January 26, 2015
This cool, little video is described as follows:
These 3-D printed sculptures, called aniforms, are designed to animate when spun under a strobe light. The placement of the appendages is determined by the same method nature uses in pinecones and sunflowers. The rotation speed is synchronized to the strobe so that one flash occurs every time the sculpture turns 137.5º—the golden angle. If you count the number of spirals on any of these sculptures you will find that they are always Fibonacci numbers.
For this video, rather than using a strobe, the camera was set to a very short shutter speed (1/4000 sec) in order to freeze the spinning sculpture.
Read more and credits here.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 3-D printing, aniforms, art, design, fibonacci, sculpture, strobe light, whimsey, zoetrope | 2 Comments »
January 23, 2015
These are my super-model cats, Commander Samuel Vimes (his Grace), and Hobbes (erstwhile materialist philosopher).
Cmdr. Samuel Vimes in a contemplative mood.
Sam and Hobbes – Maine Mountain Cats scaling the mantel.
Sam watching the news.
And paying close attention to the weather report.
What!? Now he’s buying a car!?
All of this activity is truly exhausting.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged animals, cats, Friday, Sam Vimes, sappy cat blogging, Thomas Hobbes, whimsey | 2 Comments »
January 22, 2015
I thought this little video about how a Jack Daniels whiskey barrel is made was interesting. I was surprised at the amount of hand work involved while producing barrels on an industrial scale.
Here are some photos that feature a product associated with barrels. They are from a trip I took on the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky . . .
Looking inside a barrel at Buffalo Trace.
The fermentation room at Four Roses.
The still room at Four Roses.
A tasting at Makers Mark.
It was an interesting tour. I would go back to Buffalo Trace and some of the distillers that I missed the first time.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged barrels, bourbon, distilling, fermentation, Kentucky, travel, whiskey | 4 Comments »
January 16, 2015
When I was a kid, wolves were the beasts that haunted my nightmares. Recurring nightmares about tricky wolves; wolves that wore blue overalls. I think Looney Tunes has a lot to answer for.
When I got older I realized that the critter above could be the real nightmare. Then I read about this guy.
The giant short-faced bear kind of blows any other bears right out of the water. This gigantic bear stood about 6.5 feet while on all four legs and was about 11-12 feet tall when standing upright on its hind legs. Evidence of members of this bear family are found in both North and South America. It was truly an impressive creature. Fossil evidence indicates that humans did not move into this bear’s environment until after its extinction. It also seems to have been the alpha predator because of the lack of fossil evidence for other large carnivores such as lions and scimitar cats in areas where short-faced bear traces are found.
I love bears, albeit with the greatest respect. I would not want to meet this one.
More here on twilightbeasts.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged animals, bears, Friday, giant short-faced bear, history, nature, photography, sappy cat blogging, wolves | 5 Comments »
January 14, 2015
Judging (sorry) by the results of this NYT quiz, I am not likely to be chosen as a member of a jury.
Actually, I have served on juries in the past – on a civil case and on a federal discrimination case. I thought the experience was interesting.
The last time I was called by the Court of Common Pleas, I was not chosen – but still had to sit around all week. However, it was spring and we had long lunch hours and I could sit and eat my lunch in the Library’s reading garden. It was okay.
Thanks for the quiz reference to Rantings of an Amateur Chef, who I follow mostly for his recipes.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged jury duty | 4 Comments »
January 13, 2015
Shades of Star Trek First Contact, an Omaha man is fiddling around in his garage working on warp fields. This story from Dave Reneke.
David Pares is maybe not how you’d imagine a scientist trying to prove the existence of warp fields (and then harness them), but he is the one who seems to be trying the hardest. Its science fiction finally coming true.
Armed with all the money and free time he possesses, Pares has been tirelessly exploring what some people have dismissed as a pointless endeavor. But a lack of funding or scientific support won’t stop him. While NASA’s Harold “Sonny” White is exploring warp bubbles in a more theoretical way, Pares is taking a more hands-on approach.
Dave Pares and his workshop/laboratory
He’s toiling over a Faraday cage and constructing a V-shaped device made up of three panels with fractal arrays that he believes can compress the very fabric of space. Pares does so at the headquarters for Space Warp Dynamics, aka his garage.
Pares contends that warp bubbles occur naturally all of the time right here on earth. Through his work he is attempted to test that theory.
That’s how the Wright Brothers did it.
And the tattoo, because it is Tuesday.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged astronomy, entertainment, science, science fiction, space, Star Trek, style, tattoo Tuesday, tattoos, warp drive | Leave a Comment »
Gunsmoke and Knitting 