No idea why this little toad decided to rest up here, but we’re in no rush to disturb. There’s another entry just around the corner.
Toad
Tag: curiosity
Artificial Omnipresence
“CAUTION: AI does not know how to write a proper lab report. Do not risk losing easy points by trusting something that has never attended labs.”
Entirely reasonable position from instructors: do your own work, and please don’t cheat.
Of course, we also get this message in the same week:
‘Twas update-the-computers season in the department, and the new Windows laptops have eliminated the right-side Control key in favor of one for Microsoft’s AI. Ditched a very useful key for one that’s utterly pointless.
For example: with only a single Control key on the left, it is no longer possible to log into this laptop with a single hand, even if you’ve got hands like Andre the Giant.
Sigh.
Iceland Spar
With the right crystal structure, as with calcite (a form of good, old calcium carbonate), you get some neat effects. With a refractive index that varies depending on the polarization of the light passing through, a chunk of iceland spar is birefringent and causes a visual doubling effect of the objects seen beyond. How cool is that?
Canis Major
Behold, Canis Major, the Greater Dog! He’s such a good boy!
Sirius-ly.
Magnetizer
Bar magnets, over time, lose some of their intensity. From time to time, a top-up’s in order, using this glorious little contraption.
Two magnets, a conducting bar, and the fantastic sound of BZZZZ-THUNK as those iron atoms line up. Cool!
“Well Made”
Discovered inside an old wooden desk, burnt into the solid-wood drawer. No complaints about the quality of construction, to be honest. But how long has it been since furniture makers burnt in their brand with red-hot iron?
Department Mascot
The drinking bird, our unofficial department mascot. Even when one takes a tumble – and when it comes to glass bird versus floor, the floor always wins – there’s a great deal of respect for our top-hatted friends.
Kind of surprised someone hasn’t made up T-shirts yet, to be honest.
Welcome back, spring semester!
Dalek
Is that a Dalek in the loading dock, cleverly disguised as tiny TARDIS?
Exclusively For Export
There are many tools for communicating new ideas, including candy. Boxes upon boxes of candy intended for consumption in other countries, apparently.
Desk Toys
Ah, physics. Where we have an eclectic assortment of desk toys and mostly-useless gimmicky trinkets because their very nature, the quirks of physics they embody, are helpful explainers of scientific principles.
And while their appeal is typically short-lived – how many times before the levitating magnet loses its novelty? – that ooh! factor only needs to work the first time.