March 10, 2015
Today in 537 the first Siege of Rome and the start of the First Gothic War. Actually, Rome had been sacked by the Goths in 410.
No, not these Goths . . .
I’m talking about these Goths . . .
General Belisarius was appointed by Justinian I to take back Rome. He entered Italy from the east and rapidly took Sicily.
Map credit Cplakidas
Europe was a pretty disorganized place in those days after the fall of the Roman Empire. Here is a clever graphic depicting the changes in power.
From Wikipedia.
It would not be Tuesday without a tattoo. Here’s a Gothic one . . .
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged First Gothic War, General Belisarius, Goths, history, Justinian I, Siege of Rome, style, tattoo Tuesday, tattoos | 1 Comment »
March 4, 2015
Just kidding – but only because I do not have a handy Canadian five-spot.
The story here from Huffington Post. Wilfred Laurier, Canada’s seventh Prime Minister and first fracophone leader, is immortalized on the five dollar bill and bears a resemblance to Star Trek’s Mr. Spock (RIP Leonard Nimoy).
The Canadian government says that “Spocking” the bills is not illegal – nor is it encouraged, eh?
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged art, Canada, history, Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock, science fiction, Star Trek, whimsey, Wilfred Laurier | Leave a Comment »
February 25, 2015
Interesting photos from WordlessTech, et al . . .
Ice-Covered Eastern States – Image Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
New York Harbor in the cold – Image credit CBS via gizmodo
Ice on the Potomac – Image: J. David Ake/Associated Press
I was in DC yesterday and was amazed at the amount of snow there – and the ice-covered Potomac. I am sorry I did not think to snap a photo from my airplane window. And there was no heat on the plane.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged travel, weather | 4 Comments »
February 23, 2015
February 10 – the view from the beach.
February 15 – the view from my front steps
I think that true intelligence is not knowing when to go on vacation, but knowing how long to stay away.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged travel, weather | 2 Comments »
February 22, 2015
Did you have clear skies last night? If so, you may have been able to catch the sight above: a conjunction of the crescent Moon and the planets Venus and Mars in the western sky!
I captured the photo above with a Nikon D7000 and a Sigma 150-500mm lens. Venus is the brighter object at left, Mars appears dimmer and redder above. Part of the Moon’s “dark side” can be seen due to Earthshine – sunlight reflected off Earth onto the Moon. (Sometimes romantically called “the old Moon in the new Moon’s arms.”)
Although the worlds were only within a degree or two of each other in the sky they were in reality very far apart (obviously). The actual distances from Earth to each at the time of the event? Moon: 363,784 km; Venus: 213 million km; Mars: 329.1 million km.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged astronomy, geeky science blogging, Lights in the Dark, Mars, moon, Venus | Leave a Comment »
I’m talking about these Goths . . .
Map credit Cplakidas
Gunsmoke and Knitting 