Hero Nomination: Neil deGrasse Tyson

Mississippi Tornado Insanity

I haven't said anything about it because I like to keep it light around here, but I feel so terribly for all the people affected by tornadoes this Spring, especially the one that hit Alabama and 4 other states. Over 300 people died! The only good thing to come out of the situation is the amazing footage that chasers risk their lives to capture. 


So, go see Tornado Alley and help support the crazy people that do this so we don't have to.

Tornado Alley Was Amazing

This was my first trip to an Imax theater and just walking into the place gave me vertigo. I felt like one wrong move would send me tumbling over the people seated in front of me.

I didn't get any pictures of the movie because I never thought to! It was so unbelievably incredible that the thought never crossed my mind. The Great Lakes Science Center is showing it and it's about Sean Casey's quest to film inside a tornado. It was 8 years in the making. The 40 minute film was the TV show 'Storm Chasers' times ten and without all the drama. I found myself grimacing and tightening up when the footage from inside the actual tornado came on screen. A must-see for any fans of the show or storm chasing in general. Here's the trailer-

And this is for Leenieva, pictures of downtown Cleveland where she could be living right now and enjoying the scenery and all the cultural wonders the area has to offer.
Rock Hall-

Brown's stadium-

And a view of downtown-

I'll be here if you need a real estate agent, or a tour guide!

Milky Way Time Lapse

BaR2D2

Some geek built this in his garage in eight months. Freaking AWESOME.

EMBED-BaR2D2 robotic bar celebrates St. Patricks Day - Watch more free videos

Robot Professor

Okay, I'm not giving you a nsfw warning, rather a nsfeco. Not suitable for the easily creeped out.

Watch The Last Space Shuttle Launch

What makes this even cooler is that a guy took the video from a plane. 

Olde Timey Space Toys

I really, really want the housewares from the exhibit. Saturn shaped bedside lamps!

Out-of-focus Man-in-the-moon teapot!

Lt. Uhuru? How is this even remotely like Lieutenant Uhuru? It looks more like Flip Wilson. FAIL.

For the enterprising future astronaut, preferably with loaded friends and relatives:

My brother had this. "Look at me, I'm tiny and I'm flying to the moon!" But first, let me slam it into my sister's face a few times..(true story)

Okay, this is more of a historical flight thingy, but still. I have no idea what it is. It looks like it might scare small children, so I included it.

THE END.

Tomorrow, we are touring barbecue joints and bungee jumping off the St. Louis Arch. Not in that order.

Omnimax Whatchamacallits Are HUGE

We went to the Science center here in St. Louis yesterday, and while it was full of slobber goblins and their enablers, we managed to have a good time in the McDonnell-Douglas Space Exhibit. 
This is the room where they run the film for the Omnimax movies, like 'Flight Yada Yada' and 'Boogers: Close-Up.' I wish I was lying, but that's what they called it. 


What? I'm not kidding. Google it if you don't believe me!

Pictures From The New Space Station Cupola

I don't talk about it too much since there is so much housewife crap to discuss lately, but I have a profound love of space. Astronomy and the beauty often found in the outer reaches of our galaxy takes my breath away, as well as our humble planet seen here from about 217 miles out. That's from here in Cleveland to Cincinnatti, or New York to DC. The space station installed a new cupola and here is astronaut photographer Jeffrey Williams with his insane camera.

Here's an Aurora Australis,

And here is my beloved Italy-

The first places I visited in Europe were in Italy. Genoa, Naples and Ravello, on the Amalfi coastline. I fell in love immediately and never wanted to leave. There is something to be said about visiting the lands of your ancestors. It touches you in ways that can sometimes change you permanently, even if your taxi gets chased by horny Neopolitan teenagers all the way from San Giorgio a Cramano to Pompei.

Here's the link, to the pictures, not horny teenagers-

http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMG2856JGG_index_mg_1_s.html

Better Jupiter Than Us

Funny thing is, whatever hit the planet is probably the size of earth.

You Are Looking At An Avalanche on Mars

Can you find it?

Here's help-

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/01/11/another-dose-of-martian-awesome/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BadAstronomyBlog+%28Bad+Astronomy%29

Moon Ballet

I took these pictures from my rocket ship the other day. Sorry about the black and white. My ship isn't running like it used to. I need to take it to Midas.

I Have Always Wondered If This Was Possible

Now I know.

LED Eyelashes, People!

People! LED eyelashes!!

You Are A Speck Upon A Speck Upon A Speck Upon A......Infinity

Seriously, you are.

Some of My Best Friends Are Fundamentalists

And really, really wicked dumb.

Underwater Volcano Eruption

An underwater volcano erupted 6 miles off the coast of the South Pacific Island of Tonga. Pretty spectacular stuff. I hope that the people on the boat got their asses out of there in a hurry.

Happy Pi Day!

Today is march 14th, 3.14, and because of that a bunch of nerds got together and declared it National Pi Day. Making the geekitude more complete is the fact that it is also Albert Einstein's birthday. Elizabeth Landau wrote an ode to Pi based on Don McClean's song American Pie. Here are some of the lyrics with a link to the rest of the song:

CHORUS:So why, why can’t I calculate pi

I just want to see the numbers 3.1415

And if that’s all, then let’s keep it alive

‘Cause my calculator seems to have died.

My calculator seems to have died.

Did you write the law of sines, or draw two perfect parallel lines

Without a ruler helping you?

Can you still use a protractor, or find just one imaginary factor

Of a polynomial of order 2?

Well I had a TI-83 when a great misfortune came to me

The screen began to blur — I couldn’t even find my curve!

I was a lonely teenage computer freak,

My pencils were chewed but my glasses were sleek,

And the future was looking pretty bleak

The day my calculator died.

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/13/pi-day-and-american-pi/

Meet The Shark

Audi held a car design contest and here is the winner. The design engineer is a 26 year old from Turkey named Kazin Doku and he won a 70% scholarship to Milan's Domus Academy. Unfortunately, he can't afford the other 30% and has had to withdraw himself from their master's program. For God's sake, give him a full scholarship! Or at least finance the bit he can't come up with on his own.
Anyway, it's a hovercraft and has not been made yet but I sincerely hope that they start producing them soon. Can you imagine? Driving around your neighborhood tring to avoid getting a bird stuck in your grill? We can all be Jetsons!