Center of Milky Way: Spitzer + Chandra + Hubble

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/D.Wang et al.; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSC/S.Stolovy

near-infrared data from the reinvigorated Hubble (yellow) with infrared signals from the Spitzer Space Telescope (red) and X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue and violet)


Nature Vol 462, 24/31 December 2009

The future of table tennis

(Gu Yuting)



(Wu Yang)
(Photos by Rémy Gros)

As I watched the ITTF live stream of semis and finals of individual events at the 2009 World Junior Table Tennis Championships, Cartagena de Indias, COL throughout the day, I was quite impressed by the levels of play. The most exciting new player is the 14-year-old Gu Yuting from China, the winner of mixed doubles, girls' doubles, and the runner-up of girls' singles. It's hard to believe the davastating power of her forehand loop, even against the Great Wall of the world's top female defender, the 17-year-old Wu Yang of China, who defeat Gu in the final of girls' singles. With more international competition experience, improvement of backhand loop for Gu and forehand attack for Wu, I will not be surprised to see the two ladies in 2016 (if not 2012!) Olympics.

"Open University" in Wheeler Hall

One possible class: Poetry and Poetics in Crisis

Wheeler Hall protest at UC Berkeley

According to the statement by Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau, "our students are justifiably angry over the fee increases and reductions in staff necessitated by the egregious disinvestment by Sacramento in the University of California. They are not alone in this."

I've been to Wheeler Hall on numerous occasions to attend poetry colloqia and readings in 2003-2004 during my short return to the Bay area and I really enjoyed the time there. How can poetry say something meaningful at a time of crisis?

Zhang Jike led the young Chinese team to victory over Japan at the Asian Championships

(from ITTF)

With his two victories including the decisive fifth match victory again, Zhang Jike is the soul of the new generation of Chinese players. Though I have to applaud the young and dynamic and talented Japanese team, which matched the Chinese almost evenly. I think the most exciting worldclass competition in the next few years will be between China and Japan.

Remember Qian Xuesen

(December 11, 1911 – October 31, 2009)






Jiaotong University (1934)
Caltech (1939)
First director of JPL (1949)
Founder of China's rocket program.

My conversation with Kate Schapira

I had very stimulating and productive email exchanges with the wonderful poet Kate Schapira between Nov. 2008 and Jan. 2009, and it just came out in Mantis #8 (from Stanford University), which I just received this afternoon, while strugglling for the final touch of a new piece. Thank you, Kate.