17 is a Prime Number

broderic on June 20, 2021

Brood X’s buzzing has diminished. It’s not as loud as it was two weeks ago. I recorded them in the park out back and their cacophony reached 95 decibels, but today, they’re not as loud or as voluminous as at the height of their swarm. The noise app on the Apple watch was in the yellow. Don’t walk too long in that volume as it is dangerous to your hearing.

Brood X is the cicadas that come out every 17 years along the east coast of the US. This is the third time I’ve witnessed them. I wonder if I will witness them come out again. We shall see.

They will be gone in another couple weeks. The adults who have succeeded in propagating their offspring for the next time will all be dead. The larvae will have buried into the ground waiting for that glorious summer 17 years from now to do what they’ve been doing for so long. It is the cycle of life.

Perseverance Lands on Mars

broderic on February 19, 2021

Yesterday, NASA landed the Perseverance rover on the planet Mars. The video above from the Jet Propulsion Lab shows the moment of landing. It also has some animation to show what it may have been like. Considering that there was a time gap in receiving the data and images from the spaceship, it was with heavy anticipation to await the signals of success. Glad that it went A-OK, and that the mission will continue.

I am looking forward to all the scientific discoveries that the Perseverance will bring. I hope it has as long a life as its predecessor, Curiosity.

Final Flight of Disco

broderic on April 18, 2012

discovery

Picture courtesy of sciascia

Whoa! The Shuttle Discovery’s last flight to be part of the Smithsonian in DC. It’s pretty cool and it was a beautiful day to take her out for one last spin.

Link of the Day [12.14.11]

broderic on December 14, 2011

I don't think of myself as a reader of Science Fiction. I consider myself a reader of stories first and foremost. If the book happens to be Science Fiction, then I am reading Science Fiction. I read Science Fiction. I read Science Fiction. You should, too. Get thee to the Science Fiction Encyclopedia and pick out something; an author, a book, a theme, something to read and read it.http://sf-encyclopedia.com/

The Truth Is Out There

broderic on November 15, 2010

VLA Radio Antenna

Courtesy of tjblackwell.

Science searches always to determine why, what, how. It is always questioning, looking, searching, peering deeper and deeper into the mystery of life and the universe. Is it all there is? Is this all there is? Years ago, I read Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe. It blew my mind. We will find out lots of things. Keep searching.

Link of the Day [10.13.10]

broderic on October 13, 2010

Are these guys the new Alton Brown? I mean they are mixing cooking with science just like Brown used to do for his show, Good Eats. Ahh, Good Eats. Love that show back when the Cooking Network had actual cooks cooking food. What's it become? A game show network? Phoo. Look at Alton Brown, he's, o right, a game show host now. Dang nabbit, Food Network, bring back more cooks.http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/10/the-food-labs-top-6-food-myths.html

“Shriners, Lions clubs, Elk lodges. It’s like I’m their king or something.”

broderic on September 13, 2010

I used to get high and go to astronomy class at the girls school next door. Not what you think. I really did have class there. We even one day went to the Science Center for a field trip. Now that I think about it, what a very strange class to have. I actually liked it, and learned lots that I still remember. The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram of a star’s life cycle was an early inspiration to what would’ve been browser metrics.

So, I’ve maintained a faint interest in astronomy. I have my brother’s cheap telescope in the house. I still look up at the night sky for all the cool constellations. I still want to see a deep sky object through a telescope. The moon is one of the greatest things to look at at night. It’s the romance of it all.

Anyway, I came across a neat site that plots out satellites in our heavens above. Check it out and keep looking at the stars.

“Dave, pretend is for little girls and mental patients. Sucks on pretend!”

broderic on September 22, 2009

Link of the Day [9.22.09]Hey! It's another palindrome day! Sweet.Today, I got a cool link for you. It's about a bunch of MIT students who sent a balloon up into the upper reaches of the atmosphere to do some near-space photography. Cool, hunh? What's even cooler? They did it all on a budget of $150! That's pretty cheap. Someday soon someone is going to do it really on the cheap once technology can bring it all down.http://space.1337arts.com/