Is There A Cloaking Device in Our Future?

I was at the gym the other day when I spotted someone who I believe was Bill Nye the Science Guy on the news talking to a reporter and the headline was something like "Invisibility Cloak." I looked it up and it turns out that a scientist named Elena Semouchkina discovered a way of making objects invisible by shielding it from electromagnetic radiation. I found the NSF article here. The particular was that she does this-- which I must admit I do not entirely understand-- involves using glass.

Glass seems to limit the options of this device. However, upon further reading I found another article that talked about potentials of a newly-invented spray-on glass that allows glass coating on pretty much any object. The article makes the connection between the glass used in this object and the incredible versatility of spray glass forming the possibility of the cloak and any number of other things.

And the Internet Returns!

Our internet went out for a few days and we just got it back. It reminds me how much I rely on the internet to communicate with people, do homework (Leo German Dictionary, most especially), track food and exercise, etc. It's back now and I hope to resume more normal blogging once I take my German final on Friday. Wish me luck!

Cerinthus is Here

Cerinthus is here. He came in yesterday-- the same day that I finished my second major German translation project. Things are going well-- although I still have a lot of work to do. I just calculated that I have to review 2-3 chapters a week of both Hansen and Quinn and Moreland and Fleischer in order to study for my exams this fall. I'm hoping to have Cerinthus quiz me on verb forms.

Also as Cerinthus is here, I am baking some more bread and pizza since Cerinthus is here. I will probably post some pictures.

Happy Birthday Servius

Today we celebrated Servius' birthday with a lovely brunch of fresh-baked bread, his favorite, grapes, raspberries, cheese, and carrots. Instead of having the picnic outside as originally planned, we watched the Japan-USA final match of the women's' soccer World Cup. The game was fantastic. It was exciting and I was rooting for Japan, because the country has had a really bad year and certainly deserves some national spirit.

I love this swirl pattern!

I took the idea for this scoring pattern from the beautiful work at the Tartine Bread Experiment.

A Fond Memory

It's been a while since I have made any bread. I haven't had much time. Tomorrow is Servius' birthday so I thought I would make some bread so we could have a picnic lunch on the porch. I am making his favorite: my usual whole wheat Tartine bread with steel cut oats, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds.

While I was making the bread and some pizza dough for tonight, Servia and I were talking about the Harry Potter phenomenon. These last two movies which dramatize book 7 have been theonly two for which we did not attend the midnight showing (and I have not seen the final movie yet). We all have been really busy and book 7 is by a mile my least favorite of the set. Servia mentioned she missed going to the movie, but I really miss the pageantry of the books coming out. Even by the time that the second book came out in Britain (we rush ordered it because it took a lot longer to arrive in the USA), I was old enough to realize that the writing was not particularly good, but I enjoyed the pageantry of the whole thing. When the books came out, Servia and I would make apple pie for Servius as he read the books outloud to us. We drank tea and made plot predictions. Those summers on the porch are some of the happiest moments from my childhood (and beyond) and lining up to get the books at midnight made it seem like this happiness and vigor was widespread. I was considering this afternoon how much I wish there were another equally-appreciated series that would once again have people of every age and personality lined up at book stores all over the world. Maybe someday...

Like Time Team, but Older

Recently, due to a construction contract and a harsh winter, paleontologist had to unearth one of the largest cashes of Pleistocene (the most recent Ice Age) mammals in 70 days. A great New York Times article Servia sent me discusses the time-crunched dig. What is most impressive about these findings is that the cash is so large that not only have scientists gained a vast array of bones, but they actually have enough data now in order to determine new information like migratory patterns of large mammals. There is a short slide show of Ice Age bones at the New York Times as well.

Thoughts on the Oxford Comma

Learning the Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) was one of the few memories I have of learning the rules of grammar or punctuation before seventh grade. In second grade, we were learning the correct way to write a list and we were told that the final comma before an "and" (the Oxford comma) was optional, but was coming into broader usage and thus should probably be employed.

e.g. I can read English, Latin[,] and Classical Greek.

The bracketed comma is an Oxford comma. I have always rather liked the Oxford comma, partially because it can clarify the meaning of a sentence. The Oxford Dictionaries provides this illustrative example:

e.g. These items are available in black and white, red and yellow, and blue and green.

According to an article on Salon, the Oxford PR department has decided to drop the Oxford comma (although the "Update" claims that this has been true for several years). As a fan, I am rather sad.

I found while Googling the Oxford comma that a band called Vampire Weekend wrote a song called "Oxford Comma" (which apparently those at Salon found as well). It's a rather random song, but I thought it was an amusing conclusion.

Thoughts on Music

I've always thought that I had a musical ear. I play an assortment of various instruments rather poorly, since I never took the trouble to practice enough and my ability to read music is very minimal, but I sang well at school and in a few different choirs. Today, my musical ego was taken down quite a few notches.

I spent a few hours reading in a studio where a bunch of good musicians were recording. There were a couple of things that I noticed. The producer's roll is so vital. He could immediately hear not only when a note or chord as missed, but more importantly when an individual piece simply did not fit. I was so impressed. On albums of artists I like, I have noticed differences between production styles, but seeing it in action I realized just how talented someone has to be to do a good job.

Happy holiday weekend, everyone!