Yeah, I get that all the time

[steuard]

Kim recently reminded me of the "Overheard in New York" quote blog (probably the best of the various "Overheard in..." cousins). One entry that showed up today caught my attention:

Good looking brunette: Yeah, then we talked about physics.
Intrigued girl pal: Oh, really? Why?
Good looking brunette: Not sure, but I remember it turned me on.
Intrigued girl pal: Oh...
(awkward silence)
Hot guy pal: (nods head)
Good looking brunette: What? I really like physics! Its the math... I really like math.


Meanwhile, today's SMBC comic had a physics theme as well (I've wondered the same thing at times).

And while I'm posting physics-related stuff, here's a discussion of Olympic decathlon scoring by my former colleague Sean Carroll. Did you know that the insanely complicated decathlon scoring system can give a score with an imaginary component?

Comments

[yllafairy.livejournal.com]

since when is sean carroll your colleague? ;) you were a student at uofc when he was a prof there ;)

[feuervogel]

Technically, the minute he successfully defended his thesis.

[yllafairy.livejournal.com]

which i believe was after sean left uofc. so if you define "colleague" as "fellow physicist in the field", then it's not an "former colleague", it's just "colleague". if you define it per uofc time, then it's not a colleague, but more like mentor or professor or whatever. i dont remember if sean was on steuard's thesis committee.

anyways, my comment was meant to poke fun at a friend, so please don't take it to heart. :)

[steuard.livejournal.com]

Once I thought about it, I realized that my use of "former" was a little off (and that it left me open to your tease here). My phrasing was only saved by that acknowledgment reference. :) (And no, Sean wasn't ever on my committee, though I did briefly consider him as an advisor at one point.)

[yllafairy.livejournal.com]

haHA. i was right. ;)

you didn't ask him because you knew he was leaving, right? I know Iggy got into trouble with that...

[steuard.livejournal.com]

No, actually: nobody knew he was leaving until the day his tenure was denied. (Well, I guess there may have been one senior professor who knew in advance that he'd be leaving, but I don't think he told anyone else.) I was talking to Sean between my second and third years in Chicago, I think, but I decided I'd rather work with Jeff Harvey (and equally important, Jeff decided he'd like to work with me). Sean didn't end up leaving until a few years later.

[yllafairy.livejournal.com]

Oh, ok...

Jeff Harvey is awesome.
big love for that man. :)

[steuard.livejournal.com]

Hey, he cited me as a "colleague" in the acknowledgments of one of his papers while I was there. I figure that makes the term fair game. :) We've talked occasionally since then, too. So nya. :P

[yllafairy.livejournal.com]

he was quoted in a Discover article i read a few weeks ago... i still buy that magazine when i go flying anywhere, and there was his name. maria was like "whoa. sean!" loved him to pieces when I took his class... not that i don't love you to pieces either ;)

[donaithnen.livejournal.com]

The "in New York" part seems a bit stupidly limiting/egocentric to me.

My favorite is from "Overheard at the Beach" (because that's where stuff from California gets stuck by default i guess.)

The Traffic Lets Up, But Breathing Becomes Difficult

Guy on cell: When the freeway ends, turn left...Yes, the freeway ends....Because the continent ends, dipshit.

--Hermosa Beach, California

[donaithnen.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, and since it's after midnight, happy birthday! :)

[kirin]

Seconded!