Comments on: My evil twin wants to kill you http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:41:47 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: The Bad Astronomer http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/comment-page-1/#comment-20243 The Bad Astronomer Thu, 07 Sep 2006 23:28:52 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/#comment-20243 Jennifer, the first link in the blog entry above takes you to my TAM travelogue, and there is a picture there of Richard and me next to each other. We didn't even notice how much we looked alike, despite the stares of people as they walked by. When someone finally told us, an evil plan was hatched... Anyway, you should come to TAM 5! It's theme is skepticism and the media, so you'd fit in! Jennifer, the first link in the blog entry above takes you to my TAM travelogue, and there is a picture there of Richard and me next to each other. We didn’t even notice how much we looked alike, despite the stares of people as they walked by. When someone finally told us, an evil plan was hatched…

Anyway, you should come to TAM 5! It’s theme is skepticism and the media, so you’d fit in!

]]> By: bearcub http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/comment-page-1/#comment-20242 bearcub Thu, 07 Sep 2006 23:00:48 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/#comment-20242 Just a quick update. The winning bid for this was $550. Just a quick update. The winning bid for this was $550.

]]> By: Buzz Parsec http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/comment-page-1/#comment-20244 Buzz Parsec Thu, 07 Sep 2006 03:46:15 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/#comment-20244 Brush with greatness time - Van de Graaff's granddaughter (or maybe great granddaughter?), when she was in High School, worked for my company as an office assistant. I don't remember how the subject came up, but I found out her ancestor was a Van de Graaff, I asked her "As in the generator?" and she said "Oh, you've heard of that? Most people know my great uncle (or great grand uncle or whatever), the football coach." It turns out he (the uncle) was the coach of IIRC the University of Colorado football (the real thing, with pointy balls, not soccer) team. (I'm also 2 degrees of separation from the guy who invented 6 degrees of separation, or maybe not.) Brush with greatness time – Van de Graaff’s granddaughter (or maybe great granddaughter?), when she was in High School, worked for my company as an office assistant. I don’t remember how the subject came up, but I found out her ancestor was a Van de Graaff, I asked her “As in the generator?” and she said “Oh, you’ve heard of that? Most people know my great uncle (or great grand uncle or whatever), the football coach.” It turns out he (the uncle) was the coach of IIRC the University of Colorado football (the real thing, with pointy balls, not soccer) team.

(I’m also 2 degrees of separation from the guy who invented 6 degrees of separation, or maybe not.)

]]> By: Greg Fuchs http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/comment-page-1/#comment-20245 Greg Fuchs Wed, 06 Sep 2006 14:15:40 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/#comment-20245 "Has anyone ever see Phil and Wiseman in the same place at the same time?" Why of course! Plum shirts and all. T.A.M. 4 They tried a substitution bit on stage. Unfortunately most of the audience knew them both so well it didn't work as well as it should have. Greg “Has anyone ever see Phil and Wiseman in the same place at the same time?”

Why of course! Plum shirts and all. T.A.M. 4

They tried a substitution bit on stage. Unfortunately most of the audience knew them both so well it didn’t work as well as it should have.

Greg

]]> By: PK http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/comment-page-1/#comment-20246 PK Wed, 06 Sep 2006 12:47:38 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/#comment-20246 Hate to be pedantic, but I am sensitive to misspelled names: the generator is named after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Van_de_Graaff" rel="nofollow">Robert J. Van de Graaff</a>. Hate to be pedantic, but I am sensitive to misspelled names: the generator is named after Robert J. Van de Graaff.

]]> By: idlemind http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/comment-page-1/#comment-20247 idlemind Wed, 06 Sep 2006 06:09:46 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/#comment-20247 So the evil one is the one with a goatee, right? So the evil one is the one with a goatee, right?

]]> By: Jack Hagerty http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/comment-page-1/#comment-20249 Jack Hagerty Wed, 06 Sep 2006 05:31:54 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/09/05/my-evil-twin-wants-to-kill-you/#comment-20249 Joshua Says: "It reminds me of the Museum of Science, with it’s Theater of Electricity. They have the world’s largest Van de Graff generator!" You mean the one in Boston, right? I was there last summer ('05) and saw the show. It's one not to be missed! That VdG was (according to the docent) built in the '30s at MIT (just across the river) to do atomic research. It was the most powerful research tool in the world before Lawrence built the first cyclotrons. It wasn't much use after that, and after 50 years or so they got tired of it taking up space (it's three stories tall!), so they donated it to the museum. They didn't have any place to put it, either, so it stood in the back parking lot for another decade or so while they raised funds to build the building that now surrounds it. This guy generates up to 2 MV of potential (that's a big "M" as in mega) and can throw a lightning bolt 15 feet (5 meters) through air. The noise is impressive as well. - Jack Joshua Says: “It reminds me of the Museum of Science, with it’s Theater of Electricity. They have the world’s largest Van de Graff generator!”

You mean the one in Boston, right? I was there last summer (’05) and saw the show. It’s one not to be missed! That VdG was (according to the docent) built in the ’30s at MIT (just across the river) to do atomic research. It was the most powerful research tool in the world before Lawrence built the first cyclotrons. It wasn’t much use after that, and after 50 years or so they got tired of it taking up space (it’s three stories tall!), so they donated it to the museum. They didn’t have any place to put it, either, so it stood in the back parking lot for another decade or so while they raised funds to build the building that now surrounds it.

This guy generates up to 2 MV of potential (that’s a big “M” as in mega) and can throw a lightning bolt 15 feet (5 meters) through air. The noise is impressive as well.

- Jack

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