Draw a Sitting Dragon
9 years ago
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
The day the music died...
Anne Winter came into my life in 1987 when my first love and I were in search of some decent sounds. Good music was not easy to come by in the 80s in Kansas City, and Dirt Cheap had recently reopened as Recycled Sounds. Best to consult with the local guru, the girl who would grow into the soul of Kansas City. Annie had a way of giving a person exactly what they needed when they needed it. She did this with music, with food, with books, with her smile and with her laughter. Intuitively generous..that was Anne. Over the years and after many vinyl purchases and much enlightenment, Annie and I become friends. I am fortunate to say she participated in some of the most wonderful and most trying moments of my life. She was a warm smile and a fierce hug in-waiting. One of the most beautiful memories, albeit typical of her, was her encouragement during the birth of my child. Annie welcomed my son into this world with her soothing cheers, her loving touch, and in the giving of homemade bread. This was Anne. Annie WAS goodness and warmth and made people FEEL the joy and fun of life. I love her and miss her deeply.
Rest in peace, dear friend. 1964-2009
Click photo above to help support the family of Anne Winter.
Photo credit: Unknown...it is from Anne's f/b page and one of my most recent faves!! Pictured here with her children, Max and Eva.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Divers recover anchor from reputed Blackbeard ship
BEAUFORT, N.C. – An anchor from a shipwreck thought to be Blackbeard's flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was so unstable that divers in North Carolina retrieved it Wednesday rather than waiting until next year.
Divers raised the 4.5-foot, 160-pound grapnel, or anchor, from the wreck in the Atlantic Ocean near Beaufort on Wednesday and will display it Thursday at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort. The anchor originally had four prongs, but now has 1 1/2.
Two divers put straps on the anchor, then small lift bags that they filled with air, said Mark Wilde-Ramsing, the director of the Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck project. When the grapnel reached the surface, a crane brought it on the boat.
"It went great," he said. "It went as smooth as it could be."
The grapnel probably was an anchor for a smaller boat that would have been used to transport items between ships or from land to ship, Wilde-Ramsing said.
Archaeologists and conservators with the state Department of Cultural Resources say the grapnel was at risk of washing away after nearly 300 years in the sea and might not weather possible storms until next year, when a full-scale expedition is planned.
The rest of the shipwreck looks very stable, Wilde-Ramsing said.
Queen Anne's Revenge was a French slave ship that measured about 100 feet long with three masts and a crew of 150 to 200. Blackbeard captured the ship, then known as La Concorde, in 1717 and renamed it before it ran aground off Atlantic Beach a year later. The shipwreck, discovered in late 1996, is within sight of Fort Macon State Park.
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On the Net:
http://www.qaronline.org
Divers raised the 4.5-foot, 160-pound grapnel, or anchor, from the wreck in the Atlantic Ocean near Beaufort on Wednesday and will display it Thursday at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort. The anchor originally had four prongs, but now has 1 1/2.
Two divers put straps on the anchor, then small lift bags that they filled with air, said Mark Wilde-Ramsing, the director of the Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck project. When the grapnel reached the surface, a crane brought it on the boat.
"It went great," he said. "It went as smooth as it could be."
The grapnel probably was an anchor for a smaller boat that would have been used to transport items between ships or from land to ship, Wilde-Ramsing said.
Archaeologists and conservators with the state Department of Cultural Resources say the grapnel was at risk of washing away after nearly 300 years in the sea and might not weather possible storms until next year, when a full-scale expedition is planned.
The rest of the shipwreck looks very stable, Wilde-Ramsing said.
Queen Anne's Revenge was a French slave ship that measured about 100 feet long with three masts and a crew of 150 to 200. Blackbeard captured the ship, then known as La Concorde, in 1717 and renamed it before it ran aground off Atlantic Beach a year later. The shipwreck, discovered in late 1996, is within sight of Fort Macon State Park.
__
On the Net:
http://www.qaronline.org
Are you scared?
Those were not the last words, or screams, uttered by a hand-wringing teenage audience member at Coterie at Night's world premiere of Maul of the Dead, a spoofy tale of apocalypse and hilarity with blood spatter a-plenty. After an adrenaline-rushed entrance into the theatre, who could blame her for her anticipation?
"You're all alone. Will you be okay?" she inquired again.
Before a moment to consider what might lie ahead, the delighted crowd who sat seat-edged in absolute captivation was drawn into the Maul and not so sure of what was next. "Trapped" in JC Penny's with local survivors and zombies in this re-imagined nightmare, a full-blown, action-packed, rock-n-gore performance ensued. As Megan Turke's costume design left no doubt, it was the 70s, baby, and all hell was breaking lose.
Click here to read full review.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight
Robert Roy
BrittEditorial Director
SPACE.com
The Orionid meteor shower is expected to put on a good show tonight into the predawn hours Wednesday, weather permitting.
This annual meteor shower is created when Earth passes through trails of comet debris left in space long ago by Halley's Comet. The "shooting stars" develop when bits typically no larger than a pea , and mostly sand-grain-sized, vaporize in Earth's upper atmosphere.
"Flakes of comet dust hitting the atmosphere should give us dozens of meteors per hour," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.
People in cities and suburbs will see far fewer meteors, because all but the brightest of them will be overpowered by light pollution. The best view will be from rural areas (the moon will not be a factor, so dark skies will make for ideal viewing).
When and how to watch
The best time to watch will be between 1 a.m. and dawn local time Wednesday morning, regardless of your location. That's when the patch of Earth you are standing on is barreling headlong into space on Earth's orbital track, and meteors get scooped up like bugs on a windshield.
Peak activity, when Earth wades into the densest part of the debris, is expected around 6 a.m. ET (3 a.m. PT).
Some meteors could show up late tonight, too. Late-night viewing typically offers fewer meteors, however, because your patch of Earth is positioned akin to the back window of the speeding car.
The Orionids have been strong in recent years.
"Since 2006, the Orionids have been one of the best showers of the year, with counts of 60 or more meteors per hour," Cooke said.
Some of those counts come in flurries, so skywatchers should find a comfortable spot with as wide a view of the sky as possible. Lie back and allow 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, then give the show at least a half hour to play out through spurts and lulls. Meteors could appear anywhere in the sky, though traced back they will appear to emanate from the constellation Orion.
Telescopes and binoculars are of no use, because meteors move too quickly. Extra warm clothing is a must, and a blanket and pillow or lounge chair allows comfortable positioning so you can look up for long stretches.
Reliable event
Predicting meteor showers is tricky because the debris comes from multiple streams.
Each time comet Halley passes around the sun on its elongated orbit – every 76 years – it lays down a fresh track of debris for Earth to plow through in subsequent years. Those tracks spread out and mingle over time, and we pass the tracks each October during our 365-day, nearly circular trek around the sun.
Japanese researchers Mikiya Sato and Jun-ichi Watanabe say activity in recent years is related to debris put in place from 1266 BC to 911 BC, and this could be another good year, according to NASA.
Even if that prediction does not hold, the Orionids will almost surely put on a decent show. Prior to 2006 and going back many years, the Orionids have produced a reliable 15 to 20 meteors per hour at the peak, for skywatchers with dark skies.
As a bonus, this time of year you can expect an additional five to 10 sporadic meteors per hour – those not related to the shower.
Meteor Watching Tips
The Greatest Comets of All Time
10 Steps to Rewarding Stargazing
BrittEditorial Director
SPACE.com
The Orionid meteor shower is expected to put on a good show tonight into the predawn hours Wednesday, weather permitting.
This annual meteor shower is created when Earth passes through trails of comet debris left in space long ago by Halley's Comet. The "shooting stars" develop when bits typically no larger than a pea , and mostly sand-grain-sized, vaporize in Earth's upper atmosphere.
"Flakes of comet dust hitting the atmosphere should give us dozens of meteors per hour," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.
People in cities and suburbs will see far fewer meteors, because all but the brightest of them will be overpowered by light pollution. The best view will be from rural areas (the moon will not be a factor, so dark skies will make for ideal viewing).
When and how to watch
The best time to watch will be between 1 a.m. and dawn local time Wednesday morning, regardless of your location. That's when the patch of Earth you are standing on is barreling headlong into space on Earth's orbital track, and meteors get scooped up like bugs on a windshield.
Peak activity, when Earth wades into the densest part of the debris, is expected around 6 a.m. ET (3 a.m. PT).
Some meteors could show up late tonight, too. Late-night viewing typically offers fewer meteors, however, because your patch of Earth is positioned akin to the back window of the speeding car.
The Orionids have been strong in recent years.
"Since 2006, the Orionids have been one of the best showers of the year, with counts of 60 or more meteors per hour," Cooke said.
Some of those counts come in flurries, so skywatchers should find a comfortable spot with as wide a view of the sky as possible. Lie back and allow 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, then give the show at least a half hour to play out through spurts and lulls. Meteors could appear anywhere in the sky, though traced back they will appear to emanate from the constellation Orion.
Telescopes and binoculars are of no use, because meteors move too quickly. Extra warm clothing is a must, and a blanket and pillow or lounge chair allows comfortable positioning so you can look up for long stretches.
Reliable event
Predicting meteor showers is tricky because the debris comes from multiple streams.
Each time comet Halley passes around the sun on its elongated orbit – every 76 years – it lays down a fresh track of debris for Earth to plow through in subsequent years. Those tracks spread out and mingle over time, and we pass the tracks each October during our 365-day, nearly circular trek around the sun.
Japanese researchers Mikiya Sato and Jun-ichi Watanabe say activity in recent years is related to debris put in place from 1266 BC to 911 BC, and this could be another good year, according to NASA.
Even if that prediction does not hold, the Orionids will almost surely put on a decent show. Prior to 2006 and going back many years, the Orionids have produced a reliable 15 to 20 meteors per hour at the peak, for skywatchers with dark skies.
As a bonus, this time of year you can expect an additional five to 10 sporadic meteors per hour – those not related to the shower.
Meteor Watching Tips
The Greatest Comets of All Time
10 Steps to Rewarding Stargazing
The next Stephen Hawking: string theory pioneer gets Cambridge post
Michael Green, one of the pioneers of string theory, takes prestigious role at University of Cambridge
A Cambridge physicist who pioneered the idea that everything in the universe is made up of tiny vibrating strings of energy is to succeed Stephen Hawking in the most prestigious academic post in the world.
Professor Michael Green, a fellow of the Royal Society and co-founder of the fiendishly complex idea of string theory, was offered the position of Lucasian professor of mathematics following a meeting at the university this month.
Hawking stepped down from the position at the beginning of the month in accordance with Cambridge rules that stipulate the post must be vacated when the incumbent reaches their 67th birthday. Hawking had been in the job for 30 years. He is now director of research at the university's department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics.
The chair was created in 1664 and has been occupied by some of the greatest names in the history of science, with Sir Isaac Newton and Paul Dirac among Hawking's predecessors.
Green, who works in the same department as Hawking, played a major role in developing a form of string theory that describes all of the different types of particles in the universe and how they interact with each other.
Ahead of the official announcement, one scientist said it was an excellent appointment for a physicist who had been a driving force for string theory from the start.
Advocates of string theory believe it paves the way to understanding all of nature's forces, including electromagnetism, the strong force that holds atomic nuclei together, the weak force that governs certain forms of radiation, and gravity that keeps our feet on the ground and the Earth in orbit around the Sun.
Hawking occupied the position long before he rose to fame on the back of his bestseller, A Brief History of Time. During his time as Lucasian professor, he made appearances in The Simpsons and Star Trek: The Next Generation, and also at the London lap dancing club, Stringfellows, a story covered by one newspaper under the headline: "Stringfellow theory".
Photo: Michael Green: succeeds Stephen Hawking. Photograph: Cambridge University
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Pharaonic-era sacred lake unearthed in Egypt
CAIRO (Reuters) – Archaeologists have unearthed the site of a pharaonic-era sacred lake in a temple to the Egyptian goddess Mut in the ruins of ancient Tanis, the Culture Ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry said the lake, found 12 meters below ground at the San al-Hagar archaeological site in Egypt's eastern Nile Delta, was 15 meters long and 12 meters wide and built out of limestone blocks. It was in a good condition.
It was the second sacred lake found at Tanis, which became the northern capital of ancient Egypt in the 21st pharaonic dynasty, over 3,000 years ago. The first lake at the site was found in 1928, the ministry said.
The goddess Mut, sometimes depicted as a vulture, was the wife of Amun, god of wind and the breath of life. She was also mother of the moon god Khonsu.
(Writing by Cynthia Johnston; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
The ministry said the lake, found 12 meters below ground at the San al-Hagar archaeological site in Egypt's eastern Nile Delta, was 15 meters long and 12 meters wide and built out of limestone blocks. It was in a good condition.
It was the second sacred lake found at Tanis, which became the northern capital of ancient Egypt in the 21st pharaonic dynasty, over 3,000 years ago. The first lake at the site was found in 1928, the ministry said.
The goddess Mut, sometimes depicted as a vulture, was the wife of Amun, god of wind and the breath of life. She was also mother of the moon god Khonsu.
(Writing by Cynthia Johnston; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
NASA to bomb the Moon TOMORROW, watch from Earth - Phoenix Arizona news, breaking news, local news, weather radar, traffic from ABC15 News | ABC15.com
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Smart Lab Weather Station
Cole and I love this weather station!
Check out this cool weather station by SmartLab.
This is the detail on Amazon:
From the Manufacturer
Includes 13 easy-to-assemble parts, a cloud chart, stickers and weather tracker to record wind, rain, and temperature. Kids will explore the science behind weather using this interactive station.
Product Description
Get your head in the clouds, learn about the weather, and build a cool full-spectrum weather station! Let it rain, let it blow, let it snow! All the gear necessary to build your own weather station, track wind, rain, and temperature.
How Quantum Effects Could Create Black Stars, Not Holes - A Preview
Quantum effects may prevent true black holes from forming and give rise instead to dense entities called black starsBy Carlos Barceló, Stefano Liberati, Sebastiano Sonego and Matt Visser
Key Concepts
* Black holes are theoretical structures in spacetime predicted by the theory of general relativity. Nothing can escape a black hole’s gravity after passing inside its event horizon.
* Approximate quantum calculations predict that black holes slowly evaporate, albeit in a paradoxical way. Physicists are still seeking a full, consistent quantum theory of gravity to describe black holes.
* Contrary to physicists’ conventional wisdom, a quantum effect called vacuum polarization may grow large enough to stop a hole forming and create a “black star” instead.
Black holes have been a part of popular culture for decades now, most recently playing a central role in the plot of this year’s Star Trek movie. No wonder. These dark remnants of collapsed stars seem almost designed to play on some of our primal fears: a black hole harbors unfathomable mystery behind the curtain that is its “event horizon,” admits of no escape for anyone or anything that falls within, and irretrievably destroys all it ingests.
To theoretical physicists, black holes are a class of solutions of the Einstein field equations, which are at the heart of his theory of general relativity . The theory describes how all matter and energy distort spacetime as if it were made of elastic and how the resulting curvature of spacetime controls the motion of the matter and energy, producing the force we know as gravity.
These equations unambiguously predict that there can be regions of spacetime from which no signal can reach distant observers. These regions—black holes—consist of a location where matter densities approach infinity (a “singularity”) surrounded by an empty zone of extreme gravitation from which nothing, not even light, can escape. A conceptual boundary, the event horizon, separates the zone of intense gravitation from the rest of spacetime. In the simplest case, the event horizon is a sphere—just six kilometers in diameter for a black hole of the sun’s mass.
You can purchase this full article at: October 2009 Scientific American Magazine
Photo Credit: European Space Agency, NASA and Felix Mirabel French Atomic Energy Commission, Institute for Astronomy and Space Physics/Conicet of Argentina
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