Once again I find myself pulling my thirty six hours of night shift. A weekend in Zombie Land.
As always, we who must endure sleepless nights followed often by sleepless days, learn to take advantages of any entertainment offered: be it a practical joke, a good lunch packed by a loved one, or a celestrial cornucopia served throughout the summer evenings.
A full moon, the Perseids meteor shower, Jupiter in all its glory, plus four passes of the International Space Station (ISS) gave me something to do other than swill coffee just to keep awake. A mild summer storm with cloud to cloud lightning was topping on the cake.
Staying up all night is an advantage for a star gazer like myself. Of course I wanted to share my good fortune of clear skies with my associates. Some were interested, some were not; understandable when you work with thirty or so different individuals. What did suprise me was two called their spouces and told them to watch for the ISS.
As the one who dragged them outside to see a star-like light slowley streak across clouded skies, I was expected to answer questions posed to me. I could answer most about Jupiter and some of the moons. I did my best to tell how the Perseids came from dust left over from a comet called Swift something or other. Comet Taylor Swift, no that's not it. Anyhow some of them were interested and I want to give them the answers I promised.
1) The ISS travels about 17,227mph.
2) Its altitude moves between 173-286 miles up. It needs to be adjusted about twice a year.
3) It orbits the Earth 15.7 times a day.
4) No, they don't dump their poop in space. It could be used better as a fertilizer.
To watch for the ISS for yourself, click on the link.
I support every dollar spent.
http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Mirror image handwriting.
When I was in my early twenties I learned I had an unusual gift: the ability to write cursive with my non-dominant hand in mirror image at the same time as I wrote normally with my right. It wasn't until middle age did I find out just how few people can do that.
One of the most famous people I discovered who could write backwards was Leonardo da Vinci. I don't know if he could write with both hands at the same time or not.
Some dyslectic children can do it when they are young, but not as they get older. I have read it's because a membrane seperating the right hemisphere from the left side of their brain is not fully developed, information is shared by both halfs.
Maybe my membrane has a hole in it, but one thing I have found, is people who like to write are more prone to the talent. Do all writers have a hole in their brains? I suggest we must considering what we put ourselves through.
If there are any writers, artist or psycopaths who can share their stories or shed some light on the subject, please comment. If there are any talent scouts, circus owners or even a neurologist who needs a lab rat out there, give me a call.
One of the most famous people I discovered who could write backwards was Leonardo da Vinci. I don't know if he could write with both hands at the same time or not.
Some dyslectic children can do it when they are young, but not as they get older. I have read it's because a membrane seperating the right hemisphere from the left side of their brain is not fully developed, information is shared by both halfs.
Maybe my membrane has a hole in it, but one thing I have found, is people who like to write are more prone to the talent. Do all writers have a hole in their brains? I suggest we must considering what we put ourselves through.
If there are any writers, artist or psycopaths who can share their stories or shed some light on the subject, please comment. If there are any talent scouts, circus owners or even a neurologist who needs a lab rat out there, give me a call.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Does anyone give a shit what it's called, or does anyone give a shit?
Global Warming, Climate Change, Mass Extinction: no matter the title given to the storm, the shit's gonna hit the fan.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110621/sc_nm/us_oceans
Some reject any and all evidence put forth by climatologist. The idea that climate change can be observed in a lifetime is unheard of in geological time scales. Anyone over thirty can see the changes. One generation observing changes in the local climate is a sure sign that a spike is occurring right now. Climate change should not happen that fast. Most changes in the past took thousands of years. What's happening on the planet today is being expedited by our waste. The air, our fresh water, our oceans, even the land beneath our homes is contaminated by one toxin or another. Fish in the seas are eating plastic, large areas of the ocean are dead due to a lack of oxygen. Coral reefs are bleached white as the living sea creatures that built the structures have died out.
When will the human race realize our petty differences are meager to the problems we will face as a species?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110621/sc_nm/us_oceans
Some reject any and all evidence put forth by climatologist. The idea that climate change can be observed in a lifetime is unheard of in geological time scales. Anyone over thirty can see the changes. One generation observing changes in the local climate is a sure sign that a spike is occurring right now. Climate change should not happen that fast. Most changes in the past took thousands of years. What's happening on the planet today is being expedited by our waste. The air, our fresh water, our oceans, even the land beneath our homes is contaminated by one toxin or another. Fish in the seas are eating plastic, large areas of the ocean are dead due to a lack of oxygen. Coral reefs are bleached white as the living sea creatures that built the structures have died out.
When will the human race realize our petty differences are meager to the problems we will face as a species?
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
How a science fiction writer thinks
The subtitle for this blog is sci fi for the working guy. I try to take the most recent news about science and talk about it so the guys at work can relate to it. Let's face it, few people follow news about super colliders or new discoveries in space. While they are interested in sports, politics or union matters, I follow science. They explain what a two point conversion is to me, and I try to explain why we only see one side of the moon.
Here's three stories to think about.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110406/sc_livescience/45billionyearoldantarcticmeteoriteyieldsnewmineral
Wassonite is a newly discovered mineral found in a meteorite. Composed of sulfur and titanium, this rare mineral has never been found in nature on the planet until now, and this sample came from space. Why haven't we found this before? We have lots of sulfur and titanium, so why is this mineral so unique? We are learning so much from meteorites. They were formed in the violent creation of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Nothing on earth has been able to recreate the same mineral naturally. I can see some science fiction writer imagining Wassonite mines on some asteroid in quadrant 5-c.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110406/sc_afp/scienceusphysics_20110406155429
The CERN Large Hadron Collider in Europe has been looking for the same kind of bump in the data that this site has encountered. These two facilities, among many others look for the smallest parts of what we call real.
When I went to high school the atom was made of neutrons and protons, orbited by electrons. Now Quantum mechanics involve such a diverse group of particles, one can't keep up. The proof of this one particle, this force of nature, is important enough that many countries spend billions to build the massive underground labs to conduct these experiments. What will the future be like once the scientist learn to control the Higgs-boson.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110329/ts_yblog_thelookout/for-12-year-old-astrophysics-prodigy-
Watch for this guy. Diagnosed with autism, he is one with mathematics and is questioning some of Einstein's equations. Many with autism display an ability to do things we call miraculous. Isn't it possible that they can see areas of reality that we who are "normal" can not. Is it possible that they are the chosen ones. More fodder for the science fiction writer.
Things are going to change fast in the realm of science, will the human species adapt fast enough to comprehend the data at the speed it is becoming available?
Here's three stories to think about.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110406/sc_livescience/45billionyearoldantarcticmeteoriteyieldsnewmineral
Wassonite is a newly discovered mineral found in a meteorite. Composed of sulfur and titanium, this rare mineral has never been found in nature on the planet until now, and this sample came from space. Why haven't we found this before? We have lots of sulfur and titanium, so why is this mineral so unique? We are learning so much from meteorites. They were formed in the violent creation of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Nothing on earth has been able to recreate the same mineral naturally. I can see some science fiction writer imagining Wassonite mines on some asteroid in quadrant 5-c.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110406/sc_afp/scienceusphysics_20110406155429
The CERN Large Hadron Collider in Europe has been looking for the same kind of bump in the data that this site has encountered. These two facilities, among many others look for the smallest parts of what we call real.
When I went to high school the atom was made of neutrons and protons, orbited by electrons. Now Quantum mechanics involve such a diverse group of particles, one can't keep up. The proof of this one particle, this force of nature, is important enough that many countries spend billions to build the massive underground labs to conduct these experiments. What will the future be like once the scientist learn to control the Higgs-boson.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110329/ts_yblog_thelookout/for-12-year-old-astrophysics-prodigy-
Watch for this guy. Diagnosed with autism, he is one with mathematics and is questioning some of Einstein's equations. Many with autism display an ability to do things we call miraculous. Isn't it possible that they can see areas of reality that we who are "normal" can not. Is it possible that they are the chosen ones. More fodder for the science fiction writer.
Things are going to change fast in the realm of science, will the human species adapt fast enough to comprehend the data at the speed it is becoming available?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The people of Japan are in our thoughts
The disasters in Japan involve the whole world, not just one country. Not only do we send rescue teams, money and supplies, but we also send scientist who study the impact of the disaster.
Preventing loss of life is the final goal. Learning how the Earth and its atmosphere works is the only way to limit the causalities. Sadly, the best time to study earthquakes and tsunamis, comes after the fact.
It takes events like the last two tsunamis, Class 5 hurricanes and tornadoes, or other calamities to learn how to cope when they do occur. Unfortunately people die.
We have learned from tragedies in the past. A tsunami warning system was activated, and saved many. I'm sure hundreds died while taking refuge in the top floors of their homes. This earthquake and wave were bigger than most were expecting, and even some of the larger buildings were washed away.
The threat of a nuclear meltdown is a real threat, and the situation grows worse everyday. I'm sure reactors will no longer be permitted to be built on active fault lines. Engineers will develop homes able to withstand tsunamis by designing them with reinforced foundations in the shape of a flatiron to deflect a massive wave, with high sturdy rooftops for people to wait out the deluge.
Any area on a geologically active planet could experience catastrophe at any time. There are hazards from space that could strike not only one country, but could effect the entire globe; so far, we haven't experienced anything greater than solar flairs, but I'm sure someday we will. Learning about these natural events will benefit us in the future.
Preventing loss of life is the final goal. Learning how the Earth and its atmosphere works is the only way to limit the causalities. Sadly, the best time to study earthquakes and tsunamis, comes after the fact.
It takes events like the last two tsunamis, Class 5 hurricanes and tornadoes, or other calamities to learn how to cope when they do occur. Unfortunately people die.
We have learned from tragedies in the past. A tsunami warning system was activated, and saved many. I'm sure hundreds died while taking refuge in the top floors of their homes. This earthquake and wave were bigger than most were expecting, and even some of the larger buildings were washed away.
The threat of a nuclear meltdown is a real threat, and the situation grows worse everyday. I'm sure reactors will no longer be permitted to be built on active fault lines. Engineers will develop homes able to withstand tsunamis by designing them with reinforced foundations in the shape of a flatiron to deflect a massive wave, with high sturdy rooftops for people to wait out the deluge.
Any area on a geologically active planet could experience catastrophe at any time. There are hazards from space that could strike not only one country, but could effect the entire globe; so far, we haven't experienced anything greater than solar flairs, but I'm sure someday we will. Learning about these natural events will benefit us in the future.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Meteorite Men must be jumping for joy.
The price of found meteorites just went up. Check out this link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110306/sc_nm/us_meteorites_life
Now every cosmic find will be studied within a micro-inch of its life.
Will our search for life on other planets stall while we turn our tunnel vision on meteorites? Obviously the cost of studying pieces of space which have already arrived on the planet is far smaller than gathering particles of dust hundreds of miles above our atmosphere.
We must continue all research. Someday the questions will be answered, until then we must keep looking everywhere.
One question that this story brings to my mind is: don't fossils need liquid water to form? If this is true, then this fossilized bacterium must have formed on a larger body. I don't think a fossil could form in the dry vacuum of space. If this an example of extraterrestrial life, it needed to be knocked off some body large enough to hold liquid water by an impact, or there is one other possibility. Is it feasible another solar system existing long before ours, was blown apart by a super nova, spreading the seeds for life all over the cosmos. Remember our solar system is only about 4.5 billion years old; it's estimated the universe is over 13.5 billion years old.
Life could have evolved several billion years before our solar system was even thought of.
Brings a whole new meaning to the saying: Sparkle in your fathers eye.
Now every cosmic find will be studied within a micro-inch of its life.
Will our search for life on other planets stall while we turn our tunnel vision on meteorites? Obviously the cost of studying pieces of space which have already arrived on the planet is far smaller than gathering particles of dust hundreds of miles above our atmosphere.
We must continue all research. Someday the questions will be answered, until then we must keep looking everywhere.
One question that this story brings to my mind is: don't fossils need liquid water to form? If this is true, then this fossilized bacterium must have formed on a larger body. I don't think a fossil could form in the dry vacuum of space. If this an example of extraterrestrial life, it needed to be knocked off some body large enough to hold liquid water by an impact, or there is one other possibility. Is it feasible another solar system existing long before ours, was blown apart by a super nova, spreading the seeds for life all over the cosmos. Remember our solar system is only about 4.5 billion years old; it's estimated the universe is over 13.5 billion years old.
Life could have evolved several billion years before our solar system was even thought of.
Brings a whole new meaning to the saying: Sparkle in your fathers eye.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Something to think about
Just what if we do find other life in our solar system, or other intelligent life orbiting around a star, many light years away? How would that change your view of who we are as a species? Take a look at some of the estimated numbers on this link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110220/ap_on_sc/us_sci_cosmic_census
Our description of the universe as we know it has changed several times in the past, lately it seems to be changing every year.
I study science, and am still amazed at what the findings are showing, as are the scientist making the discoveries. The human species is going to experience an overload of data coming in from our scientific experiments. The problem will not be in the collection of said data, but the explanation of what that data means to the layman.
One problem is proving the data true enough to get it in the media. Today's media uses most science related stories as fillers if there is nothing better to take up the time slot. I'm sure if some Reality TV celebrity fell on her ass, it would get more time. How unfortunate.
Check out this link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110211/sc_nm/us_russia_poll_education_science
Do we want to get to this point? Ignorance is not bliss. We must keep up. I wonder what the numbers would be if we took the same pole the Russians did. China is knocking on our door when it comes to advancing in science studies.
I am not a political person, nor a religious man, but from my point of view, it's time to believe in some of the data, and consider...what if they're right. How could a monumental discovery change the way I look at my view of reality?
Our description of the universe as we know it has changed several times in the past, lately it seems to be changing every year.
I study science, and am still amazed at what the findings are showing, as are the scientist making the discoveries. The human species is going to experience an overload of data coming in from our scientific experiments. The problem will not be in the collection of said data, but the explanation of what that data means to the layman.
One problem is proving the data true enough to get it in the media. Today's media uses most science related stories as fillers if there is nothing better to take up the time slot. I'm sure if some Reality TV celebrity fell on her ass, it would get more time. How unfortunate.
Check out this link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110211/sc_nm/us_russia_poll_education_science
Do we want to get to this point? Ignorance is not bliss. We must keep up. I wonder what the numbers would be if we took the same pole the Russians did. China is knocking on our door when it comes to advancing in science studies.
I am not a political person, nor a religious man, but from my point of view, it's time to believe in some of the data, and consider...what if they're right. How could a monumental discovery change the way I look at my view of reality?
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