Welcome Home, Chris Hadfield!
Internet sensation and musical astronaut Chris Hadfield has returned safely to terra firma and we’re absolutely elated to have him back. »
Science
Hair with Flair: The Science Behind Hair
Cue the shears and hair razor! Things are going to get a bit hairy up in here! I’ve always been a bit fascinated by hair. By age 14, I was dyeing my hair. By age 15, I was cutting my own hair. And I haven’t stopped since. My hair and I have a sort of love/hate relationship. It’s naturally straight and curly, with a bit of wavy thrown in for the hell of it. In it’s natural s... »
“That Stinkin’ Skunk Has Skills”, Ballet Cosplay: Part 1
Whew, this last week has been a busy one. Our entire family is involved in the ballet recital, “Snow White”, and it’s been either ballet practice or recital rehearsal almost every day of the week. It’s truly a family affair; we each have a part in the play: Rob is Snow White’s father. It is quite a role and he is kickin’ ass! He actually has the biggest role in ... »
Materials Science for Cosplay 1: Steel
Many cosplayers struggle with finding the right material to build their beautiful creations. In this series, I’m going to talk about different aspects of materials science from an engineering perspective, as it relates to Cosplay. First topic: Steel. Steel is much more complicated material than our limited linguistic treatment would imply. Colloquially, there are two kinds of steel: normal s... »
Crazy Clouds Captured!
Almost every nightmare I have is somehow related to the sky. Whether it involves war, airplanes, aliens, or a massive storm out to destroy us all, the sky is always ominous and has such a frightening look to it that it sticks in my craw as the most memorable part of the nightmare. I was born in Iowa, grew up in Kansas, and now live in North Texas. Living my whole life in Tornado Alley, I guess it&... »
Stem Cells, Telomeres, and other Biological Fountains of Youth
If you believe certain musical groups, everybody wants to live forever (while ruling the world?). Our fascination with immortality is such that it’s a hallmark of mythology. In our daily lives, we obsess over staying young and healthy (or at least many advertisers and marketeers think we do, or at least that we obsess over how to appear young and healthy). And as a species we’ve funnel... »
Illustrated Anatomy: Second Edition
The subject of our second installment of Illustrated Anatomy is… ME! See, when you have a good friend who happens to be a very talented tattoo artist, things can get awesome pretty quickly. Recently my pal Blue came into town to visit with me and my wife, Kelly. Blue is a fabulous artist. He’s also a hell of a tattoo artist. AND he served as reverend and married Kelly and I (that’... »
Conquering Infectious Disease Through Memes
For a person on the fence about a scientific issue, especially a personal one like GMOs, fluoridated drinking water, or vaccines, a seed of doubt is often all it takes to push them over the fence on the side opposite the scientific consensus. That’s why internet memes touting the dangers of these issues can be so effective — those against them only have to make you wonder “what i... »
