Category: Misc

This photo strikes me as very cool. It was taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) last week. In the image, you can see the tracks left by one of the Martian Rovers (Opportunity), and you can even see the rover itself!

Don't let the name throw you - this has nothing to do with dung. This guy makes miniature boats out of bits of stuff he finds washed up on the beach. I find them to be very beautiful and whimsical. Check out his Flickr photoset.

Check out this beautiful photo of the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy. This long-exposure photo was taken over a rock formation at Capitol Reef National Park, Utah in May 2003.

Another intersting find. This guy makes scupltures of figures out of old silverware and other kitchen implements. Very clever - I Dig them. Check out his work in his Flickr photoset.

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."

- Douglas Adams

I've been reading a book lately called "Origins", by Neil de Grasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith, which describes our current understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe. In general, it is written for the layman (or at least the college-educated layman, with a bit of physics background), but occasionally it slips off the deep end and it takes me a fair bit of thinking to get my mind around some of the details. When that happens, I agree with the second half of this quote - the universe really can be a bizarre and inexplicable place.

No big explanation this time - just a very cool picure taken during the most recent Discovery mission to the ISS.

I hit level 57 night before last, and am slowly homing in on 60 (the current level cap). I'm getting pretty excited to experience some of the end-game content, which I've heard a lot about but have never seen - places like Blackrock Spire, Molten Core, and Black Wing Lair. I've started to play around with some of the more advanced ideas in the game, like experimenting with different talent builds and building reputation with different factions. I wish I had know about that stuff earlier, as it would have been easier to do it right from the beginning. This game gets more fun the more I play it, and I've met a few interesting people lately - including some fellow parents of little ones. If anyone out there is also playing (or thinking of playing) this game, look me up! My main character is a Tauren warrior named Kwakanu, on the Earthen Ring server. My alts are an Undead mage named Dorowen, a Tauren hunter named Gorgonzola (with her pet lion named Milkdud, which cracks Lori up), and a Troll priest named Goulash.

This image was captured by the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it flew past Neptune on it's way out of the solar system. It was taken from 'behind' Neptune (the side away from the Sun), and is unique in the sense that it could never have been taken from the Earth. Neptune can never show a crescent phase towards the Earth, as we are on Neptune's sunward side. Another interesting fact is that Neptune does not have it's familiar blue color from behind, as the sunlight passing through it's atmosphere is scattered forward, rather than back, so it is reddened.

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

- Douglas Adams

This one is especially relevant for me recently. The past two weeks at work, we have been trying to get a baseline release of the software out, and it has been one problem after another. I spent my whole week putting out fires as one bug after another was discovered. Why don't customers seem to understand that with software there are really only two choices: it can either be on time, or it can work.

"It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase 'As pretty as an Airport' appear."

- Douglas Adams

Our recent trip inspired me to choose this quote. No deep meaning or anything - just an observation. Airports are dirty, ugly places, usually built decades ago. They all look the same, and they all look dull and uninspired. What ever happened to the attitude that travelling by air was exciting and adventurous? THis was before my time, of course, but I've read about it. People used to get dressed up to fly, and the whole thing had a carnival atmosphere that was shared by the passengers, flight attendants, gate agents - everyone involved. Now they charge you more than I paid for my first car, treat you like crap, make you pay for a snack, delay or bump your flights, and expect you to feel special that they decided to deal with you at all. Is it any wonder that airlines are declaring bankruptcy?