April 2007

First STEREO Images

The STEREO spacecraft has furnished its first 3D images. The images are taken from STEREO’s X-ray cameras; one taken from the “Ahead” spacecraft and one taken from the “Behind” spacecraft and then combined to produce the 3D effect.

To view these anaglyphic images in 3D you will need red-blue glasses, which you can get free from Rainbow Symphony.

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I also repackaged a lower-bandwidth video of the rotation of the solar disk leading up to the view of the Sun seen above. I even put some music to it to add some cinematic pizazz. Eat your heart out, Al Gore:

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A California Brown Pelican

I took this shot last Saturday from the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. As we stood there on the cliffs watching the waves, this handsome pelican soared just overhead, as it rode the updrafts above the cliffs.

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The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is 42-54 in (106-137 cm) in length, weighs from 6-12 lbs (2.75 to 5.5 kg) and has a wingspan from 6 to 8.2 ft. (1.83 to 2.5 m).

A Fallen Angel

Damsel and I are deeply saddened by the death of Lt. Cdr. Kevin Davis in the crash of Blue Angels F/A-18 Aircraft Six. We extend our thoughts and prayers for this amazing pilot and to his family and friends. We also stand with the Blue Angels Squadron in solidarity for the healing to come.

Damsel captured this photo of Angel Number Six at the 2006 MCAS Miramar Air Show.

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Here is a short article about Lt Cdr. Davis:

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OMG! Somebody Call the Vatican!

. . . and see if they’re missing a fountain!

I took this photo of the elaborate fountain in front of the clubhouse at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The sheer gaudiness made me think of the line from a movie where one of the principal characters made the remarks about the Vatican missing a fountain. Can you remember which movie?

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Catch and Release Program

It’s springtime and the garden is sprouting – but there are those who would help themselves to our veggies-to-be. The answer to controlling pilferage isn’t always pesticides – especially when it comes to controlling cute little fuzzy squirrels. Our preferred method in this case is to catch and repatriate. A nearby park will provide shelter and a place for this particular squirrel to forage.

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In the picture above – squirrel’s eye view of a Havahart trap – later at the park, the release and scamper up a convenient pine tree.

Psychedelic School Bus

During my lunchtime walk, I spotted this interesting-looking vehicle parked behind the mall. One side was an undersea scene and the other side was parrots in trees. I did not see or smell any hippies, however.

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No Guns for Cho – What Then?

no-guns.jpgKeep in mind that Cho Seung-Hui is the only one responsible for the massacre at Virginia Tech. Nobody else was involved. He was absolutely determined to cause death and pain to those whom he had come to despise, including himself.

So, what would Cho have done if nobody were to have sold him a gun? My thoughts are that he would have gone to the dorm, bludgeoned the woman to death with a legally-purchased hammer or other trauma-inducing “weapon,” and then proceed to engineering classes with a home-made explosive device (again, made with legally purchased materials) and proceed to blow himself and an unknown number of students to kingdom come. After all, the latter method is used almost daily by homicide bombers in the Middle East — why not by Cho as well?

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