Mole Day 2010

Posted Sat Oct 23, 2010 in

Mole DayI missed Mole Day by a day. That sucks! I guess I’ll have to create a calendar entry to remind me so I remember Avogadro’s number, 6.02×1023.

Avogadro’s number represents the number of molecules (or atoms) in a sample of a substance. It can be expressed in a number of different unit systems, but the one I’m familiar with is the gram-mole system, which is what I learned in high school.

Happy Mole Day, 2010.

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Sputnik Day 2010

Posted Mon Oct 4, 2010 in

Happy Sputnik Day. It was many years ago today (1957 I think) when the Russians launched the first earth-orbiting artificial satellite, Sputnik I.

It’s hard to believe that space exploration with sensors began 53-years ago. Although we have come a long way, there is still a long way to go. I believe we need a space exploration program, although the American people seem to have lost interest in it along with so many other things.

Maybe we’ll regain that spark that sent us to the Moon. There is a lot of work to do just to understand our solar system without sending humans out there.

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The Dirty Dozen

Posted Tue Aug 3, 2010 in

This morning I was scanning the news on my ‘net portal, Yahoo!. I came across an interesting article about dietary supplements, which are a huge business in this country (and I suspect elsewhere too). Some supplements are downright dangerous, and should be avoided.

The dozen are aconite, bitter orange, chaparral, colloidal silver, coltsfoot, comfrey, country mallow, germanium, greater celandine, kava, lobelia, and yohimbe. The FDA has warned about at least eight of them, some as long ago as 1993.

None of these are on my list. I’m using Slo-Niacin and Red Yeast Rice to help control my blood lipids.

Do I think the government should “crack down” on these materials? Nope. But I encourage every person who wants to use dietary supplements to research the materials personally or consult their personal physician before taking them.

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Best Full Moon

Posted Fri Jan 29, 2010 in

Tonight will be one of the best to view the full moon. It’s cloudy here, but if it clears, I’ll be out for a least a few minutes to howl at the moon.

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Winter Solstice 2009

Posted Mon Dec 21, 2009 in

Carson ValleyI try to write a bit on all of the big astronomical days — the solstices and the equinoxes. They are important days, or at least they were important days when our society was agrarian. The days demarcate the seasonal boundaries with the solstices marking the longest and shortest days and the equinoxes the days of equal day and night. Those are the scientific descriptions.

I also sense a feeling about these days. In particular, the winter solstice feels like an ending/beginning. It represents, at least to me, the new year even if we don’t celebrate the new year until 1 January (by the vagaries of our adopted calendar1). The winter solstice is the low point of the year for me as well. The days are as short as they will be (in the northern hemisphere at least). My mood is also at it’s nadir with the lack of sunshine, and maybe just a bit because it’s an ending.

The winter solstice also represents the new beginning promised by Christ’s birth. (Again, regardless of the true date of his birth, the adoption of the winter solstice for the celebration seems appropriate.) There is great significance there as well.

I made the image with my iPhone on the way to work this morning. I captured two images, one focused on the darker part of the view and one on the lighter portion. I used a software application to combine the two images and expand the dynamic range of the photograph. I’m experimenting with HDR imagery in this way. It’s interesting.

It’s the winter solstice. Happy Solstice Day. It’s a day of endings and beginnings.

1 I’d be happy to work on the astronomical calendar. It makes more sense to me that what we’re doing.

[Edited 22 December 2009]

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Geminids and Other Things

Posted Sat Dec 12, 2009 in

GeminidsThe Geminids are coming to town. They should be visible in clear skies next week and should also put on a great show — if you can stand the cold.

I’ll have to go out and look, at least once. I’ll check the star chart (on my iPhone) to determine when and where to look. The article says best times are just after midnight local time. If the weather cooperates, it will be a good time.

I notice I didn’t post much this week. I have been writing, just off-line in my paper journal. Sometimes I need the act of physically writing to make it work for me. I work through things by writing about them. That is something I never thought I would do, but there it is.

I hope this show is better than the Leonids. They weren’t very impressive this year.

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Leonids 2009

Posted Mon Nov 16, 2009 in

The Leonids are coming early tomorrow morning. I’m nearly always up before dawn, so I might have to step outside (with warm clothing) and have a look.

I think an early-morning cup of coffee and a meteor swarm could go together very well. :)

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