It's happening right now. And if you don't happen to live where the lunar eclipse is visible (why oh why did the sun have to come up today? Okay, just kidding) I've got the live feed at the top of my blog. You can also go HERE to see it.
Sigh. I do wish I could see it in person . . . and it's the last lunar eclipse until 2014.
-----The Golden Eagle
Showing posts with label Interesting Stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interesting Stuff. Show all posts
10 December, 2011
25 April, 2011
A-Z Blogging Challenge: U Stands For: Underground Cities
There's lots of stuff underground. For one thing, if you want to go really far down, there's Earth's core which is approximately 5505 C.
And a bit closer to home there are underground cities, which is what this post is to focus on.
Some notables:
The largest underground city in the world is Montreal's RÉSO, or La Ville Souterraine. It has 30 kilometers (19 miles) of tunnel, spread across 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles). The 3.6 square kilometers (1.4 square miles) of floor space provide 80% of Montreal's office space, 35% of its commercial space, and during the winter around 500,000 thousand people use the city. There are 10 metro stations, 1,200 offices, 2,000 stores, 1,600 housing units, 200 restaurants, 2 universities, 40 banks, 7 hotels, a cathedral, exhibition halls, and a sports complex.
The catacombs of Rome are under and close to the city. There are at least 40 catacombs discovered. They began in the 100s and, due to overcrowding and shortage of land, systems were built on top of each other by the excavators; the catacombs cover 2.4 square kilometers. There are also 6 known Jewish catacombs, discovered in 1918, which extend for 13,000 square meters (140,000 square feet) and are from around 100-200 AD, possibly still used in the 400s.
Derinkuyu is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey. It is part of a network of underground complexes found across Cappadocia, which is what the area including the provinces of Aksaray, Nevsehir, Nigde, Kayseri and Kirsehir, is called, in the Central Anatolian region. Derinkuyu has 11 floors, goes to a depth of 85 meters, and could hold between 35,000 and 50,000 people. There were wine and oil presses, cellars, stables, chapels, and, unique to Derinkuyu, a religious school set in a chamber with a barrel-vaulted ceiling.
Dìxià Chéng is a bomb shelter under Beijing, China. It was built in the 1970s in case there was a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and because it was for military defense, it has been called the Underground Great Wall. It covers 85 square kilometers (33 square miles), and is 8-18 meters (26-59 feet) below the surface. There were 90 hidden entrances to the tunnels, but now there is only one at Chongwen Qu. The complex had restaurants, schools, factories, warehouses, theaters, clinics, a skating rink, a mushroom farm for growing foods that don't require much light, and over 70 sites for potential water wells. There was protection from chemical attack, radioactive fallout, and even flood.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_city
http://montreal.streetviewtours.com/attractions/montreal-underground-city/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal
http://www.aviewoncities.com/montreal/reso.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Rome
http://www.tours-italy.com/rome/catacombs.htm
http://www.cappadociaturkey.net/
http://www.cappadociaturkey.net/derinkuyu_underground_city.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derinkuyu_Underground_City
http://www.stay.com/beijing/attractions/9589/dixia-cheng-underground-city/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City_(Beijing)
Have you ever visited an underground city? If so, which one? If not, do you want to?
I hope you all had a happy Easter!
-----The Golden Eagle
And a bit closer to home there are underground cities, which is what this post is to focus on.
Some notables:
The largest underground city in the world is Montreal's RÉSO, or La Ville Souterraine. It has 30 kilometers (19 miles) of tunnel, spread across 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles). The 3.6 square kilometers (1.4 square miles) of floor space provide 80% of Montreal's office space, 35% of its commercial space, and during the winter around 500,000 thousand people use the city. There are 10 metro stations, 1,200 offices, 2,000 stores, 1,600 housing units, 200 restaurants, 2 universities, 40 banks, 7 hotels, a cathedral, exhibition halls, and a sports complex.
(SOURCE)
The catacombs of Rome are under and close to the city. There are at least 40 catacombs discovered. They began in the 100s and, due to overcrowding and shortage of land, systems were built on top of each other by the excavators; the catacombs cover 2.4 square kilometers. There are also 6 known Jewish catacombs, discovered in 1918, which extend for 13,000 square meters (140,000 square feet) and are from around 100-200 AD, possibly still used in the 400s.
(SOURCE)
Derinkuyu is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey. It is part of a network of underground complexes found across Cappadocia, which is what the area including the provinces of Aksaray, Nevsehir, Nigde, Kayseri and Kirsehir, is called, in the Central Anatolian region. Derinkuyu has 11 floors, goes to a depth of 85 meters, and could hold between 35,000 and 50,000 people. There were wine and oil presses, cellars, stables, chapels, and, unique to Derinkuyu, a religious school set in a chamber with a barrel-vaulted ceiling.
(SOURCE)
Dìxià Chéng is a bomb shelter under Beijing, China. It was built in the 1970s in case there was a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and because it was for military defense, it has been called the Underground Great Wall. It covers 85 square kilometers (33 square miles), and is 8-18 meters (26-59 feet) below the surface. There were 90 hidden entrances to the tunnels, but now there is only one at Chongwen Qu. The complex had restaurants, schools, factories, warehouses, theaters, clinics, a skating rink, a mushroom farm for growing foods that don't require much light, and over 70 sites for potential water wells. There was protection from chemical attack, radioactive fallout, and even flood.
(SOURCE)
*****
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_city
http://montreal.streetviewtours.com/attractions/montreal-underground-city/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal
http://www.aviewoncities.com/montreal/reso.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Rome
http://www.tours-italy.com/rome/catacombs.htm
http://www.cappadociaturkey.net/
http://www.cappadociaturkey.net/derinkuyu_underground_city.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derinkuyu_Underground_City
http://www.stay.com/beijing/attractions/9589/dixia-cheng-underground-city/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City_(Beijing)
*****
Have you ever visited an underground city? If so, which one? If not, do you want to?
I hope you all had a happy Easter!
-----The Golden Eagle
12 April, 2011
A-Z Blogging Challenge: J Stands For: Jellyfish
.jpg/800px-Moon_jelly_-_adult_(rev2).jpg)
(SOURCE)
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Jellyfish are members of the phylum Cnidaria (also known as Coelenterate), which is the same phylum as coral. They aren't actually fish--they are invertebrates. The term jellyfish can also refer to the phylum Ctenophora, of whose members are not closely related to Cnidaria but are also free-swimming planktonic carnivores.
(SOURCE)
Jellyfish do not have brains or eyes or bones, and nor do they have specialized digestive, respiratory, or circulatory systems like so many other animals.
(SOURCE)
Instead, they digest by absorbing nutrients in their gastrovascular cavity through the gastrodermal lining. They move by using their hydrostatic skeleton, in contractions and pulses. Jellyfish also have small sacs located at the rim of their bell-shape that sense in what direction the animal is traveling: they trigger nervous reactions when the jellyfish is heading too far in one direction. Humans have similar sacs in their ears.
(SOURCE)
They are more than 90% water. Most of their mass is the mesoglea, the jelly part, surrounded by two layers of epithelial cells. The epidermis is the external body surface, and the gastrodermis is the internal surface.
(SOURCE)
A jellyfish's "nerve net" is a network of nerves located in the epidermis. The nerve net is used to detect stimuli, such as the touch of another animal; impulses are sent through the nerve net, around a circular nerve ring, through the rhopalial lappet (rhopalium are "small sensory structures"), and then to other nerve cells throughout the body. Jellyfish also have ocelli, which are light-sensitive cells that can detect whether the animal is swimming up or down.
(SOURCE)
(SOURCE)
(SOURCE)
(SOURCE)
*****
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhopalium
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v25/i4/nobrain.asp
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/jellyfi.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellyfish
*****
Have you ever seen--or been stung by--a jellyfish?
Also, as some of you may have noticed, I changed the layout of my blog from a three-column to a two-column and adjusted some of the fonts/colors. What do you think?
-----The Golden Eagle
11 April, 2011
A-Z Blogging Challenge: I Stands For: Ice
***An unfinished version of this post accidentally published this morning. My fault, because I meant to say 12:00 PM, not 12:00 AM. Sorry about that. Just another reason why a switch should be made to 24 HOUR TIME. It would make life so much easier. Anyway, I'll rant some other time (that's hopefully in 24-hour!)--on with the post.***
I've already covered Cold (go HERE to read that post) but ice is a very different state of matter.
Essentially water frozen into a solid state, ice is the "most abundant of the varying solid phases on Earth's surface". The most common phase transition (i.e. the most common way ice forms) is when water is cooled to 0 C/273.15 K/32 F at standard atmospheric pressure, depending on which temperature scale you use. It can also form without going through a liquid state, such as when vapor turns into frost.
Ice is officially considered a mineral. Its crystalline structure is based on water molecules, which consist of covalent bonds between oxygen atoms and two hydrogen atoms. Weak, adjacent hydrogen bonds between molecules control much of the physical properties of water and ice.
The only non-metallic structure known to expand when it cools, frozen water is 9% less dense than liquid water. This is because the hydrogen atoms have a slight positive charge, and the oxygen atoms have a slight negative charge, and the solid hexagonal structure that forms because of their bond takes up more space than when water is moving freely in liquid state.
Ice is one of 15 known crystalline phases of water. Besides Ih, which is your usual frozen water, there is:
Amorphous Ice (ice without any crystal structure).
Ice Ic (ice where oxygen atoms are arranged in a diamond shape, produced at temperatures of 130 and 220 K).
Ice II (ice with a rhombohedral crystalline structure, formed by compressing Ih at 190-210 K).
Ice III (ice with a tetragonal crystalline structure, formed by cooling water to 250 K at 300 MPa--MPa stands for megapascal. One megapascal is one million pascals, and a pascal is one newton of force per square meter).
Ice IV (ice in a metastable rhombohedral phase. (Metastable means in a state of equilibrium, but easily sent into a lower energy state with only slight interaction.) It is formed by heating amorphous ice at a pressure of 810 MPa).
Ice V (ice in a monoclinic crystalline phase, and the most complicated of all phases. It is formed by cooling water down to 253 K at 500 MPa.)
Ice VI (ice with a tetragonal crystalline structure and formed by cooling water to 270 K at 1.1 GPa. GPa stands for one billion (thousand million) pascals.)
. . . and for the other phases, go HERE.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice
http://www.word-detective.com/howcome/waterexpand.html
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/waterdens.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_(unit)
http://www.sensorsone.co.uk/pressure-measurement-glossary/mpa-megapascal-pressure-unit.html
*****
Thoughts on ice?
-----The Golden Eagle
I've already covered Cold (go HERE to read that post) but ice is a very different state of matter.
(SOURCE)
Essentially water frozen into a solid state, ice is the "most abundant of the varying solid phases on Earth's surface". The most common phase transition (i.e. the most common way ice forms) is when water is cooled to 0 C/273.15 K/32 F at standard atmospheric pressure, depending on which temperature scale you use. It can also form without going through a liquid state, such as when vapor turns into frost.
(SOURCE)
Ice is officially considered a mineral. Its crystalline structure is based on water molecules, which consist of covalent bonds between oxygen atoms and two hydrogen atoms. Weak, adjacent hydrogen bonds between molecules control much of the physical properties of water and ice.
(SOURCE)
The only non-metallic structure known to expand when it cools, frozen water is 9% less dense than liquid water. This is because the hydrogen atoms have a slight positive charge, and the oxygen atoms have a slight negative charge, and the solid hexagonal structure that forms because of their bond takes up more space than when water is moving freely in liquid state.
(SOURCE)
Ice is one of 15 known crystalline phases of water. Besides Ih, which is your usual frozen water, there is:
Amorphous Ice (ice without any crystal structure).
Ice Ic (ice where oxygen atoms are arranged in a diamond shape, produced at temperatures of 130 and 220 K).
Ice II (ice with a rhombohedral crystalline structure, formed by compressing Ih at 190-210 K).
Ice III (ice with a tetragonal crystalline structure, formed by cooling water to 250 K at 300 MPa--MPa stands for megapascal. One megapascal is one million pascals, and a pascal is one newton of force per square meter).
Ice IV (ice in a metastable rhombohedral phase. (Metastable means in a state of equilibrium, but easily sent into a lower energy state with only slight interaction.) It is formed by heating amorphous ice at a pressure of 810 MPa).
Ice V (ice in a monoclinic crystalline phase, and the most complicated of all phases. It is formed by cooling water down to 253 K at 500 MPa.)
Ice VI (ice with a tetragonal crystalline structure and formed by cooling water to 270 K at 1.1 GPa. GPa stands for one billion (thousand million) pascals.)
. . . and for the other phases, go HERE.
(I couldn't resist sharing an eagle sculpture. SOURCE)
*****
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice
http://www.word-detective.com/howcome/waterexpand.html
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/waterdens.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_(unit)
http://www.sensorsone.co.uk/pressure-measurement-glossary/mpa-megapascal-pressure-unit.html
Thoughts on ice?
-----The Golden Eagle
09 April, 2011
A-Z Blogging Challenge: H Stands For: Herculaneum
I know I've posted about this before, but since I really do think this city deserves more attention . . . have you ever heard of Herculaneum?
You know, the city that got destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD?
Yes, Pompeii was bigger. Yes, they found buildings and macabre human-shaped cavities. Yes, there is some interesting stuff at the city.
But I still think Herculaneum is cooler.
Recently, archaeologists have found the old basilica, a painted statue head, mosaics, a loaf of bread, even wooden structures such as furniture and buildings, thanks to the heat and intensity the pyroclastic flow. And that's after people back in the 1700s or so looted the place, digging tunnels throughout the ruins (Herculaneum was buried under 65+ feet of ash) and hacking apart many of the paintings to sell.
The only problem with excavating it is that there's a city above the ruins.
Of course, having a city there is rather dangerous. If Vesuvius erupts again like the way it did in 79 AD--and that's not impossible in the least--it could mean a disaster many, many times greater than the one thousands of years ago. 6 million people live where Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabiae, and Oplontis (those are the other towns destroyed) used to be. Evacuation plans for the Bay of Naples only account for 600,000.
If you'd like to learn more, go HERE to the PBS Secrets of the Dead and watch the video.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneum
The danger of a volcanic eruption aside, it's a cool site, don't you think?
-----The Golden Eagle
(SOURCE)
You know, the city that got destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD?
Yes, Pompeii was bigger. Yes, they found buildings and macabre human-shaped cavities. Yes, there is some interesting stuff at the city.
But I still think Herculaneum is cooler.
(SOURCE)
Recently, archaeologists have found the old basilica, a painted statue head, mosaics, a loaf of bread, even wooden structures such as furniture and buildings, thanks to the heat and intensity the pyroclastic flow. And that's after people back in the 1700s or so looted the place, digging tunnels throughout the ruins (Herculaneum was buried under 65+ feet of ash) and hacking apart many of the paintings to sell.
The only problem with excavating it is that there's a city above the ruins.
(SOURCE)
Of course, having a city there is rather dangerous. If Vesuvius erupts again like the way it did in 79 AD--and that's not impossible in the least--it could mean a disaster many, many times greater than the one thousands of years ago. 6 million people live where Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabiae, and Oplontis (those are the other towns destroyed) used to be. Evacuation plans for the Bay of Naples only account for 600,000.
*****
If you'd like to learn more, go HERE to the PBS Secrets of the Dead and watch the video.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneum
*****
The danger of a volcanic eruption aside, it's a cool site, don't you think?
-----The Golden Eagle
07 April, 2011
A-Z Blogging Challenge: F Stands For: Fractals
(SOURCE)
A fractal is "an object or quantity that displays self-similarity". Some characteristics of a fractal are:
1. It has a fine structure at any small scale.
2. It cannot be easily described in traditional Euclidean geometry.
3. It is self-similar.
(Exactly or approximately equal to part of itself.)
4. Its Hausdorff dimension is greater than its topological dimension.
(The Hausdorff dimension being an extended non-negative real number associated with metric space. And yes, I get a bit befuddled there, too.)
5. It has a simple and recursive definition.
(A recursive definition is used to define an object in terms of itself.)
(SOURCE)
One real-world example of a fractal, besides the usual repeating shape, is that if you measure a coastline with a ruler the longer it comes out in the measurements the shorter you make your ruler. This is because inlets, bays, large rocks, and other such formations will become factors the finer you get. (The coastline paradox.)
(SOURCE)
But though the math and concept is quite interesting, fractals are visually amazing. They're so intricate, repeating over and over again in triangles, curves, spikes, branches, and so many other patterns. They show up in nature, and also have modern applications in things like computer graphics.
(SOURCE)
(SOURCE)
*****
I believe it's already been established that I'm a fan of NOVA and PBS science shows, but another video won't hurt, will it?
Hunting the Hidden Dimension NOVA Program
If you want to have some fun with fractals:
http://www.coolmath.com/fractals/fractalgenerators/generator1/index.html
http://www.chaospro.de/ (Free software)
http://www.fractalposter.com/fractal_generator.php
Sources:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Fractal.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal_dimension
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausdorff_dimension
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-similarity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_definition
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CoastlineParadox.html
*****
What do you think of fractals?
-----The Golden Eagle
04 April, 2011
A-Z Blogging Challenge: C Stands For: Cold
There's a limit to cold.
0 Kelvin degrees (-273.15 C/-459.67 F) is absolute zero, the point where thermal energy effectively disappears, even if the kinetic energy doesn't. Matter begins to act strange at those extremely low temperatures, presenting quantum effects such as superconductivity and superfluidity. This is due to the Bose-Einstein condensate, which is a state of matter of weakly interaction bosons, within a confined external potential.
Basically, "A new form of matter at the coldest temperatures in the universe", if you'd like the explanation from the website.
Phenomenon caused by absolute zero temperatures:
Superfluidity. At temperatures very, very close to absolute zero (they have't gotten all the way down, if that's even humanly possible) matter acts as if it has no viscosity at all, and that allows it to flow literally anywhere--including up, for gravity doesn't affect things with zero viscosity.
An example of superfluid going up and over:
Superconductivity. This is the state of zero electrical resistance. One fascinating property of this is that if there is electricity flowing through a superconducting wire, it will continue flowing indefinitely, provided the wire stays below a critical temperature.
An example of a magnet levitating due to superconductivity (Meissner effect):
To learn more about cold, go HERE to check out the NOVA program website.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose%E2%80%93Einstein_condensate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfluidity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconductivity
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/bec/
Thoughts?
-----The Golden Eagle
0 Kelvin degrees (-273.15 C/-459.67 F) is absolute zero, the point where thermal energy effectively disappears, even if the kinetic energy doesn't. Matter begins to act strange at those extremely low temperatures, presenting quantum effects such as superconductivity and superfluidity. This is due to the Bose-Einstein condensate, which is a state of matter of weakly interaction bosons, within a confined external potential.
Basically, "A new form of matter at the coldest temperatures in the universe", if you'd like the explanation from the website.
Phenomenon caused by absolute zero temperatures:
Superfluidity. At temperatures very, very close to absolute zero (they have't gotten all the way down, if that's even humanly possible) matter acts as if it has no viscosity at all, and that allows it to flow literally anywhere--including up, for gravity doesn't affect things with zero viscosity.
An example of superfluid going up and over:
(SOURCE. See the liquid at the bottom? It went up and over the rim of the bowl.)
Superconductivity. This is the state of zero electrical resistance. One fascinating property of this is that if there is electricity flowing through a superconducting wire, it will continue flowing indefinitely, provided the wire stays below a critical temperature.
An example of a magnet levitating due to superconductivity (Meissner effect):
(SOURCE)
*****
To learn more about cold, go HERE to check out the NOVA program website.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose%E2%80%93Einstein_condensate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfluidity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconductivity
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/bec/
*****
Thoughts?
-----The Golden Eagle
01 April, 2011
A-Z Blogging Challenge: A Stands For: Astrophysics
Astrophysics is:
"The branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition) of celestial objects such as galaxies, stars, planets, exoplanets, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions."
Image via Wikipedia
Fascinating stuff, astrophysics.
Especially once you start thinking about just how many discoveries that could still be made about the universe. We know practically nothing about dark matter and dark energy (aside from the fact it exists); there are countless stars that could have exoplanets (and, therefore, the potential for alien life); black holes (which could be at the center of every galaxy in our universe); star-forming regions such as nebulae (which are sometimes also the leftover matter from exploding stars); and the galaxies themselves, which collide and interact (as the Milky Way will with Andromeda, some billions of years from now).
And who knows, maybe in the future people will be exploring the universe beyond this solar system, traveling to other stars, exploring satellites and creating a new frontier in space. There's no telling what could happen if Earth becomes one of two, or several, or many other planets that could sustain human life and we have the technology to take us there.
Ahem.
Can you tell I read and write and love Science Fiction?
And if you want some videos to watch to learn more about astrophysics:
Monster of the Milky Way NOVA Program
Hunting the Edge of Space NOVA two-part series
Origins of the Solar System NOVA Program
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysics
What do you think of astrophysics? Do you think any major discoveries about the universe will be made in the near future?
-----The Golden Eagle
"The branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition) of celestial objects such as galaxies, stars, planets, exoplanets, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions."
Image via WikipediaFascinating stuff, astrophysics.
Especially once you start thinking about just how many discoveries that could still be made about the universe. We know practically nothing about dark matter and dark energy (aside from the fact it exists); there are countless stars that could have exoplanets (and, therefore, the potential for alien life); black holes (which could be at the center of every galaxy in our universe); star-forming regions such as nebulae (which are sometimes also the leftover matter from exploding stars); and the galaxies themselves, which collide and interact (as the Milky Way will with Andromeda, some billions of years from now).
(SOURCE)
And who knows, maybe in the future people will be exploring the universe beyond this solar system, traveling to other stars, exploring satellites and creating a new frontier in space. There's no telling what could happen if Earth becomes one of two, or several, or many other planets that could sustain human life and we have the technology to take us there.
Ahem.
Can you tell I read and write and love Science Fiction?
(SOURCE)
*****
And if you want some videos to watch to learn more about astrophysics:
Monster of the Milky Way NOVA Program
Hunting the Edge of Space NOVA two-part series
Origins of the Solar System NOVA Program
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysics
*****
What do you think of astrophysics? Do you think any major discoveries about the universe will be made in the near future?
-----The Golden Eagle
31 March, 2011
A Final Wrap-Up Post Before The Madness Begins
As for the madness . . . I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The A-Z April Blogging Challenge begins tomorrow--the day 865 (or so) people post starting with the letter "A".
. . . from Tyrean Martinson. Thank you so much for this award, Tyrean!
Coolness. It's free (free, everyone!) software from Oracle, with Writer, (MS equivalent: Word) Base, (Access) Calc, (Calculator) Draw, (Publisher) Math, (Equation Editor) and Impress (PowerPoint), and available for Linux, Mac OS, Windows, Solaris, and some others. My mom wanted to download Base for database management, and the whole pack came with it. Basically, OpenOffice has fewer options, looks like an old version of Microsoft--but it works. Hurray!
Apparently, Death by PowerPoint can also be called "PowerPoint Poisoning" and "PowerPoint Hell". Retired Marine Colonel Thomas X Hammes called it "hypnotizing chickens" when the program is used to make presentations that are overly-complicated and tedious, such as during press briefings. (Guess he doesn't enjoy the press.)
The Wikipedia article also says there is even such a thing as a "PowerPoint Ranger"; i.e. "a military member who relies heavily on presentation software to the point of excess". In addition, a Colonel was fired for criticizing the dependence on the "presentation method". One Russian said "If we ever had a war, while you are working on your Power Point, we would be killing you."
Yeah . . . is there something fishy there, or is it just me?
For those participating in the Challenge, I hope you all have fun, and I look forward to reading your posts!
For those not participating in the Challenge, (hey, you can still sign up, if you haven't been terrified by that huge number of blogs) I also look forward to reading your posts, which I will do my best to keep up with while I tackle the aforementioned list!
See you in April, everyone!
865. If you divide that by 30, you get 28.8333333. So to keep up with just 865 and comment once on each, you'd have to visit 28+ blogs a day.
My plan is to get to around 30 blogs per day, keep up with as many bloggers that I already know as I can, (I probably won't get around to everyone--if you don't see me, no, I haven't forgotten about you!), and finish scheduling posts. I had wanted to have all 26 done by today, but instead I have something like 17. Now my goal is to finish them by the end of first week. Thankfully, I have Sunday to type like crazy.
And now, wrap-up time!:
. . . from Tyrean Martinson. Thank you so much for this award, Tyrean!
*****
Coolness. It's free (free, everyone!) software from Oracle, with Writer, (MS equivalent: Word) Base, (Access) Calc, (Calculator) Draw, (Publisher) Math, (Equation Editor) and Impress (PowerPoint), and available for Linux, Mac OS, Windows, Solaris, and some others. My mom wanted to download Base for database management, and the whole pack came with it. Basically, OpenOffice has fewer options, looks like an old version of Microsoft--but it works. Hurray!
*****
- Death by PowerPoint. I couldn't help posting this. It's just too funny (and kind of disturbing).
Apparently, Death by PowerPoint can also be called "PowerPoint Poisoning" and "PowerPoint Hell". Retired Marine Colonel Thomas X Hammes called it "hypnotizing chickens" when the program is used to make presentations that are overly-complicated and tedious, such as during press briefings. (Guess he doesn't enjoy the press.)
The Wikipedia article also says there is even such a thing as a "PowerPoint Ranger"; i.e. "a military member who relies heavily on presentation software to the point of excess". In addition, a Colonel was fired for criticizing the dependence on the "presentation method". One Russian said "If we ever had a war, while you are working on your Power Point, we would be killing you."
Yeah . . . is there something fishy there, or is it just me?
*****
For those participating in the Challenge, I hope you all have fun, and I look forward to reading your posts!
For those not participating in the Challenge, (hey, you can still sign up, if you haven't been terrified by that huge number of blogs) I also look forward to reading your posts, which I will do my best to keep up with while I tackle the aforementioned list!
See you in April, everyone!
-----The Golden Eagle
19 March, 2011
Flame Painter--The Coolest Online Paint Program Ever
I was Googling "online paint" and I can across this simply awesome program.
Flame Painter.
I mean, really. I made that image above using it, for free I might add, and imagine all the different designs and images you could make with the wide variety of colors and effects . . . I don't know if this kind of stuff gets you going, but it certainly makes ME happy to find such online things. (You need a Java Plug-In for your browser.)
I just had to share this program with you today. :)
So. Have you heard of Flame Painter before? Any other cool online paint programs you know of?
-----The Golden Eagle
Flame Painter.
I mean, really. I made that image above using it, for free I might add, and imagine all the different designs and images you could make with the wide variety of colors and effects . . . I don't know if this kind of stuff gets you going, but it certainly makes ME happy to find such online things. (You need a Java Plug-In for your browser.)
I just had to share this program with you today. :)
So. Have you heard of Flame Painter before? Any other cool online paint programs you know of?
-----The Golden Eagle
18 March, 2011
The Man Who Invented Word Verification
Watch the full episode. See more NOVA scienceNOW.
Since you might not be able to watch the video, here's what it's all about:
Luis von Ahn wanted to know what he could do with 100 million people.
When he and his advisor were approached by Yahoo! with a spam problem in email--spammers were acquiring email addresses to send junk into people's inboxes--Von Ahn invented CAPTCHA, which humans can distinguish but computers cannot. (In theory. :P I've had trouble with CAPTCHA several times.)
But it takes time to type those words, and when 200 million people are spending it, it's a lot of seconds. So Luis von Ahn teamed up with a project to put thousands of books onto the Internet, and created something called reCAPTCHA, which places a known CAPTCHA word next to one that the computer does not know--and which comes from one of those books. On average, 120-150 books per day can be typed up thanks to the anti-spam program.
And it's not just books. It's also the entire archive of The New York Times.
So you, in theory, are actually helping to puzzle out hundreds of books when you type CAPTCHA to create accounts, get through computer programs and yes, you got it, comment.
-----The Golden Eagle
20 February, 2011
Crusader Challenge: The Lie Is Revealed!
You know yesterday's post?
"Crusader Challenge: One Secret, One Lie, One Interesting Quirk, One Annoying Habit, One Character Trait, and One of My Favorite Things--Not Necessarily In That Order"
Well, according to the challenge rules, I have to tell you what the lie is now.
. . .
. . .
Ready for it?
. . .
. . .
Oh, holding you all in suspense has been fun! *evil laugh*
. . .
Just kidding about the evil laugh.
All right, all right! I'll tell you. Here's text from my original post:
I love riding elephants and camels—the former of which I’ve done a few times and the latter is something I do at any opportunity.
Yes, the lie is the one about the elephants and camels. But not in the way you'd think--I have actually ridden a camel, and a few elephants, but I don't love it. In fact, I'd definitely skip it if I got the chance to do so again, since it's A) bumpy (and the camel was actually kinda painful seeing as a metal bar was digging into me) and B) riding those sorts of animals was fun the first time, cool the second, interesting the third, but that has since worn away into "Ah yes. Elephant. Camel. I'll pass, thank you."
The people who came the closest to the answer are Witless Exposition, Devin Bond, Old Kitty, Dezmond, W.B., Sandra Ulbrich Almazan, and J. L. Campbell.
And yes, people, I do eat my sandwiches like it says in the post, in layers, one layer at a time. I cannot swim, and it's likely I would drown. The activity I mentioned is dance, more specifically, ballet recitals and other performances.
;)
So. Now that you know more about me, what do you think?
-----The Golden Eagle
"Crusader Challenge: One Secret, One Lie, One Interesting Quirk, One Annoying Habit, One Character Trait, and One of My Favorite Things--Not Necessarily In That Order"
Well, according to the challenge rules, I have to tell you what the lie is now.
. . .
. . .
Ready for it?
. . .
. . .
Oh, holding you all in suspense has been fun! *evil laugh*
. . .
Just kidding about the evil laugh.
All right, all right! I'll tell you. Here's text from my original post:
I love riding elephants and camels—the former of which I’ve done a few times and the latter is something I do at any opportunity.
Yes, the lie is the one about the elephants and camels. But not in the way you'd think--I have actually ridden a camel, and a few elephants, but I don't love it. In fact, I'd definitely skip it if I got the chance to do so again, since it's A) bumpy (and the camel was actually kinda painful seeing as a metal bar was digging into me) and B) riding those sorts of animals was fun the first time, cool the second, interesting the third, but that has since worn away into "Ah yes. Elephant. Camel. I'll pass, thank you."
(CREDIT)
The people who came the closest to the answer are Witless Exposition, Devin Bond, Old Kitty, Dezmond, W.B., Sandra Ulbrich Almazan, and J. L. Campbell.
And yes, people, I do eat my sandwiches like it says in the post, in layers, one layer at a time. I cannot swim, and it's likely I would drown. The activity I mentioned is dance, more specifically, ballet recitals and other performances.
;)
So. Now that you know more about me, what do you think?
-----The Golden Eagle
19 February, 2011
Crusader Challenge: One Secret, One Lie, One Interesting Quirk, One Annoying Habit, One Character Trait, and One of My Favorite Things--Not Necessarily In That Order
To learn more about the challenge, go HERE.
-----The Golden Eagle
*****
It’s likely I would die if thrown into a pool of dihydrogen monoxide and left without help.
I have occasionally been bloviate about a pastime I seriously enjoy—a pastime that has also demanded I fake being a boy, and an angel, and an insect (among other things) although I have never had the honor of being a rabbit.
I am constantly moving; whenever I’m sitting down or standing, I’m usually twitching, bouncing, or moving in some way and cannot stay still for long.
For me, sandwiches are not to be eaten whole. Top layer of bread first, insides layer by layer, and bottom slice last. Eating everything together in one bite? No way.
I love riding elephants and camels—the former of which I’ve done a few times and the latter is something I do at any opportunity. And while we’re speaking of exotic animals, I’ve also held a lion cub.
I cannot wield a blade with skill; try me with a keyboard instead, since I’m a writer and write practically every day. But I’ve never tried doing using it in a fuliguline manner—just isn’t my style.
*****
One of the above facts is not strictly true. Can you guess which one?
-----The Golden Eagle
18 February, 2011
Guest Post at My First Book, Awards, and Watson
Breaking News, everyone! Today I'm guest posting over at Misha's blog My First Book on Strong Female Protagonists.
It would be awesome if you went to check it out. :)
In other news, I was awarded the Stylish Blogger Award by Luke Raftl at All your stars are out. Thank you so much, Luke!
(I hope you'll excuse me if I don't pass this on/answer the questions. I've done it before, and I don't have a lot of time today.)
Also, The Words Crafter at The Rainy Day Wanderer recently handed the Write Hard award to those who came by her blog, and I decided to do the same; so, reader, go ahead and take this one if you want it!
And you know what? Watson--a computer created by IBM--actually did win Jeopardy!
Finally, don't forget to check out the interview with Nicole MacDonald below, if you haven't yet!
Have a wonderful weekend, bloggers!
-----The Golden Eagle
It would be awesome if you went to check it out. :)
*****
In other news, I was awarded the Stylish Blogger Award by Luke Raftl at All your stars are out. Thank you so much, Luke!
(I hope you'll excuse me if I don't pass this on/answer the questions. I've done it before, and I don't have a lot of time today.)
Also, The Words Crafter at The Rainy Day Wanderer recently handed the Write Hard award to those who came by her blog, and I decided to do the same; so, reader, go ahead and take this one if you want it!
*****
And you know what? Watson--a computer created by IBM--actually did win Jeopardy!
*****
Finally, don't forget to check out the interview with Nicole MacDonald below, if you haven't yet!
Have a wonderful weekend, bloggers!
-----The Golden Eagle
04 February, 2011
Aspiring Author Interview, Awards, Ninja Writing, A-Z Blogging Challenge, and Snow
BREAKING NEWS:
The post in which I am interviewed at Perfecting the Craft--by the awesome Michelle Merrill--is up for you all to read!
Well? What are you waiting for? Go read it! And then come back to read the rest of this post, of course. ;)
I was awarded the the Versatile Blogger Award by Hannah Marie at Distant Hoofbeats:
And the Stylish Blogger Award by Lisa Galek at Read. Write. Repeat.:
(Again, because I've already been awarded before, and listed seven facts, I'm going to bypass that part of accepting the awards.)
Ali Cross, at the blog of the same name, has declared February Ninja Novel Writing Month.
What does that mean? It means you sign up HERE and join in with the other Ninja's as you sharpen those writing skills.
I'm going to finish my novel this month. I am. I said that over a year ago, but I know more about my writing limits and what I can do in a month now--not to mention I have the ending set up in my head and I am getting close to the point where I can actually start writing it.
Don't forget! You can still sign up for the A to Z Blogging Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out.
What's the challenge part? Blogging every day except Sundays, with the theme of your post focused on something different each day--starting at A and going all the way down to Z, of course.
There are already 175 people who've linked up--are you going to help bring it all the way up to 300?
It's a little icy around here, but nothing like the massive snowfall some places are got as the storm passed over North America. In fact, the sun's shining right now and everything seems to be dripping--hope the rest of you are safe and warm and that there's no more bad weather, wherever you are.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
-----The Golden Eagle
The post in which I am interviewed at Perfecting the Craft--by the awesome Michelle Merrill--is up for you all to read!
Well? What are you waiting for? Go read it! And then come back to read the rest of this post, of course. ;)
*****
I was awarded the the Versatile Blogger Award by Hannah Marie at Distant Hoofbeats:
And the Stylish Blogger Award by Lisa Galek at Read. Write. Repeat.:
Many thanks to both of them!
(Again, because I've already been awarded before, and listed seven facts, I'm going to bypass that part of accepting the awards.)
*****
Ali Cross, at the blog of the same name, has declared February Ninja Novel Writing Month.
What does that mean? It means you sign up HERE and join in with the other Ninja's as you sharpen those writing skills.
I'm going to finish my novel this month. I am. I said that over a year ago, but I know more about my writing limits and what I can do in a month now--not to mention I have the ending set up in my head and I am getting close to the point where I can actually start writing it.
*****
Don't forget! You can still sign up for the A to Z Blogging Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out.
What's the challenge part? Blogging every day except Sundays, with the theme of your post focused on something different each day--starting at A and going all the way down to Z, of course.
There are already 175 people who've linked up--are you going to help bring it all the way up to 300?
*****
Have a great weekend, everyone!
-----The Golden Eagle
24 November, 2010
Did You Know . . .
. . . that the Empire State Building moored a dirigible?
. . . that one of the largest pyramids in the world is in Las Vegas?
. . . that the Pentagon once spent $7,600 for a coffeepot, $435 for a hammer, and $640 for a toilet seat?
I know I didn't!
(I am not kidding you, in case you were wondering.)
I love trivia. I know I'm not going to rule the world with trivia, but it's fun to know about.
Thank you for all your comments on the Ease or Throw the Reader? post--it was great learning what you thought about that subject!
Anyway, I'm also here to say that RaShelle (who was recently nominated for the Sexiest Female Blogger Award at TheMovie411--go vote for her!) awarded me this lovely mug:
Which I am going to give her a big *hug* and THANK YOU! for. :)
I'm now going to pass it on to these wonderful bloggers:
Summer Ross
Jai Joshi
Rachael Harrie
Old Kitty
Karen Gowan
. . . and I do think that's all I came to post about today.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
-----The Golden Eagle
(Source)
. . . that one of the largest pyramids in the world is in Las Vegas?
(Source)
. . . that the Pentagon once spent $7,600 for a coffeepot, $435 for a hammer, and $640 for a toilet seat?
(Source)
I know I didn't!
(I am not kidding you, in case you were wondering.)
*****
I love trivia. I know I'm not going to rule the world with trivia, but it's fun to know about.
*****
Thank you for all your comments on the Ease or Throw the Reader? post--it was great learning what you thought about that subject!
*****
Anyway, I'm also here to say that RaShelle (who was recently nominated for the Sexiest Female Blogger Award at TheMovie411--go vote for her!) awarded me this lovely mug:
Which I am going to give her a big *hug* and THANK YOU! for. :)
I'm now going to pass it on to these wonderful bloggers:
Summer Ross
Jai Joshi
Rachael Harrie
Old Kitty
Karen Gowan
. . . and I do think that's all I came to post about today.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
-----The Golden Eagle
08 November, 2010
NaNoWriMo Update And Other
*whew* Week 1 has passed! Now, just 3 more weeks (and then some) to go . . . but I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to write 50,000 words by the end of the month, seeing as I already have 21,536 words under my belt. That's the most I've ever written in a week! A new record!
This is me:
Yah. So, I'm doing pretty good.
You know that poll on the sidebar? "Is Pluto A Planet"? It closed a while ago; I set it up because I was curious to see what people think after having read The Pluto Files. (Funny, informative, and interesting book--written by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, probably one of my favorite scientists.)
Well, the results are in, and 38% of you say it is a planet, 22% say it isn't, 8% think it's a Kuiper Belt Object, 22% of you say it's a dwarf planet, and 8% of you say it's a planet and a KBO.
Where do I fall? I think it should be a KBO. It's a small ball of ice, smaller than other objects that aren't planets.
If you didn't get a chance to vote, tell me: what do you think?
-----The Golden Eagle
This is me:
Yah. So, I'm doing pretty good.
*****
You know that poll on the sidebar? "Is Pluto A Planet"? It closed a while ago; I set it up because I was curious to see what people think after having read The Pluto Files. (Funny, informative, and interesting book--written by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, probably one of my favorite scientists.)
Well, the results are in, and 38% of you say it is a planet, 22% say it isn't, 8% think it's a Kuiper Belt Object, 22% of you say it's a dwarf planet, and 8% of you say it's a planet and a KBO.
Where do I fall? I think it should be a KBO. It's a small ball of ice, smaller than other objects that aren't planets.
If you didn't get a chance to vote, tell me: what do you think?
-----The Golden Eagle
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