• Amateur Astronomy

    January 13, 2012 / No Comments

    It’s killing me that I haven’t been able to try out my telescope yet. We’ve had a beautiful winter so far this year, but the few nights that I have had off work it’s been too cloudy, and now I think winter is probably here to stay. It’s below zero now, and our high for today was only 7 ºF, not really good outside weather.

    One thing that has got me really excited to try out my telescope has been Fraser Cain, from Universe Today, and his Virtual Star Parties. They are something that he is just starting to do using Google Plus, and they are totally awesome. He gets amateur astronomers to hook up their telescopes to Google Plus, and we all can see the various objects. Last night I watched his first two Star Parties, and learned a ton. Someday I’ll have to catch one live. I’m so excited to keep on learning, and maybe be able to actually call myself an amateur astronomer one day.

    It’s been a long time since I started a new hobby, and it exciting to learn something new. There have been a few hobbies that I have wanted to start, but never wanted to spend the time or money to get started. Maybe it’s time to start a few of them. Three hobbies that I can think of now that I wanted to start are home brewing beer, learn to play guitar, and amateur astronomy.

    I haven’t even used my telescope yet, and I have already found a few I want to upgrade to. I think I will hold off on them for a while, and get a good pair of binoculars first. That’s what most people say to start with. They say you can see more than you would think, and it’s a great way to get started and find out if the hobby is for you before spending a ton of money.

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  • Sh*t Nobody Says

    January 12, 2012 / No Comments

    via mashable.com

    So the meme of the day is the “Shit _____ says”. Fill in the blank with any group of people, and it probably exists. Most of them, not too funny. This is the first one that made me lol, they had me at Nickelback.

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  • Flashback Friday: Frank Black – “Los Angeles”

    January 6, 2012 / No Comments

    I was a little late to the game with the Pixies. By the time I discovered them, they were broken up. I have since grown to love them. My first exposure to Black Francis, or Frank Black, or whatever he want to call himself was his self titled solo album. I’m surprised it took me this long to get to Frank Black. He was one of my favorites in the early 90s. In recent years he has almost became too prolific. He has put out at least an album a year since 1998, and some years even two album. I haven’t been able to keep up with them. I would probably prefer an album every three years with just the best songs written in those three years, but that could just be me. So I’m not too familiar with Frank Black’s latest work, but his albums in the early 90s were some of my favorites.

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  • Spinal cord injuries, can we get a cure?

    January 5, 2012 / No Comments

    I don’t know how much national coverage it has gotten, but last week a Minnesota high school hockey player suffered a horrific neck injury, and was paralyzed. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be sixteen years old, and know you will never walk again. Being paralyzed is probably one of my worst fears along with being burned. When I played football in high school I always made sure I made tackles with my head up, and hit with my shoulder. I feared hitting with my head like so many players do nowadays. One awkward hit with your head could change your life forever. The coaches I had taught that, and I listened.

    I’ve never played hockey, so I can’t really relate to the injury and how it happened and if it’s something that can be prevented in the future. I just feel horrible for the kid. I hope someday these kind of injuries will able to be repaired by surgery. How great would it be to repair all neck and spinal cord injuries? That and a cure for cancer are two thing I hope to see happen in my lifetime.

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  • What I read in 2011

    December 31, 2011 / No Comments

    So it’s that time of the year again when I look back and wish I would have read more books. My “to read” list grows way faster than I can keep up with. I read 21 books last year, and 24 this year, but this year a few of them were short stories, so I’m reading at about the same rate.

    My podcasting/blogging/Twitter buddy, who probably doesn’t even know who I am, Kreg Steppe, is going to try I start reading more in the coming year. I congratulate him, and hope he succeeds. That was my goal 10 years ago when I picked up The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, after not reading a book since high school turned me off of reading. I may not be as prolific as some readers, but I usually manage to read 20 or so books a year, so that’s not too bad.

    The week I am finally going to read Death from the Skies! by one of my favorite guys on the planet Phil Plait. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to get to it, but it is probably a fitting book to start the year since it’s 2012 and all.

    Here are the books I read this year. They were all great, and I would recommend them to anyone.

    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot
    God, No! – Penn Jillette
    Ghost in the Wires – Kevin Mitnick
    Between Two Worlds – Roxana Saberi
    See a Little Light – Bob Mould
    The Believing Brain – Michael Shermer
    Death by Black Hole – Neil deGrasse Tyson
    Idea Man – Paul Allen
    Made by Hand – Mark Frauenfelder
    Nonsense on Stilts – Massimo Pigliucci
    A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson
    The Demon-Haunted World – Carl Sagan
    And Another Thing… – Eoin Colfer
    Daemon – Daniel Suarez
    Hunter – Wil Wheaton
    Packing for Mars – Mary Roach
    Sunken Treasure – Wil Wheaton
    The Day After – Wil Wheaton
    Blood is Red – Scott Sigler
    With a Little Help – Cory Doctorow
    Paranormality – Richard Wiseman
    The Cold Moon – Jeffery Deaver
    Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
    World War Z – Max Brooks

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