tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46800053654279868242024-03-14T06:52:31.747-05:00THREADS OF ADVENTURE!Finding the adventure in real-life events and news stories!Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-43284809526223123752016-01-28T10:00:00.002-06:002021-08-05T22:26:23.705-05:00Threads is now That's Gameable! on G+<p>It's been a while since our last post, but if you're on Google Plus, look us up under our new name: <a href="https://plus.google.com/wm/trollface-meme_www.trollize.com_viral-videos-funny-lol/communities/104586948606921642524" target="_blank">That's Gameable!</a> It's now a G+ community where anybody who joins can participate and suggest items that can be made usable for roleplaying games!</p><p>We borrowed the Fallout psyker boy as an unofficial mascot, as he looks like he's getting a bright idea to bring the game table. You can tell that guy is a dungeon master just from the look of him.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVl4POY5BHDWAZwunf4kZgNMuZHqnumvlXgLSdwBBwb1MKhb83EPSxegk1SXo6rKJhufmkNKTUFYkh3eMxZt92Q_uZJCnNMPnDLM2FcqtwT98wXr19yClIrzMUmYwLNHnUxzj6FV2rbgB/s483/thats+gameable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="398" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVl4POY5BHDWAZwunf4kZgNMuZHqnumvlXgLSdwBBwb1MKhb83EPSxegk1SXo6rKJhufmkNKTUFYkh3eMxZt92Q_uZJCnNMPnDLM2FcqtwT98wXr19yClIrzMUmYwLNHnUxzj6FV2rbgB/w180-h218/thats+gameable.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><p></p><p>Anyway, you can look for the kind of content that was posted here over there now. </p><p>Hope to see your ideas soon!</p>Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-31107291431011005972013-03-14T23:08:00.001-05:002013-03-14T23:08:46.169-05:00Knight's tomb found under parking lot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3tW9Ezy64508IJGyuAhkF-uUZdvEm0FhHj3EU1Aoe6K7ouhB0_BpgqrSJbbkuM-wVicmgPYfttl0u9xwcZcz4D1ZTxgloCRTwV_MYKMlxzEaM6p2k-lmboDsjEAuqaduXuO-rdQFPyf9j/s1600/Knights+Headstone+Headland+Archaeology+Edinburgh+Centre+for+Carbon+Innovation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3tW9Ezy64508IJGyuAhkF-uUZdvEm0FhHj3EU1Aoe6K7ouhB0_BpgqrSJbbkuM-wVicmgPYfttl0u9xwcZcz4D1ZTxgloCRTwV_MYKMlxzEaM6p2k-lmboDsjEAuqaduXuO-rdQFPyf9j/s400/Knights+Headstone+Headland+Archaeology+Edinburgh+Centre+for+Carbon+Innovation.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It's not just his royal majesty <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/world/europe/richard-the-third-bones.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Richard III</a>, that took a dirt name under a parking lot--it turns out <a href="http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/14/17315841-medieval-knights-tomb-found-under-parking-lot?lite" target="_blank">a knight has been found </a>under a lot in Scotland. The headstone above was discovered while excavating for a new building. An adult skeleton was found nearby, which is thought to be the knight or noble in question. The headstone has been dated to the 13th century. From MSNBC:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Builders at the site expected they would find historic objects during construction. Before it became a parking lot (coincidentally, once used by the University of Edinburgh's archaeology department), the site housed the 17th-century Royal High School, the 16th-century Old High School, and the 13th-century Blackfriars Monastery, researchers said. Archaeologists also apparently uncovered some medieval remains of the monastery, which had been destroyed and somewhat lost since the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.</blockquote>
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Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-71261646039342376312013-02-28T00:46:00.002-06:002013-02-28T00:46:37.122-06:00Indiana Jones and the Lost Scripts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGTzOjA7LFuvsEx__f653S4s5LpiRfRkvGGRW8e9Vhryr-pJKelXmw8YeCsRGZ10JHZFsjaiydwSqC1aeB7juOTTndkYb7YuOgIblGK0VxcAVKrXJFJeyxkretdJtSgR4OGJplh6EC_m_/s1600/Raiders+UFO.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGTzOjA7LFuvsEx__f653S4s5LpiRfRkvGGRW8e9Vhryr-pJKelXmw8YeCsRGZ10JHZFsjaiydwSqC1aeB7juOTTndkYb7YuOgIblGK0VxcAVKrXJFJeyxkretdJtSgR4OGJplh6EC_m_/s400/Raiders+UFO.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indy discovers an ancient UFO</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mental Floss has great three-part series on the scripts that were almost made into movies. Some were meant to be more comedic, others began to take on the science fiction flavor that was prevelant in the last installment, <i>Kingdom of the Crystal Skull</i> (KotCS).<br />
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While some of the "coulda' been" storylines might be heartbreaking for fans, there's some really great inspiration for writers, world-builders, and lovers of pulp action adventure. Check it out!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrWTC9GBDSHg_qnUO6xqQER0yeRGffdyaj5WjCnrNB4PQ5xdKqheB8OoKNCE8ePeJFYG9TEYVUsOq7o5Mm6Lqkg-j-ZGooZedwITYO-U5U9YMuG9Me9T7SpUxruexGE_BdytD8muA4CRQ/s1600/Indiana+Jones+abandoned+ride+concept.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrWTC9GBDSHg_qnUO6xqQER0yeRGffdyaj5WjCnrNB4PQ5xdKqheB8OoKNCE8ePeJFYG9TEYVUsOq7o5Mm6Lqkg-j-ZGooZedwITYO-U5U9YMuG9Me9T7SpUxruexGE_BdytD8muA4CRQ/s320/Indiana+Jones+abandoned+ride+concept.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abandoned concept for a <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2006/02/06/749.aspx#.US76f6L_mSo" target="_blank">Lost Expedition ride </a>at Disney</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li><b>Part 1: <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/31313/lost-scripts-part-i-indiana-jones-and-monkey-king">Indiana Jones and the Monkey King</a></b> - A 1985 attempt to revive Indy after <i>Last Crusade </i>and would have followed that film's comedic tone. Indy's female sidekick, "Betsy with a Brooklyn" accent might have been a recipe for disaster!</li>
<li><b>Part 2: <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/31320/lost-scripts-part-ii-indiana-jones-and-saucermen-mars">Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men From Mars</a></b> - A noble "Indy vs. Aliens" effort that would have come to theaters in the mid 90s, but the wild success of <i>Independence Day</i> closed the door on Indy until...</li>
<li><b>Part 3: <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/31334/lost-scripts-part-iii-indiana-jones-and-city-gods">Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods</a></b> - Frank Darabont's scifi script that was sadly rewritten (a number of times) and finally became KotCS.</li>
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Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-88684491450118969982013-02-27T23:54:00.000-06:002013-02-28T00:05:54.234-06:00Valley discovered under Antarctica<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="323" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VZd47gfsfuA" width="430"></iframe><br />
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Using ice-penatrating radar over 1,500 miles long strech of ice, researchers studying ice loss on Antarctica have discovered a "Grand-Canyon-sized" valley beneath the glacial layer.
From CNN:
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<blockquote>
“If you stripped away all of the ice here today, you’d see a feature every bit as dramatic as the huge rift valleys you see in Africa and in size as significant as the Grand Canyon," the lead researcher, Robert Bingham, a glaciologist at the University of Aberdeen, said in a press release.</blockquote>
Apparently the valley makes it possible for the warmer ocean waters to speed the melting of the glacier. The valley is on the western part of the continent.<br />
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<a href="http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/26/grand-canyon-sized-valley-found-beneath-antarctica/">Via CNN. </a>Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-52074043801693162422013-02-25T10:39:00.005-06:002013-02-25T10:39:54.936-06:00Lost pyramids discovered via Google EarthI've been behind on keeping this blog up to date! I've got a backlog of old posts, links, and half-articles. I'd feel better if I could just get a little caught up. So here are some (older) news briefs:
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Archeologists may have discovered <a href="http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/possible-egyptian-pyramids-found-using.html#.UCELi8hYtLr">lost pyramids using satelite imagery from Google Earth.</a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Qz57WS8UhbvlVbP1swBdkVV3APuzhWXSxNgqidcju_wRBhXJ-bWtFrsEDo08h-cxZ5WO2ea7h7P29txoc5M5m8l-HT59gYSVEOHTF5G_91QV8VSscjT9yQfYHOLrFmdm1NNGjWxoEowZ/s1600/Archeologists+discover+pyramids+using+google+earth+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Qz57WS8UhbvlVbP1swBdkVV3APuzhWXSxNgqidcju_wRBhXJ-bWtFrsEDo08h-cxZ5WO2ea7h7P29txoc5M5m8l-HT59gYSVEOHTF5G_91QV8VSscjT9yQfYHOLrFmdm1NNGjWxoEowZ/s320/Archeologists+discover+pyramids+using+google+earth+01.jpg" /></a></div>
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From Archeology News Network:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRy25lcmg7D3wZEQlzl72K7FBbCD6GqzwsRw_1Z5n7d4HUUrckpNZQDTbqgmcnWHa6hOsSfMt6HGCQ7EHAHyjuSLi3OnHN8DoLVY1MDhxPIOXp1wgW5hScnw66RPrVntl-Cln_GIocbwEa/s1600/Archeologists+discover+pyramids+using+google+earth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRy25lcmg7D3wZEQlzl72K7FBbCD6GqzwsRw_1Z5n7d4HUUrckpNZQDTbqgmcnWHa6hOsSfMt6HGCQ7EHAHyjuSLi3OnHN8DoLVY1MDhxPIOXp1wgW5hScnw66RPrVntl-Cln_GIocbwEa/s320/Archeologists+discover+pyramids+using+google+earth.jpg" /></a>The sites have been documented and discovered by satellite archaeology researcher Angela Micol of Maiden, North Carolina. Angela has been conducting satellite archaeology research for over ten years, searching for ancient sites from space using Google Earth. Angela is a UNC Charlotte alumnus and has studied archaeology since childhood. Google Earth has allowed her to document many possible archaeological sites, including a potential underwater city off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula that has sparked the interest of scientists, researchers and archaeologists. Angela is also a board member of the APEX Institute, founded by archaeologist William Donato, who is pioneering underwater archaeological research in the Bahamas. Angela has been assisted by Don J. Long, fellow APEX researcher and colleague.</blockquote>
So far, the sites have been confirmed as not being previously cataloged by egpytologists. <br />
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<em>Images via Archeology News Network</em><br />
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Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-55698957480475306982013-02-25T10:02:00.000-06:002013-02-28T00:47:30.944-06:00Has the lost continent of Lemuria been found off Madagascar?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUhQt5UIOzZDTjuW9h23y5FGBD_SdMqz_GyyB3iBBcvzmerFvPlkoJyeCw-uFjErxGb5bElPCiIPfMLzgda9L5Nve4hAgeCmazX5Nv3Nn0kdrZkjt61eMtKkxSUkFXdzXTmTVK6EhXwcp/s1600/Mauritia+long+lost+continent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUhQt5UIOzZDTjuW9h23y5FGBD_SdMqz_GyyB3iBBcvzmerFvPlkoJyeCw-uFjErxGb5bElPCiIPfMLzgda9L5Nve4hAgeCmazX5Nv3Nn0kdrZkjt61eMtKkxSUkFXdzXTmTVK6EhXwcp/s400/Mauritia+long+lost+continent.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Jack Abuin/ZUMA Press/Corbis via <em>Nature</em> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well this <i></i>is one way to start out a Monday--researchers publishing in the journal <em>Nature</em> (yeah, a REAL scientific publication!) have confirmed that there is a forgotten continent submerged under the Indian Ocean. Could this be the source of the legend of the lost land of Lemuria?<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrUMdaDLuRr0XPNWw6Sj6ZaLtjuMYdNLDDTkET6k0cuTh7uKzm0BcMSn9YogwmPEbejBCV2l81F9qzB6l8_QtI4it5tdLUa6FOO9fI6xGh9LrD3i7e79hR_kQdR66jOgPRc6cW9va2YzA/s1600/Ring+Tailed+Lemurs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrUMdaDLuRr0XPNWw6Sj6ZaLtjuMYdNLDDTkET6k0cuTh7uKzm0BcMSn9YogwmPEbejBCV2l81F9qzB6l8_QtI4it5tdLUa6FOO9fI6xGh9LrD3i7e79hR_kQdR66jOgPRc6cW9va2YzA/s200/Ring+Tailed+Lemurs.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ring-tailed lemurs. Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In 1864, British zoologist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Sclater" target="_blank">Philip Sclater</a> published a paper on primates from Madagascar--noting that they had similarities to organisms in India--but not Africa (the continent the isle is closest too). He speculated that India and Madagascar were once connected and dubbed the "lost" land continent to be "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_(lost_continent)" target="_blank">Lemuria</a>". The name given to the primates he studied? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur" target="_blank">Lemurs</a>! <br />
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His theory was that a land bridge connected Madgascar to India. When the continent broke up, it left behind separated groups of the same species that eventually evolved along divergent paths--but that still held similarities. The theory of land bridges became en vogue in the 19th century and eventually fell out of favor once <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics" target="_blank">plate tectonics</a> was discovered.<br />
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Fast forward to today's news: After analyzing crystalization in beach sand, they concluded an island chain is actually the remains of a long lost continent. From <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/long-lost-continent-found-under-the-indian-ocean-1.12487">Nature</a>:
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<blockquote>
Evidence for the long-lost land comes from Mauritius (see photo at top), a volcanic island about 900 kilometres east of Madagascar. The oldest basalts on the island date to about 8.9 million years ago, says Bjørn Jamtveit, a geologist at the University of Oslo. Yet grain-by-grain analyses of beach sand that Jamtveit and his colleagues collected at two sites on the Mauritian coast revealed around 20 zircons — tiny crystals of zirconium silicate that are exceedingly resistant to erosion or chemical change — that were far older.</blockquote>
Another interesting bit...
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<blockquote>
The paper also suggests that not just one but many fragments of continental crust lie beneath the floor of the Indian Ocean. Analyses of Earth’s gravitational field reveal several broad areas where sea-floor crust is much thicker than normal — at least 25 to 30 kilometres thick, rather than the normal 5 to 10 kilometres.
Those crustal anomalies may be the remains of a landmass that the team has dubbed Mauritia, which they suggest split from Madagascar when tectonic rifting and sea-floor spreading sent the Indian subcontinent surging northeast millions of years ago. Subsequent stretching and thinning of the region’s crust sank the fragments of Mauritia, which together had comprised an island or archipelago about three times the size of Crete, the researchers estimate.</blockquote>
So maybe Lemuria DID exist as a land bridge that later (for lack of a better term) "disolved" into the plate on which it rode. More research is needed, but the new science does seem to at least corroborate some of the earlier biology work done by Sclater. <br />
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<em>The kicker?</em> There may be MORE of these "ghost continents" lying in wait, under the oceans of the world. The researchers included, in the same journal, an additional submission positing the possibility that there are many more of these hidden land masses. <br />
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This is adding fuel to the claims that other forgotten continents like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_(lost_continent)" target="_blank">Mu</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria_(continent)" target="_blank"></a>and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis" target="_blank">Atlantis</a> also may have actually existed--or at least there is scientific basis behind the legends.<br />
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What do you think--are the legends true?Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-60648910889997528362012-09-13T11:16:00.000-05:002012-09-13T11:16:19.675-05:00Sandstone caves of Nottingham<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="242" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/i2FOBXp3vQQ?list=UU7aMeLMB6nHIf8zyVgR0Rhw&hl=en_US" width="430"></iframe><br />
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Video: Nottingham Caves Survey</span></i><br />
<a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/09/12/nottinghams-wondrous-caves.html">Boing Boing</a> mentions a post over at <a href="http://bldgblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/caves-of-nottingham_11.html">the BLDG BLOG on the caves of Nottingham</a>, which are being mapped as part of the <a href="http://nottinghamcavessurvey.org.uk/">Nottingham Caves Survey</a>. They are, in many respects, similar to those at <a href="http://dornob.com/underground-cities-3500-years-of-cappadocian-cave-homes/">Cappadocia </a>(manmade, cut into sandstone bedrock and cliffsides). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdC3bGLFxacAVxuuf0dFjNx2gq0-PrE_oi8mVbECVO5RraH6GfEoWOojg5O0M2yw-U7i7KtiGPE6RNon7WZzxKL5pbLU6OJ2WNIms9KmC_0JXcCEJauW41_oGSB339GK78RJ7TU3gIIRkt/s1600/Nottingham+Caves+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdC3bGLFxacAVxuuf0dFjNx2gq0-PrE_oi8mVbECVO5RraH6GfEoWOojg5O0M2yw-U7i7KtiGPE6RNon7WZzxKL5pbLU6OJ2WNIms9KmC_0JXcCEJauW41_oGSB339GK78RJ7TU3gIIRkt/s400/Nottingham+Caves+01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The storied history of the caves which inlcudes ties to Robin of Locksley--has long been the spark of tall tales. From the article:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Incredibly, there are more than 450 artificial caves excavated from the sandstone beneath the streets and buildings of Nottingham, England—including, legendarily, the old dungeon that once held Robin Hood—and not all of them are known even today, let alone mapped or studied. The city sits atop a labyrinth of human-carved spaces—some of them huge—and it will quite simply never be certain if archaeologists and historians have found them all. <br />
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"Even back in Saxon times, Nottingham was known for its caves," local historian Tony Waltham writes in his helpful guide Sandstone Caves of Nottingham, "though the great majority of those which survive today were cut much more recently." From malt kilns to pub cellars, "gentlemen's lounges" to jails, and wells to cisterns, these caves form an almost entirely privately-owned lacework of voids beneath the city. </blockquote>Here's a look at some maps they've created:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTA_DhbLjAZpLSl40a7mdgmT9Bo2T5Y8YyRqDaP-Tx1-PgyCTjm5bUf_1_M4i05QJW_8bEvgAUtduI7UZp9WgaYcfK6CWYp4cvk_sBhCk806zo9GVIPT7tnKoqTV_HJygRIvFK_kTG21-2/s1600/Nottingham+Caves+Map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTA_DhbLjAZpLSl40a7mdgmT9Bo2T5Y8YyRqDaP-Tx1-PgyCTjm5bUf_1_M4i05QJW_8bEvgAUtduI7UZp9WgaYcfK6CWYp4cvk_sBhCk806zo9GVIPT7tnKoqTV_HJygRIvFK_kTG21-2/s400/Nottingham+Caves+Map.png" width="399" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVwPL1Z3c_iPM3bb26JewIdSgEVxgu14_aEGwZPb6lisOZRvkbiXGPYlbLBdEojPEa0oHFoV8_OGy91NJXBQg-0UXBH-tmoZsdys2EkzOAdpcKReptj_mDKDEvBBvW5t73hucKQfy4Thi/s1600/Nottingham+Caves+Street+Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVwPL1Z3c_iPM3bb26JewIdSgEVxgu14_aEGwZPb6lisOZRvkbiXGPYlbLBdEojPEa0oHFoV8_OGy91NJXBQg-0UXBH-tmoZsdys2EkzOAdpcKReptj_mDKDEvBBvW5t73hucKQfy4Thi/s400/Nottingham+Caves+Street+Map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Some interior shots:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyzp0Eg-v5cpkKCkF2ucQIPcUAFboI_PGO0LRixGRhy1q8Qv9YSlK1qRwbegmUFEILgbJzQKsd7mPuLrHmxJUZ_JgsIyLHLGZ-Sorpjo2XBwgcB7hbpeH1rJD0Cm6eCged_I1BnM1mDUK/s1600/Notingham+Caves+interior.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyzp0Eg-v5cpkKCkF2ucQIPcUAFboI_PGO0LRixGRhy1q8Qv9YSlK1qRwbegmUFEILgbJzQKsd7mPuLrHmxJUZ_JgsIyLHLGZ-Sorpjo2XBwgcB7hbpeH1rJD0Cm6eCged_I1BnM1mDUK/s400/Notingham+Caves+interior.bmp" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9OFdFnVq9RPMoaQvjWZWD8YWoVwd_IyFRGeJJajyFKkAnQXpefmKfJi91DcfsFF7JnzxtXfsjcC7KMLajMIb33fAKjoNdG7GaRxtzJ5Q7Zr6T6fcQqtNVPjNxvKQP5SAYrdy2vm7_zMJ/s1600/Nottingham+Caves+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9OFdFnVq9RPMoaQvjWZWD8YWoVwd_IyFRGeJJajyFKkAnQXpefmKfJi91DcfsFF7JnzxtXfsjcC7KMLajMIb33fAKjoNdG7GaRxtzJ5Q7Zr6T6fcQqtNVPjNxvKQP5SAYrdy2vm7_zMJ/s400/Nottingham+Caves+02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Images: Nottingham Cave Survey and BLDG BLOG</em></div>Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-60681669690820276442012-07-24T10:00:00.003-05:002012-07-24T10:08:10.238-05:0010 lost civilizations --some maybe not so familiarWhat are the ten most familiar civilzations you think of when you hear the word "lost"? There's several on this remarkably ordered <a href="http://io9.com/5928085/10-civilizations-that-disappeared-under-mysterious-circumstances" target="_blank">list over at io9</a> of ancient civilizations that I wasn't aware of. We've all heard of the Maya and Easter Island, but there's a few that (I am ashamed to admit) I missed in Archeology 101 from college. For instance: <br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSO5TdPb47DQBYDpkgdO7DHFDWK65naZYyPTrR1olZa6ZwELVRwHlEzakuf5pqSVyX4zACALii7rII-69suoBRCUWj3JbpcgAEQu0ALOTabSHXyWLLtRVKyU6gW8KP670VbZtBTJQABC_u/s1600/Catalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSO5TdPb47DQBYDpkgdO7DHFDWK65naZYyPTrR1olZa6ZwELVRwHlEzakuf5pqSVyX4zACALii7rII-69suoBRCUWj3JbpcgAEQu0ALOTabSHXyWLLtRVKyU6gW8KP670VbZtBTJQABC_u/s320/Catalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge</span></div>4. Catalhöyük<br />
Often called the world's oldest city, Catalhöyük was part of a large city-building and agricultural civilization thriving between 9,000-7,000 years ago in what is today south-central Turkey. What's interesting about Catalhöyük is its structure, which is quite unlike most other cities since. It contained no roads as we know them, and was instead built sort of like a hive, with houses built next to each other and entered through holes in the roofs. It's believed that people farmed everything from wheat to almonds outside the city walls, and got to their homes via ladders and sidewalks that traversed their roofs. Often, these people decorated the entrances to their homes with bull skulls, and buried the bones of their honored dead beneath the packed dirt of their floors. The civilization was pre-Iron Age and pre-literate, but they nevertheless left behind ample evidence of a sophisticated society, full of art and and public ritual, that was possibly 10,000 strong at many points in its 2,000 year existence. Why did people eventually abandon the city? It is unknown.</blockquote>And I'm ashamed to say I don't think I knew there was a city here in the US--prior to Europeans arriving.<br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS3fyYHiglR8VPAhzKxTTpe_4-CdA1AGPRJRN51DictfFdpXpn3ZcpxOcQHvIcQoJykecNLtsB8bhrANvHjSlcim4hFKsHmnrLqQhfU15yaaUIZ8iZU3FpYgZx6wmoVCeL0fBlgJ23ueo/s1600/Cahokia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS3fyYHiglR8VPAhzKxTTpe_4-CdA1AGPRJRN51DictfFdpXpn3ZcpxOcQHvIcQoJykecNLtsB8bhrANvHjSlcim4hFKsHmnrLqQhfU15yaaUIZ8iZU3FpYgZx6wmoVCeL0fBlgJ23ueo/s320/Cahokia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge</span> </div>5. Cahokia<br />
Long before Europeans made it to North America, the so-called Mississippians had build a great city surrounded by huge earthen pyramids and a Stonehenge-like structure made of wood to track the movements of the stars. Called Cahokia today, you can still see its remains in Illinois. At its height between 600-1400 AD, the city sprawled across 6 square miles, and contained almost a hundred earthen mounds as well as an enormous grand plaza at its center. Its population might have been as much as 40,000 people, some of whom would have lived in outlying villages. The people of this great city, the biggest so far north in Mesoamerica, were brilliant artists, architects, and farmers, creating incredible art with shells, copper, and stone. They even diverted a branch of the local Mississippi and Illinois rivers to suit their needs for irrigation. It's not entirely certain what led people to abandon the city starting in the 1200s, but some archaeologists say the city had always had problems with disease and famine (it had no sanitary system to speak of), and that people left for greener (and healthier) pastures elsewhere on the Mississippi River.</blockquote>Great historical inspiration for getting the gears turning and fantastic fodder for stories, indeed!<br />
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Images are from the <a href="http://io9.com/5928085/10-civilizations-that-disappeared-under-mysterious-circumstances" target="_blank">full article over at io9</a>.Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-35410754817375652302012-05-19T10:00:00.006-05:002012-09-13T14:43:26.341-05:00Centuries old shipwreck found at the bottom of the Gulf of MexicoHere's a few great shots of an old copper-hulled ship that sank more than 200 years ago in the Gulf of Mexico. Among the artifacts are a canon, some plates and bottles, and several muskets.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGa_WydV2duKuzWroW6WvjO8inkSaLYwS8uYWa47aluII77XYaWQBcau61UjCoFIHkaPQ9XVGfdUiUtYA3V3C1EKPjcoX1Zp9yu7Ce85Q5KkmKdy8r3p25ST8hwfVfm3qfzRNyi-SzMH-Z/s1600/Gulf+of+Mexico+shipwreck+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGa_WydV2duKuzWroW6WvjO8inkSaLYwS8uYWa47aluII77XYaWQBcau61UjCoFIHkaPQ9XVGfdUiUtYA3V3C1EKPjcoX1Zp9yu7Ce85Q5KkmKdy8r3p25ST8hwfVfm3qfzRNyi-SzMH-Z/s400/Gulf+of+Mexico+shipwreck+01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoCIKdBhEKOsmSVqWU37ldBiMugrrc8h6VaX7gHwHHvG0OTNIAbGHX1mzxJ0H3kuuPNoHm4Ktx36kf4w-s5V9bWSsLHuBgYwm_jhRmMnAS35ae2m8DevTSi7-FXiLzOGepjUV1hT5khUY/s1600/Gulf+of+Mexico+shipwreck+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoCIKdBhEKOsmSVqWU37ldBiMugrrc8h6VaX7gHwHHvG0OTNIAbGHX1mzxJ0H3kuuPNoHm4Ktx36kf4w-s5V9bWSsLHuBgYwm_jhRmMnAS35ae2m8DevTSi7-FXiLzOGepjUV1hT5khUY/s400/Gulf+of+Mexico+shipwreck+02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReJLTMwbhf-l_S6OPSLUZWCM2itmNYmt_CHV6LmVqVxGZjqmU4y9FTym-cU5SheCAe6NHOMI5aRXN8y_BLpQ2gqklvOBI5tVBN8gWUT-b9wYayJj_xQxq7BtGr-TjxzwD99e3Ua-Hl6fs/s1600/Gulf+of+Mexico+shipwreck+03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReJLTMwbhf-l_S6OPSLUZWCM2itmNYmt_CHV6LmVqVxGZjqmU4y9FTym-cU5SheCAe6NHOMI5aRXN8y_BLpQ2gqklvOBI5tVBN8gWUT-b9wYayJj_xQxq7BtGr-TjxzwD99e3Ua-Hl6fs/s400/Gulf+of+Mexico+shipwreck+03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
From MSNBC:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">A newly discovered 200-year-old shipwreck was found 200 miles off the Gulf Coast in more than 4,000 feet of water by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The wooden hull of the ship has nearly disintegrated, but a greenish copper shell that once protected the ship's wood remains behind.</blockquote>Not many details are available at the moment, but just imagine the story behind this incredible find!<br />
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Photos: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program via AP<br />
Check out the <a href="http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/18/11758540-200-year-old-shipwreck-discovered-in-gulf-of-mexico?lite">full story at MSNBC</a>Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-85312026524360246212012-05-15T02:48:00.000-05:002012-05-15T02:48:14.203-05:00Let's Build the Starship Enterprise!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBj03JDFpvtnJ6Zz64Yb4OyEA3SeskmrKs9a_IWw1C464Uh4Upd2RlUnxRXGr10Y0yd7VVfHKgKNjMxPkwSpxTD-bOlc-pTFQiBgN2zZfyGMexF1S3BbwN9zxL8xPnTbY35m7sObCDClu/s1600/Build+the+Enterprise.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBj03JDFpvtnJ6Zz64Yb4OyEA3SeskmrKs9a_IWw1C464Uh4Upd2RlUnxRXGr10Y0yd7VVfHKgKNjMxPkwSpxTD-bOlc-pTFQiBgN2zZfyGMexF1S3BbwN9zxL8xPnTbY35m7sObCDClu/s400/Build+the+Enterprise.png" width="400" /></a></div>I've said it before, and I'll say it again--we should fund a spaceship Kickstarter for a REAL spaceship. It's by no means a new idea, but someone has finally made a case for a workable plan.<br />
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The founder of the <a href="http://www.buildtheenterprise.org/" target="_blank">Build the Enterprise website</a>, BTE Dan, says he's got an idea to build the starship Enterprise (or a reasonable version of it) to fly in actual outer space in <i>20 years.<b></b></i><br />
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Granted, there will be a few concessions (i.e., no warp speed) but he contends that the technology and know-how to construct an interplanetary space vessel exists--and we can do it in just two decades. <br />
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From the Build the Entperise FAQ:<br />
<blockquote>Q: <i>BTE-Dan, do you really think it’s technically possible to build the USS Enterprise over the next two decades?</i><br />
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A: Yes. It’s within our technological reach to build a full-sized Enterprise with 1g gravity. This Gen1 Enterprise can go on missions to key points of interest in our solar system, like Mars and Venus. It will be the biggest ship of any kind ever built by humans, and it will be larger than the tallest building in the world. It’s possible to build the Enterprise, and it would be a monumental achievement for us humans who inhabit the planet earth.<br />
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Q: <i>How would building the Enterprise alter our manned space program?</i><br />
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A: The USS Enterprise from Star Trek is a cultural icon, and we should latch part of the US space program on to this icon and build from there. We need a far grander vision of what we should be doing to get humans up into space and how we might gain a permanent foothold there. If we aren’t going to get a sustainable presence up there, then we should stop spending money for putting humans into space and instead focus on robotic missions like sending more advanced rovers to Mars, Venus, and elsewhere. If we are going to ask taxpayers to pay billions of dollars for projects to put Americans into space, it should be for an idea that they can relate to and be inspired by. The general form and characteristics of the spaceship should be inspirational – and building the first generation of USS Enterprise would surely be inspirational.<br />
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Q: <i>Well the ship is inspired by the Star Trek Enterprise, but it’s not the same. Please explain why it’s different.</i><br />
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A: It’s different because the technologies we have to work with in the first half of the 21st century are much different than the technologies that will exist in the 23rd century when Star Trek is set. We can only dream of what technologies may exist by then. So we can stay as true to the themes of the Enterprise ship as is possible given our technological limitations. We have to re-configure interior sections of the ship quite a bit. But it will still be a magnificently impressive ship. When completed, and given the missions that it will be capable of doing, it will be as inspirational as putting astronauts on the moon in 1969.</blockquote>He makes a reasoned argument for realizing a spaceship, (I'll give him that!) though I think with it would likely take about twice that time to shake out any technical snafus along the way. Still, that's a mere fraction of the 2 and a 1/2 centuries that the Star Trek series postulates the possibility of the Enterprise. And really, who would give up cruising around the solar system in their own hot rod?<br />
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Here's a video of a proposed artificial gravity wheel to accomodate human habitation on long journeys. It's a neat solution that essentially turns the manned areas of the ship on it's side.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="248" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VMafReWFSfE" width="430"></iframe><br />
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If only we could get an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_prize" target="_blank">X Prize</a> to build one of these! <br />
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Links:<br />
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<ul><li><a href="http://www.buildtheenterprise.org/" target="_blank">Build the Enterprise site</a> if the site doesn't respond, keep trying. It looks like it's getting a lot of traffic!</li>
<li>Coverage on <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47396187/ns/technology_and_science-space/#.T67THehYuSo">MSNBC</a>.</li>
</ul>Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-49220568002619330502012-05-10T09:30:00.003-05:002012-05-10T09:30:01.691-05:00Weirdest underwater lifeformsGizmodo's got a great video line-up of strange sealife they just posted. Here are two of my "favorites" (I guess?) for all-out weirdness. They'd make great aliens in some sci-fi story, no?<br />
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I agree with Gizmodo's assessemtnt that this Pacific Barrel-eyed Fish<br />
looks like it has a tiny pilot inside. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="248" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Zoygy-8PTtU" width="430"></iframe><br />
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<br />
This Predatory Tunicate looks like a giant cellophane Muppet.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="248" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/e8jM94pNssc" width="430"></iframe><br />
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Head on over for the <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5908957/the-seven-weirdest-creatures-under-the-sea/#comments">full list</a>. Fair warning: there's a definite lack of cuteness to some of these critters.Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-20407290320644775952012-05-09T09:08:00.000-05:002012-05-09T09:08:05.906-05:00The Diversity of "Jellyfish"<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="274" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3HzFiQFFQYw" width="430"></iframe><br />
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I'm dusting off some old draft posts that I'd meant to put up earlier. This video "There's no such thing as a jellyfish" is a great primer on the critters. Plus its food for thought on a whole mess of topics, like life sciences, marine biology, and even astrobiology. <br />
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Also, it's breathtakingly gorgeous video!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-20570172048713561302012-05-09T08:55:00.000-05:002012-05-09T08:55:57.784-05:00Back at itHas it really been almost a year between posts? Yikes! I didn't intend for that to happen, but life gets in the way I guess. Well, I'm working on a few posts to get back in the swing of things. <br />
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There may be a few new features/changes in store for ToA. I expect to make some cosmetic updates as well.<br />
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Stay tuned!Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-3863110010641341232012-05-09T00:58:00.000-05:002012-05-09T00:58:44.012-05:00Martian test run in Austrian ice caves!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnS5vLWXfZIt3SOOaKwR_qhQ9Hx4JU7NzPtHmogw4JeYnPIIAVBjLXOaTdbn9R0PO1bXGCDUzq8MGA4KL-UviUyYh9Niq3lHfyMivwz7eLBr6NQMH8BO3-Yrb7KSJZJUSxV3YzeQlJ27f/s1600/Mars+Cave+Expermiment+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnS5vLWXfZIt3SOOaKwR_qhQ9Hx4JU7NzPtHmogw4JeYnPIIAVBjLXOaTdbn9R0PO1bXGCDUzq8MGA4KL-UviUyYh9Niq3lHfyMivwz7eLBr6NQMH8BO3-Yrb7KSJZJUSxV3YzeQlJ27f/s400/Mars+Cave+Expermiment+01.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These amazing photographs are of a simulation experiment in ice caves located underneath Dachstein mountain in Austria that are serving as a test environment for space suits. Why would we need to test space suits in a cave? you ask. Well, so when we go to MARS we can see if perhaps life found a way to thrive underground. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMu60GZg658F-kFYGbWuHKSQbjvLxZC_9m1sGRv8qrdoN32zXDS5IVJ81A2iMuz6QqANjznkbFUNTSZZLwVodScX5U73ZkQzoHtxFFXP666iCTm_Dyaqc0y6RUwPIpOyQrb0MPB7rIMiQ/s1600/Mars+Cave+Experiment+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMu60GZg658F-kFYGbWuHKSQbjvLxZC_9m1sGRv8qrdoN32zXDS5IVJ81A2iMuz6QqANjznkbFUNTSZZLwVodScX5U73ZkQzoHtxFFXP666iCTm_Dyaqc0y6RUwPIpOyQrb0MPB7rIMiQ/s400/Mars+Cave+Experiment+02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigO02vTGuNk7cRGsPboor8o8AdstDvs-gdt6-QqurCWGWPR4KB-YK_TDVG_wEQXhxpc8o8HutqC3YvFZLJ2TXOOod-Jr2_WNk0vJLaceJKPrB0zHFK3u_oq9aepuIBILCR3gO8dR-KC6AQ/s1600/Mars+Cave+Experiment+03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigO02vTGuNk7cRGsPboor8o8AdstDvs-gdt6-QqurCWGWPR4KB-YK_TDVG_wEQXhxpc8o8HutqC3YvFZLJ2TXOOod-Jr2_WNk0vJLaceJKPrB0zHFK3u_oq9aepuIBILCR3gO8dR-KC6AQ/s400/Mars+Cave+Experiment+03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BckxzOkwWlxHFmWk_XDwKaV3ZQukhInIoDMLTLiBkmbQofQBTT08qLQLiZ2z4IHnK47z2nN_h5_dZZAEcUAJtVklsjpUYzK7IfU0k2KAMdK1n8CRyekyPDXJ6jl2LfCVw0zHylBNoq0K/s1600/Mars+Cave+Experiment+04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BckxzOkwWlxHFmWk_XDwKaV3ZQukhInIoDMLTLiBkmbQofQBTT08qLQLiZ2z4IHnK47z2nN_h5_dZZAEcUAJtVklsjpUYzK7IfU0k2KAMdK1n8CRyekyPDXJ6jl2LfCVw0zHylBNoq0K/s400/Mars+Cave+Experiment+04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fra_aYqGzZzDSBIPIGv93_D5GxtQhhY0wofOmyHtKoK4rF2SSN2iJYG0HoPrvv8SRhg2hwKkZyZFIC4QITJCGFyBOCkjyF6oOAvBXxPBQa3ziZCAnLyxCr9PyG1MPzICeyHAYZkslMyI/s1600/Mars+Cave+Experiment+05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fra_aYqGzZzDSBIPIGv93_D5GxtQhhY0wofOmyHtKoK4rF2SSN2iJYG0HoPrvv8SRhg2hwKkZyZFIC4QITJCGFyBOCkjyF6oOAvBXxPBQa3ziZCAnLyxCr9PyG1MPzICeyHAYZkslMyI/s400/Mars+Cave+Experiment+05.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
As you can see from these last two images, the trial also includes some rover robot testing. Pretty cool!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocnc5nfoLTMe4vW9RLXnoBwJN_FM862t2TThHBgKIqXskg1bfOulfD_WHoBYyRjQH_pokuxMxkoreF9D1mqQgMMSAupMtUHhxT1vga63keKXxQkIaXl1JIHtMJQphcXF0IGxg1goebu0v/s1600/Mars+Cave+Experiment+06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocnc5nfoLTMe4vW9RLXnoBwJN_FM862t2TThHBgKIqXskg1bfOulfD_WHoBYyRjQH_pokuxMxkoreF9D1mqQgMMSAupMtUHhxT1vga63keKXxQkIaXl1JIHtMJQphcXF0IGxg1goebu0v/s400/Mars+Cave+Experiment+06.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cJVzqE1Gz8ApLACxIENI5AWnk4KL-gbjytQEo6iy2zyKFdJu0EuBSJAfyCyBpXulGr6cyYBPlYJZoZnSejKf3OBYN7o5inlOwJpubqi3FPeo35g93mi7KnnhcwsBl-_v-YPwIWYkfALp/s1600/Mars+Cave+Experiment+07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cJVzqE1Gz8ApLACxIENI5AWnk4KL-gbjytQEo6iy2zyKFdJu0EuBSJAfyCyBpXulGr6cyYBPlYJZoZnSejKf3OBYN7o5inlOwJpubqi3FPeo35g93mi7KnnhcwsBl-_v-YPwIWYkfALp/s400/Mars+Cave+Experiment+07.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
See caves are a great place for microbes to hang out because they benefit from a protected habitat that shields them from cosmic radiation, which is a known buzzkill when it comes to biology.<br />
<br />
From <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,831024,00.html" target="_blank">Spiegal</a>:<br />
<blockquote>A dozen experiments are being conducted simultaneously in the caves. For example, the Magma Mars rover developed in Poland is navigating an ice surface. On board, it is carrying the Wisdom radar system, which is to be used on the next European Mars mission. The system can be used to analyze rocks at a depth of up to 3 meters (almost 10 feet). "Here in the ice, we can even examine as far as 10 meters deep," says project worker Stephen Clifford of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.<br />
<br />
Without a doubt, though, the most spectacular test object is the "Aouda.X" Mars space suit. Tester Daniel Schildhammer is currently making his way in the space suit simulator through a giant cavern that is dotted with rocks. The shining silver suit, which weighs 45 kilograms (around 100 pounds), is also one of a kind, and is named after a Jules Verne character. In his classic novel "Around the World in 80 Days," the book's hero, Phileas Fogg, falls in love with the Indian princess Aouda.</blockquote>Researcher Gernot Grömer, an astrophysicist at the University of Innsbruck goes on to talk about what makes caves ideal test environments.<br />
<blockquote>"We've known for some time now that there are caves on Mars. And if there actually was life on its surface once, then they would have been the ideal places to retreat to." In astro-biological terms, there is certainly something to that: Cave systems, with their constant temperatures, elevated levels of humidity and, in particular, the protection they offer from cosmic radiation, seem the perfect refuge for simple life forms seeking a retreat. Still, the impressive images Dachstein has to offer were certainly a very pleasant side-effect for all the stakeholders.</blockquote>Even got a little Jules Verne in there! Great stuff. Reminds me of <a href="http://threadsofadventure.blogspot.com/2010/01/giant-crystal-caves-of-naica.html" target="_blank">another post a ways back</a>.<br />
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This all is helping me close in on an idea I've had since that initial post on the crystal caves. Just amazing that we have these incredible images and research like this is actually being conducted. I'm in awe!<br />
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<br />
Image sources:<br />
<a href="http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-81848.html" target="_blank">Spiegel Online</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.oewf.org/2012/05/dachstein-mars-simulation-in-25-bildern/" target="_blank">blog.oewf.org</a> <br />
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Props to <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/05/03/testing-spacesuits-beneath-the.html" target="_blank">Boing Boing</a>Jay Exonautshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336829684749993354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-33918342762032017152011-05-27T07:17:00.002-05:002011-05-27T07:19:15.908-05:00Understanding Dark Matter: What We Don't Know<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22956103?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="430" height="561" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>I saw this great video on <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2011/05/26/video-comic-about-da.html">Boing Boing</a> and thought I'd share in light of the new <a href="http://threadsofadventure.blogspot.com/2011/05/billions-of-rogue-planets-in-milky-way.html">dark planets discovery</a>. I've read comments on a few sites that the rogue, Jupiter-like planets must help explain the massive amounts of dark matter out there in the universe. Judging by what I've read elsewhere--and this cool animated film--it's more complicated than meets the eye. Stuff like this is part of the reason I love astronomy, it's still new and we still don't know a lot!<br />
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Enjoy!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-2557893278955886802011-05-18T16:39:00.010-05:002011-05-19T00:30:13.718-05:00BILLIONS of rogue planets in the Milky Way may outnumber stars!<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="000000" flashvars="smoothing=true&controlbar=over&file=free_float_jupiter.flv&streamer=rtmp://nsfgov.flash.internapcdn.net/nsfgov_vitalstream_com/_definst_/video/&image=http://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/images/videostill.jpg" height="224" src="http://www.nsf.gov/js/video/player.swf" width="400"></embed><br />
Astronomer's have made a startling discovery that there are <b>"hundreds of billions"</b> of orphaned, Jupiter-sized planets in our galaxy. In fact, these free-floating orbs may outnumber the stars! From NYT:<br />
<blockquote>There are two Jupiter-mass planets for each of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, according to measurements and calculations undertaken by an international group of astronomers led by Takahiro Sumi, of Osaka University in Japan, and reported in the journal <i>Nature</i>.<br />
<br />
“It’s a bit of a surprise,” said David Bennett, a Notre Dame astronomer, who was part of the team. Before this research, it was thought that only about 10 or 20 percent of stars harbored Jupiter-mass planets. Now it seems as if the planets outnumber the stars.</blockquote>I wonder if they also have moons like the gas giants in our neck of the woods. At least one of the scientists seems to postulate as much, From <i>Nature</i>:<br />
<blockquote>Planetary scientist David Stevenson at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena has considered how the temperatures on ejected planets might compare with those on star-bound bodies2. If Jupiter were kicked out of the Solar System, its surface temperature would drop by only about 15 kelvin, he says – although it would still be unsuitable for supporting life. However, "when you eject a planet that is quite massive, it could have carried along an orbiting body", Stevenson adds. "And that might be a more attractive possibility for life." <br />
<br />
Unbound Earth-mass planets might still be capable of carrying liquid water, Stevenson says, even in the frozen reaches of interstellar space – as long as they have a heat-trapping hydrogen atmosphere. "That can bring the surface temperature up to 300 kelvin [about 27 °C]," he says. "And then you can have oceans."</blockquote><b>What's your take on these newly discovered orphan worlds? </b><br />
<br />
Learn more<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/science/space/19planets.html?_r=2&hp">New York Times article </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110518/full/news.2011.303.html">Nature.com article </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_videos.jsp?cntn_id=119453&media_id=69523&org=NSF">National Science Foundation details about the animation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_planet">What is a rogue planet?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA's PlanetQuest </a>(exoplanet project)</li>
<li><a href="http://io9.com/5803359/exoplanets-are-the-future">Exoplanets are the Future article on I09</a> (so much good stuff!) </li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-26872909524121941482011-05-06T20:21:00.000-05:002011-05-06T20:21:18.640-05:00Some inspriational tools for story ideas...I've been updating the <a href="http://threadsofadventure.blogspot.com/p/inspiration.html">Inspiration page</a> of late with a few recent finds. One in particular that I think it really wonderful is the <a href="http://www.scirus.com/">Scirus</a>, a great search tool for science links and information. The site casts a wide net on different disciplines and you can narrow by abstract, articles--event patents. <br />
<br />
I used it recently and found an interesting page on <a href="http://www.science-frontiers.com/cat-arch.htm">Archeology Anomolies</a>, a thorough list of controversial discoveries and topics. I'm not advocating a particular stance here--just pointing out some sources to get the ol' Muse singing in your minds eye. Fair warning, it's long and you'll likely need to Google terms yourself, but it's enough to get you started. <br />
<br />
In case that's too geeky, there's a handful of other links I sprinkled in on a variety of history, archeology, science, and other areas of interest. If you've got some you particularly enjoy, feel free to comment below and I'll look at adding them to the Inspiration page. This is a resource I'd like to expand and eventually organize.<br />
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Thanks and enjoy!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-51829328041845214662011-05-06T20:06:00.000-05:002011-05-06T20:06:18.055-05:00Amazing Timelapse Video of the Milky Way<iframe frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22439234" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/22439234">The Mountain</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/terjes">Terje Sorgjerd</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
Photography blog <a href="http://shuttersalt.com/blog/most-amazing-time-lapse-video-milky-way-ever-made-seriously">Shuttersalt </a>says:<br />
<blockquote>Terje Sorgjerd, the photographer behind the viral video The Aurora, has done it again. Here, Sogjerd captures the Milky Way over El Teide, Spain’s highest mountain.</blockquote>You can also click through to see how the video was made. <br />
<br />
<b>Stunning!</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-68107701439424214992011-03-18T15:43:00.002-05:002011-03-18T15:45:12.768-05:00Are you ready for this weekend's SUPERMOON?<a href="http://www.space.com/11161-supermoon-full-moon-science-infographic.html"> <img alt="Learn what makes a big full moon a true 'supermoon' in this SPACE.com infographic." border="1" src="http://www.space.com/images/i/8682/i02/supermoon-lunar-perigee-huge-110317c-02.jpg?1300447856" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Source <a href="http://www.space.com/">SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration</a></span> </div><br />
On Saturday, March 19, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time, the SUPERMOON arrives! The moon will appear bigger due to it's orbit, the moon will appear bigger, brighter, and more beautiful than usual. <br />
<br />
From Space.com:<br />
<blockquote>At its peak, the supermoon of March may appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than lesser full moons (when the moon is at its farthest from Earth), weather permitting. Yet to the casual observer, it may be hard to tell the difference.<br />
<br />
The supermoon will not cause natural disasters, such as the Japan earthquake, a NASA scientist has stressed.</blockquote>That's a relief! There will however be slight effect on ocean tides. For the full story and more moon facts, check out the <a href="http://www.space.com/11163-supermoon-biggest-full-moon-2011.html">Space.com.</a><br />
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So get your cameras, binoculars, and telescopes and get out there and have a peek at the largest moon in nearly two decades!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-52707253037934047462011-03-18T11:40:00.001-05:002011-03-18T11:40:57.507-05:00Transylvanian Treasure Horde of Gold Discovered!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X2XGWWrLideumpBE6uQIF03pso9ForNBHsE3YlRGt7TB3lG3nuo2r2h-KfoCqY9alh-HoFVoGLjls8q-1mqp4GfnZIRH8M8yhXAJOxCXMx7Hx1RHM-l5-WXjKs_Av2St7pDHokLf1xQ/s1600/Transylvanian+treasure+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X2XGWWrLideumpBE6uQIF03pso9ForNBHsE3YlRGt7TB3lG3nuo2r2h-KfoCqY9alh-HoFVoGLjls8q-1mqp4GfnZIRH8M8yhXAJOxCXMx7Hx1RHM-l5-WXjKs_Av2St7pDHokLf1xQ/s400/Transylvanian+treasure+01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Mihai Barbu, Reuters via National Geographic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Here's a few images of a treasure trove of gold goodies that was unearthed in Transylvania and belonged to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacians">Dacians</a>, an ancient civilization from around the time of the Roman Empire™.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTK_cIHjOSjzY-DipwoTe5GINaAkI9uRwLbUXLBjTG6dby-ZzW1WKb0Iaa9wKGUov2t5j0jfb6XeN8cqgG5L4X5RbutWAwQUQEkbV2XN26uOXxW-AfKfeRGxwBuI7086YKTtY2nAYRN5I/s1600/Transylvanian+treasure+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTK_cIHjOSjzY-DipwoTe5GINaAkI9uRwLbUXLBjTG6dby-ZzW1WKb0Iaa9wKGUov2t5j0jfb6XeN8cqgG5L4X5RbutWAwQUQEkbV2XN26uOXxW-AfKfeRGxwBuI7086YKTtY2nAYRN5I/s400/Transylvanian+treasure+02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>From National Geographic: <br />
<blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">Most<b> </b>of the 2,000-year-old accessories tip the scales at about 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) each, more than some laptops—a heft that materials scientist Paul Craddock found "surprising."</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">"Yes," Craddock concluded, "they did have a lot of gold."</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">"They" are the Dacian people, mysterious contemporaries of the ancient Romans. Ruling Transylvania centuries before Bram Stoker dreamed up <i>Dracula</i>, the Dacians left behind no writings but, the bracelets suggest, were apparently flush with treasure—as historians have long suspected, given the mineral wealth of the region's mountains and rivers.</div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">Full story at <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/110113-transylvanians-gold-bracelets-treasure-dracula-vampires-science/">Nat Geo... </a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-83224702649794978522011-03-13T15:17:00.003-05:002011-03-14T14:33:08.212-05:00Atlantis finally found in Spain--on land?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8cc12jVPusR9DcivtV_wkhAyVFyAZC8zVwmiuEUERGT5FcAAusUwx1qgJPIE4HTJvh4CttW9J2uknsKyZpO-UUAMPGFrmCrLHIgR5lrrn435RwGR3y1Methki6Ivg3P47xWobo6RJUU/s1600/Lost+City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8cc12jVPusR9DcivtV_wkhAyVFyAZC8zVwmiuEUERGT5FcAAusUwx1qgJPIE4HTJvh4CttW9J2uknsKyZpO-UUAMPGFrmCrLHIgR5lrrn435RwGR3y1Methki6Ivg3P47xWobo6RJUU/s400/Lost+City.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Using satellite imaging of a marshland area north of Caldiz, Spain, researchers believe they may have found the submerged "ringed city" of Atlantis. The findings will be featured on a National Geographic special <i><b>tonight </b></i>called <a href="http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/finding-atlantis-4982/Overview">Finding Atlantis.</a> <br />
<br />
Lead scientist Richard Freund says that Atlantis was wiped out by an ancient tsunami that came inland and "sank" the city. From <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_tsunami_atlantis;_ylt=A0wNdNhWv3tN6QwBk1ms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNuMmMxaGQ2BGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTEwMzEyL3VzX3RzdW5hbWlfYXRsYW50aXMEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM4BHBvcwM1BHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDbG9zdGNpdHlvZmF0">Yahoo</a>:<br />
<blockquote>"It is just so hard to understand that it can wipe out 60 miles inland, and that's pretty much what we're talking about," said Freund, a University of Hartford, Connecticut, professor who lead an international team searching for the true site of Atlantis.<br />
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To solve the age-old mystery, the team used a satellite photo of a suspected submerged city to find the site just north of Cadiz, Spain. There, buried in the vast marshlands of the Dona Ana Park, they believe that they pinpointed the ancient, multi-ringed dominion known as Atlantis.<br />
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The team of archeologists and geologists in 2009 and 2010 used a combination of deep-ground radar, digital mapping, and underwater technology to survey the site.<br />
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Freund's discovery in central Spain of a strange series of "memorial cities," built in Atlantis' image by its refugees after the city's likely destruction by a tsunami, gave researchers added proof and confidence, he said.</blockquote>Read the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/us-tsunami-atlantis-idUSTRE72B2JR20110312">full story at Reuters</a>.<br />
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And if Atlantis piques your interest, over at Flooby Nooby (What? that's the title!) there's a great post of <a href="http://floobynooby.blogspot.com/2011/03/10-civilizations-that-mysteriously.html">10 lost civilizations that mysterious disappeared</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">/props to Boing Boing for the info!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">/image: Nat Geo via MSNBC </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-61126533239975702842011-03-11T10:23:00.001-06:002011-03-11T10:24:23.741-06:00Africa's Natural Nuclear Reactors<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ancient-nuclear-reactor" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDDQe53lWsaMjKtxsxI1QaGOaoDY5CDj9cHazZdBdoCaBvi8lavMWpn2UJvwKi96PRXl0-7KC9lestW4tj_Z5JVkLEsBEykaLeM24gXTdPPUMJt2O5ne9Q8rmS-NrFgISU1Re97S8Jx4/s320/Uranium+Ore+US+Geologic+Survey.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: <span class="imageCredit">United States Geological Survey and the Mineral Information Institute via Scientific American</span></span> </div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div>Hat tip to <a href="http://wrfrbeameup.blogspot.com/2011/03/ancient-geological-formations-were.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FkzBNu+%28Beam+Me+Up+-+Science+%26+Science+Fiction+news%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">Beam Me Up</a> for finding this unusual story from <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ancient-nuclear-reactor">Scientific American</a> about a cache of uranium in a mine in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklo">Oklo </a>(in Gabon) in western Africa that, in prehistoric times, had output a steady stream of energy for thousands of years. Now we're not talking Three-Mile Island here, it's more like 100 kilowatts of energy, but still, I find the idea of a "natural" nuclear power plant really intriguing. <br />
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From the Scientific American article by researcher Alex P. Meshik, PhD, who's studied the phenomenon:<br />
<blockquote>Physicists confirmed the basic idea that natural fission reactions were responsible for the depletion in uranium 235 at Oklo quite soon after the anomalous uranium was discovered. Indisputable proof came from an examination of the new, lighter elements created when a heavy nucleus is broken in two. The abundance of these fission products proved so high that no other conclusion could be drawn. A nuclear chain reaction very much like the one that Enrico Fermi and his colleagues famously demonstrated in 1942 had certainly taken place, all on its own and some two billion years before. <br />
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Shortly after this astonishing discovery, physicists from around the world studied the evidence for these natural nuclear reactors and came together to share their work on “the Oklo phenomenon” at a special 1975 conference held in Libreville, the capital of Gabon. The next year George A. Cowan, who represented the U.S. at that meeting (and who, incidentally, is one of the founders of the renowned Santa Fe Institute, where he is still affiliated), wrote an article for <i>Scientific American </i>[see “A Natural Fission Reactor,” by George A. Cowan, July 1976] in which he explained what scientists had surmised about the operation of these ancient reactors.</blockquote>Fascinating! Seems like fodder for a sci-fi story, doesn't it? Ancient astronauts plunder prehistoric earth for natural nuclear energy to power their spaceships and rayguns!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-35602657266569221302011-03-10T18:37:00.001-06:002011-03-10T18:38:14.813-06:00Gorgeous Glacier Cave Photos!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgznZ6E13TymOvroOPAZVPGs-CSXpzBlAMmxQ-ApqCl4A_uWWEuhlMpZIRA_1XkZU5TxJGMKICnu05sO95VCUlpH7JyfCssoqtnMCWiY4oSP92JFJQTJfc59PwJgl6FW0eyVcXSdJbpQ/s1600/Glacier+Cave+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgznZ6E13TymOvroOPAZVPGs-CSXpzBlAMmxQ-ApqCl4A_uWWEuhlMpZIRA_1XkZU5TxJGMKICnu05sO95VCUlpH7JyfCssoqtnMCWiY4oSP92JFJQTJfc59PwJgl6FW0eyVcXSdJbpQ/s400/Glacier+Cave+a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Now these are straight out of a sci-fi movie--or at least you'd swear they were! Eric Guth, who works for an Alaskan expedition company took some amazing photos of a cavern deep inside an glacier. Here's a few choice shots:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFNpxg2eqfYnCMVz9ESOg5R8HGOrqfFZ7ubCYvQrmROQGe5XynlM16LF31ClTgpiNIqKtoIGUbj23uu9llsmEH77ALgEYji_Z4SvQuJkzge8uABFIs44b_AYtXg4KdTLoGZ77czBWyac/s1600/Glacier+Cave+d.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFNpxg2eqfYnCMVz9ESOg5R8HGOrqfFZ7ubCYvQrmROQGe5XynlM16LF31ClTgpiNIqKtoIGUbj23uu9llsmEH77ALgEYji_Z4SvQuJkzge8uABFIs44b_AYtXg4KdTLoGZ77czBWyac/s400/Glacier+Cave+d.jpeg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbEE0ofGC-QavqaHLH6y7HzDEMvC5HCAP9hyphenhyphenbYlai5cv8t-Ok5nalxAmohYBOWFOCA2lk84Z4N8V-TR-zNl52JExRgDUja1vmkpR_7dsN3UWV054-m0n9VnWXhZGxP84v3ocmo-_YQ4kM/s1600/Glacier+Cave+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbEE0ofGC-QavqaHLH6y7HzDEMvC5HCAP9hyphenhyphenbYlai5cv8t-Ok5nalxAmohYBOWFOCA2lk84Z4N8V-TR-zNl52JExRgDUja1vmkpR_7dsN3UWV054-m0n9VnWXhZGxP84v3ocmo-_YQ4kM/s400/Glacier+Cave+B.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gmwiA6N-6wJgVqDXTpZyeXRUP7u5zuOi1G-pwJmmU0u_bo_tizlTQjrSSedMsfo5FT5hLqY-Z_FxOTd2u1sufy-scOjPyaxRAw7-RFfv8aRgUJ5zHKIBvGWlSN1pRJBwiUvKkUI4if8/s1600/Glacier+cave+e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gmwiA6N-6wJgVqDXTpZyeXRUP7u5zuOi1G-pwJmmU0u_bo_tizlTQjrSSedMsfo5FT5hLqY-Z_FxOTd2u1sufy-scOjPyaxRAw7-RFfv8aRgUJ5zHKIBvGWlSN1pRJBwiUvKkUI4if8/s400/Glacier+cave+e.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRW2QZAKvyhaNx9o9j9zsZffTWs41zEWNRgesaQ-jqSkJlVsAW_bWnelcDVZm-4Go8VFgp9skr54JzC8-6rgP_aQg_iDdJLuoCV4mbcD8bMKwTNbR6SyuyGV3XSpI0lLF4-nSxLzfdd4/s1600/Glacier+Cave+c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRW2QZAKvyhaNx9o9j9zsZffTWs41zEWNRgesaQ-jqSkJlVsAW_bWnelcDVZm-4Go8VFgp9skr54JzC8-6rgP_aQg_iDdJLuoCV4mbcD8bMKwTNbR6SyuyGV3XSpI0lLF4-nSxLzfdd4/s400/Glacier+Cave+c.jpeg" width="265" /></a></div><br />
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All photos: <a href="http://photoguth.com/">Eric Guth</a><br />
<a href="http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/inside-glacier-caves-17-photos">Read the full story.</a><br />
<a href="http://photoguth.com/"></a>Hat tip to <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/09/photos-from-the-hear.html">Boing Boing!</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-71995791186350481982011-03-09T00:25:00.000-06:002011-03-09T00:25:40.846-06:00Pardon my dust....I'm doing a little reformatting, mainly behind the scenes, but also some aesthetic changes. I've had my hands full for a bit with work life as well, which has slowed things down. I expect regular posting to resume withing a week (sooner would be great!).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680005365427986824.post-63388934377674551202010-11-12T14:58:00.000-06:002010-11-12T14:58:22.425-06:00Lost Sorcery: Medieval Math = Post Apocaplyptic TechAn interesting article by Robert Lamb over at "How Stuff Works" talks about how mathematics during Medieval times was really a technology out-of-sync with the times. Interesting food for thought. We talk a lot about these concepts in fiction, but its interesting to hear more real-world examples from throughout human history.<br />
<blockquote>In “The Geometry of Paradise” Mark A. Peterson points out that Dante could easily have excelled as a mathematician had he been born into a time when geometry was more fashionable. Instead Dante lived in an age of languishing mathematics between the Hellenistic period and the 17th century.<br />
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“Medieval cultures were in the peculiar condition of being un-mathematical cultures in possession of sophisticated mathematics. They possessed it in the sense of having the books, studying them and translating them, and even doing some mathematics, but they had no clear indication where this rich subject had come from or what it would be good for. They did not know, in our terms at least, what it was.” — Peterson</blockquote> Oh, and Lamb earns a +1 for including a Jack Vance/Dying Earth reference in the full story! <br />
<ul><li><a href="http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2010/08/12/medieval-math-as-post-apocalyptic-technology/">Full article</a></li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2