2014/03/25
I was directed to an interesting exhibit by hovercraftdoggy:
The K21 Staendehaus museum in Düsseldorf, Germany unleashed Tomás Saraceno, who installed a troika of safety nets as an interactive work entitled In Orbit. The netting can be accessed at several different locations in the museum.
© Studio Saraceno & Kunstsammlung NRW
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For more information/images, check out:
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2014/03/22
Some astronomers believe they have discovered the metaphysical ripples in the fabric of space-time that were spawned 10-37 seconds after the Big Bang. Apparently, Albert Einstein predicted the ripples, called gravitational waves, and the discovery, if confirmed, might transform our understanding of how the universe began and evolved. The gravitational waves propagate through the cosmic ocean at the speed of light; astronomers have been searching diligently, because the waves are the evidential ‘missing link’ that is necessary proof for two major theories.
My layman’s understanding (to be taken with a grain of salt) of Einstein’s general theory of relativity posits that space is like a malleable blanket embedded with stars and planets, which cause the fabric of space to curve. These curvatures in space ripple like water; the gravitational waves squeeze and stretch space in various directions.
A theory developed in the 1980s, cosmic inflation, also requires the discovery of gravitational waves to cement its reputation. Cosmic inflation theorizes that, an instant after the Big Bang, the universe expanded exponentially — by a trillion, trillion times — thereby forming a uniform cosmos in large portions of space, but also causing variations in gravity, resulting in gravitational waves.
Purportedly, gravitational waves have been detected by a radio telescope at the South Pole, the BICEP2 (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization). The results must be confirmed, but this discovery could be one of the greatest in our modern era.
When I’m think from a cosmic perspective I realize that my trivial worries are nothing in the grand scheme of things, and it is something marvelous that I am a part of this min-boggling immensity.
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For more information on the gravitational wave observation:
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2013/10/31
I saw John Cleese’s Last Time To See Me Before I Die show on Tuesday night (at the Vogue Theater in Vancouver); if you’re a fan, I’d recommend it.
He shared biographical details about his family and colleagues, pictures, and short clips of some of his favourite sketches, including material from well before the Monty Python days, Python skits, and clips from Fawlty Towers and A Fish Called Wanda.
It was an informal, but entertaining show and I learned a few things, including the fact that I’ve been mispronouncing his last name: I’d always pronounced it to rhyme with geese; however, it actually rhymes with cheese, which is, in reality, his family name. His father changed his name from Cheese to Cleese when he entered the service during WWI because he was tired of being teased.
It was a pleasant way to spend an evening.
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2013/10/02
I was listening to the radio on the way home from work and Phil Stearns was discussing Glitch Art with the Host of the show (Nora Young, on CBC’s Spark). I’d never heard of the art-form before, so I did a little digging when I got home.
Phillip Stearns is an artist who works “with electronics and electronic media.” Mr. Stearns, and other glitch artists, find a fascination with those moments when a screen goes black, blue, or green, or when images pixelate and freeze. These artist insist that there is beauty in these glitches, and they not only capture the images for posterity, but work to create ‘defective’ digital images.
I visited a site where anyone can create their own glitch art; a do-it-yourself image glitch experiment. It’s fun, but I found it somewhat frustrating: I couldn’t manipulate the image quite like I wanted, but maybe that is a function of the random element of the art-form. I played around for quite a while until I ‘created’ my finished work.
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2013/09/27
If humans ever decide to colonize Mars, it appears that there is an abundant water supply; unfortunately, it is not in the form of lakes, rivers, or even underground pools. It’s in the dirt, and eating a handful won’t quench your thirst.
At one time, flowing water was probably plentiful on the planet, but the only immediate water sources found currently are located at the planet’s poles, as ice. Mar’s ‘watery phase’ likely lasted until about four billion years ago.
Mars’ diameter is about half that of the Earth, its mass is about 11% of Earth’s, and its gravity is less than 40% of our planet: all these factors facilitated the loss of the atmosphere’s upper layers as they were blown away by two mechanisms; the impact of meteors, and a natural ‘boiling’ of gasses into space. But a planet’s atmosphere — especially the heavier gasses — can also be absorbed into the soil, which is probably why the dirt of Mars contains such a high percentage of water.
NASA’s Curiosity rover scooped up samples of Martian dirt, deposited the dirt in its oven-abdomen (into SAM, the Sample Analyzer at Mars instrument) and heated the samples to more than 800 ⁰C to drive off and measure the volatiles. Its analysis identified about two percent water by weight, which converts to approximately two pints (1 litre) of water per cubic foot (0.03 cubic meters) of soil.
This discovery leads me to believe that a human settlement on Mars isn’t quite as far-fetched as it seemed a short time ago; additionally, early indications suggest that there is no life on the planet, so a terraforming operation wouldn’t destroy life that was already present.
It also occurs to me that viewing a planet that is devoid of life should make us all realize that we are the custodians of a jewel in space, a remarkable world that is bursting with miracles.
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For more information on Mars and Curiosity:
Volatile, Isotope, and Organic analysis of Martian Fines with the Mars Curiosity Rover
The Petrochemisry of Jake_M: A Martian Mugearite
Curiosity finds no sign of methane, the gas linked to life
Rover finds evidence Mars lost its atmosphere four billion years ago
Mars Curiosity: Facts and Information
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2013/07/18
Addendum (July 21,2013): Well, Phil Mickelson won the Open, and has been acclaimed Championship Golfer of the Year, and has been presented with the Claret Jug he thought he’d never get. He played an unbelievable final round in difficult conditions on a challenging course, scoring a 5-under par 66, remaining the only golfer under par after the dust had settled. My heart goes out to Lee Westwood, who battled, but couldn’t maintain his exemplary form through the entire final round, and to Adam Scott, who, for the second year in a row, came close, but fell short. Westwood and Scott finished in a tie for third at one over par, along with Ian Poulter, who played an exceptional final round, almost the equal of Mickelson. Henrik Stenson played a fine final round, finishing second at even par. Mickelson birdied four of the final six holes (including the last two) to cement his fame in the annals of Open championship golf. Mickelson, who had always struggled with links golf in the past, also won the Scottish Open on a links course, and he has definitely risen to the upper echelons of fame in the golf community. It was an excellent display of golf by all of the world’s top players who were ‘in the hunt.’
This year, the Open Championship is being contested at Muirfield, located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth. Muirfiled isn’t one of the oldest courses in Scotland, dating back to ‘only’ 1891, but it is considered one of its finest (Jack Nicklaus once called it “the best golf course in Britain,” and when he designed a golf course and community in Ohio, he named it Muirfield Village). Muirfiled is also home to the oldest private golf club, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which began in 1744 (previously, the club’s home had been at Leith Links until 1836 when they moved to Musselburgh; finally, due to over-crowding at Musselburgh, they decided to build the new course at Muirfield). The course was designed by Old Tom Morris (Thomas Mitchell Morris, Sr. (1821 – 1908)).
I enjoy watching the Open Championship because the links courses look so different from the golf courses seen in North America, and the style of play required reflects the differences in course design.
I found a few quotes about the game of golf, and thought this would be as good a place as any to share them…
“If you are caught on a golf course during a storm and are afraid of lightning, hold up a 1-iron. Not even God can hit a 1-iron.” Lee Trevino
“Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.” Winston Churchill
“Why am I using a new putter? Because the last one didn’t float too well.” Craig Stadler
“When I die, bury me on the golf course so my husband will visit.” Unknown
“They call it golf because all the other four letter words were taken.” Raymond Floyd
“The older I get, the better I used to be.” Lee Trevino
“Golf can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle.” Unknown
“Golf is a good walk spoiled.” Mark Twain
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And last, but not least, an exchange between Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino after Trevino had beaten Nicklaus in an 18-hole playoff to win the 1971 US Open…
Nicklaus looked at Trevino and said, “Lee, if you took this game more seriously, you couldn’t be beaten.”
Trevino smiled and said, “Jack, if I took this game more seriously, I’d never win again!”
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2013/06/21
The vegetables at your local market or grocery store are still alive and can tell time.
A new study (Janet Braam in Current Biology), indicates that the way produce is stored has a significant effect on its nutritional value and health benefits. Fruits and vegetables, like animals, respond to circadian rhythms, and their biology is modified in response to different lighting conditions, a reaction that is programmed to defend against insects. These responses to lighting conditions affect the health value of the produce.
For example, cruciferous vegetables (e.g.: cabbage), contain glucosinolates, which initiate the secretion of detoxifying enzymes that eliminate carcinogens from an organism (i.e.: cabbage fights cancer). The researchers put cabbage heads into light-dark circadian cycles and found that glucosinolate concentrations were almost twice as high during the day, reaching a peak in the hours just before dusk. The research indicates that it might be beneficial to store produce (at the market, or at home) in light-dark cycles, and consume the produce in daylight (and, preferably, just before dusk). It might also be best to harvest crops, freeze, and preserve them at the appropriate time.
I heard a rumour that the research was initiated because of a random remark by Janet Braam’s son. She was explaining to him that the food value in plants was known to change depending on the time of day. Her son mentioned that perhaps he should time his meals to coincide with the peaks of nutrition. Apparently, nobody had thought to check whether picked produce retained the circadian rhythm of the parent plant, hence the research. I also heard that Janet Braam wasn’t expecting the results that were found, and was pleasantly surprised. Sometimes it helps to think outside the box…
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2013/06/11
In the realm of sad news, I just found out that Iain Banks (a.k.a. Iain M. Banks) passed away on June 9th. Earlier this year, in April, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with terminal gall bladder cancer and had less than a year to live.
He was well-known, and admired, for both his mainstream and science fiction novels. As Iain Banks, he was probably best known for his novels The Wasp Factory (1984), The Crow Road (1992), Complicity (1993), and his most challenging novel, The Bridge (1986). As Iain M. Banks, he was best known for a series of stand-alone science fiction novels depicting an interstellar, utopian society called the Culture (e.g.: Player of Games (1988), Use of Weapons (1990), and Surface Detail (2010)). His works were overflowing with imagination and dark, gothic humour.
His final Culture book, The Hydrogen Sonata, was published in 2012.
His final mainstream novel, The Quarry, is due to arrive on bookshelves on June 20. Ironically, the novel depicts the final weeks of a man who has terminal cancer: Iain Banks had almost completed the novel before receiving his own cancer diagnosis in April. His publisher, Little, Brown, had apparently presented him with completed hardback copies of The Quarry just three weeks ago.
Since announcing his illness, Iain Banks had been “hugely moved” by the show of affection by his contemporary authors and the general public through his website.
He will be missed.
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2013/05/15
I just saw this story in the news, and I thought I’d share…
There was a fire in an Edmonton subdivision (Lewis Estates, near 213th Street and 88th Avenue) in which three homes were destroyed and two others damaged, with total costs around a million dollars.
picture from the Global News story
Some enterprising neighbourhood children decided to help out by setting up an iced tea stand and donating proceeds to those affected by the fire. It’s been reported that after two nights of sales they’ve raised $1,700 dollars. Their goal is $17,000, and they plan to continue until their goal is met. The price is ‘by donation’ and I’ve heard that it’s not unusual to garner $20 per cup.
The idea was initiated by a young girl, Alexis Morrow, but the entire neighbourhood’s children seem to have taken to the cause; they are out in force, displaying signs, chanting: “Help the homes! Help the homes!”
Yesterday evening, one of the homeowners, Brian Logan (whose house was essentially ruined), was so touched that he visited the iced tea stand to express his thanks. “When I heard about what you guys were doing today,” he told the children, with tears in his eyes, “it made me feel so good. You’re such wonderful, wonderful children. I could try and hug you all, but that’s a lot of you.” He paused, and then added: “They’re angels, they’re absolute angels.”
What a nice story: it brightened up my day.
For more information: Global News Story
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2013/04/30
It has been pretty windy around here lately, but I just read about a storm that defies comparison anywhere on Earth…
Cassini — a spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral in 1997 — has sent back some dramatic pictures of a colossal hurricane at Saturn’s North Pole.
The eye of the storm is over two-thousand kilometers in diameter, twenty times the size of a typical hurricane on Earth. Scientists believe that the storm has been active for years, with its epicenter anchored at the North Pole where water vapor must be fueling the hurricane. Clouds reach speeds of over five hundred kilometers per hour at the periphery of the hurricane.
NASA constructed a video (with informative audio) from the images gathered by Cassini
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db johnston
almost falling 