Archive for 'science' Category
2008.10.25
Bay Area Earthquake Due
Everyone that lives in the San Francisco Bay Area knows that we could experience a large earthquake at any time. We’ve got the San Andreas, Loma Prieta and Hayward faults all here (and more!). What most residents don’t realize is that we are due -almost past due!- for another big one that they are saying could create a disaster larger than Hurricane Katrina.
When the next big earthquake hits the San Francisco Bay Area, it will be a catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina proportions. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people will die, and hundreds of thousands will become homeless. Economic losses will be on the order of $200 billion, the vast majority of it uninsured. Outside help will be desperately needed, but difficult to coordinate and execute.And just as before Hurricane Katrina, scientists have been sounding the alarm, warning that the disaster is inevitable. It’s not a matter of if, but when the “Big One” will strike.
Fun! Or not. Interestingly, the Hayward fault slips on average every 140 years. On October 21st we passed 140 years since its last quake. Time for me to restock my disaster preparedness kit again…
1 Comment | Catergorized: life san francisco science2008.09.14
I Love Dinosaurs
The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles has an awesome exhibit: dinosaurs walking the halls. It’s funny to see because I was actually trying to design something just like the T-Rex as a Halloween costume at one point. Here’s the first video; goto the above link to see the other two. I love dinosaurs!
2 Comments | Catergorized: geek science2008.08.15
Rusting Away
Regardless of the slow posting, I do read a lot online (I’m just too lazy lately to post the links!). Recently I found an article on aging in which scientists found evidence that the traditional notion of age, that we simply wear down over time, may not be entirely true. Their research suggests that age might be the result of an evolutionary process. They point to animals that live well into their many hundreds of years like tortoises (laying eggs into their hundreds), certain whales (living to be over 200) and clams (that can make it a whopping 400 years). The money quote for me, though, was this.
“Everyone has assumed we age by rust,” Kim said.
Help me! I’m rusting away!
No Comments | Catergorized: science2008.05.22
Sometimes We Forget How Small We Are
Sometimes we think we’re such big, important creatures in the scheme of things. Perhaps in some sense we are, but we also forget our literal size in the vastness of the universe. There’s a scene at the beginning of the movie Contact that I love. It starts with a shot of Earth and moves back and away, slowly at first, passing the Moon, and the Planets, then the Oort Cloud… Eventually the camera takes us through the Milky Way, out of the galaxy and past many others. It’s rather humbling. I found an animated GIF to which I had a similar, though less dramatic, reaction. It’s a large file (1.2MB) so give it a chance to load.
1 Comment | Catergorized: science thoughts2008.04.22
Are Allergies Getting To You?
Is it my imagination or is every year that passes getting worse and worse for people with allergies? When I was a kid I didn’t know anyone with allergies. A few adults like, unfortunately, my Mom, but none of us kids. Sure we got chicken pox and colds and stuff like that, but I’d never even heard of allergies to freaking peanuts until I was far into adulthood myself. If any of us were allergic to peanuts when I was a kid we would all be dead because the cafeteria had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at least weekly. Hmm… I take it back; I remember one kind of allergy. Bee stings. I remember one kid was allergic to bee stings and had to carry some syringe with him all the time. We thought it was weird and exotic and cool even though I had a deadly fear of needles. To my knowledge he never was stung since he learned of his allergy.
These days, though, everyone seems allergic to something. Pollen, dust, cats, dogs, wool, antibiotics, any number of foods… I can’t express how happy I am that I have none of these problems. It seems everyday someone is complaining about allergies of one kind or another. Every year their numbers seem to be getting larger, their attacks and reactions to our common environment worse. Is it my imagination or are things really getting worse for people with allergies? Is this the new evolution, slowly weeding people out based on their physical intolerance to the world around them?
5 Comments | Catergorized: life science thoughts2008.02.06
The Most Terrifying Video
Actually, I don’t find it the most terrifying video in the world, but it does do a pretty good job of explaining logically why we should join together and fight global warming. The creator/narrator asks the viewer to poke holes in his theory. Go watch it (link above; a bit over 9 minutes long but quick) and then read on here.
1: Most people are not logical. You cannot appeal to their sense of the rational. If that were the case the conservative movement would have never gotten to where it has been in the past decade and more.
2: If you have the notion that maybe it would be better to wipe the slate clean (I’m am not of this bent) then, really, you want the world to turn into an ecological catastrophe.
All that being said, I agree with what he says! It makes far more sense to assume global warming is happening and do something about it than to sit on our butts and do nothing at all. It’s an argument I often make, actually. Even if it was impossible for global warming to happen I still think that we should reduce or eliminate our dependence on oil (for energy, for transportation, for manufacture, for products, etc). The Middle East is fscked up and will only get worse before it gets better. We’re not helping by pumping our money into the region (purchasing oil) and throwing our weight around (maintaining the flow of oil).
Thanks to the Polecat for the link!
No Comments | Catergorized: grrr life science thoughts2007.09.19
So You Want To Be an Astronaut?
Via Slashdot comes the news that NASA is looking to hire 10 - 15 brand new astronauts. Awesome!
The pilots, scientists, engineers and educators that NASA recruits will train primarily for three- to six-month missions aboard the international space station. However, some could be among those who stroll on the surface of the moon as part of NASA’s plan to return human explorers to the lunar surface by 2020 aboard the shuttle fleet’s successor spacecraft.
The requirements are that you’re a US citizen between 5′2″ and 6′3″ with at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering, biological or physical science, or mathematics and vision correctable to 20/20. The deadline for application appears to be next July 1st. Alas, this is too soon for me to get that second bachelor’s degree… If I could even make up my mind which one to get.
1 Comment | Catergorized: geek science2007.09.07
NASA Needs a Slogan
NASA apparently needs a marketing department.
In early August, NASA internally released its latest marketing campaign, designed to show its relevance and value to the American people. Its new slogan? “NASA explores for answers that power our future.†The campaign now seems to be aborted, but it did get me thinking, could we do any better?
Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides posed the challenge and created a forum to let people create -and vote upon- new slogans and mottos.
I submitted “Ex Astris, Scientia” which is the motto of Starfleet Academy. NASA and Star Trek have been inspiring each other for decades. I don’t see that there’s any harm in using this motto, which means, “From the stars, science.” I’ll submit more when I think of them. There seems to be a lot of interest in the words space, explore (or exploration), and frontier.
A “winner” will be announced on October 1st so even if you don’t have any ideas go and give the up or down to a couple of the entries. It won’t be adopted as an official NASA slogan, but whoever wins will get some degree of geek cred!
1 Comment | Catergorized: geek science thoughts2007.09.07
Frozen Smoke and Ten Dimensions
I love science. In an alternate universe I’m a scientist. So when I read about new technologies, even if completely unrealistic, I tend to geek out.
New substances with amazing properties always interest me. That’s why frozen smoke (also called Aerogel) is so intriguing. Created in the 1930s on a bet it’s only recently that direct applications have been found. Some of these applications are pretty amazing, too.
Aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.
Not too bad from a material that is so light and airy. They can also customize it to absorb oil and mercury spills, capture dust from a comet’s tail, and make bomb proof houses.
Something else that’s always interested me is the concept of multiple dimensions. Conceptualizing the first four is easy. After that it becomes… more difficult. That’s why this video called Conceptualizing the Tenth Dimension, a video based on the book by Rob Bryanton is so interesting. The first time I saw the ten minute video I was a little confused, but after that it started to make sense. One of the concepts I like is each dimension is a mere point for a higher dimension. It makes me wonder if all there is are points, and each point contains all the information for every other possible point.
1 Comment | Catergorized: geek science2007.09.04
Farmageddon
What led to our human ancestors to start in on agriculture? Some say it was a natural evolution but more signs are pointing to farmageddon.
Nearly 13,000 years ago a comet exploded above or slammed into Lake Agassiz in North America. At the time this lake contained more freshwater than all the current lakes in the world combined. All of this freshwater -which was very very cold- rushed out into the Atlantic and effectively stopped the Gulf Stream and plunged much of the northern hemisphere into a mini-iceage. This period is called the Younger Dryas and it is considered by many to be the instigator in our ancestors cultivating the land.
Because the climate was getting cooler the people in parts of the world, who had already started minimal forms of agriculture, had little choice but to continue with the practice as game and native plants they might gather receded. The result is, arguably, our modern cultures with all it’s benefits (and problems). And we have a rogue comet to thank for it. Sadly I don’t think we would be so lucky a second time around…
No Comments | Catergorized: science
