Commentary on the Peer Review Process

Ah peer review…

Just in case there is confusion about why Hitler is appearing on the blog, please consult our newest blogroll member, Know Your Meme.  They did a wonderful job explaining Autotune to my parents over the Thanksgiving weekend (featuring Weird Al!).

Mobius Bagel

How to cut a bagel into interlocking halves.

Home Is Where the Mortgage Is

I’ll cut to the chase: I’m buying a house.

After years of paying off Carver St. and saving, I’ve finally gotten a great deal on a 3BR/2BA house in the growing Carolina Forest area of Myrtle Beach. I’ll even close before Christmas. You all have a standing invitation to visit!

Update: photos from the MLS listing.

“I have the stripes, but where is the zebra?”

Hi Everyone.  Sorry I haven’t posted anything in the long time.  My apology is a post that even longer and more meandering than usual.

I’m at Indiana University for the Biocomplexity X workshop on Quantitative Tissue Biology and Virtual Tissues.  It’s been great — perhaps because there are many physicists converted to biology.  There have been several talks that touched on non-linear elasticity, though most people’s background is in foams and not granular matter.   Rene Doursat gave an especially good talk today on agent-based models of morphogenesis in which he mentioned another alleged quotation, attributed to Alan Turing, who made either the titular comment or said “The stripes are easy, it’s the horse part that troubles me!” in reference to the ability of certain systems of equations to create seemingly biologically-relevant patterns without necessarily providing biological insight.  Brad has

Bob in Physics Today

Those of you who aren’t current in your APS subscriptions might miss this “Quick Study” article by Bob in this month’s Physics Today.

Bunton’s Winter CD: Track 9

Every so often I make up a mix CD of my favorite songs at the moment; mostly new songs, but with some old songs sprinkled in for flavor. I thought it’d be a neat feature of this new blog to go through, song-by-song, and explain a little about why it appeals to me.

I first encountered Iron & Wine on the soundtrack to Garden State (thanks, Brian). I didn’t realize that “Such Great Heights” was a reinterpretation of a Postal Service tune, and hearing it first I actually prefer it. In any case, I was taken with the singer’s unique voice, but I wasn’t moved to act on it.

Soon after I moved back to South Carolina, I discovered the KEXP Song of the Day podcast. Every weekday, a free mp3 selected by the staff at one of the arguably few “real” radio stations anymore, KEXP out of Seattle. One of the first songs I downloaded was “Boy with a Coin” (video) by Iron & Wine, from his album The Shepherd’s Dog. It’s addictive and glorious. Two years later, it’s still the most-played song in my iTunes. I still haven’t found a single thing he’s sung that I haven’t enjoyed, but for some reason I haven’t purchased any of his albums.

Next time: perhaps the most over-played song in recent memory

When Zombies Attack!

Mathematicians at Carlton University (which a Canadian friend of mine has described as the country’s “last chance” school) have studied the way a zombie outbreak would occur, and what human strategies would work in stemming the tide. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good for us. The entire paper is amusing, but I especially enjoy the introduction that establishes the difference between zombie folklore and “Hollywood” zombies.

Our Shrinking World

The schools of Duke and Coastal Carolina continue to get closer together. The first overtures were made when I went from graduate school in the Triangle to a job in the Grand Strand. Since, the link has remained strong. John and Ann visited in the spring to speak to my physics seminar classes, and I’ll be venturing back up to Duke very soon to collaborate with my former advisor, both activities I hope will become standing. An extensive interstate system will simplify the route between home cities. But perhaps the most important link between the two happened just this past week: CCU just got its very first Jimmy John’s.

Brontosaurus in Need

Brontosauruses have a lot of problems these days.  Foremost being that they don’t exist.  But that had never stopped the Durham Brontosaurus at the Musuem of Life and Science.  Unfortunately, some teens were too much for it and decapitated the landmark (well, a landmark in my mind, at least) last month.  Fortunately the museum has hired a sculptor to repair the behemoth.  It make actually work out for the best since the mueseum had been letting the elements have their way with the brontosaurus for quite some time (somewhat understandable given the upcoming dinosaur trail, which I expect will be awesome).

If the sculpture meant anything to you (having your wedding pictures taken there is not a prerequisite, please think of making a donation or buying a t-shirt at the Farmer’s Market this Saturday.

Student Contract Jobs at EPA RTP

If you know students with science backgrounds and computer skills looking for additional funding in the Research Triangle Park area, then there are several twelve month contracts available for work at the National Center for Computational Toxicology. The contracts can potentially be extended up to a total of two and a half years and pay a bit over $21 an hour.