JamesSavik

Well said Matthew. I second that. Of course being a beast myself, I see sweet Kitties and Mathematical Goats as kindred spirits.

Arecibo is one of several radio telescopes that SETI currently leases time on. SETI's funding comes from private foundations; most of which take contributions from the general public. SETI is in the process of building a facility of their own which is optimized for their uses. They plan to use digital signal processing with an array of small dishes to monitor millions of channels at once. SETI- primary website Allen Telescope Array SETI is controversial. It enjoys quite a bit of popular support but mainstream scientists are skeptical about its science, methods and value. Paradoxically, SETI enjoys solid funding which it uses to assist other programs like upgrades to existing radio telescopes and the search for planets beyond our solar system. While many scientists roll their eyes at the mention of SETI, they are always glad to see SETI arrive because they bring money which makes them the most welcome of guests.

World-class radio telescopes face closure November 4, 2006 Jeff Hecht for NewScientist.com news service Source Link Two of the world's best-known radio observatories

Haggard is a public figure. The standard of privacy for a public figure is quite different from a private person. Public figures- like celeberities or people elected or appointed to public office- routinely get criticism for their past actions and/or their personal lives. Any religious leader that has taken a high profile stance against gay rights and then uses a gay prostitute can't hide behind thier privacy. Haggard is fair game and speaking as a gay person, whose rights this twitchy little b@st@rd is on record as attempting to restrict, I say release the hounds. What hasn't been addressed in Haggard's behavior is his use of crystal meth. That a serious felony matter that carries a mandatory minimum sentence.

I'll bet that you've got enough furr left over to knit anothr litter of kittens.

I'm sure that Betty Bowers is mortified. I agree Jack. Lately the press has been like a bunch of 7th graders at PE that has found out one of their classmates is gay. It's always fun to see a hypocrite take it on the chin, I just have to wonder how much blow-back this is going to cause and to whom.

Oh he's cured.

Hubble mission will be devilishly complex Kelly Young for NewScientist.com news service 01 November 2006 Source Link The space shuttle's final flight to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope will be one of its most complex yet, featuring five spacewalks and some quick bolt changes usually reserved for the pit stops of car races. On Tuesday, NASA announced to great fanfare that it would send a shuttle to service Hubble as early as May 2008. If the mission were successful, Hubble would have six working instruments for the first time since 1993 and would be able to do science until at least 2013, adding about five years to its professional lifetime. "Looking back on the last four years, without reservation, today is my happiest day to be at the office," said Preston Burch, Hubble's mission manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, US. The mission had been cancelled in 2004 because of safety risks to the shuttle crew

We really should take over. A gay led world would be much neater and cleaner place; aestetically pleasing without the tendency of sending young men off to slaughter each other. We would have more creative uses for them.

Myr- GA is an outstanding achievement. The only place I can think of where there *might* be more stories by/for/about GLBT people is Nifty. Nifty does NOT have the consistent quality of GA nor does it have the community. GA also has the added bonus in that we don't have to wade through tons of stories about various fetishes involving gerbils, whips or law enforcement. :wacko: What you have created transcends sexuality, literary accomplishment or social networking. Here GLBT young people, that may well have no other exposure to our community and issues, can see for themselves that we are individuals and not the petty stereotypes that our detractors would have you believe. I think that they will grow up happier and healthier people for the experience. For this you have my genuine admiration, gratitude and respect. James Savik

Another interpertation of the Swan image.

I would hire JSmith as a web administrator in a heartbeat. I have seen a lot of people with half his skill working in the business. We are very fortunate to have him.

Update: Pictures of "the Swan" by amateur astronomers. The Swan in all its glory by Paolo Candy. Another view of the Swan by Rheman.

A friend and fellow author that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for is having a crisis of confidence. I will not name him but I too have suffered from this type of criticism. Some people can not tell a plot element from an endorsement. When a murder occurs in a story, is the author endorsing murder? When drug use happens in a story, is the author glorifying it? Silly questions? As authors, I believe that the interesting stories are told on the edge. Somewhere on the border of normalcy and madness there is a place where drama comes from. That place can be mundane or high brow. It can be common or rare. It is about people in conflict facing adversity and without it our stories are just so much soggy granola. I have read stories that glorify drug use. I know what they are when I see 'em. Yawn. I have read stories that are nothing more than a common masturbation fantasy typed with one hand. Snore. You know what they have in common? They are simply not interesting. Touchy subjects can be addressed if the author handles it right. If you start reading a story and stop four chapters in because a character smokes a joint, then you don't know what happens in the other umpteen chapters. You miss the character suffering negative consequences like failed relationships and hanging out with a lower class of people. You miss him getting busted and asking himself what's wrong with me. You miss out on that characters chance at redemption or his fall into jails, institutions or death. So you see something about a story that makes you uncomfortable. GET OVER IT. Here's YOUR chance to look at situations that you would never chose to face without getting your hands dirty. Here's your chance to experience things vicariously that would cost you body, soul or life to experience and maybe... avoid, identify with or recover from or perhaps have empathy for people who have actually been there. An author is NOT his work. At his best an author is a catalyst to help the reader see and understand with different eyes. At his worst he is a propagandist or a pornographer. It is up to the reader to make this determination for himself. If there is truth in his work and an author has applied his craft with heart, then the work will stand or fall on its own merit. As an author all that I ask is that you think for yourself. -JS

I found GA when I was searching for Comicality's Shack out Back. After stuffing myself at Comicality's buffet ( :wacko: <urp ), I wandered around the corner and discovered a whole lot more.

Thank you Kitty. You rock! ps- I miss you in Dixie.

Discovery of Gamma Rays from the Edge of a Black Hole Press Release of the Max Planck Society Oct 26, 2006 Source Link H.E.S.S. discovers drastic variations of very-high-energy gamma rays from the central engine of the giant elliptical galaxy M 87 The astrophysicists of the international H.E.S.S. collaboration report the discovery of fast variability in very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from the giant elliptical galaxy M 87. The detection of these gamma-ray photons - with energies more than a million million times the energy of visible light - from one of the most famous extragalactic objects on the sky is remarkable, though long-expected given the many potential sites of particle acceleration (and thus gamma-ray production) within M 87. Much more surprising was the discovery of drastic gamma-ray flux variations on time-scales of days. These results, for the first time, exclude all possible options for sites of gamma-ray production, except for the most exciting and extraordinary one: the immediate vicinity of the super-massive black hole which is located in the centre of M 87 (Science Express, October 26, 2006). Fig. 1: Image of radio galaxy M 87 seen in visible light. The central region, from which the VHE gamma rays are seen, is located in the upper left part of the image and the relativistic plasma jet extends to the bottom right.(HST) An international team of astrophysicists from the H.E.S.S. collaboration has announced the discovery of short-term variability in the flux of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from the radio galaxy M 87. In Namibia, the collaboration has built and operates a detection system, known as Cherenkov telescopes, which permits these gamma rays to be detected from ground level (see notes). Pointing this system at a nearby galaxy, M 87, the team has detected VHE gamma rays over the past four years. The real surprise is, however, that the intensity of the emission can be seen to change drastically within a few days on occasion. The giant radio galaxy M 87 [editor's note: this is a reference image of M87 from my own files.] This galaxy, located 50 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, harbours a super-massive black hole of 3 thousand million solar masses from which a jet of particles and magnetic fields emanates. However, unlike for previously-observed extragalactic sources of VHE gamma rays - known as Blazars - the jet in M 87 is not pointing towards the Earth but is seen at an angle of about 30

Wow! Striking Green Comet Suddenly Visible in Evening Sky Robert Roy Britt Senior Science Writer for Space.com October 26, 2006 Source Link Tony Wilder of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin photographed comet Swan amid city glow this week. A faint meteor was captured streaking across the right side of the image, too. Credit: Tony Wilder What had been a modest comet seen only with binoculars or telescopes flared up this week to become visible to the naked eye. Comet Swan, as it is called, is in the western sky after sunset from the Northern Hemisphere. It remains faint, likely not easy to find under bright city lights but pretty simple to spot from the countryside. It is a "fairly easy naked-eye comet," said Pete Lawrence, who photographed the comet from the UK. "The tail is now showing some interesting features too." Find it The comet, also catalogued as C/2006 M4, is about halfway up in the sky in the direction of the constellation Corona Borealis. As with most comets, this one looks like a fuzzy star. It has an interesting green tint, however, indicating it has a lot of the poisonous gas cyanogen and diatomic carbon, astronomers say. Sam Storch, a long-time sky watcher from Long Island, NY, said the comet appears "quite a bit deeper than any other green I have seen in any sky object, even planetary nebulae." "Comet Swan is very easy to find," said Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching Columnist. "In good binoculars it appears as a bright, symmetrical and surprisingly green blob." Legendary objects Comets, the stuff of legend and myth, are frozen leftovers of the solar system's formation. Most orbit the Sun out beyond Neptune, but a few wander through the inner solar system now and then. As a comet gets closer to the Sun, solar radiation boils the frozen gases, along with dust, off the comet's surface. Sunlight reflects off this material, creating a head, or coma. Some comets never get very bright. Others brighten dramatically. Some even come unglued as they round the Sun. Some comets, like Swan, also sport a tail or two. Such detail is best seen with binoculars or a small telescope. Comet Swan was discovered last year. It makes its closest approach to Earth today. Eventually it will return to the distant reaches of the solar system.

Don't break out the champaign just yet. In 2004 Karl Rove orchestrated the placement of numerous ballot initiatives which outlawed gay marriage in key states. The theory was that putting something on the ballot that would inflame the conservative base would be useful for Bush who has big problems with that part of the party. I find the timing of this verdict suspect. Coming so soon before the midterms, I have to wonder if this is the rumored "October Surprise". The GOP has played the gay card over and over and over again. The Foley Scandal makes this much more difficult during this election cycle but we're already seeing it. I don't think that it is gaining the same traction that it may have had in past. After all; what is REALLY scarier-- a few thousand gay couples married or more inept and corrupt republican leadership?

Slang crossing the globe at the speed of fiber optics.

Cats behave a lot better if you have them neutered. Maybe that would work with kids?

Joe- I am fairly sure that you could be a webmaster for any number of companies. You could also be a whole lot more. Try not to make any decisions that may limit what you can do tomorrow because you are angry today. Sometimes it pays just to grin and bear it for a while. You've got plenty of time. You're not going to be an old maid for decades yet. JS

I owe it to my fan to let him know what is up. The check is in the mail. ________________________________________________________ Broken- on hiatus. Six to nine more chapters, 2 written, all outlined. This is a pretty emotional story to write and the climax of the story is coming. When it is released, it will be ready. I thought about finishing this story this fall but wasn't satisfied with it. Operation Hammerhead- working There will be much more of this story. Coming Soon the Legacy- in development A World War II veteran leaves his son a dangerous legacy. the Alternative- in development. What happens to a troubled kid that gets in trouble? Blind Spot- in development. When loyalty is a liability.

Theoretically, the most common mechanisms that we know of that might cause a planetary breakup are gravitational shere and a supernova. Gravity Effects: Jupiter: the largest planet in our solar system has the most powerful gravitational field in the solar system with the exception of the Sun.(NASA/JPL) ________________________________________________________________________ This is an image of Shoemaker-Levy after it broke up.(HST/STScI) ________________________________________________________________________ This is Jupiter after getting whacked by Shoemaker-Levy 9.(NASA/JPL) ________________________________________________________________________ In the late eighties, a periodic comet was discovered called Shoemaker-Levy 9. It wasn't very remarkable but it got a little too close to Jupiter's titanic gravity well and broke apart into a number of splinters. In 1994 that comet actually hit Jupiter. The key here is although Jupiter's gravity broke the comet apart and greatly influenced its movement, the pieces maintained their original momentum. The only change was the vector or direction of that force. Shoemaker-Levy at SEDS Shoemaker-Levy at Wiki Jupiter's moon Io is greatly influenced by Jupiter's gravity Io. (NASA/JPL) ________________________________________________________________________ In its encounter with the Jovan system in 1979, Voyager sent back images of Io that astonished scientists because massive volcanic activity was pictured in progress. The only conclusion that could be drawn from Voyager's photos was that either volcanic activity was rare on Io and NASA got very lucky or it was commonplace. Later when the Galileo probe arrived in orbit of Jupiter, it was confirmed. Vulcanism was a common place occurrence on Io- but why? Io is too close to Jupiter's powerful gravitational and magnetic fields for comfort. The action of Jupiter's gravity warps poor little Io out of round by as much as 100 meters at a time. As Io orbits Jupiter, the massive magnetic field rips through the moon like a blender. The action of these two forces combined makes Io the most geologically active body in the solar system. Io Wiki Voyager 1's Wiki Galileo Probe Wiki There are several laws of classical physics that apply: Kepler's 3rd Law shows that gravitational force exerted between to bodies declines with distance: the farther two bodies are apart, the weaker the force of gravity between them. Two of Newton's laws of motion apply: First law (law of inertia) An object will stay at rest or move at a constant speed in a straight line unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Second law (law of vectors) The rate of change of the momentum of a body is directly proportional to the net force acting on it, and the direction of the change in momentum takes place in the direction of the net force. (1) Destroying the Earth via Gravity The Earth is mostly molten with a spinning nickel-iron core. This gives the Earth a relatively strong magnetic field. The core also acts something like a gyro which helps the Earth maintain its nice, stable orbit. If a very strong gravity field were applied to the Earth, it would warp and deform cracking up along tectonic plates. It would be a bit like an egg cracking up leaking goo- or magma in the case of the Earth. Earth is big and massive enough for its own gravitational field to pull it back into a roughly spherical shape. Different parts of the Earth have very different properties- epically density. A super strong gravitational force applied at right angles to its axis and in opposition to the Sun's gravity would play havoc with the Earth's insides mixing it up like a blender. While this would very effectively wipe out humanity, the Earth will act like ball of thick, viscous molten goo. Any parts, molten or chunky, would still under the influence of the Earth's own gravity which would try to pull it back together. In theory something similar to this may have actually happened during the formation of the solar system during an epoch called the heavy bombardment phase. The theory is that a massive asteroid hit the primordial earth liberating a big blob of magma which eventually became the moon. There is some evidence for this theory. The chemical abundances of the earth and moon are very similar. Proponents of the theory like to point to the geography of the Pacific basin as the impact point. Summary: gravity could change the earth's orbit, rewrite the maps or significantly injure Earth and kill all humans(2) but it is unlikely that the Earth will break up. Think of the Earth as silly putty. _____________________________________________________________________________ This is a deep field image of Supernova 1987A which occurred in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is about 120,000 light years away. This is the closest supernova since the middle ages. (ESO) This is the Crab Nebula which was formed by a supernova in the constellation Taurus in 1731. At its heart is an exotic object called a Neutron Star or the left over core of the old star. It retains the progenitor star's magnetic field and angular momentum. This spinning magnetic dynamo powers the Crab Pulsar. (ESO) Supernova- Most SN occur in stars 20 times as massive as the sun or larger. In fact there are no stars in the size class within many parsecs of earth. A planet around a star that goes supernova could go any one of several ways depending on its distance from its star. Any planets out as far as the orbits of Mars would most likely be vaporized. Distant planets would be exposed to a severe shock wave and would either shatter or be violently ejected from the star system. In theory, a planet destroyed in this manner would blown to highly radioactive bits. Core collapse supernova are the most violent events known. Gamma Ray Bursts from extreme deep space hint at the possibility of even bigger explosions but at this point no one is really sure what GRB's really are. Summary: A Supernova could easily vaporize a planet but the Earth is in no danger of a supernova from our G2V class Sun. _____________________________________________________________________________ Earth's Most Likely Demise In the far future the Sun will exhaust it nuclear fuel. It's core reaction changes from the Proton-proton Chain reaction to the CNO cycle. The Sun will begin to enter its Red Giant Phase. The Sun will dim somewhat and begin to swell until it encompasses all of the inner planets out to Mars. Artist conception of a red giant consuming a planet. (Berkley) The inner planets will be surrounded by hot solar plasma of ~7500K. They will be dissolved into the mass of the red giant. The red giant is a dying star losing its grip on its own mass. Slowly the solar plasma will bleed away into space creating a beautiful tomb called a planetary nebulae surrounding the stellar corpse called a white dwarf. This is the Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392) which illustrates the way plasma bleeds away from star into space. This is a very important process as it enriches the interstellar medium with elements like Carbon, Nitrogen and, Oxygen. ________________________________________________________ 1- Newton's Laws of Motion from Wikipedia article of the same name. 2- I can die happy having worked this phrase into a conversation.

Matthew Shepherd Foundation I remember when I heard about it. It was an ordinary day at work. I had the radio on. I didn't want to care about it. I had enough to care about. I had been assaulted myself- many times. I'm alive myself because I've got a thick head. In fact all the fuss over a run of the mill gay bashing made me angry. When it had happened to me, the cops were completely disinterested. It didn't really hit me until I saw the picture. He looked like a little kid. It made me sick. It made me ashamed for the way I had felt. There but for the grace of my own thick skull go I. When he died, it pissed me off. It incited me to action. I became one of those obnoxious gay activists that you hear about. I don't know if I've done any good and I have paid a serious price for speaking out. Silence is surrender. Silence in the face of those that would deny us our rights and even our lives is a kind of cowardliness that I can't live with. Silence is an tacit vote of approval for the thousand little indignities that GLBT people are forced to endure. I will be Silent no more.