Andyxl

LATEST ARTICLES ( 56 )

• More Java Hair Tearing

  Another episode in the war between Apple and Java, with Mozilla/Firefox joining in. I almost wrote “The Alliance”, or maybe “The Axis Powers”. Who are the bad... Read more

  Posted on 04 February 2013 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Dogs, Ducks, and Sales Tax

  Herewith some meanderings about transparency, evil, and search engines. Only connect, as Goethe said. Or was it E.M.Forster? Better Google it.My latest... Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2013 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• The New Year, Handel, and Technological Disruption

  I suppose I should think about a New Year’s resolution or three. One obvious resolution might be to post a tad more on the jolly old blog. On the other hand,... Read more

  Posted on 04 January 2013 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Standing on a Spinning Rock

  Another sixties icon passes beyond the veil : Gerry Anderson has gone to join Joe 90 and Torchy the Battery Boy in the sky. Guardian obituary here. Read more

  Posted on 27 December 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Global Culture, Ravi Shankar, and Robbie Krieger

  Last week I was at the Texas Donuts Meeting. More of that anon perhaps. San Antonio was a vibrant mix of American and Mexican culture. This I expected. After... Read more

  Posted on 12 December 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Farewell Patrick

  

  Just flew back in from Texas to find that Patrick Moore died. Here is Brian May’s very nice obituary. I am not one of the many astronomers who knew him... Read more

  Posted on 10 December 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• The End of The University : Part I

  A few days back saw the launch of the Council for the Defence of British Universities. A pretty impressive list of luminaries are behind it, including some you... Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Hope Glimmers on the Horizon

  This will be a quick postette because I have eleven simultaneous deadlines and I am already late for most of them…I trust most of my readers are smiling... Read more

  Posted on 07 November 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Goodbye Wal

  Sad news for astronomy – Wal Sargent has died.Wal is famous for his work on quasar absorption lines, but was also a pillar of Caltech, producing a stream of... Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Time is Simple

  Just been marking some Physics 1A coursework. In one question about frames of reference, the expected answer to “what is the key assumption necessary for this t... Read more

  Posted on 29 October 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Java in Crisis?

  We all use Java every day : stand-alone Java applications like Topcat and Aladin; in-web-page Java applets (Aladin again); and on the server side (e.g. WSA and... Read more

  Posted on 22 October 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Smoking Lectures

  I am down in Sunny Sussex. My seafront hotel satisfies all the Brighton cliches. Expecting to meet Dickie Attenborough in the pub with Julian Clary any moment,... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Ronnie, Grace, and Aoife

  All right, all right, enough already. Seems my public is clamouring. Well, I say “public” but of course Mike is an old chum and Ian is a comrade in arms, my... Read more

  Posted on 13 October 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• NSF Starts Slicing

  

  Scary times for our US chums. The dreaded NSF Portfolio Review finally did its thing. The news is pretty bad in places, but to be honest I think its less to do... Read more

  Posted on 17 August 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Tusitala*, Kepler, and Doctor Copernicus

  If you live in Edinburgh and you like books, there are four altars you must kneel before : Jo Rowling, Ian Rankin, Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson.... Read more

  Posted on 05 August 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE

• Assertive Transparency

  I think I have decided that my new pet hate is the word “clear”. It used to be a very useful word, but over the last year or two (longer ? have I been dozing... Read more

  Posted on 03 August 2012 ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE