The Coolest Film in the World (Still a Better Love Story Than Twilight)

IBM is pretty cool. As part of their ongoing research into data storage based on single atoms, they’ve made the world’s tiniest film. It’s called ‘A Boy and his Atom’.

It uses a handful of carbon atoms (a figurative handful of carbon atoms, obviously). A few dozen individual atoms to create a little stop-motion tale about a boy with a big grin and an atom of his very own.

The IBM film-makers used a scanning tunnelling microscope to move the atoms around and create pictures. (An IBM scientist won the Nobel Prize for Physics for inventing the STM in 1986.) It took the team of scientist film-makers two weeks of 18-hour days. Take a couple of minutes and marvel at how frickin’ awesome science is.

It’s a simple story using phenomenally complex technology. And it’s still a better love story than Twilight.

Nerd love

This post is brought to you by a crushing sense of guilt. I haven’t blogged here for ages. AGES. I just haven’t made the time (note the honesty there: I could have had the time).

I’ll slip in the news that I have dropped out of my physics course. It was just too much to cope with at the moment. I don’t feel guilty; I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I’ll pick it up again when I’m in a position to do the course, and myself, justice.

Anyway: it’s Easter, and it’s April Fools’ Day, so here’s a little something from one nerd to lovers everywhere. If you’re going to propose, do it in style. Or memorably. Or nerdily.

Will you consent to an indefinite two-body interaction?

A weather-related ‘Did you know?’ post

Did you know that wintry weather is more likely in March than December in the UK? On average, snow falls on five days in December. In March, it falls on six days.

That makes no difference to my wish for this seemingly endless winter to begone, though. Honestly, it seems to have been going on forever. And I’m not being fooled: look at this picture. This is my back garden.

Doesn’t it look lovely and Spring-like?

I just went outside to put the washing out, and my fingers froze solid. I’m typing this with my (freaky monkey) toes.

So, anyway. My point was this: it’s not particularly unusual weather for March. It’s just really annoying.

This is not science. It’s tweed.

I am beginning an extremely non-scientific study into the use of tweed to denote Englishmen in American film and TV.

Every time I see an Englishman in tweed in an American production, it will find its way here. This was inspired partly by Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (who almost always wears tweed) and partly because we watched a truly dreadful film last night, and the lasting impression that we took from it was: Americans use tweed to denote an Englishman.

Rupert Giles. He’s wearing tweed in almost every photo on the internet. True fact.

The film we watched last night was dire. Red Lights, in case you’re wondering. It started as a formulaic jumpy paranormal film, then slid into something much more interesting (although I didn’t care about any of the shallow characters) and then committed suicide disappointingly at the end. Plus, there was a really obvious twist.

But I digress: it was clear, from this film and from other American productions, that Americans use tweed to identify Englishmen. I’ve had a quick search for the scene in question, but I can’t find it. It’s when all the reporters are clamouring around the scientists (I think). One of them is English. He’s wearing tweed.

Spotted any uses of tweed in American film and TV? Let me know. I’ll document them here. It’ll be thrilling.

Whimsy with the Moon

The Moon. It inspires stories, songs, spirituality, whole religions, silliness and conspiracy theories. Not to mention being responsible for the tides and the very existence of life on Earth as we know it. Not a bad hall of fame for a large lump of cheese.

It’s also the home of the Clangers. They say it isn’t; they say it’s a planet that just resembles the Moon, but that is a cover-up. A cover-up, I tell you! Incidentally, have you ever taken a close look at the Clangers? Rather sweet and ditsy little creatures, central to the childhoods of people of my parents’ age?

Oh no. No no no. Look again.

Look at them. They’re fucking massive.

Let’s look at the facts. You can clearly see the curvature of the Moon in the illustration above, which also shows the Clangers pointing at a large lump of rubbish. This tells me the following: the Clangers are fucking massive.

I was going to do a whole bunch of calculations based on the circumference of the Moon (10,921 km), its angle of curve in that picture, and the relative height of the Clangers to find out how tall that would make them, but frankly I can’t be arsed. Suffice it to say, they are clearly taller than a very tall building.

Would you really want to be anywhere near giant mice with voices like slide-whistles and a penchant for volcanic soup? I think not.

Anyway, the thing that sent me down this particular garden path was this picture from I Fucking Love Science. (I do.)

All the things you can do with the Moon (no Clangers involved).

How cool is that?

What can you do with the Moon?

A Robin Ince post on atheism and drinking

I do like Robin Ince. He’s funny, clever and generous of thought. This is a good post, and reflects my feelings on the matter. I also like how you can chart his drinking progress as the blog progresses – there is at least one paragraph that has wandered into a ditch!

Enjoy.

Robinince's Blog

Take this as you will, that is the way of things. You have probably read this before, written by other people in a more pertinent and concise manner, but if you have a minute or two and nothing better to do…

 

About a month ago, someone asked if I felt i was a bit zealous with my atheism. I asked them for some evidence of my zealotry (yes, always a stickler for evidence, damn these scientists muttering in my mind) and they politely backed down as they realised that my zealotry was based on presumptions. 

This may be due to my Christmas shows, Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless people, which a few people seem to imagine is some rally where a gathering of excited atheists strip naked, smear themselves in the offal of dismembered papal emissaries and scream banshee-like as the high priest Richard Dawkins rears up on…

View original post 1,115 more words

Why I love science

Or, at least, this is one of the reasons I love science…

Take a look at this article in Nature. It’s interesting, yes – especially if you understand anything of quantum gases. But it’s the comments that made me laugh!

The article also underlines our everyday misunderstanding of and misuse of terms such as ‘temperature’ and ‘heat’.

Dive in!

Nature article

Science also invites respectful, light-hearted banter. Compare this to the trolling and abuse you often see in the comments sections of blogs and YouTube…

2012 in review

It’s always interesting to see how you’re doing in the blogosphere. Surprisingly well! And my new year’s resolution to blog more should help…

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 27,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 6 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Unexpected Developments Scupper New Year’s Resolutions

On January 1, 2011, I wrote this post. So, as promised, I’m revisiting it. I was on a false high, and in complete denial about just how bloody miserable I was. I was also convinced that I would have achieved everything on my list. Well, that didn’t happen – but for once I’m not full of woe and self-recriminations.

This year has been a hell of a ride. I left The Worst Job in the World™ and, instead of wallowing, I slapped myself around a little then stood up. I held my head high, took a deep breath, set my shoulders back and my chin in the air, and Changed My Life.

With a little help from my friends, and a LOT of love, support and encouragement from my husband, my family and my splendid friends, I started my own business. Sunflower Communications was born in April 2012, and has been so successful so far that I can’t quite believe it.

Then, I became part-owner of Wylie’s, The Ironmongers with the fabulous Charlie Collett. Which was unexpected but brilliant. I’ve always wanted a shop. Next  year will be super busy…

2012 has been the hardest, in places worst, but generally best and most rewarding and satisfying year of my life. So I will forgive myself for not achieving everything on last year’s list:

• Try something new at least once a week.

My burlesque début!

Not quite once a week, but I have tried something new very often indeed. And each time, it’s enriched my life, even if I didn’t like it. Plus, this little resolution gave me burlesque, and a group of fan-bloody-tastic, strong, clever, funny, kind ladies who I love very much.

• Buy more music.

This, I achieved. Florence and the Machine, Nina Simone, Imelda May, Propeller Heads, dubstep, Scroobius Pip…

• Spend more time with my family.

This, too, I achieved. But it’s on this year’s list too.

• Go to more gigs.

Although I did probably go to more gigs than I did in 2011, I would like to see more live music.

• Improve my wardrobe: instead of purchasing several cheap items of clothing from random high street shops, spend a similar amount of money on one item that is beautiful, well-made, and will last.

I achieved this – and made my own clothes too! Long may this continue.

• Motorcycle road trip around Europe with some good friends.

This was quite good fun 🙂

• Become a bloody brilliant pole dancer.

Well, I don’t know about bloody brilliant, but I’ve certainly improved enormously. Which pleases me enormously.

• Go clubbing several times.

I did this. It was okay.

• Cultivate an aura of calm togetherness.

I don’t think that this is ever going to happen!

• Embrace the fact that I am now a corporate whore.

I’m not! I’m not! I am a small business owner, and I am HAPPY.

• Run at least one half-marathon.

Oops… This year though, for sure.

• Be a better, kinder, funnier person.

I hope I have achieved this last one. I’ve worked hard.

Resolutions for 2013

This year, I am being a little more realistic. I’ve made a few resolutions over at my Sunflower blog, but they’re mostly business related. Here are my personal resolutions.

1. Get away for a week with Joe. Just the two of us.
2. Spend more time with our families, especially my lovely brother, his fabulous fiancée and my little niece Ella.
3. Run more. I’ve joined Park Run, and I want to do a half-marathon next year, and perhaps a full marathon the year after. Perhaps.
4. Read more books.
5. Pay off the credit card.
6. Spend more time camping and walking and bicycling and picnicking with good friends.
7. More improvements in yoga and pole.
8. Make more time for studying.
9. Continue enjoying burlesque!
10. Write more. Blog more. Rediscover my love for writing about science.

Happy new year

Happy new year readers. I wish you all the very best for 2013; and if life throws terrible things at you, I wish you the strength and courage to emerge from them stronger, with grace, and with your heads held high.

Big love. Peace out.

Everyone is NOT entitled to an opinion

This is just a quickie, but is related to many of my recent blog posts, as well as much of what is going on in the wider world right now.

Take a look at this article. It’s well worth a read, and explains much more eloquently than I have just why all opinions are not equal, valid or deserving of respect.

http://theconversation.edu.au/no-youre-not-entitled-to-your-opinion-9978

Enjoy your weekends! And remember: THINK. Always think.