The serious problem of football players suffering brain damage from repeated concussions is becoming a big issue. The National Football League has managed to strike a deal with the players union that temporarily takes it out of the courts and as hard as it may be to imagine in these days when football is so popular, I think it is only a matter of time before we begin to view it that same way we now view gladiatorial contests of the past. [Read more…]

This something I just discovered and people are being asked to post photos of dogs. So naturally here is one of Baxter the Wonder Dog. After a long tiring day of eating and playing, he likes to make a nest of the blanket on the sofa, curl up in it, and rest as in the photo below. [Read more…]

About twenty years ago I was invited to be chief guest at the award ceremony for the Science Fair at the middle school in the district where I live. The invitation was not due to my non-existent eminence but because the head of the science department knew me (he had participated in the summer program I ran for many years to teach inquiry-based teaching techniques to area middle and high school science teachers) and knew I would be agreeable to doing it as a favor to him. [Read more…]

My university (Case Western Reserve University) has been listed by the organization Campus Pride as one of the top 25 LGBT-friendly universities in the US. [Read more…]

Some of you are having difficulties with the video clips. There could be a whole host of reasons for this but one easy thing to do is to go to the website Qualys. It checks to see if your browser plug-ins are up-to-date and if not directs you to the appropriate site to download the update.

I do this every few months or so.

Baxter the Wonder Dog is not overly fond of playing fetch. He particularly does not like to play it outdoors. But on occasion indoors he will play for about a dozen throws before he gets fed up and wanders off. But sometimes when he gets excited about something he will fling his fetch toy by himself and then pick it up. [Read more…]

Sports writer Martin Manley committed suicide yesterday on his 60th birthday. Unlike most suicides that leave people wondering fruitlessly what caused it, he decided to create an elaborate website that has a long explanation and is prepaid five years in advance. [Read more…]

When you come home from a hard day’s work, do you simply take some ice from the freezer for your drink? You poor sap, that immediately marks you as a real loser, a nobody. If you were anybody at all, you would buy Gläce Luxury Ice from Dean & Deluca and have it shipped to you, because mere ordinary ice would not be good enough to put into your vintage Scotch.

Here is a description of what you get for just $75:

Gläce Luxury Ice is a meticulously designed and differentiated ice brand specifically designed for use in premium drinks and cocktails. The Gläce Mariko Sphere is a perfectly spherical 2.5″ piece with a melting rate of 20-30 minutes. The Gläce G-Cubed, a symmetrical 2.5″ cube has a dilution rate of 20-40 minutes. Gläce Ice pieces are individually carved from a 300lb block to ensure flawless quality and a zero-taste profile, never contaminating the essence of premium liquors and drinks.

You get two packages of five cubes each, which means that each cube costs a mere $7.50 (excluding shipping and handling).

The company warns that this product requires Next Day Shipping to ensure freshness. This is very important because putting stale ice in your premium drink absolutely destroys the flavor.

One might quibble with the ad wording since a melting ‘rate’ would require different units than minutes, but those who would point such things out are clearly not in the league of people who use such ice, and can be ignored.

(Via Rebecca Schoenkopf.)

Starting tomorrow, I am going to an education conference and then visiting my daughter for a couple of days so blogging will be a little spotty for the coming week.

In the case of South African Graham Ansley, when his yacht ran aground, he swam his 9-year old Jack Russell terrier Rosie to safety before returning to get his wife whose safety line had snagged. (Via Gawker.) [Read more…]