Russian Volcano Shocks the World

This was posted on the Discovery Channel Web Site

Russian Volcano Shocks the World
June 22, 2009
In the pantheon of awesome images of explosions, this has got to rank pretty high. Astronauts floating high above earth in the International Space Station snapped this shot of Russia's Sarychev Peak volcano in the Kuril Islands busting through the atmosphere on June 12 (click on the image for full-size).




As NASA scientists M. Justin Wilkinson writes, conditions had to be perfect to get this shot -- there must be almost no wind for the plume to shoot so high into the atmosphere undisturbed.

The white stuff at the top of the ash cloud is probably condensing steam. And that halo of clouds surrounding the eruption is what happens when a powerful explosion rips into the atmosphere -- the shock wave literally pushed the cloud cover out of the way.

Minor Storm Damage

I was worried about a repeat of the great flood here at work when a pretty heavy storm hit this morning. Lots of rain, lots of lightning and pretty intense winds.

I was rather alarmed when I saw my brand new gas grill being blown off my back deck at 7am this morning while eating breakfast. I screamed, 'Shannon the grill is going to blow away.' The kids were scared because I yelled and Shannon thought I said, 'Shannon the grill is going to blow up.'. Fortunately it neither blew away nor blue up. I saved it but it was pretty exciting.

There were several very large tree limbs down and one of them took out two planks in our brand new fence. Shannon was a trooper and waded through the water to recover the plank in our neighbors yard.

The Big Bang Theory

My friend Bruce loaned me season 1 of The Big Bang Theory on DVD. I'm not sure that Shannon is sold on it, but I am definitely, officially a fan.

Terrynomics

I reconnected with Terry, an old friend on Facebook a month or two ago. I have greatly enjoyed my correspondence with this gentleman and have even talked on the phone once or twice.

In 1994 Terry wrote the first online trading system which later became Ameritrade. He then went on to found Automated Financial Systems, a provider of financial software to banks and brokerages. Terry has held senior management positions at SunGard, a US based Fortune 500 software firm, and Brokat AG, a German based technology firm.

Terry now muses on economics, politics and foreign policy while preparing for an expanded family.

I started reading his blog on economics and was extremely impressed. Although he hasn't posted since just before the birth of his son I am going to book mark his blog. It's definitely worth reading.

The main address is: http://terrynomics.blogspot.com/

However I recommend reading this specific entry:
http://terrynomics.blogspot.com/2009/02/debt-deflation-is-progressive.html

The posts are long and the subject matter is complicated but it is excellent information and very well written.

Reply to Son's Letter

My oldest son applied to Uni High recently and was not accepted. He wrote them a letter requesting they reconsider. The letter was fantastic. Yesterday he received a reply. It did not change anything but he did receive a positive and personal reply. I am very proud of him. Here is the letter (click on it for a full size copy)

My New Grill, aka the Genesis Device, aka My New Chest Freezer

My birthday came early. I got a new Weber grill. My old grill literally fell apart after a 11 year run. This new grill is a monster and I was able to test it out tonight.



In 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn', the villian steals the Genesis Device, a device that can reorganize matter at a subatomic level to create life. I was thrilled to learn the model name of my grill is 'Genesis'. So I'll be referring to my grill as either the Genesis Device or the Genesis Torpedo. AWESEOME!


I had a hunch my wife was going to arrange this gift and Lowe's let the cat out of the bag with a few telephone calls letting me know about the delivery. They didn't say what it was, but I pretty much knew. Shannon said we were getting a new chest freezer. We've also been calling it our new chest freezer and we've taken to calling the gas canisters, bags of ice.


I'll probably alternate between grilling out on the chest freezer and the gensesis device for a long time.

I took it out on a shake down cruise tonight, grilling up a pair of burgers really quick. It's easy to use and I am quite happy with it. Tomorrow night I'll grill out for a crowd. It should be fun!

Han Solo PI

My friend Bruce showed me this awesome Magnum PI Parody featuring Han Solo.

Here it is showing both side by side:


Here is the Han Solo clip alone.

Good Computer Security Article

My friend Bruce sent me this link to an excellent security article. This is a must read if you have ever felt safe while using a computer connected to the internet.