- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Spooky space pictures: a Halloween gallery
To celebrate Halloween, New Scientist Space has assembled a gallery of spine-tingling images from space.
Click if you dare!
To celebrate Halloween, New Scientist Space has assembled a gallery of spine-tingling images from space.
Click if you dare!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Top 10 Scariest Movies Ever
There's a chill in the air, and it's not just the weather or the frosty attitudes between the presidential candidates. It's also the chill of scary Halloween movies. Here are ten of the scariest movies ever. There's nothing necessarily wrong with gore and splatter (such as the Friday the 13th and Saw series), but films such as these deliver genuine chills and are best watched with the lights on.
Bug (2007)
Thirty-five years after cementing his name in the horror world with The Exorcist, William Friedkin showed he can still tingle the spine with his film Bug, an unrelenting, inexorable crawl into madness. The story follows a down-on-her-luck waitress at a desolate motel who meets quiet and polite (though possibly delusional) drifter. As they get to know each other, he shares a terrifying secret: he is the victim of horrible military experiments, and believes he is being watched. Soon he starts scratching himself, complaining about bugs in their room. As usual, scratching only makes things worse...
Martin (1977)
Martin is probably one of the best, yet least-known, vampire films of the past thirty years. Written and directed George "Day of the Dead" Romero, it follows a young man named Martin who lives in a small Pennsylvania town and believes he is a vampire. He attacks women with syringes of sedatives, then cuts their wrists to drink their blood. The troubled youth goes to live with his immigrant uncle, who believes Martin is a real, Old World vampire and tries to control him with garlic and crosses. Martin gives a creepy look at what a real-world vampire--or just a troubled teen with vampire delusions--might look like.
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
It's 1971 and Jacob Singer, a soldier in Vietnam, is wounded. He survives but returns to civilian life back home in New York. Yet soon Jacob has horrific hallucinations of hell. He eventually meets up with other veterans from his unit, who confide that they also have been seeing demons. Perhaps they are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Or maybe they were, as some conspiracy theorists among them suggest, unknowing guinea pigs in a military mind-altering experiment. Or possibly something even more sinister is afoot.
The Stepfather (1987)
Long before he played Locke on the TV series Lost, Terry O'Quinn scared filmgoers as a serial-killing stepfather with a fractured idea of the perfect family. When his new wife and children disappoint him, a seemingly perfect family man kills them and moves on, seeking yet another white picket fence house, beautiful wife, and perfect kids. The Stepfather, like the brilliant film Falling Down, is ultimately about one man's psychological breakdown and his failure to realize his idealized version of the American Dream. A remake of The Stepfather is being filmed, scheduled for release next year.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The infamous Texas Chainsaw Massacre tells the story of a murderous clan living in rural Texas who prey on lost passerby. The main villain is Leatherface, a big brute with the subpar dental work and a chainsaw who wears a mask of human skin. It is considered by many to be one of the scariest films of all time, and much of the terror comes from the psychologically relentless chase scenes. Though the low-budget film is often criticized for gore and violence, it actually has much less blood than people imagine, with many of the killings occurring off camera. Texas Chainsaw Massacre spawned sequels and dozens of imitators featuring murderous, masked psychos who kill teens with sharp hardware. The "true story" that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was inspired by has little to do with the film. It didn't take place in Texas, didn't involve a chainsaw, and wasn't really a massacre.
The Shining (1980)
Stephen King's imagination combined with Stanley Kubrick's filmmaking to create The Shining, the story of a writer, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson, in one of his most memorable performances). Torrance takes a job as a winter caretaker at a huge, remote resort, along with his waifish wife and their psychic son, who has the ability to sense the dead (a gift called "the shining"). Isolated from the world for a winter and trying to finish a novel, Torrance is slowly driven insane by the hotel's resident evil spirits, who urge him to kill his family.
Frailty (2002)
Frailty is a spectacularly creepy gothic thriller that tells the story of an East Texas serial killer who calls himself the Hand of God. An FBI agent, desperate for information, listens when a young man named Fenton comes in offering a suspect. Fenton believes he knows who the killer is: his brother Adam. Fenton tells of their strange childhood, beginning when their father (Bill Paxton) had a religious vision one night. God told him he must kill people--well, not people but demons that look like ordinary people. He is given a list of names and two tools to do the job, including a double-edged axe. Faced with an assured and threatening father and nowhere to go, the boys reluctantly help carry out a murder. The film works because of a sharp script and Paxton's engrossing performance as the demon-driven father, hitting exactly the right balance between earnestness and psychosis. Like Martin and Bug, Frailty shows that everyday horrors can sometimes be the worst.
The Exorcist (1973)
When Regan, a cute 12-year-old, experiences odd behavior, her mother Chris believes she's just sick. Regan goes to doctors, who attribute the disturbances to nerves or a brain dysfunction. At first, Regan's cherubic complexion gets worse and she curses, perhaps signifying nothing more sinister than puberty. But as the incidents become more common, horrific, and violent (including projectile vomiting and of course masturbating with a crucifix), Chris suspects her daughter is possessed. Finally she turns to Father Damien Karras, who himself is struggling with an ailing mother and a loss of faith. With help from the infirm Father Merrin, Karras confronts the evil in the little girl during an exorcism. The film was directed by William Friedkin from William Peter Blatty's script, based on his 1971 bestselling book of the same name. The film was supposedly based on a true story of a 1949 exorcism case in Maryland, though writer Mark Opsasnick showed that Blatty's account was heavily fictionalized, and the boy in the "real" case showed no evidence of demonic possession.
Seven (1995)
The title Seven refers to the Seven Deadly Sins, which is the blueprint followed by a serial killer who dispatches his victims according to the Bible. The idea of a mad killer working from such a list is in itself nothing new; 1971's The Abominable Dr. Phibes, with Vincent Price, had this plot device. Seven manages to rise above serial killer chase cliches to provide a scary, absorbing plot with moody, decaying atmosphere. In a film genre overpopulated by serial killers, writer Andrew Walker and director David Fincher manage to bring new twists and surprises to the screen.
Psycho (1960)
In Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece Psycho, an embezzling secretary is on the run from the police. She hides out in a small motel in Arizona, run by a peculiar but unassuming young man named Norman Bates. The Bates Motel is in the shadow of a sinister-looking house on a nearby hill, where Norman lives and looks after his frail, disturbed mother. Bad things happen to bad people, and soon the secretary is stabbed to death while taking a shower. Psycho, written by Robert Bloch, is brilliantly shot, acted, and edited, resulting in a masterpiece of suspense and macabre. Both Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were inspired by rural Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, who killed at least two people and dug up the graves of many more in the 1940s and 1950s. Psycho is much truer to the facts than Chainsaw is, though neither film really tells Gein's story. If you want that, you can rent Deranged a slightly fictionalized film based on his case.
source....
There's a chill in the air, and it's not just the weather or the frosty attitudes between the presidential candidates. It's also the chill of scary Halloween movies. Here are ten of the scariest movies ever. There's nothing necessarily wrong with gore and splatter (such as the Friday the 13th and Saw series), but films such as these deliver genuine chills and are best watched with the lights on.
Bug (2007)
Thirty-five years after cementing his name in the horror world with The Exorcist, William Friedkin showed he can still tingle the spine with his film Bug, an unrelenting, inexorable crawl into madness. The story follows a down-on-her-luck waitress at a desolate motel who meets quiet and polite (though possibly delusional) drifter. As they get to know each other, he shares a terrifying secret: he is the victim of horrible military experiments, and believes he is being watched. Soon he starts scratching himself, complaining about bugs in their room. As usual, scratching only makes things worse...
Martin (1977)
Martin is probably one of the best, yet least-known, vampire films of the past thirty years. Written and directed George "Day of the Dead" Romero, it follows a young man named Martin who lives in a small Pennsylvania town and believes he is a vampire. He attacks women with syringes of sedatives, then cuts their wrists to drink their blood. The troubled youth goes to live with his immigrant uncle, who believes Martin is a real, Old World vampire and tries to control him with garlic and crosses. Martin gives a creepy look at what a real-world vampire--or just a troubled teen with vampire delusions--might look like.
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
It's 1971 and Jacob Singer, a soldier in Vietnam, is wounded. He survives but returns to civilian life back home in New York. Yet soon Jacob has horrific hallucinations of hell. He eventually meets up with other veterans from his unit, who confide that they also have been seeing demons. Perhaps they are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Or maybe they were, as some conspiracy theorists among them suggest, unknowing guinea pigs in a military mind-altering experiment. Or possibly something even more sinister is afoot.
The Stepfather (1987)
Long before he played Locke on the TV series Lost, Terry O'Quinn scared filmgoers as a serial-killing stepfather with a fractured idea of the perfect family. When his new wife and children disappoint him, a seemingly perfect family man kills them and moves on, seeking yet another white picket fence house, beautiful wife, and perfect kids. The Stepfather, like the brilliant film Falling Down, is ultimately about one man's psychological breakdown and his failure to realize his idealized version of the American Dream. A remake of The Stepfather is being filmed, scheduled for release next year.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The infamous Texas Chainsaw Massacre tells the story of a murderous clan living in rural Texas who prey on lost passerby. The main villain is Leatherface, a big brute with the subpar dental work and a chainsaw who wears a mask of human skin. It is considered by many to be one of the scariest films of all time, and much of the terror comes from the psychologically relentless chase scenes. Though the low-budget film is often criticized for gore and violence, it actually has much less blood than people imagine, with many of the killings occurring off camera. Texas Chainsaw Massacre spawned sequels and dozens of imitators featuring murderous, masked psychos who kill teens with sharp hardware. The "true story" that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was inspired by has little to do with the film. It didn't take place in Texas, didn't involve a chainsaw, and wasn't really a massacre.
The Shining (1980)
Stephen King's imagination combined with Stanley Kubrick's filmmaking to create The Shining, the story of a writer, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson, in one of his most memorable performances). Torrance takes a job as a winter caretaker at a huge, remote resort, along with his waifish wife and their psychic son, who has the ability to sense the dead (a gift called "the shining"). Isolated from the world for a winter and trying to finish a novel, Torrance is slowly driven insane by the hotel's resident evil spirits, who urge him to kill his family.
Frailty (2002)
Frailty is a spectacularly creepy gothic thriller that tells the story of an East Texas serial killer who calls himself the Hand of God. An FBI agent, desperate for information, listens when a young man named Fenton comes in offering a suspect. Fenton believes he knows who the killer is: his brother Adam. Fenton tells of their strange childhood, beginning when their father (Bill Paxton) had a religious vision one night. God told him he must kill people--well, not people but demons that look like ordinary people. He is given a list of names and two tools to do the job, including a double-edged axe. Faced with an assured and threatening father and nowhere to go, the boys reluctantly help carry out a murder. The film works because of a sharp script and Paxton's engrossing performance as the demon-driven father, hitting exactly the right balance between earnestness and psychosis. Like Martin and Bug, Frailty shows that everyday horrors can sometimes be the worst.
The Exorcist (1973)
When Regan, a cute 12-year-old, experiences odd behavior, her mother Chris believes she's just sick. Regan goes to doctors, who attribute the disturbances to nerves or a brain dysfunction. At first, Regan's cherubic complexion gets worse and she curses, perhaps signifying nothing more sinister than puberty. But as the incidents become more common, horrific, and violent (including projectile vomiting and of course masturbating with a crucifix), Chris suspects her daughter is possessed. Finally she turns to Father Damien Karras, who himself is struggling with an ailing mother and a loss of faith. With help from the infirm Father Merrin, Karras confronts the evil in the little girl during an exorcism. The film was directed by William Friedkin from William Peter Blatty's script, based on his 1971 bestselling book of the same name. The film was supposedly based on a true story of a 1949 exorcism case in Maryland, though writer Mark Opsasnick showed that Blatty's account was heavily fictionalized, and the boy in the "real" case showed no evidence of demonic possession.
Seven (1995)
The title Seven refers to the Seven Deadly Sins, which is the blueprint followed by a serial killer who dispatches his victims according to the Bible. The idea of a mad killer working from such a list is in itself nothing new; 1971's The Abominable Dr. Phibes, with Vincent Price, had this plot device. Seven manages to rise above serial killer chase cliches to provide a scary, absorbing plot with moody, decaying atmosphere. In a film genre overpopulated by serial killers, writer Andrew Walker and director David Fincher manage to bring new twists and surprises to the screen.
Psycho (1960)
In Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece Psycho, an embezzling secretary is on the run from the police. She hides out in a small motel in Arizona, run by a peculiar but unassuming young man named Norman Bates. The Bates Motel is in the shadow of a sinister-looking house on a nearby hill, where Norman lives and looks after his frail, disturbed mother. Bad things happen to bad people, and soon the secretary is stabbed to death while taking a shower. Psycho, written by Robert Bloch, is brilliantly shot, acted, and edited, resulting in a masterpiece of suspense and macabre. Both Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were inspired by rural Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, who killed at least two people and dug up the graves of many more in the 1940s and 1950s. Psycho is much truer to the facts than Chainsaw is, though neither film really tells Gein's story. If you want that, you can rent Deranged a slightly fictionalized film based on his case.
source....
Letter of the day:
Something is wrong when Wisconsin allows ATVs to use only 180 miles of trails on DNR lands, while Minnesota may end up with 7,700 miles of trails. And much of the enforcement and education is being handed over to ATV clubs.
full text and comments....
Something is wrong when Wisconsin allows ATVs to use only 180 miles of trails on DNR lands, while Minnesota may end up with 7,700 miles of trails. And much of the enforcement and education is being handed over to ATV clubs.
full text and comments....
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
From the Observatory:
The Double Cluster. Still working on it. Looks like I will be able to get more exposures with the continuing beautiful weather, and while the Moon is away. The more to add to the data, the better.
The Summer Triangle (which should also be called the Autumn Triangle). Still working on it too.
The Coathanger. Pretty much done with it. Won't get much better than this no matter how many more exposures I get. Unless I come up with another technique/better equipment.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
23 degrees this morning!
Yep, it's that time of year - my favorite time.
Anyway, I guess maybe it was too cold for his car to start this morning, because once again, he didn't show up at all. Not like usual, when he shows up just in time to see that I have finished all the milking and chores and am heading home.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Yep, it's that time of year - my favorite time.
Anyway, I guess maybe it was too cold for his car to start this morning, because once again, he didn't show up at all. Not like usual, when he shows up just in time to see that I have finished all the milking and chores and am heading home.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
IT’S just what you’d expect to see in a snap from an aquarium. A shark, blue water — and a disembodied HUMAN HEAD.
Emma Place, 21, took this eerie photo on her phone at Hull’s £53million attraction The Deep.
Boffins at the aquarium admit they are baffled by the appearance of the man’s face, which appears to be gawping up at a shark
Dentistry student Emma, of Doncaster, only spotted the ghoulish face when she arrived home.
She said: “My boyfriend said, ‘what’s that?’ I replied, ‘it’s a shark’.
“He said, ‘no, the face.’ I was like, oh my God! It actually looks quite spooky.
“I’m easily freaked-out.”
Although Emma’s dad Alan, 48, was stood next to her in the glass tunnel, she insists he looks nothing like the man in the photo.
Bosses have spent hours searching CCTV footage, which confirmed the pair were the only ones inside the tunnel.
And they have even tried to recreate conditions in the tunnel where the reflection could appear, but with no success.
continue....
Emma Place, 21, took this eerie photo on her phone at Hull’s £53million attraction The Deep.
Boffins at the aquarium admit they are baffled by the appearance of the man’s face, which appears to be gawping up at a shark
Dentistry student Emma, of Doncaster, only spotted the ghoulish face when she arrived home.
She said: “My boyfriend said, ‘what’s that?’ I replied, ‘it’s a shark’.
“He said, ‘no, the face.’ I was like, oh my God! It actually looks quite spooky.
“I’m easily freaked-out.”
Although Emma’s dad Alan, 48, was stood next to her in the glass tunnel, she insists he looks nothing like the man in the photo.
Bosses have spent hours searching CCTV footage, which confirmed the pair were the only ones inside the tunnel.
And they have even tried to recreate conditions in the tunnel where the reflection could appear, but with no success.
continue....
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
On Parched Farms, Using Intuition to Find Water
Phil Stine is not crazy, or possessed, or even that special, he says. He has no idea how he does what he does. From most accounts, he does it very well.
“Phil finds the water,” said Frank Assali, an almond farmer and convert. “No doubt about it.”
Mr. Stine, you see, is a “water witch,” one of a small band of believers for whom the ancient art of dowsing is alive and well.
Emphasis, of course, on well. Using nothing more than a Y-shaped willow stick, Mr. Stine has as his primary function determining where farmers should drill to slake their crops’ thirst, adding an element of the mystical to a business where the day-to-day can often be painfully plain.
continue....
Phil Stine is not crazy, or possessed, or even that special, he says. He has no idea how he does what he does. From most accounts, he does it very well.
“Phil finds the water,” said Frank Assali, an almond farmer and convert. “No doubt about it.”
Mr. Stine, you see, is a “water witch,” one of a small band of believers for whom the ancient art of dowsing is alive and well.
Emphasis, of course, on well. Using nothing more than a Y-shaped willow stick, Mr. Stine has as his primary function determining where farmers should drill to slake their crops’ thirst, adding an element of the mystical to a business where the day-to-day can often be painfully plain.
continue....
Monday, October 27, 2008
STAR GAZER
Episode # 08-43 / 1612th Show
To Be Aired : Monday 10/27/2008 through Sunday 11/02/2008
"The Seven Sinister Sisters Fly High Across The Sky At Midnight On Halloween"
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers. Because Halloween greeting cards often depict a witch riding a broom in front of a full Moon many people have the mistaken notion that there's a full Moon every year at Halloween when in fact we won't have a full Moon on Halloween again until 2020. But there is something you can see in the night sky every Halloween that is even niftier and definitely spookier because every Halloween the Seven Sinister Sisters fly high across the sky at midnight. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for the witching hour of midnight, any Halloween facing south. And if you look up almost overhead you will see the tiny cluster of stars called The Pleiades, but which are more popularly known as The Seven Sisters. And to various cultures long ago, whenever The Seven Sisters reached their highest point at midnight, which happens every year at the end of October and beginning of November, this was a sort of cosmic signal telling people that this was the time of the year to honor the dead.
Now astronomically speaking, whenever any object reaches its highest point in the heavens we say that it has culminated. And whenever The Pleiades culminated at midnight many ancient cultures held great ceremonies in honor of the dead, which is basically where our Halloween comes from. There was also a popular belief that great natural catastrophes had occurred on some of the nights when The Pleiades culminated at midnight. In fact some legends claim that the Great Flood and the 10 Plagues of Egypt, even the legendary sinking of Atlantis, occurred when The Pleiades culminated at midnight.
Indeed, this belief was so widespread that the ancient Aztec and Maya conducted spectacular ceremonies when The Pleiades culminated at midnight because they believed that the world had already been destroyed and recreated not once but 4 times when The Seven Sisters were overhead at midnight. Even the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacán, Mexico was oriented to the setting of The Pleiades as were all of the city's west facing streets. And coincidentally many ancient Greek temples were also lined up with the setting or the rising of The Seven Sisters.
Now although The Pleiades no longer reach their highest point, that is culminate, exactly at midnight on the same nights as they did in ancient times, nevertheless, they are still almost at their highest every Halloween at midnight as a modern reminder that our ancestors were deeply moved and affected by the cosmos and used many cosmic coincidences to determine important religious and ceremonial events in their life. In fact some people still believe that the next time the world ends it will also happen on a Pleiades overhead at midnight night. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.
So get thee outside this Halloween or any Halloween at midnight look almost overhead for the beautiful cluster of stars known as The Pleiades, and The Seven Sisters or as I like to call them on Halloween, the Seven Sinister Sisters. And as you look at them remind yourself that these same stars have been seen by thousands of generations who have gone before us who saw them as very important in determining their own special days of the year when they honored their dead. And although it is a bit creepy don't you agree that Seven Sisters at midnight are even better than a full Halloween Moon? I mean I'll take seven witches over one Moon any night. Keep looking up!
Episode # 08-43 / 1612th Show
To Be Aired : Monday 10/27/2008 through Sunday 11/02/2008
"The Seven Sinister Sisters Fly High Across The Sky At Midnight On Halloween"
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers. Because Halloween greeting cards often depict a witch riding a broom in front of a full Moon many people have the mistaken notion that there's a full Moon every year at Halloween when in fact we won't have a full Moon on Halloween again until 2020. But there is something you can see in the night sky every Halloween that is even niftier and definitely spookier because every Halloween the Seven Sinister Sisters fly high across the sky at midnight. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for the witching hour of midnight, any Halloween facing south. And if you look up almost overhead you will see the tiny cluster of stars called The Pleiades, but which are more popularly known as The Seven Sisters. And to various cultures long ago, whenever The Seven Sisters reached their highest point at midnight, which happens every year at the end of October and beginning of November, this was a sort of cosmic signal telling people that this was the time of the year to honor the dead.
Now astronomically speaking, whenever any object reaches its highest point in the heavens we say that it has culminated. And whenever The Pleiades culminated at midnight many ancient cultures held great ceremonies in honor of the dead, which is basically where our Halloween comes from. There was also a popular belief that great natural catastrophes had occurred on some of the nights when The Pleiades culminated at midnight. In fact some legends claim that the Great Flood and the 10 Plagues of Egypt, even the legendary sinking of Atlantis, occurred when The Pleiades culminated at midnight.
Indeed, this belief was so widespread that the ancient Aztec and Maya conducted spectacular ceremonies when The Pleiades culminated at midnight because they believed that the world had already been destroyed and recreated not once but 4 times when The Seven Sisters were overhead at midnight. Even the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacán, Mexico was oriented to the setting of The Pleiades as were all of the city's west facing streets. And coincidentally many ancient Greek temples were also lined up with the setting or the rising of The Seven Sisters.
Now although The Pleiades no longer reach their highest point, that is culminate, exactly at midnight on the same nights as they did in ancient times, nevertheless, they are still almost at their highest every Halloween at midnight as a modern reminder that our ancestors were deeply moved and affected by the cosmos and used many cosmic coincidences to determine important religious and ceremonial events in their life. In fact some people still believe that the next time the world ends it will also happen on a Pleiades overhead at midnight night. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.
So get thee outside this Halloween or any Halloween at midnight look almost overhead for the beautiful cluster of stars known as The Pleiades, and The Seven Sisters or as I like to call them on Halloween, the Seven Sinister Sisters. And as you look at them remind yourself that these same stars have been seen by thousands of generations who have gone before us who saw them as very important in determining their own special days of the year when they honored their dead. And although it is a bit creepy don't you agree that Seven Sisters at midnight are even better than a full Halloween Moon? I mean I'll take seven witches over one Moon any night. Keep looking up!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sales of light-utility vehicles up 12% among outdoor enthusiasts
Sales of all-terrain vehicles have lost traction in the shaky economy, but similar vehicles that can carry more passengers and cargo continue to gain ground with outdoor enthusiasts.
Also known as light-utility vehicles, they're wider than ATVs and look something like dune buggies. Sales of light-utility vehicles were up 12% in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, according to a recent survey of power-sports dealerships by Robert W. Baird & Co.
By comparison, sales of traditional ATVs fell 20% among the surveyed dealers, according to Baird.
"Most dealers are bracing for a recession and plan to keep inventory lean," Baird analyst Craig Kennison said in a report about the survey results.
Wisconsin has hundreds of ATV dealerships and trails where off-road vehicles are used.
Also, John Deere Co. recently said it was increasing production of its light-utility vehicle, called the Gator, at the company's plant in Horicon.
Deere said it was closing a plant in Canada and moving the Gator production to Wisconsin and Mexico.
In the Baird survey, 70% of the power-sports dealers said they considered inventories of traditional ATVs to be too high, compared with 34% who said inventories of light-utility vehicles were too high.
Dealers said they planned to order 43% fewer ATVs for the next six months, choosing to put more light-utility vehicles in their showrooms.
But there aren't as many places to use light-utility vehicles in Wisconsin because most ATV trails are closed to the bigger machines.
"They're another foot wider than an ATV. And considering that there's two-way traffic on most trails in Wisconsin, it can certainly create some issues if a trail isn't wide enough," said Larry Wagner, president of Marshview Riders ATV Club in Horicon.
Five Wisconsin counties - Florence, Lincoln, Marinette, Sawyer, and Washburn - are participating in a Department of Natural Resources experiment that allows light-utility vehicles on ATV trails.
The experiment, which runs through Sept. 30, is designed to learn whether the vehicles are compatible with other trail users.
There are restrictions, and a special trail decal is required from the DNR.
Besides the economy, high gasoline prices have hurt ATV sales.
Most of Wisconsin's ATV trails are in the central and northern parts of the state, requiring users to trailer their vehicles sometimes hundreds of miles.
continue....
Sales of all-terrain vehicles have lost traction in the shaky economy, but similar vehicles that can carry more passengers and cargo continue to gain ground with outdoor enthusiasts.
Also known as light-utility vehicles, they're wider than ATVs and look something like dune buggies. Sales of light-utility vehicles were up 12% in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, according to a recent survey of power-sports dealerships by Robert W. Baird & Co.
By comparison, sales of traditional ATVs fell 20% among the surveyed dealers, according to Baird.
"Most dealers are bracing for a recession and plan to keep inventory lean," Baird analyst Craig Kennison said in a report about the survey results.
Wisconsin has hundreds of ATV dealerships and trails where off-road vehicles are used.
Also, John Deere Co. recently said it was increasing production of its light-utility vehicle, called the Gator, at the company's plant in Horicon.
Deere said it was closing a plant in Canada and moving the Gator production to Wisconsin and Mexico.
In the Baird survey, 70% of the power-sports dealers said they considered inventories of traditional ATVs to be too high, compared with 34% who said inventories of light-utility vehicles were too high.
Dealers said they planned to order 43% fewer ATVs for the next six months, choosing to put more light-utility vehicles in their showrooms.
But there aren't as many places to use light-utility vehicles in Wisconsin because most ATV trails are closed to the bigger machines.
"They're another foot wider than an ATV. And considering that there's two-way traffic on most trails in Wisconsin, it can certainly create some issues if a trail isn't wide enough," said Larry Wagner, president of Marshview Riders ATV Club in Horicon.
Five Wisconsin counties - Florence, Lincoln, Marinette, Sawyer, and Washburn - are participating in a Department of Natural Resources experiment that allows light-utility vehicles on ATV trails.
The experiment, which runs through Sept. 30, is designed to learn whether the vehicles are compatible with other trail users.
There are restrictions, and a special trail decal is required from the DNR.
Besides the economy, high gasoline prices have hurt ATV sales.
Most of Wisconsin's ATV trails are in the central and northern parts of the state, requiring users to trailer their vehicles sometimes hundreds of miles.
continue....
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Wood stoves can save money
With winter right around the corner and fuel prices still high, home-heating costs have some people worried - so much that some are turning to wood stoves for heat.
"People are definitely going for alternative heat this year, much more so than in the past," John Zimmerman, owner of Zim's Lumber and Stoves Ltd. in Cuba, said. "They're going to make sure they have a means for alternative heat. It's definitely due to a fear of what the heating bill could be. They're concerned."
According to www.hpba.org, as of Aug. 1, the average annual cost to heat a home with fuel oil was $1,444, $1,391 with electricity, $1,165 with propane, and $866 with natural gas. The average cost to heat a home with wood was $520.
"Around here in rural areas, it's propane and fuel oil," said Scott Sisson of Sisson's Chain Saws and Stoves Inc. in Bolivar. "These types went up astronomically. (Converting to wood stoves) would be a way to save a lot of money. You can save hundreds to thousands of dollars a year with wood."
Besides saving money, Mr. Sisson, who estimates a 30 percent increase in people looking at wood stoves this year, said wood is a better form of heat.
"It's a beautiful way to heat your home," he said. "It's excellent heat. It feels warmer at equal temperature because it's a dryer heat. It's just a real nice warm heat."
An abundance of trees in the area also makes wood stoves an appealing choice, according to Mr. Zimmerman.
"In this area, the fuel supply will be, more than likely, forever, because of the amount of trees in the area," he said. "We're not in a metropolitan area where it's more costly. We're lucky. We're never going to run out of wood heat in this area."
continue....
With winter right around the corner and fuel prices still high, home-heating costs have some people worried - so much that some are turning to wood stoves for heat.
"People are definitely going for alternative heat this year, much more so than in the past," John Zimmerman, owner of Zim's Lumber and Stoves Ltd. in Cuba, said. "They're going to make sure they have a means for alternative heat. It's definitely due to a fear of what the heating bill could be. They're concerned."
According to www.hpba.org, as of Aug. 1, the average annual cost to heat a home with fuel oil was $1,444, $1,391 with electricity, $1,165 with propane, and $866 with natural gas. The average cost to heat a home with wood was $520.
"Around here in rural areas, it's propane and fuel oil," said Scott Sisson of Sisson's Chain Saws and Stoves Inc. in Bolivar. "These types went up astronomically. (Converting to wood stoves) would be a way to save a lot of money. You can save hundreds to thousands of dollars a year with wood."
Besides saving money, Mr. Sisson, who estimates a 30 percent increase in people looking at wood stoves this year, said wood is a better form of heat.
"It's a beautiful way to heat your home," he said. "It's excellent heat. It feels warmer at equal temperature because it's a dryer heat. It's just a real nice warm heat."
An abundance of trees in the area also makes wood stoves an appealing choice, according to Mr. Zimmerman.
"In this area, the fuel supply will be, more than likely, forever, because of the amount of trees in the area," he said. "We're not in a metropolitan area where it's more costly. We're lucky. We're never going to run out of wood heat in this area."
continue....
Friday, October 24, 2008
Hunters Encountered Strange Lights and Lime Green, Glowing Humanoid
My feeling on the UFO phenomenon is after you eliminate all the IFOs (identified flying objects), all the cases you can explain away, there is still that percentage of cases you cannot easily dismiss. My feeling has been for quite awhile now that there is no ONE origin for these unexplained phenomena.
I think it’s possible that at least a small number of these might be extraterrestrial spacecraft. Some could be unknown natural phenomena. And some of these could be time travelers or could be inter-dimensional.
But again, we have a lot of cases over the years we’ve investigated where we have an object, a solid craft, sometimes in broad daylight, where the craft physically changed form to a completely different form; or the craft has appeared and disappeared.
Most people, when they are talking about UFOs, they are talking about very large cylindrical-shaped objects, dome-shaped objects, typical flying saucers; the cigar-shaped things; the rectangular objects – and people think they are all 20 to 30 or hundreds of feet in length.
But, we’ve had many cases of these very small, spherical objects – a few inches to a foot in diameter, maybe as big as a basketball in diameter. I’ve had cases of these things coming into peoples’ homes and flying around. I’ve had cases of people in cars having their windows down and these spheres going inside the cars and floating around.
There was a really interesting case years ago we looked into and a woman reported that one of the small spheres came into her kitchen and was floating around. She got a broom and smacked it. She said it actually split in two and the two separate, spherical objects floated around and went back out the kitchen window and disappeared.”
continue....
My feeling on the UFO phenomenon is after you eliminate all the IFOs (identified flying objects), all the cases you can explain away, there is still that percentage of cases you cannot easily dismiss. My feeling has been for quite awhile now that there is no ONE origin for these unexplained phenomena.
I think it’s possible that at least a small number of these might be extraterrestrial spacecraft. Some could be unknown natural phenomena. And some of these could be time travelers or could be inter-dimensional.
But again, we have a lot of cases over the years we’ve investigated where we have an object, a solid craft, sometimes in broad daylight, where the craft physically changed form to a completely different form; or the craft has appeared and disappeared.
Most people, when they are talking about UFOs, they are talking about very large cylindrical-shaped objects, dome-shaped objects, typical flying saucers; the cigar-shaped things; the rectangular objects – and people think they are all 20 to 30 or hundreds of feet in length.
But, we’ve had many cases of these very small, spherical objects – a few inches to a foot in diameter, maybe as big as a basketball in diameter. I’ve had cases of these things coming into peoples’ homes and flying around. I’ve had cases of people in cars having their windows down and these spheres going inside the cars and floating around.
There was a really interesting case years ago we looked into and a woman reported that one of the small spheres came into her kitchen and was floating around. She got a broom and smacked it. She said it actually split in two and the two separate, spherical objects floated around and went back out the kitchen window and disappeared.”
continue....
Thursday, October 23, 2008
New machine prints sheets of light
The size of a semitrailer, it coats an 8-inch wide plastic film with chemicals, then seals them with a layer of metal foil. Apply electric current to the resulting sheet, and it lights up with a blue-white glow.
You could tack that sheet to a wall, wrap it around a pillar or even take a translucent version and tape it to your windows. Unlike practically every other source of lighting, you wouldn't need a lamp or conventional fixture for these sheets, though you would need to plug them into an outlet.
The sheets owe their luminance to compounds known as organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. While there are plenty of problems to be worked out with the technology, it's not the dream of a wild-eyed startup.
OLEDs are beginning to be used in TVs and cell-phone displays, and big names like Siemens and Philips are throwing their weight behind the technology to make it a lighting source as well. The OLED printer was made by General Electric Co. on its sprawling research campus in upstate New York. It's not far from where a GE physicist figured out a practical way to use tungsten metal as the filament in a regular light bulb. That's still used today, nearly a century later.
continue....
The size of a semitrailer, it coats an 8-inch wide plastic film with chemicals, then seals them with a layer of metal foil. Apply electric current to the resulting sheet, and it lights up with a blue-white glow.
You could tack that sheet to a wall, wrap it around a pillar or even take a translucent version and tape it to your windows. Unlike practically every other source of lighting, you wouldn't need a lamp or conventional fixture for these sheets, though you would need to plug them into an outlet.
The sheets owe their luminance to compounds known as organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. While there are plenty of problems to be worked out with the technology, it's not the dream of a wild-eyed startup.
OLEDs are beginning to be used in TVs and cell-phone displays, and big names like Siemens and Philips are throwing their weight behind the technology to make it a lighting source as well. The OLED printer was made by General Electric Co. on its sprawling research campus in upstate New York. It's not far from where a GE physicist figured out a practical way to use tungsten metal as the filament in a regular light bulb. That's still used today, nearly a century later.
continue....
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
More from the observatory:
This was last night, as the clouds were thickening up. It's a little group of stars in Perseus, below the Double Cluster. I'm not sure if it has a name. I wanted to get some more exposures of the Coathanger to add to the stack, but the weather cut me short. Maybe in a few days when it clears again.
This is from a few nights ago, the Double Cluster. My exposures were a little too long, so the stars trailed, but I still thought it was kind of pretty. I can do better next time.
This is from a month ago, the Swan Nebula. I wasn't even sure that I had captured it, but the more I studied other people's better pictures of it, I realized that I had indeed got it. Can't even see a hint of it in the single exposures, it only shows up after they're stacked. I just guessed where it was and started snapping away with the shutter button.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Is anybody listening out there?
Messages have been sent to a planet 20 light years from Earth in the hope they will reach intelligent alien life.
Some 501 photos, drawings and text messages were transmitted on Thursday by a giant radio-telescope in Ukraine normally used to track asteroids.
The target planet was chosen as it is thought capable of supporting life.
Any reply to the messages - collated through a competition by the social networking website Bebo - would not reach Earth for 40 years.
continue....
Messages have been sent to a planet 20 light years from Earth in the hope they will reach intelligent alien life.
Some 501 photos, drawings and text messages were transmitted on Thursday by a giant radio-telescope in Ukraine normally used to track asteroids.
The target planet was chosen as it is thought capable of supporting life.
Any reply to the messages - collated through a competition by the social networking website Bebo - would not reach Earth for 40 years.
continue....
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Last night's observatory photos:
On the left, an original single 10 second exposure of the Coathanger taken with my Canon SX100 IS. - On the right, 12 exposures stacked.
On the left, an original single 15 second exposure of the constellation Cygnus taken with my Canon SX100 IS. - On the right, 14 exposures stacked.
(through federal prison light pollution) On the left, an original single 10 second exposure of the Seven Sisters taken with my Canon SX100 IS. - On the right, 17 exposures stacked.
Saw many shooting stars (Orionid Meteors). Saw three this morning on my walk down to the barn too.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Saw many shooting stars (Orionid Meteors). Saw three this morning on my walk down to the barn too.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Terrifying Séances
Contacting the spirit world can be a surprising, hazardous experience
“Then one day, after a magic show at the old Schubert Theatre in downtown Detroit, I was approached by a very nice elderly lady who asked if we would put on a show for a few of her friends at her home in swank Grosse Point Farms, a wealthy suburb of Detroit. She said that we could use any gimmicks or tricks we wanted and she would pay us $100. (That was a lot of money to a college student in the 1940s.) I asked my partner and he said sure, let's go for it. We rounded up as much paraphernalia as we could from the magic store and planned a really scary show for them. Our plan included getting as much information as the host lady could gather about the persons who would be in attendance. (No self-respecting medium would go in without it.)
“Finally, the night arrived. We had agreed that my partner would handle the mechanical and voice parts and I would take the part of the medium at the table with the guests. My partner planned to wait in his car down the block until all of the guests were in the house and ready for the séance. He would then enter the kitchen by the back door and connect his microphone and recorders into the speaker system I had installed and concealed in the room and set up a projector. I was introduced as ‘Sregna, The Gifted’ (my last name spelled backward), and we all took our places at the table. The table had been previously rigged to emit a hanging cloud of "magic" smoke that would hover over the table for several minutes. This cloud was used as a sort of projection screen to receive images of light from a projector controlled by my partner – in short, a sort of astral vision effect.
“We all joined hands and I began my mumbo jumbo. I could feel a slight tremble in the hand I was holding. This was just what I needed. I became quite confident. I called upon the spirits to come forth and make themselves known. A few eerie sounds preceded a voice saying that he was the departed husband of one of the guests. A mist formed, as planned, over the table and a likeness of the person was seen. There were a few shudders and oohs and ahhs. She asked her husband questions and he answered. (Very well, I thought, considering the information we were given.) This scene was repeated for several of the ladies. It was an eerie success.
“When the séance came to a close, the ladies left, each with their memories. They had been treated to quite a show. The lady who hired us wrote me a check and thanked me for a wonderful evening. I then went into the kitchen to help my partner disconnect his equipment and pack up.
“When I reached the kitchen, I was unable to locate my partner or his equipment. Then I heard a pounding on the kitchen door. It was my partner. He said when he tried to get in, someone had apparently locked the door. He said he was sorry and asked if he missed anything. I may never know what really happened that night, but I can assure you, I have not played with the supernatural since!”
continue....
Contacting the spirit world can be a surprising, hazardous experience
“Then one day, after a magic show at the old Schubert Theatre in downtown Detroit, I was approached by a very nice elderly lady who asked if we would put on a show for a few of her friends at her home in swank Grosse Point Farms, a wealthy suburb of Detroit. She said that we could use any gimmicks or tricks we wanted and she would pay us $100. (That was a lot of money to a college student in the 1940s.) I asked my partner and he said sure, let's go for it. We rounded up as much paraphernalia as we could from the magic store and planned a really scary show for them. Our plan included getting as much information as the host lady could gather about the persons who would be in attendance. (No self-respecting medium would go in without it.)
“Finally, the night arrived. We had agreed that my partner would handle the mechanical and voice parts and I would take the part of the medium at the table with the guests. My partner planned to wait in his car down the block until all of the guests were in the house and ready for the séance. He would then enter the kitchen by the back door and connect his microphone and recorders into the speaker system I had installed and concealed in the room and set up a projector. I was introduced as ‘Sregna, The Gifted’ (my last name spelled backward), and we all took our places at the table. The table had been previously rigged to emit a hanging cloud of "magic" smoke that would hover over the table for several minutes. This cloud was used as a sort of projection screen to receive images of light from a projector controlled by my partner – in short, a sort of astral vision effect.
“We all joined hands and I began my mumbo jumbo. I could feel a slight tremble in the hand I was holding. This was just what I needed. I became quite confident. I called upon the spirits to come forth and make themselves known. A few eerie sounds preceded a voice saying that he was the departed husband of one of the guests. A mist formed, as planned, over the table and a likeness of the person was seen. There were a few shudders and oohs and ahhs. She asked her husband questions and he answered. (Very well, I thought, considering the information we were given.) This scene was repeated for several of the ladies. It was an eerie success.
“When the séance came to a close, the ladies left, each with their memories. They had been treated to quite a show. The lady who hired us wrote me a check and thanked me for a wonderful evening. I then went into the kitchen to help my partner disconnect his equipment and pack up.
“When I reached the kitchen, I was unable to locate my partner or his equipment. Then I heard a pounding on the kitchen door. It was my partner. He said when he tried to get in, someone had apparently locked the door. He said he was sorry and asked if he missed anything. I may never know what really happened that night, but I can assure you, I have not played with the supernatural since!”
continue....
Monday, October 20, 2008
Black Bear Visits South Lake Tahoe Hospital
Patients and doctors at a hospital at Lake Tahoe had a bit of a scare last week when a bear paid a visit.
The California black bear strolled through the first set of automatic sliding glass doors at Barton Memorial Hospital's main entrance.
The hospital's surveillance cameras caught the bear on film. Once the animal came upon the second set of automatic doors it became spooked and headed the other direction.
Ironically, at the front of the hospital stands a 6-foot-tall fiberglass "Dr. Bear" sculpture.
video....
Patients and doctors at a hospital at Lake Tahoe had a bit of a scare last week when a bear paid a visit.
The California black bear strolled through the first set of automatic sliding glass doors at Barton Memorial Hospital's main entrance.
The hospital's surveillance cameras caught the bear on film. Once the animal came upon the second set of automatic doors it became spooked and headed the other direction.
Ironically, at the front of the hospital stands a 6-foot-tall fiberglass "Dr. Bear" sculpture.
video....
Sunday, October 19, 2008
MARLEY WOODS
2.1 miles west of Site 3 - three witnesses observed multiple large ambers to the northeast in the direction of Sites 1 and 2. The ambers were at a low altitude and were seen for an extended period of time.
400 feet east of Site 3 cabin - one large and extremely bright amber seen by two witnesses. Site 3 owner and a neighbor new witness #218) observed a single amber which was stationary above nearby trees for several minutes. The neighbor walked some distance to his vehicle, located a camera, walked back and took 5 photographs of the object which later disappeared. No sound was heard during the extended observation. We are currently attempting to obtain copies of the images.
1.2 miles south of Site 3 - Two witnesses (new witnesses # 219 & 220) working in a dairy barn stepped outside just before midnight and observed multiple large amber objects and white objects to the east. The ambers were stationary, the white objects were moving horizontally and vertically. After an extended period of time they disappeared in no apparent pattern. There was no sound.
Recently we were made aware of a number of disturbing events taking place on one of the ranches in the Marley area. One of these involving a prize horse which had been so badly frightened by something it ran into a wooden building. The owner couldn’t find the animal and during his search for it noticed the doors of the building were heavily damaged. When he entered the structure he found the interior totally destroyed. He found blood and pieces of the horse on the floor and all around the walls. On 9/27/08 the SIU team went to the building with the property owner and obtained samples from the walls for possible DNA analysis. The remains of the event were photographed by SIU Photographer Ron Johnson and video was taken inside and out.
On the same ranch the owner recently found a buck deer with the head cleanly removed. No blood was found on or around the deer. Two days later another deer was found at a nearby ranch with no apparent cause of death visible. The belly had a neatly cut hole, no blood seen.
continue....
2.1 miles west of Site 3 - three witnesses observed multiple large ambers to the northeast in the direction of Sites 1 and 2. The ambers were at a low altitude and were seen for an extended period of time.
400 feet east of Site 3 cabin - one large and extremely bright amber seen by two witnesses. Site 3 owner and a neighbor new witness #218) observed a single amber which was stationary above nearby trees for several minutes. The neighbor walked some distance to his vehicle, located a camera, walked back and took 5 photographs of the object which later disappeared. No sound was heard during the extended observation. We are currently attempting to obtain copies of the images.
1.2 miles south of Site 3 - Two witnesses (new witnesses # 219 & 220) working in a dairy barn stepped outside just before midnight and observed multiple large amber objects and white objects to the east. The ambers were stationary, the white objects were moving horizontally and vertically. After an extended period of time they disappeared in no apparent pattern. There was no sound.
Recently we were made aware of a number of disturbing events taking place on one of the ranches in the Marley area. One of these involving a prize horse which had been so badly frightened by something it ran into a wooden building. The owner couldn’t find the animal and during his search for it noticed the doors of the building were heavily damaged. When he entered the structure he found the interior totally destroyed. He found blood and pieces of the horse on the floor and all around the walls. On 9/27/08 the SIU team went to the building with the property owner and obtained samples from the walls for possible DNA analysis. The remains of the event were photographed by SIU Photographer Ron Johnson and video was taken inside and out.
On the same ranch the owner recently found a buck deer with the head cleanly removed. No blood was found on or around the deer. Two days later another deer was found at a nearby ranch with no apparent cause of death visible. The belly had a neatly cut hole, no blood seen.
continue....
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Excuses, excuses:
He never gets down to the barn, at least until I'm almost completely done with the milking and chores. Quite often he doesn't show up at all. But of course that's not what he leads everyone to believe. Over the years he's had many excuses for it.
Baling hay is one. In reality neither morning nor night chore time is the right time of day to bale good quality hay. Besides, when I used to do most of the haying (all alone) AND do the milking (all alone), it was never at chore time. I couldn't do both at the same time (all alone).
Many times the cold weather excuse was that his van wouldn't start (he lives only 100 yards from the barn, but still must drive between the buildings on the farm). One of those times I asked him why he didn't just walk to the barn that morning. He said he had the dog already loaded in the van and he didn't want the dog to walk down to the barn in the cold and...........
Another often-used wintertime excuse, his van is stuck in the snow.
Or he has a meeting.
Or any number of other things that need to be done right at chore time, that isn't chores.
The cat got into his cupboards and knocked all the stuff down. It had to be cleaned up, right at chore time.
Or somehow the cat got locked in his van and tore open a bag of dog food. It had to be cleaned up right at chore time.
Or he had to do some housekeeping, right at chore time.
Or he had to do some bookwork, right at chore time.
Or he had any number of visitors.
Or important phone calls.
Or had to run to town for more pipe tobacco.
This morning he got there just as I'm leaving after finishing everything. He started to tell me about how he had made some cornbread last night and let it rise overnight in the pan. It rose so much that it ran out of the pan and down the side of the counter. I said that's the hell of it, so much shit happens right at chore time. He then stopped himself in mid excuse and said he didn't take time to clean it up and just left it before coming down to the barn. I replied that's all I can ever do when stuff happens to me near chore time.
After all, somebody has to go down to the barn at chore time.
Over the last several months, Mrs. Reverend has been coming down to the barn with me during night chores. She worries about me being down there alone all the time. If the first cow I milked happened to kick me in the head, I'd lay there for at least two hours before anybody might notice I was missing. The phone in the barn hasn't worked for years, even if I was able to get to it to call for help.
I'm still alone every morning.
The worst part of the whole deal is not the fact that I make far less than minimum wage, no benefits whatsoever, have never been offered a raise in pay, was yelled at and totally shot down the one time I did ask for a raise many years ago, and it's not even that bad that I work alone all the time. I never know when he will be down, or if at all. If I'm having a problem, I don't know when to wait for help to come, or when I should try to summon help. The worst part is never knowing - it's the complete unreliability.
A big fat woman once wondered why I don't quit if I'm so unhappy. Well, I guess I have quit - all the fieldwork, haying, harvesting - I've quit everything except the cows. I like the cows, or I wouldn't do it, but someday soon I will most likely quit that too. I'm not unhappy with it all. I'm unhappy with just one thing: him.
He never gets down to the barn, at least until I'm almost completely done with the milking and chores. Quite often he doesn't show up at all. But of course that's not what he leads everyone to believe. Over the years he's had many excuses for it.
Baling hay is one. In reality neither morning nor night chore time is the right time of day to bale good quality hay. Besides, when I used to do most of the haying (all alone) AND do the milking (all alone), it was never at chore time. I couldn't do both at the same time (all alone).
Many times the cold weather excuse was that his van wouldn't start (he lives only 100 yards from the barn, but still must drive between the buildings on the farm). One of those times I asked him why he didn't just walk to the barn that morning. He said he had the dog already loaded in the van and he didn't want the dog to walk down to the barn in the cold and...........
Another often-used wintertime excuse, his van is stuck in the snow.
Or he has a meeting.
Or any number of other things that need to be done right at chore time, that isn't chores.
The cat got into his cupboards and knocked all the stuff down. It had to be cleaned up, right at chore time.
Or somehow the cat got locked in his van and tore open a bag of dog food. It had to be cleaned up right at chore time.
Or he had to do some housekeeping, right at chore time.
Or he had to do some bookwork, right at chore time.
Or he had any number of visitors.
Or important phone calls.
Or had to run to town for more pipe tobacco.
This morning he got there just as I'm leaving after finishing everything. He started to tell me about how he had made some cornbread last night and let it rise overnight in the pan. It rose so much that it ran out of the pan and down the side of the counter. I said that's the hell of it, so much shit happens right at chore time. He then stopped himself in mid excuse and said he didn't take time to clean it up and just left it before coming down to the barn. I replied that's all I can ever do when stuff happens to me near chore time.
After all, somebody has to go down to the barn at chore time.
Over the last several months, Mrs. Reverend has been coming down to the barn with me during night chores. She worries about me being down there alone all the time. If the first cow I milked happened to kick me in the head, I'd lay there for at least two hours before anybody might notice I was missing. The phone in the barn hasn't worked for years, even if I was able to get to it to call for help.
I'm still alone every morning.
The worst part of the whole deal is not the fact that I make far less than minimum wage, no benefits whatsoever, have never been offered a raise in pay, was yelled at and totally shot down the one time I did ask for a raise many years ago, and it's not even that bad that I work alone all the time. I never know when he will be down, or if at all. If I'm having a problem, I don't know when to wait for help to come, or when I should try to summon help. The worst part is never knowing - it's the complete unreliability.
A big fat woman once wondered why I don't quit if I'm so unhappy. Well, I guess I have quit - all the fieldwork, haying, harvesting - I've quit everything except the cows. I like the cows, or I wouldn't do it, but someday soon I will most likely quit that too. I'm not unhappy with it all. I'm unhappy with just one thing: him.
Five Superb Astronomy Books
If you're a casual observer, these may be all the books you'll ever need.
• Nightwatch, 4th ed. (Terence Dickinson, 2006). This is the gold standard for beginner's astronomy guides. You get easy-to-follow star maps, advice for equipment selection, guides on how to find and see common objects, and a tour of the known universe. Read this book cover to cover and follow its advice, and you'll be well on your way as an amateur astronomer.
• The Stars: A New Way to See Them (H. A. Rey, 1952). Written by one of the creators of Curious George, this slim guide combines simple prose and delightful artwork that shows you how to find the major constellations of the northern and near-southern skies. If you want to learn the constellations, then start here.
• Turn Left at Orion (Guy Consolmagno, 2000). If you just bought a small telescope and are wondering what you can see, this is the book for you. It presents a very intuitive way of finding your way around the sky and presents dozens of fascinating objects that can be seen in small scopes. This is perhaps the most insightful starter book available for beginners with a small telescope.
• Sky Atlas 2000 (Tirion and Sinnott, 2007). No matter what your level of expertise, you need a good set of star maps. This is one of the best. You get 26 star maps covering 2,700 deep-sky objects and more than 81,000 stars. Alternative: A more compact version is the Pocket Sky Atlas by Roger Sinnott. Also very good.
• Backyard Astronomer's Guide, 3rd ed. (Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer, 2008). A comprehensive guide for the amateur astronomer on buying and using equipment, including telescopes, mounts, eyepieces, and accessories. If you're bewildered by the choice of astronomy equipment out there, this book will help immensely.
A Bonus Book... Celestial Sampler (Sue French, 2005)
Can't think of anything good to see with your telescope tonight? This crisply-written compilation will help you find and enjoy hundreds of objects including double stars, odd asterisms, nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. Organized by month, each bite-sized “sampler” shows you where to find each object and what you can expect to see with a 4-inch telescope. A delight to read.
continue....
If you're a casual observer, these may be all the books you'll ever need.
• Nightwatch, 4th ed. (Terence Dickinson, 2006). This is the gold standard for beginner's astronomy guides. You get easy-to-follow star maps, advice for equipment selection, guides on how to find and see common objects, and a tour of the known universe. Read this book cover to cover and follow its advice, and you'll be well on your way as an amateur astronomer.
• The Stars: A New Way to See Them (H. A. Rey, 1952). Written by one of the creators of Curious George, this slim guide combines simple prose and delightful artwork that shows you how to find the major constellations of the northern and near-southern skies. If you want to learn the constellations, then start here.
• Turn Left at Orion (Guy Consolmagno, 2000). If you just bought a small telescope and are wondering what you can see, this is the book for you. It presents a very intuitive way of finding your way around the sky and presents dozens of fascinating objects that can be seen in small scopes. This is perhaps the most insightful starter book available for beginners with a small telescope.
• Sky Atlas 2000 (Tirion and Sinnott, 2007). No matter what your level of expertise, you need a good set of star maps. This is one of the best. You get 26 star maps covering 2,700 deep-sky objects and more than 81,000 stars. Alternative: A more compact version is the Pocket Sky Atlas by Roger Sinnott. Also very good.
• Backyard Astronomer's Guide, 3rd ed. (Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer, 2008). A comprehensive guide for the amateur astronomer on buying and using equipment, including telescopes, mounts, eyepieces, and accessories. If you're bewildered by the choice of astronomy equipment out there, this book will help immensely.
A Bonus Book... Celestial Sampler (Sue French, 2005)
Can't think of anything good to see with your telescope tonight? This crisply-written compilation will help you find and enjoy hundreds of objects including double stars, odd asterisms, nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. Organized by month, each bite-sized “sampler” shows you where to find each object and what you can expect to see with a 4-inch telescope. A delight to read.
continue....
Friday, October 17, 2008
The latest from the observatory (and a few extras):
Saying goodbye to Jupiter, the teapot, and the summer Milky Way until next year.
The Moon and spooky clouds.
Last night's waning Moon.
The Milky Way directly overhead, including the Summer Triangle (Altair, Deneb, and Vega), the Dolphin, the tiny little upside down Coathanger if you look closely...... The star clouds of the Milky Way are quite faint, due to being washed out by the bright moonlight.
A very short video of the Seven Sisters rising and the clouds moving in. The glow near the horizon is light pollution from the federal prison.
Mrs. Reverend and Snoopy = inseparable!
BOO!
Happy Halloween!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Saying goodbye to Jupiter, the teapot, and the summer Milky Way until next year.
The Moon and spooky clouds.
Last night's waning Moon.
The Milky Way directly overhead, including the Summer Triangle (Altair, Deneb, and Vega), the Dolphin, the tiny little upside down Coathanger if you look closely...... The star clouds of the Milky Way are quite faint, due to being washed out by the bright moonlight.
A very short video of the Seven Sisters rising and the clouds moving in. The glow near the horizon is light pollution from the federal prison.
Mrs. Reverend and Snoopy = inseparable!
BOO!
Happy Halloween!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
If Mrs. Reverend decided to take up truck driving:
10.17.08....A Detroit semi driver struck five parked vehicles at the Mauston Pizza Hut last Friday night. Police said 45-year old Emmett Nabors was in-training when he entered the Kwik Trip Truck Stop in the wrong direction. Nabors attempted to turn around in the Pizza Hut parking lot and as a result struck a parked Buick Century owned by Heather Scharnow of Mauston. The Buick was forced into a parked GMC pick-up owned by a Lyndon Station man. The pick-up was forced into a Chevy Cavalier owned by a Camp Douglas man...which was in turned pushed into a Ford S.U.V....which was forced into a Nissan car. All the parked vehicles were unoccupied at the time. Nabors' trainer was in the cab sleeper when the crash occurred.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
10.17.08....A Detroit semi driver struck five parked vehicles at the Mauston Pizza Hut last Friday night. Police said 45-year old Emmett Nabors was in-training when he entered the Kwik Trip Truck Stop in the wrong direction. Nabors attempted to turn around in the Pizza Hut parking lot and as a result struck a parked Buick Century owned by Heather Scharnow of Mauston. The Buick was forced into a parked GMC pick-up owned by a Lyndon Station man. The pick-up was forced into a Chevy Cavalier owned by a Camp Douglas man...which was in turned pushed into a Ford S.U.V....which was forced into a Nissan car. All the parked vehicles were unoccupied at the time. Nabors' trainer was in the cab sleeper when the crash occurred.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Why is the world's biggest landfill in the Pacific Ocean?
In the broad expanse of the northern Pacific Ocean, there exists the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a slowly moving, clockwise spiral of currents created by a high-pressure system of air currents. The area is an oceanic desert, filled with tiny phytoplankton but few big fish or mammals. Due to its lack of large fish and gentle breezes, fishermen and sailors rarely travel through the gyre. But the area is filled with something besides plankton: trash, millions of pounds of it, most of it plastic. It's the largest landfill in the world, and it floats in the middle of the ocean.
continue....
In the broad expanse of the northern Pacific Ocean, there exists the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a slowly moving, clockwise spiral of currents created by a high-pressure system of air currents. The area is an oceanic desert, filled with tiny phytoplankton but few big fish or mammals. Due to its lack of large fish and gentle breezes, fishermen and sailors rarely travel through the gyre. But the area is filled with something besides plankton: trash, millions of pounds of it, most of it plastic. It's the largest landfill in the world, and it floats in the middle of the ocean.
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Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Moon takes aim at one of the most popular objects in the sky tonight: the Pleiades. They rise in mid-evening and soar high across the sky during the night. The Moon will move closer to the little dipper-shaped star cluster as the hours roll by.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Mother and Son Watched Cow Rise In Golden-Orange Beam to Disc
Paul Bennewitz wondered if the underground military governmental complex was hiding information in league with the bad E. T.s who mutilated animals and abducted the mother and son in the beam of light.
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Paul Bennewitz wondered if the underground military governmental complex was hiding information in league with the bad E. T.s who mutilated animals and abducted the mother and son in the beam of light.
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The "Castaway Cluster"
A small open star cluster visible from most parts of the world that will take your breath away. Set in the most star-rich section of the Milky Way and surrounded by dark nebulae that look like holes in space itself, the “Castaway Cluster” is too beautiful to miss.
• The Castaway Cluster, catalogued as NGC 6520, is located just above the spout in the “Teapot” of Sagittarius. This is a rich region of the Milky Way containing many gas clouds and star clusters, including the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae. NGC 6520, a tiny jewel of a cluster, is often forgotten amongst these more famous sites.
• NGC 6520 is easy to find… just 3 degrees or so north of Alnasl, the star at the tip of the spout in the Teapot. Just west of the cluster, in good sky, you can also see the conspicuous dark nebula Barnard 86.
• This open cluster is only 800 million years old and contains many hot blue stars. Within the field of view, you will also see bright red stars that are likely not associated with the cluster but simply share the same line of sight.
• The Castaway Cluster is some 5,300 light years from Earth. It's 60 or so stars span 8 light years. On a good night, you'll see perhaps 15-30 of these stars.
• NGC 6520 is also a distant cluster. That means it appears quite tiny in our skies. While you can see it in binoculars, you'll need a telescope with at least 150-200x to resolve this tight family of fairly new stars. The dark splotch of Barnard 86 is located between the cluster and the bright star to the west. Try averted vision… you may see more dark nebulae.
continue....
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
A small open star cluster visible from most parts of the world that will take your breath away. Set in the most star-rich section of the Milky Way and surrounded by dark nebulae that look like holes in space itself, the “Castaway Cluster” is too beautiful to miss.
• The Castaway Cluster, catalogued as NGC 6520, is located just above the spout in the “Teapot” of Sagittarius. This is a rich region of the Milky Way containing many gas clouds and star clusters, including the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae. NGC 6520, a tiny jewel of a cluster, is often forgotten amongst these more famous sites.
• NGC 6520 is easy to find… just 3 degrees or so north of Alnasl, the star at the tip of the spout in the Teapot. Just west of the cluster, in good sky, you can also see the conspicuous dark nebula Barnard 86.
• This open cluster is only 800 million years old and contains many hot blue stars. Within the field of view, you will also see bright red stars that are likely not associated with the cluster but simply share the same line of sight.
• The Castaway Cluster is some 5,300 light years from Earth. It's 60 or so stars span 8 light years. On a good night, you'll see perhaps 15-30 of these stars.
• NGC 6520 is also a distant cluster. That means it appears quite tiny in our skies. While you can see it in binoculars, you'll need a telescope with at least 150-200x to resolve this tight family of fairly new stars. The dark splotch of Barnard 86 is located between the cluster and the bright star to the west. Try averted vision… you may see more dark nebulae.
continue....
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Design of Extremely Large Telescopes
In the late 1970s, astronomers had a problem: the scale of their telescopes no longer matched the size of their ambitions. To see deeper and deeper into our universe's past, they needed a bigger telescope. To build a bigger telescope, they needed a larger mirror, but mirrors larger than five meters had the pesky habit of deforming, producing bad images and frustrating attempts to surpass the resolution of the 5-meter Hale Telescope, first built in 1948.
"Many people thought [the Hale] was the biggest telescope that would ever be built," said Mike Bolte, director of the University of California Observatories.
When the Russians built a 6-meter telescope by the old methods in 1976, it produced awful, distorted images. Scientists across the world realized that a new design for the telescope had to be created.
The scientist who eventually found the key disruptive telescope technology was an unlikely UC-Berkeley physicist, Jerry Nelson (now at UC-Santa Cruz).
"When giving a talk, his manner was so matter-of-fact you would think he was discussing a new offering of municipal sewer bonds, not the world's largest telescope," the Los Angeles Times wrote of him. "Yet he was a persistent and capable scientist with a gift for devising elegant solutions to unexpected problems."
The elegant solution he designed — to build 36 smaller mirrors and fuse them together like a honeycomb — underpinned the construction of the Keck Observatories' twin 10-meter telescopes on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
"Everybody thought that was an extremely risky thing. There was a big debate. Nobody trusted that it could be done," Bolte said. "The prototype was the first Keck 10-meter telescope. It's really a breakthrough that seems obvious, but it wasn't."
Telescope design has seen two distinct periods in the last hundred years. First, astronomers switched away from the lens-using refracting telescopes to mirror-based reflecting telescopes. This opened the way for the Mount Wilson Observatory's 1.5-meter telescope in 1908, the 2.5-meter Hooker in 1917, and the Hale telescope at Palomer in 1948. The Keck inaugurated the next era of telescope building via segmented mirror or mosaic construction.
In fact, Nelson's construction method and other segmented mirror designs have proven so flexible and scalable that three new telescopes that are more than twice the size of the world's current record-holder are preparing to leave the drawing board and enter the construction phase. Now, the Giant Magellan Telescope at 24.5 meters, the Thirty Meter Telescope, and the 42-meter European Extremely Large Telescope are expected to be completed within a decade. In the glacial world of large 'scope building, this is just around the corner.
These telescopes have two goals that could redraw our place within the universe, much as previous discoveries — like Edwin Hubble's discovery with a previous world-record holding telescope that the Milky Way was just one galaxy among many — redefined the centrality of our own galaxy.
First, the telescopes will bring the study of Earth-sized planets around local stars within human reach. We will be able to determine how rare Earths are, and by extension, how likely Earth-like life is to exist elsewhere in the galaxy. Second, by gathering more light than ever before, astronomers will be able to detect fainter objects that are further back in our universe's history. They hope that the new telescopes will see "first light," when the first stars formed out of the primordial universe's post-Big Bang mass.
In the late 1970s, astronomers had a problem: the scale of their telescopes no longer matched the size of their ambitions. To see deeper and deeper into our universe's past, they needed a bigger telescope. To build a bigger telescope, they needed a larger mirror, but mirrors larger than five meters had the pesky habit of deforming, producing bad images and frustrating attempts to surpass the resolution of the 5-meter Hale Telescope, first built in 1948.
"Many people thought [the Hale] was the biggest telescope that would ever be built," said Mike Bolte, director of the University of California Observatories.
When the Russians built a 6-meter telescope by the old methods in 1976, it produced awful, distorted images. Scientists across the world realized that a new design for the telescope had to be created.
The scientist who eventually found the key disruptive telescope technology was an unlikely UC-Berkeley physicist, Jerry Nelson (now at UC-Santa Cruz).
"When giving a talk, his manner was so matter-of-fact you would think he was discussing a new offering of municipal sewer bonds, not the world's largest telescope," the Los Angeles Times wrote of him. "Yet he was a persistent and capable scientist with a gift for devising elegant solutions to unexpected problems."
The elegant solution he designed — to build 36 smaller mirrors and fuse them together like a honeycomb — underpinned the construction of the Keck Observatories' twin 10-meter telescopes on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
"Everybody thought that was an extremely risky thing. There was a big debate. Nobody trusted that it could be done," Bolte said. "The prototype was the first Keck 10-meter telescope. It's really a breakthrough that seems obvious, but it wasn't."
Telescope design has seen two distinct periods in the last hundred years. First, astronomers switched away from the lens-using refracting telescopes to mirror-based reflecting telescopes. This opened the way for the Mount Wilson Observatory's 1.5-meter telescope in 1908, the 2.5-meter Hooker in 1917, and the Hale telescope at Palomer in 1948. The Keck inaugurated the next era of telescope building via segmented mirror or mosaic construction.
In fact, Nelson's construction method and other segmented mirror designs have proven so flexible and scalable that three new telescopes that are more than twice the size of the world's current record-holder are preparing to leave the drawing board and enter the construction phase. Now, the Giant Magellan Telescope at 24.5 meters, the Thirty Meter Telescope, and the 42-meter European Extremely Large Telescope are expected to be completed within a decade. In the glacial world of large 'scope building, this is just around the corner.
These telescopes have two goals that could redraw our place within the universe, much as previous discoveries — like Edwin Hubble's discovery with a previous world-record holding telescope that the Milky Way was just one galaxy among many — redefined the centrality of our own galaxy.
First, the telescopes will bring the study of Earth-sized planets around local stars within human reach. We will be able to determine how rare Earths are, and by extension, how likely Earth-like life is to exist elsewhere in the galaxy. Second, by gathering more light than ever before, astronomers will be able to detect fainter objects that are further back in our universe's history. They hope that the new telescopes will see "first light," when the first stars formed out of the primordial universe's post-Big Bang mass.
Monday, October 13, 2008
'Bigfoot' cop wants job back
The Clayton County police officer, who perpetuated a Bigfoot hoax, is fighting his firing.
Matthew Whitton has filed an appeal of his termination, asking to be reinstated to his job as a uniformed patrolman. Whitton, 28, was fired in August, after he attracted international media attention with claims he had the body of a dead Bigfoot.
Whitton and Rick Dyer, who once was a corrections officer, claimed they had the corpse of a legendary North American man-ape and had it frozen in a secret, safe location.
Teaming up with Tom Biscardi, a California man with a history of Bigfoot hoaxes, Whitton and Dyer held a press conference to "reveal the evidence."
A few days later, everyone involved admitted the claims that captured media attention from CNN to The Sydney Morning Herald, from the Clayton News Daily to the New York Times, were false.
When news of the claims first broke, Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner said Whitton's activities were personal as long as he did it on his own time, didn't do anything illegal, and didn't involve the police department. After the hoax was admitted, Turner said Whitton had lied on national television and lost his credibility.
Court cases in which Whitton was going to be a key witness, including an armed robbery that left a woman shot in the head and comatose, will probably be affected, legal observers say. Some charges could be dropped and some cases could be dismissed, observers speculate, because of the possible issue of Whitton's credibility.
Friends of Whitton in the department, have privately called the incident a personal and professional embarrassment, even though the fired officer said the whole thing was just a joke. To date, he seems to still think it was a joke.
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The Clayton County police officer, who perpetuated a Bigfoot hoax, is fighting his firing.
Matthew Whitton has filed an appeal of his termination, asking to be reinstated to his job as a uniformed patrolman. Whitton, 28, was fired in August, after he attracted international media attention with claims he had the body of a dead Bigfoot.
Whitton and Rick Dyer, who once was a corrections officer, claimed they had the corpse of a legendary North American man-ape and had it frozen in a secret, safe location.
Teaming up with Tom Biscardi, a California man with a history of Bigfoot hoaxes, Whitton and Dyer held a press conference to "reveal the evidence."
A few days later, everyone involved admitted the claims that captured media attention from CNN to The Sydney Morning Herald, from the Clayton News Daily to the New York Times, were false.
When news of the claims first broke, Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner said Whitton's activities were personal as long as he did it on his own time, didn't do anything illegal, and didn't involve the police department. After the hoax was admitted, Turner said Whitton had lied on national television and lost his credibility.
Court cases in which Whitton was going to be a key witness, including an armed robbery that left a woman shot in the head and comatose, will probably be affected, legal observers say. Some charges could be dropped and some cases could be dismissed, observers speculate, because of the possible issue of Whitton's credibility.
Friends of Whitton in the department, have privately called the incident a personal and professional embarrassment, even though the fired officer said the whole thing was just a joke. To date, he seems to still think it was a joke.
continue....
The silent Sun’s uncertain course
The Sun has gone quiet, very quiet. The solar wind – which is comprised of electrically charged particles streaming out from the star – is weaker than at any time since scientists began accurate observations in the 1950s, and the number of sunspots in 2008 may be the lowest since the 19th century.
This year’s solar silence has surprised space physicists, who were expecting the Sun to have moved away from the minimum point of the 11-year solar cycle by now. “To see such a significant and consistent long-term reduction in the solar wind output is really remarkable,” says David McComas, a senior scientist on the Ulysses solar satellite mission, a joint project of the European and US space agencies.
Back on Earth, the Sun’s inactivity ought to represent good news for the companies that operate satellites, run power grids or make terrestrial radio systems, which are all vulnerable to damage and disruption from solar storms. In one interpretation of its long-term implications, however, the effects could be far from benign.
Experts are reluctant to predict the consequences for Earth and its inhabitants because there are so many complex interactions between the Sun’s output, the planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field, and cosmic radiation from outer space. Some climatologists say that, over a period of decades, a quieter Sun means a cooler Earth, although the relationship between solar activity and climate is particularly controversial.
To add to the uncertainty, no one knows how long the Sun is likely to stay quiet. One extreme would be a continued period of inactivity, with very few sunspots or solar storms, that could last for decades. The last such suspension of the 11-year solar cycle occurred between 1645 and 1715, a period known by historians of astronomy as the Maunder Minimum, which coincided with the coldest period of the past millennium, known as the “little ice age”.
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The Sun has gone quiet, very quiet. The solar wind – which is comprised of electrically charged particles streaming out from the star – is weaker than at any time since scientists began accurate observations in the 1950s, and the number of sunspots in 2008 may be the lowest since the 19th century.
This year’s solar silence has surprised space physicists, who were expecting the Sun to have moved away from the minimum point of the 11-year solar cycle by now. “To see such a significant and consistent long-term reduction in the solar wind output is really remarkable,” says David McComas, a senior scientist on the Ulysses solar satellite mission, a joint project of the European and US space agencies.
Back on Earth, the Sun’s inactivity ought to represent good news for the companies that operate satellites, run power grids or make terrestrial radio systems, which are all vulnerable to damage and disruption from solar storms. In one interpretation of its long-term implications, however, the effects could be far from benign.
Experts are reluctant to predict the consequences for Earth and its inhabitants because there are so many complex interactions between the Sun’s output, the planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field, and cosmic radiation from outer space. Some climatologists say that, over a period of decades, a quieter Sun means a cooler Earth, although the relationship between solar activity and climate is particularly controversial.
To add to the uncertainty, no one knows how long the Sun is likely to stay quiet. One extreme would be a continued period of inactivity, with very few sunspots or solar storms, that could last for decades. The last such suspension of the 11-year solar cycle occurred between 1645 and 1715, a period known by historians of astronomy as the Maunder Minimum, which coincided with the coldest period of the past millennium, known as the “little ice age”.
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Sunday, October 12, 2008
What a great day it was for a bicycle ride yesterday! We rode from Elroy, past Kendall, through Tunnel #1, then back to Elroy. A nice little 22 mile ride. The weather was perfect and the leaves were at full color.
JR taking a picture of me taking his picture!
I don't think these guys like their picture taken. I don't either.
I can't ever remember this place being open, even when I was a kid.
Break time!
This is the east entrance to Tunnel #1. There were A LOT of other people that had the same idea as we did. Some friendly, some not. We've noticed most of the friendly ones are not wearing fancy bicycle pants. Maybe those pants squeeze their privates too tight? I can imagine it would be hard to be friendly if your crotch was always pinched!
The lime deposit covering the tunnel walls, from over 100 years of water running down it.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
JR taking a picture of me taking his picture!
I don't think these guys like their picture taken. I don't either.
I can't ever remember this place being open, even when I was a kid.
Break time!
This is the east entrance to Tunnel #1. There were A LOT of other people that had the same idea as we did. Some friendly, some not. We've noticed most of the friendly ones are not wearing fancy bicycle pants. Maybe those pants squeeze their privates too tight? I can imagine it would be hard to be friendly if your crotch was always pinched!
The lime deposit covering the tunnel walls, from over 100 years of water running down it.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Spotless Sun: Blankest Year of the Space Age
Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the "blankest year" of the Space Age.
As of Sept. 27, 2008, the sun had been blank, i.e., had no visible sunspots, on 200 days of the year. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1954, three years before the launch of Sputnik, when the sun was blank 241 times.
"Sunspot counts are at a 50-year low," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "We're experiencing a deep minimum of the solar cycle."
And it is a very quiet time. If solar activity continues as low as it has been, 2008 could rack up a whopping 290 spotless days by the end of December, making it a century-level year in terms of spotlessness.
continue....
Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the "blankest year" of the Space Age.
As of Sept. 27, 2008, the sun had been blank, i.e., had no visible sunspots, on 200 days of the year. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1954, three years before the launch of Sputnik, when the sun was blank 241 times.
"Sunspot counts are at a 50-year low," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "We're experiencing a deep minimum of the solar cycle."
And it is a very quiet time. If solar activity continues as low as it has been, 2008 could rack up a whopping 290 spotless days by the end of December, making it a century-level year in terms of spotlessness.
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Saturday, October 11, 2008
AURORA ALERT:
A geomagnetic storm is in progress. Sky watchers as far south as US states like Minnesota and Wisconsin, should be alert for auroras tonight. Good displays are already underway in Finland.
The storm began earlier today when a solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field. Reverberations, and bright lights in the sky, could continue for the next 24 hours.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
A geomagnetic storm is in progress. Sky watchers as far south as US states like Minnesota and Wisconsin, should be alert for auroras tonight. Good displays are already underway in Finland.
The storm began earlier today when a solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field. Reverberations, and bright lights in the sky, could continue for the next 24 hours.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
We're not alone . . . politician and pilot spot UFO
THE truth is out there -- and if a senior garda, a Fianna Fail politician and a pilot are to be believed, aliens are keeping a close eye on us from above.
Dramatic eye-witness testimony was heard at a conference over the weekend which, delegates were told, provided "definitive" proof of recent UFO activity in the skies around north Dublin and Meath.
Footage, filmed on a camera phone at 10.35pm on August 3 near Dunboyne was also played and replayed to over 70 delegates who attended the fifth Irish International UFO conference in Carrick-on-Shannon.
The triangular shaped image, with lights at each point, which appeared to send a red laser-type light towards earth, drew gasps of amazement from the 70 or so delegates who attended the world premiere of the footage.
Unusual
A senior garda officer who was driving when he noticed the unusual light formation in the sky stopped to film it.
"There is no footage like this in the world. It is the most amazing and spectacular I have ever seen," said Carl Nally, co-founder of UFO and Paranormal Research Ireland and joint author of 'Conspiracy of Silence'.
Five days earlier, on July 29, an off-duty pilot who photographed lightning from Howth pier just after midnight later noticed what appeared to be a triangular-shaped object to the right of the lightning fork in the developed image.
And Fianna Fail Town Councillor in Trim, Jimmy Peppard, ran indoors for a camera on August 8 when he spotted a triangular-shaped object measuring "about a mile in diameter" in the sky, where it remained static for about half an hour.
"What we have here is sightings of three objects east, west and south-east of Dublin airport, each five days apart by reliable and trained observers and even since I have arrived here I have received another image from a pilot," Mr Nally told the conference.
He later described the laser beam footage as the best footage on the planet and said it would be shown all over the world. "This is what the sceptics are crying out for. What all this footage has in common is that trained observers, honest people, took it. What better could you get than a senior garda, a politician and a pilot," he said.
continue....
THE truth is out there -- and if a senior garda, a Fianna Fail politician and a pilot are to be believed, aliens are keeping a close eye on us from above.
Dramatic eye-witness testimony was heard at a conference over the weekend which, delegates were told, provided "definitive" proof of recent UFO activity in the skies around north Dublin and Meath.
Footage, filmed on a camera phone at 10.35pm on August 3 near Dunboyne was also played and replayed to over 70 delegates who attended the fifth Irish International UFO conference in Carrick-on-Shannon.
The triangular shaped image, with lights at each point, which appeared to send a red laser-type light towards earth, drew gasps of amazement from the 70 or so delegates who attended the world premiere of the footage.
Unusual
A senior garda officer who was driving when he noticed the unusual light formation in the sky stopped to film it.
"There is no footage like this in the world. It is the most amazing and spectacular I have ever seen," said Carl Nally, co-founder of UFO and Paranormal Research Ireland and joint author of 'Conspiracy of Silence'.
Five days earlier, on July 29, an off-duty pilot who photographed lightning from Howth pier just after midnight later noticed what appeared to be a triangular-shaped object to the right of the lightning fork in the developed image.
And Fianna Fail Town Councillor in Trim, Jimmy Peppard, ran indoors for a camera on August 8 when he spotted a triangular-shaped object measuring "about a mile in diameter" in the sky, where it remained static for about half an hour.
"What we have here is sightings of three objects east, west and south-east of Dublin airport, each five days apart by reliable and trained observers and even since I have arrived here I have received another image from a pilot," Mr Nally told the conference.
He later described the laser beam footage as the best footage on the planet and said it would be shown all over the world. "This is what the sceptics are crying out for. What all this footage has in common is that trained observers, honest people, took it. What better could you get than a senior garda, a politician and a pilot," he said.
continue....
WOW! Elk Grove "Super-Pumpkin" Breaks State Record
ELK GROVE, CA - Elk Grove is keeping up its reputation as home to California's biggest pumpkins -- even if they are coming from north of the border.
A massive pumpkin weighing in at 1,536.5 pounds broke the California state record for largest pumpkin at the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin and Harvest Festival Saturday at the Elk Grove Regional Park.
The super-squash, grown by Jake van Kooten of Port Alberni, Vancouver Island in Canada, almost literally crushed a field of worthy competition, including more than a half-dozen pumpkins that weighed in at over 1,000 pounds, festival organizer Zach Jones said.
The formidable fruit, which had to be transported off its Canadian island home by ferry, broke the California record of 1,535.5 pounds set at last year's festival. For his efforts, van Kooten picked up a check for $9,219, $6 for every pound of the pumpkin powerhouse.
Jones said genetics and new seed treatment processes have helped the competitive pumpkin-growing game grow by leaps and bounds since the first Harvest Festival 14 years ago.
"The largest one (in 1994) was 389 pounds," Jones said.
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ELK GROVE, CA - Elk Grove is keeping up its reputation as home to California's biggest pumpkins -- even if they are coming from north of the border.
A massive pumpkin weighing in at 1,536.5 pounds broke the California state record for largest pumpkin at the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin and Harvest Festival Saturday at the Elk Grove Regional Park.
The super-squash, grown by Jake van Kooten of Port Alberni, Vancouver Island in Canada, almost literally crushed a field of worthy competition, including more than a half-dozen pumpkins that weighed in at over 1,000 pounds, festival organizer Zach Jones said.
The formidable fruit, which had to be transported off its Canadian island home by ferry, broke the California record of 1,535.5 pounds set at last year's festival. For his efforts, van Kooten picked up a check for $9,219, $6 for every pound of the pumpkin powerhouse.
Jones said genetics and new seed treatment processes have helped the competitive pumpkin-growing game grow by leaps and bounds since the first Harvest Festival 14 years ago.
"The largest one (in 1994) was 389 pounds," Jones said.
continue....
Friday, October 10, 2008
The AMA has solutions to the health care crisis.
Problems of the U.S. health care system have become all too familiar: relentless growth in the number of the uninsured, skyrocketing costs, dwindling employee health benefits, avoidable illness, premature death, health disparities based on race, ethnicity and income ... Increasingly, many insured, middle-class Americans worry that rising health care costs will jeopardize their ability to access affordable coverage in the future for themselves and their families.
As advocates for patients, physicians have a particular stake in finding viable, effective approaches to ensure that everyone has health insurance coverage. The American Medical Association (AMA) has made covering the uninsured an ongoing, top priority, and its proposal to expand health insurance coverage and choice addresses the needs of all patients, regardless of income or health status. Through the “Voice for the Uninsured” campaign, the AMA is focusing public attention on health system reform as we move through the 2008 election cycle. The campaign encourages everyone to vote with these issues in mind and help drive change in the American health care system.
The AMA proposal to cover the uninsured and expand choice uses an approach advocated by growing numbers of scholars and policymakers from diverse quarters. The strategy is to pinpoint and address fundamental flaws in how people currently obtain and pay for health insurance in the United States, flaws that limit the availability and affordability of coverage, especially for those with low earnings or no employee health benefits.
Dramatic improvement is possible by making better use of existing government resources devoted to health care and health care coverage, including the billions of dollars spent subsidizing employment-based private insurance. These resources should be drawn upon to, in essence, give people money to pay for a health plan of their choosing.
The AMA proposal would expand health insurance coverage and improve fairness by shifting government spending toward those most likely to be uninsured: people with lower incomes. It would also reduce the hidden bias favoring employment-based coverage, which provides special employee tax breaks for insurance obtained through an employer. Those without insurance through a job don’t get this tax break, and would finally get assistance under the AMA proposal. Employees who are dissatisfied with their employers’ health plan offerings could choose to buy insurance elsewhere and still be eligible for assistance. Especially in this context, health insurance market regulations should be reformed to establish fair “rules of the game” that protect vulnerable populations without unduly driving up premiums for the rest of the population. Regulations should also foster market experimentation to find the most attractive combinations of plan benefits, cost-sharing and premiums.
In short, the AMA advocates a clear role for government in financing and regulating health insurance coverage, with health plans and health care services being provided through private markets, as they are currently. The AMA proposal gives patients more control over our nation’s health care dollars, while increasing affordability and choice. It reflects important social values and traditions, such as assistance based on need, freedom of choice, market innovation and fairness.
Pragmatically, the AMA proposal is fiscally sound and permits flexible implementation—for example, any one of these pillars could be implemented independent of other reforms. Three specific actions are needed to achieve this vision of covering the uninsured and strengthening our nation’s health care system.
Next: Three pillars, the foundation of the AMA proposal....
Problems of the U.S. health care system have become all too familiar: relentless growth in the number of the uninsured, skyrocketing costs, dwindling employee health benefits, avoidable illness, premature death, health disparities based on race, ethnicity and income ... Increasingly, many insured, middle-class Americans worry that rising health care costs will jeopardize their ability to access affordable coverage in the future for themselves and their families.
As advocates for patients, physicians have a particular stake in finding viable, effective approaches to ensure that everyone has health insurance coverage. The American Medical Association (AMA) has made covering the uninsured an ongoing, top priority, and its proposal to expand health insurance coverage and choice addresses the needs of all patients, regardless of income or health status. Through the “Voice for the Uninsured” campaign, the AMA is focusing public attention on health system reform as we move through the 2008 election cycle. The campaign encourages everyone to vote with these issues in mind and help drive change in the American health care system.
The AMA proposal to cover the uninsured and expand choice uses an approach advocated by growing numbers of scholars and policymakers from diverse quarters. The strategy is to pinpoint and address fundamental flaws in how people currently obtain and pay for health insurance in the United States, flaws that limit the availability and affordability of coverage, especially for those with low earnings or no employee health benefits.
Dramatic improvement is possible by making better use of existing government resources devoted to health care and health care coverage, including the billions of dollars spent subsidizing employment-based private insurance. These resources should be drawn upon to, in essence, give people money to pay for a health plan of their choosing.
The AMA proposal would expand health insurance coverage and improve fairness by shifting government spending toward those most likely to be uninsured: people with lower incomes. It would also reduce the hidden bias favoring employment-based coverage, which provides special employee tax breaks for insurance obtained through an employer. Those without insurance through a job don’t get this tax break, and would finally get assistance under the AMA proposal. Employees who are dissatisfied with their employers’ health plan offerings could choose to buy insurance elsewhere and still be eligible for assistance. Especially in this context, health insurance market regulations should be reformed to establish fair “rules of the game” that protect vulnerable populations without unduly driving up premiums for the rest of the population. Regulations should also foster market experimentation to find the most attractive combinations of plan benefits, cost-sharing and premiums.
In short, the AMA advocates a clear role for government in financing and regulating health insurance coverage, with health plans and health care services being provided through private markets, as they are currently. The AMA proposal gives patients more control over our nation’s health care dollars, while increasing affordability and choice. It reflects important social values and traditions, such as assistance based on need, freedom of choice, market innovation and fairness.
Pragmatically, the AMA proposal is fiscally sound and permits flexible implementation—for example, any one of these pillars could be implemented independent of other reforms. Three specific actions are needed to achieve this vision of covering the uninsured and strengthening our nation’s health care system.
Next: Three pillars, the foundation of the AMA proposal....
A handful of bright stars fills the evening sky. Around 9 or 10 p.m., yellow Capella is low in the northeast, while bright white Fomalhaut is in the southeast. High overhead, brilliant white Deneb, Vega, and Altair form the Summer Triangle.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
We're on vacation! We're on vacation! Yee haw!
Went for a Fall color ATV ride in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge today. We were going to go to Black River Falls today, but Mrs. Reverend doesn't care for those trails. For some reason she's a little freaked out by the banked curves, so we decided the Necedah routes would be just as colorful anyway. Saturday we'll be hitting the bike trail in Elroy to see what color they have to offer!
Saw lots of these!
Saw a few of these, some deer, and turkeys.
Wow, no water in the Yellow River today.
And of course, one of last night's photos from the observatory!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Went for a Fall color ATV ride in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge today. We were going to go to Black River Falls today, but Mrs. Reverend doesn't care for those trails. For some reason she's a little freaked out by the banked curves, so we decided the Necedah routes would be just as colorful anyway. Saturday we'll be hitting the bike trail in Elroy to see what color they have to offer!
Saw lots of these!
Saw a few of these, some deer, and turkeys.
Wow, no water in the Yellow River today.
And of course, one of last night's photos from the observatory!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY
422 AM MDT THU OCT 9 2008
...A VERY ROBUST EARLY SEASON SNOW STORM IS POISED FOR MUCH OF
WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT...
.A STRONG WINTER STORM WILL BE ORGANIZING ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN
THROUGH TONIGHT. AS THIS STORM TRACKS SLOWLY TOWARD
WYOMING...COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF SNOWFALL COULD FALL FRIDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY NIGHT.
WYZ001-002-091830-
/O.NEW.KRIW.WS.A.0008.081010T1200Z-081012T1200Z/
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK-ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LAKE...MAMMOTH...OLD FAITHFUL
422 AM MDT THU OCT 9 2008
...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RIVERTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT.
LIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TODAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH
TONIGHT. ON FRIDAY THE SNOW MAY BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES AND CONTINUE
THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR 6 TO 18
INCHES OF SNOW TO FALL IN YELLOWSTONE PARK BY LATE SATURDAY NIGHT
ALONG WITH AS MUCH AS ONE AND A HALF TO 3 FEET OF SNOW TO FALL TO
THE EAST OVER THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS. IN ADDITION...NORTHEAST WINDS OF
20 TO 30 MPH MAY CREATE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.
HUNTERS...TRAVELERS AND OTHERS WITH OUTDOOR INTERESTS SHOULD PAY
CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE WEATHER FORECAST OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS.
THE MILD...EARLY FALL WEATHER IS ABOUT TO COME TO AN END WITH A
SUDDEN SWITCH TO WINTER CONDITIONS. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR
YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND WINTER
STATEMENTS.
REMEMBER...A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE
FOR HAZARDOUS WINTER WEATHER IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY
422 AM MDT THU OCT 9 2008
...A VERY ROBUST EARLY SEASON SNOW STORM IS POISED FOR MUCH OF
WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT...
.A STRONG WINTER STORM WILL BE ORGANIZING ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN
THROUGH TONIGHT. AS THIS STORM TRACKS SLOWLY TOWARD
WYOMING...COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF SNOWFALL COULD FALL FRIDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY NIGHT.
WYZ001-002-091830-
/O.NEW.KRIW.WS.A.0008.081010T1200Z-081012T1200Z/
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK-ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LAKE...MAMMOTH...OLD FAITHFUL
422 AM MDT THU OCT 9 2008
...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RIVERTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT.
LIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TODAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH
TONIGHT. ON FRIDAY THE SNOW MAY BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES AND CONTINUE
THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR 6 TO 18
INCHES OF SNOW TO FALL IN YELLOWSTONE PARK BY LATE SATURDAY NIGHT
ALONG WITH AS MUCH AS ONE AND A HALF TO 3 FEET OF SNOW TO FALL TO
THE EAST OVER THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS. IN ADDITION...NORTHEAST WINDS OF
20 TO 30 MPH MAY CREATE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.
HUNTERS...TRAVELERS AND OTHERS WITH OUTDOOR INTERESTS SHOULD PAY
CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE WEATHER FORECAST OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS.
THE MILD...EARLY FALL WEATHER IS ABOUT TO COME TO AN END WITH A
SUDDEN SWITCH TO WINTER CONDITIONS. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR
YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND WINTER
STATEMENTS.
REMEMBER...A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE
FOR HAZARDOUS WINTER WEATHER IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
The Bear Essentials
Even Smokey the Bear is curious about what can be found in an eyepiece.
How many amateur astronomy clubs can claim that Smokey the Bear looked through their telescope? The Astronomical Society of Southern New England can! At the Freetown State Forest in Maine, Smokey, as well as other visitors to the forest got a peek at the Sun (with a very special solar filter), the Moon, and Venus in one of the Club's telescopes.
Not every club has the honor of Smokey as a member of the public attending their star parties, but the following clubs have huge crowds at their events. They must be doing something right.
George Guzik of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh said at the Raystown Star Party in Pennsylvania: "I did not expect such a large crowd. The skies were clear and the stars came out like a field of Asters in bloom. The Milky Way was very prominent overhead. Of course we began by showing Jupiter, then off to many other heavenly objects. The event was a smashing success."
John Sachs of The York County Astronomical Society comments after their club's planetarium program and telescope demonstration: "We had so many people attend that we scheduled an extra show. The turnout was great and the public really enjoyed the shows. Afterwards we had Glen Grainger a club member featuring the planet Mars, pointing out constellations and Messier objects."
Are you curious and want the fun of looking through a telescope?
If so find your local astronomy club here.
Even Smokey the Bear is curious about what can be found in an eyepiece.
How many amateur astronomy clubs can claim that Smokey the Bear looked through their telescope? The Astronomical Society of Southern New England can! At the Freetown State Forest in Maine, Smokey, as well as other visitors to the forest got a peek at the Sun (with a very special solar filter), the Moon, and Venus in one of the Club's telescopes.
Not every club has the honor of Smokey as a member of the public attending their star parties, but the following clubs have huge crowds at their events. They must be doing something right.
George Guzik of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh said at the Raystown Star Party in Pennsylvania: "I did not expect such a large crowd. The skies were clear and the stars came out like a field of Asters in bloom. The Milky Way was very prominent overhead. Of course we began by showing Jupiter, then off to many other heavenly objects. The event was a smashing success."
John Sachs of The York County Astronomical Society comments after their club's planetarium program and telescope demonstration: "We had so many people attend that we scheduled an extra show. The turnout was great and the public really enjoyed the shows. Afterwards we had Glen Grainger a club member featuring the planet Mars, pointing out constellations and Messier objects."
Are you curious and want the fun of looking through a telescope?
If so find your local astronomy club here.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
To save money this winter, some East Tennesseeans switch to firewood
Mark England decided last year to switch solely to firewood instead of using propane gas to heat his Claiborne County home. He apparently was part of a trend.
It cost about $350 for the wood England used to warm his three-bedroom, two-bath house in Tazewell. And with energy prices even higher this year, it is something he certainly will continue. Others are looking into the old-world energy source as well.
"We had a gas fireplace, but when prices started to skyrocket - I wouldn't say we were forced to - but with the economy at the time, firewood was more reasonable," England said. "I would say it saved me $600. And with gas prices skyrocketing now, I'll be saving quite a bit more."
England was certainly ahead of the game. Soaring energy costs and threatened scarcity of some fuels like home heating oil this year have led more homeowners to seek alternative sources for heat, and as a result, both seasoned firewood and some supplies of wood-burning stoves are expected to be in short supply.
continue....
Mark England decided last year to switch solely to firewood instead of using propane gas to heat his Claiborne County home. He apparently was part of a trend.
It cost about $350 for the wood England used to warm his three-bedroom, two-bath house in Tazewell. And with energy prices even higher this year, it is something he certainly will continue. Others are looking into the old-world energy source as well.
"We had a gas fireplace, but when prices started to skyrocket - I wouldn't say we were forced to - but with the economy at the time, firewood was more reasonable," England said. "I would say it saved me $600. And with gas prices skyrocketing now, I'll be saving quite a bit more."
England was certainly ahead of the game. Soaring energy costs and threatened scarcity of some fuels like home heating oil this year have led more homeowners to seek alternative sources for heat, and as a result, both seasoned firewood and some supplies of wood-burning stoves are expected to be in short supply.
continue....
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
If predictions were correct, asteroid 2008 TC3 hit Earth this morning (Oct. 7th at 0246 UT), exploding in the atmosphere over northern Sudan like a kiloton of TNT and creating a fireball as bright as a full Moon. Most of the 3-meter-wide asteroid would have vaporized in the atmosphere with only small pieces possibly reaching the ground as meteorites.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
The latest photos from the observatory:
Left to right: The Seven Sisters (Pleiades) taken through severe light pollution from the federal prison. I expect to get better detail when they are higher in the sky (early morning or later this year). - The constellation Delphinus (The Dolphin), upper right side of picture. One of Mrs. Reverend's favorite constellations. A little hard to make out from the rest of the rich star field. - The north-eastern Milky Way. Another severely light polluted picture from the prison lights. Cassiopeia top center, Andromeda Galaxy top right (smallish smudge), The Double Cluster in the center.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Left to right: The Seven Sisters (Pleiades) taken through severe light pollution from the federal prison. I expect to get better detail when they are higher in the sky (early morning or later this year). - The constellation Delphinus (The Dolphin), upper right side of picture. One of Mrs. Reverend's favorite constellations. A little hard to make out from the rest of the rich star field. - The north-eastern Milky Way. Another severely light polluted picture from the prison lights. Cassiopeia top center, Andromeda Galaxy top right (smallish smudge), The Double Cluster in the center.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Minnesota outlines new ATV restrictions
The DNR is clamping down on recreational off-road riding during the firearm season to reduce conflicts.
For the first time, riding all-terrain vehicles for fun on Minnesota state forest trails will be banned during the firearm deer season this November, the state Department of Natural Resources said Thursday.
DNR officials said the ban, which also applies to dirt bikes and off-road trucks, will keep riders safe and reduce noise and conflicts that disturb deer and hunters.
The ban only applies to non-hunters who are out for a ride. Those caught violating the ban face a warning or ticket, though no specific fine was set.
"We are trying to reduce potential conflicts," said Forrest Boe, the DNR's Trails and Waterways director.
Hunters, who have pushed for the ban since 2006, still may use vehicles to reach deer stands and retrieve game during certain hours.
continue....
The DNR is clamping down on recreational off-road riding during the firearm season to reduce conflicts.
For the first time, riding all-terrain vehicles for fun on Minnesota state forest trails will be banned during the firearm deer season this November, the state Department of Natural Resources said Thursday.
DNR officials said the ban, which also applies to dirt bikes and off-road trucks, will keep riders safe and reduce noise and conflicts that disturb deer and hunters.
The ban only applies to non-hunters who are out for a ride. Those caught violating the ban face a warning or ticket, though no specific fine was set.
"We are trying to reduce potential conflicts," said Forrest Boe, the DNR's Trails and Waterways director.
Hunters, who have pushed for the ban since 2006, still may use vehicles to reach deer stands and retrieve game during certain hours.
continue....
Monday, October 6, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A small, newly-discovered asteroid named 2008 TC3 is approaching Earth and chances are good that it will hit. Steve Chesley of JPL estimates that atmospheric entry will occur on Oct 7th at 0246 UTC (less than 7 hours from this posting) over northern Sudan. Measuring only a few meters across, the space rock poses no threat to the ground, but it should create a spectacular fireball, releasing about a kiloton of energy as it disintegrates and explodes in the atmosphere.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
A small, newly-discovered asteroid named 2008 TC3 is approaching Earth and chances are good that it will hit. Steve Chesley of JPL estimates that atmospheric entry will occur on Oct 7th at 0246 UTC (less than 7 hours from this posting) over northern Sudan. Measuring only a few meters across, the space rock poses no threat to the ground, but it should create a spectacular fireball, releasing about a kiloton of energy as it disintegrates and explodes in the atmosphere.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Suggestions for a Successful Web Site
Originally posted Saturday, September 1, 2007
I have compiled a list of things to help you create and maintain a successful web site. I am only an old farmer that taught myself html and tried to teach the basics to anyone that asked me along the way. The basics are the only thing (and sometimes the best thing) needed to convey your site's message to the world.
With that in mind, here's a few things I have discovered over the decades, in no particular order. I hope they are helpful to other web masters as well:
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Originally posted Saturday, September 1, 2007
I have compiled a list of things to help you create and maintain a successful web site. I am only an old farmer that taught myself html and tried to teach the basics to anyone that asked me along the way. The basics are the only thing (and sometimes the best thing) needed to convey your site's message to the world.
With that in mind, here's a few things I have discovered over the decades, in no particular order. I hope they are helpful to other web masters as well:
- INFORMATION: The information contained on your pages should be accurate and current. Update it with new info frequently, whenever available, and as soon as possible. To your viewers, the information is old as soon as it changes, or the day the event is over. If you have a calendar or list of events (which almost every site should have), and you want to keep past events on the list for "bragging rights", by all means go ahead. People do like to look over your past. But, make sure that your coming events are on the top of the list. And don't list a past event as if it was still upcoming. Whether it's two months, two weeks, two days, or even two hours past, it's still old news. Let it slip into the archive as quickly as possible and list your next upcoming event at the top.
- WHO, WHAT, AND WHERE: Be sure you have some kind of contact shown on your home page, a description of your site's purpose, and where you are located, if applicable.
- PICTURES: People love to look at pictures. But, only a few at a time. Don't display more than a dozen or so pictures on each page. If you want to have more pages, great, but bear in mind my statistics have shown over the years people will look at the first page of pictures, the second page of pictures to a lesser extent, and rarely ever any picture pages beyond that. If you have unlimited web space, go ahead and keep your old pictures posted to the last pages and put your new pictures on the first page. If you are limited to the amount of storage space you have, keep the first page or two updated often and delete all the older pictures. By the way, I have CDs full of pictures from many, many events and of just about anything in general. $50 each.
- SEARCH ENGINES: You control your own listing. Make sure people can find you the way you want them to. Send me $200 and I'll tell you how!
- YOU: Yes, you. You, as web master, are the single most important thing to your web site. If you depend on your viewers to tell you what to do and how to do it, forget it. If you're getting paid to do a web site, you better damn well sure be able to do a good job without anyone's help, and seek out the information you need on your own. If you aren't getting paid, then do what you want and tell everyone to piss off. But if you don't take care of your site and show some enthusiasm, don't wonder why your hit counter isn't climbing.
- THE BASICS: Start with a basic html document. It's guaranteed to display properly in every browser. The more people that can view your web pages, the better. Work up from there, but always keep in mind that the fancier you get, the fewer viewers you are limiting yourself to. If your web site doesn't display legibly in someone's browser, begs for the downloading of a plug in, or especially if it crashes their machine, they won't be back. Frequently check your pages in as many browsers, with as many different display properties, and on as many different machines as possible. And remember, it's never a server problem. The server doesn't care, it only passes the data through it to your viewer's browser.
- DON'T CREATE A HIDDEN PASSWORD SECTION: It gives the impression that you have something to hide, and most of your viewers will frown on it. Some web masters do it to try to generate money, or increase registered members, or to feel powerful, and some even really do have something to hide. No matter what reason they create a password protected section (or some whole web sites), it always has the opposite effect. If you have something to hide, that's what e-mail and private messages are for. Do not advertise the fact that you have something to hide by stating it publicly on your web site. Bad for business. If you have a forum, blog, calendar, or whatever, your web site's traffic will increase if you allow anonymous guest posting - guaranteed. You may have to watch your site more for trouble makers, but frequenting your own web pages is something you should be doing anyway.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Possible First Photo of Planet Around Sun-Like Star
Astronomers have taken what may the first picture of a planet orbiting a star similar to the sun.
This distant world is giant (about eight times the mass of Jupiter) and lies far out from its star (about 330 times the Earth-Sun distance). But for all the planet's strangeness, its star is quite like our own sun.
Previously, the only photographed extrasolar planets have belonged to tiny, dim stars known as brown dwarfs. And while hundreds of exoplanets have been detected by noting their gravitational tug on their parent stars, it is rare to find one large enough to image directly.
"This is the first time we have directly seen a planetary mass object in a likely orbit around a star like our sun," said David Lafrenière, an astronomer at the University of Toronto who led the team that discovered the star. "If we confirm that this object is indeed gravitationally tied to the star, it will be a major step forward."
Further study will be needed to prove that the planet is in fact orbiting around the star, as opposed to the possibility, however unlikely, that the two objects just happen to lie in the same area of the sky at roughly the same distance from us.
"Of course it would be premature to say that the object is definitely orbiting this star, but the evidence is extremely compelling," Lafrenière said. "This will be a very intensely studied object for the next few years!"
continue....
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Interesting Radar Feature Last Week, Tuesday Morning
Right around sunrise Tuesday morning the NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan radar (MKX) showed some curious circular reflectivity returns. The echoes developed suddenly and then grew in size between 6:45 AM and 7:30 AM. The MKX staff suspects these to be birds taking off right at sunrise. Some of the echoes initially show returns as high as 30 dBZ, which would equate to a decent shower if the returns were made of rain drops. These are likely dense clusterings of geese heading out early to feed in the fields.
Below is an animated loop of three radar images taken at 6:47 AM...6:57 AM....and 7:07 AM. There are large plumes located in Dodge, Dane, Columbia, Green Lake, Fond Du Lac, and Rock counties. In addition, there is a fourth large clustering in northern Illinois and if you look very close a couple much smaller rings in Jefferson and Waukesha counties.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Right around sunrise Tuesday morning the NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan radar (MKX) showed some curious circular reflectivity returns. The echoes developed suddenly and then grew in size between 6:45 AM and 7:30 AM. The MKX staff suspects these to be birds taking off right at sunrise. Some of the echoes initially show returns as high as 30 dBZ, which would equate to a decent shower if the returns were made of rain drops. These are likely dense clusterings of geese heading out early to feed in the fields.
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
US space woes felt by Europe
Europe may have to find its own solutions for transporting astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station due to short-sighted US policies that now threaten Nasa's ability to maintain a presence on the orbital outpost.
Nasa chief Michael Griffin recently gave top managers a blunt assessment of the situation in an e-mail reprinted by the Orlando Sentinel, in which he said: "My own view is about as pessimistic as it is possible to be."
Fuelling Dr Griffin's frustration is a US policy to retire the space shuttle fleet in 2010, for safety and cost reasons, but five years before replacement ships are ready to take over the work of ferrying crews to the ISS.
The station also is solely dependent on Russia's Soyuz capsules to serve as lifeboats to bring astronauts back to Earth in case of an emergency.
The European Space Agency (Esa) had joined Nasa in designing a station crew-return vehicle based on the X-38 experimental craft, but it was never completed.
"That was cancelled by a US government decision when almost all the European components were ready or already delivered," Marco Caporicci, the head of the Esa's Future Space Transport and Infrastructure Division, wrote in an e-mail to BBC News.
continue....
Europe may have to find its own solutions for transporting astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station due to short-sighted US policies that now threaten Nasa's ability to maintain a presence on the orbital outpost.
Nasa chief Michael Griffin recently gave top managers a blunt assessment of the situation in an e-mail reprinted by the Orlando Sentinel, in which he said: "My own view is about as pessimistic as it is possible to be."
Fuelling Dr Griffin's frustration is a US policy to retire the space shuttle fleet in 2010, for safety and cost reasons, but five years before replacement ships are ready to take over the work of ferrying crews to the ISS.
The station also is solely dependent on Russia's Soyuz capsules to serve as lifeboats to bring astronauts back to Earth in case of an emergency.
The European Space Agency (Esa) had joined Nasa in designing a station crew-return vehicle based on the X-38 experimental craft, but it was never completed.
"That was cancelled by a US government decision when almost all the European components were ready or already delivered," Marco Caporicci, the head of the Esa's Future Space Transport and Infrastructure Division, wrote in an e-mail to BBC News.
continue....
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Rich reminded me of this one!
Originally posted 2/7/08:
I thought this was really funny! Thanks Steve!
Originally posted 2/7/08:
I thought this was really funny! Thanks Steve!
Can you relate to this? Been in a dairy barn much?
A little old lady from Wisconsin had worked in and around her family dairy farms since she was old enough to walk, with hours of hard work and little compensation. When canned Carnation Milk became available in grocery stores in approximately the 1940s, she read an advertisement offering $5,000 for the best slogan. The producers wanted a rhyme beginning with "Carnation Milk is best of all."
She thought to herself, I know all about milk and dairy farms. I can do this! She sent in her entry, and several weeks later, a black limo pulled up in front of her house. A man got out and said, "Carnation LOVED your entry so much, we are here to award you $2,000 even though we will not be able to use it!"
Connolly hopes it will be the biggest pumpkin the world has ever seen
For five months, he has slaked its thirst with a garden hose, shaded it from the sun with a cotton sheet, kept off the rain with a plastic tarp. He regularly fed it an exotic recipe of ground bone, blood, fish, molasses, and cow and chicken manure. Now more than 16 feet around and weighing an estimated 1,878 pounds, it is packing on 11 pounds a day.
In a week, when he loads it on a truck and takes it to Frerichs Farm in Warren R.I., Connolly hopes it will be the biggest pumpkin the world has ever seen, smashing the record of 1,689 pounds and possibly coming in at more than a ton, an accomplishment that is to competitive pumpkin growing what the 4-minute mile was to track and field.
Connolly and his leviathan are products of a hobby that has undergone a stunning transformation over the last decade, morphing from a pastoral pastime that produced 400-pound champions to a full-time obsession whose practitioners have so successfully tinkered with pumpkin genetics and finely honed growing techniques that they are now regularly producing record-smashing freaks that can grow 40 pounds in a single day and weigh as much as a car.
Even in that world, where a single champion seed can fetch $500 and the techniques for growing a giant gourd are guarded like state secrets, the epic girth of Connolly's pumpkin has electrified. Wide-eyed growers, who have been making pilgrimages to behold Connolly's creation, have respectfully dubbed his pumpkin "The Beast from the East."
"For somebody that's seen big pumpkins - and I've seen 'em all - this thing takes your breath away," said Don Langevin of Norton, author of the book "How to Grow World-Class Giant Pumpkins." "You sit next to it and it looks like you can get into it like a car. When you see it, it blows your mind."
On Wednesday night, Connolly, a 53-year-old manufacturing engineer, was all quiet nerves, like an athlete awaiting his Olympic debut. Speaking modestly of his pumpkin - "to me, it doesn't look that big, but the numbers tell the tale" - he ticked off a list of worries. Teenagers, he said, could smash the pumpkin in the night or it could absorb so much water that it cracks, disqualifying it from competition. He must also hoist the pumpkin off its bed of pink mesh and beach sand and into the back of his truck, without ripping it apart. He has constructed a crane of straps, chains, and pulleys for the job.
continue....
Thanks Rich!
For five months, he has slaked its thirst with a garden hose, shaded it from the sun with a cotton sheet, kept off the rain with a plastic tarp. He regularly fed it an exotic recipe of ground bone, blood, fish, molasses, and cow and chicken manure. Now more than 16 feet around and weighing an estimated 1,878 pounds, it is packing on 11 pounds a day.
In a week, when he loads it on a truck and takes it to Frerichs Farm in Warren R.I., Connolly hopes it will be the biggest pumpkin the world has ever seen, smashing the record of 1,689 pounds and possibly coming in at more than a ton, an accomplishment that is to competitive pumpkin growing what the 4-minute mile was to track and field.
Connolly and his leviathan are products of a hobby that has undergone a stunning transformation over the last decade, morphing from a pastoral pastime that produced 400-pound champions to a full-time obsession whose practitioners have so successfully tinkered with pumpkin genetics and finely honed growing techniques that they are now regularly producing record-smashing freaks that can grow 40 pounds in a single day and weigh as much as a car.
Even in that world, where a single champion seed can fetch $500 and the techniques for growing a giant gourd are guarded like state secrets, the epic girth of Connolly's pumpkin has electrified. Wide-eyed growers, who have been making pilgrimages to behold Connolly's creation, have respectfully dubbed his pumpkin "The Beast from the East."
"For somebody that's seen big pumpkins - and I've seen 'em all - this thing takes your breath away," said Don Langevin of Norton, author of the book "How to Grow World-Class Giant Pumpkins." "You sit next to it and it looks like you can get into it like a car. When you see it, it blows your mind."
On Wednesday night, Connolly, a 53-year-old manufacturing engineer, was all quiet nerves, like an athlete awaiting his Olympic debut. Speaking modestly of his pumpkin - "to me, it doesn't look that big, but the numbers tell the tale" - he ticked off a list of worries. Teenagers, he said, could smash the pumpkin in the night or it could absorb so much water that it cracks, disqualifying it from competition. He must also hoist the pumpkin off its bed of pink mesh and beach sand and into the back of his truck, without ripping it apart. He has constructed a crane of straps, chains, and pulleys for the job.
continue....
Thanks Rich!
RAF radar chief: I saw UFO fleet
“More than 30 pairs of eyes of RAF staff and radar operators at Heathrow Airport witnessed the same thing.
“It’s arrogant to believe that we’re the only ones in this universe.”
The dad of three, of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, was a radar supervisor at the now disused RAF Sopley base, Dorset, in 1971.
Wing Cmdr Turner said: “I instantly knew this wasn’t a convoy of military planes.
“The only craft with that rate of climb were supersonic lightning aircraft but they wouldn’t have been able to hold such a perfect formation.
“They also make a lot of noise.
“No one heard a thing on the night in question.”
Wing Cmdr Turner, awarded an MBE in 1984, is guest speaker at the Close Encounters conference in Pontefract, West Yorks, next month.
Philip Mantle, of UFO Data magazine, said: “His testimony is remarkable.”
continue....
“More than 30 pairs of eyes of RAF staff and radar operators at Heathrow Airport witnessed the same thing.
“It’s arrogant to believe that we’re the only ones in this universe.”
The dad of three, of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, was a radar supervisor at the now disused RAF Sopley base, Dorset, in 1971.
Wing Cmdr Turner said: “I instantly knew this wasn’t a convoy of military planes.
“The only craft with that rate of climb were supersonic lightning aircraft but they wouldn’t have been able to hold such a perfect formation.
“They also make a lot of noise.
“No one heard a thing on the night in question.”
Wing Cmdr Turner, awarded an MBE in 1984, is guest speaker at the Close Encounters conference in Pontefract, West Yorks, next month.
Philip Mantle, of UFO Data magazine, said: “His testimony is remarkable.”
continue....
Friday, October 3, 2008
Fossett joins the many mysteries of the Sierras
The mystery of Steve Fossett is most likely solved, but the gray granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada may never give up the secrets they hold of missing aviators and long ago wrecked planes.
Searchers spotted Fossett's battered single-engine plane Wednesday night, more than a year after he took off from a Nevada ranch. Wreckage indicated a high-speed impact at about 10,000 feet. Small pieces of human remains were found with the wreckage, said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark Rosenker.
The location — far from the main search areas farther north — didn't surprise the amateur sleuths who spend years in search of missing planes in these mountains.
continue....
The mystery of Steve Fossett is most likely solved, but the gray granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada may never give up the secrets they hold of missing aviators and long ago wrecked planes.
Searchers spotted Fossett's battered single-engine plane Wednesday night, more than a year after he took off from a Nevada ranch. Wreckage indicated a high-speed impact at about 10,000 feet. Small pieces of human remains were found with the wreckage, said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark Rosenker.
The location — far from the main search areas farther north — didn't surprise the amateur sleuths who spend years in search of missing planes in these mountains.
continue....
First frost last night.
I don't know if it got the tomatoes up here on the hill, but that's ok if it did. It's actually a little late this year. I laugh at people that act surprised by winter and frost every year. Some cover all their plants, as if this is just a temporary and unforeseen fluke of nature. No, it's not. It's supposed to happen. Winter and frost have descended upon us every year for awhile! Right? Where does the surprise come from? Winter always used to be, and is becoming again, my favorite season of the year.
I haven't seen one of these salamanders since I was a kid. I thought they were all gone. This little guy was hiding under a tire (that I needed to replace a flat yesterday), getting ready to hibernate. I took his picture, showed him to the girls, then put him under the next spare tire in line!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
I don't know if it got the tomatoes up here on the hill, but that's ok if it did. It's actually a little late this year. I laugh at people that act surprised by winter and frost every year. Some cover all their plants, as if this is just a temporary and unforeseen fluke of nature. No, it's not. It's supposed to happen. Winter and frost have descended upon us every year for awhile! Right? Where does the surprise come from? Winter always used to be, and is becoming again, my favorite season of the year.
I haven't seen one of these salamanders since I was a kid. I thought they were all gone. This little guy was hiding under a tire (that I needed to replace a flat yesterday), getting ready to hibernate. I took his picture, showed him to the girls, then put him under the next spare tire in line!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
Net-talking toaster to burn news onto bread
Many things have appeared on toast: Marmite, Vegemite, jam and even Cylons. Now a designer’s invented a toaster that can burn pretty much anything onto your morning slice, including the news.
The Scan Toaster connects to a PC over USB and downloads everything from local weather conditions and the current time to the morning’s news headlines.
Inside the toaster is a network of toasting “modules”, each heated by a hot wire. Each module can move by 30° and, once the user selects what they want on their toast - excluding a topping, of course - the modules align themselves and burn the appropriate content onto the bread.
The appliance is a finalist in design competition run by manufacturer Electrolux and designer Sung Bae Chang said he got the idea whilst - you guessed it - making some toast.
No plans to manufacture the toaster on a mass scale have popped up yet.
continue....
Many things have appeared on toast: Marmite, Vegemite, jam and even Cylons. Now a designer’s invented a toaster that can burn pretty much anything onto your morning slice, including the news.
The Scan Toaster connects to a PC over USB and downloads everything from local weather conditions and the current time to the morning’s news headlines.
Inside the toaster is a network of toasting “modules”, each heated by a hot wire. Each module can move by 30° and, once the user selects what they want on their toast - excluding a topping, of course - the modules align themselves and burn the appropriate content onto the bread.
The appliance is a finalist in design competition run by manufacturer Electrolux and designer Sung Bae Chang said he got the idea whilst - you guessed it - making some toast.
No plans to manufacture the toaster on a mass scale have popped up yet.
continue....
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Fossett items found near Mammoth Lakes
Searchers have renewed their hunt for the remains of missing millionaire Steve Fossett, after a hiker found the aviator's identification papers in Madera County near Mammoth Lakes.
The documents are the first pieces of physical evidence linked to the disappearance of the adventurer, who is believed to have died in a plane crash after taking off on a pleasure flight from a private airport south of Reno on Sept. 3, 2007.
They were found in a mountainous region of the Inyo National Forest 200 miles southeast of the rugged Nevada terrain that was the focus of previous searches.
Just before dark Wednesday, one aerial spotter said he saw what appeared to be wreckage of an airplane.
"Our teams are going in to that area, and we hope to know whether it is really plane wreckage, and if it is Fossett's or someone else's, by morning," Madera County sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart said late Wednesday night.
continue....
Searchers have renewed their hunt for the remains of missing millionaire Steve Fossett, after a hiker found the aviator's identification papers in Madera County near Mammoth Lakes.
The documents are the first pieces of physical evidence linked to the disappearance of the adventurer, who is believed to have died in a plane crash after taking off on a pleasure flight from a private airport south of Reno on Sept. 3, 2007.
They were found in a mountainous region of the Inyo National Forest 200 miles southeast of the rugged Nevada terrain that was the focus of previous searches.
Just before dark Wednesday, one aerial spotter said he saw what appeared to be wreckage of an airplane.
"Our teams are going in to that area, and we hope to know whether it is really plane wreckage, and if it is Fossett's or someone else's, by morning," Madera County sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart said late Wednesday night.
continue....
Saturday morning I got up very early, put on my long johns,
dressed quietly, made my lunch, slipped quietly into the garage to
load the car with rifle and stand, and proceeded to back out into a
torrential downpour.
There was snow mixed with the rain, and the wind was howling. I
pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered
that the weather would be bad throughout the day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into
bed. There I cuddled up to my wife's back, now with a different
anticipation and whispered, "The weather out there is terrible."
She sleepily replied, "Can you believe my stupid husband is out hunting
in that shit?
Thanks Mike!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
dressed quietly, made my lunch, slipped quietly into the garage to
load the car with rifle and stand, and proceeded to back out into a
torrential downpour.
There was snow mixed with the rain, and the wind was howling. I
pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered
that the weather would be bad throughout the day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into
bed. There I cuddled up to my wife's back, now with a different
anticipation and whispered, "The weather out there is terrible."
She sleepily replied, "Can you believe my stupid husband is out hunting
in that shit?
Thanks Mike!
- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill!
ET is coming on vacation.
Reminiscent of a bad script from a science-fiction movie, Earthlings are being warned in a bombardment of Internet postings that the aliens are coming. And, their date of arrival is October 14.
While sceptics are brushing off the messages as something that will give ufology a bad name, others are saying the messages received by two mediums on opposite ends of the globe are real.
The mediums, Blossom Goodchild, an Australian actress, author and direct-voice medium, and Mike Quinsey, a well-known United States-based medium, say they have been contacted by the galactic Federation of Light who have made it known that they will park their massive space ship over Alabama "in the south of your hemisphere" on October 14, and will remain there for three days.
continue....
Reminiscent of a bad script from a science-fiction movie, Earthlings are being warned in a bombardment of Internet postings that the aliens are coming. And, their date of arrival is October 14.
While sceptics are brushing off the messages as something that will give ufology a bad name, others are saying the messages received by two mediums on opposite ends of the globe are real.
The mediums, Blossom Goodchild, an Australian actress, author and direct-voice medium, and Mike Quinsey, a well-known United States-based medium, say they have been contacted by the galactic Federation of Light who have made it known that they will park their massive space ship over Alabama "in the south of your hemisphere" on October 14, and will remain there for three days.
continue....
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