Category Archives: Uncategorized

06.12.16
by

It Was A Matter Of Time

I hate to say it, but I have been expecting something like this Orlando shooting to happen. Didn’t know when or how, but I knew this day was coming. I suspect most of us did. Right now my gut is tied up in a knot and I’m torn between anger and dismay.

I am afraid this is the world we live in now. Chickenshits with guns seeking soft targets for the sake of some twisted ideology or their moment of fame. I’m not going to go on an anti Muslim rant, there will be plenty of those in the next few days. I’m not going to have a gun control knee jerk reaction either, there will be plenty of that as well.

I am going to urge people to be aware of their surroundings. If you are in a building, watch the door. Know where the exits are. If you are in an open public space, or anywhere for that matter, take a moment every few minutes to scan for potential threats. You never know when or where the next crazy ass religious nut, or just regular old crazy ass nutjob, is going to go off.

I try to teach my kids situational awareness on a regular basis. This post is an extension of that. I was taught defensive driving in my early teens. To always be looking for potential hazards on the roads. Anything that moves or could move is a hazard. Trees on the roadside are hazards, especially if it is windy/stormy. Wet roads are hazards. The list goes on, but most of the hazards you will encounter in life will be people. Be they in cars, or playing in their yards, or riding a bike, or carrying guns. You can’t let your guard down, and while this thing isn’t exactly out of control yet, I fear it will only get worse with time.

Recognizing a hazard is the first step to avoiding one. So pay attention. Don’t live in fear, live in a state of awareness. I’m done with my lecture now, and hope all my friends are all well out there in world.

 

 

 

06.11.16
by

Light Pollution

This is a subject near and dear to my heart. Light pollution, for those of you who may have not heard, is the result of all of us humans who are afraid of the dark. These millions of people, afraid of the damn dark, insist on having their porch lights on from dusk till dawn, and never give a moments thought to the “insecurity lights” (a so called security light that comes on at night, giving some perception of security) that burn away all hours of the night.

Zillions of streetlights lining the streets and highways. For what? Do we not have lights on our cars? Parking lots with unshielded lighting, light blazing away long after the store has closed. Why? Stores with no one in them, lights on 24/7. Why? Does anyone even think? Not only about the light pollution here, but what about the cost? How much money does the electric company need to make?

Is anyone aware that for thousands, nay millions of years, the creatures of the night have not needed artificial lighting to find their way? No, I think the bat and the opossum and the hoot owl have done just fine without them.

Is anyone aware that all of this light actually disrupts nocturnal habits for wildlife?

Is anyone aware that due to all of this light the stars are washed out so that they can’t be seen from most cities? Does anyone even look up enough anymore to care?

I do. I have been an amateur astronomer for many years. I’m always looking up. I have neighbors though who are afraid of the dark. Their outdoor lighting makes it darn near impossible anymore for me to enjoy the hobby. The light is a hideous monstrosity that is the bane of astronomers everywhere. It ruins dark adaptation, it bounces off the vinyl siding and lights up my yard to the point I could read a newspaper out there at midnight.

Safety. That word is the mainstay of the light polluter. “The lights make us safe.” Do they? No, they do not. Study after study tends to show that lighting only makes it easier for criminals to see what they are doing. So, no. Night lighting makes no one safer. The only thing lighting at night does is assuage the deluded. Those poor bastards who are merely afraid of the dark. And ain’t got the gonads to admit it.

So, what brought forth my ire this fine scorching June day? A story posted at one of my favorite haunts, Science Daily. Put out by the fine folks at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Entitled : “Milky Way Now Hidden From One Third Of Humanity.”

Now a lot of people know of the Milky Way. A bright band of stars and dust that streaks through the sky at night. This band of stars actually being one of the arms of our galaxy. There are literally a thousand treasures of the night sky hidden away in the wondrous galactic arm. I know, I have seen them. Many people have never even seen the Milky Way.

Several years ago one of my brats had some friends over, it was a clear, beautiful evening. I had my big scope out in the yard all setup and cooled down. So I invited the kids out. When they came outside I said “Behold, the Milky Way.” And I pointed it out, and showed them how it streaks across the sky. One of them actually gasped in awe. She had never seen the Milky Way. There are so many poor, lost, misguided souls who have never taken the time to look up on a clear night.

With the advent of modern light pollution, and with the general trend getting worse, the night sky, which I consider a treasure of humanity, is ever receding away. To be lost forever for our kind. This treasure of humanity lost because people are afraid of the dark.

This first link is to the “Milky Way Now Hidden From One Third Of Humanity” story. The following links are all dedicated to the premise that street lights make no one any safer.

http://www.colorado.edu/news/features/milky-way-now-hidden-one-third-humanity?utm_source=Colorado.edu&utm_medium=Milky%20Way%20now%20hidden%20from%20one-third%20of%20humanity&utm_content=News%20and%20events&utm_campaign=Homepage

http://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/new-research-streetlights-dont-actually-reduce-crime-or-accidents.html

https://psmag.com/streetlights-might-not-make-you-safer-7de92a524348#.107d00qs1

http://gizmodo.com/streetlights-dont-actually-prevent-crime-1722056358

http://darksky.org/light-pollution/lighting-crime-and-safety/

Don’t be afraid of the dark. Embrace it. Enjoy it. Look up. You might see something that inspires you. You might find some serenity. You might be humbled by the vastness of the universe. There is nothing to fear in the darkness. Only fear itself.

Turn off those damned lights! 🙂

 

 

 

 

06.09.16
by

Well Duh!

I am an avid science fan. That being the case I subscribe to one of my favorite science outlets, Science Daily. This headline caught my attention a moment ago:

“Food Allergies: Avoiding Allergens Is Best Protection”

The article goes on with much discussion about allergies and how there aren’t really any immunotherapies available, so… avoid your allergens folks

I guess some people can’t figure that out for themselves.

I suppose someone gets paid to state the obvious. I’d like to get in on that gravy train. 🙂

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160609064302.htm

06.04.16
by

Yep, Any Day Now

imageAny day now…

Sorry about the low light pic. It is cloudy, overcast, and raining off and on.

I know I just did a picture day thing, but didn’t want to save this beaut till I get around to another one.

As a side note I posted this from my phone. I’ll get caught up with technology… Any day now.  😸

05.23.16
by

Picture Day

Hey, despite the rumors I’m not dead yet! I know it has been a while, but spring has sproinged and I’ve been busier than a beaver with 2 dams to build. It has just been hectic. Which is strange because I don’t even have a job. Well keeping things rolling around here is a job I suppose.

Anyway while I have been absent from the blog, I have been taking pictures when I can. I finally got them loaded up in the computer. Remember to click the photos to enlarge. These pics cover a lot of territory, so let’s go! EDIT: Apparently I did not upload these pics full size, so they do not enlarge (at least for me). Sorry about that. I am not going back and doing it all again!

The wife and I were getting our taxes done, our accountant is setup in an old house that has been converted to a multi tax person office. With the house being old, it has old windows that happen to have beveled edges. As we were sitting there waiting to see our tax guy, I looked down on the floor and saw this. The sun coming through the beveled glass produced a really neat prism effect. Being the thing that I am I had to get a shot.

253

This next one is a result of some heavy rains we had. I am aware of the hydroplaning areas on the highway, this guy apparently is not. Note how after initially running off the road, and taking out the sign, there aren’t any tracks leading to the cars location. There was a lot more water there when this guy went off the road. He must have really been moving when he hydroplaned out into the field. You can see the wrecker in the background.

268

Spot the turkeys! This and the hydroplaned shot were taken through the car windshield. This is the road we live on that leads to the highway.

286

Bookends! I saw these dogs hanging out of both sides of the vehicle and could not resist getting a shot with the iphone. The wife of course was having a mild heart attack since I was driving at the time, but we survived unscathed 🙂 For the record I am not a left lane camper, once I got the shot I immediately took the right lane. I despise left lane campers, even if they have dogs hanging out the windows…

291

I like clouds. This was right after a nasty storm moved through. I’m not sure but I think this cloud that was rolling to the ground, was glad to see me 😉

299

Another cloud shot I was unable to resist.

301

As I mentioned spring has sproinged and as a result the lilac bush bloomed quite nicely. Which in turn attracted a lot of butterflies. I thought what the heck let’s shoot some butterflies. This was several weeks ago… An Eastern Swallowtail, followed by a couple more.

DSC02542

DSC02551DSC02577

Funny how one thing leads to another. While I was shooting butterflies I saw a few things I had no freaking idea even existed. My first thought was “was that a hummingbird?” Then I noticed this thing had what appeared to be a furry back much like a moth. Well as it turns out there are these critters known as hummingbird moths. And they were in my yard. These things were notoriously difficult to shoot as they would alight only for a couple of seconds, then move on. There are a couple of different types, or some variation between the species/gender, or whatever. They were notably different, 2 types or subtypes or gender differences.

DSC02540

DSC02549

DSC02546DSC02555

Pretty cool huh?

Then I noticed these things. I believe they are some sort of Beefly? Again very hard to catch these little buggers. Note in two of the shots you can see their proboscis. The one in the middle looks like a cross between a fat tick, a honeybee, and a mosquito.

DSC02569

DSC02572

DSC02575

I heard about some nesting Eagles and thought I’d try to catch a shot or two. All I found at the location was a pair of nesting Osprey. I took this shot through my trusty ED 80 telescope from at least a quarter mile away. The day was very windy and chilly, the shots did not turn out all that great but here is one.

DSC02501

Finally some religion themed atrocities. What kind of sick and twisted A-hole revels in the fantasy of their ficticious dog oppressing mankind? I thought about blacking out the license plate, then said “ahh fuck it, they deserve to be recognized.”

020

Ummm no. And double no! Got to get em while they are young and impressionable eh? And what kind of dipstick has to resort to some childish make believe that they are speaking for the dog?

013

Let’s not forget to advertise our desire to demonize and oppress the gays. “That’s ok, right?”

Assholes, all of them.

012

I guess it was mixed up metaphor day. And yes this is the same church sign as the other one over the course of a few weeks. I am aware of the term “getting the monkey off of your back” and “when you fall off the horse, get back in the saddle” but this?

021

You take your humor where you can find it 🙂

Well that wraps up this picture day content. I hope you enjoyed the experience, and I will be back.

04.14.16
by

The Bulbous Nosed Twit Finally Gets Something Right

Our great Governor of Tennessee, Mr 4.5′ tall Bill Haslam, vetoed the ignorant bill proposed by ignoramuses, which would have made the Holy Babble the state book of Tennessee.

Finally, after all of these years, a Goddamned Republican got something right.

Although he had to add some vapid stupidity, (It helps if you can visualize a nasal whining tone like that of a nerdy 13 year old when you read his quotes) : “my personal feeling is that this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text. If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then we shouldn’t be recognizing it only as a book of historical and economic significance.”

Oh no, of course not, we should be recognizing it for being a Magic Book! A big magic book of the most ass backwards shit I have ever read.

At least despite his religious leanings and/or pandering to his religious constituents, he was able to correctly determine the unconstitutionality (damn thats a long word) of the bill.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2016/apr/14/gov-bill-haslam-vetoes-bible-bill/360215/

02.25.16
by

Now Can They Find Our Missing Socks?

In case you haven’t heard, astronomers have discovered the missing matter in our universe. According to the current cosmological model, matter is dispersed through the universe in a 70% dark energy, 25% dark matter, and 5% ordinary matter ratio. The ordinary matter, like we all know and love, has only been measured to around 50% of what they thought was out there. This missing matter was hiding where they thought it might be, but had no direct evidence to show. Until now. This matter was assumed to be in gaseous form residing in the vast distances of space, but we had no way to measure it.

There are these occurences known as FRB’s (Fast Radio Bursts) A FBR was caught recently (last year sometime). With very quick follow ups with other observational telescopes they were able to pinpoint the location of the FRB. Using the redshift analysis they determined this galaxy is 6 billion light years out.

While we can detect FRB’s, they havent been able to get a location on one quick enough to determine it’s location. They got this one. Which is only part of the challenge. Knowing the distance is only 1 key aspect, but a big one.

Now what they know about these FRB’s is the radio waves disperse as they travel through matter in space. The radio waves with higher energy/frequency arrive before the lower frequency waves. The amount of dispersion depends on the amount of matter they encounter. This discrepency combined with the location of the event that caused the FRB allowed them ( I am not sure who they are) to indirectly measure the matter these radio waves traveled through. It fits the model!

This is kind of a big deal actually. When data comes together to confirm a working theory we have what is known as science. Science being the best way known to understand this big old universe we live in. It works so much better than those other ways of knowing, and they can show their work!

I caught this first from Science Daily:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160224231734.htm

Also Phil Plait over at Bad Astronomy did a great write up. I borrowed some of his knowledge of the radio wave dispersion in my write up. Mr. Plait goes into much detail, and considers the causes of FRB’s:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/02/24/fast_radio_bursts_finally_identified_as_being_very_far_away.html

02.25.16
by

Tennessee Has An Official Gun, Can I Move Now?

You know I am a godless left leaning liberal type. I don’t quite go so far as to want to ban guns as do many liberals, I grew up hunting and fishing and own a few guns. I also learned the hard way growing up, when someone punches you in the schnoz you hit back twice as hard. I do wish we still lived in a time when bullies used their fists, instead of reaching for a weapon. I can concede we have a problem with guns in our society, and it is an issue. But I sure as fuck do not think a state should decide to adopt a gun as an official state symbol. State flowers? Fine. State bird, I’m good with that. State gun?

What in the goddamned hell are these RWCRFM’s (Right Wing Conservative Republican Fundamentalist Morons) thinking?! Tennessee is already a laughing stock of this fine country. This cements that standing for time evermore. I was disgusted when our Gov. Bill Haslam (R) allowed vouchers (state money) for religious schools. I was really pissed when that same Gov. decided to limit pain medications (like the kind I take for my back) to 4 per day. How in the heck can you legislate someone elses pain? And I am now appalled that our Senate has adopted the Barrett Sniper Rifle as our new state gun.

There is apparently no measurable depth to the low that Republicans will go. Let’s just call it a bottomless pit of disgust. Heck I think it was last year they tried to adopt the frigging bible as a state book! What is wrong with these people?

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/24/barrett-m82-sniper-rifle-becomes-official-state-rifle/80853912/

02.23.16
by

So, How Long Until Production?

I guess there is hope for Texas after all. A group of chemists and engineers from the University of Texas, have devised a way to use concentrated light, heat, and high pressure to, in a one step process, convert carbon dioxide and water directly into liquid hydrocarbon fuel.

The obvious immediate impact would be using carbon we already do not need in the atmosphere, to create fuel. However it would seem to me that using this new fuel would put the carbon dioxide right back into the atmosphere. But, hopefully there would be a small net gain. Even if it is a break even proposition it should long term, reduce carbon content in the atmosphere. It has to, right? If you are taking away the carbon already there, then putting it right back, has to be better than not taking any away at all. The process also supposedly has oxygen as a by product!

They don’t get into specifics with the numbers, it would be nice to have a figure to see if this process is actually beneficial, once you consider the entire production process from start to finish. It said in the article they use titanium dioxide (TD) as a main ingredient. I know they manufacture that not far from where I live. It has to be mined and processed before it becomes well, TD. So there is a lot of dozers, trucks, forklifts, and furnaces involved. I also know they use chlorine gas in large amounts as well. (I worked for an on site contractor at Dupont, where they make TD for a few months a while back. I was waiting out the winter so I could get back in the water as a diver.) Anyway it is a huge operation manufacturing TD. And the carbon footprint from manufacture of TD alone will be very large.

As I was saying the carbon footprint for the entire production of this new liquid hydrocarbon fuel has to be considered before it is really a viable alternative. According to the article another plus is there would be no need for infastructure changes, because we already live in a liquid hydrocarbon society. So that would be huge.

If, and this is a big if, this new fuel passes the sniff test for viability, it has the potential to make quite an imact on our carbon problem. At any rate it could slow our carbon output some as we try to forestall our own demise from our excesses. This conjecture assumes the oil companies don’t buy up the rights to the new tech so they can conveniently “lose” it.

http://www.uta.edu/news/releases/2016/02/MacDonnell-Dennis-Fuels-PNAS.php

 

 

 

 

02.15.16
by

Humor

At least I think it’s kinda funny. The wife and I had to go for a long drive today, getting home late means you could use a quick fix for supper. This day that wound up being the large family pack meal from a place called Trolingers. They have great BBQ, and a large family pack gets you 1.5 lbs. of BBQ, 12 buns, and small containers of beans/cole slaw/and potato salad. All for right around $17.00 (after taxes). I call that a deal. As gas was $1.39 I decided to top off the fuel tank too.

Anyway after we paid for our necessities and were heading out the door, there stands the freebie paper rack. We have these small peddler papers that cater to locals with want ads/for sale ads/ and even personals. So we grabbed one just to snoop. As we were driving home I heard the wife snigger and snort, curious I asked what was up? So she read me the ad.

helpwanted 001

I know it’s likely just a typo, but really? Right after it says Accuracy is imperative! They have the typo 🙂