Comments on: Any Given Sunday

By: Sean M From Boston

Sean M From Boston — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:20:00 +0000

I was about to buy your book then I saw this post.
I think the worst fan issue is certainly a case of VSR (very special relativity)
btw: spelling mistake…
“Teaching Comany”

I may still buy the book but not today, oh and gfy.
Like the posts on physics though

By: Neil B.

Neil B. — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:55:10 +0000

No, Lab Lemming, we can beat those traditional limits of resolution. Google for near-field microscopy and look at the pictures of fine detail (way less than 1/2 lambda.) The whole idea is, you get a scanning probe so close to the sample that the intensity received is from the proximity. Imagine patches around 50 nm that emit cyan light around 500 nm. The tiny probe (about that diameter) with a sensor at the tip (roughly speaking) gets close to the patch and more photons are absorbed there. It is not imaging in the conventional sense, that is why we can “see” finer detail than per traditional formulas based on numerical aperture, lambda, optical medium. So my challenge remains.

See http://www2.chem.ku.edu/rdunngroup/new_page_6.htm.

These spatial resolution limitations have been well known for some time and, not surprisingly, led many to begin exploring alternative ways of achieving higher resolution optical measurements. Early in the 20th century, Synge published a series of visionary papers in which he proposed a new type of optical microscope designed to circumvent the limitations imposed by the diffraction limit. This remarkable collection of papers details the foundations upon which the modern day NSOM is based.

By: Lab Lemming

Lab Lemming — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 04:58:15 +0000

Neil,
Assuming Physics Central is using the approximation of human hair=100um, then the nanotrophy features are on the scale of 100nm. If you are trying to see these with optical light, wavelength=400-750nm, you aren’t going to have much luck.

On the other hand, the entire trophy will be several um long, so you may be able to see some sort of smudge with a good reflecting scope.

As for the Superbowl, there are some contrarians who maintain that the Patriots actually won.

By: Neil B.

Neil B. — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:40:48 +0000

Hey, it was cool as the dickens (what does that come from?) to see New York win. That finish was way exciting, really fabulous football even for someone who usually doesn’t care. I like seeing underdogs beat the favorite, and it inspires me to keep formulating paradoxes (carefully vetted I hope.) Speaking of paradoxes and football, I will repeat here the one I asked re in the thread “Win the Smallest Trophy Ever!” (I think there likely is a solution, I just want to hear it.)

Hmmm. If I don’t have an electron microscope, can I use one of those wacky near-field optical microscopes to see enough detail? What if I tried to cheat the uncertainly principle with a NFM for the “Heisenberg microscope” example, what would stop me?

By: Kordan the Merciless

Kordan the Merciless — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:45:53 +0000

This is just pathetic – from today’s Bahston Glob:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/05/day_of_mourning_for_stunned_pats_fans/

Nothing like being part of a rich and priviledged
culture to be able to act like this over a sports
team, as opposed to any real problems.

Go cry in the Charles River, Bahston, then jump in
and do the rest of the world a favor.

By: Mark S.

Mark S. — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 08:52:53 +0000

Yet another regular reader who grew up in the Philly area. But I’m the first to admit that while I love their teams, I’m generally embarrassed by their fans. Boston fans are insufferable in their own way, though. And I have no beef with Giants fans. At least the Giants knocked off the Cowboys on the way there.

Can we at least all agree that Dallas sucks?

By: jonm

jonm — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:38:11 +0000

As a neutral, the Philadelphia fans I’ve seen have been *way* more obnoxious than the Boston ones. White trash at its worst.

By: Slush Pile « blueollie

Slush Pile « blueollie — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:36:04 +0000

[...] Cosmic Variance has a funny-as-all-get-out take on the Super Bowl. It is only one paragraph, but had me cackling out [...]

By: Lab Lemming

Lab Lemming — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:03:50 +0000

“Philly fans are unbearable in the face of defeat”

How do you know that Philly phans aren’t insufferable when victorious? That hypothesis has never been tested on more than an occasional, highly sporadic basis.

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:21:05 +0000

I grew up in Philadelphia, and spent many years in Chicago as well as Boston, and am friends with far too many New Yorkers. I love Boston, but their sports fans are by far the worst, in the sense that they are insufferable in the face of victory. Philly fans are unbearable in the face of defeat, but that’s a separate pathology.

By: James

James — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:00:32 +0000

“As a native Philadelphian who spent many years in Boston, I can sincerely attest that New England has the most insufferable sports fans in the entire country.”

Just to be clear, your logic is that everyone knows the worst fans are in either New England or Philadelphia and that you can personally confirm that the ones in New England are the worse of the two? I for one didn’t know that, but I can buy it.

By: Allyson

Allyson — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 23:19:31 +0000

As a native Bostonian, I’m so much awesomer than you.

And I also have a better haircut, and am wearing nicer shoes.

By: Moshe

Moshe — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:20:44 +0000

Oh, how I miss the superbowl, one night a year you can get a seat in any restaurant. Alas, the trick is not working in Canada.

By: Kordan the Merciless

Kordan the Merciless — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:46:42 +0000

As one who also had to live in Boston for about a
decade, I can also attest to the overall obnoxious
and holier-than-thou attitude of Bostonians not only
for their sports teams but just in general.

It was truly a great moment to watch their smug
little team get knocked off their high horses.

That’s what you get for thinking the glory and
rewards would just be handed to you, Patriots.
You were up against a team that was hungry and
had nothing to lose. We’ll see if you remember
this one next time.

And did you notice how Boston lived on for decades
with the poor loser attitude of their precious
Red Sox – until they actually won in 2004. Now
they’re just another baseball team who won a
couple of pennants in recent years. Be careful
what you wish for.

One more thing about Bahston – for a so-called
advanced city, they are actually rather provincial
and isolated from the rest of the United States.

Don’t believe me? Read their new or better yet
go visit. Just make sure you have a lot of spare
cash – they whole place is overpriced.

Better luck next time Bahston – not.

By: ollie

ollie — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:28:12 +0000

I hold you responsible for the keyboard I just ruined by blowing my morning coffee all over it!

I am a Bears fan and so didn’t have a dog in this hunt, so to speak. But it was one heck of a game.

By: G

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:20:24 +0000

One of the sweetest ever…
Watching Bill heading to the locker room a second yet to play, threw all the NE class out of the window, it was priceless, sublime…

People will soon forget that the miraculous catch came after an ‘almost’ interception… so what? even better

In the final NE TD, the defender in a 1-1 cover fell and Moss easily scored. Plexico also tricked his defender in that fade in a 1-1 match.

I aint a Giants’ fun, on the contrary, Go Steelers!, but can’t stand the patsies…
this one will stick for ever!

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:36:06 +0000

As a Philadelphian living in New Zealand i was very optimistic of the match. The notion of one of these teams losing just filled my soul with glee. At least it wasnt the Skins.

By: NE

NE — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:10:22 +0000

You’re insufferable!

By: Mike Procario

Mike Procario — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:00:44 +0000

As a native Philadelphian I would put the NY Giants just behind the Dallas Cowboys as the team I would least like to see win the Superbowl.

By: Lab Lemming

Lab Lemming — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 04:55:34 +0000

I am in complete agreement with the entire first paragraph of this post. But despite no great fondness for the Giants, I find it hard to begrudge them this one.