The Simpsons, actuarially

The animated series “The Simpsons” has been on television since 1990.  This remarkable run made me wonder, “What were the odds in 1990 that the main voice actors for the show would survive to 2017?” I did some actuarial analysis

Flying the new Icon A5

I’m a new pilot with 100 hours of flying time in a Cessna 172, a Cessna 162 LSA, and Tecnam Sierra LSA.  Last week I had the opportunity to get my seaplane rating in the new ICON A5, the light

Summer Solstice at the Duomo Gnomon in Florence

If you’ve even been to a European cathedral, your guidebook may have mentioned some spot on the floor or window on the dome that was supposed to mark special solar and calendar events.  Usually these are indecipherable and after a

A bike build for Adam Savage

I admire Adam Savage, one of the hosts of Mythbusters.  Adam and I are about the same age and share some of the same interests – for instance, we both took up juggling as teens. Now that Mythbusters is off

#Equinoon – Measure a shadow at mid-day on the equinox – the coolest, easiest science experiment

Update – This worked spectacularly well.  To avoid the fog I hustled over to the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, where the life-sized whale provided a great backdrop for my photos.  The sun shone bright at 1:02 p.m. (solar