Haven't posted in a while -- certainly, there's been news, but this far removed it seems a little past ripe for the blogging. Instead, some brief character sketches of people in my department

Stephen StiglerChair of the Department, Professor Stigler is just slightly larger than life. Well over 6 feet, he has a commanding physical presence in any ( Read more... )

Well, to continue showcasing recent and disturbing political/military developments, I have two quotes ( Read more... )

On a futile quest to track down some contact information for Gen. David Petraeus, I was mildly amused/depressed to find that the official U.S. Army site shows that Operation Enduring Freedom, the coalition effort in Afghanistan dating from September 14th, 2001, is actually located in Iran. Also, the Earth has gained a new lake in roughly the ( Read more... )

Today was a little less than stellar. I sat on my keister nearly the whole 24 hours, accomplished absolutely nothing of importance, and managed to upset three of my good friends within as many hours. "Sometimes, when you try to tiptoe, it's more like stomping" I was told, metaphorically, and it's an accurate criticism. It galls me that I have ( Read more... )

It's been awhile since I wrote -- hopefully entries will become more regular when school starts up. In the J-News ( Read more... )

Amazingly, this is not a site blocked by the lab's electronic surveillors ( Read more... )

Well, despite not turning out to be an astronomer, paleontologist, entomologist, botanist, or naturalist-at-large, in some ways I am still my father's son. And so, twenty minutes ago I found myself lying down in a recently plowed field a little ways from my apartment, staring up at an August midnight: the Milky Way a subtle but glorious banner ( Read more... )

These days, most of my time at the lab is spent working on my final presentation, but when I get fed up with crunching numbers, I usually browse the huge LLNL internal site, filling out comment forms whenever I have something vaguely relevant to say, e.g ( Read more... )

-- Tooling around the lab on one of the thousand-plus communal bicycles, these delightful orange-yellow affairs with old-timey baskets and bells. Today (now a couple weeks ago) was the first cloudy day in Livermore this summer, and as I biked to the front entrance on my way out of the lab I whistled a few menacing bars of the Wicked Witch's theme ( Read more... )

I spent the weekend in SF having a marvelous time with Joan and her Bay Area friends. First, we walked over to the Red Door Cafe for a brunch. She promised me the best French Toast that I had ever tasted. I thought it could be possible, but I never expected it to be such a landslide victory -- an unforgettable culinary experience. Then Joan ( Read more... )