Wednesday 31 August 2016

A very unusual published physicist

I found this amusing article and had to share it with you...

Jack H. Hetherington was a professor of physics at Michigan State University in 1975, when he finished what would become an influential physics paper, an in-depth exploration of atomic behavior at different temperatures.
   

He was all set to send it to Physical Review Letters, but before he dispatched it, Hetherington gave the paper to a colleague to get one one last set of eyes on the piece. This is when he ran into a strange problem. Hetherington had used the royal "we" throughout the paper. As his colleague pointed out, Physical Review Letters generally only published papers using plural pronouns and adjectives like “we” and “our” if the paper had multiple authors.

Hetherington couldn’t have simply done a find-and-replace to correct the offending articles as it was the year 1975 and the whole paper had been produced on a typewriter.

Unwilling to change all the pronouns, Hetherington portrayed F.D.C. Willard as one of his colleagues at Michigan State and submitted the paper, which was published in issue 35 of Physical Review Letters.

F.D.C. Willard was Hetherington's cat, Chester. Of course just listing “Chester” as a co-author probably wouldn’t fly, so he invented the name F.D.C. Willard. The “F.D.C.” stood for “Felix Domesticus, Chester." Willard had been the name of Chester’s father.

 

[Source: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/in-1975-a-cat-coauthored-a-physics-paper]


Tuesday 30 August 2016

Street art

I really like imaginative street art. The availability of it makes it very attractive, in my eyes. Ok, we can't travel the world looking for it, but then we can't travel and in many cases pay entrance fees to see art in museums.... Viva the internet!















[I've been in touch with Pallottine and he's been away due to some health issues. He has a stubborn clot in one leg and is undergoing further exams in order to decide which is the best course of action. He simply doesn't feel like commenting here, as it's a very personal blog, people behave differently, are more involved with each other than in a political blog, for example... That won't stop us from sending our good thoughts, lighting candles and all the things we always do when somebody needs our love and attention, eh? Pallottine sends his love to all.]

Monday 29 August 2016

Sharing my irritation

Is it just me, or does this poem contain several mixed messages? It irritated the sh*t out of me this morning and I ended up in a heated discussion on Facebook. What do you think?

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
Enough money within her control to move out...
And rent a place of her own 
even if she never wants to
or needs to... 
Something perfect to wear if the employer 
or date of her dreams wants to See Her in an hour... 

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
A youth she's content to leave behind.... 
A past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her Old Age.... 

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
A set of screwdrivers, 
a cordless drill, and a black lace bra... 
One friend who always makes her laugh...
And one Who lets her cry... 

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
A good piece of furniture not previously owned 
by anyone else in her Family... 
Eight matching plates, 
wine glasses with stems, 
And a recipe for a meal that will make
her guests feel Honored... 
A feeling of control over her destiny... 

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
How to fall in love without losing herself.. 
HOW TO QUIT A JOB, 
BREAK UP WITH A LOVER, 
AND CONFRONT A FRIEND WITHOUT 
RUINING THE FRIENDSHIP... 
When to try harder...
And WHEN TO WALK AWAY... 

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... 
That she can't change the length of her calves,
The width of her hips, 
or the nature of her parents.. 
That her childhood may not have been perfect...
But it's over... 

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
What she would and wouldn't do for love or more... 
How to live alone...
Even if she doesn't like it... 

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
Whom she can trust, 
Whom she can't, 
And why she shouldn't take it personally... 

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
Where to go...
Be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
Or a charming inn in the woods...
When her soul needs soothing... 

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
What she can and can't accomplish in a day...
A month...
And a year... 

Written by Pamela Redmond Satran  

(I would be just as irritated, but would understand it better, if it had been written by a man!)

Saturday 27 August 2016

Body art

This seems to be a recurring theme, but different artists produce different results... These are by Emma Fay:








Friday 26 August 2016

Four oopsies! But there's cake!

Between my travels and the searing heat in France after my return, I managed to forget not one, but FOUR birthdays! I'm so sorry... Better late than never, so happy happy happy happy birthday to Shapeshifterbelly, Roxiemax, Marie and PGFan!









Thursday 25 August 2016

Stairs for young (and preferably sober) people

There are only a few designs in this collection that seem ok for people of a certain age. Most of them, although very beautiful, make me dizzy!