September 23, 2014
Infographic from Live Science
According to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time – or sort of Greenwich Mean Time – also Zulu Time), summer ended and autumn began at 2:29. That would make it 22:29 EDT on Monday, September 22, where I reside. (Why UTC and not UCT or CUT?)
Approximating Earth’s orbit around the sun to be an ellipse with semimajor axis of 1 au and eccentricity of 0.0167, the distance Earth travels in one year is 940 million kilometers (584 million miles). The average speed of the Earth around the sun is 18.5 miles/second. – ref: Wikipedia
And the tattoo:
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged astronomy, Autumn, Coordinate Universal Time, equinox, geeky science blogging, style, tattoo Tuesday, tattoos, travel, UTC | 2 Comments »
September 18, 2014
Not so much living as vacationing. Did you know that you can rent a fire look out tower at several locations in the US National Forest system?
The National Forests Foundation has information about lookout rentals in the western states
And nine questions about renting one of the lookouts
And lookout rentals by state
These are high, but not high-end, accommodations, but once you get there, the views must be magnificent!
Lookout living is not all blue huckleberries and kinnikinnik jam, however. Like lighthouse keepers, lookout living requires some accommodations.
Here are some of the photos from this delightful book that combines history, drawings, photos and recipes. The book is available from the National Forests Foundation website store, or Amazon.
See also:
Lustron Homes
Quonset Huts
Dymaxion House
Heinlein House
Sears Mail-Order Homes
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged architecture, cooking, fire lookout towers, food, forests, history, lookout towers, National Forests Foundation, National Parks, travel | 4 Comments »
September 10, 2014
If you are still stuck on Star Wars, you can crochet yourself this wonderful Death Star throw pillow (28 inches in diameter). The pattern for the pillow – this one was created in acrylic yarn so you can wash your death star without worrying about shrinkage – is at ravelry.com.
Thanks to Katie for the link.
Also available as a LEGO kit from Amazon for $1,986.49 plus shipping (not eligible for Prime)
Diagram reference Wookiepedia
More fun stuff:
Death Star Lollipops
Tea Infuser
Ice Cube Mold
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Deathstar, design, knitting, Lego, science fiction, space, Star Wars, style, whimsey | 4 Comments »
September 9, 2014
Harland David Sanders, born September 9, 1890, in Henryville, Indiana.
Colonel Sanders was an American businessman, best known for founding Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), and later acting as the company’s goodwill ambassador and symbol.
Sanders held a number of jobs in his early life, such as a fireman, insurance salesman and running filling stations. He began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first KFC franchise opened in Utah in 1952. The company’s rapid expansion across the United States and overseas saw it overwhelm him however, and in 1964 he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown, Jr. and Jack C. Massey for $2 million.
Ref: Wikipedia
You can down load Col. Sanders cookbook here. It includes this recipe:
And the tattoo:
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baking, birthday, Col. Sanders, food, history, Kentucky Fried Chicken, tattoo Tuesday, tattoos | 2 Comments »
Gunsmoke and Knitting 