Author Archives: Sam

No, New York, the forecast didn’t fail

Posted on 2015/01/29 by Sam

Cliff Mass of the University of Washington has a good breakdown of the “failure” of meteorologists to correctly predict snowfall during this week’s storm. “Failure” gets the scare-quote treatment because the forecast wasn’t actually far off: models showed most of … Continue reading →

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The Best Norwegian Horror Comedy that is Actually About Wildlife Biology You Will See This Year

Posted on 2015/01/26 by Sam

The movie is called Troll Hunter. I’d seen this movie a few years ago, but re-watched it this weekend and remembered how much I like it. It’s a found-footage Scenario. Thomas, Johanna, and Kalle are three Norwegian college students attempting … Continue reading →

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Grad School is a Job

Posted on 2015/01/22 by Sam

Grad school is a job. A conversation on Twitter tonight got me worked up about this point, but I’ve heard it questioned a number of times in my five years in postgraduate education. And it seems that each time I’ve … Continue reading →

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James Cameron, Back from the Deep

Posted on 2015/01/15 by Sam

“Hi, I’m James Cameron. You may remember me from such blockbusters as Alien and Titanic. But today, I’m here to talk to you about something different: trends in deep-sea epibenthic biodiversity.” Well, that’s how Troy McClure might say it. On … Continue reading →

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Adventure Time on Great Gull Island

Posted on 2015/01/14 by Sam

Particularly diligent readers of this blog may have noticed a couple of changes last week to its About and Research pages, for the first time since I finished my master’s in Seattle and moved to Long Island. In that time, … Continue reading →

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Must it be Santa? A case study in Bayesian updating

Posted on 2014/12/24 by Sam

Ah, Christmas eve. A magical day when we reflect on the deep questions. Is there anything more valuable than family togetherness? What is the true meaning of the season? Who is that strange man breaking into my house at 2:00 … Continue reading →

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Πолярник

Posted on 2014/12/16 by Sam

I learned a new word this week: полярник, polyarnik, which is Russian and translates roughly as “polar explorer.” This word, along with another set of interesting thoughts on dedication to science and the polar regions, comes from a beautiful photo … Continue reading →

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Not Another Film About Penguins

Posted on 2014/12/12 by Sam

I am currently experiencing mild-to-moderate Antarctica envy. In addition to the continuing STRES cruise, some friends from the Lynch Lab are on their way south as well, to study various aspects of Pygoscelis penguin populations. So last night I watched … Continue reading →

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Follow the S.T.R.E.S. Cruise in Antarctica

Posted on 2014/12/09 by Sam

Speaking of end-of-semester stress…there happens to a better kind going on right now, as well: the Seasonal Trophic Roles of Euphausia superba (S.T.R.E.S) Cruise. My lab’s Fearless Leader is currently aboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer in Antarctica, on a … Continue reading →

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Get Off The Altar

Posted on 2014/12/09 by Sam

Last week, the New York Times Magazine published a show-stopping piece by Veronique Greenwood about her great-great aunt, Marguerite Perey. Perey worked in the Paris lab of M. and Mme. Curie, where she discovered the element now known as Francium. … Continue reading →

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