Life and Times... Blah Blah

Poets, Breathe.

2011-09-22T21:13:00.001-05:00

2011-01-31T22:49:00.002-06:00

Pretty neat solar system visualization here. On a side note, holy man its been a long time since I've posted.....

http://dd.dynamicdiagrams.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/orrery_2006.swf

All in a days work... wait, what?

2010-08-22T22:22:00.000-05:00

Fireworks 2010

2010-07-04T09:15:00.003-05:00

Imagination: The Rocket Fuel of Science

2010-07-01T22:47:00.001-05:00

/agrees. This is why I dropped out of Geology. Loved the Science, hated the hoops.

TED: The Intriguing sound of marine animals

2010-06-25T22:55:00.001-05:00

TED: Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs

2010-06-25T22:29:00.000-05:00

Whitest Kids U Know - Call of Duty

2010-06-10T08:47:00.002-05:00

TED: Computing a Theory of Everything

2010-05-07T18:00:00.002-05:00

This is amazing.... Truly amazing!!!

http://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_wolfram_computing_a_theory_of_everything.html

Ted Talk: How we wrecked the Ocean

2010-05-06T17:57:00.002-05:00

http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_jackson.html

Who would have thought that this talk would have been filmed a few days before the Gulf Oil spill.....

NASA Diagnoses Problem With Voyager 2

2010-05-06T17:54:00.003-05:00

http://www.universetoday.com/2010/05/06/nasa-diagnoses-problem-with-voyager-2/

Anyone else wonder how the heck a transmission can be sent 8.6 BILLION miles in 13 hours!!?? This is just incredible to me...

And to think, the satellite may leave the solar system within 5 years...

Ted Talk: Design of the Universe

2010-04-14T22:04:00.001-05:00

He's a little dry, but bear with, amazing stuff here, filmed in 2008.

Ted Talk: The Danger of Science Denial

2010-04-14T21:37:00.000-05:00

The Boy with the Incredible Brain

2010-04-09T15:45:00.002-05:00

Naomi Klein: Ten Things the US Can and Should Do for Haiti

2010-01-15T09:41:00.002-06:00

The recent earthquake in Haiti is a horrific tragedy. My hope is that the people there receive what they need to survive... As always, an excellent article by Naomi:

http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2010/01/ten-things-us-can-and-should-do-haiti

Wednesday's Flyby

2010-01-14T08:24:00.003-06:00

Looks like an asteroid came within one-third the distance from the Earth to the Moon on Wednesday. No worries though, it was only 30-50 feet across, and would have burned up before it struck. Apparently the next close call isn't forecast until 2024.

The line: "It is the closest encounter Earth will have with any known object until 2024." Seems a little gutsy to me... But then "known object" does give them a little leeway!

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/01/wednesdays-near-earth-asteroid-caught-on-film/

My Dark Elf Army....

2010-01-09T09:23:00.000-06:00

My Dark Elf army is the greatest power for evil! from Flyweight Films on Vimeo.

.....alright.... man you're going to kill me here... give me some water. ROFL

Starship Enterprise Destroyed by the Death Star

2010-01-06T19:00:00.001-06:00

Mwaaaahahahahaha!!!!

Naomi Klein: For Obama, No Opportunity Too Big To Blow

2010-01-05T09:10:00.004-06:00

Another excellent article:

http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2009/12/obama-no-opportunity-too-big-blow

Kepler Unearths Hot Mysteries

2010-01-05T09:03:00.003-06:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_sc/us_sci_space_mystery

WASHINGTON – NASA's new planet-hunting telescope has found two mystery objects that are too hot to be planets and too small to be stars.

The Kepler Telescope, launched in March, discovered the two new heavenly bodies, each circling its own star. Telescope chief scientist Bill Borucki of NASA said the objects are thousands of degrees hotter than the stars they circle. That means they probably aren't planets. They are bigger and hotter than planets in our solar system, including dwarf planets.

"The universe keeps making strange things stranger than we can think of in our imagination," said Jon Morse, head of astrophysics for NASA.

The new discoveries don't quite fit into any definition of known astronomical objects, and so far don't have a classification of their own. Details about the mystery objects were presented Monday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington.

For now, NASA researcher Jason Rowe, who found the objects, said he calls them "hot companions."

How hot? Try 26,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That's hot enough to melt lead or iron.

There are two leading theories for what the objects might be and those theories cover both ends of the cosmic life cycle:

_Rowe suggests they are newly born planets. New planets have extremely high temperatures, and in this case Rowe speculates they might be only about 200 million years old.

_Ronald Gilliland of the Space Telescope Science Institute says they could be white dwarf stars that are dying and stripping off their outer shells and shrinking.

Excellent!!

Sailing the Seas of Titan

2010-01-03T18:43:00.001-06:00

I hope they get funding for this project, it'd be really interesting to see what they find.

http://www.universetoday.com/2010/01/01/sailing-the-seas-of-titan/

Brilliant!

Jack Bauer Interrogates Santa

2009-12-23T14:35:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

The Known Universe by AMNH

2009-12-22T20:13:00.001-06:00

Saturn's Mysterious Hexagon

2009-12-09T20:44:00.002-06:00

I LOVE this storm. Another great article on it:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/saturn-hexagon/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wiredscience+%28Blog+-+Wired+Science%29

And for more info on Saturn, there's always the wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn

Stormtroopers 9-11

2009-11-21T10:07:00.002-06:00

Thanks Dave, hilarious!!!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Speaking of Black Holes!

2009-11-20T22:32:00.000-06:00

Awesome! Thanks for the link Zach!

Black Hole Drive Could Power Future Starships

2009-11-20T09:38:00.003-06:00

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/11/19/black-hole-drive-could-power-future-starships/

Such a black hole drive could easily accelerate to near the speed of light, opening up the cosmos to human travelers, but that's just the beginning. The micro-black hole could also be used as a power generator capable of transforming any matter directly into energy. This energy could be used to create new black holes and new power generators. Obviously, creating and harnessing black holes is not an easy undertaking, but Crane and Westmoreland point out that the black hole drive has a significant advantage over more speculative technologies like warp drives and wormholes: it is physically possible. And, they believe, worth pursuing "because it allows a completely different and vastly wider destiny for the human race. We should not underestimate the ingenuity of the engineers of the future."

I love it! Looks like the Cern Supercollider may be turned on this weekend as well...

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/11/19/large-hadron-collider-could-re-start-this-weekend/

Dawn takes residence in Asteroid Belt

2009-11-17T09:07:00.003-06:00

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/11/16/dawn-takes-up-residence-in-asteroid-belt/

Excellent! I didn't know that Vesta is believed to be the source of most of the asteroid meteorites that fall to Earth. Interesting!

Civilian Supercomputer Shatters Competition

2009-11-17T09:02:00.002-06:00

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/11/civilian-supercomputer-shatters-nuke-simulators-speed-record/

The retooled Jaguar supercomputer blew away the competition on the latest list of the 500 fastest computers in the world, clocking an incredible 1.759 petaflops — 1,759 trillion calculations per second.

“From the early 80s it may be close to a million fold improvement in computational performance,” Hack said.

Imagine in 30 years, when computational performance may be close to a trillion fold improvement over our current technology...

Naomi Klein: Revisiting No Logo

2009-11-17T08:49:00.003-06:00

Looks like Naomi is releasing an extended introduction. I haven't read the book yet, but its on my to-read list. The article below is interesting as she wrote it in 1999, and in some ways is as applicable now as it was then.

http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2009/11/revisiting-no-logo-ten-years-later

Rebels in Search of Rules
By Naomi Klein, New York Times, December 2, 1999

It is all too easy to dismiss the protesters at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle as radicals with 60's envy. A seemingly more trenchant criticism is that they are simply behind the curve, fighting against a tide of globalization that has already swamped them. Mike Moore, the director of the W.T.O., describes his opponents as nothing more than protectionists launching an assault on internationalism.

The truth, however, is that the protesters in Seattle have been bitten by the globalization bug as surely as the trade lawyers inside the Seattle hotels—though by globalization of a different sort—and they know it. The confusion about the protesters' political goals is understandable: this is the first movement born of the anarchic pathways of the Internet. There is no top-down hierarchy, no universally recognized leaders, and nobody knows what is going to happen next.

This protest movement is really anti-corporate rather than anti-globalist, and its roots are in the anti-sweatshop campaigns taking aim at Nike, the human rights campaign focusing on Royal Dutch/Shell in Nigeria and the backlash against Monsanto's genetically engineered foods in Europe.

At any time, one huge multinational company may be involved in several disputes—on labor, human rights and environmental issues, for example. Activists learn of one another as they aim at the same corporate target. Inadvertently, individual corporations have become symbols of the global economy in miniature, ultimately providing activists with name-brand entry points to the arcane world of the W.T.O.

This is the most internationally minded, globally linked movement the world has ever seen. There are no more faceless Mexicans or Chinese workers stealing our jobs, in part because those workers' representatives are now on the same e-mail lists and at the same conferences as the Western activists. When protesters shout about the evils of globalization, most are not calling for a return to narrow nationalism, but for the borders of globalization to be expanded, for trade to be linked to democratic reform, higher wages, labor rights and environmental protections.

This is what sets the young protesters in Seattle apart from their 60's predecessors. In the age of Woodstock, refusing to play by state and school rules was regarded as a political act in itself. Now, opponents of the W.T.O.—even those who call themselves anarchists—are outraged about a lack of rules and authority. They are demanding that national governments be free to exercise their authority without interference from the W.T.O. and asking for stricter international rules governing labor standards, environmental protection and scientific research.

Everyone, of course, claims to be all for rules, from President Clinton to Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates. In an odd turn of events, the need for "rules-based trade" has become the mantra of the era of deregulation. But deregulation is by definition about the removal of rules. The W.T.O., charged with defining and enforcing deregulation, is only concerned with rules that regulate the removal of rules.

The W.T.O. has consistently sought to sever trade, quite unnaturally, from everything and everyone affected by it: workers, the environment, culture. This is why President Clinton's suggestion yesterday that the rift between the protesters and the delegates can be smoothed over with small compromises and consultation is so misguided.

The face-off is not between globalizers and protectionists, but between two radically different visions of globalization. One has had a monopoly for the last 10 years. The other just had its coming-out party.

Photographer Collection: David Guttenfelder in Afghanistan

2009-11-04T15:56:00.001-06:00

This is an amazing collection of photos, check it out:

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2009/10/30/photographer-collection-david-guttenfelder-in-afghanistan/

For the past seven years, David Guttenfelder has witnessed and documented the changing landscape of Afghanistan. Although mostly embedded with coalition troops, he has also covered the presidential elections, bodybuilders in Kabul, the state of Afghan prisons and daily life in the country. Guttenfelder is the chief Asia photographer for The Associated Press and over the past seven years has offered the general public a close-up, intimate look at the lives of troops fighting in the mountains and remote regions of Afghanistan.

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!!

2009-10-30T10:13:00.002-05:00

mmmurrrgh- brains!

Hope everyone enjoys a safe and fun-filled Halloween!!!

Obama's Bad Influence by Naoimi Klein

2009-10-26T14:50:00.001-05:00

Great article by Naomi Klein here.

Obama's Bad Influence

By Naomi Klein - October 15th, 2009

Published in The Nation

Of all the explanations for Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, the one that rang truest came from French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "It sets the seal on America's return to the heart of all the world's peoples." In other words, this was Europe's way of saying to America, "We love you again"—sort of like those weird "renewal of vows" ceremonies that couples have after surviving a rough patch.

Now that Europe and the United States are officially reunited, it seems worth asking: is this necessarily a good thing? The Nobel Committee, which awarded the prize specifically for Obama's embrace of "multilateral diplomacy," is evidently convinced that US engagement on the world stage is a triumph for peace and justice. I'm not so sure. After nine months in office, Obama has a clear track record as a global player. Again and again, US negotiators have chosen not to strengthen international laws and protocols but rather to weaken them, often leading other rich countries in a race to the bottom.

Let's start where the stakes are highest: climate change. During the Bush years, European politicians distinguished themselves from the United States by expressing their unshakable commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. So while the United States increased its carbon emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels, the European Union countries reduced theirs by 2 percent. Not stellar, but clearly a case where the EU's breakup with the United States carried tangible benefits for the planet.

Flash forward to the high-stakes climate negotiations that just wrapped up in Bangkok. The talks were supposed to lead to a deal in Copenhagen this December that significantly strengthens the Kyoto Protocol. Instead, the United States, the EU and the rest of the developed countries formed a unified bloc calling for Kyoto to be scrapped and replaced. Where Kyoto set clear and binding targets for emission reductions, the US plan would have each country decide how much to cut, then submit its plans to international monitoring (with nothing but wishful thinking to ensure that this all keeps the planet's temperature below catastrophic levels). And where Kyoto put the burden of responsibility squarely on the rich countries that created the climate crisis, the new plan treats all countries the same.

These kinds of weak proposals were not altogether surprising coming from the United States. What was shocking was the sudden unity of the rich world around this plan—including many countries that had previously sung the praises of Kyoto. And there were more betrayals: the EU, which had indicated it would spend $19 billion to $35 billion a year to help developing countries adapt to climate change, came to Bangkok with a much lower offer, one more in line with the US pledge of... nothing. Oxfam's Antonio Hill summed up the negotiations like this: "When the starting gun fired, it became a race to the bottom, with rich countries weakening existing commitments under the international framework."

This isn't the first time a much-celebrated return to the negotiating table has resulted in overturned tables, with hard-won international laws and conventions scattered on the floor. The United States played a similar role at the UN conference on racism in Geneva in April. After extracting all sorts of deletions from the negotiating text—no references to Israel or the Palestinians, nothing on slavery reparations, etc.—the Obama administration decided to boycott anyway, pointing to the fact that the new text "re-affirms" the document adopted in 2001 in Durban, South Africa.

It was a flimsy excuse, but there was some kind of logic to it, since the United States had never signed the original 2001 document. What made no sense was the wave of copycat withdrawals from around the rich world. Within forty-eight hours of the US announcement Italy, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Poland had pulled out. Unlike the United States, these governments had all signed the 2001 declaration, so they had no reason to object to a document that reaffirmed it. It didn't matter. As with the climate change negotiations, lining up behind Obama, with his impeccable reputation, was an easy way to avoid burdensome international obligations and look progressive at the same time—a service the United States was never able to provide during the Bush years.

The United States has had a similarly corrupting influence as a new member of the UN Human Rights Council. Its first big test was Judge Richard Goldstone's courageous report on Israel's Gaza onslaught, which found that war crimes had been committed by both the Israeli army and Hamas. Rather than prove its commitment to international law, the United States used its clout to smear the report as "deeply flawed" and to strong-arm the Palestinian Authority into withdrawing a supportive resolution. (The PA, which faced a furious backlash at home for caving in to US pressure, may introduce a new version.)

And then there are the G-20 summits, Obama's highest-profile multilateral engagements. When one was held in London in April, it seemed for a moment that there might be some kind of coordinated attempt to rein in transnational financial speculators and tax dodgers. Sarkozy even pledged to walk out of the summit if it failed to produce serious regulatory commitments. But the Obama administration had no interest in genuine multilateralism, advocating instead for countries to come up with their own plans (or not) and hope for the best--much like its reckless climate-change plan. Sarkozy, needless to say, did not walk anywhere but to the photo session to have his picture taken with Obama.

Of course, Obama has made some good moves on the world stage—not siding with the coup government in Honduras, supporting a UN Women's Agency... But a clear pattern has emerged: in areas where other wealthy nations were teetering between principled action and negligence, US interventions have tilted them toward negligence. If this is the new era of multilateralism, it is no prize.

Arctic Sediments Show That 20th Century Warming Is Unlike Natural Variation

2009-10-26T14:35:00.003-05:00

Very interesting article here. Can't say I didn't see this coming.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163513.htm

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2009) — The possibility that climate change might simply be a natural variation like others that have occurred throughout geologic time is dimming, according to evidence in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper published October 19.

Most Complicated Eyes: Mantis Shrimp

2009-10-26T14:31:00.002-05:00

And I thought my eyes were bad before reading this article!

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/mantis-shrimp-eyes/

Martian Dust Devils

2009-10-22T14:20:00.003-05:00

The markings in the Martian dirt are caused by Dust Devils that lift up the red silt, leaving behind the darker colored material. Amazing!

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091021.html

SLOOH - Your Online Observatory

2009-10-20T15:12:00.003-05:00

This looks really cool! 12 months for $49.99. And they've got a set of "Missions" for kids too, looks like these are $4.99. I just might take some time to look over the trial...

http://www.slooh.com/

South Park in Sepia

2009-10-17T08:45:00.002-05:00

I recently took my favorite South Park photos and redid them in sepia. Here are a few of my favs:

Here is the full set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariuccij/sets/72157622467856266/

Yoda Pumpkin Carvin!

2009-10-17T08:35:00.002-05:00

A friend asked me to create a Yoda stencil for carving pumpkins. Or in this particular case Squash carving. Thought I'd post here in case anyone else would like to use it!

50 Years of Space Travel

2009-10-15T15:56:00.002-05:00

Number of Possible Multiverses may be "Humongous"

2009-10-15T12:56:00.004-05:00

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/10/15/if-we-live-in-a-multiverse-how-many-are-there/

Keep in mind this is truly hypothetical, but extremely interesting. And yeah, I'd bet that 10^10^10^7 is a "humongous" number.

Hiking Devil's Lake

2009-10-14T08:46:00.004-05:00

I was fortunate enough to have Sunday open last week, and spent it hiking around Devil's Lake. Took hundreds of pics, and it was the nicest day we've had weather-wise in a very long time. Here are some of my favorites:

You can see the whole set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariuccij/sets/72157622449546607/

Europa Capable of Supporting Life: Richard Greenberg

2009-10-08T14:26:00.003-05:00

Alright, WAY cool.

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/10/08/europa-capable-of-supporting-life-scientist-says/

The global ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa contains about twice the liquid water of all the Earth’s oceans combined. New research by Richard Greenberg of the University of Arizona suggests that there may be plenty of oxygen available in that ocean to support life, a hundred times more oxygen than previously estimated.

....

Greenberg says that the concentrations of oxygen would be great enough to support not only microorganisms, but also “macrofauna”, that is, more complex animal-like organisms which have greater oxygen demands. The continual supply of oxygen could support roughly 3 billion kilograms of macrofauna, assuming similar oxygen demands to terrestrial fish.
The good news for the question of the origin of life is that there would be a delay of a couple of billion years before the first surface oxygen reached the ocean. Without that delay, the first pre-biotic chemistry and the first primitive organic structures would be disrupted by oxidation. Oxidation is a hazard unless organisms have evolved protection from its damaging effects. A similar delay in the production of oxygen on Earth was probably essential for allowing life to get started here.

I'm definitely adding his book to my "must read" list:
“Unmasking Europa: The Search for Life on Jupiter’s Ocean Moon.”

Blue Stonehenge

2009-10-07T15:32:00.002-05:00

Interesting article. It would seem a second Stonehenge has been found a little more than a mile away from the first.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/06/second-stonehenge-discovered

The Yes Men: Dow Apology Hoax

2009-10-06T16:51:00.002-05:00

The Yes Men's Dow Apology Hoax | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Exxon's Climate-Victim Candles

2009-10-06T16:41:00.003-05:00

I'm definitely going to see their movie when it comes out on the 7th. In the mean time, check out this hilarious prank they pulled on Exxon.

http://www.theyesmen.org/hijinks/vivoleum

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/06/yes_men_strike_/

The Marshmallow Test

2009-09-29T15:09:00.002-05:00

Okay, HILARIOUS.

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

Original link here.

Butterfly's in Accent Color

2009-09-28T07:58:00.003-05:00

Click here to see the whole Accent Color gallery.

Untold Stories of the Tsunami

2009-09-26T16:20:00.004-05:00

I think a big part of being human is sharing stories. Opening up to others, telling them something about yourself and your life.

Today I checked Hulu for the latest episode of Defying Gravity, and while there I found a link to this film. It's extremely heartbreaking, listening to the people in the video tell their stories, but to me, it was something I had to watch. They took their time to share their own piece of the tragedy, so that others can hopefully appreciate their circumstances a little more.

God bless all the people who died and went missing that day 5 years ago. What a tragedy. Sharing this because it tells their story, and it makes me feel a little more human.

Brain Scanning

2009-09-24T14:47:00.001-05:00

Interesting article here about pulling images from your brain.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/09/brain-scans-reveal-what-youve-seen/

Multicolr Search Lab

2009-09-21T15:23:00.003-05:00

This tool is awesome!!

Click your color, or color combinations, and this tool will (instantaneously) search through literally millions of images and bring you a collage in that color. Not only that but each is linked back to the original photo on Flickr. How sweet is that!

http://labs.ideeinc.com/multicolr/

Kanye West interrupts Obama

2009-09-17T21:54:00.003-05:00

Caught this today on Facebook, its pure win.

Sorry Mountain Dew, you've been out uh... Dewed!

2009-09-17T15:50:00.002-05:00

Well I mean... in the coolness factor at the very least. Still going for green until their bloaty prices drop. Makes me laugh though!

http://www.myjones.com/code/limited.php?campaign=wizards
Original Link: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/09/dd-flavored-jones-soda/

Immortal... Jellyfish!?

2009-09-17T15:38:00.004-05:00

Yep, who would have known... These little buggers use "transdifferentiation" to basically remake their cells, just as a salamander can regrow its tail. Only they can remake EVERY cell in their body. Over. And over. Thus, feasibly they can live forever.

What an interesting bugger. Though in the photo below it sort of looks like we're seeing a blurry photo inside its body, or is that just me? I mean, I half expect to see Cris Angel walk up to it and go "ARE YOU READY!!!!!"

Check out the original link:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2009/01/29/the-curious-case-of-the-immortal-jellyfish/

Super Cell Lightning on Saturn

2009-09-15T09:40:00.002-05:00

Looks like Saturn's lightning storms have broken a new 'longest lasting' record. A lightning storm nearly 2000 miles across has been raging there since January.

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/09/14/super-cell-lightning-storm-raging-on-saturn-since-january/

Macro Plant life

2009-09-14T19:59:00.002-05:00

APOD: Summer Night in Astronomy Town

2009-09-14T13:50:00.001-05:00

Saturday's APOD was gorgeous. Check it out: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090912.html

9-11

2009-09-11T15:10:00.004-05:00

I know that my words won't help put aside the grief that is felt by many on this day. It is beyond scope, unquantifiable and largely beyond my simple brain's capacity. Innocents died. Families were broken. Brave men and women did everything they could in an awful situation.

I know that we exist in a society that is largely corrupt, one which puts greater emphasis on money than on people. A nation of haves and have nots. It is my sincere hope that someday we can break free from this terrible downward spiral. God bless freedom and all that this flag was meant to stand for.

We'll never forget.

TED: Let my dataset change your mindset

2009-09-11T08:28:00.003-05:00

A friend shared this AMAZING TED with me the other day. I'm glad I saw it- its simply amazing. The data he shows is put together in an intuitive (and interactive!) way. Simply brilliant.

Hubble got an upgrade!?

2009-09-10T08:29:00.003-05:00

So I guess I wasn't aware that the near-death telescope actually received an upgrade recently. I know several months ago they successfully sent astronauts up to work on it, but had no idea that they improved its performance beyond extending its life.

Check out today's APOD to help drive the point home, the Butterfly Nebula:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090910.html

Absolutely gorgeous!

Love is Patient

2009-09-02T13:12:00.002-05:00

Found this really quite interesting. Awesome style, the photographer is Kelly Castro, the person who created the collage is Santiago Ortiz.

http://moebio.com/loveispatient/

Menominee Park Zoo

2009-09-02T09:57:00.003-05:00

A couple pictures from a recent trip to the zoo. And speaking of photos, I recently found a dead pixel on my camera and my warranty is up- not good news I tell you!

Clouds!

2009-08-29T17:44:00.003-05:00

We had an awesome thunderstorm last night, and there was a 10 minute window where the clouds were extremely dynamic. I'm only sorry I didn't get more photos before it started to pour.

It was awesome!

Big version here.

Eewewewewwww!!

2009-08-26T22:26:00.003-05:00

Spiders are gross.

But if I have a camera in my hand, you'd better believe I'm going in for the shot. I've got goose bumps now just thinking about him. He totally could have jumped at me- it would've been all over, and fast I bet.

One thing I can tell you however, if I'm to die by gigantic gross spider biteation- I will die with my camera in hand. Look at this suckers eyes... Yeeish.

I wish I had a yellow ass...

More Tilt Shift

2009-08-24T13:39:00.003-05:00

Green Fridge Invention

2009-08-18T12:49:00.001-05:00

http://www.homedesignfind.com/appliances/green-fridge-invention-uses-almost-no-electricity/

Wow. I want one.

A clever Australian inventor, Tom Chalko has converted a deep freeze into an incredibly efficient refrigerator that only has to run for a minute or two every hour to maintain normal fridge temperatures, using only about 100 watts of power a day.
His home-made fridge uses as much energy in 24 hours as a 100W light bulb gets through in just an hour.

Not only is it energy efficient; but it’s absolutely silent too. The thing is only running for a minute or two every hour. At all other times it is perfectly quiet and consumes no power whatsoever.

Suspended in a Sunbeam...

2009-08-17T15:17:00.003-05:00

Looking at this image reminds me that my life isn't really that complicated.
(I should also mention that I'm not entirely sure that this image is what it says it is)

Horicon Marsh

2009-08-16T13:42:00.004-05:00

Went hiking with a friend to the Horicon Marsh the other day and snapped a few pictures. I didn't realize how big the marsh was. We only covered half of what we'd wanted to see.

You can see the whole set of photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariuccij/sets/72157622041012706/

Click here to see these as a slideshow:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariuccij/sets/72157622041012706/show/

Great Online Geography Tool

2009-08-12T14:43:00.002-05:00

Found this today, looks like its a great geography tool for all ages. It includes countries, capitals, and even major cities.

http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/usaquiz.html

Ultra Deep Field in 3D

2009-08-12T09:31:00.000-05:00

Brilliant!!

Geography of Jobs

2009-08-11T15:36:00.003-05:00

This is an interesting animation.

http://tipstrategies.com/archive/geography-of-jobs/

This animated map provides a striking visual of employment trends over the last business cycle using net change in jobs from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on a rolling 12-month basis.

State of the Future

2009-08-07T14:57:00.003-05:00

Found this article today and wanted to dig to get some more information on it.

"A major report issued by the United Nations Millenium Project has just been released. It finds that half the world appears vulnerable to social instability and violence due to increasing and potentially prolonged unemployment from the recession as well as several longer-term issues: decreasing water, food, and energy supplies per person; the cumulative effects of climate change, and increasing migrations due to political, environmental, and economic conditions. It also finds some good in the global financial crisis, which may be helping humanity to move from its often selfish, self-centered adolescence to a more globally responsible adulthood."

Read More...

Here is a link to the 2009 State of the Future report itself:
http://www.millennium-project.org/millennium/sof2009.html

Interesting free PDF in there as well. At least they are thorough... 850+ pages.
http://www.millennium-project.org/SOF-2009/Chapter%209_1-ES-scanning.pdf

A quick snippet off page 10 is rather disturbing:

"The magnitude of the economic turmoil that focused world’s attention on financial deficits, coupled with increased environmental disasters, helped improve the understanding of potential long-term impacts of the increasing ecological deficit. Comparably, however, the environmental deficit is in most cases irreparable.

Earth Overshoot Day was September 23 in 2008—the day when humanity has used what nature can regenerate annually—and it is moving earlier each year, according to Global Footprint Network. The Living Planet Report 2008, which documents the extent of human pressure on the planet, reveals that 75% of the human population lives in countries that are “ecological debtors,” demanding more biocapacity than they have within their borders."

I've never heard of Earth Overshoot Day, it sure is heartbreaking seeing it quantified in that manner.

Aesops Fable is True- Crow Study

2009-08-07T13:15:00.003-05:00

So last September I posted about Crows.

The original link is here. It was an excellent TED speech by Joshua Klein. Well today I found another link on the subject. Interesting stuff (if you're a geek like me). In addition to the link, I've posted the video again off of TED.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/5983953/Aesops-fable-is-true-shows-crow-study.html

"In a series of tests, the four rooks named Cook, Fry, Connelly and Monroe were offered a tempting treat - a juicy worm floating on the surface of water in a vertical tube.

To start with, the worm was out of reach. Videos of the experiments show the birds examining the tube from different angles, appearing to think the problem through.

Then the researchers provide a solution in the form of a handful of pebbles. The rooks can be seen picking up the stones and dropping them into the tube to raise the water level and bring the worm within reach.

Cook and Fry succeeded straight away, while Connelly and Monroe took two attempts.

The birds appeared to estimate how many pebbles were needed from the outset. Rather than try for the worm after each stone was dropped, they waited until the time seemed right.

They also selected larger stones over smaller ones, for greater effect.

In other experiments, the rooks quickly understood that sawdust cannot be displaced in the same way as water."

Galactic Center of Milky Way - Time Lapse

2009-08-07T12:49:00.002-05:00

Found this today, absolutely brilliant!

Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Time lapse video of night sky as it passes over the 2009 Texas Star Party in Fort Davis, Texas. The galactic core of Milky Way is brightly displayed. Images taken with 15mm fisheye lens.

Horse hits Car

2009-08-06T23:01:00.003-05:00

I caught this on the news the other day. Man oh man. It sounds like the people affected were okay. I hope the horse was okay too... What gets me is that everyone is still driving. The last horse probably didn't even see the car before it was too late, because the others were in front of it.

The video seems to be a good metaphor for man-kinds general lack of respect for the earth and its creatures. Stop freak'n driving next time, and who knows... maybe those horses could have taken a different lane. Hrrm. /ramble complete

TED: Paul Romers Radical Idea- Charter Cities

2009-08-05T09:32:00.002-05:00

Interesting TED Talk here.

ZoOoOooo Trip!

2009-08-03T09:34:00.004-05:00

We took the kids to the zoo in Green Bay yesterday and had a spectacular time. I think 80% of Isabella's enjoyment came from spending time in their play area. Haha, never mind all the exotic animals around! Here are a few pictures snapped:

By Jovian, I got it!

2009-07-31T12:43:00.007-05:00

Jupiter as seen through my trusty Canon S5. Shot this yesterday around midnight. You can even see a few of Jupiter's moons. Most likely Io and Europa.

Experimenting with Tilt Shift

2009-07-31T09:10:00.003-05:00

So I've been experimenting with a photography technique called miniature faking. Found this great article on it the other day and thought "what the hey, lets try it!"

The technique is fairly simple, whereby you select a portion of your photo to remain sharp, and blur the rest. By amping up the colors a little you can get the feel of the objects in frame looking smaller than they really are. It helps to have an image with perspective that is high off the ground, which helps to give the illusion that you're looking down on a miniature modeled world.

Here are a few of mine:

96 Months to Save World says Prince Charles

2009-07-30T15:57:00.002-05:00

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/just-96-months-to-save-world-says-charles-1738049.html

I thought that this article tied in nicely with the first link I posted today. So 96 months... I wonder how he came up with that figure. To quote a bit from the article:

The Prince, who has spoken passionately about the environment before, said that if the world failed to heed his warnings then we all faced the "nightmare that for so many of us now looms on the horizon".
Charles's speech was described as his first attempt to present a coherent philosophy in which he placed the threat to the environment in the context of a failing economic system.
The Prince, who is advised by the leading environmentalists Jonathon Porritt and Tony Juniper, said that even the economist Adam Smith, father of modern capitalism, had been aware of the short-comings of unfettered materialism.
Delivering the annual Richard Dimbleby lecture, Charles said that without "coherent financial incentives and disincentives" we have just 96 months to avert "irretrievable climate and ecosystem collapse, and all that goes with it."

Capitalism - Sarah Palin Style

2009-07-30T09:58:00.002-05:00

http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2009/07/capitalism-sarah-palin-style

An outstanding article. Here is a snippet:

This is not about Sarah Palin. It's about the meaning of that myth of constant "discovery," and what it tells us about the economic system that they're spending trillions of dollars to save. What it tells us is that capitalism, left to its own devices, will push us past the point from which the climate can recover. And capitalism will avoid a serious accounting—whether of its financial debts or its ecological debts—at all costs. Because there’s always more. A new quick fix. A new frontier.

That message was selling, as it always does. It was only when the stock market crashed that people said, "Maybe Sarah Palin isn't a great idea this time around. Let's go with the smart guy to ride out the crisis."

....

It's appropriate that we call this a "bailout." Financial markets are being bailed out to keep the ship of finance capitalism from sinking, but what is being scooped out is not water. It's people. It's people who are being thrown overboard in the name of "stabilization." The result will be a vessel that is leaner and meaner. Much meaner. Because great inequality—the super rich living side by side with the economically desperate—requires a hardening of the hearts. We need to believe ourselves superior to those who are excluded in order to get through the day. So this is the system that is being saved: the same old one, only meaner.

APOD: Milky Way over Devils Tower

2009-07-29T10:39:00.004-05:00

Sweet APOD today, I've seriously gotta look up tutorials on how to achieve photography like this.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090729.html

Through the Looking Glass

2009-07-25T13:42:00.001-05:00

Live With Me

2009-07-22T21:45:00.002-05:00

Having seen what Alcohol addiction can do to a person, and everyone they come in contact with, this video sure is powerful. The lyrics are thought provoking as well. If that weren't enough its done by Massive Attack. Nuff said.

Fight Bad Service, Bad Products & Bad Ideas

2009-07-22T13:31:00.005-05:00

This guy just made my 'hero' list. Its a rather long read, but very funny. It has to do with setting off alarms after you pay for items in a store, as well as retailers treating every customer as if they were potential thieves. Excellent article, found the original here:

http://www.bwcitypaper.com/bw.digg.page.final.html

Customer Confidential

A new Black & White consumer column helps you fight bad service, bad products, and bad ideas.

By David Pelfrey

November 16, 2006

Here’s a scenario that is familiar to anyone who has ever set foot in Wal-Mart, CVS, Rite-Aid, or any of a dozen other major retailers. After you have made a purchase, collected your bags, or packed everything into a shopping cart, you head for the exit. Just as you approach freedom an alarm sounds (usually a sequence of ugly, electronic grunts) and a robotic voice (always female) announces: “Please return to the checkout.” Other customers immediately look in your direction, and an employee begins to approach you. What’s your next move?

If you possess an ounce of personal pride or perhaps two ounces of fortitude, then the 100 percent correct move is to proceed immediately out the door. Why? There are many reasons, chief among them being that rational adults should not instantly obey mechanical voices (unless that voice instructs us to exit a burning aircraft). Also, if you haven’t stolen anything and therefore do not require interrogation, there is absolutely nothing that should compel you to linger post-transaction. It’s depressing enough simply being there in the first place. Another good reason to make a quick exit is that you aren’t being paid to assist some giant retailer with its security measures. You aren’t part of the team, and you didn’t clock in. The clearest reason for leaving the store, however, is that there exists absolutely no legal obligation to remain there, and the store has no right to detain you.

Because all of the above constitute my position on the matter, I have established a mildly adversarial relationship with many retail establishments with whom I continue to do business. I don’t mind too much, because so far I have won all the battles in this long and silly war. What does trouble me is that retailers who, as a matter of policy, routinely treat customers like criminals have not changed their attitude about the issue. In fact, some vehemently defend their policies. I began closely paying attention to this phenomenon several years ago. My story begins at Wal-Mart during the Christmas shopping season of 2000.

It’s an unpleasant fact of life that sometimes we must shop at Wal-Mart, but the selection and savings in the pharmacy and auto department are worth braving the depressing atmosphere if you can get in and out fast enough. A speedy departure is exactly what I was thinking about that December evening as I sped my cart, after paying for all nine items, toward one of the exits. I was stopped by a 60-something gentleman who said he needed to see my receipt and check what was in my cart. I smiled and said, “I’m in a hurry to get out of this madness. Can’t help you.”

The truth is that I had no idea where that receipt was, and I wasn’t keen to search for it. The gentleman moved in front of the cart and firmly gripped the sides, saying “Sir, I must see your receipt before you leave.”

“Oh, I see what you mean,” I replied. “I guess we better get one of your security people over here.”

That puzzled him for a second. “Will you wait here while I get somebody? he asked.

“No.” I said. “I’m out the door as soon as you get out of the way.”

This was a spontaneous answer on my part, but in all honesty I was delighted to have stumbled onto a perfect dilemma for this zealous worker. If he stood his ground, he couldn’t see my receipt. But if he went for assistance, he might lose an opportunity to nail the Tylenol/Windex/Aussie Moist Conditioner thief. He then began to work his way up the side of the cart toward me, his strategy apparently being to keep one hand on the side of the cart and one foot on the floor at all times. Finally, he took hold of my forearm, which surprised me, but not in a good way.

“Never mind security,” I said. “Now you better go find a real police officer.” My captor gave that notion a moment’s thought and then began sprinting toward the rear of the building, making a dash for help in an incident that, for him, must have been escalating toward Def-Con 1. He wasn’t scared; he was determined. I stood there for some time, partly because the whole ridiculous scenario had stunned me, but also because I was even more impressed by how fast the old guy could move. Two other employees and a few customers who were observing the scene were impressed in a different way, I concluded, because they were all laughing at the poor fellow. I proceeded to my car, and that was the end of that. I kept the incident in mind for future reference.

In the spring, a man’s fancy lightly turns to lawn care, and I am therefore a frequent shopper in the gardening department at Wal-Mart, an area that in character and ambience stands in pleasant contrast to the rest of the store. I also have a habit of using the garden entrance and exit. But of course, that’s where the “greeter” invariably interrupts my reverie. “May I please see your receipt?” is the common request. The correct answer, which I also happened upon by accident, is “No, you may not.” What usually occurs next is that the greeter contacts security, because she or he never comprehends that they merely asked for permission that was subsequently not granted. There is nothing in that friendly exchange that hints of criminal activity, so what’s the point of hanging around?

If it sounds at this point as though I’m being an ornery crank about the whole matter, simply consider all those retail establishments at which customers spend vastly greater sums but are not interrogated before their departure. I’ve never been harassed at Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware, for example. I resent certain measures taken by retailers who don’t check bags or receipts, but who do, by implication, still manage to punish all shoppers for the deeds of a few criminals. A favorite means of combating that takes place at Banana Republic and Macy’s. Just for fun, I’ll browse through the leather jackets or expensive sport coats that are fastened together by a cable that holds an alarm sensor. When a clerk approaches and offers to unstrap the merchandise, I simply inform him that I don’t try on clothes in orange-alert, high-security areas. Yes, I’m being a jerk in a very technical sense, but I’m sending a message to management, I hope. Throughout my struggle, I have assumed that enough of these encounters will eventually work their way up through corporate levels to a decision maker who might implement change. That may be a flawed assumption.

The idea that small battles won might not lead to final victory first entered my mind at Costco. Costco is one of my favorite stores in the world, from a purely fiscal perspective. You do indeed save money there. Moreover, the employees at this well-organized, disturbingly efficient warehouse are consistently cheerful and helpful. The butcher shop is cleaner than those I see at the major grocers in town. You can get a case of Coke in glass bottles for just over $10. No way is anyone going to foul up that shopping experience. But Costco is apparently willing to make the effort.

When you check out at Costco, an employee takes your cart, places items on a conveyor, and then another employee rings up the items. There are no bags here (one of the many cost-saving measures) but you may gather empty boxes from a designated area and organize things yourself, once you have paid. It’s a warehouse, after all. In any event, at this point a customer is at least 20 feet from any merchandise, with no access to the store unless they return through the checkout line. There’s nothing between you and the exit, except another employee who must check your receipt and mark it with a highlighting marker. Never mind that all of the items in your cart, which have obviously been paid for, were also placed there by a Costco employee.

One problem with this receipt-checking system is that on busy days it forces customers to form long lines at the exit. On some of my visits, I decided to roll past this line with my items, now that I owned them, and head straight to my car. The first time I tried this, a woman shouted at me to return to the store. I believe she was still yelling “Sir! Sir!” as I departed Patton Creek and approached the interstate ramp. I wouldn’t know; I was listening to a CD I had just purchased at Costco. It was my CD, you understand. Why not enjoy it?

On another visit, I decided to get the lay of the land before attempting any more non-compliant exits. Perhaps there was a rule or policy about the Costco system that made sense. There on the wall at the exit, I discovered, is a huge sign that reads:

Why is my register receipt reviewed when I leave the warehouse?
To assure that you paid for and are not overcharged or undercharged for any item. Also, marking the receipt disallows its reuse.

The completely misleading nature of that message became obvious during my next encounter with Costco security enforcement. As I suspected, there were about a dozen customers in line for “receipt review” at the exit. That represented about six extra minutes that I wasn’t being paid for, and so I rolled toward freedom. The employee “reviewing” receipts left the line and cheerfully said, “I’m going to have to see your receipt first.”

Adopting her happy demeanor, I replied, “And you are going to have to chase me in order to do so.” Sometimes it’s worth being an ass just to see the response on people’s faces. Not only was the receipt lady registering total bewilderment, but several customers in line for the same hassle appeared equally baffled. One woman glanced at me with what looked like total contempt. Her response was invigorating, although I’m not sure why. I continued toward my vehicle, where I was greeted by a man who looked and sounded like “security.”

“Was there a problem at the checkout, sir?” he asked.
“No, actually, checkout was great,” I said. “Very efficient. But leaving the store was a little shaky. In fact, there’s definitely a problem there.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, for openers, I don’t like being treated like a shoplifter.”
“Sir,” he solemnly stated, “No one is treating you like a shoplifter.”
“Really? Then why, exactly, am I having a conversation with store security, who just happened to reach my vehicle at the same time I did?”

Minutes seemed to pass. I thought I noticed a funnel cloud moving toward Vestavia. A faint aroma of cotton candy was in the air. The forty-ish woman loading her purchase into a car two spaces down was wearing tight-fitting, corduroy jeans. She looked amazing. Finally the security guy responded. “Sir, our people checking receipts are doing their jobs. It’s a store policy that we inspect receipts. We’re trying to make sure you paid the right price.”

We get served a lob like that only so many times, and I wasn’t letting this one go. My research was finally paying off. I chose to be polite, because the security guy was actually quite calm and friendly about the whole incident. “This is a warehouse,” I replied. “There are no prices on those items in my cart, so how would they know if I were overcharged? Never mind, here’s another thing you should know. In my last five visits here, I allowed your staff to see my receipts, and they instantly marked them without so much as glancing at the totals. They were simply making certain that I had paid for something, and that I could not come back and use that receipt at a later date. In other words, to stop my attempts, present and future, at theft—you know, as though I were a potential shoplifter. Your sign with the message about ensuring that I wasn’t overcharged is what shoppers like me sometimes call bullshit. That’s Home Depot behind us. I spent a few hundred dollars there last year. Just to our right is Sears. I spent almost that much there last Christmas. No one reviewed my receipts at either store. Please tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

The security guy walked away, perhaps wondering if Costco had not fully explained to him all the details of “receipt review.” It’s also possible that he knew, without a doubt, that I was just one more jackass who “didn’t get it.” These are store policies, damn it.

I contacted management at Wal-Mart, Costco, and other retailers to get some comments for this article about their respective policies. Long story short, no one is budging, and some retailers are downright proud of those policies. Wal-Mart has the most detached view of the issue, it seems. Their explanation of the process has to do with “security detection determining that sensors have not been deactivated; retraining transaction staff, etc.,” but nothing to do with human volition. For Wal-Mart, theft and theft prevention are natural phenomena, much like the weather. No one is being treated like a criminal, you see, it’s strictly a case of “devices detecting active sensors.” There’s really nothing Wal-Mart can do. Except have a greeter rummage through bags of items that legally belong to you. While you wait.

There are some things that shoppers can do, however. First, the deer-in-the-headlights response to security alarms must end. Smile and walk with confidence through the exit. Bear in mind that being suspected of theft is actually a reason to leave the store, not a reason to stay, in much the same way that no one remains at a party after they have been insulted by the host. If a particular retailer wants to play games by insisting that they are merely ensuring that you were not overcharged, then by all means let’s check all 74 items in the cart, poring over the receipt line by line while other customers wait. Another fun approach, if you are detained, is to inform the store that they may indeed inspect your bags or your receipt, if and only if all items are immediately returned for a full refund. That gets their attention. Or just tell them to call a cop. If you’re the theatrical type, adopt a German accent and repeat loudly that your papers are in order (with the same accent you can do the old Berlin Wall bit and say that you have friends at the central committee). The odds of a customer in the store getting the joke are very slim, but anyone who does get the reference will remember you forever. It will feel good to be someone’s hero.

Last fall, while I was waiting for a prescription to be filled, I stood near the exit of my local pharmacy reading a product description on a bottle of shampoo. Two elderly customers set off the sensor alarm as they walked out, but I told them to go ahead, because “that crazy thing had been going off all day, and we had not figured out how to stop it yet.” I also thanked them for shopping with us. When an employee arrived a few seconds later, I waved the bottle and apologized for getting too close to the sensors. All was well. I’m seldom that fast on my feet, but I was having a good week, apart from the sinus infection. With that in mind, as Thanksgiving approaches and the shopping season gains momentum, I hope that my story will be the catalyst for a quantum shift in consumer habits.

Hell Explained by Chemistry Student

2009-07-22T11:30:00.002-05:00

I typically hit delete whenever I see forwards in my inbox. However I was cleaning out my mailbox this morning and stumbled across this little gem that I had kept. Hilarious.

HELL EXPLAINED BY CHEMISTRY STUDENT

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid term.

The answer by one student was so 'profound' that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well :

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my God.'

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.

http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/hell.asp

9/11 Manufactured Terrorism by Gerard Holmgren

2009-07-21T10:35:00.007-05:00

I found this article today and after reading it, I thought I'd do some research on the author. I thought this first article was rather flimsy on fact, but did bring up some interesting information. The manner in which he wrote it however seems a bit childish, and at times rather funny.

He did however come off eloquent enough and brought up important questions. Which is why I did a search for more information on him. This second article I found was really impressive however. Here is the link (also linked below), a 10 page PDF, a summary he wrote. If you don't read the first, then at least give this 2nd link a glance.

I think it is an impressive paper that addresses many of the concerns I personally have about what happened that fateful day. Really- give it a read.

911_Manufactured_Terrorism.pdf

Stellarium

2009-07-20T13:48:00.002-05:00

More software to help you stargaze! Free for the downloading and packed with really interesting tools! Check it out:

http://stellarium.sourceforge.net/

Google's Triforce Easter Egg!

2009-07-17T11:42:00.004-05:00

Haha this is great! Check out the original link here:
http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2009-07-16-n41.html

Nikola Tesla, July 9th 2009

Earth Day 2009

Christiaan Huygens, 2009

Thanksgiving 2008

Halloween 2008
Here, the triforce might have been added later on, or removed... in another version it was not to be seen.

France October 4th, 2008

Olympic Summer Games 2008

Earth Day 2008

The Truth About Plastic Bags

2009-07-16T14:09:00.001-05:00

A great set of slides here...

http://www.poconorecord.com/_flash/soundslides/20080505plasticbags/soundslider.swf

Happy Birthday Melissa!

2009-07-16T08:46:00.003-05:00

Couldn't imagine my life without my sister! Thanks for everything you do for my family!

Neave Planetarium

2009-07-15T08:35:00.002-05:00

Ever wonder which star or planet you're looking at?

Check this out-- the sky in your browser!

http://www.neave.com/planetarium/

Artshow Pictures

2009-07-14T12:38:00.003-05:00

We couldn't have asked for a better day! Sunday was beautiful, the sun was out and a there was a nice breeze most of the time. It wasn't too humid and frankly didn't quite feel like a typical day in July.

There were over 300 vendors this year and the place was PACKED! I owe a big thank you to Ashley and Melissa for everything they did- you guys are le bomb! Also a big thank you to my parents, and to Jesse for help with moving everything to and from the fair.

Here are some pictures-

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who purchased something from my little business venture- I appreciate the business! Cheers!

CancerQuest.org

2009-07-14T07:33:00.002-05:00

http://www.cancerquest.org/

Found this link another great source of information for Cancer

Popping the Bubble

2009-07-13T14:21:00.004-05:00

This is INCREDIBLE!!

Super slow-motion pictures show a soap bubble popping. Here is the original link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1199149/Super-slow-motion-pictures-soap-bubble-bursting-stunning-detail.html

TED Talk: 4 Environmental "Heresies"

2009-07-13T12:58:00.001-05:00

I'm glad that we're seeing more and more people talk about our world and how fragile its systems are. He's got some interesting data on the developing world as well.

Daversity Code

2009-07-13T11:15:00.003-05:00

http://www.daversitycode.com/

Spoof on the Davinci Code with a green twist.

Thorny Plant

2009-07-12T05:58:00.002-05:00

Well today is the artshow. I figured the best way to start it was to blog! Here are a few photos I took last night. Its too bad that I was clumsy walking up to the plant, because I spooked a deer out of the field. Ah well, a lesson learned!

The Great American Bubble Machine

2009-07-10T13:21:00.001-05:00

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/28816321/the_great_american_bubble_machine

A friend referred this article. Going to read it later when there's more time.

9/11 and the American Empire

2009-07-10T12:33:00.002-05:00

This was filmed in Madison in 2005.