Daily science stuff

[Entilzha]

Black Hole Hunters Set New Distance Record http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1004/. The image is really beautiful.

[Asso]

Indeed!

[justTripn]

I think Alelou would have been a pretty good pioneer. She practically live in the Arctic right now AND she gardens. Oh, and last years she managed to live in the house without electricity for days during a big snowstorm.

[Alelou]

I think pretty much all humans cope with whatever they have to cope with (even living under a sheet surrounded by the rotting bodies of our loved ones and the rubble of our former lives, as the poor Haitians have discovered). But if my husband suddenly insisted we pick up and move into the wilderness I'd probably be upset.

Unless I really believed that thing about fertile land with no rocks. Then I might just be the one lobbying for it. I lobbied us out of NJ and up here -- not for rocks, but for a much cheaper way and more congenial way of life.

[Silverbullet]

Speaking of Pioneer Women. May I bore you with the tale of a Teapot?

In 1942, My Grandmother, Grandfather and myself were driving along on a country road in North Dakota. My Grandmother shouted to my Grandfather to stop and back up. She said that little hill over there looks like a Sod Hut. We all traipsed over to the Hill and grandpa found a door in it. He forced the dorr. We all went inside, I runnng ahead as Kids will do. They were looking aorund when I spotted a Teapot. Ipicked it up and said "Look what I found.can I keep it." "Yes, you found it." Nothig else of interest was found so we left. My Grandmotehr cleaned the Teapot and it was Beautiful. All white with Gold trim. The lid was a Howdah with a little man sitting in it. He was painted red. Anyway, that was my Teapot and my Grandmother told everyone who noticed it that it was mine. A Year later my Grandmothe died in her sleep at night. The morning she died I woke up to hear her three Daughters in the Kitchen, screaming at the top of the voices fighting over who ws going to get what. The Youngest, while the others weren''t looking, hosed up everything she could including that Teapot. No one was looking out for the intersts of an Eight year old boy. Years later I visted that woman and while sitting in her Kitchedn saw the Teapot on top of her Refridgerator. "There is that Teapot." I said. "Yes, I found it years ago, I am going to leave i tto my daughter." she said. Guest in her House I was not about to start a fight over a Teapot.

Years later I was thinking. what Woman would have left that Teapot in the Hut. It was obviously something important to her. What happened. Why did the Teapot get left behind. Did she have to leave in a hurry. Did she die and her Husband buried her, packed up what was important to him and left the Teapot. What. That Tapot would not have been left behind purposely. It was too beautiful and must have been the one thing the woman brought with her to that Sod Hut. Mtystery.

[Alelou]

Well, that wasn't boring. It was poignant.

Your grandmother sounds like a wonderful lady (with a sharp eye!)

[Silverbullet]

I forgot to say that t he Teapot was in the shape of an Elephant. the Spout was it's Trunk and Handle the tail. I imagin hat it would be worth a few bucks today as an antique.

I still wonder how something so beautiful was left behind. It must have been precious to the woman. NO man would carry that along he would be intersted in tools and impletements. guns and the like. It was a womans treasure.

[Asso]

Really this story is poignant, Silverbullet.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Obama aims to ax moon mission

I'm trying very hard not to get too political about this, but this p*sses me off royally.

It's not just the return to the moon missions that will be axed. Essentially the entire manned space program will be axed. There will be no new rockets for years and most likely decades, heavy or otherwise. There are currently no private operators that can be used to ferry astronauts into low Earth orbit. That will also take years to develop, and what's left is to politely ask the Russians.

So, who am I as a Swede having opinions on the U.S. space program (or lack thereof)? I know we in Europe don't do much. But as a space nut I've been living vicariously through NASA since I was a little kid. What a way to celebrate that it was 40 years since the moon landings!

Sorry for the rant!

[Asso]

May I join you, KTR?

[Distracted]

I guess when the asteroid gets here we blow up, then.

[Linda]

So I guess I may not see a human land on Mars in my lifetime...at least not a NASA human.

That teapot story is poignant. It reminds me of how people get so greedy and snatch things up after a death. It is too bad that boy did not explain to his aunt that the teapot WAS his. If he to told the story gently, and she was a compassionate aunt, she would have given it back to him. This story resonates with me because it reminds me of things that have happened in my own family which really rankle, and which are probably better left quiet.

[justTripn]

I also was really interested in the story of the teapot in a sod hut. My Uncle Waldo who died recently at 107 was born in a sod hut. If that was the era of the sod huts, that makes your teapot about fifty years old when you found it. I love that kind of thing.

Of course Western Pennsylvania has alot of history. As kids we used to roam the woods near our house and there were ruins of old cabins in the woods. The most amazing thing to me, was three years ago, as part of my facination with the founding fathers and Alexander Hamilton in particular I was reading a book about the Wiskey Rebellion (Western Pennsylvanians, decided not to pay the wiskey tax, the first tax imposed and began attacking tax collectors sent out to collect the tax and formed an armed rebellion. My hero, Alexander Hamilton, who had imposed the tax, marched on out with a huge army and dispersed the rebels). I had brought along my book to read and I said to my friend, I never realized all this happened RIGHT HERE. (The leaders of the rebellion organized at Mingo Creek Church and our observatory is named Mingo Creek Park Observatory.) She said, Oh sure, Mingo Creek Church is right down the road, Let's go there. We did and we poked around the graveyard across the street and found where the leaders of the rebellion had been buried (they had lived to a ripe old age if I remember correctly.). Their names were on the gravestones and a historical society had additional markers.

[justTripn]

Also, as for the moon, and manned space travel, I'd like to see how much we can do with robots first. You can do almost everything with robots or remotely controlled space vehicles, including look for life on mars and move asteroids. It is also MUCH MUCH cheaper. I would wait until we've found out all we can using robots then worry about manned space travel. More bang for the buck.

[Linda]

Well I do like the idea that NASA work on earth environmental problems, and do research on using the asteroids, but I really would like to see a human foot print on Mars. I realize it would be expensive, and we can do a lot more just with robots, but it would be such a boost for the human spirit to see someone walking around on Mars.

Hey, let's repurpose the military budget and personel and give them to NASA.

(I know, I am highly unrealistic, stupid, and Terra Prime's gonna mark me for a hit)