Thanks to Brother Doug for this one.

YouTube – Goodfellas Peanuts: Funny, How?.

There’s a lot of work that I need to get done, and I feel like I’m spinning my wheels a little bit. I got a little traction today, but there’s a pile of stuff left to be done.

Argh. I need to make some lists.

The view from the 15th floor of the main Fermi Lab building

So on Friday, my health and science reporting class took a road trip to Fermi Lab, about an hour outside of Chicago.

They’ve got a particle collider there, and they smash protons and anti protons together to see what happens.

Over the years, they were responsible for the discovery of three primary particles, including the bottom and top quarks.

It was a fascinating trip, even though the weather was against us.  The campus is large, and primarily looks like prairie.  You wouldn’t know there was a particle collider there, unless you saw the huge earth birms from above.

Here’s a trailer for a PBS special that was filmed there called “The Atom Smashers”.  Bonus — the special was scored by Ghostly International’s Kate Simko.

Want to see some more pictures I took at Fermi?

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In April, scientists from Northwestern University published a new technique for drawing nano-scale structures on a surface, using an atomic force microscope.  In this video, the authors of the paper demonstrate and explain the technique and some of it’s potential applications.

Note: This story was first published on the Medill Reports website, on 5/14/2009.  It’s re-published here for my own archives.

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Testing what polymers came out of the experiment with Emily Pentzer

So, I spent the last week working on a practicum assignment, which was basically to hang out with some scientists, and watch and learn what the day-to-day work looks like in the universe of nanotechnology.  Luckily, Northwestern University has one of the most advanced nanotech facilities in the nation, and I was lucky enough to get to spend the week with researchers there.

First of all, I should say that the entire experience was a made much more pleasant and practical by Denise Dooley, the outreach coordinator for the International Institute for Nanotechnology. She helped set up various meetings with scientists at the Institute, and arranged for me to observe several experiments by their researchers. She was quite helpful and very courteous through the entire experience, and I owe her a big thanks.

Want to know the gory details?  Hit the jump for more:

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Via @hrheingold:

Douglas Rushkoff, media theorist, author, documentarian, will be releasing his new book, Life, Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back on June 2nd.

In this video, the author of Ecstasy Club, Coercion, and others talks about the new book.

It’s available for pre-order on Amazon.

This weekend, twice I have driven north on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, and approaching downtown from the south, in the skyline, several buildings had offices lit up spelling out a series of messages.

One building read “CPD”. Another read “20932″ and “7322″

A google search turns up a Chicago police officer named Joseph M. Airhart, Jr. that was killed in the line of duty. His badge number was 20921.  Another search turns up an officer named Nathaniel Taylor, Jr. with badge number 7322, also apparently killed in the line of duty as well.

But I wonder:

• Why is this happening now? Airhart and Taylor were killed in 2008.
• Who’s responsible? CPD? The Police Benevolent League? Someone else?
• How was it coordinated across several buildings at the same time?
• How come Google knows nothing about it? Was it a secret or something?

If you happen to know anything about this unusual display, drop me an email or leave a comment here.