Exploring the beaches of Island Woman – Explorando las playas de Isla Muejres. – Video

Posted on by


Exploring the beaches of Island Woman - Explorando las playas de Isla Muejres.
Want to be apart of our next video ? Follow us to find out how: http://instagram.com/irwdivingtramp Filmed in GoPro Music in this video is called, ``Brighter than the sun by Kyle andrews.

By: IRWDIVINGTRAMP

Continue reading here:

Exploring the beaches of Island Woman - Explorando las playas de Isla Muejres. - Video

Florida lands 10 of the top 25 beaches in the U.S.

Posted on by

Why should Dr. Beach have all the fun? While his famous best beaches in the U.S. list for 2014 won't come out until Memorial Day weekend, the folks over at TripAdvisor have corralled their user reviews to come out with their second annual Travelers' Choice Awards including the Top 25 Beaches, not only in the U.S., but for the world.

The site trumpets the awards with the tagline, "Millions of reviews. Nothing but the best."

For 2014, Florida's beaches shone bright again, with 10 of its sandy destinations ranking among the top 25 in the U.S.

Hawaii, which also had 10 of the top 25, has a stranglehold on the top 10 though, with seven beaches represented, while Florida had two and South Carolina had one. Four other states had one beach each in the top 25: California, Maine, Massachusetts and Virginia.

The top beach for Florida was Siesta Key Public Beach in Siesta Key, near Sarasota, coming in at No. 3 overall. Siesta Beach was Dr. Beach's best beach in the U.S. in 2011.

It has 1,831 reviews on TripAdvisor with glowing statements such as that from user TrishaVanCole from Winnipeg, Canada who writes, "We made a day trip to Siesta Key -- and it is definitely worth the trip. The sand is blindingly white (without sunglasses) and powder soft. The beach is clean and the water stays fairly shallow for a ways out. Lots of fun picking shells, playing in the surf and building in the sand and people watching."

Florida's other top 10 beach ranked No. 9: St. Pete Beach near Tampa Bay.

It has 754 reviews such as user Nathalie R from Kapuskasing, Canada who writes, "Beach was very clean and beautiful. Environment was very family-friendly and "spring-break free". We will surely recommend the area to our family and friends and will return for future family vacations. The area truly is America's best beach."

The other Florida beaches in the top 25 are: No. 11: Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin No. 14: St. Augustine Beach, Saint Augustine Beach No. 17: Bahia Honda State Park and Beach, Big Pine Key No. 19: Pensacola Beach, Pensacola No. 20: Beach at Panama City, Panama City Beach No. 21: Clearwater Beach, Clearwater No. 22: Lido Beach, Sarasota No. 25: Navarre Beach, Navarre

So statewide, five of the best beaches are centered on the Gulf Coast near Tampa Bay, while three are along the Gulf Coast in the Panhandle. The East Coast lands one and the Florida Keys land the other.

See the original post:

Florida lands 10 of the top 25 beaches in the U.S.

Florida beaches, history offer up romance

Posted on by

It's February, that romantic time of the year when pitchers and catchers report for spring training and, uh, what's that?

Oh, of course, it's also time for Valentine's Day.

If watching baseball players stretch and field ground balls isn't the best idea for a romantic couple's getaway, there are plenty of other options in the Sunshine State.

Here's a quick roundup of winning destinations. Play your cards right now, guys, and there might be a couple's spring training game in your future.

Anna Maria Island (visitannamaria.com): Perhaps nowhere on the planet are sunsets celebrated with such reverence as Anna Maria Island, where the dimming of the day inspires bell-ringing and spontaneous applause. This seven-mile stretch of barrier island on the Gulf Coast, about 20 miles west of Bradenton, is a slow-moving haven for bicycling, parasailing, ice-cream eating and horizon gazing.

Key West (fla-keys.com): You want romance? The courtyard at Ernest Hemingway's Home and Museum is an eternally popular wedding spot, even though the author's own romantic life wasn't without its bumps. And there's also the potential for memorable sunsets at Mallory Square, where the sunset is celebrated by an array of street performers and musicians.

St. Augustine (floridashistoriccoast.com): The history that extends from Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon's landing on the peninsula's east coast more than 500 years ago makes an impressive backdrop for romance. St. Augustine Beach is a short drive from the dining and shopping in the Colonial Quarter as well as historic attractions such as the Castillo de San Marcos. After dark, one of the many ghost tours also can be surprisingly romantic.

The Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel (fortmyers-sanibel.com): Sunsets also are a highlight on these Gulf Coast beaches, where visitors can blend history (The Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers) with inviting stretches of white-sand beaches. Although Sanibel and Captiva have been developed a bit in recent decades, there are still unspoiled beaches perfect for building mansions of sand or toting a bucket to fill with Atlantic kitten paws, angel wings and other trinkets. At Bowman's Beach or Blind Pass, it's still possible to look around and feel wondrously, romantically secluded.

See the rest here:

Florida beaches, history offer up romance

Best beaches for dogs? Here are several

Posted on by

It's summertime, and the living is miserable.

If you want relief from oppressive heat and humidity, think of how your fur-coat-clad best friend feels. So where can you take a hot hound to cool off?

Algiers Beach in Gulfside City Park on Sanibel Island was just named one of the top eight dog beaches in the country by VetStreet.com, a commercial and educational website. It was the only Florida beach named to the list, though like most dog beaches you are required to keep your pooch on a leash at all times.

"There are so many things here that are accessible to dogs and dog owners," says Lee Rose of the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau. "We have several hotel properties that accept dogs, and more and more restaurants are welcoming them as well."

Great if you don't mind driving to Sanibel.

If you're looking for something closer to Orlando, there are other choices.

Lake Baldwin Park

The place formerly known as Fleet Peeples Park isn't a true beach in the sand and surf sense. But it one of the rare places among Central Florida parks where dogs can swim. You'll find doggy drinking fountains, a dog-wash area and a fenced small-dog area.

Most days you'll also find Winter Park retiree Wesley Hunt and her two 9-year-old rescues, a golden retriever and Brittany spaniel mix. "My dogs love the water," she says. "I think the park is a real treasure."

Smyrna Dunes Park

Read this article:

Best beaches for dogs? Here are several

Students comb beaches for trash

Posted on by

Crescent Elk Middle School students fan out to look for trash along Kellogg Beach during a September 2012 cleanup. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

But Del Norte County students are getting a head start on Friday. Theyll work on Saturday and next weekend too, said Crescent Elk Middle School teacher Joe Gillespie, who has coordinated the local California Coastal Cleanup effort for more than 20 years.

Students from Smith River School will pick trash up from the Oregon border to the mouth of the Smith River. Redwood School will take Kellogg Beach. Crescent Elk seventh-graders will cover the beach from Lake Earl to Point St. George.

On Saturday, students in Bill Andersons science class at Del Norte High School will clean up the area from Point St. George to Garths Beach across from Castle Rock. Next Friday, Joe Hamilton Elementary School students will cover all of Pebble Beach while Mary Peacock students scour the shore from 5th Street to Battery Point and from Elk Creek to Battery Point.

Gillespie said more Crescent Elk students will cover Elk Creek to Enderts Point. But he will welcome volunteers who want to clean from Anchor Way at the Crescent City Harbor to the Beachcomber restaurant to the south.

They can just bring their own bags, he said.

Last year, students picked up an estimated 3,500 pounds of trash from Del Norte beaches, Gillespie said. This includes items from boats such as buoys, floats, crates, fishing lines, pallets, fishing nets, rope, fishing lures and bait containers or packaging. Sometimes the students will find appliances, car parts and tires on the beach.

At other times, theyll come across medical waste such as syringes and personal hygiene items like diapers and tampons.

We have gloves, and they are instructed not to pick (the syringes) up, Gillespie said.

The Coastal Commission awards two $100 prizes for the most unusual items found along the coast and along the states inland waterways, Gillespie said.

Originally posted here:

Students comb beaches for trash

Astronomy – Ch. 3: Motion of the Moon (12 of 12) Aristarchus: Distance to the Sun? – Video

Posted on by


Astronomy - Ch. 3: Motion of the Moon (12 of 12) Aristarchus: Distance to the Sun?
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will explain how Aristarchus calculated the distance between the Earth an...

By: Michel van Biezen

Read more:

Astronomy - Ch. 3: Motion of the Moon (12 of 12) Aristarchus: Distance to the Sun? - Video

Astronomy – Ch. 3: Motion of the Moon (10 of 12) The Phases of the Moon Explained – Video

Posted on by


Astronomy - Ch. 3: Motion of the Moon (10 of 12) The Phases of the Moon Explained
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will explain the phases of the moon (new, crescent, waxing, waning, gibbs...

By: Michel van Biezen

Read the original:

Astronomy - Ch. 3: Motion of the Moon (10 of 12) The Phases of the Moon Explained - Video

Astronomy Update: Jupiter's moon has the potential for life

Posted on by

Editors note: With the exception of today, Astronomy Update is published on the third Saturday of the month and provided by the Chippewa Valley Astronomical Society and the L.E. Phillips Planetarium. It is compiled by Lauren Likkel of the UW-Eau Claire physics and astronomy department.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating locales in our solar system is Jupiters moon Europa.

An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. You need an online service to view this article in its entirety.

Or, use your linked account:

Receive all premium website content and e-edition access to the digital replica of the newspaper dating back 30 days.

Once you have paid for a subscription you also have access to our e-edition app for the iPad, Android tablets and Kindle Fire. Please visit those stores to download.

You can also access our e-edition on your smart phone by visiting http://www.LTEedition.com

Receive all premium website content and e-edition access to the digital replica of the newspaper dating back 30 days.

Read more:

Astronomy Update: Jupiter's moon has the potential for life

Hunting the Wild Nutrinos

Posted on by

The forbidding Antarctic ice cap has become a new Mecca for astronomers looking to take advantage of the continents many months of darkness and pristine skies. Yet perhaps the most revolutionary astronomy project now under way at the South Pole plans to make use not of its clear views but its surprisingly clear ice.

If they are right, the repercussions would be enormous. Neutrino astronomy could give scientists a view straight to the heart of some of the most violent and energetic processes in the universe, including quasars and active galactic nuclei (distant galaxies believed to be powered by massive black holes), as well as the sources of mysterious gamma ray bursts and perhaps even the universes origin in the Big Bang.

What makes neutrinos such a good subject for astronomy is that unlike visible light or other forms of radiation they zip through the universe virtually unimpeded. Produced as a byproduct of the nuclear fusion that occurs at the heart of every star, they have no electric charge and-as far as anyone can tell so far-no mass. So if astronomers could detect neutrinos and measure their energy levels they could learn more about what goes on in those stars.

Neutrino detection is also important for studying high-energy sources such as active galactic nuclei. The powerful gravitational pull of these objects and the interstellar dust and gas surrounding them prevent most other forms of energy from escaping. It is as if astronomers, even with radio telescopes and instruments that capture other wavelengths of radiation, were viewing them through a dense fog. Researchers expect that Amanda will see through this turbulence to reveal a sky dotted with heretofore unknown sources of intense energy, thus opening a new chapter in astronomy.

The only problem with neutrinos is that the very property that makes them such valuable sources of information also makes them devilishly difficult to detect. The earth is constantly bathed in a flood of neutrinos, yet astronomers have no way of detecting them directly. Instead, they look for evidence that high-energy neutrinos have collided with the atomic nuclei of surrounding matter. When collisions occur, they give off muons-negatively charged particles that are like electrons but have more than 200 times the mass. These muons give off a bluish light called Cherenkov radiation that cascades away from the crash site like waves from the bow of a boat.

Fortunately, the direction of muons aligns closely with the direction of the neutrinos that produced them. So a three-dimensional Cherenkov light detector, such as that provided by Amandas array of detectors buried beneath the South Pole, could not only confirm that high-energy neutrinos passed through, but also identify their trajectory with better than a 1-degree resolution: good enough to pinpoint their sources in the sky.

An early indication of the promise of muon detection came on February 24, 1987, when astronomers at an observatory in Chile spotted a new supernova. At the same time, neutrino detectors in Kamioka, Japan, and Cleveland, Ohio, registered a sudden flurry of activity, confirming that high-energy neutrino showers are associated with violent astronomical events.

Encouraged by these findings, the U.S. Department of Energy funded DUMAND, the Deep Underwater Muon and Neutrino Detector, which attempted to drop detectors into the deep ocean off Hawaii to hunt for neutrinos in December 1993. But technical problems stalled the project, which was eventually canceled last fall.

Another deepwater project is now under construction by European and U.S. scientists in the Mediterranean Sea. Yet, as Amanda scientists point out, the problem all oceanic detectors face is in filtering out the noise of background radiation from radioactive potassium, which is present in small amounts in ocean water, as well as from bioluminescent bacteria and higher organisms, not to mention the dangers to the instruments from currents and storms.

Conversely, Antarctic ice, which is essentially pure freshwater containing no such contaminants, produces virtually no background radiation. Moreover, once detectors are frozen in the ice, they will not be disturbed.

Read the rest here:

Hunting the Wild Nutrinos

Robot Journalists: Science Fiction or Something to Expect?

Posted on by

MOSCOW, September 5 (RIA Novosti) - For years, scientists have been developing artificial intelligence, attempting to replicate the power of the human brain and create a machine with the ability to make its own decisions.

Some have gone even further and tried to make use of intelligent machines in writing and reporting, creating a new phenomenon called robotic journalism.

However, Dr. Noam Latar, the Founding Dean of the Sammy Ofer School of Communications and Chair of the Daniel Pearl International Journalism Institute at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel, argues that the human brain is far more complicated than any of its possible artificial copies.

Dr. Latar, the man who predicted the appearance of the touch screen, told Radio VR that he had entered into the study of this particular phenomenon because a lot of robots now tend to replace human journalists.

In America there are at least three companies which develop robots that can not only collect the facts but write stories in narratives, he said. So, what brought me into studying this - is how the future of journalism will look like. My study shows that no Artificial Intelligence (AI) research so far has been able to develop a computer that would have a subconscious and imagination.

Computers cannot imagine things because they dont have a subconscious, he added. It was Albert Einstein who said that imagination is much more important than knowledge.

What is very human, Dr. Latar said, is our ability to create and to innovate. And creation and innovation really stem from our ability to connect the subconscious with the conscious: with rational thinking.

What is happening now and what has been a big financial success, he said, is that companies in the US like Narrative Science and Automated Insights use data mining to analyze huge databases, what the scientists call big data, and to write the stories: they have interviewed and simulated the best journalists in the US, and they have studied possibilities for their narration.

They implemented the data they collected and now the computers are able to write good stories, beautiful stories, Dr. Latar says, even using metaphors.

If you use what we call a Turing Machine, he said, you would not be able to tell if the story was written by a human or by a robot. But they cant imagine, they cant ask questions. He considers these to be important for human survival.

Read the rest here:

Robot Journalists: Science Fiction or Something to Expect?