Time waster

486 high score http://games.yahoo.com/game/99-bricks

Is it our water?

What is the matter with people? http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/3be61fa2-b792-11df-8d2c-001cc4c002e0.html

Out of Commission for a While

I am probably going to be around less for a little while. For those that haven't heard, I was in a major auto accident Wednesday night. Chain reaction. A truck overturned in front of me. I stopped. The truck behind me was estimated to be going about 65mph when I got hit. Fortunately, my car was pushed clear and I didn't get sandwiched between two semis. The second truck hit the fist one. I have no idea how those drivers are.

I had to be cut out of the car, immobilized and airlifted to the hospital. Final diagnosis is painful but positive: four broken posterior ribs and the usual cuts and lacerations from flying glass. Movement is painful and breathing deep is difficult. In the end, a full recovery is expected.

I was my typical difficult self during the rescue. When they started cutting me out they put a towel over my head to protect me from flying glass and I was asking for safety goggles so I could watch (really). They immobilized my neck so I couldn't get a view during the helicopter ride.

I have not seen pictures of my car yet. People that have tell me its pretty disturbing. Local friends have been helping me out quite a bit so I should be all right when I get home, but moving around will be difficult for a while.

I will keep blogging as energy allows. I will be trying to get back to full strength as soon as possibe.

I will be off work for a while. This was a business trip so I get my first experience with workman's comp. Imagine I will have a lot of firsts in the coming months with insurance companies, the legal system, etc.

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Labor Day weekend is here! Hope everyone is going to have fun this weekend! This week questions are about Labor Day.

1) What are your Labor Day weekend plans?

2) What does Labor Day mean to you?

3) How was your summer?

4) What is your favorite month?

Enjoy your LONG weekend folks!

Open Blog - Weekend Version

Enjoy da Labor Day weekend!

The Municipal code.

Heavy reading. Did you know somewhere along the line in years past the board made a rule that they HAVE to go to conventions so often? It doesn't really matter if the convention is relevant, they MUST go on that vacation. It's in the rules. And here I thought it as just more fiscal mismanagement.

Stephen Hawking

I love you. Nothing like stirring up the masses.

When your dog is your best friend...

Come Meet the Puppy

Lou Reed - "September Song"

Wistful, indeed, Madame Zoltar.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my luscious green beans! How are you? Happy September! Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday that the daffodils and tulips of spring were sprouting. Now we’re approaching Labor Day. Oh my. I have noticed that I close my blinds a little earlier each evening. The days grow shorter. The cycles of time. It makes me a little wistful.

There’s still plenty to do in and around Racine. “First Friday kicks off holiday weekend with lots of fun” - http://kiosk.racinepost.com/2010/08/first-friday-kicks-off-holiday-weekend.html Even though Downtown Racine Corporation was cool to the idea of my mobile Zoltar booth, they do know how to have a good time and I recommend a First Friday or two to all of my friends. Our beaches still have lifeguards on duty this week and the Racine Zoo is a wonderful place to watch animals (and people). Don’t forget our museums and the Dr. Laurel Clark Fountain. And that’s just in Racine. Travel a little and there is so much more. We are so fortunate.

I’d like to take a moment to comment on an international matter. France is conducting mass expulsions of Gypsies, also known by the politically correct appellation, Roma. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704421104575463822984797814.html I usually don’t interfere in matters outside the realm of my direct influence, but I feel it necessary to express my feelings this one time. This is my response to the French and others involved in the oppression of my people:

As long as I’ve strayed from my usually apolitical path, I’d also like to comment on another subject in the news: the mid-term elections. I would never publicly choose a side, my dears, but I do want to say that I sincerely hope a tone of civility and respect returns to our national discourse on politics and other matters. The continued polarization of our country is stressful and unhealthy. Please treat others as you would like to be treated. Screaming at others because they disagree with you, or demonizing them, just adds to the chaos. Chaos begets chaos. We have enough of that. What we need now is cooperation.

OK, that’s the end of the editorial, my dear Irregulars. Thank you so much for reading my blog this week. I appreciate visiting with each and every one of you. It’s the highlight of my week.

Please send your automatic writing and subconscious ravings to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Don’t forget to enjoy the beauty of the season. There is still plenty of sun and fun to savor. And lots of tomatoes and cucumbers and beans and other veggies, too. Partake of it all. Omnivorous!

Open Blog - Wednesday

Enjoy the other days, too.

Phil Plait's Bad Universe Review

Well, I finally back from a little trip and found Phil Plait's Bad Universe on my DVR. Now going into this I have to start with the disclosure that Phil is an old friend of mine so bear that in mind when I say watch it.

The first show is on asteroids and based very closely on his book Death From the Skies. Phil is very much being himself and that is a good thing. He takes great joy in making big explosions to illustrate what would happen if an asteroid were to impact the Earth and to illustrate different techniques to deflect asteroids and comets. A nice touch was using different substances to simulate different types of impactors (and had the added benefit of getting to see more explosions).

He does a nice demonstration with a large Fresnel lens to show how focusing sunlight on a comet could effect it. He uses fruit instead of a comet. I have played with a Fresnel lens of that size and you can melt pennies and even quarters with it. Although they didn't show it, I bet he tried to fry a bunch of other stuff while filming.

Just a couple of quibbles. Toward the end, he talks about the close approach of Apophis in 2029. Aphophis will definitely miss us on that pass. If Apophis passes through a certain "keyhole" as it passes Earth, it could whap us in 2036. However, the odds of this are 1 in 250,000. Would have been nice to have the numbers to show this is still really unlikely (and better observations may totally rule it out).

The second quibble is that the idea of a gravity tug got short shrift. They talk about it a little bit, but I thought it deserved more time since it is probably the best chance we have of deflecting an asteroid.

As for the style of the show, I loved the comic book motif. It really added to the spirit of fun in the show...and the comic version of Armageddon was better than the real movie!

So be sure to check out future episodes...check your local listings for future shows.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Spica Joins the Planet Party...

Between clouds and a trip out of town, it has been a while since I have been able to check in on the ongoing dance of the planets in the west. Saturn is getting pretty low in the sky at sunset now and you have to be quick to see it. Saturn is not up in a really dark sky right now, so you are also fighting twilight. I barely got Saturn tonight.

Click to enlarge. Saturn is sitting just above a palm tree next to the tall spooky tree. Saturn is the one on the right. The bright one to the left of Saturn is a plane. This was a fairly short exposure and the plane was moving pretty much away from me, so it didn't leave a streak. The bright one is Venus of course. Above Venus is the star Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. They are very close together separated by about a pinky width held at arms length (about a degree). Mars is directly to the right of Spica.

You can go out and see this gathering the next few nights. I will leave you with a shot of Venus, Spica and Mars.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

With the Laws of Science, You Must Be in Compliance

Couldn't resist trying my hand at a little Dr. Suess style title for this one. I had to in honor of the new PBS series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That. Based on the Cat in the Hat's Learning Library, each episode will take on a different area of science.

The Cat is voiced by Martin Short. Mercifully, the whole show does not rhyme, just at the end during the wrap up.

Here's the promo clip.

I hope they include some of the adult humor that made the Dr. Suess material so enjoyable...in addition to good science. You can bet I'll be looking for that!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Tuesday Time Waster

http://balldroppings.com/js/

Figured we haven't had a time waster in awhile. Play around with the settings for more fun!

Wind Turbines

I pass by these every time I go Up North to visit my folks. Towering pillars foreboding along side the freeway. Kissing the sky and reaching the heavens-churning slowly almost in a calculated fashion. My mouth is agape with the sheer sight of their size. These are wind turbines of Forward Wind Farm near Byron, Wisconsin on the Fond du Lac and Dodge County borders.

Tall and majestic they are, scaling over 40 stories into air. The blades are 134 ft across. The weight of the rotors are 47 tons. They'll operate in winds starting at 9 mph and they'll cut off at 54 mph. They are designed to withstand winds up to 134 mph. These babies can generate up to 145 megawatts of electricity, that's enough to power up 36,000 residential homes! That's a structure for you! To top it all, there are over 80 turbines in the area! There are over 300 turbines in Wisconsin.

Amazingly it may seem, there is controversy over these giants. residents living in the shadows of the turbines have complained of noise, shadow flicker and maintenance issues. Not to mention an increase in their electric bill. After seeing some videos about their arguments, I'm not so sure I'd want to be living nearby them...

Here's some information, I've researched upon-

http://www.we-energies.com/environmental/bluesky_greenfield.htm
http://www.we-energies.com/home/ByronWind.pdf
http://www.ecw.org/byronwindtour/turbines.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyOImGHyJtQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7b4fGoK4Xo

Hanny and the Mystery of the Voorwerp

Hanny van Arkel was a Dutch schoolteacher in the summer of 2007 and was participating in the Galaxy Zoo project. While classifying galaxies, she saw a strange green blog. She wasn't the first person to see it (she was the 27th) but she was the first to wonder what it was and start asking a lot of questions about it.

This mystery object became known as Hanny's Voorwerp and has fascinated astronomers the world over who started studying it with all manner of instruments including the Hubble Space Telescope.

I am not going to post spoilers here, because the whole story is being chronicled in graphic novel form. It will be released at Dragon Con this week. You don't need to go to Dragon Con to get a copy, you can order your own for $5 plus shipping (only a couple of buck to Arizona).

This is a great tool for teachers who want to illustrate how ordinary people can make discoveries in science. The key is to ask questions and hang on for the ride!

Galaxy Zoo project. While classifying galaxies, she saw a strange green blog. She wasn't the first person to see it (she was the 27th) but she was the first to wonder what it was and start asking a lot of questions about it.

This mystery object became known as Hanny's Voorwerp and has fascinated astronomers the world over who started studying it with all manner of instruments including the Hubble Space Telescope.

I am not going to post spoilers here, because the whole story is being chronicled in graphic novel form. It will be released at Dragon Con this week. You don't need to go to Dragon Con to get a copy, you can order your own for $5 plus shipping (only a couple of buck to Arizona).

This is a great tool for teachers who want to illustrate how ordinary people can make discoveries in science. The key is to ask questions and hang on for the ride!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Open Blog - Monday

Right.

Don't know if I'm cryin or laughing

Lets upset some more people

Okay, first, sorry to any police with thin skin or are in shape. We have areas of our city that have the majority of our Police force reacting with too many man hours. I said “reacting.” I believe in being proactive. When you are proactive and vigilant (not vigilante) you can nip problems in the bud. When problems do arise, if you’ve been proactive, the solution becomes evident usually much quicker.

How could Racine’s police be proactive? Two words. Foot Patrols. Why is it our fire fighters are in better shape than our police? How do we end up with so many obese officers? When police would rather shoot a man than chase him down, doesn’t this point to a lack of physical fitness?

Foot patrols would put our officers into these neighborhoods. They would get to meet and come to know the good folks. YES there ARE good people in all neighborhoods. A foot patrol would get to know them. A foot patrol would get to know the bad elements. Foot patrols would be mentors for the little kids that only get one side of the story.

If an officer breaks into a sweat after walking just one or two blocks, shouldn’t that officer walk even more until he/she doesn’t? I’ve seen too many large cops that the only quick thing they possessed was their tempers.

Lets not always fall into the trap of reactionary thinking and efforts. Lets be proactive and try to nip these problems in the bud