Swarfblog

Rare Earths Aren’t Rare, with Julie Klinger-Ep. 254

“Rare earths aren’t actually rare, nor are they earths,” Julie Klinger told me. Julie is an associate professor at UW Madison and literally wrote the book on rare earth elements—Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes. I interviewed her last week, the day after Trump signed a rare

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Trump Gets It

I must admit I am totally into the 2016 election. The ascent of Donald Trump is so stunning, so horrifying, but also so wonderfully amazing

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Muslims in Munich

Just got back from a trip to Germany last week. While we Americans are spending our energy hootin and hollerin about the 5000 Syrian refugees

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Chips Oy Vey

My critics have often said my Swarf (British for scrap) was rubbish. I doubt that, but your swarf, those chips that are conveyed out of

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Not My America

In August of 2008, I was in a state of catastrophic heart failure when I reached St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. A brave and talented

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Tangerine

I am writing this blog from home on Tuesday. My brain surgery to remove a benign tumor on my pituitary gland, which had grown from

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