Lisa Paitz Spindler, Danger Gal

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This week’s Danger Gal Friday profile is a little bit different: Margaret and Helen, two “best friends for sixty years and counting.” Margaret and Helen are both in their 80s — and have started a blog set up by Helen’s grandson. I’m dubbing them Danger Gals because they speak their mind. From their About Us page:

My name is Helen Philpot. I am 82 years old. My grandson taught me how to do this so that I could “blog” with my best friend Margaret Schmechtman who I met in college almost 60 years ago. I have three children with my husband Harold. Margaret has three dogs with her husband Howard. I live in Texas and Margaret lives in Maine.

These two women, but Helen especially, have a lot to say and they’re hilarious saying it. Helen’s grandson set up the blog for them because he “wanted to capture her words and stories for our family to have as a tribute to her for many years to come. I told her it would be like scrapbooking with a computer. . . I thought it might give her something fun to do with her friend and keep her young at heart. I think it is working.”

I hope these two are for real, I really do.

If you’re a McCain supporter, a word of warning: You likely won’t enjoy Helen’s point of view. She does have a way with words and I admire both ladies for voicing their opinions. I respect that they’re mastering blogging technology in their 80s. I hope that when I’m that age I’ll be just as spry.

It’s hard to choose a favorite quote from Helen, but this is right up there on my list:

I am 82 years old (83 in December). It’s time to hand the reigns over to the next generation and hope that we did a good job raising them. To Senator McCain I say, with love in my heart, sit down and shut up. You’re beginning to look like an ass and your answers sound like a cross between Barnie Fife and Floyd the Barber. And no matter how many times you start a sentence with “My friends” if you end it with a bunch of stuff that really doesn’t make sense… well eventually someone like me is going to call “bullshit”…

You just can’t teach an old dog a new trick… even if you put lipstick on it. Change is needed. I know because I am a fat, old dog. For too many years I’ve been eating more pie than I should. Jenny Craig had me doing pretty good for a few years but eventually I started eating pie again. John McCain has been part of the Republican party in Washington for 26 years. It doesn’t matter what he has been saying the last few months, eventually he’s going to eat the party pie again. He’s old. I’m old. That’s what we do. We don’t suddenly switch to salad.

It’s OK. We’ve been part of the greatest generation. We had our turn. Now we get to sit back and enjoy our pie while someone else worries about the calories. The new guy has the energy and the new ideas. Senator Obama, I hope you’re up for the challenge.

One more thing for Senator McCain before this old bird goes to bed. Ronald Reagan is dead. Let it go.

You go girls!

(#44)

Left, from Wikipedia, this photo is an “[I]nternal view of the JET tokamak superimposed with an image of a plasma taken with a visible spectrum video camera.”

(1) Stars are hot stuff. Nuclear fusion occurs naturally in stars and happens when like-charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nuclei.

(2) He’s not heavy, he’s my lower mass nuclei. Nuclear fusion can release or absorb energy relative to whether the nuclei have a mass lower than iron. If the nuclei have a mass lower than iron, the process releases energy, but if heavier than iron the process will absorb energy.

(3) The cycle of nuclear fusion in stars was worked out by Hans Bethe in the 1930s. In 1932 Mark Oliphant observed the fusion of hydrogen isotopes (light nuclei).

(4) As part of the Manhattan Project that created the nuclear bomb (which uses fission not fusion), Hungarian physicist Edward Teller pushed to create the “Super,” a bomb designed to use the force of a fission bomb detonation to ignite a fusion reaction in deuterium and tritium. “Super” seems kind of an understatement, ya think?

(5) The Joint European Torus (JET) is the largest nuclear fusion reactor ever built. It is located in the UK and experiments first began there in 1983. That’s more than a decade before the Large Hadron Collider was built. Neener neener.

(6) A tokamak is “a machine producing a toroidal magnetic field for confining a plasma” and is one of several types of magnetic confinement devices, such as that used for the JET. There must be naughty uber-nerd jokes about “magnetic confinement.” It’s not just my warped mind or anything, right?

(7) The Bussard Interstellar Ramjet is a theoretical spacecraft using fusion for propulsion and proposed in 1960 by physicist Robert W. Bussard. Science fiction writer Larry Niven popularized this method of space travel in his Known Space series of books. Carl Sagan also referenced this method in his Cosmos television series. Can’t…resist…must..say it… BILLIONS and BILLIONS. (Yes, I went there. After #6, this surprises you?)

(8) The Bussard Ramjet uses enormous electromagnetic fields as a scoop to collect and compress hydrogen from the gas and dust that fill the space between stars. “High speed forces the reactive mass into a progressively constricted magnetic field, compressing it until thermonuclear fusion occurs. The magnetic field then directs the energy as rocket exhaust opposite to the intended direction of travel, thereby accelerating the vessel.” (quote via Wikipedia)

(9) Inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) uses an electrostatic field to contain fusion plasma. This type of reactor is cheap to build, costing a few thousand dollars. While popular with hobbyists, the process has yet to produce power. A promising new concept called Periodically Oscillating Plasma Sphere (POPS) has been proposed that would mitigate power loss and might produce cheap fusion power. I’m all of out of naughty plasma containment jokes (but I welcome them in the comments).

(10) Bigger is better? Larger than JET, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a magnetic confinement fusion reactor to be built in France and expected to produce its first plasma operation in 2018.

(11) Scientists are currently trying to build a rocket that utilizes the “charged debris from a proton/anti-proton annihilation” for propulsion. Essentially, fling a proton and an anti-proton at one another, capture the pions expelled from the reaction, and use the energy of these charged particles for thrust. I suspect this is something Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory attempted for his 6th grade science fair project. (This isn’t fusion, but bear with me, keep reading.)

(12) A antimatter-catalyzed fusion reaction could be used to power propulsion. A small amount of anti-protons are fired at a “fusion target” or nuclear fuel. The reaction heats the nuclear fuel enough to cause thermonuclear fusion. Evidently, this method could never produce enough power to be used as alternative energy source here on Earth, but it could theoretically power rockets and ships in space without the need to transport massive amounts of raw fuel. Is that sort of like when I eat chocolate and it catalyzes fat into some kind of thermonuclear fusion evidenced by the number on my bathroom scale?

(13) Time in a magnetic bottle. A Penning Trap collects anti-protons in a magnetic bottle, where the particles are kept cold by liquid nitrogen, helium and a stable magnetic field. (Also see this article for more information on how a Penning Trap might be used in an antimatter-catalyzed fusion reaction.)

Amazon Listmania for Science Fiction novels dealing with nuclear fusion.

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For Eric

I have a cold, but I’ve got good meds. Not sure if that will mean a more quippy Weekly Roundup this week or not. You judge.

–I think they should call it the Cassanova Gene. Monogamy gene found in people

–Don’t “kiki” and “booba” sound like Yo Gabba Gabba characters? Poetry Comes from Our Tree-Climbing Ancestors

–Why can’t we all just get along? Richard Morgan lets go with the sound and the fury over SF sibling rivalry.

–The nano-goo knows all. Nano-coated bullets could help solve gun crimes

–Is an Ogopogo a mythic creature or an 80s band? Do Mythic Creatures Exist? Show Me the Body

–The nuns, they never believed me, but they all rushed to 4:20 Mass. Incense May Act as a Psychoactive Drug during Religious Ceremony

–Now I can watch Heroes and get great abs at the same time. Could a Pill Replace Exercise?

–His Dark Self-Cleaning Materials. Self-Cleaning Materials: Lotus Leaf-Inspired Nanotechnology

–First the earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil. What would happen to Earth if the moon was only half as massive?

–Barbie has a mental block about Math. Girls Equal Boys at Math

–Of course, the Danger Gal has a closet full of these. Bulletproof bras issued to German police

SB Sarah from SBTB said the following of the Romance genre in her review of UNLEASHED by Lori Borrill:

That might be the true fantasy of romance for me – I fully believe that happiness and romance and healing and hot sex happen to people now, in the past, in the future, on distant planets, in carriages, in cold lakes, for God’s sake, and anywhere in between.

Hard SF writer Mike Brotherton talks about how truth is stranger than fiction, and including real science in Science Fiction might be easier than it first appears:

And here’s a trick to remember. SCIENCE IS FREAKING AWESOME! We figure out the coolest shit with science. If you’ve picked an article or topic that fascinates you, get that fascination into your story! If it’s about the methodology, focus there. Or the technology, or the potential, or the insight, or the dedication. Whatever you think is the coolest thing, that should be your focus.

This week’s Danger Gal Friday is FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham played by Anna Torv from Fox’s new Science Fiction TV show Fringe.

One aspect I have so far enjoyed about Fringe is that Dunham is our main protagonist. She’s the center of the action and not a sidekick. While Dunham has her problems (a horrible step-dad, falling in love with her off-limits partner), we also see how she excels. We get to see a mix and balance of the negative and positive forces in her life. This makes for a multi-dimensional character.

From a Gaze standpoint, I’ve also noticed that Dunham dresses in suits and simple t-shirts, we’re not seeing her body objectified by outfits an FBI agent just would not wear. Actually, it seems like Dunham’s black suit attire is meant to evoke a “Men In Black” vibe, or it could simply be that a woman with her background and profession likely would have a “uniform” similar to that. If the attire is due to the former, that’s a fun twist on a stereotype that I haven’t seen since Linda Fiorentino and Rosario Dawson in the Men In Black movies.

If her attire choices are due to the latter, that seems to fit what I would expect from Dunham’s character. Dunham is not in a “girly headspace,” and I just don’t see many of the typical feminine trappings appealing to her. Dunham’s one assent to femininity is her long hair. Again, this seems to fit the character the writers have created. It’s a compelling mix of the practical with the impractical.

In the series premiere, the plot did call for Dunham to strip down to her skivvies, but no special emphasis was placed on this. In a later episode we see Peter Bishop, played by Joshua Jackson, in his boxers somewhat gratuitously (Pacey, all grow’d up), so I feel there’s an even treatment so far across the genders of the main characters. I also like that they’ve teamed up the crazy old white mad scientist man with a Black female lab assistant whose character seems to be treated as much more than window dressing.

Dunham’s character is also active in that she’s not only investigating intellectually into cases, but we get to see her in physical foot and car chases. We get to see her pull and fire a gun. In that last episode “The Cure,” we see her leading a SWAT team intent on rescuing a woman undergoing a tortuous medical treatment. So far, I have overall found Fringe to be a fun hour of entertainment. Some of the science in the show seems way more out there than what I’d even call “fringe,” but I have so far been able to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the show.

For more on Fringe:
IO9’s What to expect on the fringe
SF Scope’s Fringe episode reviews

Gasping for the Wind’s column Inside the Blogosphere is live today and I’m chiming in. Today’s topic is Battling It Out:

What makes a battle or combat scene exciting to read, and what makes it drag on or detract from the narrative?

Other bloggers chiming in include Heather from The Galaxy Express and Alice from Sandstorm Reviews.

(#43)

Scientific research uncovers new facets of our world every day. Scientists have to name these discoveries and some of the ideas they come up with I find to be very amusing (especially physics). Below are thirteen of my favorite funny science terms. Any of these would make excellent geek band names.

1. Nanoputians or Nanoputian Molecules: These organic molecules form a structure that appears human. These molecules are named after the residents of Lilliput in the book Gulliver’s Travels. There’s even a whole Nanoputian family. See Ballet Dancer, left, which sort of reminds me of an XKCD strip.

2. Space Invader Tranposons: Transposons are “sequences of DNA that can move around to different positions within the genome of a single cell.” Space invader transposons are bits of DNA that infiltrate DNA via a horizontal transmission (passed from one unrelated individual to another) instead of other kinds of transposons that are transmitted vertically (from your parents) because they’ve infiltrated sex chromosomes or RNA. Kind of reminds me of the premises of X-Men or Heroes. Also, one such “jumping gene” is called Sleeping Beauty.

3. Sonic Hedgehog: No, it’s not the Sega Genesis game character, but this signaling molecule is named after that character due to a mutation connected to it that causes fly embryos to have spiky appendages. This molecule is fundamental not only to vertebrate development, but also triggers an undifferentiated brain cell to turn into a dopamine neuron.

4. Dark Strangelet: These “sub-stellar agglomerations of strange matter” are formed when neutronium — which is created inside super-dense neutron stars when “the protons and electrons in atomic nuclei fuse to become neutrons” — collapses into quarks. Think of it as huge amounts of pressure squashing elemental particles into even itty-bittier particles. This is called “quark matter” or “strange matter.” Dark strangelets are thought to possibly occur when isolated pockets of strange matter exist, maintain their deep gravity well properties, and overwhelm all matter around it.

5. Naked singularity: There might be a naked singularity at the center of Sagittarius A. A naked singularity is theorized to be just like other singularities except that it doesn’t have an event horizon, so light (and conceivably other objects, I imagine) can escape and events inside of it can be observed from the outside. A naked singularity is a black hole going commando.

6. Spaghettification: This refers to the distortion an object experiences as it nears the event horizon of a black hole. First an object splits in half, then those halves into four, then into eight pieces. This decomposition process continues until an object is split into atoms and becomes a string of elemental particles.

7. Sparticles: Theoretically, when elemental particles such as leptons, photons, and quarks were produced in the Big Bang, each was accompanied by a matching sparticle: sleptons, photinos and squarks. I still want to hear Gerry Butler yell “This is sparticle!”

8. Big Bang Theory: “Our whole universe was in a hot dense state; Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait…The Earth began to cool; The autotrophs began to drool, Neanderthals developed tools; We built a wall (we built the pyramids); Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries; That all started with the big bang!”

9. ACHOO: Autosomal dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst syndrome happens when you walk outside into bright sunlight and start sneezing your head off. Gesundheit.

10. Nibble: Eight bits make a byte. Four bits make a nibble. So, that means two nibbles make a byte.

11. Gluon: These elementary particles keep quarks stuck together.

12. Flavor: In particle physics, flavor is “the property that distinguishes different members in the two groups of basic building blocks of matter, the quarks and the leptons.” Please tell me someone has already done an LOLCat about a lepton that “haz flavor.”

13. Harry Potter gene: This is a gene that triggers the hormonal cascade initiating puberty. Harvard researchers discovered the gene while studying a family in Saudi Arabia where several members never experienced puberty.

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–That’s Ms. Wizard to you. Wired profiles neurophysiologist Dr. Kiki Sanford, who takes “the Mr. Wizard tradition to a sexier place.”

–Girls really are just fine at math and science, thank you. Wired Science’s Dr. Anna Kushnir examines why female scientists go from a 7 to 1 women-to-men ratio in grad school to roughly 1 to 7 in professorships.

–Olympian bodies, mommies edition. Salon Broadsheet highlights how the physical changes after motherhood helped make three Olympians better athletes.

–Women do talk about things other than men and babies. Science Fiction author Charlie Stross ponders Bechdel’s Law. Also, take a gander at io9’s examination of the Bechdel Law (or Ripley’s Law as it were).

–No, she’s not the Keymaster. IO9 Spoilers wonder if there might be a female Ghostbuster in the new movie.

–Boys, reading books about girls won’t give you cooties. In the article “Women Writing Science Fiction: Some Voices from the Trenches” Susan Elizabeth Lyons asks 31 women science fiction writers four questions: when they starting reading SF; how they broke into the genre; what they think has changed since then; and general feedback on gender bias in the genre.

–Grrrl power, indeed. A post wherein John Scalzi talks to his wife.

–Epic awesome. John Ottinger profiles 9 Awesome Heroines of Epic Fantasy.

–Grrrl crush. Salon Broadsheet points out reason no. 678 why Amy Poehler rocks.

–Grrrl power? ScFiGuy provides a tramp stamp roundup in urban fantasies (via SBTB).

–Notice that Wonder Woman is in a class all by herself. IO9 reports on how “a handful of superpowered grrrls stack up to their male counterparts.”

–Hang this right next to your Duran Duran Rio poster. IO9 showcases a “Crazy 1980s ‘New Wave’ Princess Leia Poster.”

–Go kick some writing butt. Romance Divas host a workshop on writing kick-butt characters.

–She’s no regular jilly. Show Me SciFi profiles gunslinger Aileen from Stephen King’s Dark Tower Treachery #2.