Vocabulary list--#27

POSP stringer Tim had some time on his hands...so here is another vocabulary list.

ambrosia

am-broh-zhee-uh

noun

1a. The food of the Greek and Roman gods.
1b. The ointment or perfume of the gods.
2. Something extremely pleasing to taste or smell.
3. A dessert made of oranges and shredded coconut.


ambulant

am-byul-luhnt

adjective

1. Moving from place to place, itinerant, shifting.
2. [Medicine]: Patient able to walk.


antebellum

an-tih-bel-um

adjective

Existing before a war, especially, existing before the Civil War.


arsy-varsy

ar-see-vahr-see

adjective

1. Informal: Wrong end foremost' completely backwards.
2. Informal: In a backward or thoroughly mixed up fashion.


chivy

chiv-ee

verb

1. To tease or annoy with persistent petty attacks.
2. To move or obtain by small maneuvers.


clement

clem-uhnt

adjective

1. Mild or merciful in disposition, lenient, compassionate.
2. [Of temperature] mild or temperate, pleasant 


crapulous

krap-yuh-luhs

adjective

1. Given to or characterized by excessive drinking or eating.
2. Suffering from or due to such excess.


dactylogram

dak-til-uh-gram

noun

A fingerprint.


diffident

dif-uh-dunt

adjective

1. Hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence.
2. Reserved, unassertive.


droke

drohk

noun

A valley with steeply sloping sides.


epithalamion

ep-uh-thuh-let-mee-on

noun

A poem or song in honor of a bridegroom and bride.


evince

ih-vinns

verb

1. To constitute outward evidence of.
2. To display clearly, reveal.


faze

fayz

verb

To disturb the composure of, disconcert, daunt.


gallinipper

gal-uh-nip-er

noun

Informal. any of various insects that sting or bite, especially a large American mosquito, Psorophora ciliata.


garboil

gahr-boil

noun

[Archaic]: confusion.


germane

jer-mayn

adjective

Being at once relevant and appropriate, fitting.


gloze

glohz

verb

To explain away, extenuate, gloss over.


Incongruous

in-kahn-gruh-wus

adjective

1. Not harmonious, incompatible.
2. Not conforming, disagreeing.
3. Inconsistent within itself.


onomasticon

on-uh-mas-ti-kon

noun

1. A list or collection of proper names.
2. A list or collection of specialized terms as those used in a particular field.


peregrine

per-i-grin [green-grahyn]

adjective

1. Foreign, alien, coming from abroad.
2. Wandering, traveling, migrating.


perdue

per-dur

verb

To continue to exist, last.


prate

preyt

verb

To talk incessantly and pointlessly, babble.
To utter in empty or foolish talk.



prevaricator

pri-var-i-key-ter

noun

1. A person who speaks falsely, liar, mythomaniac.
2. Speaking to avoid the truth, quibbler, equivocator.


rident 

rahyd-nt

adjective

Laughing, smiling, cheerful.


sophomoric

sahf-mor-ik

adjective

1. Conceited and overconfident of knowledge but poorly informed and immature.
2. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sophomore.


sparge

spahrj

verb

To sprinkle or scatter.


strident

strahyd-nt

adjective

1. Making or having a harsh sound, grating, creaking, such as insects or hinges.
2. Having a shrill or irritating quality or character such as writing.


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Physics comics from Comic Book Plus

"7 Public Domain Physics Comics Worth Reading"

June 23rd, 2014

Physics Central

The Golden Age of comic books stretched from the 1930s through the 1950s and overlapped with a time of unbridled optimism about the progress of science. People wanted to know about how the latest technology worked, and LOTS of people wanted to read comic books, so putting the two together seems like a no-brainer.

Comic Book Plus is an amazing archive of public domain comics from this era. sprinkled amongst long forgotten titles like Lars of Mars and The Adventures of Captain Havoc and The Phantom Knight are a plethora of scanned comic books about real science. They run the gamut. Some are illuminating, funny and really helpful while others are just weird, wildly inaccurate and are terribly dated. So, my list of the top seven public domain science comics worth reading are...

7- How Atomic Energy Works

Golly wilikers! Who wouldn't wanna learn how atomic energy works from a man in a fedora?! In all seriousness, this Bill Cosmo character is a bit over eager to tell little Johnny more than he actually knows. His explanation of nuclear fission is pretty muddled, his metaphors don't make a lot of sense and he has a hard time telling the difference between weight and mass as well as speed and velocity. He claims to work in a physics lab, but I have my doubts.

In the heady early days of the atomic age, nuclear power seemed like it was going to change everything. However the race to explain how this new technology worked was hampered by the fact that in 1946 everything was still so new and a lot of information about nuclear technology was still secret.

"How Atomic Energy Works" appeared in the Summer 1946 issue of Future World Comics. Page 41.

6- Radar: It Sees the Invisible

Apart from splitting the atom, radar was the other, big physics breakthrough of World War II. It let pilots see in the dark, and was instrumental in turning the tide of the war. "Radar: It Sees the Invisible" is actually a pretty good, no frills rundown of how pilots use bouncing radio waves to see. When the comic was published in March of 1946, it was another military technology transitioning into peacetime use.

"Radar: It Sees the Invisible" appeared in the March 1946 issue of Science Comics. Page 10

5- Adventures Inside the Atom

By the time 1948 rolled around, it seemed like people started to "get" nuclear energy. General Electric published their "Adventures in Science" series to highlight the work they doing to develop telephones, power generators, lightbulbs, aerospace technology and of course, nuclear energy. All together, GE produced 68 million comics over the entire series run. They're well done too, with imaginative illustrations and creative analogies.

In "Adventures Inside the Atom, the prototypical Johnny is eager to learn all about how fission works, and Ed here seems to know quite a bit more about the process than the aforementioned Bill Cosmo. He takes Johnny on a tour from the prognosis of atomic theory in ancient Greece, to the atom-powered world of tomorrow! It's a pretty solid introduction to nuclear energy, plus bonus points for recognizing the often overlooked contributions of Lise Meitner to fission's discovery.

Adventures Inside the Atom was a standalone comic published in 1948.

4- How Sonar Works

I know I'm always ready for a science lesson after dispatching the nefarious plot of a brawny murderer. In "How Sonar Works," adventurer Jack Boyd takes some time to explain to the salty ol' cap'n how that newfangled sonar technology works, following a harrowing treasure hunt. Actually, seeing the ocean floor using bouncing sound waves was invented around World War I, but hey, it's never too late to learn.

"How Sonar Works" appeared in the fall 1946 issue of Future World Comics. Page 28.

3- Adventures in Electricity: Generation

More General Electric goodness, except this time Johnny and Ed are exploring the science of electricity and how industry (read: your friends at General Electric) harnesses it. After little Johnny almost electrocutes himself, Ed takes him around the world to learn how magnets induce electrical currents, and the many ways that energy gets converted into electricity. This time, Ed's got some help in the form of an army of tiny, friendly, anthropomorphized electrons.

Illustrator George Roussos drew a bunch of GE's "Adventures" series, only some of which are available on Comic Book Plus. In an interview in 1983, he said that at the time "Comics were selling so good it was obvious that children would rather read them than their school books so someone had the idea to do comic books about electricity."

"Adventures in Electricity: Generation" was published in 1946.

2- Andy's Atomic Adventures

This may be the outright weirdest of the bunch. Andy loses his dog around the atomic bomb proofing grounds in Nevada, which is possibly the worst place in the world to lose your dog. When the army finds the pooch, they take little Andy on a tour of the top secret weapons facility and tell him a little bit about radiation.

Apparently, if your dog is covered in radioactive fallout, don't worry, everything will be fine in a week.

"Andy's Atomic Adventures" took up the whole September 1953 issue of Picture Parade.

1- Hero Scientist of the Atom Bomb

This one's downright cool! It's the real life story of smuggling Nobel laureate physicist Niels Bohr out of Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, followed up by the British and Norwegian secret mission to blow up a critical part of the German's atomic bomb program. I had no idea that his escape was as harrowing as it was, Bohr almost died of asphyxiation while hiding in a British airplane's bomb bay! Fair warning though, there are a couple of fist fights and shootouts in it that didn't actually happen; It is a comic book after all. It's a bit light on the science, but action packed and a great read.

"Hero Scientist of the Atomic Bomb" appeared in the March 1946 issue of Marvels of Science. Page 7.

What is the "right" philosophy?

"Philosophy You Can Use: The Ancient, Practical Wisdom in Stoic Thinking"

by

Ryan Holiday

June 27th, 2014

The Huffington Post

When most people think of "philosophy," their eyes glaze over. It's the last thing they want, let alone something they need.

But this, as you already know, is silly and naive.

Philosophy is not just about talking or lecturing, or even reading long, dense books. In fact, it is something men and women of action use -- and have used throughout history -- to solve their problems and achieve their greatest triumphs. Not in the classroom, but on the battlefield, in the forum, and at court.

It was jotted down (and practiced) by slaves, poets, emperors, politicians and soldiers, as well as ordinary folks to help with their own problems and those of their friends, family and followers. This wisdom is still there, available to us.

Specifically, I am referring to Stoicism, which, in my opinion, is the most practical of all philosophies.

A brief synopsis on this particular school of Hellenistic philosophy: Stoicism was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC, but was famously practiced by the likes of Epictetus, Cato, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. The philosophy asserts that virtue (such as wisdom) is happiness and judgment be based on behavior, rather than words. That we don't control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.

But at the very root of the thinking, there is a very simple, though not easy, way of living. Take obstacles in your life and turn them into your advantage, control what you can and accept what you can't.

In the words of Epictetus:

    In life our first job is this, to divide and distinguish things into two categories: externals I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them I do control. Where will I find good and bad? In me, in my choices.

Amazingly we still have access to these ideas, despite the fact that many of the greatest Stoics never wrote anything down for publication. Cato definitely didn't. Marcus Aurelius never intended for Meditations to be anything but personal. Seneca's letters were, well, letters and Epictetus' thoughts come to us by way of a note-taking student.

And so it was from their example, their actions, we find real philosophy.

Because other than their common study of the philosophy, the Stoics were all men of action -- and I don't think this is a coincidence. Marcus Aurelius was emperor of the most powerful empire in the history of the world. Cato, the moral example for many philosophers, defended the Roman republic with Stoic bravery until his defiant death. Even Epictetus, the lecturer, had no cushy tenure -- he was a former slave.

And this shouldn't really be that surprising...

The modern-day philosopher and writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines a Stoic as someone who, "transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation and desire into undertaking."

Using this definition as a model we can see that throughout the centuries Stoicism has been a common thread though some of history's great leaders. It has been practiced by Kings, presidents, artists, writers and entrepreneurs. Both historical and modern men illustrate Stoicism as a way of life.

Prussian King, Frederick the Great, was said to ride with the works of the Stoics in his saddlebags because they could, in his words, "sustain you in misfortune."

Meanwhile, Montaigne, the politician and essayist, had a line from Epictetus carved into the beam above the study in which he spent most of his time.

The founding fathers were also inspired by the philosophy. George Washington was introduced to Stoicism by his neighbors at age seventeen, and afterwards, put on a play about Cato to inspire his men in that dark winter at Valley Forge. Whereas Thomas Jefferson had a copy of Seneca on his nightstand when he died.

The economist Adam Smith's theories on the interconnectedness of the world -- capitalism -- were significantly influenced by the Stoicism that he studied as a schoolboy, under a teacher who had translated Marcus Aurelius' works.

The political thinker, John Stuart Mill, wrote of Marcus Aurelius and Stoicism in his famous treatise On Liberty, calling it "the highest ethical product of the ancient mind."

But those influenced by the Stoics goes on...

Eugène Delacroix, the renowned French Romantic artist (known best for his painting Liberty Leading the People) was an ardent Stoic, referring to it as his "consoling religion."

Toussaint Louverture, himself a former slave who challenged an emperor by leading the Haitian revolution, read and was deeply influenced by the works of Epictetus.

Theodore Roosevelt, after his presidency, spent eight months exploring (and nearly dying in) the unknown jungles of the Amazon, and of the eight books he brought on the journey, two were Marcus Aurelius' Meditations and Epictetus' Enchiridion.

Indeed, Teddy seems to represent the temperance and self-control of the philosophy beautifully when he said, "What such a man needs is not courage but nerve control, cool headedness. This he can get only by practice." Likewise he expressed the necessity of action advocated by the Stoics when he famously remarked: "We must all wear out or rust out, everyone of us. My choice is to wear out."

Today's leaders are no different, with many finding their inspiration from the ancient texts. Bill Clinton rereads Marcus Aurelius every single year, while Wen Jiabao, the former prime minister of China, claims that Meditations is one of two books he travels with and has read it more than one hundred times over the course of his life.

You see, Stoicism -- and philosophy -- are not the domains of idle professors. They are the succor of the successful, and the men and women of action. As Thoreau put it: "To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school... it is to solve some of the problems of life not only theoretically, but practically."

The mantle is ours to pick up and carry and do with what we can.

Radio Shack near death

Well, all good things must come to an end eventually. And that includes Radio Shack. At one time it was the a place for electronic components, electrical accessories...Heathkits. Big Box stores and the Internet have killed the business.

"RadioShack Is Now a Penny Stock"

by

Justin Worland

June 20th, 2014

Time

RadioShack faced the prospect of being removed from the New York Stock Exchange on Friday when its stocked dipped below $1 a share for the first time ever.

The milestone follows a long decline for the one-time electronics retail giant. The company has struggled to adapt to consumers shopping for electronics products outside traditional stores. That evolving market killed off Circuit City in 2009. Other retailers that met a similar fate include Tweeter Home Entertainment and CompUSA.

RadioShack’s stock peaked at more than $75 in the late 1990s. Some of the most dramatic losses have come in recent years. The company lost $400 million in 2013, and, earlier this year, it announced the closing of up to 1,100 stores.

RadioShack’s shares closed at $0.92 on Friday.

Old Radio Shack catalogs

Schrödinger’s Cat's perspective by Sarah Donner

Krypton Radio...

We’ve spent decades wondering whether the cat in the box was dead, or alive, or how it could be both at once. The biggest problem, according to geek chanteuse Sarah Donner, is that in all this time nobody has bothered to ask the cat what it thought.

Sarah has a clear bright voice, a charming presence, and that so-necessary sense of humor that makes each of her songs a delight. This song, called The Rebuttal of Schrödinger’s Cat  was filmed entirely on location at the Princeton Plasma Physics Library. And it’s brilliant.

Patrick Harran plea bargains

"UCLA chemistry professor avoids prison time in fatal lab fire case"

by

Kim Christensen

June 20th, 2014

Los Angeles Times

UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran on Friday struck a deal with prosecutors that all but frees him from criminal liability in a 2008 laboratory fire that killed staff research assistant Sheharbano “Sheri” Sangji.

Harran, charged with four felony counts of willfully violating state occupational health and safety standards, had faced up to 4-1/2 years in prison if convicted.

Instead, under an agreement approved by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George Lomeli, Harran, 44, was ordered to pay $10,000 to the Grossman Burn Center and to perform 800 hours of community service.

Harran admitted no wrongdoing in what is thought to be the first criminal case arising in an academic lab accident. The charges will be dropped if he successfully fulfills the terms of the agreement.

Sangji, 23, was not wearing a protective lab coat and suffered severe burns on Dec. 29, 2008, when a plastic syringe she was using to transfer t-butyl lithium from one sealed container to another came apart, spewing a chemical compound that ignites when exposed to air. She died 18 days later.

Harran and UCLA contended that her death was a tragic accident, not a crime.

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Last gasp for A. C. Gilbert?...1963

Attached copy...

Not so much a commercial as an infomercial.  This 10 minute 1963 promotional reel for the A.C. Gilbert company highlights childrens' microscopes, telescopes, physics sets, electrical engineering sets, chemistry sets, electronics sets, and the ever-popular Erector sets.  An extensive TV ad campaign was planned the same year that this film was produced, but the country went into mourning over JFK's death, the networks slowed airing toy commercials, and toy sales plummeted.  The A.C. Gilbert company went out of business in 1967, though the Erector Sets managed to survive, having been released by various other toymakers over the years. 

The advertisement

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