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JamesSavik

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  1. JamesSavik

    Drive By

    By JamesSavik,

    About 1am last Friday I took a break from the sci-fi channel to amble off to the kitchen for a sandwich.
     
    Shortly after arriving there I hear a series of loud POPs like a 9mm and I hit the deck. I thought I heard impacts hitting the house.
     
    After the last of 8 shots, a car or truck punched it and left the area.
     
    I looked for some time and found no evidence of gunfire... until this morning.
     
    I found 3 X .380 bullet holes- two in the facia and one in a large window in the front of the house.
     
    Inside I followed a trail of destruction as the .380 entered the living room, passed through the drapes, hit an antique piece of furniture and came to rest on the carpet.
     
    I hate living in the damned hood.
     
    This wasn't for us. More than likely the geniuses that did it were after someone else and got the wrong house.
     
    My Dad took it in stride: he said that it was the first time since Korea anybody had shot at him and it made him feel young again.
     
    I have to wonder what it is about and are we going to see more lead.
  2. JamesSavik
    It really sucks. I started getting sick Saturday and went into self-imposed quarentine. I've got no problems sharing but viruses should be personal don't ya think?
     
    It started out with the nose running like a sprinkler. Then the fever and chills set in. I've slept more in the past few days than I have in ages.
     
    All I wanted to do was sleep.
     
    Did I mention how much I hate to be sick? I could never use that excuse to skip work cuz the bosses knew if I called in sick, I must be half dead.
     
    I can't figure out how I got it. It's not like I hang out with a lot of scruffy looking fowl. I avoid kids, espically groups of kids, because they are like little incubators of biohazards.
     
    This is the first time in years that I've had anything other than the occassional allergy.
     
    I can tell it will be a while before I'm 100%
     
    When I went to the doc, he said, "I don't like the sound of that cough."
     
    I did my best to look real hurt and said: "But I've been practicing it day and night."
    _______________________________
     
     
    ON a much healthier Note:
     
    I got this little gem Friday night. Time was I couldn't imagine being clean & sober for an hour. Three years was an unimaginable feat.
     

     
     
    PS. Why didn't I get any feedback on my Gays in the Military blog? I though it was going to be a hit but I got nary a comment. Was it that bad.
  3. JamesSavik
    The brightest supernova
     
    Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based telescopes have detected the brightest stellar explosion ever recorded.
     

     
    Observations suggest supernova SN 2006gy is the brightest and most energetic stellar explosion ever recorded and may be a long-sought new type of explosion. Here, an artist's illustration shows what SN 2006gy may have looked like if viewed up close. NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
     
    Astronomy Magazine Online
    May 7, 2007
     
    The brightest stellar explosion ever recorded may be a long-sought new type of supernova, according to observations by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based optical telescopes. This discovery indicates that violent explosions of extremely massive stars were relatively common in the early universe, and that a similar explosion may be ready to go off in our own galaxy.
     
    "This was a truly monstrous explosion, a hundred times more energetic than a typical supernova," says Nathan Smith of the University of California at Berkeley, who led a team of astronomers from California and the University of Texas in Austin. "That means the star that exploded might have been as massive as a star can get, about 150 times that of our sun. We've never seen that before."
     
    Astronomers think many of the first generation of stars were this massive, and this new supernova may thus provide a rare glimpse of how the first stars died. It is unprecedented, however, to find such a massive star and witness its death. The discovery of the supernova, known as SN 2006gy, provides evidence that the death of such massive stars is fundamentally different from theoretical predictions.
     

     
    An infrared image (left) shows NGC 1260, the galaxy containing SN 2006gy. The dimmer source to the lower left is the center of NGC 1260, while the much brighter source to the upper right is SN 2006gy. The panel on the right shows Chandra's X-ray image of the same field of view. Infrared: Lick/UC Berkeley/J. Bloom and C. Hansen; X ray: NASA/CXC/UC Berkeley/N.Smith et al.
     
    "Of all exploding stars ever observed, this was the king," said Alex Filippenko, leader of the ground-based observations at the Lick Observatory at Mt. Hamilton, California, and the Keck Observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. "We were astonished to see how bright it got, and how long it lasted."
     
    The Chandra observation allowed the team to rule out the most likely alternative explanation for the supernova: that a white dwarf star with a mass only slightly higher than the sun exploded into a dense, hydrogen-rich environment. In that event, SN 2006gy should have been 1,000 times brighter in X-rays than what Chandra detected.
     
    "This provides strong evidence that SN 2006gy was, in fact, the death of an extremely massive star," says Dave Pooley of the University of California at Berkeley, who led the Chandra observations.
     
    The star that produced SN 2006gy apparently expelled a large amount of mass prior to exploding. This large mass loss is similar to that seen from Eta Carinae, a massive star in our galaxy, raising suspicion that Eta Carinae may be poised to explode as a supernova. Although SN 2006gy is intrinsically the brightest supernova ever, it is in the galaxy NGC 1260, some 240 million light years away. However, Eta Carinae is only about 7,500 light years away in our own Milky Way galaxy.
     
    "We don't know for sure if Eta Carinae will explode soon, but we had better keep a close eye on it just in case," says Mario Livio of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, who was not involved in the research. "Eta Carinae's explosion could be the best star-show in the history of modern civilization."
     
    Supernovas usually occur when massive stars exhaust their fuel and collapse under their own gravity. In the case of SN 2006gy, astronomers think that a very different effect may have triggered the explosion. Under some conditions, the core of a massive star produces so much gamma ray radiation that some of the energy from the radiation converts into particle and anti- particle pairs. The resulting drop in energy causes the star to collapse under its own huge gravity.
     
    After this violent collapse, runaway thermonuclear reactions ensue and the star explodes, spewing the remains into space. The SN 2006gy data suggest that spectacular supernovas from the first stars
  5. JamesSavik
    Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village
     
    Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.
    Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.
     
    Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a "strange odor," local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.
     
    Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also became ill and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized, Lopez said.
     
    Rescue teams and experts were dispatched to the scene, where the meteorite left a 100-foot-wide (30-meter-wide) and 20-foot-deep (six-meter-deep) crater, said local official Marco Limache.
     
    "Boiling water started coming out of the crater and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby. Residents are very concerned," he said.
     
     
  6. JamesSavik

    Magnus Libras II

    By JamesSavik,

    The design of my knowledge-base is specific to me and my interests. Another persons knowledge base may look completely different with different topics and priorities.
    Astronomy & AstrophysicsAstrophysics Black Holes
    Gravity
    Cosmology
    General Astrophysics
    High Energy AP
    Hubble Observations
    Neutron Stars/Pulsars
    Plasma Physics
    Stellar structure & Evolution
    Supernova

    [*]Basic Astronomy
    [*]Celestial Mechanics
    [*]General
    [*]History
    [*]Milky Way
    [*]NASA Pubs
    [*]Research Methods and Instruments
    [*]Spacecraft
    [*]Stars
    [*]Solar Astronomy
    [*]Reference


    [*]Business
    Accounting
    ATWork Skills
    Business Tech
    Cost-Benefit Analysis
    CRM
    Economics
    Finance
    Grant Proposals
    Management
    PR
    Project Management
    Risk Management
    World Trade

    [*]Certifications
    Cisco
    DB 2
    Java
    Linux
    Microsoft
    MySQL
    Security
    Sun

    [*]Computer Hardware
    Bus
    Computer & Processor Architecture
    Firmware
    Hard Drives
    Memory
    PC Designs
    Ports
    Printers
    Software
    USB
    Cables

    [*]Databases
    Data Mining
    Data Warehousing
    Databases Access
    DB 2
    Java Databases
    MySQL
    Oracle
    Misc Databases

    [*]Data Conversion
    [*]DB Design
    [*]Relational Databases- Theory & Practice
    [*]SQL


    [*]Electronics- huge
    [*]Engineering
    Aerospace
    Architecture
    Automotive
    Blueprints & Diagrams
    CAD
    Chemical
    Civil
    Components
    Construction
    Electrical
    Guides/Reference
    Engines
    Environmental
    Machining
    Materials
    Mechanical
    Metallurgy
    Vibration
    Pipes
    Welding
    Wiring

    [*]Fiction
    Classics
    Fantasy
    Horror
    Mysteries
    Sci-Fi
    Techno-Thrillers
    Graphic Novels

    [*]Fun Stuff
    aquarium/fish
    backpacking
    bikes
    bonsai
    Crafts
    gardening
    Darwin Awards
    Humor
    Model Rocketry
    Modeling
    Motorcycling
    Music
    Cat Care
    Photography

    [*]Games
    007
    Aftermath
    Aliens
    Babylon 5
    Cyberpunk
    D20
    FASA
    Gurps
    Rifts
    Space Opera
    Star Wars
    Stargate
    Traveler

    [*]General Science
    Anthropology
    Archeology
    Biology
    Chemistry
    Climatology
    Ecology
    Geology
    Oceanography
    Optics
    Reference

    [*]History
    Classical Period
    Middle Ages
    Colonial Period
    Industrial Revolution
    Modern

    [*]Home & Garden
    [*]Info Systems [to be reorganized]
    [*]Info Security [to be reorganized]
    [*]Intelligence
    Sources & Methods
    Organization
    Analysis
    Asia
    Africa
    Australia
    Europe
    North America
    South America

    [*]Knowledge Theory [to be reorganized]
    [*]Legal
    [*]Manuals & Guides
    Backup & Recovery
    Hardware
    Lab
    MS Office
    Net Services
    Open Source
    Reference
    Software
    Disaster

    [*]Math
    algebra
    algorithms
    Basics
    Bessel Functions
    Calculus
    Combinatorics
    Complexity
    Differential Equations
    Dirac
    Hilbert
    Integrals
    Probability
    Sequences
    Statistics
    Tensors
    Abbreviated List<<

    [*]Medicine
    Anatomy & Physiology
    allergies
    Emergency
    First Aid
    Health Maintenance
    Reference
    Abbreviated List<<

    [*]Military
    Administration
    Basic Technologies
    Disaster Response
    Engineering
    Equipment
    FEMA
    Field-craft
    Hand2hand
    NBC nuclear, Biological & Chemical
    Weapons
    Small Arms
    Smithing
    Small Unite Tactics
    Guerrilla Warfare
    Counterinsurgency

    [*]Operating Systems
    Apple
    BSD
    Linux
    Microsoft OS
    OS Theory
    UNIX
    POSIX

    [*]Periodicals
    Scientific American
    Nature
    Science
    Jane's Defense Weekly

    [*]Physics
    Acoustics
    Classical Mechanics
    Electromagnetism
    General
    Gravitation
    Quantum Physics
    Relativity
    String Theory
    Nuclear Physics
    Radiation Physics
    Mathematics for Physics
    Study Guides
    Thermodynamics
    Spectroscopy
    Optics
    Statistical Mechanics

    [*]Programming
    Computer Modeling
    Data Compression
    Graphics
    Interfaces
    Markup Languages html
    xtml
    xml

    [*]Programming Languages
    C Family
    Pascal Family
    FORTRAN
    Java

    [*]Programming Theories and Methodologies
    Structured Programming
    Object Oriented Programming
    Data Structures
    Algorithms

    [*]Scripting Languages
    Perl
    TCL
    Python
    Ruby

    [*]Software Engineering
    [*]Web Development


    [*]Psychology
    [*]Reference
    Maps
    Cultures
    Encyclopedias
    Oxford Dictionary
    Jane's military references

    [*]Technology
    Aerospace
    Audio
    Bluetooth
    boats
    CD-DVD
    Cell phones
    Digital imaging
    Energy
    Fiber Optics
    Lasers
    Microprocessors
    Multimedia
    nanotechnology
    neural nets
    nuclear technology
    Radar
    Radio
    Robotics
    SAN
    Satellites
    Sensors
    ships
    signal processing
    speech recognition
    weapons
    wireless

    [*]Writing
    Craft
    Business Writing
    Journalism
    Reference
    technical
    fiction



  7. JamesSavik
    100 Ways to Kill Your Character
     
     
    Natural Causes
    Acute Illness/Infectious Diseases: an acute disease is a disease with either or both of a rapid onset and a short course influenza
    Lower respiratory infections
    Diarrheal diseases
    Tuberculosis
    Malaria
    Measles
    Pertussis
    Tetanus
    Meningitis
    Hepatitis
    syphilis
    West Nile disease
    Lyme Disease

    [*]Chronic Illness; a disease that is long-lasting or recurrent.
    heart disease
    Cancer
    Liver disease
    Kidney disease
    AIDS
    Parkinston's
    Alzheimer's


    Suicide
    shooting
    exanguination
    overdose
    handing
    poision
    "suicide by cop"
    murder/suicide
    homicide/suicide bomber
    mass murder via suicide (like 9/11)
    Accidents- urban:
    Vehicle Crashes Air Crashes
    Ship sinks
    Car Crashes
    Bus Wreak

    [*]Structural Failures
    elevator collapse
    bridge collapse
    building collapse

    [*]Fire
    fire- office
    fire- industrial
    fire- commercial

    [*]Energy Related hazards
    eletrical problems- down power line, malfunctions
    electrical fires
    Nuclear plant accident/incident- radiation release
    natural gas leaks
    Refinery fires
    Storage related incidents (coal, oil, natural gas)

    [*]Industrial Accidents
    industrial/hazardous waste- fumes, fire, poisioning
    industrial accident- refinery fire, chemical release
    Refinery fire/coal, oil or natural gas storage
    Toxic chemical release/ liquid poisioning of groundwater

    [*]Urban Crime
    overdose- accidental
    gang violence (undirected urban violence)
    drive by shooting (undirected urban violence)
    Organized Crime Hit (wrong place/wrong time)


    Accidents- suburbian/rural:
    hunting accident
    injury/shock
    recreational vehicle accident (4-wheeler)
    Work vehicle accident (tractor, combine)
    house fire
    Cave ins/sink holes
    tainted water
    raiders, bandits, rebels
    Animals Snake-bite (primary)
    Spider-bite (primary)
    Scorpion sting (primary)
    Allergic reactions to insect stings
    mosquito borne illness
    Predators (Bear, cougar)
    feral animals (dogs, hogs, etc)

    [*]Environment
    exposure
    environmental illness/severe allegy
    terrain related injuries (falls)
    falling trees

    [*]Hazards
    abandoned dangerous equipment
    abandoned toxic materials
    abandoned dangerous structures
    abandoned mines


    Murder
    robbery/homicide
    shot
    stabbed
    Impaled
    poisoned
    beaten to death/head trauma
    blunt force trauma
    strangulation
    Fatal reaction to recreational drug combination
    overdose- forced
    overdose- sold drugs too pure intentionally
    hate crime
    ritual killing
    ritual sacrifice
    Murder as a result of a primary crime like arson or sabatogue.
    Murder as a result of a terrorist incident
    Act of War
    Small Arms
    Machine gun fire
    Grenade, fragmentation
    Bombardment/barrage Artillery bombardment
    Aerial bombardment
    Naval Bombardment
    Morter fire
    Missile impact
    precision munition (smart bomb)

    [*]Weapons of Mass Destruction
    WMD- nuclear Dirty bomb (conventional bomb used to spread highly radioactive particles over a large area)
    fission bomb (kiloton yield)
    Fusion or two-stage bomb (megaton yield)

    [*]WMD- chemical
    [*]WMD- biological
    [*]WMD- kinetic energy weapon



    Natural Disaster
    Storm lightning
    high winds
    tornado (regional)
    hurricane or typhoon (regional)

    [*]flood
    hurricane related storm surge
    flash flood
    dam burst
    spring snow melt
    backwater

    [*]Fire
    forest fire/Wild fire
    fire caused by volcanic action
    fire- seasonal

    [*]Earthquake
    Building Collapse
    Fire
    trapped
    injury, bleed to death and/or shock
    electrocution
    tainted water

    [*]Volcano
    pyrocastic flow
    lava- falling
    lava- flowing
    Rapid snow melt/flashflood
    secondary fire
    poison gas

    [*]tidal Wave
    washed out to sea
    building collapse
    buried in rubble/mud

    [*]Afterkill- in many large scale disasters, the aftermath is just as deadly if not, more so
    starvation
    bad water or food
    disease
    secondary events (aftershocks, eruptions)
    exposure
    general weakened condition due to hunger, dehydration, exposure
    paranoia/panic/predatory behavior among survivors



    _____________________________________________
     
    Adds major subhead: suicide, minor listing impalement
  8. JamesSavik
    100 Ways to Kill Your Character
     
     
    Natural Causes
    Acute Illness/Infectious Diseases: an acute disease is a disease with either or both of a rapid onset and a short course influenza
    Lower respiratory infections
    Diarrheal diseases
    Tuberculosis
    Malaria
    Measles
    Pertussis
    Tetanus
    Meningitis
    Hepatitis
    syphilis
    West Nile disease
    Lyme Disease

    [*]Chronic Illness; a disease that is long-lasting or recurrent.
    heart disease
    Cancer
    Liver disease
    Kidney disease
    AIDS
    Parkinston's
    Alzheimer's


    Suicide
    shooting
    exanguination
    overdose
    handing
    poision
    "suicide by cop"
    murder/suicide
    homicide/suicide bomber
    mass murder via suicide (like 9/11)
    Accidents- urban:
    Vehicle Crashes Air Crashes
    Ship sinks
    Car Crashes
    Bus Wreak

    [*]Structural Failures
    elevator collapse
    bridge collapse
    building collapse

    [*]Fire
    fire- office
    fire- industrial
    fire- commercial

    [*]Energy Related hazards
    eletrical problems- down power line, malfunctions
    electrical fires
    Nuclear plant accident/incident- radiation release
    natural gas leaks
    Refinery fires
    Storage related incidents (coal, oil, natural gas)

    [*]Industrial Accidents
    industrial/hazardous waste- fumes, fire, poisioning
    industrial accident- refinery fire, chemical release
    Refinery fire/coal, oil or natural gas storage
    Toxic chemical release/ liquid poisioning of groundwater

    [*]Urban Crime
    overdose- accidental
    gang violence (undirected urban violence)
    drive by shooting (undirected urban violence)
    Organized Crime Hit (wrong place/wrong time)


    Accidents- suburbian/rural:
    hunting accident
    injury/shock
    recreational vehicle accident (4-wheeler)
    Work vehicle accident (tractor, combine)
    house fire
    Cave ins/sink holes
    tainted water
    raiders, bandits, rebels
    Animals Snake-bite (primary)
    Spider-bite (primary)
    Scorpion sting (primary)
    Allergic reactions to insect stings
    mosquito borne illness
    Predators (Bear, cougar)
    feral animals (dogs, hogs, etc)

    [*]Environment
    exposure
    environmental illness/severe allegy
    terrain related injuries (falls)
    falling trees

    [*]Hazards
    abandoned dangerous equipment
    abandoned toxic materials
    abandoned dangerous structures
    abandoned mines


    Murder
    robbery/homicide
    shot
    stabbed
    Impaled
    poisoned
    beaten to death/head trauma
    blunt force trauma
    strangulation
    Fatal reaction to recreational drug combination
    overdose- forced
    overdose- sold drugs too pure intentionally
    hate crime
    ritual killing
    ritual sacrifice
    Murder as a result of a primary crime like arson or sabatogue.
    Murder as a result of a terrorist incident
    Act of War
    Small Arms
    Machine gun fire
    Grenade, fragmentation
    Bombardment/barrage Artillery bombardment
    Aerial bombardment
    Naval Bombardment
    Morter fire
    Missile impact
    precision munition (smart bomb)

    [*]Weapons of Mass Destruction
    WMD- nuclear Dirty bomb (conventional bomb used to spread highly radioactive particles over a large area)
    fission bomb (kiloton yield)
    Fusion or two-stage bomb (megaton yield)

    [*]WMD- chemical
    [*]WMD- biological
    [*]WMD- kinetic energy weapon



    Natural Disaster
    Storm lightning
    high winds
    tornado (regional)
    hurricane or typhoon (regional)

    [*]flood
    hurricane related storm surge
    flash flood
    dam burst
    spring snow melt
    backwater

    [*]Fire
    forest fire/Wild fire
    fire caused by volcanic action
    fire- seasonal

    [*]Earthquake
    Building Collapse
    Fire
    trapped
    injury, bleed to death and/or shock
    electrocution
    tainted water

    [*]Volcano
    pyrocastic flow
    lava- falling
    lava- flowing
    Rapid snow melt/flashflood
    secondary fire
    poison gas

    [*]tidal Wave
    washed out to sea
    building collapse
    buried in rubble/mud

    [*]Afterkill- in many large scale disasters, the aftermath is just as deadly if not, more so
    starvation
    bad water or food
    disease
    secondary events (aftershocks, eruptions)
    exposure
    general weakened condition due to hunger, dehydration, exposure
    paranoia/panic/predatory behavior among survivors



  9. JamesSavik
    Mr. Perfect
     

    Mr. Perfect
     
     
    What would we have in common and why would I be interested in reading about him?
     
    We have all met Mr. Perfect in literature. Perfect grades, perfect teeth, perfect family, perfect life.
     
    What an perfect ass-hat. We have NOTHING in common. I'm hating this guy already.
     
    He's one of those rich, preppy guys that have parties with their rich, preppy friends on their perfect yachts and their perfect mansions.
     
    Where's an F-ing U-boat when you need one?
     
    He looks like an Uber-crumbie & Fitch model: perfect washboard abs, perfect clothes, perfect car.
     
    Now I'm planning on setting this a-hole on fire...
     
    He has no weaknesses, is sweet as Jesus, has unearthly charisma and is loved by all.
     
    Die, die, die!!!
     
    His friends love him and would never betray him, nor would his lovers screw around on him because... he's just so perfect.
     
    *Growls incoherently, falls out with stroke.*
     
    Mr. Perfect does have enemies. They are always one dimensional slack-jawed yokels who just happen to be EVIL for no apparent reason. They are always stupid, short-sighted and overconfident and leave the scene in the back of a squad car.
     
    *From the floor* go villians go! Aw Damnit!
     
    Mr. Perfect may face jeopardy but you are always confident that he will prevail because he's just so perfect, has perfect friends and perfect support in his perfect world.
     
    From the floor *Gack!* Slides clips into automatic pistols and chambers rounds*
     
    Mr. Perfect is hung like a horse and ALWAYS gets the girl/boy friend, gets even f-ing richer and lives happily ever after.
     
    *Gunfire breaks out, explosions, fire...*
     
     
    Why do we hate Mr. Perfect? The reasons vary. He is the guy of our dreams that couldn't be bothered to fart in our general direction. He broke our hearts. He shacked up with us once when he was drunk and kept calling us Skip or Chip. Regardless of the reason: he's an asshole. He has to be because perfection just isn't natural.
     
    Humans aren't perfect- a fact that at least one major world religion has exploited mercilessly for over 2000 years. Humans have braces, acne, bad breath and average tools. They have real world problems and lovers that screw around on them. They might get along with their parents or they might not because they are alcoholics, religious fanatics, just plain flakey bastards or all of the above.
     
    Humans worry about money and making a living. They worry about their position and prestige in socirty, if any. They betray and are betrayed by the people that they hold dearest because that is their nature.
     
    Humans worry about their career and success and failure and all the hues of the spectrum that lie in between. For Mr. Perfect, success is a forgone conclusion. For humans, it takes a great deal of effort, work and sacrifice and even then, they can fail in spectacular fashion.
     
    Humans aren't invincible. They get hurt and sometimes a trip to the hospital can be their last. They get sick and die. They get depressed. They experience pain so intense that they blot it out with years of alcoholic or drug induced delerium. They get their hearts broken. Sometimes they never get over it. Sometimes they get so fed up they blow their brains out.
     
    Humans have friends but they aren't magical. They can not read minds, alter fate or effect space-time. Friends are sometimes fickle, and change their loyalties when it suits them.
     
    Humans drink, smoke and do dope despite the fact that it is bad for you. They also eat high chlesterol diets, drive at insane speeds and have sex like drunken bunnies. Why? BECAUSE THEY AREN'T F-ing PERFECT!
     
    Humans do and say things exactly the oppisite of their core values, like the faimily values republican arreasted in a rest area for giving $20 blow jobs to truckers. Why? BECAUSE THEY AREN'T F-ing PERFECT!
     
    Humans are worthless and weak and stupid and shallow. On average they live in a trailer park in Tennessee and have more fleas than their dog. They are also all that we as authors have as subject matter and we must embrace them as they are because they aren't perfect. Those very flaws give us room to create the drama that is the life blood of good writing.
     
    I humbly submit that we need to forget Mr. Perfect and get to know some humans: warts, bad-breath, freckles and all because they are a MUCH more interesting than PERFECT people. Readers will actually relate to their humanity; flawed as it is because at the end of the day- none of us are perfect.
  10. JamesSavik
    This is Old Faithful at Yellowstone erupting in front of a June skyscape featuring the Milky Way to the left. The bright object at the top of the plume is Jupiter.
     
    You can find really cool astronomy pictures like this at Astronomy Pic of the Day.
     
    This one comes from Astropics.com
  11. JamesSavik
    I know that there are political differences and all but why is it that the closet-case weirdos always seem to end up being family values republicans?
     
    We've seen it over and over and over and over... The hypocrisy of this individual is astonishing!
     
    Check it out. This isn't about politics. It's about an ill f**ker who stood on the anti-gay grandstand while he was giving $20 blow jobs in public rest rooms.
     
     
    Fla. lawmaker arrested in gay sex sting
    Advocate News
    July 12, 2007
    Source Link
     
    A Florida state representative and co-chairman of John McCain's presidential campaign was arrested Wednesday for offering to perform oral sex on a male undercover cop in a Titusville, Fla., public restroom, police said.
     
    Rep. Bob Allen, R-Merritt Island, was booked into the Brevard County jail on a charge of solicitation to commit prostitution, the Orlando Sentinel reported, then released on $500 bail. The charge, a second-degree misdemeanor, is punishable by a year in county jail and a $500 fine.
     
    Titusville police told the Sentinel that they were carrying out a burglary detail in a city park when they saw a disheveled, unshaven man enter and leave the park restroom three times. They decided to send in an undercover officer; minutes later, they told the Sentinel, the man knocked on the stall door and offered to perform oral sex on the officer for $20.
     
    "After he was arrested, he (Allen) mentioned he was a state legislator," Lt. Todd Hutchinson told the paper.
     
    Allen, 48, is married with a daughter, according to his legislative bio.
     
    First elected in 2000, Allen is the chairman of the House Committee on Energy. He received the Rainbow Democratic Club of Orlando's worst possible rating.
     
    In March, he co-sponsored HB269, the Lewdness and Indecent Exposure Bill, which proposed enhanced penalties for "offenses involving unnatural and lascivious acts or exposure or exhibition of sexual organs committed within specified distance of certain locations." The bill never made it to a vote.
     
    About six years ago, he was one of 21 Florida legislators to sign Gov. Jeb Bush's friend-of-the-court brief supporting the state's ban on gays adopting children, Rainbow Democratic Club secretary Carol Bartsch told Gay.com
     
    The ACLU had sued to challenge the ban, which is still on Florida's books.
     
    "Practically as soon as he got into office, he wanted to go on record as being anti-gay," Bartsch said.
     
    Due to be termed out of the House next year, Allen, however, had been considered a likely state Senate candidate, Sentinel writer John Kennedy blogged Wednesday.
     
    The McCain campaign announced Allen's coming aboard March 21.
     
    "Florida Republicans have an expectation of tested leadership and John McCain's exemplary record of military and elected service, coupled with his proven ability to create reform, will elevate him in our state," the campaign quoted Allen as saying.
     
    On Thursday, Allen told reporters he plans to plead not guilty and to stay in his elected post.
     
    "I am going to vigorously fight this," Allen said. "I am not resigning my office, because the people who elected me want me to do a good job, and I am going to do a good job for them in finishing this term . . . This is an ugly and unpleasant situation that has been thrust on me and my family. It is not true. It is inaccurate, and therefore (I'm) not guilty, and I will be standing strongly for that."
     
    Allen and his attorney did not take media questions and urged journalists to be accurate in following the case.
     
    "People tend to take the fast news and make fast conclusions," Allen said. "I would ask people not to jump to any conclusions on this and to be fair and slow down and look at it." (Barbara Wilcox and Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)
     
     
    This piece of crap makes me want to puke.
     
    It is very sad- it really is. The reason this guy was against gay people being able to adopt is he assumes that all gays are as big a pile of crap that he is.
     
    Sell out, hypocrit, whore, republican. God damn his mama must be proud.
     
    $20 rest room blow job whore. Jesus Horatio Christ: I can't even imagine anything with less class.
     
    Lot's of times these guys come to Jesus or come out of the closet.
     
    If this creep comes out of the closet, I'm saying I hope he goes back in because we don't want him.
  12. JamesSavik
    I enjoy a political discussion. Really- I do but so many people are going off half-cocked that if you've got half a brain, you overqualified to debate with these asshats.. err I mean people. I find the ignorance of historical facts and the assumption of a certain ideology to be the most damning offenses. Often you find yourself debating with someone who has nothing more substantial to base their argument on than mama sez...
     
    Let us examine Asshat #1
     
    >>To rightwing moderates....
     
    There is no such thing. Right-wingers are what they are. Moderates believe in a middle way that avoids the excesses of left or right.
     
    To address either group in such a manner is offensive.
     
    If you wonder where I sit, I'm a moderate. I don't belong to either side and despise them equally.
     
     
    Asshat #1 continued >>I used to vote rightwing a few years ago...
     
    Then it's your fault. Quit your bitching and take your medicine. You voted for these asshats. I did NOT.
     
    Like peace symbols, lava lamps and mid-grade pot, it seems that it has become fashionable to be anti-war again.
     
    At one point the war in Iraq had a approval rating of over seventy percent. I wonder how many of the anti-war posters on the net crying about "the illicit war in Iraq" changed their mind about the war AFTER they voted for it? After it became apparent that it was NOT going to be the antiseptic video game than the first Gulf War. Apparently there are a lot of them.
     
    Ahh- you say you were lied to? You were fooled? You wanted to be fooled. You wanted Iraq in a bag and Saddam's head on a pole. You wanted to drive your SUV and not worry about it. You wanted a stable economy with predictable energy. The only thing is that you didn't figure on was the cost.
     
    These Asshats disgust me: supporting a war when its popular, joining the peace-niks when it gets boring or unpopular. What's the problem? No smart bomb pictures on TV this time? Did little Timmy's daddy from next door come home in separate bags?
     
    This is REAL WAR boys and girls. An ugly, wretched affair that takes place in the mud and the blood and consumes humanity like a wild fire consumes a forest. Once you start a war like this, there is no easy way to stop it. Like a fire it will burn completely out of of anyones control and there is no way that 70% of Americans can avoid the responsibility for it.
     
    It's just not right or fair to the men that have to fight this war to change your mind while they sacrifice in our name.
     
    When the current War in Iraq started, it had an approval rating of over 70%. Now, almost 5 years and thousands of casualties later, that approval rating is down to the mid-twenties. That means just about 50% of Americans are ASSHATS: asshat voters who thought it would be easy and lead to cheap gas. Asshat politicians who jump on bandwagons when they are popular and are quick to jump off when they go bad. Just plain asshats that base their opinion on what is popular at the moment.
  13. JamesSavik
    I got a PM from a student requesting advice on buying a notebook PC and I thought that I would share my suggestions here in my blog. These are just a few of my thoughs and suggestions. I would be delighted if it gave anybody inspiration or ideas. If not, well... it is here for free.
    _________________________________________________________________________
     
    I suggest either HP or Dell. Both are very solid and priced competetivly. Both have websites that let you design and price your own configuration with various options. HP and Dell are established companies and have tons of experience building all sorts of computers. Your notebook won't be their first.
     
    Toshiba makes a good laptop too but they tend to cost more for the same box.
     
    Once you've bought your notebook, you aren't through buying stuff yet.
     
    Remember to save some of your cash for software. I suggest Microsoft Office student & teacher version and Mathematica. Both run about $100 for the student version. Depends on what you study of course. Here's a tip: buy Microsoft Office 2003. It's on its way out but can be had at significant discounts.
     
    You may want a second power adapter: one for where your PC lives most of the time and one for the road.
     
    Another item you may want is either a backpack or breifcase for your laptop. Most kids use a backpack which is OK but I like something that protects it better. I use a notebook breifcase by Vaultz. Unlike soft-sided backpacks, the Vaultz products protect the items you are storing and they look really good. Vaultz
     
    If you want a backpack for your notebook, I suggest Swissgear. Their cost is middle of the road and they add a lot of little details that make their backpacks more convenient like special pockets for cd player and a cell phone. They also stand up to wear very well. I've had one for 6 years and it looks brand new. Swissgear
     
    I have a sweet little HP laptop that I got this spring that I configured myself for a little less than $900 BUT that was before Vista [which I would stay away from for a while until they get the bugs out].
     
    As far as specs, I'd go with 17" screen- or a minimum of 15". Go with a gigabyte of memory minimum. 2 MHz processors are fairly standard now. Try to get as much hard drive as possible. 100 GB is fairly common in laptops now and probably about right for most peoples needs. Most notbooks come with a network adapter. If you need a modem, get it with your PC, don't add it later. The original manufactuer will have it installed correctly and will save you a headache.
     
    You may also want a USB hard drive to back up your data to. They connect to your laptop via a USB port and act like an extra hard drive. I got one by Seagate with 320 Gbyts for $90. I copy all my critical files to the secondary drive. The notebook hard drive or the USB drive may die but it is unlikely that both of them will die at the same time and your data (work, collections, etc) will live on after a crash. Here is an example of the drive that I have. They come in all sizes and are really worth it for backup or data trandfers between laptop and desktop.
  14. JamesSavik
    Jerry Falwell, right-wing hatemonger and religious fanatic, was found unconscious in the office from which he oversees the Culture War at Liberty University today. He died a short time later.
     
    Falwell first came to prominence in the late 1970s when he lead a motley coalition of religious nuts, skinheads, neo-Nazis and slack-jawed yokels called the Moral Majority which handed Ronald "Bonzo" Reagen and George Herbert Skippy Walker Bush the 1980 elections and an unprecedented dynasty of political corruption, ineptitude, bungling that still afflicts us today.
     
    During the Reagen-Bush years, Falwell's influence was all over the administration. Falwell influenced foreign policy by demanding blind allegiance to Israel at all cost because of scripture. Falwell's "moral leadership" was behind the Reagen Administrations complete failure to contain the AIDS epidemic in its early stages. In fact Ronald Reagen did not publicly say the word AIDS until 1988: a full eight years and hundreds of thousands of deaths into the epidemic. Even today Falwell's organizations fight safe-sex, contraception and even vaccination of teen-aged girls against common infections that cause cancer and sterility.
     
    Now almost thirty years and 20 million deaths later, Falwell is destined for a special part of hell reserved for persons responsible for millions of deaths. He will roast side by side with some of histories biggest assholes like Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao.
     
    Good bye and good riddance too bad rubbish. Too bad this turd wasn't flushed years ago!
  15. JamesSavik
    In the well well known Keyhole Nebula (NGC 3372) surrounding the super-star Eta Carinae is an interesting feature that some astronomers have labeled the "Rude Gesture Nebula".
     

     
    Since it is several hundred light years away, it is huge- light-years across. It is a gas and dust cloud in which new stars are forming. The odd shapes were created by the hot solar winds and radiation pressures created by the massive young stars in this stellar nursery.
     
    Super-stars like Eta Carinae, or stars with a mass 100 times that of the sun, are quite rare. They account for less than 1% of all stars but 60% of all luminosity in the universe. They live very short lives in astronomical terms, 10s of millions of years, before they explode and enrich the surrounding cosmos with dust and gas for the next generation of stars.
     
    Most stars are much more mundane. They are even smaller than our own sun but what they give up in mass, they gain in longevity. Main sequence stars like our Sun and smaller are quite stable and last for billions of years.
     
    The smallest known stars are about 1/10 of our own sun's mass. This is also about the same size as some of the larger "brown dwarfs" or Jupiter like gas giants or "pre-stars". This begs an interesting question which vexes astronomers and physicist: what causes some brown dwarfs to ignite and become true stars and what causes others to just sit there?
  16. JamesSavik
    English Dogwood (white), Azalea (red & pink)
     

     
    Louisannia Iris
     

     
    Red Azalea
     

     
    Hibiscus
     

     
    Dogwood
     

     
    Blue-eyed Grass- a wildflower that appears if you don't mow your grass too soon
  17. JamesSavik

    Hobbit Galaxies?

    By JamesSavik,

    Ooops, wrong hobbits.
     
     
    New 'Hobbit' Galaxies Discovered Around Milky Way
    By Ker Than, Staff Writer for Space.com
    January 15, 2007
    Source Link
     

    Researchers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-II) announced the discovery of eight new dwarf galaxies, seven of them satellites orbiting the Milky Way. They resemble systems cannibalized by the Milky Way billions of years ago and help close the gap between the observed number of dwarf satellites and theoretical predictions. Credit: Vasily Belokurov, SDSS-II, Astronomy magazine, Kalmbach Publishing Co.
     
    A recent sky survey has turned up eight new members in our Local Group of galaxies, including a new class of ultra-faint "hobbit" galaxies and what might be the smallest galaxy ever discovered.
     
    The Local Group is a collection of about 40 galaxies, of which the Milky Way and Andromeda are the dominant members. The rest of the galaxies are mostly small satellites known as
  18. JamesSavik
    A door labeled on-air opened and a short guy with entirely too much hair appeared and motioned for us to come into the studio. We followed him into a crowded nest of microphones, cables, albums, turntables and inexplicable electronics. Dust in the Wind by Kansas was ending and the DJ was coming up on a break.
     
    Right on que the DJ keyed his mike and said, "It's Austin in the afternoon and I got Supertramp's Logical Song and the Rush's Spirit of the Radio coming right up after this word from our sponsor. Hang in there, I've got a special treat for you on our next break."
     
    Austin in the Afternoon pushed a button and an advertisement for the Sutton Group's home, life, auto and business insurance began.
     
    There were a few chairs and a bench in the studio and we planted ourselves to watch the show.
     
    Austin looked up from the 3-ring circus that he was running and sighed. "Which one of you guys is our winner?"
     
    Joey answered, "Me, Joey White."
     
    "Well congrats Joey. Got six friends lined up for the concert?"
     
    Joey nodded.
     
    Austin muttered, "Aw Damn. OK guys- first names only on the air. I see three Oak Hill class of 80 jerseys- are all of you from seniors from Oak Hill?"
     
    David answered for the group, "Yeah, plus the other two in the van outside."
     
    When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
    A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
    And all the birds in the trees, well theyd be singing so happily,
    Joyfully, playfully watching me....
     
    Austin continued to prep us for our moment of fame as the second song took off.
     
    Begin the day
    With a friendly voice
    A companion, unobtrusive
    Plays that song thats so elusive
    And the magic music makes your morning mood
    Off on your way
    Hit the open road
    There is magic at your fingers...
     
    As soon as the second set ended, Austin keyed his mike and said, "Welcome back to the Austin in the Afternoon show. For the last month we've been running a little contest that you might have heard of: the Stones Six Pack. Well today I have the winner in the studio. It is with great.. reluctance, since I couldn't talk him into taking me, that I hand the big envelope to our winner."
     
    "Joey- you've won six tickets to see the Rolling Stones at the Superdome in New Orleans, a suite for the weekend at the Marriott and six hundred bucks spending money. Joey, what do have to say about that?"
     
    Joey gushed, "Hot damn!"
     
    Austin chortled, "Hot damn indeed. I understand that you and your friends all just graduated from Oak Hill?"
     
    Joey replied, "Yeah, we're the class of 80. We call the big guy over there the Beast, this is David and blondie here is Scott."
     
    Austin asked the set up question, "So Joey, who do you listen too?"
     
    "KROC- because it's a crock... full of rock."
     
    "So Joey," Austin asked, "what song is it you want to hear? OK, you got it."
     
     
    Ill never be your beast of burden
    My back is broad but its a hurting
    All I want is for you to make love to me
    Ill never be your beast of burden
    Ive walked for miles my feet are hurting
    All I want is for you to make love to me
  19. JamesSavik
    No, I haven't fallen off the earth.
     
    My Mom had surgery this morning. Nothing too serious but right now she is KOed for the next week.
     
    My Dad has advanced Parkingstons and has lost the use of his right hand so he needs a lot of help.
     
    At the moment, I'm carrying the ball for their household. Thinking back about some of the crap we've been through, I'm surprised that it worked out this way.
     
    For years we hated each other and called each other names, I never hit them but I got punched, they ignored me for years. Now Here we are.
     
    I have to ask myself why and the answer is that it's just the right thing to do.
     
    Why does it seem like it is easier to hold a grudge than it is to forgive and forget? It burns up a lot of energy carrying around that useless dead weight.
     
    Having dumped a lot of those old resentments, I know I'm stronger, more powerful person.
     
    Truth is so strange sometimes. Surrender to win? Forgiveness really is easier?
     
    The war is over. We can all go home if we can find the peace within; and understand that our rage is a waste of energy.
     
     
    I'll be busy but I'll try to get out another installment of SOS.
     
    Peace,
     
     
    JS
  20. JamesSavik
    VLT Image of Starburst Galaxy NGC 1313
    ESO Press Release
    November 23, 2006
    Source Link
     

    The central parts of the starburst galaxy NGC 1313. The very active state of this galaxy is very evident from the image, showing many star formation regions. A great number of supershell nebulae, that is, cocoon of gas inflated and etched by successive bursts of star formation, are visible. The green nebulosities are region emitting in the ionised oxygen lines and may harbour clusters with very hot stars.
    This colour-composite is based on images obtained with the FORS1 instrument on one of the 8.2-m Unit Telescope of ESO's Very Large Telescope, located at Cerro Paranal. The data were obtained in the night of 16 December 2003, through different broad- (R, B, and z) and narrow-band filters (H-alpha, OI, and OIII). The data were extracted from the ESO Science Archive and fully processed by Henri Boffin (ESO).
     
    The captivating appearance of this image of the starburst galaxy NGC 1313, taken with the FORS instrument at ESO's Very Large Telescope, belies its inner turmoil. The dense clustering of bright stars and gas in its arms, a sign of an ongoing boom of star births, shows a mere glimpse of the rough times it has seen. Probing ever deeper into the heart of the galaxy, astronomers have revealed many enigmas that continue to defy our understanding.
     
    This FORS image of the central parts of NGC 1313 shows a stunning natural beauty. The galaxy bears some resemblance to some of the Milky Way's closest neighbours, the Magellanic Clouds. NGC 1313 has a barred spiral shape, with the arms emanating outwards in a loose twist from the ends of the bar. The galaxy lies just 15 million light-years away from the Milky Way - a mere skip on cosmological scales. The spiral arms are a hotbed of star-forming activity, with numerous young clusters of hot stars being born continuously at a staggering rate out of the dense clouds of gas and dust. Their light blasts through the surrounding gas, creating an intricately beautiful pattern of light and dark nebulosity.
     
    But NGC 1313 is not just a pretty picture. A mere scratch beneath the elegant surface reveals evidence of some of the most puzzling problems facing astronomers in the science of stars and galaxies. Starburst galaxies are fascinating objects to study in their own right; in neighbouring galaxies, around one quarter of all massive stars are born in these powerful engines, at rates up to a thousand times higher than in our own Milky Way Galaxy.
     
    In the majority of starbursts the upsurge in star's births is triggered when two galaxies merge, or come too close to each other. The mutual attraction between the galaxies causes immense turmoil in the gas and dust, causing the sudden 'burst' in star formation.
     

    Larger region of the sky around the starburst galaxy NGC 1313 showing the larger scale disturbance of the galaxy. The galaxy shows some large deformations in the lower right part of the image, while diffuse matter is also present at the top of the image. All this signals a very tormented past which could be at the origin of the burst of star formation.
    The image was made from data from the Digitized Sky Survey, obtained through blue, red and infrared filters. The "Second Epoch Survey" of the southern sky was made by the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) with the UK Schmidt Telescope. Plates from this survey have been digitized and compressed by the ST ScI. The data were extracted and colour-composed by Henri Boffin (ESO).
     
     
    NGC 1313's appearance suggests it has seen troubled times: its spiral arms look lop-sided and gas globules are spread out widely around them. This is more easily seen in ESO 43b/06, showing a larger area of the sky around the galaxy. Moreover, observations with ESO's 3.6-m telescope at La Silla have revealed that its 'real' centre, around which it rotates, does not coincide with the central bar. Its rotation is therefore also off kilter.
     
    Strangely enough NGC 1313 seems to be an isolated galaxy. It is not part of a group and has no neighbour, and it is not clear whether it may have swallowed a small companion in its past. So what caused its asymmetry and stellar baby boom?
     
    An explanation based on the presence of the central bar also does not hold for NGC 1313: the majority of its star formation is actually taking place not in its bar but in dense gassy regions scattered around the arms. By what mechanism the gas is compressed for stars to form at this staggering rate, astronomers simply aren't sure.
     
    Probing further into NGC 1313's insides reveals yet more mysteries. In the midst of the cosmic violence of the starburst regions lie two objects that emit large amounts of highly energetic X-rays - so-called ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULX). Astronomers suspect that they might be black holes with masses of perhaps a few hundred times the mass of our Sun each, that formed as part of a binary star system. How such objects are created out of ordinary stars cannot be conclusively explained by current models.
     
    NGC 1313 is an altogether very intriguing target for astronomy. This image, obtained with ESO's Very Large Telescope, demonstrates once again how the imager FORS is ideally suited to capturing the beauty and stunning complexity of galaxies by observing them in different wavelength filters, combined here to form a stunning colour image.
     
    >>A high resolution image (with zoom-in possibilities) and its caption is available on this page. Follow the source link back and you'll find wallpaper images.
     
     
     
    Technical Information: ESO PR Photo 43a/06 is a colour-composite based on images obtained with the FORS1 instrument on one of the 8.2-m Unit Telescope of ESO's Very Large Telescope, located at Cerro Paranal. The data were obtained in the night of 16 December 2003, through different broad- (R, B, and z) and narrow-band filters (H-alpha, OI, and OIII). The data were extracted from the ESO Science Archive and fully processed by Henri Boffin (ESO). ESO PR Photo 43b/06 is made from images from the Digital Sky Survey, obtained through blue, red and infrared filters. The data was extracted and colour-composed by Henri Boffin (ESO).
  22. JamesSavik
    Over on Digg.com, I saw an article called Ten reasons every programmer should know C. On a whole I have to agree with the author: if you are a computer science student or a professional programmer, you should know C. It is a powerful language but that power comes at a high price. It is one of the most difficult languages to learn, use and master. However, if you do manage to master C, there aren't any uglier languages to learn.
     
    Most programs don't really require C and can be handled at a higher level like an SQL database or a scripting language like Perl or Ruby. Using C would be taking the long way to handle a trivial application. Where C really shines is in systems and utility software and cross-platform portability. If you are worried about things like that then C might just be what you are looking for.
     
    In the interest of balance, I decided to include a rebuttal here in my blog:
     
     
    Top 10 Reasons NOT to program in C
     
    1). Because C code is ugly and will make you cross-eyed.
     
    2). Because those that want to fondle embedded technologies risk creating a new order of intelligence that will exterminate mankind.
     
    3). C stands for :wacko: cryptic, crusty and :2hands: conniption.
     
    4). If you use C, you'll spend most of your time rewriting library routines already included in C++.
     
    5). C uses pointers which often point to nothing in particular. ===> nowhere
     
    6). C programs are small, tight and efficient and make Microsoft programs look bad.
     
    7). C programmers consider themselves elite and wonder who are you to think that you can join their club.
     
    8). Programming in C can cause dain bramage.
     
    9). Bugs in C look remarkably like undocumented features.
     
    10). C isn't object oriented and you probably can't afford the version of C that is.
  23. JamesSavik
    The family gathered for Thanksgiving in Dallas area at my brothers place in Highland Village. Our family was there, their family was there- all in all, it was a fun, festive feast of turkey, cornbread dressing, pecan pie, football and flatulence.
     
    Thankfully my brother and I escaped to explore a part of greater Dallas area that I like a lot: Denton. It's a lot like Mayberry but modern and multi-cultural without a Barney Fife in sight.
     
    If you ever make it to Denton, check out Recycled Books! It's an old theater painted purple with used books EVERYWHERE. I got an expensive mathematic handbook that cost $120 retail for 16.50. There's also a lot of rare and hard to find stuff. Yes- I got a fixx for my latest comic addiction.
     
    I love the place. It has an eclectic sense of humor about the place with categories of books like "time, time-keeping and time-travel". "Physics, Fusion and Fishing". I was so overwhelmed by the books, I missed the massive CD and DVD holdings.
     

     
    Do you have a favorite book store? No. Borders, Barnes & Nobles and Books-a-million are NOT book stores. They are soulless sterile warehouses that sell knowledge at retail. A REAL bookstore is a dump. The real treasure is in the pages. The REAL bookstores in our country are under great pressure from the big soulless corperate run chains. We must seek out and support these cultural treasures before they are crushed by the Wal-marts of literature.
     
    If you've got one of these gems in your community, tell us about it!
  24. JamesSavik
    Two supernovae (circled) on either side of galaxy NGC 1316's bright core resemble eyes and a nose in this visible-light image from NASA's Swift satellite. Another bright spot at far left is a star in our own galaxy (Image: NASA/Swift/S Immler)
     
    Supernovae explode in rare double-whammy
    November 20, 2006
    NewScientist.com news service
     
    A portrait of two supernovae that exploded just five months apart in the same galaxy has been made by NASA's Swift telescope. The galaxy, called NGC 1316, has now produced four supernovae in 26 years, the highest rate ever measured.
    All four supernovae were of type Ia, which are thought to occur when a stellar ember called a white dwarf collects too much matter from a companion star, igniting a runaway nuclear reaction that tears the white dwarf apart.
     
    The supernovae were both initially detected from the ground by an amateur astronomer in South Africa named Berto Monard. Swift was then called upon to make observations at ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths.
     
    The first event was detected on 19 June 2006 and appears as a yellowish spot on the right. The second event was detected on 5 November, and appears as another spot at mid-left.
     
     
    Delayed reaction
    The white patch between the two supernovae is the galaxy's bright core. The spot at far left is a star in our own galaxy that happens to lie in the same direction as NGC 1316.
     
    The two supernovae add to two previous ones in the same galaxy, also of type Ia, that appeared in 1980 and 1981. This is the highest rate of supernovae of any kind ever recorded for a single galaxy. A typical large galaxy has around three supernovae per century.
     
    The host for these supernovae is a massive elliptical galaxy about 80 million light years away that appears to have merged with a spiral galaxy within the past 2 billion years.
     
    It is possible that the high rate of supernovae is a sort of delayed reaction to the merger, says Peter Brown of Pennsylvania State University in State College, US, a member of the team that made the Swift observations.
     
    Stellar baby boom
    Mergers tend to trigger high rates of star formation, and after a couple of billion years of stellar evolution, this could lead to higher rates of type Ia supernovae, he says. "If you have more stars being born, then you will have more that will die," he told New Scientist.
     
    But he says that it could also be a statistical fluke. A large number of galaxies are being monitored for supernovae, and every once in a while one would expect to observe a series like this in a single galaxy just by chance, he says.
    In addition to monitoring the sky for gamma-ray bursts
  25. JamesSavik

    Retirement

    By JamesSavik,

    After a year and a half of service as a moderator, I have decided to "retire" and devote more time to writing.
     
    Being a moderator is stressful. It is NOT a symbol of power or prestige but rather a badge of trust and masochism: the site's powers that be must trust you and you must be a glutton for punishment. Trying to read every post on a site full of authors, potential authors, editors, poets and miscellaneous unusually bright people is exhausting. :wacko:
     
    I think that it is a good idea for a sites moderators to change from time to time. No personality should dominate and a constant flow of new blood insures against stagnation. Burned out moderators can turn cynical, crabby and mean and these are not traits that anyone wants to deal with- and something that I don't want to be or worse, become.
     
    This site is blessed with an outstanding team of administrators and moderators and it has been a great pleasure to serve with them. Myr is an outstanding individual that has built the premier site of its kind on the net. Kitty has helped drive GA to new heights and has presided over a period of unprecedented growth. CJ, Joey, Matthew, AFriendFace and all of the others each bring unique skills, outlook and voice to the team.
     
    As for me, I'm not going far: Just from the Admin forums to my blog. Expect to see more articles, blogs and writing from me- and new projects.
     
    Oh and I'll get to read more.
     
    See ya next time: same blog time, same blog channel,
     
    JS
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