And these astronomical themed pieces are pretty cool. I can’t imagine ever actually buying and wearing one of these but they are fun to look at.

Materials Science 565 – Electron Theory of Materials. Way more quantum theory than I ever knew. Definitely getting my educational butt kicked. First homework question as an example:

bq. You were asked to design a composite material consisting of small Ag metal particles embedded into a dielectric media for laser applications. If the size of metal particles is small, electrons in the metal particles are confined as the potential barrier at the surface of the particles may be regarded as infinite. During the course of investigation, you were able to alter the shape of the metal particles into “cube” or “sphere”. You were then wondering how the shape of the particles influences on the distribution of energy levels and on the wavelength of the light at which the material would lase. You would like to answer the following questions…

So some links on lasers that seem helpful in various ways:

* Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology – this particular article has some simple info on laser efficiency * Wikipedia laser diode article is useful * Nice article on wtec.org discussing lightly “density of state” considerations

* Andy on JB evolution – “We will have a significantly revised site by the end of the first quarter. I’m looking forward to it” * Phil on privacy implications of new mobile gmail app – “Add on the privacy concerns and this is clearly a feature that users should be warned about and given the option to disable” * Phil on rebate scams – “Having been burned, I now avoid most rebates like the plague” * Dave on the collapse of Search Engine Watch – “It is clearer than ever that Danny Sullivan was the driving force behind SEW - allowing him to leave (and start a competitor!) was a huge mistake” * Jason on Berry411 – “the #1 technology that i could not live without in 2006” * Phil on google’s openness – “Google is increasingly becoming a data black hole” * Dave on badmouthing competitors – “There is actually a study that confirms that listeners assign the speakers the traits that they speak about. So, call someone lazy and they’ll associate you with laziness”

From Make, plans for a glowing orb – lots of ways to use this idea for halloween.

Had time to engage in some fiction over the holidays:

* “Special Topics in Calamity Physics”:amazon by Pessl. Wow. A unique voice (a little grating but unique), good characters, and some plot twistiness. Early on this book felt a little like “Harriet the Spy”:amazon all grown up, but then it twists hard. * “Tripwire”:amazon by Lee Child. Another fine Reacher tale. Reacher is a little more human in this tale than in some others – seems almost close to settling down. But that would kill the gravy train so I doubt it. * “Echo Burning”:amazon by Lee Child. Another Reacher, much more atmospheric than others. * “Killing Rain”:amazon by Barry Eisler. Eh. Saw this mentioned in same breath as Child’s Reacher series. Doesn’t do it for me, no empathy with the main character, he is too malignant. * “Captain Alatriste”:amazon by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Outstanding period mystery. Set in the glory days of the spanish empire. Great atmosphere, great characters. And judging by the blurbs, others by Perez-Reverte are worth seeking out. * “March”:amazon by Geraldine Brooks. Fine book on the horrors of war and one man’s struggles with the moral issues of the evils of war in service of a good cause. Excellent reading for our society today – when you go to war, no matter how great your intentions, shit happens.

My winter ass-kicking – MSE 565. Purportedly non-quantitative but the notes from the first lecture dive deep into wave equations. Going to be a tough one.

Removing Fall Quarter class info from my sidebar:

• EE502 Video
• EE502 Class Page

Did fine in this course, aided by my outstanding project team.

Like this guy – Sony Reader: Part 4 (of 4) ? Mike Cane’s Blog – you really have to use one for a couple of days to get it. It blows away all the other devices in the space.

Mayo Clinic: Gastroenterology and hepatology options and information at mayoclinic.org – recommended if you really really need some help. Everyone we met in the gastro department was top notch, very patient-focused.

HD Sports Guide - HDTV Sports Listings & News – very useful

* 20Q.net Inc. – exceeded expectations. cheap and fun. * Wii – exceeded expectations. The controller makes even simple games way fun. We just need more good games now – a good flying game would be fun. * Sony reader. Great promise. The display looks really nice. The PC software is not horrible. The visual artifacts on page flipping are really annoying. But a great first attempt.

MAKE: Blog: Gifts for the INTELLIGENT DESIGNER – I want everything on this list just about.

MoCo Loco: One of a Kind Show: Englerglass – These splash bowls are awesome

Cool – LegiStorm - The Web’s only source for congressional staff salaries

Boy UPS let us down this week. We had perishable food shipped Friday in their approved containers to us for Saturday delivery. Saturday came and went, no packages. The tracking site indicates the packages were left behind overnight for some reason. I called and UPS’s responses:

* “did you call us saturday during the day and raise an issue? Because we would have prioritized them.” What am I supposed to bird-dog all the packages I send? I didn’t realize this. * “oh you used a UPS store? you shouldn’t do that, they are unreliable, you should go straight to UPS facilities.” So maybe you don’t want to lend your brand to all those stores because as far as I am concerned, UPS now sucks.

I am waiting for email from UPS explaining all this.