Rock on!

Yeah! It's a music video of ... the Society for Neuroscience meeting I covered Oct. 17-21? Yeah. It's not even very informative—recording is prohibited at most sessions.

Bunson Honeydew!

Says the New York Times in an article today:

"Vowing to make New York City the center of the scientific universe — as it is for commerce, art and expensive dining — a panel of university presidents, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein of New York, the actor Alan Alda, the Columbia physicist Brian Greene and a Muppet announced plans on Wednesday for a World Science Festival to be held here at the end of May. ...

Popping up from behind the lectern, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, who described himself as being from Muppet Labs, extolled the family-oriented programs. The most important thing they could show, he said, was "that science can be as explosive and violent as any TV program."

Then he sprayed Dr. Greene with a can of silly string."

Me. On the radio. (Via the Internet.)

I am scheduled to be on Chicago Public Radio's "848" program tomorrow morning, sometime between 10 and 11 a.m. Eastern time. You can listen, live or via a link afterward, via the 848 Web site. The segment is about a book I have edited, Your Brain on Cubs: Inside the Heads of Players and Fans, to be published in March by Dana Press. The book is about the role of the brain in both playing and being a fan of sports, with the Cubs as my team of choice (duh).

The interview is airing this early because this weekend is the Cubs Convention. Although the publication date is March, the book is available for preorder on Amazon (it's cheap, too!).

Those pessimist lawyers

The Wall Street Journal reports today that there seems to be a brain basis for optimism and that "optimists tend to do better in life than their talents alone might suggest" ... except for a particular group:

Surveying law students at the University of Virginia, [Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania] found that pessimists got better grades, were more likely to make law review and, upon graduation, received better job offers. There was no scientific reason. "In law," he said, "pessimism is considered prudence."

Roger Clemens, Scientist?

From a Baltimore Sun article about the health risks from grilling:

"Roger Clemens, a spokesman for the Institute of Food Technologists and professor of molecular pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Southern California, says he is similarly unconvinced...."

I know Roger Clemens is a future Hall of Famer, but I didn't know he was that talented.... You'd think with $18 million a year from the Yankees he'd have enough money without taking a second job. :-)

You can hit a homerun!

This really cool NASA simulator lets you "hit" a homerun in different weather and park conditions. Just pick your ballpark (Denver, Baltimore, Cleveland, Mt. Everest, Mars, or the Moon); adjust the wind, ball speed, angle, and drag; pick your weather conditions (hot, cold, or the science geeks can pick their own weather settings); and swing away! My homerun in normal weather conditions on the moon went over 4000 feet. :-)

Is Pluto a Planet?

The International Astronomical Union's Planet Definition Committee (yes, there is one) has suggested to a national convention of astronomers a new solar system category, the pluton. Pluto would be demoted from planet to pluton and would join Ceres (an astroid between Mars and Jupiter), Charon (Pluto's moon), and UB313 as plutons. So I guess we'll have to scrap our old mnemonic devices (My Very Expensive Mercedes Just Smashed Up Near Philadelphia) and come up with a new one. The Washington Post suggests "My Very Early Map Can't Justify Such Unusual New Planets Coming Up". Do you have any suggestions? If so, post them in the comments!