Fixing My iPod

This is a bit of a departure for this blog, but I thought I would show a bit about how to fix an older iPod. There are a number of places to find great information about fixing iPods, some even include videos (look here, here and here for GREAT help). Here I just want to mention just how easy it is and mention that the process has become much less expensive than it once was.See how after the break.

Physics Today asks the Candidates

The lighter reading side of the American Institute of Physics is Physics Today. They have recently asked presidential candidates about 6 issues:

Science Education

Teaching Evolution

Nuclear Weapons

Science Investment

Energy Policy

Climate Change

You can see the responses here.

NSF Finds Americans Are Falling Behind in Science and Tech

Since the National Science Foundation published “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” in 2006, their scathing and horror inspiring indictment of American science education and a warning about the dominance of American science and technology, some new developments have come to light. The New York Times has posted a summary (link here) of a rather depressing new study from the NSF (link here). The study finds the US dominance in science and technology is waning. Particularly important is how dependent the US is on foreign born scientists. Once the economies and educational institutions of India and China are sufficiently developed, there will be little need for scientists and engineers to immigrate from those countries. This may not be far off either.

Also noteworthy is that how ignorant must Americans are about science. My favorite NYT quote of all time comes form this story and is the following.

Many Americans remain ignorant about much of science, the board said. Many are unable to answer correctly when asked whether Earth moves around the Sun (it does).

Something about that “(it does)” part gets me in stitches. Apparently readers of the Times need reassurance about whether the Sun or Earth is more massive.

Perhaps most horrifying is how Americans compare against citizens of other developed nations with regard to both evolution and the big bang, two areas where average Americans are “noticeably more ignorant” than their foreign counterparts.

US Finally Gets Smart in 2008

After every other industrialized nation on Earth being able to buy Smart cars for a decade, the auto finally comes to the US. The New York Times has a video from the Detroit road show. The video (see it here) also shows a 6′ 3” tall guy get in and talk about how much room it has inside, despite how the car’s length is 3 feet shorter than a Cooper Mini. The Smart Car web site has more info here.

The cars will cost between &11,600 and $16600 and get between 33 city / 41 hwy miles per gallon. Did I mention that Chevy is proud of how the ONLY HYBRID IN THEIR FLEET gets only 21 miles per gallon in the city and costs $50,000? Again, WAKE UP!!

Tata Nano gets 54 Miles per Gallon for $2500

Hey Detroit, ARE YOU LISTENING!?!?!?!1!

This car is underpowered by American muscle hungry standards, but let’s not forget the central point here; double the efficiency of most new American cars for a quarter the price.

You can read about the new car and see lots of pictures here.

I’m Jealous of Biologists

When I was an undergraduate physics major I never thought I would say these words; I’m Jealous of Biologists. The amazing thing about biology of the last few decades ISN’T medical advances, but in fundamental understanding about life. I went into physics because I think the best science is the most fundamental science. The more fundamental, the more applications will arise and the more obvious the applications will be. Physicists seem to have forgotten this for some time.

Because of advances in several fields, biologists have more understanding of the cell and genetics than we previously could have dreamed. That isn’t to say that it’s all figured out, but there is more than enough to make intelligent design arguments look like flat Earth theory. The result is that biology has captured the public imagination.

It’s not the public’s imagination that earned my jealousy. It’s stuff like this and this and this. How did the BIOLOGISTS get all the cool software tools? I know bioinformatics is a huge field where a bunch of CS people can get involved, but seriously. Biologists, or at least funding agencies, have figured out how critically important it is for scientists to communicate. Why there is a national library of medicine and not a national library of chemistry or physics I have yet to figure out. The National Institute of Health has finally gained the foresight to recognize that publicly funded research should be in the, *cough*, PUBLIC domain.

Each Candidate on Science Issues

If you don’t think science matters in this election, read this from Science Magazine. Please, for the love of God, read it. Are you starting to see just how blisteringly crazy some of these folks are?

I wouldn’t have guessed that American presidential candidates in the 21st century may not accept the Theory of Evolution as much as that of Gravity. I would not have guessed that American presidential candidates in 2008 would still doubt whether or not humans have caused an increase in global temperature. I would not have guessed (yup, keep paying attention Paul fans) that any federal legislator would even dream of suggesting that any American would want to end federal funding for scientific research.

Wow.

That’s before we even get to talk about stem cells.

Don’t pretend this doesn’t matter. Science may not be political, but science policy is. Science funding is. That funding will decide whether we continue to buy our energy from despots or make it at home. It is critical for the economic survival of this nation that our president has a firm understanding of issues important to science policy.

Oil Reaches $100 per Barrel: What are we thinking?

I’ve been waiting to post about how I’ve been reading Winning the Oil Endgame. You can download the book for free or buy an actual paper copy.I wanted to wait until I finished the book, or the price of oil hit $100 per barrel. Guess which happened first. The New York Times reports that we are now less than $3 per barrel away from an inflation adjusted all time high in the price of crude ($102.81 in April 1980). If some obstetricians in Tulsa had been a bit more enthusiastic about maternity time tables two and a half decades ago, I wouldn’t be able to say that oil is more expensive now than at any time in my lifetime.The good news is this; oil is now as expensive as it was the last time the US actually payed attention. That is, the price of oil is at the same inflation adjusted value it was during the last period of innovation in the American car industry with regard to fuel economy.

New Way for Wind Energy

I’m coming to grips with my addiction to Google Tech Talks. The argument that they give me inspiration to do more work has finally outweighed the argument that I’m actually just sitting on my butt as more focused folks blitz past. Before I go cold Turkey on Google Tech Talks, I want to show one that has given me a ton of ideas to think about.

Making Green and Being Green

I’ve been reading “Winning the Oil Endgame” for the last few days. It’s a slightly technical explanation of why the U.S. should get away from oil as fast as possible, how to do it and how it can make us all filthy rich. I intend to do a more thorough review after I’m finished with it, but you can get the punch line from the executive summary or from the the Rocky Mountain Institute website.

From /. I saw today how the NYPD is planning to switch part of it’s huge motorcycle fleet to electric scooters. The result is a better performing, quieter vehicle that saves money.