The Evil Eyebrow

  • "I claim this dust mote in the name of…"

    An unprecedented opportunity to contribute to the state of astro-geology is being presented by the University of California at Berkely. You can participate in their stardust@home project to analyze aerogel images for interstellar dust grains that were returned to Earth a few days ago aboard the NASA mission Stardust.

    If you pass the training course and spot a legitimate dust track, you get to name that bit of supernova debris.

    I hesitate to suggest my default name of “Bob” because it seems like an ancient sample of the universe needs a more resounding name. “Robert” might be more appropriate…

  • Galactic Fireworks

    Cartwheel Galaxy composite as put together by Cal Tech

    The Cartwheel Galaxy is a spectacular galaxy. It was recently (in astronomic terms–something like 100 million years ago) run over and penetrated by a smaller galaxy which set off a round of star formation. For all the details from CalTech about the galaxy and how the put the image together, click on the thumbnail.

  • Lion Country: Don't Roll your Windows Down

    Today’s NY Times has an article entitled Florida Wildlife Park’s Lions Lose Some Freedom to Roam, by Abby Goodnough. It concerns a safari park that is near and dear to my childhood memories, despite only one visit.  I remember driving through the park with my parents and sisters listening to this lioness asthsmatically hack like there was no tomorrow.

    The story of that trip doesn’t end until we get lost on the way home and end up in Yeehaw Junction, Florida. Yes, that is a real placename.

    But that is getting aside from the real story, which is people not following common sense rules.  Such as… 

    If you followed the rules – windows up, doors locked, absolutely no pets or convertibles – you could motor among packs of the fearsome creatures at Lion Country Safari, a drive-through wildlife preserve whose residents occasionally dislodged bumpers and gnawed on side-view mirrors.

    But in November, Lion Country Safari enclosed its 14 African lions in a tall chain-link fence to keep rule-breaking visitors from becoming lunch. Too many were opening their car windows and occasionally even doors, a park official said, making the threat of lawsuits too great for the small attraction.

    Ahhh, people.

  • Del Monte Note

    A United States Currency $20 bill was printed in 1996 with a Del Monte fruit stick on it.

    The bill in genuine and somehow slipped by U.S. Treasury’s inspection process.

    I was clued into this by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, but much more information is available on the web. It came up on the paper because the bill is being sold at auction today and tomorrow.

    Here is a good link describing the bill, with a picture, and here is another.

    7 January 2006 Update: The note sold for $25,300, 1265 times its face value.

    I would imagine there are strict security protocols at the mint (Mint? Bureau of Engraving?) to prevent people from causing erroneous currency and then “cashing in.”  If you could make 1,000 times the value of a $100 bill, just by screwing the process a bit, that might be worth it. I wonder what the penalty for that would be if you were caught?

  • Professional Ungineers

    Today I received a solicitation from the National Society of Professional Engineers concerning my membership—I’m not a member—and exhorting me to contemplate the benefits of association with their august group.

    Here is a quote from the beginning of the cover letter:

    Dear William:

    Nothing says “professional engineer” like the PE license.

    Ummm, duh? I’m at a loss for words. Truly. But wait, there’s more.

    Nothing says “professional engineer” like the PE license. Why? Because in a profession so affected by rapid changes in technology, techniques, and ethical issues, a demonstrated commitment to staying ahead of the curve is a pledge of excellence to a prospective client or employer.

    I won’t go on.

    If you can translate that last sentence into something that makes sense, please tell me what it means.

  • Comment Spam

    For those of you who comment on my blog, be aware that I’ve recently lowered the allowable number of hyperlinks in comments before they require moderation.

    To date, none of the not-spam comments would have been moderated, but if your comment doesn’t show immediately, strip out a url or two and repost. I can’t guarantee that I won’t delete it with the hundreds of spam comments I’ve been receiving.

    Hopefully the flood will die down soon.

  • 2005 List of Websites and Blogs

    As a public service, here is a list of websites and blogs that I frequented during 2005. Hopefully this list will grow with worthy inhabitants during 2006!

    Astronomy Picture of the Day. I can’t say enough good things about this website!
    NOAA Geostationary Satellite Server. What’s the weather like? Go take a look. This site is particularly neat during hurricane season as you can see the tropical waves spawning off Africa.
    Throw Paper! Self-explanatory.
    Planarity.net. This still occasionally puts me in thrall.
    The Register. I like the UK version.
    Wikipedia. Wikipedia is King! Or Queen, depending.
    Flags of the World. Most everything you every wanted to know about Flags.
    Talk Origins. “Exploring the Creation/Evolution Controversy.”
    Annals of Improbabl Research. Yay for the Ig Nobel awards!
    Baen Publishing’s Free Library. Need a book to read for free? Here you go.

    May I have the Blogroll, please…

    Bad Astronomy Blog
    Panda’s Thumb
    Tangled Bank
    Meandering Starre
    SF Signal

  • The Worst Movie of 2005

    The Worst Movie of the Year (that I saw) was The Family Stone, a steaming pile of crap if I’ve ever stepped in one.

    If you saw the previews for this movie, I’m willing to bet you assumed it to be a romantic comedy or a family-dynamic comedy or a holiday comedy. Notice the theme in that last sentence, please.

    Do not expect to be entertained by laughter if you see this movie. It is not a comedy.

    Well (you ask) if it’s not a comedy, what is it?

    Drama? No, too stupid.
    Tearjerker? No, too funny.
    Chick Flick? No, too awful.

    They managed to roll into a 100 minute movie almost every comedic, dramatic, or holiday cliche that exists. They put together a film with no theme, no believable plot, and a set of characters that you had no idea what the hell was going on with. It made me angry, it was so bad. I never leave movies halfway through, but if I hadn’t thought my wife would be pissed, I’d have got up and left that one.

    BAD movie! No biscuit. See it at your peril.

  • Sexiest Geeks

    How do you make up for not blogging in three weeks? By submitting three times a day, of course…

    Check out WIRED Magazine’s Top 10 Sexiest Geeks of 2005.

  • Grenades & Gunsights

    I spent (mis-spent) a good portion of my New Years Holiday playing online multiplayer Call of Duty 2. I learned several things (again):

    1) I will never spend the kind of time or money that is necessary to be a rockin’ kick-ass first-person-shooter King. Just won’t happen. I’ll be happy with the .9 or so kill ratio I end up with.

    2) Some people online need another hobby

    3) If you play a game too much, you see it in your sleep, in your food, in fact, EVERYWHERE!

    For an example of #3, take for instance a person, let’s call him Bill, who goes to bed around 11:30 after a rip-roaring team deathmatch battle where he did rather well, thank you very much. He settles down with Jane Austen (he’s re-reading Pride and Prejudice) and gets to the scene near the beginning of the book where Elizabeth is remarking about Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst at the first Ball. At this time, whilst Elizabeth is remarking about how much she does not care for those two, our hero’s mind insists on projecting the image of tossing a grenade ala COD2 at the two women.

    Way too much… The last time I had dreams this vivid was after a 6 hour Tetris binge in the mid nineties.

The Evil Eyebrow

There is no knowing the Evil Eyebrow

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