Introducing Ununoctium!

Great news for science geeks: Russian scientists have discovered chemical element #118, temporarily known as Ununoctium! This name, from the Latin for 118, will be replaced once the world's leading scientists decide on a permanent name. Ununoctium is a member of the noble gases (my favorite family) and most likely will share many properties with Radon, the next largest noble gas. Go to Wikipedia for more info.

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day, everyone! Today is March 14, which corresponds to the first three digits of pi: 3.14! The most revered time on Pi Day is 1:59, because pi approximately equals 3.14159! In honor of Pi Day, here are some interesting pi links:

http://www.joyofpi.com
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.pi.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/pi/

Also, a brief Entwistle update: Neil's next court appearance, which was scheduled for tomorrow, has now been pushed back to April 18 because prosecutor Michael Fabbri needs more time to present his case before the grand jury. Entwistle will probably be indicted then at Framingham District Court, and later he will be arraigned for a second time, this time at Middlesex Superior Court. He will be able to enter a new plea and request bail if he wishes. The Middlesex Court, which is in the same building as the prison where Neil resides, is where his trial will take place.

For a plethora of Entwistle stories, go to the Boston Herald.

One of the most fascinating stories is this article about the Middlesex Jail.