TMT/Discover Panel Discussion

They finally posted the video from the TMT/Discover discussion panel on exoplanets. It was a true honor to share the stage with Gibor Basri, one of my mentors from UC Berkeley.

Warning: At the time of this writing there is a bug in the video player that causes it to jump to the beginning if you try to use the time scroll-bar to rewind or fast-forward. Once you start, there's no turning back! (But you can pause).

The accompanying article in Discover Magazine won't be out until October. I'll post it once it is published.

Comments

jcom said…

AWESOME! I like how you pretend you're old by refusing to tell what year you started grad school.

July 2, 2010 at 4:56 PM

mama mia said…

So interesting to hear about the field of astrobiology, or was that astralbiology? Can't wait to see the article in print!

July 2, 2010 at 7:14 PM

Anonymous said…

That was very well done. I liked your story of your first atmospheric detection.

The retrograde orbits sounded a lot to Ben like 'stream piracy' where one river captures another.

July 3, 2010 at 10:57 AM

TheOtherMother said…

IS it weird that I kind of have a crush on you in this video?

July 6, 2010 at 8:34 PM

A view from your shut down

The Daily Dish has been posting reader emails reporting on their " view from the shutdown ." If you think this doesn't affect you, or if you know all too well how bad this is, take a look at the growing collection of poignant stories. No one is in this alone except for the nutjobs in the House. I decided to email Andrew with my own view. I plan to send a similar letter to my congressperson. Dear Andrew, I am a professor of astronomy at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). The CfA houses one of the largest, if not the largest collection of PhD astronomers in the United States, with over 300 professional astronomers and roughly 100 doctoral and predoctoral students on a small campus a few blocks west of Harvard Yard. Under the umbrella of the CfA are about 20 Harvard astronomy professors, and 50 tenure-track Smithsonian researchers. A large fraction of the latter are civil servants currently on furlough and unable to come to work. In total, 147 FTEs

The Long Con

Hiding in Plain Sight ESPN has a series of sports documentaries called 30 For 30. One of my favorites is called Broke which is about how professional athletes often make tens of millions of dollars in their careers yet retire with nothing. One of the major "leaks" turns out to be con artists, who lure athletes into elaborate real estate schemes or business ventures. This naturally raises the question: In a tightly-knit social structure that is a sports team, how can con artists operate so effectively and extensively? The answer is quite simple: very few people taken in by con artists ever tell anyone what happened. Thus, con artists can operate out in the open with little fear of consequences because they are shielded by the collective silence of their victims. I can empathize with this. I've lost money in two different con schemes. One was when I was in college, and I received a phone call that I had won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas. All I needed to d

back-talk begins

me: "owen, come here. it's time to get a new diaper" him, sprinting down the hall with no pants on: "forget about it!" he's quoting benny the rabbit, a short-lived sesame street character who happens to be in his favorite "count with me" video. i'm turning my head, trying not to let him see me laugh, because his use and tone with the phrase are so spot-on.

Mahalo.ne.Trash

Search This Blog