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The Azolla Event: when is a fern not a fern?

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Betelgeuse, Gamow, and a Big Red Horse

There has been a lot of talk recently of Betelgeuse possibly going supernova this century or not...

Climate Change, the Walrus and the Carpenter

I have recently watched two videos on climate change by Sabine Hossenfelder.  The first one...

A Very Large Hadron Collider?

Frontpage image: Illustration of spherical explosion (kilonova) of two neutron stars (AT2017gfo/GW170817)...

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Robert H OlleyRSS Feed of this column.

Until recently, I worked in the Polymer Physics Group of the Physics Department at the University of Reading.

I would describe myself as a Polymer Morphologist. I am not an astronaut,

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Lang may yer lum reek – especially in Alaska

Lang may yer lum reek – especially in Alaska

Dec 31 2016 | comment(s)

In Scotland, traditional New Year greeting is

Lang may yer lum reek


meaning “long may your chimney smoke”.  So may you never be short of fuel for your fire.

So, if I understand this article rightly, this might be a bit difficult for Alaskans in 2017.

EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm

Feliz año nuevo 2017 a todos

Feliz año nuevo 2017 a todos

Dec 27 2016 | comment(s)

Unlike Alex Durig, who has given us 5 Predictions for 2017, I will not attempt to make any.  Rather I will try to enjoy what remains of the 12 days of Christmas (the last one being the 5th of January, and I do not have the energy to pop over to Russia to enjoy another Christmas Day on the 6th.)

Do You Get The

Do You Get The "Violet Or Purple" Blues?

Nov 17 2016 | comment(s)

Do you find that your camera is not registering violet correctly?  Flowers that are more violet in appearance are coming out blue, while some purple flowers come out all right.  In the picture below, the daisy and the pansy to the right appear more or less correct while the pansies at centre and left may appear more or less “true blue” depending on which camera.  This is discussed in the YouTube
Grim New World?

Grim New World?

Sep 28 2016 | comment(s)

Are we heading for a Grim New World?  It looks like it, from two short articles that I have recently read.  One, from today, is

Why I am publishing all my texts, emails and messages to the internet in real time.  The author, Mark Farid, writes:

Of Badgers, Cattle, And Bovine TB

Of Badgers, Cattle, And Bovine TB

Aug 10 2016 | comment(s)

In recent years in Britain, we have heard much about bovine tuberculosis, which affects a wide variety of mammalian species, including mustelids, including the European badger Meles meles. There has been much argument over whether badgers should be culled to control the spread of the disease among cattle: indeed, badger culling in the United Kingdom has been a fraught and controversial subject.

A Post-Truth Society?

A Post-Truth Society?

Jul 13 2016 | comment(s)

As some of you may be aware, even on the western seaboard of the Atlantic, Theresa May is shortly to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after Andrea Leadsom withdrew from the competition to become next leader of our Conservative Party.

Shortly before this happened, though, Michael Deacon, Parliamentary sketchwriter for the Telegraph, wrote this article, In a world of post-truth politics, Andrea Leadsom will make the perfect PM, which begins: