Blinded by the Light

Being a scholarly man, I have naturally abhorrent eyesight. My visual acuity is about 20/500, in both eyes. When compared to the perfect eyesight of 20/20… I’m not doing too hot. But I wondered, as I put in my contacts for astigmatism, what that number actually measured. What does it mean? How is my eye so horribly out-of-whack?

Smashing Pumpkins

Happy day-after-Halloween, everyone!

Halloween: The one day where giving candy to other people’s kids is
not only acceptable, but the preferred method of communication.

I guess I don't have to tell you that, as a physicist, I love shooting things into the air. For this reason, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays; it gives me a chance to watch pumpkin chucking. For any of you who are unfamiliar with the process, this is the breakdown:

1. Get a pumpkin.

2. Make a device that throws the pumpkin.

3. Throw the pumpkin using the device.