Recent content on Dan Allan

 
 
 I am a scientific software developer. I build and teach software for data acquisition, data management, and scientific data analysis. I lead the Data Engineering Group at Brookhaven National Lab’s National Synchrotron Light Source II , a Department of Energy facility that supports a broad range of scientific research. 
 My primary work is the Bluesky Project (not to be…
When Dawn changed their proprietary soap recipe in 1996, making great bubble soap at home became less straightforward.
They don’t make Super Soakers like they used to when I was a kid. I read the original patents and built my own.
Python library developers can declare custom entry_points in their packages. This language feature is a good fit for “plugin discovery”, and it should be more widely used.
A survey of approaches for sharing Jupyter notebooks
A guide and template for scientific Python libraries
An simple web app for counting beats per minute, with measurement error
I coauthored an April Fools’ Day arXiv paper on planetary orbits that could result in unpredictable winter length.
A tribute to Professor Tesanovic’s way of making quantum mechanics memorable with dry humor
Demonstrating open source software for generating irregular photomosaics
A new blog collects aural illusions, and I share some favorites that I know
Giving Baltimore City high school students hands-on experience with mechanical advantage
Four Popsicle sticks can be bent together to form a spring-loaded projectile, perfect for entertaining bored children.
Building a thermoacoustic device using toaster wire, a catalytic converter, and a giant glass pipe
Rendered from this public domain plain text into a more readable format.

 Coverage of The Scopes Trial by H.L. Mencken 

 From The Baltimore Evening Sun, June - September 1925 

 
 Homo Neanderthalensis June 29, 1925 
 Sickening Doubts About Publicity June 29, 1925 
 Impossibility of Obtaining Fair Jury July 10, 1925 
 Trial as Religious Orgy July 11, 1925…