Fossilized raindrops

Impressions of long ago raindrops that fell in volcanic ash.
From these impressions mad scientists can measure the atmospheric pressure of the Earth billions of years ago. Deep breath. omg. This is so cool. From raindrops. The theory was first put forth in 1851 (!).
What they have learned has flummoxed them. They thought the pressure would have been different but it is roughly the same. A mystery! It could be there was a whole lot of methane (one of those pesky greenhouse gases).
What they have learned is being discussed in the field of astrobiology (shiver) while they look at all those Earth like planets out there.
Article here.

this is so kewl!

Wind map for the entire country. You can zoom in and towns and cities will show up, plus the mph of the wind. Discovered by GB. HERE

when it's raining supervision continues from the window

A dog and her minion's work is never done.

I love a city with a sense of humor

Angry Birds space launching device on, what else, the Space Needle.

He made it!!!! UPDATE - he made it back!!

UPDATE - he's back from the bottom of the world. Sub is at the left, bright green.

original 1960s sub Trieste built in 1953, reached Mariana Trench in 1960
I've seen, and touched, the TriesteII - total geek moment.

Deepsea Challenger

I have totally been geeking out about James Cameron's planned dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench - 36,201 feet deep, the deepest part of the ocean. Pressure there is over 8 tons per square inch.

Today he made it!! He's down there right now!! Plan is to film for six hours and then come back up. I will not be able to sleep until we find out if he gets back okay.

There are all sorts of things to be said for these fellows who take science and spin it off into adventure land - there are so many other things to spend money on - super models, fancy cars, mansions and rehab.

UPDATE - good article about his voyage HERE

Squirrel Man is in the tree!!!

All Dog Alert today. The neighbors are having their very big tree trimmed. This was the cause of much consternation and concern on the deck.

I know you've been texting in your car...

Yes, the Mad Scientists here locally are at it again. Them that brought you the airport naked scanner (sigh) and algae gas.
Fellow had developed a mathematical algorithm that can detect texting by comparing the keystrokes of normal texting (Google keep up with the spelling!) and distracted driving texting.
Seed money from the Dept. of Energy helped with the research. (Hey Newt, are you listening?! - you who dissed our algae fuel research, you twit.)
article here.

Way to go, gurl!

From one of my favorite go-to catalogs, ThinkGeek.

This is how we get to Seattle

Luckily not today.

Tar sez you need fiber in your diet

and he recommends tennis balls.

spring srunged

Doesn't stop the rain and the wind. Doesn't stop massive snow in the mountains. But still :-)

Project Runway All Stars - penultimate episode

Has Mondo worn away much of his goodwill? He is exhausting in his complaints and moods. Michael is sweet, Austin is sparkling, - they are both funny and excited. Mondo just drags us all down.
Next week the finale. Thank goodness! Season 10 is coming this summer. Tim! Gunn!

record high temperatures but...

Not here. Traffic backed up on I-90 and avalanche control going on. This is the pass we all drive to get to Seattle.

Mad Scientist kids

With a large scientist and engineering community it isn't surprising that we have crops of upcoming mad scientists.

One of our newly minted mad scientists won second place in the national Intel Science Talent Search in Washington, D.C. $75,000. wow!

The student developed a "tiny motor, less than a quarter inch in diameter, which uses the surface of water to turn its shaft."

"More than 1,800 students entered the prestigious science competition. Its alumni have gone on to win seven Nobel Prizes."

In an era of always trashing education in the United States we do some stuff really, really well.

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/03/13/1863332/science-hanford-high-student-places.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/03/13/1863332/science-hanford-high-student-places.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/03/13/1863332/science-hanford-high-student-places.html#storylink=cpy

First you eats its brains...

GB brought Tar a ducky and he is following his usual custom of consumption. Brains, disembowel and squeaky extraction. Then dismemberment and dispersion of the remains.

how cute is that?

When the Ponder children were young their grandmother worked as a bird of prey wrangler for a wildlife museum in Oregon. The kids always got to be her worthy helpers. We learned a lot about owls, hawks, eagles and the like. Best part - pulling apart owl pellets and putting together the resulting mouse skeletons.
Story about this owlet here.

Tar unstuck

This is a bad picture but gives you the idea. Tar can now get in and out of the bedroom, up on the bed, down the hallway. The runner goes all the way to the living room/dining room area and he can turn left or right. He is a very happy dog, crashed on the bed right now. We are happy owners. And he is still getting his nails done tomorrow.

Tar gets stuck. I'm going crazy!

It took him a half an hour to work up the courage to get down the hallway. The throw rugs didn't work (too slippery). We have runners on order ($1000 worth of runners...) and sticky underlayment for him. We put down hardwood and now we are spending tons of money on rugs to cover it up. Abby does fine. Houses where we had labs and beagles did fine on hardwood... I have an appointment for him to be sedated and get his toe nails cut to see if that helps. He is too big, too strong and too paranoid for us to cut his nails - plus we don't have GB home right now to flatten him. Have to wait until Saturday so The Engineer can lift him into the van. Yes, he won't jump in the van - we think he doesn't think he has enough room. When The Engineer tried to put him into the backseat of his truck Tar put out all his legs to brace himself against the door.
We may just have to sell the house, get a house with carpets, right next to the vet so we can walk him over....

Project Runway All Stars - glow baby glow

A new challenge - use glow in the dark light items, lights and other gadgets. And make it 'avant garde'-ish.
The winning outfit would be in a future music performance. (Have we seen any of these winning outfits? Miss Piggy?)
The bottom two were no surprise and the auf-ee was no surprise. I think I know the final three. Could not tell from the preview what is next. You have to watch the after show to see the preview and it is a bit of a mess to sit through.