Saturday, October 22, 2016
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Monday, October 17, 2016
Friday, October 14, 2016
Friday, October 07, 2016
Sunday, October 02, 2016
Bad day for a couple of Subaru owners
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Death-defying u-turn
The first instance happened this morning near the bottom of a shallow hill on a two-way, two-lane road with rapidly moving traffic. A maroon-color Outback rapidly pulls over to the shoulder. The Outback is full of people and luggage, including stuff tied to the roof rack. Cars immediately following the Outback braked to avoid a collision, with a couple of them swerving briefly into the lane of opposing traffic. Dust was kicked up a dozen feet into the air. But, that's not all! The lady driving the Outback activates her left turn blinker just as Allie and I approach in our car. All of a sudden the lady veers back into the road at a sharp angle, with her front left fender heading straight for our front right fender. Allie honked and swerved into the opposing traffic lane to avoid the collision! The lady barely stopped in time to miss us. Fortunately there was a gap in the traffic on the opposite lane into which we could veer. Just as we passed, she continued her sharp turn into the lane and across into the opposite lane. She cut out in front of the car that was immediately behind us.Then she proceeds to make a full u-turn right in front of on-coming traffic in the opposing lane. Traffic moving in both directions had to slam on their brakes to avoid being hit by this lady. I'm sure she left a phantom intersection in her wake. When I looked back, I saw a field of brake lights as we continued on. After a few cuss words were uttered by Allie, I stated, "that the lady was driving like Clark Griswold". "Yeah, [more expletives], Griswold!" Allie appreciatively replies.
Bang, crumble, bye-bye bike
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| Roof-racked bicycle might've looked something like this before being mangled beyond recognition. |
The expensive looking bicycle was no longer a bicycle. I mean, there was still kinda two wheels, but it was a mangled mess. The roof rack was also a mangled mess. The roof rack being attached to the roof of the Subaru likely suggests that the Subaru's roof was also damaged to some extent.
At this point, the driver still doesn't exit his car. I think he was stunned. He finally pulls into a nearby parking spot. He still waits a considerable amount of time to get out. Maybe he was surveying the damage to the roof of the Subaru from the inside? When he finally gets out, he just stares at the mangled mess where his bicycle and roof rack formerly existed.
In what I thought to be a quiet voice, I made a comment, half to myself, half to Toebzilla, "That's an expensive mistake". Despite the distance between us, the driver, who appeared to be of the more laid-back early-twenties variety, looks over at me and just yells "Fuck!". I could do no more than to reply with a consoling "Yup!" and continue on my way with Toebzilla.
It's been one of those days.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Microsoft Settlement Refund...umm, wow Part 2
Previous Post, August 14, 2006
Previous Post, September 30, 2003
Monday, September 12, 2016
Daenerys Targaryen decision matrix (only spoilers if you know nothing, John Snow)
Enjoy this Game of Thrones humor
Friday, September 09, 2016
Limited lifespan of Habitable Zones around other stars [and a loosely held secret finally revealed about me]
 |
| Habitable Zone around a Red Dwarf star |
I've been fascinated by the idea of planets around other stars since I was young. In fact, I developed several fictional solar systems, one of which became the basis for an online gaming and science fiction club. That solar system is called Greeop System,[001] which inspired the development of many more solar systems and formed the basis of many gaming and fictional story plots.[002]
At some point, I stumbled across the book Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon In The Universe (2000), which is one of the earliest sources that discusses the idea of Habitable Zones around stars.
What's a Habitable Zone? If a terrestrial planet orbits its sun at just the right distance, that sun provides the right amount of light and other energy to make life more likely, given several other factors. If a planet is too close to its sun, it is likely too hot. If a planet is too far from its sun, it is likely too cold. This is why Habitable Zones are sometimes called Goldilocks Zones, in reference to the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears and finding options that are "just right" between two extremes.
In the past decade, the concept of Habitable Zone has been refined. From the study Habitable Zone Lifetimes of Exoplanets around Main Sequence Stars, it is now often defined similar to,
...the circumstellar distance at which surface temperatures allow liquid water to be present on the planet’s surface, assuming variable H2O/CO2/CH4 greenhouse forcings. The Habitable Zone has a minimum and maximum extent, forming inner (closer to the star) and outer boundaries that are set in part by biogeochemical climate feedback mechanisms and stellar luminosity.[003]
Yeah, Goldilocks metaphor seems to get the point across easier. The question is, what's "just right" for life? Star size and age appear to play the substantial roles in setting the limits of a Habitable Zone. Not only is the Habitable Zone different between large and small stars, it can move over the life-cycle of a star. For example, main sequence stars gradually output more energy over billions of years. A planet that initially forms within the Habitable Zone of a young star might not remain in the Habitable Zone later in the star's life-span. It is predicted that our Sun will be so hot in 1.75B years, surface water will no longer be possible on Earth, presumably making life on Earth no longer sustainable.[003]
If a planet has the right conditions and resides within the Habitable Zone, life still has to appear and evolve in some sort of sequence. Taking Earth as the only example we have,
Of course, a lot of this is based on assumptions that life on other planets will resemble life that formed on Earth. Maybe life of different kinds exist in the Universe.[004] The rules may be different for different kinds of life. Maybe Earth is extremely unusual. Worse, maybe we will not be able to immediately recognize other forms of life simply because it is so different from our experience. As more information is gathered, these issues will hopefully be addressed.
Pirmary reference:
Andrew J. Rushby, Mark W. Claire, Hugh Osborn, and Andrew J. Watson. Astrobiology. September 2013, 13(9): 833-849. doi:10.1089/ast.2012.0938, Habitable Zone Lifetimes of Exoplanets around Main Sequence Stars.
Response:
Voat.co
If a planet has the right conditions and resides within the Habitable Zone, life still has to appear and evolve in some sort of sequence. Taking Earth as the only example we have,
... this stepwise progression began with the origin of life, continued through the transition from replicating molecules to RNA and then DNA [1B years after Earth formation], from prokaryotes to eukaryotes [1.5 to 2.5B yrs after Earth formation] and cell differentiation [3.5 to 4B yrs after Earth formation], and concluded with the final step from primate to human societies [4.54B years after Earth formation].[003]However, if just one of these steps takes a lot longer, there is a drastically lessened chance of having enough time to develop intelligent life similar to humans; assuming the march toward more intelligent creatures is inherent to the process of evolution on different planets. Different stars may also extend or reduce the time-frame within which life may appear and develop. Larger stars will have short Habitable Zone lifespans. Smaller stars, such as Red Dwarfs may have very long and stable Habitable Zone lifespans.
Of course, a lot of this is based on assumptions that life on other planets will resemble life that formed on Earth. Maybe life of different kinds exist in the Universe.[004] The rules may be different for different kinds of life. Maybe Earth is extremely unusual. Worse, maybe we will not be able to immediately recognize other forms of life simply because it is so different from our experience. As more information is gathered, these issues will hopefully be addressed.
Pirmary reference:
Andrew J. Rushby, Mark W. Claire, Hugh Osborn, and Andrew J. Watson. Astrobiology. September 2013, 13(9): 833-849. doi:10.1089/ast.2012.0938, Habitable Zone Lifetimes of Exoplanets around Main Sequence Stars.
Response:
Voat.co
Article Series:
- Limited lifespan of Habitable Zones around other stars [and a loosely held secret finally revealed about me]
- Small stars may have stable Habitable Zones, but habitable planets might not be common there
- Habitable Planets around White Dwarfs
- Habitable Worlds Around Binary Star Systems might not match Sci-fi
- How many Earth-like planets are orbiting Sun-like stars?
- First round of life in the Universe might have been possible extremely early
- Factors a planet needs for suitability of life; perhaps
- "Goldilocks zone of metallicity" on a galactic scale
- Maybe we are the first
Monday, September 05, 2016
Wind what?
The definition of "turbine" is a bit more broad. A turbine is a machine that converts the movement of a fluid into rotary motion.TD With that definition, a mill is a type of turbine. However, a turbine is not necessarily a mill.
There is no specific word that provides a special name for an electricity producing turbine, so the word turbine itself is used. Turbine is also used to name machines that make electricity from flowing water, such as those found at Hoover Dam.HD So, that giant tower with spinning blades that produces electricity is more correctly called a wind turbine. A collection of wind turbines at one location are frequently referred to as "wind farms".
Interesting modern examples of wind power in use
There's even a wind-powered record player! Well, that's mostly art, but apparently it works well. Then, there's this guy, William Kamkwamba, who built wind turbines and pumps for his village in Malawi at a time of famine and when such luxaries were only experienced by 2% of their population.
Sunday, September 04, 2016
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Friday, August 12, 2016
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Monday, August 08, 2016
Sunday, August 07, 2016
Tuesday, August 02, 2016
Getting lost on the elevator
As the elevator doors open, two tween girls exit and run off. I walk into the car with Towbzilla. The lady, her son and dog follow. We both choose the same floor near the top. As the elevator doors began to close, the two tweens re-enter the elevator. They announce they got off on the wrong floor, for some obnoxious reason. The lady and I don't say anything as the elevator doors are finally allowed to shut. Now, for some reason, this elevator is rigged so that if the doors are held open for too long, when the doors are finally allowed to shut, they give off one long buzz while the doors shut at an extra slow speed. So, let me just buzz to simulate that annoyance: "buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" OK, the doors finally shut and the elevator starts to move upward.
The elevator stops at the 2nd floor. The doors open. No one enters and no one exits. The tweens giggle while one of them explains how they keep getting out on the wrong floor. As the doors shut again, I lean over and point to the buttons, saying "Ya'no, you generally use these buttons to choose floors on which you actually wish to exit." The lady, who was bent over tending to her excited dog looks up at me with a big grin and chuckling. As funny as that was, this comment unfortunately triggers the girls to go into several excuses about why they kept picking the wrong floors, including something about them just moving-in to the apartment complex, then something about some other girl that was apparently lost on the elevator just minutes before, and a story about them going to the wrong apartment earlier in the day.
The lady cordially responds with a reconciliatory comment about how her son (the same in the elevator with us) once entered the wrong apartment on the wrong floor by walking in an older Chinese gentlemen. I'm sure her son was thinking to himself "Thanks Mom!".
The tweens finally find their floor. This allows the elevator to move upward unencumbered by any further wrong floor choices. The lady, her son and dog exit on the same floor as I. Toebzilla keeps his composure the whole ride up, despite the giggly tweens, multiple stops and the excited dog. The lady and I cordially excuse ourselves with a couple of "take-cares".
I reward Toebzilla for behaving, and our remaining walk back to the apartment was uneventful.
Monday, August 01, 2016
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Friday, July 29, 2016
Trouble with Wikileaks emails from DNC: as far as I can tell, no "election manipulation" is actually in the emails
You know what I've seen no one do? Look through the emails and talk about any actual evidence of election manipulation. I've seen journalist use rather dicey innuendo regarding email content, but not much else.
Most of emails are just reports. What conversations I've seen are just people expressing their opinions and/or making strategies in support of those opinions and desires (like how best to get certain points across to their constituents). I've not seen anyone showing anything from the emails about rigging the primaries.
The party insiders are supposed to be neutral by their own party rules, but I don't really care about DNC or any party's rules. I'm not a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Greenie, etc. Even if I were, I still wouldn't care because I understand that people are people. We Americans all have the rights to our own opinions, and the rights to pursue our own interests. What would've suprized me? Seeing every person in the DNC expressing complete neutrality regarding who is going to represent their party in the General Election.
The DNC rules aren't laws of the land. The only person that needs to be upset, maybe, is Sanders since he was working under one set of rules, and others where not. In the end, it still just people expressing their opinions and trying to work towards goals they feel are best for their interests. None of this has anything to do with me, and none of this is in anyway a "manipulation" of elections.
If someone can dig up something that shows election rigging, then we have a story, as well as an actual crime. Maybe it is buried somewhere deep in the emails. I've not see it. I'd be interested to see if something like that pops up. The fact that no journalist have dug it up suggests that it's just not there.
At this point, after looking through the emails myself, I'm forming the opinion that anyone that uses the terms "manipulate" or "rigged" in reference to the primary elections based on these emails is being dishonest or honestly doesn't know what they are talking about (which is still a form of dishonesty).
I'm also now of the opinion that Julian Assange, who has made several incendiary statements regarding the content of these emails, is full of nonsense. What little good he did in the distant past is now been cancelled out by his modern behavior.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Monday, July 18, 2016
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Thursday, July 07, 2016
Tuesday, July 05, 2016
Monday, July 04, 2016
Sunday, July 03, 2016
Friday, July 01, 2016
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Seattle, yet again.
Seattle is always a great place to visit. Every time I travel to there, I enjoy something new.
Chihuly Garden and Glass museum near the Space Needle is wonderland of glass sculptures.
Had a great find for lunch while in Kirkland, DERU Market. Everything was delicious.
I found an awesome trendy restaurant in downtown Seattle, called Purple Cafe & Wine Bar. The waiter even provided me with a customized wine flight based on my dinner choices.
I made my way to the Everett Marina while I was in the general area visiting Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour. Unless you are coming out for a picnic, the marina doesn't have too much going on for a tourist visit.
View from roof of Future of Flight center.
Chihuly Garden and Glass museum near the Space Needle is wonderland of glass sculptures.
From the Space Needle, lucky sunny day gave some great views of town.
Had a great find for lunch while in Kirkland, DERU Market. Everything was delicious.
I found an awesome trendy restaurant in downtown Seattle, called Purple Cafe & Wine Bar. The waiter even provided me with a customized wine flight based on my dinner choices.
I made my way to the Everett Marina while I was in the general area visiting Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour. Unless you are coming out for a picnic, the marina doesn't have too much going on for a tourist visit.
View from roof of Future of Flight center.
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