It's been done...I am not the one...
Physics Central: Surviving a Plunge From Space
Geez, show one scene in a reboot Trek movie...
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Call it "Slippin' Into Darkness," part 2.
Research universities: that means major and Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Historically Hispanic Colleges and Universities, Historically Native American Colleges and Universities - ALL of us.
We've got to get beyond the partisan politics of Animal Farm, and actually, finally SOLVE problems for the long term versus score sound bites! How would it look in history, if we need a martial plan (in reverse): from Europe!?
NPR: "[Professors] are not the beneficiaries of large increases in college spending that has gone on," he says. "In fact, the percentage of all students taught by non-tenure-track professors — adjuncts, teaching assistants — has gone up and up and up."
"I'm sure that most of those people [provost, deans, assistant deans] are working hard at real jobs," he says. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good idea to increase spending and pass along many of those costs onto students in the form of higher tuition. ...
"And the more the prices go up, the more that these students who are squeezed out of opportunity are middle-income students, low-income students, and the net effect over time is to make our college and university system no longer the engine of economic mobility that it once was."
Rant done...
Hello All, I've created a reader's group on Facebook and expanded it to include Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Paranormal books by Black authors. You are all welcome to join (please note, this group is geared toward readers). We'd love to have you.
I need to update the header for the group and need a sci-fi cover and a paranormal book cover. If you are interested in having your cover on the header for the group, please send it to me at deatrikingbey@yahoo.com I will be changing up the header every now and again and you do not have to join the group for me to use your cover image.
Thanks a bunch for your time and I hope you all decide to join us. The group's genres are Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Paranormal.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/127625754040455/
Peace
Dee
I was slippin' into darkness, yeah
When i heard my mother say
You've been slippin' into darkness
Oh oh oh oh
Pretty soon, you're gonna pay.
Yeah, yeah.
WAR, 70s funk band
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| National Research Council |
US research universities face serious decline unless the federal government, states, and industry take action to ensure adequate, stable funding in the next decade, says a new report by the National Research Council. Universities must work harder to contain costs, enhance productivity, and improve educational pathways for students to careers both within and outside academia, the report says.
Written by a 21-member committee chaired by Bank of America chairman Charles Holliday Jr., the report responds to a request from Congress to recommend 10 actions that the nation should take in the next five to 10 years to maintain top-quality US research institutions. Among those steps, the committee urged, was that of doubling the budgets of NSF, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and NIST that was called for in the 2007 America Competes Act. But for fiscal 2013, the administration requested just a 4.8% increase for NSF, and a 2.4% increase for DOE’s Office of Science. Only the relatively tiny NIST R&D programs got the magnitude of increase needed to keep it on a doubling trajectory.
While federal funding for research has flattened or declined since onset of the recession, state funding for research universities has plunged by 25% to 50%, the committee found. Tuition increases at both private and public universities are threatening to put college education out of reach for many. At the same time, other countries have increased their R&D funding and are pouring significant resources into developing their own research institutions, patterned after US universities.
Physics Today: US science and technology eminence in trouble, says report
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| Credit @ link below |
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: A couple of months back, we looked at the notion of time crystals, an idea put forward by Nobel-prize winning physicist Frank Wilczek and his pal Al Shapere.
These guys examined the fundamental properties of ordinary spatial crystals and asked why similar objects couldn't exist in the dimension of time instead.
One of the basic properties of spatial crystals is that they form when a system drops to its lowest possible energy state. They are not the result of adding energy to a system, but of taking it away. All of it.
Another basic property is that when these objects reach their lowest energy configuration, their symmetry breaks down. Instead of being the same in all directions, like the laws of physics, these objects become the same in only a few directions. It is this symmetry-breaking and the periodic structure it produces that defines crystals.
Wilczek and Shapere persuasively argued that there's no reason why similar periodic structures couldn't exist in time. And they said that finding them would give physicists a new way to study the process of symmetry-breaking and the laws of physics behind it.
There was just one problem, however. These guys hadn't worked out how to build a time crystal.
That changes today with the work of Tongcang Li at the University of California, Berkeley and a few buddies who say they've worked out how to do it. These guys say they know how to create an object in its lowest energy state that shows periodic structure both in space and time--a space-time crystal.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tongcang Li just before his PhD dissertation defense under Mark Raizen. This obviously builds on his research with the Raizen Group. This is amazing!
Physics arXiv: Space-time crystals of trapped ions
Writing dialogue can be challenging to new and veteran writers alike. However, if you are new to writing there are a few simple things to keep in mind when constructing dialogue for your short story or novel. Here are some things to keep in mind:
What Not to Do When Writing Dialogue Tip #3: Betraying your character
When writing dialogue, you must keep in mind the character you are talking about. I can’t stress enough the importance of keeping your character ‘in character’ as much as possible. Example: If your character is from the1800s, he will not use today’s slang to describe his thoughts and feelings. Now this may seem obvious to some writers, but I can’t count the times I’ve seen such an obvious mistake when reading a story.
Therefore, in order to keep your character ‘in character’, research, outline, and finalize your characters before you start writing. This may take more or less time depending on the type of story you are writing (if a short story only a skeleton is needed, but if a series – a key character development map is a must) , but it will make your writing a bit easier in the long run.
What Not to Do When Writing Dialogue Tip #4: Betraying your reader
Betraying your reader is one of the big no-no’s in writing! Whether you are writing fictional or non-fictional works, if you betray your reader, you are in big trouble. How can a writer betray their reader when writing dialogue? There is a way and that way is by creating dialogue that does not match your story’s plot procession, theme, or distracts a reader unreadily.
This is a tricky balance a writer must work with and be under no illusions – creating the right piece of dialogue and deploying it at the right moment is tough! Dialogue is a form of action and depending on the story can be the most important action your characters undertake (this is especially true for introspective or observational story pieces). Make sure that your dialogue matches your story’s overall themes; Your reader will notice if it does not.
More on Dialogue in the Next Post
If you have any questions, please post them below in the comment section!
Twilight Time
(an erotic tale)
~Excerpt
He said: “Baby you know what I like, and I love showing you time after time. Let me give you my lips— anywhere I want to put them on you. . . so romantic and very intimate.”
She said: “I love doing what’s right to you— giving you all of me—being freaky and naughty to make you happy...”
Unexpectedly, she lifted up her miniskirt: showing her thick, smooth thighs and fire-engine red panties and boots. She walked slowly over to him, and put her arms around his neck...
Copyright 2012 Quinton Veal all rights reserved
Available at amazon in print and kindle
and Barnes&Noble nook
also from author
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| Partnering Organizations |
Physics is a gateway course for post-secondary study in science, medicine, and engineering, as well as an essential component in the formation of students’ scientific literacy. Physics classes hone thinking skills. An understanding of physics leads to a better understanding of other science disciplines. Physics classes help polish the skills needed to score well on the SAT and ACT. College recruiters recognize the value of taking high school physics. College success for virtually all science, computing, engineering, and premedical majors depends in part on passing physics. The job market for people with skills in physics is strong. Knowledge of physics is helpful for understanding the arts, politics, history, and culture.
Currently only 25% of Black and Hispanic high school students take any course in physics[1]. Thus many do not even get to the gateway. The availability of physics as a course for high school students is not equitably distributed throughout the United States. While some schools provide physics for all who wish to take it, a more common scenario, particularly for urban schools, is limited availability[2]. The existence of policies that restrict science opportunities for secondary students results in diminished outcomes in terms of scientific proficiency, and lack of diversity in the STEM professions.
First: before chemistry, before biology - it will aid in understanding, and build a solid foundation, even if participants don't pursue STEM careers.
Vector: National Alliance of Black Educators Endorses Physics First
You go to you're favorable design school, you get you're degree and/or certification, and then you finally start freelancing. But, how do you know how much you're worth? Some schools talk about this, others don't at all. You go around doing design after design, getting little in return for your work. Why? Because they can!!! If you don't know how much your worth as a professional designer, guess what? You want be professional very long!
Being a freelance designer is hard enough! You don't need you're profits being ripped from you as well! So what's the best resources to learn you're worth? First I would like to show you a powerful web site for the information standards for creative designers. It's called AIGA
Let's say for example your a Graphic Designer with a focus on print media. You have about a year experience doing this for a profession. For a quick over view of price range check out part of the site on this link @ http://designsalaries.org/. They have the info for print design rates and more. I would really like to recommend becoming a member here too, because of the wealth of information and the association benefits you gain also. There is a important document to download for contracts in design work @ http://www.aiga.org/standard-agreement/.
Do you need some some legal protections also? I'm not a law type guy myself, but as you can imagine it's greatly important just as the design work you're doing. To help with this, check out http://www.legalzoom.com.
They have good info and sales plans for LLCs, In-corporations, and so on. Remember to look for the essentials only when choosing your freelance business model. I would recommend keeping up to date with AIGA to match your legal needs. I would also recommend a book to help in conjunction with Legal Zoom called "Talent is Not Enough", it's a very formal but down-to-earth book on creative business practices.
Lastly, as a freelancer you will have very high feeling of loneliness as far as the support of doing this yourself. I will give my final site advice, and it is known as http://www.freelancersunion.org/.
This site is a great support structure for freelancers doing there thing! It's a vast community of freelancers with information on insurances and more!
So there you have it! Some powerful resources to help you on your quest to get bank! But, remember this is just the beginning. There so many unknown factors in freelancing that something wrong is going happen. But, remember to go step-by-step. Stay on the AIGA's site, go around other designers and build a relationship with them to learn much as possible. Do not just blindingly depend on your education in schools for vital information!
Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Talent-Not-Enough-Business-Designers/dp/0321702026
http://www.freelancersunion.org/
Welcome to my summer reading fest. I’d like to introduce everyone to my heroine, Shania. Her grandmother has passed away and left her an interesting wood box that hums and glows. Nobody else can see that part, though. This box is opening up her earth elemental magic. It's awakening her lost memories.
I’m hoping to inspire conversations around the Africana symbols, Shania’s creepy ex-boyfriend, Thor, her dog, or even if a romance heroine is allowed to have an abortion.Let me know what you think.
BTW, Don't forget to RT/Tweet, like my FB fan page or sign-up for my subscriber's list to win a free e-copy of Breaking Free. Without further adieu, Here’s Chapter One.
Here's a joint I did a while back for a wedding. When I was approached to do it, I had no intention of making a 'Wedding Video' which are nothing more than just a recording of the wedding which anyone can do. I was intrigued when the couple started talking about their courtship and their fav' movie was 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' the spy/romantic comedy hit. I dug the flick too and suggested we do a movie of their wedding based upon their favorite movie. They were game and so after some serious pre-production, we got the ball rolling.
Using my regular photographer's studio which happened to be in the city where the couple lived, we converted it into a movie set complete with greenscreen, lights and the whole 'schebang'. With a combo of sit down interviews and some fun sessions of the couple and the wedding party getting their 'spy on', the first part of the production went off without a hitch.
The next day, we lost our grip to the flu so yours truly turned into a one-man shoot (not that I haven't done it before, I just try to avoid it!) The couple made sure everyone knew we were shooting a movie and not a video so the guests behaved and gave the Photog and me plenty of latitude to work without hassles.
The whole gig was loooong hours for me, but we were able to get some great footage and turn a nice wedding into a memorable event. So if you've got 20 minutes to spare, take a look at 'Mr. & Mrs. 'H.'' and see how the everyday can be made special....
Well, the first installment of this summer's Priestess series has wrapped up and a major decision will be made that will affect all who live in the Valley and perhaps beyond! Little Fish now a young man will begin his exploration of the awesome and perhaps terrible power he has been given. The powerful and unpredictable god Qatula has a potentially sinister plan for the Priestess' young husband, the Valley Knight. A new and potentially dangerous goddess now awaits the Chief of the Aesir's acceptance of her entry into the Valley or his rejection. Will even the Priestess and her great powers be able to keep stability in the face of what's to come? New characters, past characters revisited and new far-flung places are yet to come this summer will be revealed by, The Priestess!
WillowRaven Illustration & Design Plus: Kainan has a new cover!: The cover art & design for Kainan is a re-vamp of the original cover for the first book in the epic fantasy series, Deragan Sword Prophe...
To read the rest of the post, follow the link above, or, visit the book's page on my website: http://willowravenillustration.weebly.com/kainan.html
Aidana WillowRaven
PAE = Performance Art of Engineering. I'll probably elaborate in another posting. I thought it an appropriate title for the merger of science and art.
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It is nice to be wanted.
Will-solve-complex-problems-that-scare-the-BEJESUS-out-of-most-folks-for-food
See why I didn't us it for the title. 
Site: BrightRecruits.com
There's also a Sci-Fi Symposium. Astronaut Mae Jemison, M.D. is chair.
100 Year Starship invites you to participate in the journey of a lifetime! On this mission, everyone has a seat – Thought leaders, experts, trendsetters, space advocates and space enthusiasts, international space agencies, established businesses and start-ups, financiers and entrepreneurs, governmental and non-governmental agencies, universities and private industries, including entertainment, medicine, education, the arts and athletics – and, of course, the general public. You are all invited to join us on a journey to improve our world today as we explore the challenge, benefits, potentially enabling technologies, strategies and awesome potential of interstellar flight to another solar (star) system.
From exotic propulsion systems, exoplanets and “where do we go?” to the social, economic and cultural considerations of “why or should we go?” there’s a technical or academic session just for you. In addition, workshops, classes, networking venues, the Expo, entertainment, celebrities, speakers and guests will enhance your experience and ensure that you have an opportunity to consider and contribute to the wide range of space and related topics needed to chart the research, design, development, policy, outreach and aspirational activities from which long-distance space travel will be generated.
Dear Friend,
We are pleased to invite you to submit to the “Call for Papers” the upcoming 100 Year StarshipTM 2012 Public Symposium to be held in Houston Texas on September 13 – 16, 2012.
The 100 Year StarshipTM (100YSSTM) considers broad and in-depth public engagement critical to accomplishing human interstellar flight within the next 100 years. The 100YSSTM Public Symposium is central to gathering and sharing knowledge, aspirations, capabilities, as well as building advocacy, imagination and momentum. During the symposium space experts will participate in a platform for cutting-edge research, space enthusiasts will expand their knowledge, and the public will be engaged by an interactive exposition.
The Symposium’s technical session issues this open call to individuals and organizations from all disciplines—amateur and professional—to contribute to understanding, developing and building the solutions needed for successful interstellar flight.
The 2012 Symposium’s theme, Transition to Transformation...The Journey Begins, acknowledges the accomplishments of space exploration to date and calls for authors to consider what changes are needed in how we currently envision and “do space” to truly push forward humanity’s journey to another star. Papers should focus upon those transformative ideas and processes within each track—science, technology and paradigms— that facilitate the breakthroughs in space exploration.There are four technical tracks at the Symposium and a series of special sessions as described in the 2012 100YSS Call for Papers
Papers accepted will be included in the 100YSS 2012 Symposium Proceedings. Papers selected presented individually or as part of a panel as decided by each Track Chair. The Abstract Submission Deadline is June 30, 2012. Authors whose papers have been submitted for presentation will be notified by July 29; and final papers must be submitted by August 17th.
If you have any questions, please contact the 2012 Symposium Technical Chair, Dr. Richard Obousy at richard.obousy@100YSS.org. We look forward to your participation in our symposium and hope that you will submit a paper.
Sincerely,
Mae Jemison, M.D.
Chair, 100YSS Symposium
Richard Obousy, Ph.D.
Technical Chair, 100 YSS Symposium
Why it matters: Cells grown on the Wyss Institute's organ-on-chip devices behave more like cells in the body. The devices could improve the speed and success of drug discovery and reduce animal testing.
Technology Review: Building an Organ on a Chip
Site: Wyss Institute
Writing dialogue can be challenging to new and veteran writers alike. However, if you are new to writing there are a few simple things to keep in mind when constructing dialogue for your short story or novel. Here are some things to keep in mind:
What Not to Do When Writing Dialogue Tip #1: Don’t let dialogue dominate your scene.
Some writers will allow dialogue to dominate the entire scene with their characters. This is a big no-no. While dialogue is a form of action, it can’t be the only factor in scene creation. Here’s a bad example.
Bad Example:
“Don’t come any closer, Tony!” Mary yelled.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Tony mocked.
“I said don’t come closer!” Mary repeated.
“Oh?” Tony questioned.
How many times have you read something like this? Doesn’t it seem a little dry? Add something to your conversational exchanges. Such things like physical movement, emotions, objects, etc. can be added to a dialogue exchange to spice it up.
Good Example:
“Don’t come any closer, Tony!” Mary held up her rusted knife. She glared at him as he ignored her order.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Tony mocked. He was deeply amused by her defensive display. He took a step closer.
“I said don’t come closer!” Mary repeated, pulling the knife closer to her. She stepped back.
“Oh?” Tony ignored her. He reached for her knife.
What Not To Do When Writing Dialogue Tip #2: Don’t use characters to preach your agenda.
Every writer has something to say – one could even say that is the main reason for writing – however, don’t make your characters peach your opinions. Unlike facts, when a character states an opinion that in actuality is the author’s own views, it can come across as misplaced or odd. Especially when such a belief is contrary to your character’s personality, beliefs, and actions.
More ‘What Not To Do When Writing Dialogue Tips’ in an upcoming post!
Add your thoughts below!
Yes, cynicism is the stuff of skeptics, and skeptics tend not to write articles associating the physics community being "afire" - on fire; aflame; ablaze; eager and excited - about anything. Not to say they are not...
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| Wireddotcom |
OK, I'll give you "eager and excited." But trust me: your eager and excited is not the typical labs' "eager and excited." I assume "keenly interesting data" would not sell good copy, nor take public interests off the NBA finals or the latest singing/dance off.
Kevin Durant needs about 10 - 20 lbs to contest LeBron, or any other man mountain's 60 lb advantage. That's just physics...
Postman's commentary (link to book follows) is described as a "21st century description in the 20th century." Published in 1985 - post the Orwell demarcation - cable news with CNN was just five years old. The Internet (not mentioned) was Zenith computer screens - big and bulky - sending the equivalent of what a teen can do with their thumbs and text messaging. There was no Facebook, Twitter, and blogging would have been the equivalent of exposing your diary to the world, of telling a freezing caveman about fire - Prometheus.
And: if there was such a thing as "reality TV," its impact was not as great as a book.
“We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.
But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions". In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.”
From ― Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Wired: Physics Community Afire With Rumors of Higgs Boson Discovery
