ShowMeBlog

The Sarychev Peak Eruption – Kuril Islands

  I saw this on TV the other day.  I have heard people talking about it.  A friend, Dick, just sent me a link for the photo.  So take a look at what people are talking about.

“A fortuitous orbit of the International Space Station allowed the astronauts this striking view of Sarychev Volcano (Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan) in an early stage of eruption on June 12, 2009. Sarychev Peak is one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril Island chain, and it is located on the northwestern end of Matua Island. Prior to June 12, the last explosive eruption occurred in 1989, with eruptions in 1986, 1976, 1954, and 1946 also producing lava flows. Ash from the multi-day eruption has been detected 2,407 kilometers east-southeast and 926 kilometers west-northwest of the volcano, and commercial airline flights are being diverted away from the region to minimize the danger of engine failures from ash intake…”   NASA Photo

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

  I just watched the launch of the LRO.  It is on the way to the moon and we are all going back to the moon but this time we will stay.

Boy Hit by Meteorite

SPACE.com Staff
SPACE.com – Fri Jun 12, 9:45 am ET

“A 14-year old German boy was hit in the hand by a pea-sized meteorite that scared the bejeezus out of him and left a scar.

"When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself into the road," Gerrit Blank said in a newspaper account. Astronomers have analyzed the object and conclude it was indeed a natural object from space, The Telegraph reports.

Most meteors vaporize in the atmosphere, creating "shooting stars," and never reach the ground. The few that do are typically made mostly of metals. Stony space rocks, even if they are big as a car, will usually break apart or explode as they crash through the atmosphere.

There are a handful of reports of homes and cars being struck by meteorites, and many cases of space rocks streaking to the surface and being found later.

But human strikes are rare. There are no known instances of humans being killed by space rocks…”

Shuttle Landing at Edwards

“A cockpit view of a Shuttle landing at Edwards. They appear to "hand fly" the shuttle on landing -I'd have thought it would be more like a Cat III Auto land approach and touchdown but sure sounds like the PIC is flying it the whole way.
Funny hearing them comment/complain about not being given the landing weather info - cloud cover - when they were going to have to let down through an under cast deck - probably a cirrus or altocu deck but still from where they were it was an under cast and at their speed and descent rate things happen fast so it seemed like relevant info they'd be given over and over.  I'm sure they have chase planes up to recon the lower part of the descent.
Good clean let down - a  couple of pros bringing down the most expensive glider on the planet. 
Sorry, don't know the original source or author of the comments below. If this is from the most recent Edwards landing this is Endeavor in Nov 2008. Let me know if this size file is inconvenient.
Dick”

Thanks Dick for the video.  It is a great video.

Largest Penis in the World

 

“We may not be so impressive as other species with our physical abilities: powerful muscles or weaponry like fangs, claws, horns and so on. But we have evolved to excel in one issue: sex. Not regarding sexual activity - as it has been shown that the bonobo (which is also wrongly named "dwarf chimpanzee") has more sex and much varied than the human being - but penis size.
Man is the ape, the monkey and the primate with the biggest penis! Gorilla males, which dwarf humans in body size, have minute penises compared to ours, no thicker and longer than a pencil. Other apes do not reach even this size. In some African countries, 'hanging like a gorilla' is considered an insult.
So, in the end, who is the owner of the largest penis in the world? A 2006 UK Channel 4 documentary called 'The World's Biggest Penis' solved the mystery: it appears to be the New Yorker Jonah Cardeli Falcon (born July 29, 1970). His willy is 9.5 in (24.13 cm) flaccid, 13.5 in (34.29 cm) erect! The average human penis is 6 in (15 cm) long...
Jonah is not a nameless person: he is an American actor and talk-show host, which appeared in some sitcoms, British television shows and Hollywood movies. He was born in Brooklyn and identifies himself as bisexual.
But the huge penis is not a blessing. It rather condemns him to loneliness: there's no match babe. He lives with his mom and his whale penis, without a girlfriend for 12 years.
"When I meet people they find it hard to look me in the eye, they just see what's in my trousers. It's become a real problem. When I was younger I went out in tight pants and would sleep with a different person every night, but I became burned out and disillusioned. My last relationship ended in 1996. Now I just want to find a steady girlfriend who doesn't think I'm a freak show", Jonah told "The Sun" two years ago.”   Softpedia

  Wikipedia on Jonah Falcon

  Rolling Stone article on Mr. Big

  His MySpace Page

  I can not bring myself to feel sorry for this guy.  Smile
He has a “problem” that I do not have and I guess if I had a cock his size it might be a problem.  I think I could live with it.  Smile

Russia to announce new spaceship plans

 

“The Russian space agency is expected to unveil development plans for a next-generation manned spacecraft on Monday.

Roscosmos should name the ship's prime developer, which has competed to win government funds for the project.

The proposed new spacecraft should enter into service sometime towards the end of the next decade.

It will replace the venerable three-seat Soyuz capsule, which has carried Russian cosmonauts into orbit for more than four decades.

Although Roscosmos has remained tight-lipped about the upcoming presentation, the agency has quietly released its requirements for a future manned transport system to the Russian space industry.

In doing so, the agency has shed some light on the ship's likely design and its possible missions.

The spacecraft, currently known only by the Russian abbreviation PPTS, for Prospective Piloted Transport System, would be able to reach low-Earth orbit or to enter orbit around the Moon.. .”
BBC News

  That is exciting news.  I am not sure if I will be around in 2020 to see it.  I would be 78 years old.  I might be around but my mind might not be working by that time.  I would like to see it launch and fly.   It looks and sounds very interesting.
  It appears that Russia is not giving up on the idea of using it for spying or even other missions.  Russia had a cannon in space at one time and did a test firing of it. 

DTV Delay?

“Lawmakers appeared Jan. 23 to be nearing a deal that would allow television stations to move forward with the digital television transition on a voluntary basis while moving the mandatory shutdown of analog broadcasting from Feb. 17 to June 12.
Then President-elect Barack Obama told lawmakers Jan. 8 Congress should delay the Feb. 17 transition date for television stations to begin exclusively broadcasting in digital. Obama's comments came after the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) announced funding for the $1.34 billion digital converter box coupon program has been exhausted…”  eWeek.com

Comet Exploded above NA 13,000 Years Ago

  CNN has a report you have got to read called Study: Diamonds link comet to mammal extinction. 

“(CNN) -- Tiny diamonds found in the soil are "strong evidence" a comet exploded on or above North America nearly 13,000 years ago, leading to the extinction of dozens of mammal species, according to a study.

The scientific report also suggests the cataclysm also reduced the population of the earliest people to inhabit the region and triggered a 1,300-year-long cold spell that stretched around the world.

The heat generated by the extraterrestrial impact likely melted much of a glacier that once covered the Great Lakes region, sending a massive flood down the Mississippi River, the study said.

According to the report, the cold waves of glacial runoff into the Gulf of Mexico shifted Atlantic Ocean currents, changing climate patterns throughout the world in a cooling period known as the Younger Dryas.

"A rare swarm" of comets rained over North America about 12,900 years ago, sparking fires that produced choking, leading "to the extinction of a large range of animals, including mammoths, across North America," the report said…”

    Just think of the event that must have taken place and the effects it must have had on the world.  You know it could happen again.  In fact I would guess that something like it will happen again of course I guess it could be many thousands of years away.
    It is one reason I would like to see the world have a strong space program.  We could plant our seed out side of the earth so in the event something happens to man kind we will still be around.
   Because of President Bush and the GOP if an event like this happens and the extinction of man happens on earth the only human life that may be around could be people from China on the moon and Mars.
   I am a big fan of the space program but with everything that is taking place I do not see how we can afford much of a space program now.  Thank you President Bush.

   Our next president is going to spend a lot of money to create jobs.  I am not sure how many jobs spending on the space program creates. 

   I guess one project that would not cost very much would be to create a databank of history with photos and videos and send it to the moon and maybe Mars and have it land.  The databank would have all the know how and information we now know and maybe have a beacon on it to make it easy to find for those that come after us to find one day.  At least we would leave our mark on history.
  Of course they should include all past copies of Howard’s Notebook.  Smile

What happened to the Acorns?

  The Washington Post has a story "Acorn Watchers Wonder What Happened to Crop."  A few years ago I would not have paid any attention to this story.  I remember hearing about missing bees and I did not believe that story and it turned out to be true and a big story.  So now I am wondering if this story about starving, skinny and crazy squirrels might be true.
  It seems naturalists and just common folks are finding that the acorns are missing.  There is no crop this year.   
  If you live in an area with acorns take a look around and tell us if they are missing this year.

RealNetworks’ DVD Software

LOS ANGELES - “Hollywood's six major movie studios on Tuesday sued RealNetworks Inc. to prevent it from distributing DVD copying software that they said would allow consumers to "rent, rip and return" movies or even copy friends' DVD collections outright…” 

The following is from the RealNetworks blog:

“I've wanted to post before, but life (usually one of our two-year-old twins) keeps intervening. But today's events were too important for me to keep quiet. I believe great products should NOT be bullied out of the market by people trying to misuse the law to suppress legitimate innovation.
Today we launched RealDVD, an exciting new product that turns your PC in to the best way to enjoy your DVDs. I'm very proud of the great work our product team did to create RealDVD. Check it out at realdvd.com if you haven't already.

For those of you that haven't yet seen the news, here's a quick summary of RealDVD:

• It lets you get the most out of your DVDs. For instance, RealDVD makes it easy to pause a program and resume right where you left off, makes it easy to find the movie you want, no more lost or scratched discs, etc.
• It protects the legitimate interests of content creators and rights holders. RealDVD adds a second layer of protection on top of the copy protection built into DVDs (called CSS), which is seamless and invisible for legitimate users, but means that you can't e-mail your DVDs to a friend.
• It is clearly legal. Over a year ago in the Kaleidescape case the court ruled that a hardware product with very similar functionality was legal.

For more information on RealDVD's features, check out our press release and the RealDVD site…”