Intelligent Life

With the size of the universe as it is, I cannot believe there isn’t something else out there. There must be intelligent life somewhere else. Take for example the image below from NASA, it shows one galaxy, Andromeda, but there are more than 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe.

So what are the chances intelligent life will ever be discovered? Without an ansible or a better understanding of the quantum non-local connection, the chances are slim.

The galaxy, known as M31 in the constellation Andromeda, is the largest and closest spiral galaxy to our own. This mosaic of M31 merges 330 individual images taken by Swift’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope. The image shows a region 200,000 light-years wide and 100,000 light-years high (100 arcminutes by 50 arcminutes).

Andromeda Galaxy (NASA, Swift satellite)

Thank you NASA for doing what you do.

Renee Zellweger’s Sami Ancestry

Tonight Renee Zellweger appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman while Courtney Cox appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Zellweger’s family is from Europe and her mother Kjellfried Irene (née Andreassen) is Norwegian-born and of Sami origins.

The Sami People are among the largest indigenous ethnic groups in Northern Europe, between 83,400-133,400 people still live there, mostly in Norway (Wiki). Their flag is awesome too.

Multiple Approach – Avoid Conflict UPDATED

What are your thoughts on Amazon’s Kindle electronic reading device?

Earlier today I was forwarded two .pdf documnents (about 50 pgs) that I need to read for class. My preference would be to print them out for reading and have the ability to make margin notes. But I can’t do this with a clear conscience knowing the amount of paper I would use if I did this for each reading (close to 1,000 pgs for this one class). Furthermore, what will I do with the paper after the class. The readings would be a good resource, but for how long?

So I thought — maybe I should just buy a Kindle. With a Kindle I could read .pdf and .doc files, and make notes, all without paper. I know Kindles have a carbon footprint, but isn’t it less than using all that paper? A summary of a recent analysis on Kindle’s carbon footprint is found here.

I suppose I could just read the papers on my computer and make notes on scratch paper, or even a word .doc but then I wouldn’t have the source in front of me during class.

Is it really worth spending $300.00?

UPDATE: Just found a nice blog with a video about the Kindle 2.0 and .pdf. Turns out in order for Kindle to use .pdf you have to go through a conversion process that basically obliterates the format of the document. This is a deal-breaker for me. Looks like I won’t be buying a Kindle in the near future. Tables and figures are just to important to lose (or make vastly more difficult to understand).

Something about Elizabeth Taylor.

Anytime there is a spike of interest in my blog, indicated by page views, I can almost immediately attribute it to Elizabeth Taylor searches. Earlier this Summer I attended the Brazos Center Senior Expo for research purposes and saw a Taylor impersonator. I wrote about this experience on my blog. Orginally, I thought it was just celebrity worship, but I don’t think this is the case now.

Since then, “Elizabeth Taylor” and variants of her name (e.g. Liz Taylor) has been the largest search engine term that has directed people to Blogger5000. Almost a thousand people have come to my site to gather information about her (and probably left dissapointed…). I have yet to figure out why there is such sustained interest. Is this phenom akin to interest in leading ladies like Marilyn Monroe or Bettie Page? My only association with her is eau du toilette and department stores.

Stump Removal Ideas?

Meagan and I moved into our new apartment in late May. We were mostly gone for the month of June, but when we returned to Texas we decided we would do a few home improvements, we will be living in the same apartment for 3 years. We have a small fenced in backyard that has a small cement pad outside the patio door, definitely not enough room to set up chairs and have a grill. Therefore, we decided we would lay down a few cement pavers and make a new and improved outdoor living space. I started digging out a 10′ x 5′ area in mid-July and have been working on it in spurts.

The digging itself is a pain. I have to dig down around 3 inches so I can pour in sand to level the area and then put the 1″ pavers on top of the sand. The dirt, if you want to call it that, is hard as rocks in Texas. It didn’t help that we had been without rain for weeks on end. We got a few days of rain and I tried to dig the following day with some success. The digging is 90% complete.

On the other hand, there is a stump that is about 8″ in diameter that has become the bigger issue. The stump would have to be extricated. First, the shovel was handy so I just started hacking at the stump, this didn’t last long.

Shovel vs. Stump –> Stump hands-down winner

Then our neighbors suggested we just burn it or use M-80s to blow it up. I’m clean out of M-80s but I thought the fire idea was brilliant, the path of least resistance, and fires are awesome. So I dosed it with gasoline and lit it on fire, the flames lasted approximately a half hour but did little damage to the stump.

Fire vs. Stump –> Stump is without a doubt the winner

For the month of July we housesitted for a family, they had an bow saw hanging in their garage so I thought I would use that. But first, I used my drill and the largest bit I have to bore several holes into the stump. I sawed and sawed and sawed, but to little visible success.

Bow-Saw + Drill vs. Stump  –> Stump Wins (albeit looking a little worse for wear, charred and full of holes)

Today, while I was waiting for an oil-change at a local big-box store I looked around for an axe. The store had every other tool, spades, hoes, post-hole diggers, rakes, but no axes. I explained this to the man behind the automotive counter and he suggested going to Tractor Supply Center for my axe need. I went to TSC and purchased a 2 1/2 lb. single bit, hickory handled Michigan axe, a beautiful specimen. Surely, the stump could not withstand this onslaught, I thought.

Before going home I went past a local equipment rental store, I decided to pop-in and see about a chain-saw too. I had a chain-saw rented ($40.00/4 hrs), until the salesperson realized my purpose. “Why not use a stump grinder?” he asked. He added, “You would ruin the chainsaw if you used it to get a stump out.”

I had no idea a tool existed specifically for stump removal, I’m beginning to think I’m in over my head with this project. Those of you who don’t know, stump grinders are beasts of machines, all for one purpose. I didn’t get the rental rate because I don’t have anything to transport the machine, I am sure it would have been expensive. The axe would have to work.

After chopping for 30 min, the axe has been the most effective. The stump’s status now is: charred, full of holes, saw-marked, chopped, but most importantly, 20% extricated.

Axe vs. Stump –> It will be marathon battle, but the axe WILL be the victor.

If you have a better idea for my stump problem, please share.

p.s. I’ve looked online and found a few organic removal options, such as the application of nitrogen, but this is too slow.

Associated Content

Adam Schenck’s Contributor Page – Associated Content

http://www.associatedcontent.comuser/423456/adam_schenck.html

Drapeau de la France

I changed my custom header today to the colors and arrangment of the French flag. I was able to find the RGB values of the flag and used powerpoint to create the image for upload.

I aslo created an American flag with RGB values with all the stripes and all the stars. Wikipedia has a nice page on the flag and includes the exact dimensions of Old Glory, rest assured mine doesn’t match up. It was tedious work, and probably all for naught, but I’m happy I did it. Heraldry is a provocative thing.

Adventitiously I noticed the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico has suggested a 51-star alternative:

My first real celebrity contact? Mythbuster Adam Savage

When I created my account on Twitter, I didn’t know who to follow. When I signed in, I saw very few messages and was discouraged by the social networking site. After awhile, I asked Google to tell me who to follow. I got several suggestions and now I follow people like Lance Armstrong, Johann Bruyneel, Rainn Wilson, and Adam Savage of the Mythbusters. I of course read their updates and as you might imagine I was interested in the tweets of Lance and Johann during the TDF. I am also amused by Rainn Wilson’s musings.

Reading their status updates was akin to being a voyeur, but a sanctioned voyeur. It wasn’t until I made contact with Adam Savage that I became more than an observer.

I’ve seen celebrities before, but never engaged them. In 2001, friends and I went to Omaha, NE to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Foo Fighters. As we checked into our room at the Embassy Suites and were waiting in the lobby, John Frusciante walked in, his face buried in a chinese take-out box. Anthony Kiedis walked through the lobby going the other way singing “American Band.” Then we saw Chad Smith in the Bar with Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. After the show we went to Foo guitarist Chris Shifflett’s room where he and Flea, and other fans, were sitting in a living room area discussing “Office Space” and not drinking. None of the fans spoke, we all just listened.

Most notably though was when I saw Leonardo DiCaprio at the Villa Borghese in Rome, Italy. The Villa Borghese was used by Cardinal Scipione Borghese and family as their home in the city and to house their art collection, which includes works by the famous sculptor, Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Leo wore a “Gangs of New York” hat and had a large entourage. As he toured the gallery, he emulated the famous sculptures. In front of the David (below) he crouched down to mimic the pose. At Apollo and Daphne (also below) he actually touched the delicate marble leaves, a big no-no. I didn’t talk to Leo though, I’m pretty sure his entourage would have dropped me.

On Twitter though, people can converse with the celebrities they follow. Yesterday, Adam Savage tweeted:

Please RT!Life expectancy in countries with Universal Healthcare vs. the US. http://bit.ly/yHnEM

The web-address links to a figure of several countries with Universal Health care and their life expectancies. Savage’s point was that people in countries with universal healtcare live longer.

I responded:

@donttrythis As a mythbuster, are you sure you can trust that Universal Health Care CAUSES increased life expectancy?

@donttrythis I apologize if that came off as snide. Universal Health Care sounds great, but I’m not sure it will make us live longer…

Now today, Savage has responded, but not to me directly. Does that mean I talked to a celebrity?

Okay okay. I totally agree correlation /= causation. AND I won’t post another graph w/o documentation. If the Public Option goes away …

Apollo & Daphne (G. Bernini, 1625)

David (Bernini, 1624)

SD senator finds ice cream in desk

Autotune is great. This video features two senators from SD (min 1:14).

Le Tour 2009

Back from Vermillion, got married you know.
Back from Playa Del Carmen, had to honeymoon you know.

Great News. Got connected to the internet and was a offered a free month of cable TV coinciding perfectly with the Tour de France 2009. I’m so excited. Don’t try to reach me from July 4th to July 26th.

Too Bad Vino was banned.