I got solar filters for my binoculars today, and was able to see sunspots. It was pretty damn cool. You can read more about it, and my other ventures into amateur astronomy on my amateur astronomy blog at amateurstargazer.com.
I finally got around to watching this amazing video. It has always amazed me by much the early astronomers were able to learn with so little technology.
If you’ve been anywhere on the internet lately you probably have heard people in an uproar about “pink slime”, and it being added to our foods. You have more than likely seen this picture.
I have seen this picture many times. Sometimes they call it beef, other times it chicken, but I doubt it’s either. I’ve done a little research, and couldn’t find the source of this picture. Just the fact that they are putting it in an unlined box make me think that it’s not even a food product. I also doubt beef or chicken would hold together in that shape.
The “pink slime” is otherwise known as mechanically separated meat, and I’m probably one of the few people that don’t have a problem with it. I’m all for using every part of the animal that you can. Sure the parts of the animal that they put through the machines don’t sound too appetizing —trimmings, tallow, connective tissue, intestinal linings — but I’m willing to bet the rest of the butchering process isn’t too appetizing either.
People also think it’s bad that it’s treated with ammonia. I don’t know why people think having bacteria in there meat is better than small amounts of ammonia. It’s not like the stuff is soaking in ammonia. I’m sure they use as little as needed to remove the bacteria, any more would be a waste of money. I work at a water treatment plant. We add ammonia to the public water system. It combines with the chlorine and helps prevent disinfection byproducts that could be harmful. It’s all about the dosage amount. Just because ammonia is used in the process doesn’t make it bad for you at all. In fact it makes the meat safer for you.
What do people think hamburger is anyway? Ground up filet mignon? I’ve always assumed hamburger was ground up parts of the cow that aren’t good enough for steaks. A small percentage of mechanically separated meat wouldn’t bother me at all.
Boingboing writer Maggie Koerth-Baker has a nice article on Boingboing, and I agree with her 100%. Over there they have this picture:
This is what the beef “pink slime” really looks like. Not like that first picture that everybody feared to believe.
Here is a video of chicken mechanically separating machine:
While none of this is that appetizing, it is in no way bad for you. Why not use a little of this stuff in hamburgers, hotdogs, or chicken nuggets? If an animal has to die for use to eat, I’m all for using as much of that animal a possible.
Adam Savage had a beautiful speech this past Saturday at the Reason Rally. I agree with him 1000%.
James Randi is one of my heroes. It’s going to be a sad day when he dies. I sure hope An Honest Liar gets made. I can’t wait to see it.
This is a cool timelapse video of people working at the Keck Observatory. I saw the Keck Observatory on the top of Mauna Kea two years ago when I was in Hawaii. It would have been really cool to see the insides, but I am sure they were busy doing sciencey stuff. We just watched the sun go down, and then went to a lower, warmer elevation and did some observing through a telescope. It was a pretty awesome time for a space nerd like myself. It’s hard to believe that 125 people work full-time at the Keck Observatory. Talk about an awesome job.
Here are a few of my pictures. It was pretty cool seeing the Sun set above the clouds.
This comic is a great guide to help you spot quacks and pseudoscientific claims. I think I just found a new online comic to read.
I finally got around to watching this hour and a half long video last night. I’m not a huge Stephen Colbert fan, but he toned down his shtick here for a great interview with one of my favorite person on the planet, Neil deGrasse Tyson. It was well worth my time. I could watch Neil deGrasse Tyson talk all day.
I ran across this comic on Reddit and it really struck a chord with me. I remember back in 1986 when Halley’s Comet was last visible. I was in the 5th grade, but didn’t actually get to see it. I still have a Halley’s Comet pencil that I got in school that year. I will be 86 when it comes around next in 2061. Hopefully I will be about to get out of my bed with my cane and see it then, for the last time.
Carl Sagan was born 77 orbits ago. He was responsible for getting me, and millions of others, interested in science and astronomy as a kid. We lost him way too soon. I will never get tired of listening to his “Pale Blue Dot” essay. It’s one of the best things ever.
The days are quickly getting shorter and shorter. Many people hate this time of year, but I kind of like it. I love star gazing, and this time of the years give me more time to do it before it becomes too cold to be outside. I use to be able to find many constellations, but now that I live in a bigger city, I can’t really see much and have forgot most of them. Thankfully there are many iPhone apps to help me out now. Last night at work I had to head south of town for a bit, and it was great. I almost wish I lived more out of town, so I could see more stars.
One thing I’m really enjoying it watching Jupiter every night. It is currently in opposition to the Sun. Which means it rises when the Sun sets, and it visible all night as it rises in the east and sets in the west. It is real easy to spot. Because Venus isn’t currently visible, It’s the 2nd brightest thing in the sky at night after the Moon. Every night at work I see it in the east and I watch it move across the sky, and I see it in the west when I get home from work. I wish I had some binoculars or a telescope. It would be cool to try and see some of Jupiter’s Moons.
Many people never look into the sky at night. That’s the first thing I do when I walk out at night. I can’t name a ton of stars, but I can find Betelgeuse and Rigel in my buddy Orion, and Polaris is another no brainer to find. If you’re out and about at night this month, look up and try and find Jupiter. Then just think that that little speck of light is 369.8 million miles away, and it would take 1321.3 earths to fill up the volume of Jupiter. Our Solar System, and the Universe is filled with amazing and beautiful stuff that most people take for granted.
Now that the days are getting shorter, it’s always dark when I’m going to work in the morning. Our house faces south, so all winter long I will be greeted by Orion every morning when I walk out the door.
About a week or so ago I noticed a really bright star just a bit to the west of Orion. It looked like it was close to the ecliptic, so there was a good chance that it was a planet. I just wasn’t sure which one. So like anything, when I’m curious about it I look it up. I have many star map apps on my phone, so when I got to work I looked it up, and it was Jupiter. So for the past week, every morning when I have been greeted by Orion, I have also said hello to Jupiter.
Today on Universe Today, they have an article about that very bright star in the sky that is Jupiter. So if you’re up early every day like I am, look up and try to find Jupiter.
I love the all the great things on the internet and YouTube. I just watched an episode of Bill Nye: 100 Greatest Discoveries. I watched the Astronomy edition and it was great. I don’t know when they were one TV, but they are on YouTube now. Bill Nye covers a bunch of different science topics. I will have to work my way through all of them. Here is the episode I just watched in three parts.
So yesterday in our local paper there was an article about a local guy that sells HCG for weight loss. It was a reasonably good article, but they were a little easy on him. They tried to explain how it works, but anybody with more than two brain cell could read right through it and realize it doesn’t work. The reporter should have came right out and said HCG is homeopathic, and homeopathy is a scam, but I suppose that wouldn’t have been much of an article.
The best part of the article though wasn’t in the paper. It was the comments online. I am pretty happy about how many people of reason left comments. It was quite funny when the owner of the company started to chime in and tried to defend his snake oil. I find it sad that people like him are taking money from people looking for an easy way to lose weight. Losing weight is simple, take in less calories than you burn. Simple as that. It’s not easy, and can be very tough, but it’s simple physics.
Tinkr Link BlogTinkr.net is using the great Thesis Theme for Wordpress from DIYthemes.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
