Studies, E.A.T., and Exploratorium. He called this a period of “techno optimism.”
3rd generation: marked by the birth of digital culture and “creative industries.” Organizations that are emblematic of this include IRCAM, Paris, Ars Electronica, V2, MediaLab Pradp. Attendant with a similar digital optimism.
Malina said the 4th wave that we’re witnessing now is defined by a collaborative impulse, networked consortiums, and the building of “a new kind of institution,” one that’s small and agile, and generally underfunded. Arts Catalyst, Science Gallery, Eyebeam, IMERA, Marseille, and others are exemplary of this new breed. This wave, he argued, is “art-world driven,” and tied to Mode 2 science – a new form of knowledge production that emerged from the mid 20th century which is context-driven, problem-focused and interdisciplinary. He also used the term “intimate science” to describe this type of practice.
via Part 1: Report from “Art as a Way of Knowing” Conference at Exploratorium.
Exploratorium Final Day San Francisco California (January 2, 2013) – YouTube March 28, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Exploratorium, Science Museum Environment.add a comment
Published on Jan 5, 2013
The last day of operation for the Exploratorium at it’s Palace of Fine Arts location, which fell on a free admission day, after 43 years in its Marina district home. The new location at Pier 15 will open April 17, with more room and new exhibits.
via Exploratorium Final Day San Francisco California (January 2, 2013) – YouTube.
Culture Foam: Bubbling Up 
