Thursday 11.2.210 day 120Thermal springsWe went to the Thermal springs today the water was so hot and felt so good it smells a bit due to the sulphur but it was very relaxing. Unfortunately there were some ignorant Italian men there who decide that they would divert all the water from our spring to threes so that we could not have any and they got all the water. As this was on public and everyone
Bumming around Sorianoa
Friday 12.2.210 day 121Bumming around SorianoaWe put the car in for a service today as we have done so many km and have a lot more to go before we sell it. We did our jobs sent some post and got some food from the local shops. It showed all day today so it was a good day to stay at home. It is our last day in our resort today so we hope it stops showing before we have to drive out tomorrow as we a
Silkworm poo tea in Luang Prabang
Even though we had sat on a boat all day upon arrival in Luang Prabang about all that we wanted to do was get something to eat and then sleep. I guess that is what happen when everyone has a hangover. About the only interesting thing at dinner was that I had Mekong Seaweed on my pizza. Technically if it comes from the river is it really seaweed Either way it was about as exciting to eat as r
Nagoya stop
Welcome to Nagoya. After a 45 min train ride from Kyoto we planted our feet in Nagoya. Jill and Yuki have parted from us for 2 days while they visit some of Yukis family and relativesso we'll meet up with them in Tokyo.And then there were 4. We found our hotel quite easily as its a 5 min walk from the train station. Our rooms weren't ready yet and there wasn't really enough time to do anything w
There were 3 in the bed and the little one said………….
Gary has been back at the vet today.It has been a tough week with him administering his drops 9 times a day and having to spend every night with him in our bed sleeping between us. He is funny though he took himself off to bed on his own last night when we got through there he was lying in his chosen patch in the middle with his head on the pillow waiting for us Rob and I are not sleeping grea
one week in Oman
From Dubai we did a short sidetrip of one week to Oman. Short but enough to see some highlights and get a taste of a country we probably would never visit otherwise.Oman is a wealthy country with a high living standard and is still a very traditional muslim country all men wear white jalabah's with traditional hats and the woman are dressed in black clothes with veils or burka's. Small mosks c
Amazing Thailand
20 Things to do in Thailand While Thailand is justly famous for its wealth of Buddhist temples the holiest of holies is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. If yoursquore looking for another taste of Thai culture seasoned with tradition take a cooking class in a fivestar hotel or take in a classical theatre performance at a renovated artdeco theatre in the capital.Lovers of sports
travel routes
hiMy Fiance and i are going travelling for 6 months for our honeymoon which we are just so excited about.We need some help on a route around Asia.we are flying into Singapore around the end of Jan and flying out of Bangkok and have 2.5 months to see as much as possible. We ideally want to do Malyasia Cambodia Vietnam and Thailland.can anyone suggest a route and what are the must see sights and
getting around by bike
HelloI will be in Lisbon at the end of February and I would like to rent a bike to get around. Does anyone know of a good bike rental company in Lisbon Is it a good city to get around by bike Also does anyone have suggestions for good restaurants but not so expensive onesThank you
COLORADO: Battle lines drawn in legislative Seat Belt law fight, Democrat Nanny-Staters vs. Republicans, Libertarians
CO Libertarian: Christine Smith: "Not the government's role to protect individuals from themselves"
The Colorado State Senate is considering a Democrat-backed bill to increase the penalty for non-seat belt law usage from a $10 fine to $75.
From the Denver Post, "Buckle up, or else" Feb. 9:
Drivers who don’t buckle up could face traffic stops and higher fines under a bill that gets its first hearing this afternoon.
Traffic cops can ticket drivers for not wearing seat belts now, but only if they’re stopped for other offenses.
Fines would also jump $10 to $75 for violations under Senate Bill 110, sponsored by Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora.
Republican legislators are lining up against the bill. Continuing:
And Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, (photo) said the mantra from her rural constituents is “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
“They’re probably the ones who choose not to wear seat belts, and they don’t want me as their state senator telling them to do that,” Spence said. “I don’t try to impose rules and regulations on them that they don’t want. I respect their opinion.”
Naturally, the Libertarian Party of Colorado is siding with the Republicans. From Christine Smith, Libertarian Party of Colorado blog:
I am getting sick of this. If the issue is that “everyone pays” because tax money is going to subsidize hospitals/emergency rooms, then that is the problem and not people making choices for themselves that are dangerous. Driving unbuckled may be dangerous, but it is only dangerous for the person not wearing their seat belt. It is not the governments role to protect a person from themselves.
More info on citizens against seat belt laws at National Motorists Assoc.
Pro-War in Iraq Veteran John Kriesel to run for Congress in Minnesota
A "Sarah Palin-ite" Republican
Iraq War Veteran Sgt. John Kriesel (photo to the left) is announcing for an open seat in Congress.
From KARE News 11, Minneapolis, Feb. 10:
Sgt. John Kriesel says he'll run as a Republican for the House of Representatives District 57 seat, representing Cottage Grove, St. Paul Park and South St. Paul.
It's the seat now held by Karla Bigham who announced she won't seek re-election this fall.
Sgt. Kriesel lost both his legs in a blast near Fallujah, Iraq on December 2, 2006. The same blast that killed two of his best friends. His injuries resulted in 25 surgeries over the course of just two months.
He is unabashadely a supporter of the War on Terror.
From USIraq.Procon.com
"Congress was right to vote to fight terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. I reenlisted after 9/11 because I don't want my sons to see what I saw. I want them to be free and safe. I know what I lost, I also know that if we pull out now, everything I have given in sacrifice will mean nothing. They attacked us and they will again. They won't stop in Iraq."
Kriesel is affiliated with the Pro-War on Terrorism, libertarian-oriented group Freedom Watch. He obtained some celebrity over a year ago, in national ads run by Freedom Watch. From Tikun-Olam blog:
In one Freedom’s Watch ad, Sgt. John Kriesel, a National Guardsman from Stillwater, Minn., who lost his legs in a bomb attack near Falluja, pleads with Congress and the American people not to “surrender” in Iraq. As the screen shows a still photograph of the second hijacked plane bearing down on the burning World Trade Center, Sergeant Kriesel adds, “They attacked us, and they will again. They won’t stop in Iraq.”
(H/t Jim Hoft)
Libertarian-leaning GOPer Frank Guinta, comfortable lead over incumbent Dem for Congress
Consistent with other recent polling data out of New Hampshire a Univ. of New Hampshire survey shows Manchester's Republican Mayor Frank Guinta with a comfortable lead over incumbent Democrat Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter.
From UNH:
Guinta Shea-Porter Other DK (N)
1ST CONGRESSIONAL DIST.
Frank Guinta 43%
Carol Shea-Porter 33%
Other 2%
Undecided 22%
Guinta is best-known as a hardline budget balancer and anti-tax crusader. He also has a reputation as a bit of an eccentric, and is known to pal around with NH Libertarians and libertarian Republicans.
The Public School Monopoly
A video by Izzy Santa, of the Cato Institute.
Documentary Film Review: Barefoot to Timbuktu: Ernst Aebi — Come Hell or High Water
An appealing documentary about a larger-than-life adventurer, artist, entrepreneur, and social activist in a settlement in the middle of the Sahara.
Are TGFs Hazardous to Air Travelers?
Instruments scanning outer space for cataclysmic explosions called gamma-ray bursts are detecting intense flashes of gamma-ray energy right here in the friendly skies of Earth. These terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, or TGFs, blast through thunderstorms close to the altitude where commercial airliners fly.
In fact, they could be too close for comfort.
In a recent study,* scientists estimated that airline passengers could be exposed to 400 chest X-rays worth of radiation by being near the origin of a single millisecond blast. Joe Dwyer of the Florida Institute of Technology took part in that research, which used observations from NASA's Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, or RHESSI, to estimate the danger TGFs pose.
"We believe the risk of encountering a TGF in an airplane is very small," says Dwyer. "I wouldn't hesitate to take a flight. Pilots already avoid thunderstorms because of turbulence, hail, and lightning, and we may just have to add TGFs to the list of reasons to steer clear of those storms."
But, he stresses, "it's worth looking into."
Right: Lightning might not be the only reason to avoid thunderstorms. TGFs sometimes come blasting out of these clouds, too. Image credit: NOAA.
NASA's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope will help evaluate the hazards.
"GBM provides the best TGF data we have so far," says Dwyer. "It gets better measurements of their spectra than any previous instrument, giving us a more accurate idea of just how energetic they are."
Although TGFs are quite brief (1-2 milliseconds), they appear to be the most energetic events on Earth. They belch destructive gamma-rays packing over ten million times the energy of visible light photons – enough punch to penetrate several inches of lead.
"It's amazing," says Jerry Fishman, a co-investigator for the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor. "They come blasting right through the whole Fermi spacecraft and light up all of our detectors. Very few cosmic gamma-ray bursts manage to do this!"
The origin of TGFs is still a mystery, but researchers know this much: TGFs are associated with thunderstorms and lightning. "We think the electric field in a thunderstorm may get so strong that the storm itself turns into a gamma-ray factory," says Dwyer. "But we don't know exactly how or why or where inside the storm this happens."
So no one yet knows how often, if ever, planes end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Above: A cartoon sketch of electric and magnetic fields in a thunderstorm and some of the phenomena they produce. TGFs may be just one aspect of thunderstorm activity in addition to elves, sprites, blue jets and ordinary lightning. Credit: Stanford University. [more]
It's possible that lightning bolts trigger TGFs. Or maybe TGFs trigger lightning bolts. Researchers aren't sure which comes first. GBM's excellent timing accuracy – to within 2 microseconds – will help solve this riddle.
"For some of the TGFs, we've pinpointed the associated lightning," says Dwyer. "This information along with the spectrum should help us figure out how deep in the atmosphere a TGF source is and how many gamma-rays it's emitting. Then we can determine the altitude and location they're coming from in the thunderstorm."
Fishman offers some good news: "If TGFs originate near the tops of thunderstorms and propagate upward from there, airline passengers would be safe."
By looking closely at a TGF's life cycle, that is, how quickly it turns on and off, GBM may also help researchers calculate how large and concentrated the gamma-ray source is. If the gamma-rays are emitted over a large region, the radiation dose would be diluted and much less harmful.
"But if the source is compact and the gamma-rays originate close to an aircraft, then that could be a problem," says Fishman.
Right: The radiation dose from an ordinary lightning leader vs. the dose from a TGF. Both phenomena are associated with electron beams. Tighter, more compact beams deliver a greater effective dose. Details of this model may be found in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research (Atmospheres). Look for "Estimation of the fluence of high-energy electron bursts produced by thunderclouds and the resulting radiation doses received in aircraft" by J. Dwyer et al. (in press).
"Of course the smaller the source the lower the odds of a plane ending up close to it," adds Dwyer.
GBM wasn't designed to look for TGFs, but GBM co-investigator Michael Briggs has greatly enhanced its sensitivity to them by writing new software.
"TGFs have really been an afterthought for missions so far," says Dwyer. RHESSI, for example, points at the sun, but the RHESSI team figured out a way to measure TGFs by detecting gamma-rays coming in through the satellite's backside. "All these instruments have been pointing across the universe, while right over our heads these monsters are going off!"
"Now the whole field of TGFs is on fire," says Fishman. "People are jumping on the bandwagon to try to figure them out."
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NASA Sets Media Credentials Deadlines for Next Space Shuttle Flight
NASA has set media accreditation deadlines for the March space shuttle flight to the International Space Station. Shuttle Discovery and seven crew members are targeted to launch the STS-131 mission on March 18 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Deadlines for international journalists to apply for the shuttle rollout and Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test are as early as 5 p.m. EST Feb. 11.
During the 13-day flight, the crew will deliver a multipurpose logistics module with science racks to the space station. Among the shuttle crew is Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, a former high school science teacher who is now a fully trained astronaut.
Reporters must apply for credentials to attend the launch or cover the mission from other NASA centers. To be accredited, reporters must work for verifiable news-gathering organizations. No substitutions of credentials are allowed at any NASA facility.
Additional time may be required to process accreditation requests by journalists from certain designated countries. Designated countries include those with which the United States has no diplomatic relations, countries on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, those under U.S. sanction or embargo, and countries associated with proliferation concerns. Please contact the accrediting NASA center for details. Journalists should confirm they have been accredited before they travel.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
Reporters applying for credentials at Kennedy should submit requests via the Web at:
Reporters must use work e-mail addresses, not personal accounts, when applying. After accreditation is approved, applicants will receive confirmation via e-mail.
Accredited media representatives with mission badges will have access to Kennedy from launch through the end of the mission. The application deadline for mission badges is March 8 for all reporters requesting credentials.
Discovery's move from the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, to Launch Pad 39A, planned for Feb. 19, follows its rollover from Orbiter Processing Facility-3 to the VAB, which is targeted for Feb. 12. Launch dress rehearsal activities, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, and related training are scheduled for Feb. 22-24. International journalists must apply by 5 p.m. EST Feb. 11 to allow time for processing, and U.S. media representatives must apply by Feb. 17. Media badges will be valid for both rollout and the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test.
Reporters with special logistic requests for Kennedy, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, electrical connections or work space, must contact Laurel Lichtenberger by March 11 at:
laurel.a.lichtenberger@nasa.gov
There is no longer free wireless Internet access provided at Kennedy's news center. Work space in the news center and the news center annex is provided on a first-come basis, limited to one space per organization. To set up temporary telephone, fax, ISDN or network lines, media representatives must make arrangements with BellSouth at 800-213-4988. Reporters must have an assigned seat in the Kennedy newsroom prior to setting up lines. To obtain an assigned seat, contact Patricia Christian at:
Journalists must have a public affairs escort to all other areas of Kennedy except the Launch Complex 39 cafeteria.
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
Reporters may obtain credentials for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston by calling the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or by presenting STS-131 mission credentials from Kennedy. Media representatives planning to cover the mission only from Johnson need to apply for credentials only at Johnson. The application deadline for mission badges is March 9 for all reporters requesting credentials.
Journalists covering the mission from Johnson using Kennedy credentials must contact the Johnson newsroom by March 9 to arrange workspace, phone lines and other logistics. Johnson is responsible for credentialing media if the shuttle lands at NASA's White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. If a landing is imminent at White Sands, Johnson will arrange credentials.
DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER
Notice for a space shuttle landing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base in California could be short. Domestic media outlets should consider accrediting Los Angeles-based personnel who could travel quickly to Dryden. Deadlines for submitting Dryden accreditation requests are Feb. 19 for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and March 24 for U.S. media who are U.S. citizens or who have permanent residency status.
For Dryden media credentials, U.S. citizens representing domestic media outlets must provide their full name, date of birth, place of birth, media organization, driver's license number with the name of the issuing state, and the last six digits of their social security number.
In addition to the above requirements, foreign media representatives, regardless of citizenship, must provide data including their citizenship, visa or passport number and its expiration date. Foreign nationals representing either domestic or foreign media who have permanent residency status must provide their alien registration number and expiration date.
Journalists should fax requests for credentials on company letterhead to 661-276-3566 or e-mail requests to:
Requests must include a phone number and business e-mail address for follow-up contact. Journalists who previously requested credentials will not need to do so again.
NASA PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS:
Kennedy Space Center: Allard Beutel, 321-867-2468, allard.beutel@nasa.gov
Johnson Space Center: James Hartsfield, 281-483-5111, james.a.hartsfield@nasa.gov
Dryden Flight Research Center: Leslie Williams, 661-276-3893, leslie.a.williams@nasa.gov
For information about the STS-131 mission, visit:
Two STS-131 crew members, NASA astronaut Clay Anderson and Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, are tweeting about preparing for their mission. They can be followed at:
http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Clay
and
http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Naoko
For information about the International Space Station, visit:
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NASA Announces Winners of George M. Low Award for Quality and Performance
NASA presented its highest honor for quality and performance, the George M. Low Award, to two companies that share a commitment to teamwork, safety, customer service, technical and managerial excellence.
The Low award demonstrates the agency's commitment to promote excellence and continual improvement by challenging NASA's contractor community to be a global benchmark of quality management practices. The 2009 awards were presented Wednesday, Feb. 10, at NASA's seventh annual Project Management Challenge in Galveston, Texas, to:
- United Space Alliance, or USA, of Houston. USA provides ground operations, vehicle processing and logistics at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.; delivers specialty engineering and technical services at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.; and designs and plans missions, trains astronauts, develops and verifies software, and executes mission operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. USA received the award in the large business service category.
- Applied Geo Technologies, or AGT, of Choctaw, Miss. Tribally owned AGT is a small, disadvantaged provider of aerospace and defense services. It provides scientific, laboratory and geographic analysis services; maintains measurement standards; and calibrates and repairs instrumentation at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Miss. AGT received the award in the small business service category.
The award was established in 1985 as NASA's Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity. It was renamed in 1990 in memory of George M. Low, an outstanding leader during his 27-year tenure at the agency. Low was NASA's deputy administrator from 1969 to1976 and a leader in the early development of space programs.
For more information about the George M. Low Award, visit:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/gml
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NASA and Texas Instruments Use Human Spaceflight to Bring Math and Science Topics into High School Classrooms
NASA and Texas Instruments are using the theme of human space exploration to develop digital libraries of math and science problems for high school students. The goal is to bring real-world topics in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, into classrooms to spark students' excitement and interest in these critical career fields.
The collaboration will produce two digital libraries. One, called Exploring Space Through Math: Applications in High School Mathematics, will provide problems based on NASA data that are set in the context of space exploration. The project material will cover almost the entire high school math curriculum, with applications in Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus.
The other digital library, named Science at Work: Exploring Space with NASA-AP, will contain questions for Advanced Placement classes. This program seeks to develop and test problems in calculus, statistics, physics, chemistry and biology.
"As students solve real problems NASA faces in space exploration, they will practice during high school and college the skills necessary to pursue a career in a STEM field," said Charles Lloyd, NASA's lead for the effort and program manager for Human Research Program Education and Outreach at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "NASA and Texas Instruments are passionate about motivating the next generation's interest in science and math subjects and equipping these students to take us farther into space and improve our lives here on Earth."
The libraries of questions will use NASA applications and data while incorporating Texas Instruments' math learning technology. Each problem includes student and teacher editions to help the teacher link content to higher concepts.
"Our goal is to make STEM subjects more fun and interactive," said Werner Garciano, director of Professional Development for Texas Instruments' Education Technology. "Working with NASA is a great opportunity to bring exciting, real-world math experiences into the classroom. Our collaboration will expand the digital content and professional development that Texas Instruments provides teachers, and will help engage students more deeply in math. Together, we believe these activities will break through to students who have never considered a STEM career path."
Both projects will be available in the fall of 2010 on NASA's Web site. With this program, NASA continues its investment in engaging and retaining students in STEM disciplines critical to the agency's future engineering, scientific, and technical missions. For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:
For more information about NASA's Human Research Program Education and Outreach, visit:
http://humanresearch.jsc.nasa.gov/education.asp
The digital libraries also will be available through Texas Instruments' Teachers Teaching with Technology workshops and online at the Texas Instruments' Activities Exchange at:
http://education.ti.com/educationportal/activityexchange/activity_list.do?cid=us
View my blog's last three great articles....
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Climate Trial Showdown in Utah
Tim DeChristopher
Tim DeChristopher is a national hero. Now he’s in legal trouble for fake bidding on federal land and his trial is coming up.
Join the Climate Trial
On March 15-18, concerned citizens and activists will converge around Tim’s trial in Utah. His crime was saving land that belongs to all of us from falling into the greedy hands of fossil fuel developers and profiteers.
The following article was co-written by Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine, Terry Tempest Williams, world renowned wildlife author, Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and author of The End Of Nature, and Dr. James Hansen, author of Storms of my Grandchildren, website at http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/, and who is regarded as the country’s leading climate scientist.
All recognize the trial of Tim DeChristopher to be a turning point in the climate movement. If there are to be more necessary acts of civil disobedience on environmental issues in the coming years, this is a very important trial.   See climatetrial.com for more information.
Dear Friends,
The epic fight to ward off global warming and transform the energy system that is at the core of our planet’s economy takes many forms: huge global days of action, giant international conferences like the one that just failed in Copenhagen, small gestures in the homes of countless people.
But there are a few signal moments, and one comes next month, when the federal government puts Tim DeChristopher on trial in Salt Lake City. Tim–”Bidder 70″–pulled off one of the most creative protests against our runaway energy policy in years: he bid for the oil and gas leases on several parcels of federal land even though he had no money to pay for them, thus upending the auction. The government calls that “violating the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act” and thinks he should spend ten years in jail for the crime; we call it a noble act, a profound gesture made on behalf of all of us and of the future.
Tim’s action drew national attention to the fact that the Bush Administration spent its dying days in office handing out a last round of favors to the oil and gas industry. After investigating irregularities in the auction, the Obama Administration took many of the leases off the table, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar criticizing the process as “a headlong rush.” And yet that same Administration is choosing to prosecute the young man who blew the whistle on this corrupt process.
We cannot let this stand. When Tim disrupted the auction, he did so in the fine tradition of non-violent civil disobedience that changed so many unjust laws in this country’s past. Tim’s upcoming trial is an occasion to raise the alarm once more about the peril our planet faces. The situation is still fluid–the trial date has just been set, and local supporters are making plans for how to mark the three-day proceedings. But they are asking people around the country to flood into [...]
Transcend Ski Goggles Feature Cyborg HUD [Augmented Reality]
Not even Bono can pull off wearing huge glasses to use a HUD through life. But ski goggles? They're practically designed to look ludicrous. These Zeal Recon Transcend Ski Goggles display GPS, speed, altitude and more in real time.
Available this fall for between $350 and $450, Transcend goggles are a partnership between two companies: Zeal Optics and Recon Instruments. The result is a pair of goggles that contain hardware to measure speed, altitude, time, temperature and GPS coordinates—a slew of information that's displayed through a HUD. Charging and data transfer occurs over USB.
Buttons on the side of the goggles will allow you to scan through information on the ski lift, which will be especially useful as Transcend gains additional promised functions, including trail maps, cellphone display integration and video recording.
There's no doubt about it—the Transcend goggles sound a bit too good to be true. But we're childishly refusing to temper expectations while waiting impatiently for fall. If these things actually worked, I'd wear them just, like, on the street. No snowboard required. [Transcend and Zeal Optics via RedFerret via CrunchGear]
