a giant in the snow

although its entirely too hot here down under, i can appreciate this clever snow trick. i guess they took the photo from an apartment building??

via bbc

geminids meteor shower

usually the best meteor shower of the year is the geminids meteor shower which this year peaks on monday night, 13th december! every december the earth passes through the debris tail of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, but the details of why this asteroid has so much debris are not fully understood, which makes the strength of the celestial show an enticing mystery.

so bundle up, go out, and enjoy the show!

the US national christmas tree

the first official US national christmas tree was lit by president calvin coolidge in 1923. i dont really care so much, but i just saw this picture of the obamas as they pushed the button and turned on the lights.... how cute is this?

 

i remember several turning-on-the-lights moments with my family growing up. they're always great moments.

Tony Porter: A call to men

considering all the attention i pay to the fact that i am a minority in my chosen profession and i want to fight against the pressure to serve a historically defined place in society, its humbling to acknowledge the fact that such issues exist for both sexes. i imagine it must be difficult for a male to try to resist the international expectation that he should represent the stereotypically masculine characteristics of, for example, understanding how to fix things, be physically dominant, "act like a man," brag about sexual conquests (regardless of their truth), etc...

a project initiated by tony porter called a call to men "challenges men to reconsider many of the social norms that define manhood, in an effort to create a more just society."

what a statement. and they go farther...

"a call to men believes that ending violence against women is primarily the responsibility of men. Although historically it has been almost entirely women who have been at the forefront addressing this issue, we think it is essential that men play a primary role in the solution to end it. To do that, well-meaning men... men who, for the most part don't see themselves as part of the problem... need to get involved."

i was really intrigued by this TED video of tony porter sharing his experiences and explaining why he decided to raise his voice about this issue.

star trek door

i'm not that into star trek. i dont know, it just never hooked me. even so, this star trek style door is amazing!

calvin on gravity

via fresh photons

the milky way project

the fine folks who brought you the galaxy zoo have just revealed another of their endlessly creative and interactive tools: the milky way project!

you can now view our Galaxy in the fantastic colors of infrared light provided by the spitzer space telescope. not only can you enjoy looking at the beautiful features spread throughout our home galaxy, you can help astronomers identify bubbles, knots, stars clusters, supernova remnants, never before-seen distant galaxies and any other strange new objects that look intriguing to your eyes. ultimately, we need to better understand the physics of the mysterious cold, dusty material that emits light at infrared wavelengths and now its possible for you to help!

"The material that we see in this project is dark to the naked eye. By looking in the infrared we pick out material that is not hot but rather cooler, and hence it does not emit visible light, but instead lower-energy infrared wavelengths. However there are still regions of yet colder and denser material that remain dark even to Spitzer's infrared red eye. These infrared dark clouds are stark silhouettes on the brighter, usually green material seen in the images on this site."

see that big dark spot in the middle of the image below? its a "dark nebula" and is possibly a private nursery where new massive stars are forming, hidden by a curtain of cold gas and dust!

here is a quick tutorial demonstrating how easy it is to interact with the images:


The Milky Way Project - Getting Started from The Zooniverse on Vimeo.

now GO and get drawing!

(well done rob et al.!)

arsenice and old life

you may have heard the buzz around NASA's press release last week regarding the bacteria found in california's mono lake which can build DNA using arsenic instead of the typically used ingredient phosphorus?

brady haran's university of nottingham project, periodic table of videos has tackled the topic in a very interesting way. watch below to learn more!

stop it and just do

from under consideration

women in art

a lovely morphing video of women in art...

sydney's springtime purple

sydney is in full bloom springtime right now and the best part is that a lot of the blooms are gorgeous purple! the jacaranda trees became an instant favorite of mine!

sydney is a beautiful city.

and there are big bats!!

space advent calendars

i'm not sure why creating advent calendars has become a fad this holiday season, but i'm not complaining because the imagery is beautiful! so here are several links to help you enjoy your december!

•  zooniverse advent calendar brought to you by the creative folks behind the galaxy zoo.

• hubble space telescope advent calendar - from the always great photo blog the big picture

• solar system advent calendar created by emily lakdawalla at the planetary society blog

• science in school - in lieu of a visual calendar, you can sign up to receive an email for each day of advent that includes inspiring teaching ideas about science! science games, experiments, facts, websites or beautiful pictures!

have you seen any others around? 

across scotland on a bike

i had to watch this video twice! once for the skills of danny macaskill and once for the gorgeous scenery of scotland.

oktapodi

oktapodi is a short film worth watching!



via tywkiwdbi

no standing

there will be absolutely NO STANDING!!! ... especially when a bench is provided.

massive bubbles

this footage of massive bubbles on a beach is fascinating.  i'm mesmerized by watching the progression of the pop.

supercell storm

fantastic storm photo for national geographic by sean heavey.

spitzer song

upon my first viewing of this video about the infrared spitzer space telescope, i couldnt tell if i loved the song or hated it.   i've come around to like it though, so i hope you enjoy it too!



via one small step

the art and science of cooking

this is a photo from the upcoming book modernist cuisine: the art and science of cooking. WANT!

via fresh photons

its never too early to introduce your child to star wars.

this video is just great!  

i agree wholeheartedly when they say:  i don't want my children growing up in a world where we believe Greedo shot first!

best room ever

when i was young i had a snake that slept in a big cage in the corner of my room and scared the crap out of some of my friends.  that was cool, but this rube goldberg-esque marble course would have been even better! 



i've posted before about rube goldberg here and here.

what happens if black holes collide?

a new video from sixty symbols is up: what happens if black holes collide?

pocket change

i've enjoyed the imprinted images on the australian coins. the fifty cent piece shows the australian coat of arms, which includes and image of a kangaroo and an emu (pronounced "ee-myoo" as i learned this weekend).

apparently 1999 was the international year of older persons! i did not know that until i read this coin!

this is england

its such a shame that this made me laugh so much.

it's originally from the monty python sketch hell's grannies, but i saw the screen cap at this isnt happiness

paint the town

art by andy pitts

dirty space news: planet-bearing stars

the last sentence of the abstract of this paper is just too good not to share.

"Finally, the fingering region is found to extend deeply into the star, a result which would provide a simple theoretical explanation to the measurements of higher lithium depletion rates in planet-bearing stars."

seriously.

thanks to peter yoachim for thinking of me when he spotted some dirty astronomy ;)

relaxing after laptop death

australia, first impressions

the bad news is that last week my laptop died :( its such a sad moment when it happens.... i managed to back up everything before i left england, but i think i forgot some music files and i lost most of what i did last week (not much). at least the beast held out until i started my new job, but unfortunately, my new computer has not arrived yet and so i'm feeling a bit helpless and unproductive.

i therefore took advantage of the down time to explore sydney a little and try to get my body adjusted to this oppressive heat, humidity, and sunlight! since i cannot download my pictures just yet, i'll share some observations:

The size of the bbqs have not disappointed. there is even a special BBQ cleaning spray that i've never seen sold in any other country!

i've adopted a "don't bother asking" policy and just assume that all animals in australia are poisonous. this was particularly distracting during my first lunch with new colleagues when there were a ton of small creatures crawling all over the picnic tables, yet no one seemed to notice them...

i bought some running shoes and attempted to run to the national park near where i'm currently living. i was unsure that i had found the small trail i was looking for, but pushed forward anyway.... until i came bounding around a tree and literally ran into a huge black snake!! ack! we both stayed stunned for a few seconds and then scurried off in opposite directions. i finally found the proper trail and ran long enough to release all my nervous energy while worrying that any little noise was really something poisonous poised to attack me! silly, i know... when i returned home, i did some research and learned that its the brown snakes i need to worry about and very few people are actually killed each year by animal bites or stings. whew.

my first weekend here there was a spectacular thunderstorm complete with lots of lighting!! i forgot how exciting and dramatic and intimidating thunderstorms can be!

i found some ridiculously specific statements in the paperwork for my new job: "normal business hours are from 8.30am to 4.51pm."

there are a lot of colorful birds with aggressive sounding calls. i had quite a faceoff with a kookaburra saturday afternoon... they are incredibly stout birds with huge heads and beaks for the size of their bodies! they are carnivorous, so i wondered if it was after my toes, but it eventually got bored and flew off to watch from a tree branch.

the people have been incredibly nice... strangers look at me and smile and some even talk to me!

surfer boys are cute. surfer girls are b.a.d.a.s.s.

its freaking HOT and humid here, and it's not even summer yet!

actual question on the driver's licence application that i have no idea how to answer: have you ever had attacks of giddiness?

no, water does not swirl down drains in different directions on different hemispheres! The coriolis force, created by the earths spin, causes storm systems like tornados to swirl in the opposite direction, but it does not affect a system as small as a toilet bowl or sink!