Miscellaneous tidbits

[Brad Reddekopp]

Let's make a thread for bits and pieces of science-related thingummies that may not each warrant their own threads.

For example, I got this in my email today from spaceweather.com:

BIG FULL MOON: This week's full Moon (Oct. 25-26) is the biggest full Moon of 2007. It's no illusion. Some full Moons are genuinely larger than others and Thursday night's will be as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons we've seen earlier this year. Check http://spaceweather.com for the reasons why.

I did not know that.

[Brad Reddekopp]

Exploding comet:

Space Weather News for Oct. 29, 2007
http://spaceweather.com

Last week, Comet 17P/Holmes shocked sky watchers around the world with a sudden million-fold increase in brightness. It literally exploded into view, rapidly becoming a naked eye "star" in the constellation Perseus. Since then the comet has expanded dramatically. It is now physically larger than the planet Jupiter and subtends an angle in the night sky similar to the Moon's Sea of Tranquility, the right eye of the "Man in the Moon." Photographers, this amazing comet is an excellent target for off-the-shelf digital cameras and backyard telescopes. It grows visibly from night to night and no one knows how large it will become. Stay tuned to http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and the latest images.

[Fiver]

Ah yes, here we go ND, another sasqui thing, the Jacobs creature. Allegedly taking with an ir game camera.

Forum Topic on it.

http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?showtopic=20689

Pictures on bfro.net

http://bfro.net/avevid/jacobs/jacobs_photos.asp

Pic comparison of a mangy bear and the actual pic, from above forum.



If I thought this had any validity I would start a topic.

The topic has been beat into the mud at the forum, mangy bear to guy in a furry suit cause of they way the subject is bending. I say mangy bear but not a sasqui for sure, feet too small is the first thing that comes out.

Just kind of interesting how much of a stir these pics have caused, lol.

[Brad Reddekopp]

I've seen lots of bears. That is obviously a bear -- a young one, by the looks of it, and sickly.

Why would people even think it's something else? Perhaps they're just really, really unfamiliar with bears. Perhaps they really, really want to believe in something "cool".

The suggestion that it might be a human in a fur suit reminds me of something said by a chief in a nearby Indian village. He's a friend of mine and I asked him his opinion of bear meat. He said that he doesn't mind the taste but he doesn't like the idea because once you get the hide off a bear it looks too much like a person.

[Dead Kangaroo]

Ah yes, here we go ND, another sasqui thing, the Jacobs creature. Allegedly taking with an ir game camera.

Forum Topic on it.

http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?showtopic=20689

Pictures on bfro.net

http://bfro.net/avevid/jacobs/jacobs_photos.asp

Pic comparison of a mangy bear and the actual pic, from above forum.



If I thought this had any validity I would start a topic.

The topic has been beat into the mud at the forum, mangy bear to guy in a furry suit cause of they way the subject is bending. I say mangy bear but not a sasqui for sure, feet too small is the first thing that comes out.

Just kind of interesting how much of a stir these pics have caused, lol.

You should try here if your interested in that kind of discussion.

[Dead Kangaroo]

Mini Subject: MESS
I recently aquired an old PC with no LAN built in, with the spare odds an sods lying around I managed to get it running wired from the usb, this was done in a very fuckabout kinda way:

(I'll try my best to explain this)A (is the pc) is connected to B (a modem/router with usb/LAN only capability and inactive dsl) via usb cable (would have connected it straight to the main modem/router but it doesn't have a usb socket, only wifi+4xLAN) then B is connected to C (24 way office router rack only there to replace the cross over cable that I don't have/couldn't be arsed chopping up one) and finally C is connected to D (the router with the wifi/LAN and operating dsl).
ip route
pc=192.168.0.51
B-router=192.168.0.50
D-router=192.168.0.1
B-router is behaving exactly like a pc as far as the D-router is concerned so the D-router is giving it access, the office rack (C)is just cross linking and has no I.P. to speak of, the B-router is bridging the LAN>usb (it also bitches about not finding internet via it's dsl line) and is not behaving as it was designed, B-router inadvertently gives the PC the internet.


P.S. I made this post on this mess

[Fiver]

Thanks dk, know that one, that forum I have linked is prob the best imo, seems like any useful info from other sites always end up posted there. There is so many out there, just like many subjects these days.

So what do you think? lol

For the record after close to four decades of study and some investigative research, my skepticism is high.

[Brad Reddekopp]

Received this in my email today:

TAURID METEOR SHOWER: The annual Northern Taurid meteor shower caused by Comet Encke peaks on Nov. 12th. Although Taurid rates are normally low, only about five meteors per hour, those five can be doozies. The shower is a well-known producer of slow, bright fireballs visible at all hours of the night. If you're outside after dark this weekend, be alert for Taurids.

From http://www.spaceweather.com

[Dead Kangaroo]

I posted this message on my sony ericsson k810i

[Ratter]

Mix equal amounts of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, then drink it.

[Brad Reddekopp]

Mmm. The fresh taste of the sea.

[PedroPickles]

Johnny was a chemist's son
But Johnny is no more
What Johnny thought was H2O
was H2SO4!

[Brad Reddekopp]

Ursid meteor shower this weekend. Will it be a good one? Dunno...

Space Weather News for Dec. 20, 2007
http://spaceweather.com

URSID METEORS: Earth is heading for a stream of comet dust that could produce a pleasing outburst of "shooting stars" this weekend. Forecasters say dozens of meteors per hour could emerge from a spot in the sky near the North Star (Polaris) when Earth encounters the dust on Saturday evening, Dec. 22nd. These meteors are called "Ursids" after Ursa Minor, the constellation where the North Star is located. If forecasting models are correct, the shower's peak will occur between 2100 and 2200 UT (4-5 pm EST) with meteors visible as much as four hours before and after that time.

The source of the dust is Comet 8P/Tuttle, which is traveling through the inner solar system this month and next. The comet itself can be seen through binoculars not far from the radiant of the shower. This gives sky watchers a rare opportunity to see a comet and its meteors in the same observing session.

Ursid meteors, which appear in small numbers annually, have a reputation for faintness and delicacy. Dark skies are usually required to see them; bright moonlight on Dec. 22nd will only exacerbate the problem of visibility. However, say forecasters, during an outburst of Ursids there may be a fair number of bright meteors. No one knows what will happen--all the more reason to look!

Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information.

[Brad Reddekopp]

Check out the moon and Mars tonight:

Space Weather News for Dec. 23, 2007
http://spaceweather.com

MOON AND MARS: Please don't miss this: At sunset on Sunday, Dec. 23rd, the full Moon and Mars will rise in the east less than two degrees apart. So close together, the two brightest objects in the evening sky look absolutely dynamite. The display will be visible all night long, even from brightly lit cities, and requires no telescope to enjoy.

[Brad Reddekopp]

A meteor shower with 50 or more meteorites per hour at the peak:

Space Weather News for Jan. 3, 2008
http://spaceweather.com

METEOR SHOWER: Earth is about to pass through a stream of dusty debris from near-Earth asteroid 2003 EH1, producing the annual Quadrantid meteor shower. Forecasters expect a brief but intense peak of 50+ meteors per hour over Earth's northern hemisphere sometime between 0200 UTC and 0700 UTC on Friday morning, Jan. 4th. (Subtract 5 hours to convert UTC to EST.) The timing favors observers in the eastern USA, Europe and western parts of Asia. Winter storms frequently hide this shower from observers on the ground. To avoid such problems, a team of astronomers led by Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute plan to fly a plane above the clouds where they can train their cameras on the Quadrantids. Their data may reveal whether asteroid 2003 EH1 is the fragment of a broken-apart comet. Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information.

JUST FOR FUN: This is a good time of year to see Orion the Hunter: the constellation rises in the east at sunset. Watching Orion ascend, you may experience the little-known "constellation illusion." The idea is the same as the Moon illusion; constellations viewed near the horizon look abnormally large. Go outside tonight and look. Can you believe your eyes?