CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-17 03:27:41 (5 comments, 10 reshares, 39 +1s)

Thought this might be worth sharing.

2013-05-17 02:34:39 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 42 +1s)

Happy Old Dog: An update

Leah, my 13 year old mutt, is starting to do better. We still have her wearing a harness that allows us to help her up and down the stairs, but she's able to go out and bask in a sunbeam on our porch at her leisure. 

The diagnosis was vestibular disease. If you want to learn more so you can help your old guy or gal when they are in need, read up about the problem here: http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2011/oct/old_dog_vestibular_disease

2013-05-15 06:05:15 (7 comments, 5 reshares, 40 +1s)

Faith In Humanity = Restored 

A while back, my friends and fellow science folks, +Pamela Gay , +Nicole Gugliucci (and a ton of others) wrote about Kiera Wilmot - a high school student who performed an "unsanctioned" science experiment, and was expelled from school and arrested on FELONY charges. 

Someone who is familiar with making things go "pop" and getting arrested in high school for "science" is Homer Hickam, author of "Rocket Boys" and you know, real-life rocket scientist. 

Homer has come to the aid of Kiera, and has also started a scholarship fundraiser for her twin sister. 

#beremarkable   #rocketboys   #scienceisnotcrime   #scienceeveryday  

2013-05-13 19:07:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for another live episode of Astronomy Cast. This week we'll talk about Planetary Migration, how the planets formed and then moved around in the Solar System.

------
Astronomy Cast Episode 301: Planetary Migration

We're so familiar with the current configuration of the planets in the Solar System, but did the planets always orbit in this way? Did they form further out and then migrate inward to their current positions? And what about other star systems out there? 

#ac301  

2013-05-13 15:54:51 (15 comments, 8 reshares, 48 +1s)

Using the Space Station as a Film Set

I saved watching +Chris Hadfield's "Space Oddity" music video for Monday morning. The whole time I was watching it I kept thinking, "They must have recorded the audio before he took off." Listen to the room ambience on the guitar parts and the quality (likely bitrate) of the guitar audio. It is completely different from the vocals which sound studio quality. This implies that before he took off, some awesome individual approved this video and agreed that time and resources would be spent using the ISS as a film set, and more time and resources would be spent taking all the videos (It looks like Chris could have done it alone) and then editing it all together (I'm guessing it was a pro on Earth). I suspect there was someone involved on Earth who helped direct the cinematography, but if there wasn't +Chris Hadfield is... more »

2013-05-12 03:59:20 (10 comments, 2 reshares, 44 +1s)

I never realized how erotic irises could be. From come hither poses to Georgia O'Keefe inspiring pedal formations, these Irises are beckoning the zoom lens. 

2013-05-12 03:44:59 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

It is supposed to ran tomorrow, so I took a dose of flowers today.

2013-05-10 20:00:04 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 33 +1s)

The Yard is Buzzing

I was trying to take some pictures of the evening sun on one of our shurbs, but found myself instead photographing BEES.

2013-05-10 15:27:35 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Speaking Truth to Power: The Once and Future Speech

On June 19, 1996 (when I was 22) I was able to give a brief speech to the Democratic Forum on Science and Technology Research. I found the text of that speech over the weekend and was amazed at the relevancy of it today. The full text is available on my blog below, by here is the part that I wish most that people would remember:

Without the ability to allow students to taste the thrill of discovery young, as I did, many will never learn an appreciation of science, and good students will enter nontechnical fields. Without continued funding now, current college students will leave research for the more lucrative field of computer science and finance.

I'm going to Baltimore for Balticon at the end of May, and prior to that event I'm going to try to go to DC on my own dime to try and speak to the politicians who... more »

2013-05-10 01:00:16 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +1s)

Evening storms flee into the sunset

2013-05-08 22:58:55 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

YouTube link (works on mobile devices): Learning Space with the Dawn Mission 

This week, we're talking to the Dawn team about their mission to the asteroid Vesta.

Dawn's year-long orbit of Vesta, its first destination in the main asteroid belt, revealed a mysterious world unique in the solar system. Roughly the diameter of the state of Arizona, Vesta is at once huge by asteroid standards (indeed, planetary scientists consider it a mini-planet), and yet small enough in radius that impacts make a whopping impression.

Unlocking Vesta's mysteries are two of Dawn mission's participating scientists:
Brett Denevi studies Vesta's regolith, the relatively fluffy surface layer, made of dust and rocky debris leftover by impacts.

Paul Schenk explores Vesta's craters, especially their weird shapes—often caused by that shifting regolith—andthe t... more »

2013-05-08 00:08:29 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Curious about how space exploration inspires and influences muscians and artists? Join us as we speak with Matt Sheehy, lead singer of the band Lost Lander! Matt will share his inspirations, thoughts on space exploration, the band's own space related experiences, and more! Based in Portland, Oregon, Lost Lander released their first album (DRRT) in 2012, which featured a 'planetarium' case and that you can check out here: http://lostlander.bandcamp.com/music!

2013-05-07 07:34:55 (4 comments, 7 reshares, 17 +1s)

Helping to fix the wrongness in the world

TL;DR: You can donate to Kiera Wilmot's legal fund on crowd tilt. 

Several days ago I posted about student Kiera Wilmot, a teenager in Florida who did a standard science demo/experiment of mixing aluminum and cleaner in a soda bottle, causing it to pop. This is not something she should have been doing at school without permission, but... She's a teenager and all us science geeks blew up something at some point as a teen. Her teacher reported her (her principle defended her), and she was arrested and removed from school in handcuffs, despite good grades and attendance and her principle's support. Her school has permanently expelling her from school and the DA leveled felony charges against her, filing the charges as an adult. Should she be prosecuted, this means she will be permanently banned from some jobs and potentially... more »

2013-05-06 19:02:06 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for a live episode of Astronomy Cast. Watch us record an episode of the show, and then stick around to ask us your questions about space and astronomy.

---------------------------

Astronomy Cast, Episode 300: What We've Learned in Almost 7 Years

We created Astronomy Cast to be timeless, a listening experience that's as educational in the future as it was when we started recording. But obviously, things have changed in almost 7 years and 300 episodes. Today we'll give you an update on some of the big topics in space and astronomy. What did we know back then, and what additional stuff do we know now?

#ac300

2013-05-03 22:43:21 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 23 +1s)

It's Friday. I'm home. This is my time & my time will used to write my representatives about the need to fund science & science education. Join me? 

2013-05-02 18:59:24 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for a live recording of Astronomy Cast. We'll record the episode live in a Google+ Hangout, and then stick around and answer your questions about space and astronomy.

----------

Astronomy Cast 299: Space Stations, Part 4: Future Space Stations

Sometimes a trilogy needs four parts. We've looked at the history and modern era of space stations but now it's time to peer into the future at some space station concepts still in the works. Most of these will never fly, but the ideas are important. We can't call ourselves a true spacefaring civilization until humans live permanently outside the Earth. 

2013-05-02 07:04:21 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 63 +1s)

Sometimes you just have to focus in the middle.

2013-05-02 07:37:57 (2 comments, 5 reshares, 30 +1s)

When life gives you shit, find the manure fork

This afternoon I reached a point where the realities in my twitter stream drove me to walk away from my desk, and go to the barn to muck stalls. I needed to take the metaphor of the day and turn it into literal throwing of shit in a useful manner where I could see solid results.

I didn't find any answers at the barn, but at least I channeled my anger into something useful.

At the end of the day, the only thing I really know is that when I see a pile of shit, I need to find the manure fork and start shoveling.

I wish it was as easy to deal with the shit of life as it is to deal with the shit at the barn. It should be. We live in a democratic nation, and (in theory at least) we can affect change through our actions.

From concerns over the new budget, to fears about possible new legislation that... more »

2013-05-02 02:29:30 (8 comments, 4 reshares, 50 +1s)

Just read +Philip Plait's post about the US Government Attacking science, and I just had to create this meme to go along with it.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/05/01/attacks_on_science_government_antiscience_on_the_rise.html

2013-05-01 19:43:41 (19 comments, 3 reshares, 18 +1s)

Why the HELL is my government attacking so science so much?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/05/01/attacks_on_science_government_antiscience_on_the_rise.html

I am very angry about this, and decided to vent about it. If you're angry too, then do something. Write your Congresscritter. Talk to other people. Post about it. But these attacks on science, on reality, must stop.

2013-05-02 01:35:44 (357 comments, 194 reshares, 497 +1s)

This is wrong.

UPDATE 1: There is a petition started on Change.org: http://chn.ge/16oQoU6

UPDATE 2: A followup news article is here: http://bit.ly/ZWk0nF

TL;DR version: Teen does science, it gets messy, she gets expelled and charged as an adult with a felony. If I was rich, I'd get her a lawyer and a private school education. I'm not rich, but if someone sets up an Indiegogo after reaching out to the girl, I'll gladly give.

editorial
According to the linked news article a curious student was doing random science experiments of the "Mix this and see what happens" variety. What she mixed - toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum - had a smoky reaction that exploded a soda bottle. No damage was caused. No one was hurt... unless you take into consideration the girl's future. She was expelled and according to the storyw... more »

2013-04-30 21:38:23 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 41 +1s)

The air is buzzing with bees. Flowers are everywhere, filling the air with lilac and apple blossoms. The heat of summer is starting to test the functioning of our air conditioners, but for today at least, we can open the windows and enjoy the spring.

2013-04-29 19:00:42 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for a live episode of Astronomy Cast, recorded right here on Google+. We'll record today's episode (the International Space Station), and then stick around and answer your questions about space and astronomy.

#ac298  
---------

Astronomy Cast 298: Space Stations, Part 3: International Space Station

And now we reach the third part in our trilogy on space stations, with the largest vehicle ever assembled in space: the International Space Station. Launched in 1998, it now consists of 450 metric tonnes of modules, power systems and spacecraft and is regular host to a handful of astronauts from many countries. 

2013-04-29 04:08:11 (16 comments, 1 reshares, 23 +1s)

I found an interesting "feature" with the new auto-mute in hangouts

This feature does not listen for the sound of typing. It triggers based on the rate of keystrokes. If you type slowly enough, no muting occurs. If you manually turn off your mic, and type, it mutes you anyways.

Here's the unintended consequence. If you have a production machine being used to stream videos into the hangout with sound going through something like Soundflower, you still can't type on that computer without getting muted. That's right, when the audio is coming straight from Quicktime and getting digitally plugged into the Hangout, you are still auto-muted even though no one can hear you type.

I would totally adore a switch that would allow me turn off the automatic muting.

2013-04-28 04:51:21 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 24 +1s)

2013-04-27 19:07:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

"Do you look up on a clear night and gaze in wonder at the stars deep in the Universe? They provoke inspiration and awe, a moment of calm, quiet, and peace in our hectic world. Serene Universe combines the awe of the Universe with these healing moments of serenity. It is a unique one hour film experience in which images and music are intimately intertwined. Starting on our beautiful planet, Serene Universe takes you slowly above the Earth, into the Solar System, the Galaxy, Deep Space and finally your inner space. Serene Universe is an entirely independent project by Maarten Roos and William Zeitler."

2013-04-26 23:01:20 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Dan Goods has been working as the Visual Strategist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 10 years. While there he has had the opportunity to work on a number of interesting projects. From drilling a hole into a grain of sand, to projecting onto aerogel, to simulating the surface of Jupiter. These are just some of the projects Dan will share the concepts behind, as well as some behind the scenes stories that will give insight into his creative process and the NASA missions he has worked with.

2013-04-25 21:27:23 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 36 +1s)

Flowering too soon, the apple tree shows off it's white blossoms to a spring still too cold for bees. This premature flowering will decrease our crop, but given that this tree is over 2-stories tall, I suspect we will still be drowning in fruit come fall.

2013-04-25 21:17:23 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 31 +1s)

Camera lenses refocus the world, bringing out details and blurring out the unwanted visual noise.

I always knew this plant was called a "Bleeding Heart", but it wasn't until I zoomed in on these delicate pink flowers that I saw the broken pink hearts bleeding out their odd white stamens. I don't know how I so long missed it.

2013-04-25 20:08:59 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

As a part of GAM 2013 AstroArt efforts, Nahum Chazarra will be presenting three of his video work:

“8 Years Around Saturn” -- a video was created using the images taken by Cassini probe of the Saturnian system since 2004.
“Dawn at Vesta: 8 Months in Orbit” -- the video summarizes 8 months of Dawn orbiting asteroid Vesta using the image sequences taken by Dawn in visible light and some 3D landscapes extracted from real images.
“Total Lunar Eclipse 15 June 2011” --  the total lunar eclipse from Granada, Spain in 2011.

Video screen followed by Q&A session on 25 April at 20:00 - 20:30 UT


"I never realized the power of the NASA image archives until I was searching for some full resolution images of Mars from the Viking missions. I was so incredibly amazed by all the imagery that was completely forgotten that I couldn't resist looking atevery single... more »

2013-04-25 17:51:45 (2 comments, 5 reshares, 16 +1s)

We make our own future

At CosmoQuest we are looking at very real funding delays and cuts as the programs we rely on to fund the education, programming and communications parts of our staff is reorganized and zeroed.

Despite these trials, we will find ways to keep going.

We are going to build our future. We are going to find ways – silly, serious, and perhaps seemingly insane – to fund our future. And once we’re done funding our future, we’re going to keep going, and we’re going to try to grow our future and find ways to contract some of the amazing people who will lose their jobs in the current cuts and find ways to keep them doing amazing things to communicate science to you.

Build with us? Will you work with us to make a more scientific future?

2013-04-25 06:02:37 (14 comments, 2 reshares, 31 +1s)

This morning Kyle, who got up before me, came flying in to wake me, saying something was wrong with Leah.

Leah is a pitt bull – catahoula hound dog mix. She is my best friend of 13 years. This dog saw me through my dissertation. She was beside my bed through a broken off engagement, 1 serious relationship’s beginning, middle  & ending, and a 2nd serious relationship complete with marriage . She has been along for the ride on 3 cross-country moves, and has dealt with the boxes that came with 6 changes of address. She has caught frisbees and balls. She has nabbed blue jays out of the air (and they were wet angry and unharmed when I took them from her). She has caught snakes in the grass (it was, err, harmed when I took it from her… but it slithered away). She has caught minnows in the water (and eaten them whole). She barks to keep me safe (or because she’s bored). And she’ll curl upin bed wit... more »

2013-04-23 21:51:55 (5 comments, 14 reshares, 66 +1s)

I endorse this message.

ironically from "Fail Blog" http://chzb.gr/ZH6Fzv

2013-04-22 19:11:24 (3 comments, 20 reshares, 58 +1s)

Beakman's motor turns because its coil becomes an electromagnet, and it aligns itself to the small permanent magnet placed nearby.

But... that should only ALIGN the coil, not spin it. The coil will spin because the coil's two wires act as a commutator (rotary switch.) The coil bounces up and down as it turns. This interrupts the current at just the right time, and allows the coil to turn upside-down with the current off. Then the wires touch, the electromagnet turns on, and the coil again tries to align with the small magnet. 

#ScienceSunday  

here's a tutorial on how to make your own:  My Buckyballs Motor Tutorial.

2013-04-21 17:57:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Panel of astro-artisits; Matthew Whitehouse, Roger Malina, Richard Clar, and Daniela de Paulis will discuss how art changed after the launch of Sputnik, by presenting and examining works by contemporary artists. The live panel is on 21 April at 18:00 - 19:00 UT.

History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik, thus marking the dawn of the Space Age. With humankind gaining access into outer space for the first time in history, the launch of Sputnik changed the way we see our planet and we see ourselves in relation to the universe.

This event is endorsed by International Astronautical Federation Technical Activities Committee for the Cultural Utilisation of Space (ITACCUS).

2013-04-20 17:56:53 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Le Voyage dans la Lune (2011-2012) is a black and white film composed of 26 “moonbounced” images of the lunar phases by Daniela de Paulis. Watch the video online during GAM 2013 on 20 April at 18:00 -18:30 UT.

In September 2011, an amateur radio operator in Brazil transmitted the 26 images to the Moon in sequence, and the Dwingeloo radio telescope in the Netherlands received the signals after they reflected off of the Moon.  Because of the distance the radio signals traveled on their trip to the Moon and back, some data was lost along the way, giving the images a unique appearance.

Visual artist and filmmaker Daniela de Paulis conceived a technology called “visual moonbounce,” which she used to realize Le Voyage dans la Lune.  The artist has used “visual moonbounce” extensively in her project OPTICKS, a live performance between the Earth and the Moon.  Japan AerospaceExpoloration A... more »

2013-04-20 11:09:12 (135 comments, 175 reshares, 631 +1s)

After a week of rain and heartache the clouds finally parted, and in the evening sun the flowers of spring seemed to glow. Hiding inside, hiding from too much thunder, I'd missed them blossoming. 

No tornadoes touched down here this week. I know not everyone was so lucky.

I wish only quiet rest and love to those who faced all manner of horror in these past days. May your dawn break onto a day of beauty.

2013-04-19 20:07:33 (40 comments, 3 reshares, 26 +1s)

Boston, terrorism, and racial profiling of motive

I am a child of Massachusetts. My high school weekends were spent roaming MIT, taking classes with their Educational Studies Program. My summer days were punctuated with afternoons running around the Boston Museum of Science as my friends and I escaped the summer heat. We'd walk from MIT to the Museum, sometimes taking the long way, walking all the way to Newbury Street so we could check out the comics at Newbury Comics. Sometimes we'd duck through Copley Square, watching the rich ladies with their little dogs looking ever so pleased with themselves as they sashayed past the kids who practiced skate board tricks off of benches and railings. I have walked from the Harbor - from the North End and its Italian District, all the way across Boston and Cambridge to my home in Sommerville, all because it was a nice day and my music player... more »

2013-04-19 01:54:37 (16 comments, 5 reshares, 24 +1s)

The last image I posted was a bit confusing because it was a diagram of only the president's discretionary budget. The total budget break down is shown below.

What bothers me the most is we are spending more on interest on debt than on education + science + energy & environment combined.

Source: http://nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/

2013-04-19 01:50:16 (32 comments, 13 reshares, 20 +1s)

Update: The original source of this image is http://nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/
This is just one of several plots, and just as it says, it only addresses the President's discretionary funding. I will show the total budget in a moment

Sometimes a good visualization brings clarity to our governments priorities.

h/t +Kortney Hogan

2013-04-18 22:14:42 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

One of these, I hope, is not like the others.

I hope. 

But maybe it is.

2013-04-18 19:02:09 (54 comments, 81 reshares, 107 +1s)

I know I have been fairly quiet the past few weeks. I know, based on stats, that you've noticed my silence. My silence has been driven by funding fears and sequestration.

EDIT My blog is coming to a halt under your traffic. In response, I'm copying the entirety of my blog post below.

I have spent the past several weeks trying to figure out how to write this post. Sometimes emotions are so raw that they don’t readily shape themselves into words: They manifest themselves as a face that can’t smile, a head that throbs with a stress migraine, and with an exhaustion driven not by lack of sleep but rather deriving from the emotional exhaustion that just makes a person want to hide in a dark room locked away from the world. My head hurts. I am exhausted. My emotions are raw. I am writing now because there is a very real possibility that the proposed restructuring of the USedu... more »

2013-04-15 03:59:42 (32 comments, 1 reshares, 42 +1s)

People always imagine that living in rural America is somehow quiet. What they fail to realize is we have birds... lots of birds. Lots of loud angry birds.

This sparrow in particular likes to tweet his dismay from dawn til dusk.

Rural silence is a myth.