Random Thoughts

The STENDEC Puzzle

The STENDEC Puzzle Ever since BSAA Avro Lancastrian Star Dust vanished on a flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago, the ending of its final transmission- STENDEC- has continued to puzzle experts and amateurs alike. Star Dust, registration G-AGWH, an Avro 69 ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Jan 1 2017 - 7:33pm

Getting Married

I am happy to report, with this rather unconventional blog posting, that I am getting married on January 12. My companion is Kalliopi Petrou, a lyrical singer. There will be no huge party involved in the event, as Kalliopi and I have lived together for som ...

Article - Tommaso Dorigo - Jan 9 2017 - 12:41pm

Sorry Guardian- You Get An F minus for linguistics

The Guardian, or as it is more affectionately known to its readers, The Grauniad, seems to think that it takes a native Russian speaker to write 'f' as 'ph'. Almost certainly, a native Russian speaker wrote the original material, corre ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Jan 13 2017 - 4:47am

Random Thoughts Of A Physicist In Honeymoon

I am spending a post-wedding vacation in the Dominican Republic these days, and very slowly the stress level in my veins and muscles is leveling down. As you might imagine, I am still reading my emails and checking things here and there, but I do that with ...

Article - Tommaso Dorigo - Jan 22 2017 - 2:29pm

Happy Chinese New Year 2017

Today is the first day of the Chinese Year of the Rooster, 2017.   I am addressing this in particular to North American friends, since yesterday evening on TV we saw Michael Portillo on one of his great railway journeys, travelling through the state of Kan ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Jan 28 2017 - 1:06pm

The Art Of Great Writing

I was not supposed to start this piece using the pronoun ‘I’. ...

Article - Alex Durig - Feb 27 2017 - 5:10pm

Wonky Rockets? Wonky Theory!

Wonky Rockets? Wonky Theory! The British tabloids Express, Metro, Daily Star, Sun and others seem to think that some or all of the rockets displayed in North Korea recently are bogus.  The "proof" is the wonky nosecones shown in a BBC video. It& ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Apr 19 2017 - 12:23pm

Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 Is Good- And So Is The Collectible Art

When "Guardians of the Galaxy" was in development, I was skeptical. When I was a kid, they were simply different Avengers, in space. Seriously, they had a Majo r from America, an archer, a strong guy, etc. And everyone knows Marvel had sold off t ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Jun 21 2017 - 7:55am

Not Just Another Rant About TSA

No, this is a theoretically based rant about TSA. My students can get credit for reading it! ...

Article - Fred Phillips - Aug 12 2017 - 10:37pm

The NCP Theory of Gravity

The NCP Theory of Gravity It seems that NCP (National Car Parks) has a theory that a thin concrete floor can support the weight of a van because, hey, gravity's only a theory, right?  Science, who needs it? News reports show what happens when concrete ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Aug 20 2017 - 8:26pm