el otro yo

In about three hours, a lunar eclipse will (begin to) be visible from some parts of the planet.

Lunar eclipse

For the astro-savvy (or astro-curious), a blurb from NASA:

The eclipse occurs at the ascending node of Luna's orbit in southern Aquarius. Since the Moon is 2.6 days shy of perigee, it will appear 8% larger (= 1.2 arc-minutes) than it was during March's eclipse. The Moon's trajectory takes it deep into the southern umbral shadow, resulting in a total eclipse that lasts 90 minutes. At mid-totality the Moon's centre passes just 12.8 arc-minutes south of the shadow axis. This places the Moon's northern limb only 3.4 arc-minutes north of the axis while the southern limb is 15.4 arc-minutes from the umbra's southern edge.

Since different parts of the Moon will probe radically different portions of Earth's umbral shadow, a large variation in shadow brightness can be expected. As a consequence of this geometry, the southern half of the totally eclipsed Moon will appear considerably brighter than the northern half. Observers are encouraged to estimate the Danjon value at mid-totality (see Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness).

The penumbral phase of August's eclipse begins at about 07:54 UT, but most observers will not be able to visually detect the shadow until about 08:30 UT. A timetable for the major phases of the eclipse is listed below.

Penumbral Eclipse Begins:	07:53:39 UT 
  Partial Eclipse Begins:	08:51:16 UT 
    Total Eclipse Begins:	09:52:22 UT 
        Greatest Eclipse:	10:37:22 UT 
      Total Eclipse Ends:    	11:22:24 UT 
    Partial Eclipse Ends:	12:23:30 UT 
  Penumbral Eclipse Ends:	13:21:01 UT 

Fortunately, I'm at a location where I'll have a great view of the eclipse.  Unfortunately, I don't have my camera, tripod, or even binoculars.  I trust that other, more responsible folks will provide plenty of photo-documentation. 

Gliese 581 c

Exciting news!  It seems that there is the possibility of Earth-like life habitat existing on another planet in the "neighborhood."

It's good to know there's another planet we can take over and destroy when push comes to shove with this whole global warming thing.  Maybe we should send an oil exploratory team there to investigate first.

If you check my profile, you may see why I don't find this report surprising.

My profile:

I'm pretty much convinced that if housecats were double their size, they would probably kill all of us in the middle of the night and take over the world.

North Platte Telegraph:

“She had scratches on her hands, legs and feet,” the chief said. “She was bitten on both ankles, both knees and on her left calf. She told the officer it happened when the two cats entered the residence and attacked her for no reason.”

Don't misjudge me - I'm not anti-cat.  In fact, I try to befriend them because I want to be on their good side when the feline revolution occurs.

I'm not much of a photographer, but I love looking at photography.  There are some lovely photos on Vox that I would like to include on my computer's screensaver slideshow.

My question(s):  Would that be appropriate?

Should I ask for permission - even if it is for private (screensaver) use?  Or is it safe to assume that if it is shared freely here then I can use it, so long as I give proper credit if I were to use it elsewhere?

I don't know what the etiquette is for this. 

Anyone?

The World As I See It

Last night I was listening to a radio program I'd never heard before.  It's called Speaking of Faith and it is distributed by American Public Media.  The broadcast was entitled Einstein's God and focused on his thoughts on religion and science (links to podcasts here).  There were a number of fascinating segments, from his take on time and that whole relativity thang to his feelings about various classical music composers.

One of the most striking things I found was this excerpt from The World As I See It:

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. It was the experience of mystery—even if mixed with fear—that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms—it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man. I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the type of which we are conscious in ourselves. An individual who should survive his physical death is also beyond my comprehension, nor do I wish it otherwise; such notions are for the fears or absurd egoism of feeble souls. Enough for me is the mystery of eternity of life, and the inkling of the marvelous structure of reality, together with the single-hearted endeavor to comprehend a portion, be it never so tiny, of the reason that manifests itself in nature.

That passage really resonates with me and I can't seem to find the words to share my appreciation for it.  I like this idea of religion as a kind of mysterious realm that envelopes art and science, which is such a departure from what I tend to think of when people talk about "religion" today.  It's comforting that a man as brilliant as he was, found himself humbled by these things and accepting that some things are beyond comprehension.

One of the guests, Paul Davies, a theoretical physicist/cosmologist/bioastronomer (just image that business card), observed that "he did have, I think, a genuine cosmic religious feeling, a sense of admiration at the intellectual ingenuity of the universe. Not just its majesty, but its extraordinary subtlety and beauty and mathematical elegance."

Einstein sailing on Saranac Lake

And yet we should not grieve for those who have gone from us in the primes of their lives after happy and fruitful years of activity, and who have been privileged to accomplish in full measure their task in life.

Something there is that can refresh and revivify older people: joy in the activities of the younger generation—a joy, to be sure, that is clouded by dark forebodings in these unsettled times. And yet, as always, the springtime sun brings forth new life, and we may rejoice because of this new life and contribute to its unfolding; and Mozart remains as beautiful and tender as he always was and always will be. There is, after all, something eternal that lies beyond reach of the hand of fate and of all human delusions. And such eternals lie closer to an older person than to a younger one oscillating between fear and hope. For us, there remains the privilege of experiencing beauty and truth in their purest form.

Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein

Video: Show us a clip of a TV show you miss.

Sports Night aired in the late 90's.  Here's a blurb from a reviewer at IMDB:

The writing is the core reason for the quality of "Sports Night". Sharp and snappy dialogue largely defines the show, but the fast pace would be worthless without the intelligence of the words. The Aaron Sorkin-led writing team has created a sextet of lead characters, two anchors and four producers of varying responsibility, who are all well-educated and quick-thinking. Their mouths keep pace with their minds, as the dialogue is as fast or faster than real life, and much more intelligent. There are few pregnant pauses for laughter, as a laugh track was used early on but later wisely discarded. The words form a smart, sexy, and funny world, a world that makes one actually long for such a place. Sorkin later gained prominence with "The West Wing", which employed the same verbal style that Sorkin perfected during his time on "Sports Night." If you liked "West Wing" for its writing, you'll eat up this show as well.

Later, reruns aired on Comedy Central.  The six-disc DVD set of the entire 45 episodes is available.

Sports Night - The Complete Series Boxed Set

Aaron Sorkin wasn't the only talent associated with the show.  The actors certainly contributed as well. 

I've liked Josh Charles since his role in Dead Poets Society - he continues to do some independent films, including the upcoming Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which was written and directed by John Krasinski ("Jim" on The Office).  Joshua Malina found himself on Sorkin's later, more-famous series The West Wing.  Peter Krause became known for his part in Six Feet Under.  Felicity Huffman won a Golden Globe for Transamerica last year and stars in Desperate Housewives.  Sabrina Lloyd went on to roles in Ed and Numb3rs.  Robert Guillaume continues to do voice work (he had a stroke during the series, which was written in to the script).  Teri Polo starred opposite Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents & Meet the Fockers and also had a role on The West Wing. 

If you dig smart dialogue, I suggest checking this out if you get the chance.  There are more clips over at YouTube -- the one above is just the first part of one episode, the other two parts were available when I located this, so if you want to see the rest, you know where to find it.

It seems appropriate to begin with a post about who I am. 

But who said this had to be appropriate? 

So let's save the introspection for another time.

Instead, I give you...

Who I'm Not

Gena Lee Nolin

American Model/Actress Gena Lee Nolin

Pierre Claude Nolin

Canadian Senator Pierre Claude Nolin

Nolin Lake

Kentucky's Nolin Lake State Park

Charles Nolin

Metis leader / fur trader Charles Nolin

Julie Nolin

Canadian Journalist Julie Nolin

Nolan Ryan

Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan

Nolin Red Angus

...and last, but not least...

Vice President of the Iowa Beef Expo and Red Angus Producer Mike Nolin

(I'm not one of his cows either.)





As disappointing as this may be, I am none of these people.  Not a one.  So if you were thinking about adding me to your neighborhood because I could potentially be some kind of Voxelebrity, I hate to break the news to you, but I'm not.