Category Archives: Uncategorized

Yesterday’s LOTRW post is reproduced here verbatim, but in its original form — before the ChatGPT transformation of certain sections into unrhymed iambic pentameter. I’m doing this because some readers might be interested in just what was retained and what … Continue reading →

The great English poet John Milton (1608-1674) is most famous for his epic poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained[1]. To help you recall your high-school English literature: Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) recounts the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan … Continue reading →

As of this writing, it’s been two weeks since Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida coast and barreled inland, flooding a 500-mile-plus swath, most notably in Appalachian North Carolina. The known death toll, which … Continue reading →

…following up from the previous LOTRW post, recalling an occasion from nearly forty years ago (stop me if you’ve heard this). The event? An annual NOAA/OAR management retreat sometime in the 1980’s. The NOAA Environmental Research Laboratory directors had gathered … Continue reading →

“Everybody talks about impact, but nobody does anything about it.[1]” Have admired David Guston and his political science/policy research from afar. You should too – but probably from way closer-up. By way of helping you decide whether you want to … Continue reading →

Mention science diplomacy to a geoscientist or a social scientist focusing on Earthly matters, and you’ll likely bring to mind the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or IPCC (consider, e.g., the reader’s comment with respect to the recent LOTRW post … Continue reading →

The previous LOTRW post reflecting on science diplomacy triggered two responses that prompt this brief postscript. The first came from a social-scientist/Facebook friend via Messenger. My colleague opined: The concept of what is valid academic scholarship and research must change … Continue reading →

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Jesus (Matthew 9:37-38 NIV) Diplomacy frequently consists in soothingly saying “Nice doggie” … Continue reading →

Whistler’s Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1 (you may know it by another name). File information A week ago a bout of insomnia found me web-browsing and coming across this challenge in the New York Times – Test Your Focus: … Continue reading →

Physics Today’s July 2024 issue provides the happy news, in an article authored by Timothy DelSole and Paul A. Dirmeyer. They begin in this (excerpted) vein: As senior scientists, we have navigated the challenging waters of the PhD qualifying exam—both … Continue reading →