It’s one thing to call on people to think critically. It’s another to know how to do that. Like all skills, critical thinking almost never comes naturally; it must be learned, and in many cases this is because it runs counter to instinct. Humans are very good at pattern recognition, […]
Since Wednesday, I, like most Americans, have been trying to make sense of the events of that day. I find it’s usually best to begin with the facts, so that’s where I will start this reflection. Wednesday was to be devoted to proposal writing. After reading the newspaper, then eating […]
Today’s activities: Running: 6.77 miles (10.9 km), burning 1261 calories Walking: burning 173 calories Eating: took in 2413 calories Goal: net 2330 calories at most
Over the winter break, I have picked up my little muon detector data side project that started in the spring term of 2020. A few days ago, I remarked on how I wanted to take account of “weather” in the data – variations around a daily expectation given seasonal conditions […]
It’s December 29, it’s about 60F outside, and I had a fantastic 7-mile run today. It’s been rough-going for outdoor exercise lately, with the weather conditions swinging between the 30s and the 60s, but today’s running conditions were just perfect. My mile times are terrible, owing to fact that despite […]
I am spending some time playing around with the cosmic ray muon data from an instrument in the SMU Physics Department. That instrument is located in the basement hallway of Fondren Science Building. I already setup a “dashboard” of information derived from the instrument, available here: https://blog.smu.edu/saso/projects/muon-observatory/. If you want […]
It is important to know that you are not alone. For months, I have watched as public health information was stripped from the Collin County COVID-19 dashboard. It now consists of little more than the number of hospitalizations … which, of course, have grown tremendously in the months since this […]
“Ring-a-round the rosie … “ The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn won’t be this visually stunning until the 2080s, when Jodi and I will both be long dead. The skies are clear over North Texas, and we resolve to take out our telescope and setup in a nearby park […]