So much to blog about, so little time!

Things have been busy here, but there are some interesting stories I’ve been watching that I thought I should mention (as well as the usual fodder for rants, and a cartoon series that might be funny, if it’s not just seriously twisted):

• A few atoms of element 118 have been created and detected by Russian scientists and scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Labs — without any fabrication this time, which is good. However, the unofficial name of the new element (ununoctium, which is Latin for “one-one-eight”), needs some work. Yeah, the atoms of 118 lasted less than a microsecond, but elements on the edge tend to live fast and decay young.
• Speaking of rapid decays, Dr. Lester Crawford, former Comissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — who, after a long battle to be confirmed to that post held it for all of two months — has entered a guilty plea to charges of conflict of interest and “false writing”, misdemeanors that could get him 2 years in prison. Is it time to reconsider whether the folks overseeing the safety of our food and drugs ought to be political appointees (or, for that matter, people more concerned with the health of their investment portfolio than that of the public)?
• There is quite a lot to read lately about strategies for getting a great college education. Inside Higher Ed reports that both Harvard and MIT have made significant adjustments to their undergraduate requirements. Meanwhile, at Cosmic Variance Sean Carroll hands down an optimized undergraduate curriculum (and, in another post, considers the merits of different sorts of institutions for one’s undergraduate education). If I can manage to dig out from under actual curricular work in the three-dimensional world, I may write a full post in which I weigh in on this question myself.
• In the meantime, to the student of my fine university who, in a guest editorial, decried her General Education classes as stupid and useless, a word of advice: As there are scores of classes to choose from in each G.E. area, maybe ask around and find out which ones are challenging and interesting. It can be done, although I admit it might leave one with less to complain about.
• Adventures in Ethics and Science field operative Andy K. has brought to my attention a set of comics that I think are amusing, but not in a Family Circus kind of way. There are strips that take on astrophysics, evolutionary biology, and the miracle of life, as well as the question of whether woodland games with scorpions require special rules.

A more content-filled post will be coming soon!