Written by Paul D. Miller
$29.95 / 128 Pages / Full Color
People complain about marketing, advertisements, and all that jazz, but sometimes they really pay off. There I was, simple podcaster trying to put together show on Antarctica and an e-mail pops up in my inbox proclaiming the publication of The Book of Ice by Paul Miller. So I replied. “Hey, I was just thinking about that continent…” and thus I wound up with a copy of the book.
Written by Daniel H. Wilson
$25.00 / 368 Pages
See Science… sort of – Episode 95 for our interview with the author!
I’m not exactly early to the party on this one. Michael Lewis’ book, Moneyball, came out in 2003. I’m a bit of a Michael Lewis fan but I ignored Moneyball for years because I’m not really much of a baseball fan. The bottom line is that you don’t need to be a baseball fan to get something (I would argue a lot) out of this book. If you like baseball, you’ll probably like Moneyball, if you like math/stats/science you’ll probably like Moneyball, if you like business you’ll probably like Moneyball.
Juliana, our science-illustrating museum-loving friend, is back after another event! Here’s hoping her guest postings become a regular feature because this one sure left me hungry for more! (yuk yuk) – Ryan (the photographer)
When I wrote about the Exploratorium’s Iron Science Teacher Competition, I confessed that I’d never seen an Iron Chef competition before. Which is kind of odd because — another confession! — I’m a bit of a foodie. Not in the “raw food is the only food” way or the “I own every gadget from Williams Sonoma” way, but in the “I’m doing science and it’s delicious” way. Thankfully, the local Adventure Science Center (ASC) in Nashville had a food-based program this weekend so I could get my foodie fix.
Continue reading EVENT RECAP: Adventures with Food at the ASC
Every so often people write into us assuming we know a thing or two about podcasting. All I can say is we do our best and I’m flattered people would approach us with questions and I’m happy to try to answer a few recent ones.
If you’re looking for more about the narrative for why we started the show in the first place I’d suggest listening to Patrick, Charlie and myself when we were the guests on Podcast Squared a few weeks back.
Podcast Squared #53 – Crazy Science
I also wrote a somewhat more snarky and narrative post on how the podcast get’s put together each week which I posted on this blog awhile back. It’s not as helpful in a technical sense, but may illuminate some of the other hurdles of running a weekly show.
Another Manic Monday: How the Sausage Gets Made
Today’s questions were submitted by Dayna and are great things to think about for anyone wanting to get started with a show.
Now for a little Tuesday treat we have a guest post from a dear friend of the show, current science illustrator and future museum evaluator Juliana Olsson! She wrote us up a post about her experience as the Iron Science Teacher competition held on June 25th, 2011. Enjoy! – Ryan
I have a confession: before attending the Iron Science Teacher competition at the Exploratorium a few Saturdays ago, I had never watched any “Iron [Fill in the Blank]” activity. It’s not that I discriminate against element 26, I just have a hard time reconciling the competitive nature of such events with the subjective topic: if each entry is good but in different ways, how do you choose the “best” one? Thus I was somewhat wary watching high school science teachers duke it out in front of a live audience to determine which one could come up with the best experiment and lesson plan on a given concept. Would this be a ferociously ferrous nerd bloodbath?
I shouldn’t have worried. It was awesome. There were chemicals and beakers and flames and muppet music. Things were learned, fun was had by all, and I approved of the winner. There was even a glowing pickle. Watch the webcast yourself, or read about the experiments after the jump.
Continue reading GUEST POST: Iron Science Teacher Competition
Lectures on Monogeneans! As usual, please feel free to leave a comment to tell me how I could improve my lectures, and to correct any inaccuracies.
I’m mentoring some high school students this summer through UCSB’s Summer Sessions Research Mentorship Program, and am working on a lecture series on parasitology. I always do a practice lecture, and have decided to record these practice lectures and put them on my website. While the lecture is geared towards high school students, these students are quite advanced and so I plan on treating the lectures as though they are geared towards undergraduate students. The lectures will emphasize fish parasites, as the students will be working with me on my dissertation project studying fish parasites, and because that’s what I know most about. ;)
Please provide comments on how I can be a more effective lecturer in the comments section below!
The first lecture defines different types of species interactions, and then overviews the framework proposed by Lafferty and Kuris 2002 for defining “natural enemies” (i.e., different types of parasite, pathogens, and predators).
NOTE: By upcoming lectures on Monogeneans I learn how to appropriately crop the images so the top and bottom aren’t cut off.
This second lecture is a bit more fun, and discusses the integrative nature of parasitology. It also discusses the link between the field of parasitology and times of war.
Randy H. asked a question in this week’s show that has spurred me to action! Namely, how can he keep track of all the cool brews I (and the other Paleopals) bring to the table each and every week? His question specifically asked about Episode 23 – SHARK WEEK! which by some neural anomaly I actually remember. I had a Gordon Ale by Oskar Blues, which I also brought for our guest. Bad news, Randy, they’ve stopped making it. Or at least are making it by different name now.
However, this is but one small example, and I simply don’t have the time nor inclination to listen back through entire catalog of episodes to remember what drink I had when. So I don’t have a perfect solution for Randy, but I have a solution which will have to suffice. That solution is called Untappd.
Continue reading Keeping Track of All That Beer – Untappd and Podcasting
Listener Michal sent in an e-mail containing his iTunes review. Problem is the review is only visible on iTunes if you’re in the Czech Republic. It’s also written in Czech. Now apparently I said I’d try reading German reviews if they were sent in and Michal thinks that maybe I could handle Czech too. I disagree, because this looks really hard to pronounce. Germanic languages I have a clue about, Slavic languages remain a mystery.
So on Episode 91, which also came out today, I fumble through a word or two before giving up entirely. Yet I still want to know how praise for the show would sound in Czech, thus, this post. I’m going to post Michal’s review and the pronunciation guide he sent. If you can handle it with your mouth, then call us at 312-Paleopals (312-725-3672) and read it for us! Fun times will be had by all…
