David Almandsmith

ScienceSchmooze Marches on 3.18.19

by Herb Masters

Hello Schmoozers and/or π Lovers,

I have to admit that I am amazed at all of the π celebrations and revelry last week.  It was great fun to see all of the efforts to engage all ages and education levels with π.  So because I had so much fun, I'd like to share a bit more π with you!  PBS it turns out has been celebrating π for quite awhile.  Check these out for a sample…   Science and tech come to pizza.  Deep dish or New York style?  How pi can solve your pizza order | PBS.  

A Slice of π with the SciSchmooze

by Herb Masters

Happy DST Science Fans,

I'm always amazed when I sit down to write the Schmooze.  It seems like it should be a quick thing to knock out, but there are so many things to write about in any given week.  The problem is magnified for me because there is such a wealth of new things to learn about what I am already fascinated by!  Science just keeps marching forward at a pace that we can never seem to catch up with.  So when we jumped ahead an hour this morning I was again distracted.  So if you have the time, here are a few items that I found difficult to turn away from.  Of course you have to wonder what the History of Daylight Saving Time (DST) is.  Then I fell down the well of time in history…  Ctesibius and Archimedes and back to more recent times with

SciSchmoozing to LEO

by David Almandsmith

Hello Science Fans,
 
Ripley rode a dragon with the help of a falcon to ISS. Parsing that out: Ripley the mannikin (named after the Sigourney Weaver character in the Alien movies) was loaded with sensors, strapped into a Dragon capsule developed by SpaceX, the whole shebang was rocketed into LEO (Low Earth Orbit) by a Falcon 9 rocket (also from SpaceX), and docked with the ISS (the International Space Station). But you probably already knew all of this. It’s still way cool and one of the last tests before Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsules take over the task of shuttling humans between LEO and ground

Make your own “Science” with the SciSchmooze

by Bob Siederer

Hello again Fans of Science and welcome to another edition of the SciSchmooze newsletter.  Each week we send you some thoughts on the world of Science as well as a snapshot of events listed on the Bay Area Science Calendar for the next two weeks.

I say a snapshot because additional events are added to the calendar daily, and updates are made to the events already listed.  Always check an event listing and click through to the event website to see if anything has changed.  We would hate to hear you went to an event only to find it canceled (it has happened).  We also make mistakes, occasionally, and list things for the wrong date or don't get notified of changes to events after we list them.  I want to take a moment to thank Ken Lum for catching some of our errors and letting us know so we can correct them.

Each week we list at least three picks.  Here are mine for this week:

Opportunity lost. SciSchmooze 2.18.19

by Herb Masters

Hello Science Lovers,
I hope that you had a bit of science in your Valentine's Day this past week.  Sadly, as you probably know, NASA finally acknowledged what seemed inevitable.  NASA's Mars Opportunity rover declared dead after record-setting mission Opportunity was such a thrill for us for so much longer than planned.  The amount of information we got from Opportunity and Spirit is amazing.  For two "little" rovers on a not so distant planet who were only planned to last 90 days each, I am in awe.  Spirit made it until 2010, which was an amazing accomplishment but who would think that in 2019 we finally have let Opportunity rest on Mars?  Check out a bit of

Fighting disease with the SciSchmooze 11.2.19

by Herb Masters

Hello Science Based Thinkers and Readers,

Let's make this 2nd week of February a week to celebrate skepticism , reason and evidence.   I say this because the second Thursday is generally the day for the Bay Area Skeptics Skeptalk.   "What Would Darwin Say to Today’s Creationists?" is the talk this week.   If you haven't seen Eugenie Scott speak you really owe it to yourself to catch this talk.   Yes there are many who still think evolution is wrong and the earth is only a few thousand years old and may not be spherical.

I find that I'm on a bit of a single topic binge recently.  This is because after all these years we are still faced with outbreaks of very preventable diseases.  I'm sure that some will disagree with me but, despite all of the emotions, the evidence is in.  Vaccines save lives and keep most people heal

by Meenakshi Prabhune

Hello Schmoozers,

It’s been lazy rainy weather past few days, but I am sure loving the refreshing lush green landscape that Bay area witnesses only occasionally. The before-after images on my phone in the past few months remind me of the 10-year challenge. For those of you who are safely staying away from Facebook- here’s the latest fad. People are posting present day pictures of themselves and those from 10 years ago under the hashtag #10YearChallenge. Some people even used the trend to generate scientific awareness. For example, here’s a video that shows climate change evidence by comparing images from 10 years ago to present day ones: https://nowthisnews.com/videos/future/10-year-challenge-climate-change-edition

While most people were participating it in this challenge just for fun, others believe that Fac

Kicking the Can Down the Road with the Schmooze

by Bob Siederer

Hello again Science fans, and Happy New Year!  I know, we're a month into it already (and how did that happen so fast?) but this is the first Schmooze for me this year, so it is still appropriate.

Did you see the lunar eclipse?  No?  Me either, although shortly after it was over I looked out and the sky was clear.  So close! 

We have just over 100 events on our calendar for the next two weeks, and more are sure to come.  You have plenty of things to choose from, including these:
  1. Nerd Nite East Bay - 01/28/2019 07:30 PM in Oakland

Eclipsing with the SciSchmooze 19.1.20

by Herb Masters

Hi Science Celebrators! 
Please excuse this very early edition of the SciSchmooze.  I am hoping that this helps you  get ready for Sunday evening's big event.  Let's hope for clear skies but there will be alternatives for you to enjoy the eclipse even if the skies are not clear. 

I got an email from Alex Filippenko with a great compilation of info that will help you and your friends and family enjoy and understand what is going on.  In case you don't know, Alex is an astrophysicist at UC Berkeley who has been involved in major discoveries about our universe.  You really do need to see and hear him speak.  Oh yea, you can…  Black Holes, Exploding Stars, and the Runaway Universe: A Life in Science is this coming Wed 1.23 at Foothill College.  Go see, hear, learn, and celebrate!

Back to this Sunday…  Here's what Alex shared wit

Moon days with the SciSchmooze 1.14.19

Hello Supporters of Science and Reason,

I have a hot announcement to share with you…  SkeptiCal 2019 is coming.   Mark your calendars for June 9, 2019.  There will be early registration discounts though it will be a great value at full price!  One bit of news…  After 10 years in Berkeley it will be in Burlingame. 

There's a lot going on in the universe that we can see from our fine little planet.  Consider the next week or so.  The Only Total Lunar Eclipse of 2019 starts at 6:36 PM PST on Sunday 1.20 plus a Supermoon is also part of the show.  Happening the very same day… It is anoth

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