Venus Transit - 5 June 2012

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This picture was taken at 5:14pm MST in Grand Junction, Colorado. It was created using a pair of 10 X 42 binoculars. The objective lenses (larger lenses) were pointed towards the sun. The ocular lenses (the eyepieces) were pointed towards the wall. I fit the ocular lenses into two holes in a big piece of cardboard to create a darker shadow around the image of the sun. I then blocked one of the objective lenses so that only one image of the sun would appear on the wall. I was happy with the results.  The picture below shows how the image appeared on the wall with the shadow from the cardboard. The one above has been modified so that the image of Venus is sharper.

Annular Eclipse - May 20th, 2012

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The teens and I left Grand Junction a bit late. We picked up supplies for our pin-hole viewers at City Market and then headed out towards the Saddlehorn Picnic Area near the Visitor's Center of The Colorado National Monument. One teen drew two inch squares in the center of the foam plates as we rode blasting out The Beatles from the girl's cell phone on the stereo, all of us laughing at their teen humor.

We arrived at the viewing location around 6:40pm. The eclipse had just begun. There were nearly 400 people at the site, which is also where Grand Junction has its Easter sunrise services. Above you can see the first look at the sun (with the moon covering the upper right corner of the projected image of the sun) using one of our pin-hole viewers.

Some other folks created the perfect solar viewer using binoculars and a sheet of paperboard. Others discovered they could elicit images of the eclipse by making small openings between their fingers. The view of the eclipse using both methods at 7:24pm.

7:31pm

This picture was taken through a welding mask. With the naked eye the view was perfect. (You should not using anything less than #14 welding glasses to view the sun or an eclipse - the easiest to find are between #5-#10, but those are not safe for solar viewing). The glare was too much for the cell phone camera to handle, but I still thought that it was a pretty cool picture.

Looking southeast over The Colorado National Monument just before the maximum stage of the eclipse.

7:34pm



 Click here for a short news clip about the eclipse watching scene in GJ from from KJCT Channel 8.

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Hummingbirds, Music and Flooded River Bike Rides

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We're finally seeing hummingbirds at one of our feeders in the back yard. We put it out last Saturday. We saw our first hummingbird on Thursday evening. A week later (yesterday) we had four hummingbird sightings in one day. Because of the light and the skittishness of the birds, we're not sure what kind they were. 

On Friday afternoon we went for a bike ride along the Audubon portion of the Grand Junction Colorado River Trail. We saw the flooding that is happening around the bridge on Broadway. From where we were on the road, it looked as if the homeless camp that had been set up in the trees in that area must have been completely immersed. We also rode along the river and saw the huge log of a fallen tree traveling at high speed, carried by the swift currents. We went as far as we could, until the point where the trail was closed due to flooding. 

There were several small rabbits visible along the trail at that time of the evening, and we also saw a great blue heron flying across one section of the river. Other than that, we didn't see anything particularly noteworthy, except the constantly changing colors of the plants along the river, which continue to grow and present a whole spectrum of green hues.

Last night Rachael and I practiced our guitar / flute duet (unnamed for the moment) and we even worked on a new piano / flute arrangement. We also started experimenting with Abigail Washburn's version of the song "A Single Drop of Honey." It is sung a-capella and is a beautiful piece.  She had a glass of wine, I had a Scrumpy Cider (my favorite). I can't think of a more pleasant way to spend the evening.

A few links over the last few days caught my eye:

The first is one that is exciting because it is close to home for me.  This article in the Denver Post describes the latest discoveries at Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass Village in Colorado, where researchers have been digging up all kinds of prehistoric bones. Bones of mastodons, mammoths, ice age bison, and a Jefferson's ground sloth.


One of the strangest stories I read this past week was this one about Chinese prisoners forced to play World of Warcraft after a full day of hard labor. They were forced into this "gold farming" by the guards in order to earn between $700-$900 a day in real-world money for their real-life prison bosses, who were earning more money from this enterprise than from their prison salaries. The prisoners never saw any of the real-world profits of course.

Then there was this sad story of a boy that sold his kidney to be able to afford an iPad2. As Rachael said, "He won't be doing that again."

Perhaps the most enlightening and open-minded article that I've seen over the last few days was this one by 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu entitled, "God is Not a Christian."

The most motivating piece by far was this article about Ernestine Shepherd, the world's oldest bodybuilder. She will be included in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records. At age 74, she is a regular on the Musclemania circuit.

This article about how US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were trying to set up an operation in which ICE agents would monitor prison visitors to try to identify illegal aliens seemed ominous. According to the article, the proposal involved allowing ICE agents to "sit alongside Bexar County (Texas) staff and keep an eye on the logbook, picking out and running immigration checks as deemed necessary. 'Once reasonable suspicion has been substantiated, we can attempt to interview further in the back of the Visitor area discretely,' . . . agents could issue visitors a notice to appear in immigration court or, if necessary, detain them on the spot."

Did you hear about the guys that got into a fight on a plane over a reclined seat this week? Their tussle resulted in the pilot turning the plane around and an escort from a couple of F-16's. 

Are you interested in bees? Did you know that native bee populations are in decline in many areas, and you can help. Native bees don't have gigantic hives with thousands of members. Most native bees are solitary. You can create a "Native Bee House" to help your native population thrive and contribute to the pollination of our plants. Here is a blog post that will teach you how to build your own bee house. Follow the simple instructions and let the bees do the rest.

Thursday 14 April 2011

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This week in anatomy class, we were studying the anatomy of the eye. I had never heard the term scleroid coat before. Now a related term shows up in a very interesting article about dinosaurs from NPR. Figures... I know I'll be seeing this term at least two more times in the next few days.

Dinosaur Eyes Yield Clues to Hunting Habits - NPR
http://n.pr/gTt4SK

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Speaking of dinosaurs... have you ever wondered if Hell really exists? What if there is no hell? By the way, I'm a Unitarian Universalist, so I don't believe in Hell myself (but I have no problem with you if you want me to go there or am convinced that I will...) I'll either be there in a few decades, or we'll all meet each other up in Heaven. I'll let God sort me out.

To Hell, or not to Hell. That is the question. Discussion on MSNBC.

http://on.msnbc.com/gXCIBB
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Today the AP published an article saying that another oil spill comparable to the BP oil spill is entirely possible. No surprise. Here is some thoughtful commentary from Cornell Lab director John Fitzpatrick on the effects of the BP oil spill a year later.

Cornell Lab Director John Fitzpatrick

http://bitly.com/dH1a5h

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This video will make you smile.
Remember when you were scared of monsters?

What will you do to the monster? from YouTube
http://bit.ly/f22wH2


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I was fortunate to live near the beach in Monterey, CA for eight years. I got used to seeing shorebirds all the time. You get to the point where you have to remind yourself not to take them for granted. Here is a cool video (another one from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology) on the foraging strategies of shore birds on barrier islands.

Barrier Island Foragers:

http://bit.ly/fbqRxO

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Here is a song & video that I really like. It's called "Be the Change" 

by Gypsy Soul.

Be the Change Video
http://mysp.ac/gKUroF

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If you haven't seen this "Plants that go bad" YouTube Video, 

it is pretty funny.

Plants That Go Bad - YouTube

http://bitly.com/flK5kD

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The Sumerian Planisphere

Last night I watched a really interesting program about the Sumerian Planisphere, a cuneiform tablet from Southern Iraq dating to 700 BC.

Apparently, it is an early astronomer's observation of an unusual celestial event, possibly an asteroid streaking across the sky, originally recorded in 3123 BC.

The program postulated that an atmospheric explosion of this asteroid may have led to both the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as a previously unexplained mini-ice-age.

True or not, astronomers can pinpoint the date of these observations, recorded in cuneiform, by the positioning of the planets and the constellations on the tablet alone.

Links:


http://www.physorg.com/news126183668.html


http://www.amazon.com/Sumerian-Observation-K%C3%B6fels-Impact-Event/dp/1904623646

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16,000 Year Old Rock Art

90 centuries before the founding of Rome...

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/travel/escapes/18petroglyph.html

Severn Suzuki

A friend posted this video on her Facebook page today. It is one of those things that, once I see it, I wonder how it is possible that I haven't already seen it before. Here is a quote from Severn Suzuki's biography on Wikipedia.com.

Cullis-Suzuki was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada.^[1] Her father is a second-generation Japanese Canadian.^[2] While attending Lord Tennyson Elementary School in French Immersion, at the age of nine, she founded the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO), a group of children dedicated to learning and teaching other youngsters about environmental issues.^[3] In 1992, at the age of 12, Cullis-Suzuki raised money with members of ECO, to attend the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Along with group members Michelle Quigg, Vanessa Suttie, and Morgan Geisler, Cullis-Suzuki presented environmental issues from a youth perspective at the summit, where she was applauded for a speech to the delegates.^[4][5] The video has since become a sort of viral hit, popularly known as "The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes". In 1993, she was honored in the United Nations Environment Program's Global 500 Roll of Honor.^[6] In 1993, Doubleday published her book Tell the World (ISBN 0-385-25422-9), a 32-page book of environmental steps for families.


Watch the video.

Her message, delivered in 1992, can never be spoken too often or loudly enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZsDliXzyAY

What has happened to Severn Suzuki since this speech in Rio?
Watch this more recent speech to find out:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4634217208205283819#

A couple of cool finds

Here are a couple of cool archaeological finds reported in the last few days. Thanks to Annaliese for the one about Nero's banquet hall via Facebook.

Nero's rotating banquet hall unveiled in Rome.

and

Ancient Roman statues found in Blue Grotto Cave

and... most recent but definitely not least...

Fossil of bird-like dinosaur with four wings discovered in China

850 Mostly Blind, Pale Creatures Discovered Underground

850 Mostly Blind, Pale Creatures Discovered Underground
By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience
posted: 28 September 2009 12:31 am ET
http://www.livescience.com/animals/090928-new-species-underground.html

Another cool discovery of multiple new species.

Largest Anglo-Saxon Treasure Ever Found!

This is an exciting story. Amazing stuff! One of my memories from the 3 years that I lived in England is of the large number of older men that could be seen scouring the countryside (usually alone or with a dog of some kind) with their large and unwieldy metal detectors either early in the morning or late at night. What an ultimate uber payoff for this guy!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6847081.ece

Another similarly peculiar memory from England is of the "plane-spotters" that were always parked outside the fenced-in Air Force bases' runways. They were busy jotting down tail numbers and unique plane information, trying to piece together what was happening I guess. I believe that I read somewhere that information from these amateur observers is what led to the revelation that the government's secret rendition flights were happening. Bravo!

Moral of this post... even when you think what others are doing around you is a bit odd, when you can't understand what they get out of it... there might be an unimaginable payoff just around the corner.

Now if the folks that wore ten gallon hats, leather chaps, cowboy boots with spurs, fake pistols, and checkered cotton shirts to the Garth Brooks concert in London in the mid-ninety's wind up getting anything out of dressing in that fashion to go to another American country music concert... I'll be really impressed.

~ All that said... I really enjoyed living in England for 3 years. I was privileged to get to know many wonderful Brits, and I will always have especially fond memories of participating in music nights at the pubs! There were so many things to fall in love with, and just a few to be amused by, and I think that a little bit of light amusement is healthy for the soul.

Sunday at work and some interesting links.

I stayed up late last night fuming once again about the Patriot Act. I feel helpless and ineffectual as a citizen when it comes to this issue, unable to adequately respond to what I think is as real a threat to our rights as Americans as this country has faced in recent times. I doubt that writing to my congressional representatives will have any effect whatsoever (but I will write to them), and I sometimes wonder if my commentary about the topic comes across as being too preachy to be useful.

I was up late, so I slept in late this morning before going to work and experiencing yet another enjoyable afternoon. I have to say that I am really liking the relatively low stress environment that I'm in these days. All I have to do is go to work and do my job, and then come home and study for my college classes. I couldn't be happier with that situation. I love learning, and I'm doing plenty of that!

While looking up information on DNA and the double-helix last night, I came across an interesting link detailing the story of Rosalind Franklin's unsung contribution to our modern understanding of DNA structure. I had never heard her name mentioned before. After reading a few more articles about her, I'm wondering if maybe everyone else knows her name, and I'm just way out of the scientific loop. Anyway - if you don't know about her, or if you want to know more... here is the link:

Rosalind Franklin DNA Link

http://home.intranet.org/~maggi/dna.html

Harmonics - Salt on a Vibrating Table

Now THIS is neat!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOMiowrff0Y

Lost world of fanged frogs and giant rats discovered in Papua New Guinea

Isn't it wonderful that we are alive at a time when discoveries like THIS are still possible? I feel sorry for my soul's next iteration, when the world will probably filled to the brim with trash (maybe not so bad if I come back as a cockroach), and all that exists will already have been discovered.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/07/discovery-species-papua-new-guinea

Efferent vs. Afferent

Afferent Fibers - at full alert, ready and waiting to report back. Efferent Fibers - apparently Out To Lunch for the moment...

Ancient Flute and Man's Affinity for Music

This article, posted on the LSUS Music Dept's bulletin board, amplifies the discovery of prehistoric flutes into a wonderful commentary on the mystery of mankind's affinity for music, which we now know has been part of the human experience since ancient times.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124656639970388165.html

Close Encounter... Moon and Mars

If you look carefully at this admittedly low-quality picture of the moon, you'll notice Mars at about 5 O'Clock. Kate and I had heard that the planet Mars and the moon would be having a close encounter this week, but we hadn't expected that they would be seen this close to each other in the sky. This picture was taken over city lights, on a digital camera without a tripod.

Lunar Eclipse This Morning - Tuesday Morning

There is a lunar eclipse happening tonight!

For more info... check out this link:

http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2007-08-28/

There will be links to live webcasts available at this site:
Nasa Total Lunar Eclipse Webcast
(if you're able to get to it at all)

Here is the basic info. from the first site listed above:

The total lunar eclipse of August 28 2007 will be visible over the Americas, the Pacific, eastern Asia, and Australasia.

The penumbral eclipse -- the least exciting, and hardest to see part -- will begin at 07:52:11 UT and end at 13:22:29 UT. It will be visible from the Americas when it begins around Moonset, the Pacific, and eastern Asia and Australasia as it ends at around Moonrise.

The partial eclipse will begin at 08:50:57 UT and end just over 3½ hours later at 12:23:50 UT, and will be visible from a slightly smaller area. The total eclipse lasts for 1½ hours; it begins at 09:52:00 UT and ends at 11:22:45 UT, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 10:37:22 UT. It is visible over Australasia, far eastern Asia, including Japan, the Pacific, most of North America (apart from the north-east), and western South America.

In the Pacific coast of the US, the total eclipse begins at 02:52:00 PDT and ends at 04:22:45 PDT, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 03:37:22 PDT.

The total eclipse should be a spectacular sight; the Moon will be well within the Earth's shadow, the umbral magnitude being 1.481, and should be deeply coloured by the Earth's atmosphere. Don't miss it!

Global Warming ‘Unequivocal’

From The New York Times:

February 3, 2007

Science Panel Calls Global Warming ‘Unequivocal’

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL and ANDREW C. REVKIN

PARIS, Feb. 2 — In a grim and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, the leading international network of climate scientists has concluded for the first time that global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activity is the main driver, “very likely” causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950.

They said the world was in for centuries of climbing temperatures, rising seas and shifting weather patterns — unavoidable results of the buildup of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.

But their report, released here on Friday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said warming and its harmful consequences could be substantially blunted by prompt action.

While the report provided scant new evidence of a climate apocalypse now, and while it expressly avoided recommending courses of action, officials from the United Nations agencies that created the panel in 1988 said it spoke of the urgent need to limit looming and momentous risks.

“In our daily lives we all respond urgently to dangers that are much less likely than climate change to affect the future of our children,” said Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, which administers the panel along with the World Meteorological Organization.

“Feb. 2 will be remembered as the date when uncertainty was removed as to whether humans had anything to do with climate change on this planet,” he went on. “The evidence is on the table.”

(see the rest of the article here)

Fish Capable of Human-like Logic

Robin Lloyd
Senior Editor
LiveScience.com Thu Jan 25, 8:10 AM ET

Fish have the reasoning capacity of a 4- or 5-year-old child when it comes to figuring out who among their peers is "top dog," new research shows.

Beluga whales faltering in Alaskan waters

By Yereth Rosen Tue Jan 16, 4:53 PM ET

"...A new count by the National Marine Fisheries Service puts the Beluga whale population at 302, less than half the number in 1994 and well below the 1,000 to 2,000 believed to have been swimming in earlier years in the glacier-fed channel that runs from Anchorage to the Gulf of Alaska.

"There's basically a one in four chance that this population is going to become extinct in 100 years," said Bruce Smith, a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist studying the belugas."