The Great Geek Manual

Best Physics Blogs

Those physics has long been a topic of some fascination for me, it seems like the field is advancing more rapidly than can practically be followed by a laymen these day. Not to mention that even the most devoted enthusiasts have a rough time of wading through what the average physicist considers publishable copy. Luckily, there’s no shortage of physics blogs aimed armchair physicists. Here are a few of my favorites, carefully chosen for readability from across the web.

Bad Astronomy – Discover magazine’s astronomy blog written by astronomer Phil Plait. It focused on astronomy, with a frequent-but-short posts that are about an equal mix of hard science and entertainment.

Cocktail Party Physics – Fascinating forays into different areas of physics concerning pop culture.

Cosmic Log – A news blog covering physical sciences, space science, and technology innovation. It’s currently written by MSNBC science editor Alan Boyle.

Cosmic Variance – Discover magazine’s theoretical physics blog, written by seven or so physicists and astrophysicists, covering recent physics news, research, and discoveries. Read the rest of this entry » » »

With all the recent talk about the new Ghostbusters film coming up, it looks like the franchise will be coming back into vogue (deservedly so), and now, thanks to MyTeeSpot, everyone can get in on the fun.

This shirt comes in sizes Small to 2XL for US$24.99 in the standard Ghostbusters beige. Plus, as an added bonus, the dark splotches on the shirt, which are meant to be Slimer’s ectoplasm, glow in the dark!

Source: MyTeeSpot

Art

• The Official Star Wars blog presents a gallery of Baroque-style Star Wars Art.

Comics

• io9 names the 20 Most Patriotic Superheroes for this holiday weekend.

Film

• Do you think it’s a coincidence that Brad Pitt hooked up with both of the actresses at the top of Forbes Highest-Paid Actress List?
• Sci Fi Wire has rounded up the 11 most patriotic sci-fi movie and TV moments.

Internet

• Mike Brotherton raises Some Uncomfortable Questions About SF and Fantasy.
• USA Today compares the Vampires of Angel, True Blood, and Twilight side-by-side.

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Today is the day the United States celebrates Independence Day, which is commonly referred to in the States simply as “The Fourth.” For those of you not acquainted with the holiday, today is the day we celebrate just how right we were in establishing our own nation by grilling up red meat outdoors over open flames, setting things on fire, and blowing things up.

1054
A supernova is observed by the Chinese and the Arabs. Rock paintings later discovered in North America suggest that Indians in Arizona and New Mexico observed it as well. It remains bright enough to be seen during the day for twenty-three days and at night for almost two years. Scientists will later speculate that the Crab Nebula in the constellation Taurus is the remnant of this supernova. The incident will remain the brightest supernova in history through the modern day.
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When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,-That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

- The Declaration of Independence of The United States of America

If you’ve never seen The IT Crowd, you should check it out. This mock-ad has been clipped from season 2. Both of the first two seasons are now available on DVD.

1841
John Couch Adams decides to determine the position of an unknown planet by the irregularities it causes in the motion of Uranus. He enters in his journal; “Formed a design in the beginning of this week in investigating, as soon as possible after taking my degree, the irregularities in the motion of Uranus… in order to find out whether they may be attributed to the action of an undiscovered planet beyond it…” In September 1845, he will give James Challis, director of the Cambridge Observatory, accurate information on where the new planet, as yet unobserved, can be found. Unfortunately, the planet won’t be recognized by Cambridge until much later, when it will discovery by the Berlin Observatory on September 23, 1846. The plant will eventually be named Neptune.

1886
Karl Benz unveils and demonstrates the first purpose-built automobile in history, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, in Mannheim, Germany. The vehicle, first ever designed to be powered by a mechanical motor rather than simply being a converted horse carriage, is capable of reaching a top speed of 10mph.

The first US newspaper page set by a linotype machine is published by the New York Daily Tribune for the day’s editorial page. The machine was originally called a “Blower,” but it will be renamed “Linotype” for “line of type,” which is the amount of text that could be set at one time. Within six years, one thousand Linotype machines will have been manufactured. By 1904, there will be ten thousand linotype machines in service.
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The Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life.

- Andrew Brown