Monthly Archives: January 2010

Happy Birthday, Ceres

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Okay, I cheated.  It’s not the birthday of Ceres, it’s the anniversary of the discovery of Ceres, January 1st, 1801, by Guiseppe Piazzi.  Piazzi was looking for a star when he found Ceres, and initially thought it might be a comet (but had his suspicions he had discovered “something better”).

Named “Ceres” after the Roman goddess of motherly love and the harvest, Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt.  With a diameter of 590 miles, it contains fully a third of the belt’s mass.

File:Ceres Earth Moon Comparison.png
Ceres (bottom left) to scale.  Image:  NASA/JPL

Ceres is believed to have a rocky core, overlaid by a thick mantle of water ice about 100 km thick.  That would mean that Ceres is carrying around about 200 million cubic km of water, more than the volume of fresh water on the Earth.  This is difficult to confirm, because water ice on Ceres would be expected to sublimate (go directly from a solid to a gas, bypassing the liquid form… happens on Earth all the time) instead of evaporate.  Hopefully when the Dawn Space Probe reaches Ceres in 2015 we will find out for sure.  Ceres has a rotational period of 9 hours, 4 min, and an orbital period of 4.6 Earth years.  The orbit is inclined 10.6 degrees.  Once thought to be a member of the Gefion asteroid family, it has since been proven to have an uncommon origin.

File:Ceres Rotation.jpg
Image:  NASA/ESA  Hubble Space Telescope images of Ceres.  Nature of the “white spot” is unknown.

Spectral analysis of Ceres has shown some very interesting indicators for iron-rich phyllosilicates, making it the third object in our solar system discovered to have carbonates (the other two are Earth and Mars).

I’m looking forward to 2015.

If you’re interested, this is a link to a research paper on the surface composition of Ceres, published in 2006.

The Digital Cameras of 2000 Look Awfully Good For Their Age [Decades]

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This Canon PowerShot G1, released in 2000 and listed at Best Buy for $800 in 2001, has held up well. Sure, 3.34 megapixels isn't much, but spec for spec, this codger can almost hang with the kids.

Seriously, you could just post this spec sheet next to a Canon in a retail store now, and most people wouldn't bat an eye. They sure as hell wouldn't buy it, but they probably wouldn't say anything, either: In ten years, what have we gained? More megapixels, higher-quality video, some more ports, better low-light performance, smaller memory cards, better battery life, and a little compactness. Canon's cheapest P&S, the 10-megapixel Powershot A480, handily outspecs the $800 G1 for just $110 (though it doesn't have video). Today, if you hand Canon $800, they'll hand you back a DSLR that shoots HD video:

What's amazing, though, is that if you did spend $800 on this camera back in 2000, you could still use it today. It'd be beaten to hell, the zoom motor would sound like it had gained sentience and learned to experience real, mammalian pain, and the 16MB CF card would have been replaced with something a little roomier, but damnit, it would work—and your Facebook friends wouldn't know the difference. You can't say that about many gadgets from 10 years ago, so here's to you, Powershot: You were great, or your category moves slow. Whichever makes you feel better.



A Libertarian Punk looks at Obama’s America 2010 and Shouts WTF?

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Liberals are Fucking Crazy! They're Killing Everything that is good

by Michael W. Dean

As we smash headlong into yet another decade, the fifth I’ve participated in during my 45 spins around this big blue ball, I reflect on the past and look toward the future. And the main thought that strikes me is ‘WHAT THE FUCK?????”

I really long for the days when I didn’t have to think about politics all the time. When I talked with friends about movies, music, art, dreams, life, love. Now most of what I think about is “THOSE LIBERALS ARE FUCKING CRAZY! THEY’RE KILLING EVERYTHING THAT’S GOOD!”

The ironic thing is, they love to call us (conservatives and libertarians) crazy. And selfish. Crazy for not wanting to regulate everything. Selfish for not wanting to be robbed at gunpoint for leftist “social justice” programs.

And it really is robbery at gunpoint. If you refuse to pay taxes, police will come to your house. If you refuse to come out, they’ll come in, point guns at your head, and take you to jail. All taxation, beyond the bare minimum outlined in the Constitution is theft. The government has no resources, and has to take my money to give you anything. And they do everything far less efficiently than the private sector.

I am a reasonable, peaceful man. And I’m happy to live in America.

And to quote Dead Kennnedy’s singer and head rabble rouser Jello Biafra:

I’m thankful I live in a place
Where I can say the things I do
Without being taken out and shot
So I’m on guard against the goons
Trying to take my rights away
We’ve got to rise above the need for cops and laws

(I love these lyrics, but I find it ironic that the guy who penned them believed in the “Hope and Change” of Obama, the “BIGGER bigger problem we’ve got now“, and is disappointed that Obama’s not the Second Coming of Christ.)

I don’t want to be taken out and shot. I shouldn’t be, I don’t break any laws, but I think that the folks in “power” now may start changing the laws. And I think Obama, Holder, Pelosi et al. may just be the “kinder, gentler” Lenins that paves way for a Stalin in a few years, if we’re not careful.

We'll Fight the Liberal Fuckers: And if we Lose, at least we can say We Tried as they're marching us off to the Camps

How do I deal with wanting to scream “THESE LIBERALS ARE CRAZY, AND THEY’RE STEALING FROM ME!”? Well…I live my life.

I also try to educate younger people, being the “hip old grandpa Simpson of punk rock” and a few of them do listen to me…sometimes. I also work with various groups…some concerned with trying to get people to vote, some who don’t think voting works. But both have agendas similar to mine: liberty.

Then I wonder if maybe being an activist isn’t trying to “change the things I can’t.” But then I realize that when they drag us all off to the camps, or more likely, when America is turned into a horrible politically correct anti-utopia resembling Brave New World (or more likely, Demolition Man), I’ll want to at least be able to say to myself “Well, I tried.”

Sociopathic Socialists

I think about the fact that 6% of all people are sociopathic, about 12% will inherently follow sociopaths, and probably 20% are narcissists. That’s not quite a majority, but it’s close enough to make it hell for those of us who are decent in a Constitutional Republic that’s been dulled down to a “democracy” where “51% of the people can tyrannize 49%.” And right now, a room full of people in Congress are ramming shit down our throat that according to a recent non-biased Rasmussen pole, 55% of the country is against.

Yet THEY (liberals, leftists, socialist Americans, statists and the uneducated children who are allowed to vote because “everyone’s voice needs to be heard“) (Thank you, Ted Kennedy, you fat, dead, commie homicidal fuck) call US (conservatives, libertarians, tea party people and Republicans) “CRAZY.” “Crazy” is the most common five-letter four-letter word I’ve heard in the past year.

SO…..Tell me…WHAT’S SO CRAZY ABOUT

Wanting “representatives” who listen to us, instead of dismissing us as crazy?

Wanting to control what we do in our homes?

Wanting to choose what we eat and what we listen to, without being nannied into compliance?

Not wanting to be taxed to death?

Not wanting to pay for crack babies and abortions if you don’t smoke crack and don’t like abortions?

Not apologizing for America at every turn?

Thinking the people who make our laws should not be above the law?

Thinking less laws is better than more laws?

Being able to do 8th grade math and knowing 10th grade history to realize that you can’t fix a recession by printing more money?

Wanting the private corporation (that pretends to be a government agency) that prints your money to be audited?

Wanting a President who calls bankers “fat cats” to quit appointing the fattest, greediest bankers in the world to his cabinet?

Wanting our President to call terrorists what they are: terrorists?

Not liking a President who wants to take away everyone’s money and rewrite the Constitution?

Saying that disliking a tyrant doesn’t make you racist?

Being upset about bribes being taken to ram something horrible down our throats?

The government will NOT fix everything. The government has a long history of fucking up and bankrupting most everything it touches. (All governments do.) I love America, but I fear my government. As we usher in the new decade, remember what Ronald Reagan said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’.”

Editor's Note - Michael W. Dean is lead singer/guitarist for Right Arm of Wyoming. He also serves as State Coordinator for the Wyoming Republican Liberty Caucus. His blog is LibertarianPunk.com

Republican Liberty Caucus starts the new year off with a little Press

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From Eric Dondero:

This is a nice way to welcome the New Year, if you're a Libertarian Republican. The Manchester Union-Leader ran a lengthy piece on Dec. 31 about the outlook for GOP politics in the State for 2010. Titled - "Granite Status: 2010 Already Here." Halfway down, the RLC receives a nice mention:

THE NEW GOP. Can Sununu harness the energy building from the libertarian wing of the GOP, the tea party movement and the like?

"True Republicanism" will probably be the over-arching theme of the Senate and 2nd District U.S. House primaries, assuming former Rep. Charlie Bass, a moderate, makes his candidacy official, as expected, and goes against conservative Horn.

While New Hampshire has not been a "libertarian" state, the movement is gaining force with the rise of groups such as Citizens for Sensible Legislation and the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire.

Get involved rlc.org

After Christmas comes a Wiseman from the east | Bad Astronomy

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wiseman_meRichard Wiseman is funny, smart, personable, and uncommonly handsome. He’ll also be giving a talk on January 5th in New York City promoting his new book 59 Seconds. Called "Investigating the Impossible", it’s sponsored by the NYC Skeptics. It’s free and open to the public. He really is a great speaker, and if you’re near the Big Apple you should go. And tell him how good-looking he is.


7 Gadgets That Will Ruin 2010 [Tgif]

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Do you make new year's resolutions? If so, you should avoid the following products. Your chance for success in 2010 would be over before it began.

Losing Weight: Sorry, but your diet is blown sky high when you carry around a briefcase full of sausage—as is your resolution about not having heart attacks in 2010. [Link]
Get More Enjoyment Out of Life: Unfortunately, if you purchase any one of the gadgets on our list of the 50 (+10) worst gadgets of the decade, the chances of leading a more joyful life are significantly reduced.
Get On a Budget and Save Money: If you want to save more money in the upcoming year, you should probably steer clear of impulse Back to the Future Delorean replica purchases on eBay—no matter how insanely detailed they might be. [Jalopnik]
Get a Promotion: Forget a promotion, you will be completely unemployable if you decide to bust out the office babe score cards. [Smutty Gifts]
Stop Drinking So Much: After New Year's Eve, I'm going to cut down on the alcohol—and this time, I mean it. Unfortunately, that goal is going to be a lot harder to achieve with a booze-loading shotgun lying around. [Giftlab]

And if you plan on going out tonight and getting completely hammered, make sure to check out our PSA on the dangers of mixing alcohol and gadgets. You've been warned.

Meet a Nice Woman: If you go around wearing a shredder hoodie everywhere, 2010 probably isn't going to be the year you get lucky in love. ['80s Tees via Link]
Stop Smoking So Much: Cigarette smoking is one thing, but using the Volcano Vaporizer for the purpose in which it was intended is quite another. Instead of smoke, you inhale vapor, which eliminates many of the toxins but retains all of the flavors and mind numbing effects. Sounds great, but this little guy simultaneously puts four new year's resolutions in jeopardy: get organized, learn something new, get promoted or find a new job, and establish a budget (it costs $500). [Volcano Vaporizer via Link]



Cube-Based Chess Set Adds Modern Confusion To Timeless Difficulty [Chess]

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My chess strategy doesn't extend too far beyond pulling my knights out first, because that's what the computer games always do against me. But with this cube-based set, I'd probably need a strategy just to remember which piece is which.

Chess has been reimagined more times than anyone cares to count. But Scott Cruz's chess set, designed around a cubic pawn, makes the game even more difficult to master, rendering all the pieces as rectangular towers of different heights.

Thankfully, Cruz has included a built-in cheat sheet for the easily confused; each piece is indented with tiny squares showing its possible moves.

Still, my go-to set-up mnemonic—"the Queen always starts on her own color"—won't work too well on the gray scale board. [The Design Blog]



Voorbereidingen

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Beste wensen voor het nieuwe jaar.Momenteel bevinden we ons in Valkenswaard na nieuwjaar te hebben gevierd in Belgie. Voor we gaan beginnen met lachen om de grapjes van schoonfamilie eerst even typen met de getroffen voorbereidingen voor 2010. Smile and wave. De standaard zorgverzekering wordt hopelijk stopgezet dat scheelt ons 100 per maand daartegen dienen we een wereldreis verzekering af te

Applied for my Passport

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It's 2010 And I applied for my passport and passport card 2 days ago so it should be getting here within 46 weeks. I was surprised at how simple the process actually was. You just fill out a form called DS11 and it's only two pages. I went in to the main post office here in Altoona and got my photo's taken real quick and then just paid the bill. Just some advice for anyone who's going to do

Bundi

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We are staying in a lovely old guesthouse with a view of the extremely green lake. It is run by an old man and his wife who must be in their late 70rsquos and their various younger relations. We walked along the narrow Brahmin blue lanes and havelis to reach Bundi Palace a decaying palace that has recently been cleaned up and opened to the public. Entry was through a huge marble elephant g

Udaipur

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This is where India holidays the place is packed with Indian tourists. Udaipur has two beautiful palaces on islands in the middle of the lake. We visited the large city palace which rests next to the lake before going for a boat ride to look at the other palaces which have now been turned into luxury hotels. A nice bottle of Cloudy Bay wine was 250 This afternoon we did a cooking course but

Mumbai

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Today we flew to Mumbai. Mumbai is a really interesting place very cosmopolitan in parts and very poor in others. Shanty town settlements were erected next to modern designed buildings and people lived on every inch of footpath that was available outside the centre of the city. Compared to Nepal and Varanasi Mumbai seemed very modern and the centre of the city was relatively clean and ordered

Varinasi

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Today we caught the train to Varanasi. We had not booked any accommodation so joined Scott and Bianca on the ride that they had organised. Thank goodness someone was organised We were mobbed from all directions for this that and the other. The men stared at us like we were from another planet and took photos of us on their cell phones We sorted out our accommodation and vowed to be more organis

Overland to India

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Today we left Chitwan and headed for the Indian border town Sunauli. The local bus ride was meant to take 2.5 hours but 6 hours later we arrived. Slight hick up on the way our bus broke down the throttle cable snapped. That did not stop us. The driverrsquos assistant took the throttle cable by the hand while the driver had control of the brakes and steering wheel worked surprisingly well. Wh

Chitwan National Park

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Today we left Kathmandu by local bus and headed to Chitwan National Park. The roads were appalling some of them not completed others with huge potholes not helped by truck drivers who decided to take a break who would leave their trucks in the middle of the road for people to go round. I decided not to look out the front window out of fear but Matt could not resist watching the dangerous and

Our life their lives Kutch

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Our life their lives Kutch Gujarat Hector Dsouza It was mid morning when we reached the outskirts of the village of Nirona in Kutch Gujarat. The nomadic rabaris tribe seemed to be in wait for us. We took our places in a make shift courtyard and listened to what our amiable guide Mahesh had to say. 039The tribe lives on the outskirt o

Everest Base Camp Trek

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Today was the first day of our trip up Everest and we were all keen to get underway. I had heard about the flight up to Lukla before arriving in Nepal and was excited to be finally getting up in the air. The flight was about 30 minutes and there were some good views of the Himalayas. Getting closer to Lukla we skirted over some mountains before diving through a hole in the clouds to get visual wit

Pashupatinath

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The next day we met up with the people on our Everest Base Camp tour. Chris from Wellington NZ and Louise and Dave from Chester in the UK. We were introduced to Padesh our Kathmandu guide for the day. He took us out to Pashupatinath. This is Nepalrsquos most important Hindu temple on the banks of the holy Bagmati River. The river is considered holy despite how polluted it is. The most interesti

Bhaktapur

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The is another medieval city in the Kathmandu Valley and the best preserved. This place was also stacked with temples and shrines with some pretty interesting erotic carvings photos on request. While turning a corner we got a fright to see two headless buffalos with blood streaming from there necks down the street if I needed another reason not to eat meat this was it. We caught a local rusty