Category: science

A Tear-Drop of Green

Picture taken from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.

— Neil Armstrong

There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.

— Carl Sagan

My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity.

—  Edgar Mitchel

This stunning picture of the earth was taken from NASA’s newest earth observing satellite, the Suomi NPP. Click to embiggen.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

What better way to say goodbye to another cycle of the planet around its mother than buy enjoy the fireworks the two make together:

P.S. Put it on fullscreen and in hi-def for the best effect.

Happy New Year!

ACK?! Here is a video about Cephalopods, Everyone loves those!

Keeping a schedule can be hard work, especially when you’re being hammered by work and have numerous other personal obligations. Spent the end of last week and the weekend back home in the desert where I was a groomsman for my best friend in high school. I didn’t have a lot of time for writing, or anything else really.

So, sorry about the filler post. Except it isn’t filler it’s a short, fascinating video about how camouflage in cephalopods works and how their ability to do it so well reveals that our ability to percieve the world, as it “really” is, is an illusion. Neat, huh?

Back to that wedding story; three piece black tuxedos in 100+ degree weather for over an hour? Not ideal.

Extinction is Forever

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vqCCI1ZF7o]

This animal will never be seen again, and that is Humanity’s fault.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the death of the last known Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger. Adding insult to injury this specimen died from neglect, it was left of its protected shelter on a day with a blistering high temperature and a freezing night…

This footage is one of seven, each under a minute, films we have of Thylacines. Outside of taxidermied specimens and skeletons it is all that is left of it (you can see the rest here)

This is the part where I’m supposed to get all indignant and self-righteous and talk about how humans are wrecking shit up and berate you, the reader, to be better. But, today I’m just going to let the footage “speak” for itself.

 

 

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