17.12.08
The Big Picture year 2008 in photographs
I love pictures and they are relatively easy to blog about. You see them then you show them. It is also the time of year for 2008 best of list so when I come across something like this I naturally.
This is the Chaiten volcano as seen from Chana. This photo was taken in southern Chile May 2, 2008 by Carlos Gutierrez
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off from Kennedy Space Center on May 31, 2008. Photo by Eliot J. Schechter.
A polar bear is drying off in St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in St-Felicien, Quebec on March 6, 2008. Photographed by Mathieu Belanger.
Although this picture was released November 7, 2008 by the Big Wave Awards in Sydney the picture was taken July 6 by Andrew Buckley.
Here are some of the Top Ten Astronomy Pictures of 2008.
No, this is Mercury and not the Moon. Taken as the MESSENGER spacecraft departed the planet for the second time.
Spiral Art - This image was taken by Vicent Peris using the 3.5 meter telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory in southern Spain.
Please visit these websites for larger pictures with better explanations.
This is the Chaiten volcano as seen from Chana. This photo was taken in southern Chile May 2, 2008 by Carlos Gutierrez
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off from Kennedy Space Center on May 31, 2008. Photo by Eliot J. Schechter.
A polar bear is drying off in St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in St-Felicien, Quebec on March 6, 2008. Photographed by Mathieu Belanger.
Although this picture was released November 7, 2008 by the Big Wave Awards in Sydney the picture was taken July 6 by Andrew Buckley.
Here are some of the Top Ten Astronomy Pictures of 2008.
No, this is Mercury and not the Moon. Taken as the MESSENGER spacecraft departed the planet for the second time.
Spiral Art - This image was taken by Vicent Peris using the 3.5 meter telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory in southern Spain.
Please visit these websites for larger pictures with better explanations.
16.12.08
Classical music performed by the Muppets
15.12.08
Google Street view
I was reading on the Internet how Google has expanded its street view. I remembered seeing a car that I thought was a google car last spring. So I zoomed into that location and guess what?
There I am just after my sons soccer practice.
View Larger Map
There I am just after my sons soccer practice.
View Larger Map
Centaur Herd Folding Scooter
Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar 2008
I found this great animated image on the Hubble Space Telescope internet advent calendar.
Advent day #15 - Saturn
Advent day #4 - The colliding Antennae Galaxies
Advent Day #3 - Supernova 1994D
Best Pictures of Microscopic Life, 2008
I like to post great pictures I have seen. I came across this set of microscopic life from National Geographic that I thought I would share.
This is a fairy-fly wasp and it is 0.2 millimeters long. This was taken by M.I. "Spike" Walker, a British photographer.
This is by Montana psychiatrist Stephen Nagy. Magnified by 40 times, this is a 20-million-year-old fossil of an extinct breed of algae.
This 30X image, by Briton David Walker, is of snail "teeth".
These three winners along with the other nine contest winners, and 70 honorable mentions, were recognized at the Camerawork gallery in San Francisco on December 14, 2008.
This is a fairy-fly wasp and it is 0.2 millimeters long. This was taken by M.I. "Spike" Walker, a British photographer.
This is by Montana psychiatrist Stephen Nagy. Magnified by 40 times, this is a 20-million-year-old fossil of an extinct breed of algae.
This 30X image, by Briton David Walker, is of snail "teeth".
These three winners along with the other nine contest winners, and 70 honorable mentions, were recognized at the Camerawork gallery in San Francisco on December 14, 2008.
Ferrofluid
A ferrofluid (from the Latin ferrum, meaning iron) is a liquid which becomes strongly polarized in the presence of a magnetic field.
There are more example of ferrofluid and this kind of art form at flypmedia.com
I think this would be a fun science fair idea.
Tote Gote
Why not start with Tote Gotes?
My other brother, Ralph and my uncle Dik
I have known about Tote Gote off road motorcycles my whole life. My grandpa B used to have a couple in his shed. He even built a similar machine himself.
My grandpa B's homemade gote
Although I have know about these machines I never really thought about them until a few years ago when my baby brother began refurbishing them for fun. He and my uncles have started a great collection of them.
This is my brother riding his restored Gote. You can also see my dad, mom , sister, uncle, nephew and other uncle's hat in this picture.
As they got talking about their Tote Gotes and sharing their finds, they noticed a guy with suspenders and a white hat who they did not recognize.
It was Ralph Bonham, the inventor of the Tote Gote. I don't claim to know the history of Ralph Bonham or of the Tote Gote but there are some interesting things I did find out.
Ralph was born in my home town of Ogden, Utah. The Bonham Factory was in my boyhood home of Provo, Utah.
Ralph is credited with creating the first off-road motorcycle. He wanted to create a motorized goat to help him carry items in the mountains of Utah. Apparently he and my brother both like to roll their pants and wear white shirts.
One of the traditions we have kept is attending the fourth of July parade in Provo every year. So this picture of a Tote Gote in the parade caught my eye.
It is taken in front of Provo High school and if you look closely you can see that they are riding the Gotes over the float as it goes down the road.
Left front Ralph Bonham & grandson, right my brother and his wife.
My uncle Dik and baby brother entered the group into the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days parade and they rode their bikes in the parade.
That's all I have for now.
My other brother, Ralph and my uncle Dik
I have known about Tote Gote off road motorcycles my whole life. My grandpa B used to have a couple in his shed. He even built a similar machine himself.
My grandpa B's homemade gote
Although I have know about these machines I never really thought about them until a few years ago when my baby brother began refurbishing them for fun. He and my uncles have started a great collection of them.
Last summer they decided to hold a 50th anniversary party for the first production model of the Tote Gote. They put out fliers and invited other collectors to the event. They even invited the inventor to come to the celebration.
This is my brother riding his restored Gote. You can also see my dad, mom , sister, uncle, nephew and other uncle's hat in this picture.
As they got talking about their Tote Gotes and sharing their finds, they noticed a guy with suspenders and a white hat who they did not recognize.
It was Ralph Bonham, the inventor of the Tote Gote. I don't claim to know the history of Ralph Bonham or of the Tote Gote but there are some interesting things I did find out.
Ralph was born in my home town of Ogden, Utah. The Bonham Factory was in my boyhood home of Provo, Utah.
Ralph is credited with creating the first off-road motorcycle. He wanted to create a motorized goat to help him carry items in the mountains of Utah. Apparently he and my brother both like to roll their pants and wear white shirts.
One of the traditions we have kept is attending the fourth of July parade in Provo every year. So this picture of a Tote Gote in the parade caught my eye.
It is taken in front of Provo High school and if you look closely you can see that they are riding the Gotes over the float as it goes down the road.
Left front Ralph Bonham & grandson, right my brother and his wife.
My uncle Dik and baby brother entered the group into the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days parade and they rode their bikes in the parade.
That's all I have for now.
Life
Life is shaped by memories
of actions and decisions.
An accumulation of desires
and our own ambitions.
Looking back, life chose a path
that some would like to change.
You wonder what would have been
or regret a choice once made.
I am my life, my life is me
my decisions make it so.
I realize to change a thing
could ruin the life I know.
Thank you for the life I have
without you it's not the same.
The memories of the could have been
lead me to who I became.
of actions and decisions.
An accumulation of desires
and our own ambitions.
Looking back, life chose a path
that some would like to change.
You wonder what would have been
or regret a choice once made.
I am my life, my life is me
my decisions make it so.
I realize to change a thing
could ruin the life I know.
Thank you for the life I have
without you it's not the same.
The memories of the could have been
lead me to who I became.
13.3.08
Space, Movies, More Space, and Space Movies
I found this new watch that I would love to have. Of course I would also like to have all the Yen it would cost too.
The Astrodea Celestial Watch shows the position of the stars in the night sky as the earth moved beneath them.
--------------
I have heard the urban legend about mars being so close to the earth that on a certain date you can view it in the night sky and it will appear as large as the moon.
[Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona]
So when I saw this image called, ’The Earth and Moon as Seen from Mars’ I realized that 1. there was some magnification used to make this photo, and 2. It would be really cool to see this for myself.
--------
I came across this game called the ’Olla Podrida PLEXUS Puzzle’.
The object of the game is to fit all of the pieces of the puzzle together into one shape. It took me a while the first time but I figured it out.
Don’t cheat!!!
--------
OK, I came across another list I thought would like to disagree with. But to define a cult classic would take more than this blog. So maybe in the future we will discuss what cult classics are and what movies can fall into this category. For now I will leave this list as it so I may discuss another topic below.
Top 10 Cult Classic Mid-80s Fantasy Adventure Flicks
10. Repo Man (1984)
9. Highlander (1986)
8. Flight of the Navigator (1986)
7. Dark Crystal (1983)
6. The Lost Boys (1987)
5. Explorers (1985)
4. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
3. Labyrinth (1986)
2. Return To Oz (1985)
1. The Goonies (1985)
It really hurts not to say anything. So all I will say is that I will never join the Classic Mid-80s Fantasy Adventure Cult.
-------
What !?! Lost Boys 2???
OK, I admit that in the 80’s I thought the two Cory’s were pretty cool dudes. I love the movies ’The Lost Boys’ and ’Dream a Little Dream’. I had a Vampire ’thing’ going then, that would also take another blog to discuss, and it all started with ’The Lost Boys’.
I am also guilty of watching ’The Two Cory’s’ last year on their reality show. It hurt to watch them at the 20th anniversary of the movie. They also discussed plans to try and make a sequel and who would and would not be in the movie.
Anyhoo, today I was minding my own business watching the new ’Incredible Hulk’ trailer and low and behold I see the frog brother himself and a preview.
This is a direct to DVD release and it is rated R. So unless this film reaches Cult Classic Mid-00s Fantasy Adventure status, this might be all I see of it.
[on the TV show they discussed that Haim would not be in the movie. He is not in the trailer but IMDB has him listed as being in the movie.]
-----------
I was also minding my own business when I came across the headline, ’Utah Crater Mystery Cracked’. I thought to myself, what Utah Crater Mystery?!?
Apparently, for decades geologists have debated whether Upheaval Dome in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park was created by a volcanic outburst, an eruption of salt or a meteor impact. The crucial clue was the discovery there of "shocked quartz," which can be created only by the intense pressures of a violent meteor impact.
Well, I’m glad that was settled.
---------------
Yes, I know. You don’t have to point it out again.
[click link below, or image, for larger view]
I came across this image of the quadrants from Star Trek. I place it here because sadly I am a Trek Geek but for the record I also place it here because I did not realize that all that trek’n was set in our own galaxy. [Even the Borg]. I admit I did not know that.
The Astrodea Celestial Watch shows the position of the stars in the night sky as the earth moved beneath them.
--------------
I have heard the urban legend about mars being so close to the earth that on a certain date you can view it in the night sky and it will appear as large as the moon.
[Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona]
So when I saw this image called, ’The Earth and Moon as Seen from Mars’ I realized that 1. there was some magnification used to make this photo, and 2. It would be really cool to see this for myself.
--------
I came across this game called the ’Olla Podrida PLEXUS Puzzle’.
The object of the game is to fit all of the pieces of the puzzle together into one shape. It took me a while the first time but I figured it out.
Don’t cheat!!!
--------
OK, I came across another list I thought would like to disagree with. But to define a cult classic would take more than this blog. So maybe in the future we will discuss what cult classics are and what movies can fall into this category. For now I will leave this list as it so I may discuss another topic below.
Top 10 Cult Classic Mid-80s Fantasy Adventure Flicks
10. Repo Man (1984)
9. Highlander (1986)
8. Flight of the Navigator (1986)
7. Dark Crystal (1983)
6. The Lost Boys (1987)
5. Explorers (1985)
4. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
3. Labyrinth (1986)
2. Return To Oz (1985)
1. The Goonies (1985)
It really hurts not to say anything. So all I will say is that I will never join the Classic Mid-80s Fantasy Adventure Cult.
-------
What !?! Lost Boys 2???
OK, I admit that in the 80’s I thought the two Cory’s were pretty cool dudes. I love the movies ’The Lost Boys’ and ’Dream a Little Dream’. I had a Vampire ’thing’ going then, that would also take another blog to discuss, and it all started with ’The Lost Boys’.
I am also guilty of watching ’The Two Cory’s’ last year on their reality show. It hurt to watch them at the 20th anniversary of the movie. They also discussed plans to try and make a sequel and who would and would not be in the movie.
Anyhoo, today I was minding my own business watching the new ’Incredible Hulk’ trailer and low and behold I see the frog brother himself and a preview.
This is a direct to DVD release and it is rated R. So unless this film reaches Cult Classic Mid-00s Fantasy Adventure status, this might be all I see of it.
[on the TV show they discussed that Haim would not be in the movie. He is not in the trailer but IMDB has him listed as being in the movie.]
-----------
I was also minding my own business when I came across the headline, ’Utah Crater Mystery Cracked’. I thought to myself, what Utah Crater Mystery?!?
Apparently, for decades geologists have debated whether Upheaval Dome in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park was created by a volcanic outburst, an eruption of salt or a meteor impact. The crucial clue was the discovery there of "shocked quartz," which can be created only by the intense pressures of a violent meteor impact.
Well, I’m glad that was settled.
---------------
Yes, I know. You don’t have to point it out again.
[click link below, or image, for larger view]
I came across this image of the quadrants from Star Trek. I place it here because sadly I am a Trek Geek but for the record I also place it here because I did not realize that all that trek’n was set in our own galaxy. [Even the Borg]. I admit I did not know that.
5.3.08
Hexapuzzle Gamepower Geek
I'm not sure why I like these little Internet gadgets
With this little tool you can 'Make your own Hollywood Star'.
-----------
A while ago I posted a YouTube clip about a group of people who went into Ikea and froze in place for a certain amount of time. Well now 'Improv Everywhere' is Frozen in Grand Central.
-----------
I came across a cool little art/science project called Let there be light.
'The 1301 fluorescent tubes are powered only by the electric fields generated by overhead power lines. Richard Box, artist-in-residence at Bristol University's physics department, got the idea for the installation after a chance conversation with a friend. 'He was telling me he used to play with a fluorescent tube under the pylons by his house,' says Box. 'He said it lit up like a light sabre.' Box decided to see if he could fill a field with tubes lit by powerlines. After a few weeks hunting for a site, he found a field, slipped the local farmer £200 and planted 3,600 square metres with tubes collected from hospitals. A fluorescent tube glows when an electrical voltage is set up across it. The electric field set up inside the tube excites atoms of mercury gas, making them emit ultraviolet light. This invisible light strikes the phosphor coating on the glass tube, making it glow. Because powerlines are typically 400,000 volts, and Earth is at an electrical potential voltage of zero volts, pylons create electric fields between the cables they carry and the ground. Box denies that he aimed to draw attention to the potential dangers of powerlines, 'For me, it was just the amazement of taking something that's invisible and making it visible,' he says. 'When it worked, I thought: 'This is amazing.''
--------
I found a site that my middle son would love called 'Extraordinary Mazes, Educational Puzzles'.
Christopher Berg, of Berkeley California, creates these great mazes that are not only fun to play but they also represent historical sites and ancient wonders. I have fun exploring this site.
He also sends out a monthly maze newsletter with news about mazes and labyrinths, puzzle contests with prizes, special offers, links to free printable mazes and other stuff. You can subscribe to his newsletter here.
---------
Have you every heard of a hexapus? No, it is not an animal from Dr. Seuss!
A hexapus is an under the sea creature, similar to an octopus, that has six legs!!!!!! I thought this was awesome. This creature was just discovered this week and have ever been seen before.
-------
Mindscape is a game I recently came across that I thought was really cool. It make you a little dizzy but the spin is part of the fun!.
Try it out!
-------------
That's all for today!
[that felt great!]
With this little tool you can 'Make your own Hollywood Star'.
-----------
A while ago I posted a YouTube clip about a group of people who went into Ikea and froze in place for a certain amount of time. Well now 'Improv Everywhere' is Frozen in Grand Central.
-----------
I came across a cool little art/science project called Let there be light.
'The 1301 fluorescent tubes are powered only by the electric fields generated by overhead power lines. Richard Box, artist-in-residence at Bristol University's physics department, got the idea for the installation after a chance conversation with a friend. 'He was telling me he used to play with a fluorescent tube under the pylons by his house,' says Box. 'He said it lit up like a light sabre.' Box decided to see if he could fill a field with tubes lit by powerlines. After a few weeks hunting for a site, he found a field, slipped the local farmer £200 and planted 3,600 square metres with tubes collected from hospitals. A fluorescent tube glows when an electrical voltage is set up across it. The electric field set up inside the tube excites atoms of mercury gas, making them emit ultraviolet light. This invisible light strikes the phosphor coating on the glass tube, making it glow. Because powerlines are typically 400,000 volts, and Earth is at an electrical potential voltage of zero volts, pylons create electric fields between the cables they carry and the ground. Box denies that he aimed to draw attention to the potential dangers of powerlines, 'For me, it was just the amazement of taking something that's invisible and making it visible,' he says. 'When it worked, I thought: 'This is amazing.''
--------
I found a site that my middle son would love called 'Extraordinary Mazes, Educational Puzzles'.
Christopher Berg, of Berkeley California, creates these great mazes that are not only fun to play but they also represent historical sites and ancient wonders. I have fun exploring this site.
He also sends out a monthly maze newsletter with news about mazes and labyrinths, puzzle contests with prizes, special offers, links to free printable mazes and other stuff. You can subscribe to his newsletter here.
---------
Have you every heard of a hexapus? No, it is not an animal from Dr. Seuss!
A hexapus is an under the sea creature, similar to an octopus, that has six legs!!!!!! I thought this was awesome. This creature was just discovered this week and have ever been seen before.
-------
Mindscape is a game I recently came across that I thought was really cool. It make you a little dizzy but the spin is part of the fun!.
Try it out!
-------------
That's all for today!
[that felt great!]
3.3.08
Hubble Eyes Geeks
A few months ago I came across a posting called '56 Geeks' by Scott Johnson.
Although this image is huge I thought is would be cool it I lead off each of my blogs or sections with one of these guys, then you would know what way coming. [Yes, I actually thought about this while I was not blogging. It's not that I didn't want to blog but between the crazy things happening at work and the drama of family I lost the love of blogging, but I have the itch again. I'm not sure how long I can scratch it. Oh well, it doesn't matter my readers have all left me. Maybe not having the pressure of putting out a blog is why I want to put one out? Go figure.]
Anyway. I think I might plug in a couple of these guys every once and a while, we'll see. I wish there was an astronaught on the moon geek or a Scouter Geekn to complete my collection.
-------------------
I'm not sure which guy to use here becaue there is not a "Space Geek" but I could choose between.
OR
Hubble peers into the Great Eye of Sauron
Astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have released a rather remarkable Hubble image of a ring of dust around star Fomalhaut, described by New Scientist as resembling "the Great Eye of Sauron".
Fomalhaut, aka Alpha Piscis Austrini, is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, lying around 25 light years from Earth. a
A recent image captured with the Hubble Space Telescope makes the system look like the Great Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings.
This is a great photo and goes well with the 'Eye of God' photo I posted in one of my earliest blogs.
-----------
That's all for now
Although this image is huge I thought is would be cool it I lead off each of my blogs or sections with one of these guys, then you would know what way coming. [Yes, I actually thought about this while I was not blogging. It's not that I didn't want to blog but between the crazy things happening at work and the drama of family I lost the love of blogging, but I have the itch again. I'm not sure how long I can scratch it. Oh well, it doesn't matter my readers have all left me. Maybe not having the pressure of putting out a blog is why I want to put one out? Go figure.]
Anyway. I think I might plug in a couple of these guys every once and a while, we'll see. I wish there was an astronaught on the moon geek or a Scouter Geekn to complete my collection.
-------------------
I'm not sure which guy to use here becaue there is not a "Space Geek" but I could choose between.
OR
Hubble peers into the Great Eye of Sauron
Astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have released a rather remarkable Hubble image of a ring of dust around star Fomalhaut, described by New Scientist as resembling "the Great Eye of Sauron".
Fomalhaut, aka Alpha Piscis Austrini, is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, lying around 25 light years from Earth. a
A recent image captured with the Hubble Space Telescope makes the system look like the Great Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings.
This is a great photo and goes well with the 'Eye of God' photo I posted in one of my earliest blogs.
-----------
That's all for now
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