Random Thoughts

My Talk At The Western Plant Health Association Meeting

Last week, the Western Plant Health Association, which represents California, Arizona and Hawaii companies involved in plant nutrients, soil amendments, agricultural minerals and crop protection products (basically, technologies such as fertilizer and pes ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Jun 17 2019 - 1:57pm

A Ghostbusters Tour Of Manhattan

It's Halloween and I am in New York and I wanted to do something local. But since Sleepy Hollow does not have a way to get there by subway (I don't even know where I would rent a car in Manhattan, I suppose I could get there by bus, but even usi ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Oct 31 2015 - 3:42pm

Thanksgiving Science 2015

In the mood for some science on Thanksgiving?  Me too, science is the one thing that has not been steamrolled by Christmas. Instead, Thanksgiving is arguably the most scientific holiday, because it involves agriculture, chemistry and physics. If you are wo ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Nov 27 2015 - 12:44pm

Hiatus

The few of you who regularly follow this blog may be rightly wondering why I have not published new posts in the last two weeks. The reason is overload. I have a few deadlines on January 31 that I need to meet, and several other errands to attend in the me ...

Blog Post - Tommaso Dorigo - Jan 18 2016 - 3:31pm

Can We Prove That a Large System is Self-Organizing?

In my 2014 article about large systems  I wrote that "what makes a system large is our inability to observe everything within the system".  Large systems theory has been one of my personal thought experiments for a long time because I have long w ...

Blog Post - Michael Martinez - Feb 17 2016 - 12:16pm

Brexit, the EU Now Has its Puerto Rico.

Brexit, if it happens as we all fear will make the UK the Puerto Rico of Europe. No, not really... Puerto Rico has more rights as a commonwealth of the US than Britain will have in association with the EU. Puerto Rico can stay outside the union while peopl ...

Blog Post - Hontas Farmer - Jun 24 2016 - 8:45pm

I am Sorry Retractions and First Ever Book Recommendation

After more research into the roots as well as the current realities of certain issues, I have removed some articles and revised many (as I usually do, but even more). The US does not have a prison or gun problem; it has a problem with certain races. Since ...

Blog Post - Sascha Vongehr - Sep 13 2017 - 9:45pm

What's It Like For A Working Scientist To Write A Novel?

In an essay for The New York Times, (September 28, 2002) Joseph Epstein wrote: "According to a recent survey, 81 percent of Americans feel they have a book in them-- and that they should write it. As the author of 14 books, with a 15th to be publishe ...

Article - Dave Deamer - Jul 28 2016 - 2:01pm

A Great Blitz Game

As an old time chessplayer who's stopped competing in tournaments, I often entertain myself with the odd blitz game in some internet chess server. And more often than not, I play rather crappy chess. So nothing to report there... However fluctuations ...

Article - Tommaso Dorigo - Aug 25 2016 - 9:11am

No Go Area! What? What is that?

This is a warning especially to East Asians, most of which have never seen anything like this, because in China for example, there is no such thing and it is unheard of. Now they are warned to avoid Western European cities such as Berlin, London, and Pari ...

Blog Post - Sascha Vongehr - Sep 23 2016 - 4:29am