the gravity of new life

the rumour is that the LIGO project has detected a significant signal of gravitational waves originating from two distant black holes orbiting each other and merging together!

a big press release from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016 10:30 AM US EST).  you can WATCH the news of the project update HERE.

so what are gravitational waves?  PhD Comics explains them very well in this video:



and if you're curious about how we detect these amazingly weak gravitational waves?  check out this post by Markus Pössel.


in other major life events... i'm 40 weeks along and ready to meet my tiny baby ANY TIME NOW!  very exciting :)

flowerworks

almost time to enjoy sydney's famous end of the year ritual - FIREWORKS!  

but first, a slightly different perspective of the festive explosions... Flowerworks by Sarah Illenberger

merry beachmas

i'm staying in the southern hemisphere this year for the holidays, which is a change of plans due to still recovering from surgery.  i've been house-sitting for some friends who live on one of sydney's lovely northern beaches.  i've been taking advantage of the ocean side pool because i am finally able to swim a few laps again!  the water is cold and salty, but the activity feels great after a couple months necessary rest.

hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and manage to get some necessary down time with family and/or friends.

supercell storm timelapse

those supercell storm are photos are really incredible - but the timelapse movie shot in wyoming, US is unbelievable!

New Zealand South Island

I recently visited new zealand's south island for a week of work.  i love that place - every turn provides a different beautiful scene.  here are some photos.

finally opened brian schmidt's 2005 maipenrai pinot noir.   it was surprisingly full bodied with a hint of cherry!  delicious :)

australia's snake-catching spider

i was walking around the botanical gardens in sydney this week when i came across several huge golden orb-weaving spiders and their webs.

the the golden orb-weaving spider in the centre of its metre-wide web.

the spider and its.... lunch?

yes, the spiders were large and a bit creepy, but i knew their venom isnt fatally harmful to humans, so i just looked on in awe.

then i saw this video captured by daniel reardon.   a brown tree snake falls out of a tree, into a golden orb spider’s web, and loses the battle.   ACK!



also.... help?

severe sky

being a storm chaser is scary work, but you capture some amazing photos in the process!

Photo by Mike Hollingshead 

sunset above the clouds

because today i need a moment of zen.

this new beginning has spiders

i recently moved to a new flat in a different neighborhood in sydney.   so far, i love it!  the neighborhood is called chippendale and the locals call it "chippo."

art on my street!

i also bought a bike so i've been riding around, exploring all the interesting parts of this section of town.

its springtime and the jacarandas are blooming.

my new place has a back patio and garden area which really has me excited.   i've always maintained indoor gardens and this is the first time i've had an outdoor space that i can cultivate.  i bought a new native plant to celebrate the fresh start.

cant remember its name, but i love my new plant!

it's difficult maintaining delicate plants with my consistent travel schedule and lack of dedicated watering assistant, but this time i'm committed to making it work!   i want to grow fresh tomatoes and herbs and dark leafy greens in my living space!

so last weekend i spent a lot of time cleaning up the garden and repotting old plants.  this is garden version0.2.

so much potential in my new outdoor space.

one plant i repotted is the jade hanging up on the fence in the photo above.  as i struggled to remove the jade and clean it up before adding fresh soil, a large brown spider walked across the stones in front of me.  i yelped a little when i saw it (i'll be honest) and sprang backwards for a moment to let it disappear.

i got back to work on the plant and then the spider walked back across the path in the other direction.   persistent not-so-little guy.  i shuddered again and waited for it to disappear from my view.  i managed to finish the job of repotting the plant.

then, i watched the spider immediately crawl back up into the jade plant and "hide" under a leaf for a few minutes.

"hell no, i wont go!" yelled the spider.

finally, it curled up around a stem, and stayed in that position, hugging the plant home that it finally had back, for the next three hours!

"home sweet home"

it was so cute (once i got over the "holy crap that's a pretty big spider that wont go away" jitters)!

i looked it up and its a non-aggressive orb-weaving spider.  i like my new garden friend.


WARNING: the website i found about common australian spiders is probably the most evil website i have ever found in all of cyberspace.  check it out, if you dare!

ps.  i forgot to take a photo of garden version 0.3.  i'll leve you in anticipation of v1.0!

i, a universe of atoms

a lovely sentiment from physicist richard feynman.

credit: link

a second a day for a year

sam christopher cornwell created this video of his son's first year, by adding together one second of footage from each day.   it's surprisingly engaging and of course, super cute!  i was cheering the little guy through his first steps...

A Second a Day from Birth. from Sam Christopher Cornwell on Vimeo.

you are stardust

you are stardust is a beautiful picture book that i intend to own before too long.

the book harbours art and poetry inside.

be still.  listen.
like you, the earth breathes.
your breath is alive with the promise of flowers.
each time you blow a kiss to the world, you spread pollen that might grow to be a new plant.

smeared skies

photographer matt molloy has been practicing the technique of timestacking to create these interesting landscape photos.   he lives near toronto and has been adding together many photographs taken of single sunsets.   here are the colorful results:  

smeared sky collection via colossal.

new zealand - the kepler track

last month i hiked one of south island of new zealand's great walks: the kepler track.  the kepler mountains in fiordland and this track are named after one of my favorite astronomers, johannes kepler.

the "tramp" took us four days and covered 60 km of beautiful wilderness that felt completely isolated and untouched by humans, other than the incredibly well-maintained track!

the hike started from the town of te anau, going through rain forest along a lovely, long lake.

it was windy above the protection of the trees.

the view of the foggy sunrise over te anau from the first hut was stunning.

blooming.

after a rainy first day, the rest of the trip was graced with clear skies and incredibly good visibility.

the valleys in fiordland were carved out by glaciers thousands of year ago and filled with water when the glaciers melted.

luckily i dont suffer vertigo, but nearly toppled off this trail while looking back and forth at the view in every direction.

many vibrant colors of life growing on this rock.

the sunsets were beautiful, but the sand flies near the lakes made it extremely unpleasant to enjoy them for long!

watch out!

so crisp and clear.  the lakes were very low after a month-long drought across new zealand.

winding path through a bog.

purple bliss.

i will return.   so much more to explore...!