like it? click it!
enjoy your blue moon -- if you can see the partial eclipse tonight, enjoy that too.
enjoy your family and your friends and your home and being awake and conscious in the cosmos.
happy new year to us all.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
deep
like it? click it!
enjoy your blue moon -- if you can see the partial eclipse tonight, enjoy that too.
enjoy your family and your friends and your home and being awake and conscious in the cosmos.
happy new year to us all.
it's the last day to donate...
to the richard dawkins foundation for reason and science... and dawkins will match your amount, doubling it!
the initial goal was $100,000 and it's just over $140,000 now. c'mon, help it hit $150K.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
what's the right thing to do?
from harvard university:
i've heard these scenarios before... i'm eager to hear the thoughts further on.
i'm sorry.... i saw this somewhere on my rss feed today but can't find the source now. if you know what it was, let me know.
i've heard these scenarios before... i'm eager to hear the thoughts further on.
i'm sorry.... i saw this somewhere on my rss feed today but can't find the source now. if you know what it was, let me know.
pixellated christmas
like it? click it!
and three more:
click any shot to embiggen
i know everyone's probably overdosed on christmas images by now, but i spotted these outside a restaurant as i was driving yesterday -- hung on the tree and bushes in front of the place. of course, i stopped and shot a few.
must've been quite a party.
in other news, i'm nearing the end of my 365-day project. does anyone have any ideas of what to do next?? i fear i'll become lax and stop taking pictures if i'm not forced to by this kind of commitment.
blades
like it? click it!
we went to see 'it's complicated' with meryl streep, alec baldwin and steve martin. i can't say i enjoyed it a whole lot, although there were some funny bits. it felt too contrived and unrealistic -- what planet do the creators live on? these characters lived way too well, had no real need to work, some scenes were completely unrealistic (her three grown kids so overwhelmingly upset they have a sleep-in) and some were token (the silly girl talk sessions with streep and her pals). [oh brother -- rolls eyes] the main character has a huge house, a garden, a vegetable garden, a swimming pool, yet still feels she needs to build a proper kitchen?
the comic relief was wonderful, provided not by steve martin as one would expect, but by john krasinski who played streep's son-in-law. completely brilliant.
after the movie, we noticed a very small makeshift ice skating rink for fun outside. i tried shooting the skaters but they were coming out way too blurry. so i shot the ice instead.
gravity wells scaled to earth surface gravity
on xkcd...
click to enlarge at source...
and it's big!
btw... notice an even more glorious dawn awaits....?
click to enlarge at source...
and it's big!
btw... notice an even more glorious dawn awaits....?
richard dawkins on BBC radio 4
richard dawkins reflects back on a year celebrating the 200th anniversary of darwin’s birth, and 150 years since on the origin of the species. but with polls suggesting that half the population in the uk don’t believe in evolution, how do experts engage the public in science?
listen here!
listen here!
Monday, December 28, 2009
bertrand russell on god
see how old these arguments are? 'new atheists'? only for people who are just starting to think about this.
via RD
via RD
battlestar rhapsody
BSG was good while it was still good. here, paired with one of my all-time favorite tunes, parodied:
via io9
via io9
called by the universe
a conversation with neil degrasse tyson:
click pic to video source
on the science network. the page includes a transcript.
click pic to video source
on the science network. the page includes a transcript.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
the manhattan beach project longevity summit
this is a playlist of videos i have not listened to yet... but am slowly working through them.
via next big future shared by jonathan shock
via next big future shared by jonathan shock
catch the light
like it? click it.
i stood on a bench and looked down -- the catchlights are from the sky peeking through the trees.
i know one eye's blurred. i know it's not supposed to be.
i don't do supposed to be well.
i also have no idea what i'm doing, photographically, but i like it.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
fluff
these days, i've been listening to carl sagan's a pale blue dot: a vision of the human future in space while driving ... it's a new kick i have of listening to favorite books, helping me to deal with unbearably long drives through heavy traffic and being inspired along the way.
today i reached chapter six: the triumph of voyager. it's fascinating to hear about the life of these two robots, their discoveries and technical problems... and sagan's hope that we would continue receiving information for a long, long time.
over twenty years later, the voyagers are still making profound discoveries and, when i saw the following article about 'fluff', i felt that two moments -- when sagan first wrote this chapter, and this news -- come together, as if time were warped and the two moments touched.
click pic to source
'december 23, 2009: the solar system is passing through an interstellar cloud that physics says should not exist. in the dec. 24th issue of nature, a team of scientists reveal how NASA's voyager spacecraft have solved the mystery.
"using data from voyager, we have discovered a strong magnetic field just outside the solar system," explains lead author merav opher, a NASA heliophysics guest investigator from george mason university. "this magnetic field holds the interstellar cloud together and solves the long-standing puzzle of how it can exist at all."'
and
'NASA's two voyager probes have been racing out of the solar system for more than 30 years. they are now beyond the orbit of pluto and on the verge of entering interstellar space—but they are not there yet.'
... more at at NASA...
today i reached chapter six: the triumph of voyager. it's fascinating to hear about the life of these two robots, their discoveries and technical problems... and sagan's hope that we would continue receiving information for a long, long time.
over twenty years later, the voyagers are still making profound discoveries and, when i saw the following article about 'fluff', i felt that two moments -- when sagan first wrote this chapter, and this news -- come together, as if time were warped and the two moments touched.
click pic to source
'december 23, 2009: the solar system is passing through an interstellar cloud that physics says should not exist. in the dec. 24th issue of nature, a team of scientists reveal how NASA's voyager spacecraft have solved the mystery.
"using data from voyager, we have discovered a strong magnetic field just outside the solar system," explains lead author merav opher, a NASA heliophysics guest investigator from george mason university. "this magnetic field holds the interstellar cloud together and solves the long-standing puzzle of how it can exist at all."'
and
'NASA's two voyager probes have been racing out of the solar system for more than 30 years. they are now beyond the orbit of pluto and on the verge of entering interstellar space—but they are not there yet.'
... more at at NASA...
visions of moons danced in our heads
this is a wonderful series of videos offered as holiday gifts from the cassini imaging team... moons dancing around saturn:
click any image to source
' "as yet another year in saturn orbit draws to a close, these wondrous movies of an alien place clear across the solar system remind us how fortunate we are to be engaged in this magnificent exploratory expedition," said carolyn porco, cassini imaging team leader at the space science institute in boulder, colo. "it is reason enough for celebration. so, from all of us on the cassini imaging team to all of you, happy holidays!" '
read more about them here.
click any image to source
' "as yet another year in saturn orbit draws to a close, these wondrous movies of an alien place clear across the solar system remind us how fortunate we are to be engaged in this magnificent exploratory expedition," said carolyn porco, cassini imaging team leader at the space science institute in boulder, colo. "it is reason enough for celebration. so, from all of us on the cassini imaging team to all of you, happy holidays!" '
read more about them here.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
it's another december sunrise
click image to source at apod
i adore anthony ayiomamitis' photography ... and especially how he manages to combine two of my favorite subjects -- our sky and poseidon's temple at cape sounion near athens.
my humble pictures of this inspiring location, on my sounion set on flickr.
my humble pictures of this inspiring location, on my sounion set on flickr.
are you following me?
i started feeding my blog posts, flickr images and shared notes in google reader over to my twitter account a while ago... and it just dawned on me that i should maybe mention it here. i've added a twitter button to the right sidebar on the blog. i guess the most interesting part will be the shared notes... stuff that makes an impression on me but i don't have the time to blog about.
i do not bore anyone with trivia about my daily existence.
i do not bore anyone with trivia about my daily existence.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
the first principle
like it? click it!
the first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool.
richard feynman, caltech commencement address, 1974
i shot this a month ago -- it's got flaws, but i don't want it sitting in my hard drive.
glad
i'm glad to see my image, balance, on flickr's explore in the #1 slot for december 21st.
it's not the first time that's happened, but the reason i'm especially glad this time is because the image reminded me of a quote by carl sagan, which i included on the image description, as a tribute to the december 20th anniversary of the day we lost him.
it's not the first time that's happened, but the reason i'm especially glad this time is because the image reminded me of a quote by carl sagan, which i included on the image description, as a tribute to the december 20th anniversary of the day we lost him.
Monday, December 21, 2009
and the sun stood still
like it? click it!
'solstice' is derived from the latin phrase for 'sun stands still.'
this, and more fun facts on what is, for the northern hemisphere, the shortest and darkest day of the year and the true reason for the season, on national geographic news.
and yeah, i found this in our garden this morning.
happy december solstice to all.
thanks to pixiespark for one of the most beautiful textures i've seen.
richard dawkins on 'elders'
with andrew denton
click image to video source
transcript
at first i thought it was nice to have a more personal interview, but as the it rolled on, i felt it was awkward.
on youtube in 3 parts:
click image to video source
transcript
at first i thought it was nice to have a more personal interview, but as the it rolled on, i felt it was awkward.
on youtube in 3 parts:
balance
like it? click it!
'it seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas … If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you … on the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones.' - carl sagan, (november 9, 1934 – december 20, 1996) - the burden of skepticism
Sunday, December 20, 2009
ann druyan on radiolab
i've posted this before but a friend urged me to link to this podcast on radiolab with an interview of annie druyan, carl sagan's partner in life and vision.
it's a wonderful interview.
it's a wonderful interview.
a biography of carl sagan
the world suffered a great loss on december 20th, 1996, when carl sagan died. i've expressed my admiration for sagan, repeatedly, on this blog... but right now i just feel very, very sad.
this is in three parts:
if you want to learn more about this great man today, you'll find lots of material at the newly redesigned celebrating sagan.
this is in three parts:
if you want to learn more about this great man today, you'll find lots of material at the newly redesigned celebrating sagan.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
jewels from saturn
enormous elongated shadow (at ciclops)
the first glimpse of liquid on an alien world (at JPL)
click either image to source.
the first glimpse of liquid on an alien world (at JPL)
click either image to source.
from tibet to the cosmic horizon...
... and back again. i just saw this full screen on my huge monitor. truly awesome.
the known universe by AMNH
via bad astronomy
the known universe by AMNH
via bad astronomy
Friday, December 18, 2009
one fish...
click on any fish...
two fish
pink fish
blue fish
every day, from here to there.
funny things are everywhere.
mr.G went fish-shopping and i asked the guy in the store if i could do some shooting. i wanted one of these but supposedly they're too vicious for the little guys we have already. they don't look vicious, do they?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
rachel maddow on cecil bothwell
visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
how is it that so many americans have a poorer understanding of their constitution than i do?
via RDF
nails on the coffin of dualism
your brain determines and decides your actions before you're conscious actually of it. so much for free will.
Monday, December 14, 2009
severed corpus callosum
i first read about this over 30 years ago -- but i hadn't seen it in action until i saw this video about a split-brain patient, treated for epilepsy:
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
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