Hi, there.  Grab a tasty beverage and pull up a chair for some science-y stuff because that’s what this blog is about, mostly.  Each Monday morning for a decade I’ve added a post, usually a 700-word story. The topic catalog (click the Science Topics button up top there) has grown to cover most of Physics, Astronomy, their overlap, and a sprinkling of related subjects. The “every Monday” schedule will slack off a bit starting in 2026 but I still run across interesting stuff out there so check back every once in a while.

The earlier posts were written in lecture mode, because I used to do that. Then I discovered that people are almost as interesting as Science so since that time I’ve been posting stories that are more like what Garrison Keillor did for his Prairie Home Companion radio show. People show up when the story needs them or when they feel like it. You can get acquainted with the cast of characters if you click on the Cast of Characters button up top.

I tend to hit a big topic in spurts. If you find something interesting, flip to the Science Topics list to find related posts, especially the numbered ones in the same story arc. The embedded links and the tags and categories can help, too —I’ve used tags to list major cast characters or frequently‑hit topics.  Happy hunting.

I’ve been a chemistry professor, a massage therapist and a mainframe computer system programmer and performance manager (which means I’ve spent a whole lot of time doing statistical modeling applied to real-world situations — they call that Software Physics these days). I’m also a long-time reader of the science literature, especially in Physics and Astronomy. If you drop by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science some afternoon and visit our Space Odyssey hall you might encounter me as a volunteer demonstrating one of our spiffy exhibits, maybe Science on A Sphere or the Gravity Floor. Oh, I should say that the postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent the positions, strategies, or opinions of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, NASA, NOAA, or any organization I belong to.

All that to show you I’ve got the background to know what I’m talking about, mostly. Please feel free to use the Comments to set me straight when I don’t.

And thanks for visiting. Y’all come on back real soon, y’hear?

~~ Rich Olcott