On this day in 1958 James Van Allen discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belt.
Now you know the way my mind works.
I picture Mr. Van Allen wearing something sort of Buck Rogers meets Vera Wang around his waist that will help him slenderize effortlessly:
"The Van Allen Radiation Belt, available now for the low, low price of $39.95, and operators are standing by! Act now and get a second Van Allen Radiation Belt at no additional charge!!!"
But no, that is not what the Van Allen Radiation Belt is all about.
Apparently somewhere up above us all there is a collection of two torus shaped layers of energetic charged particles AKA plasma that are held in place by the Earth’s gravitational pull.
Hmm. This still sounds like something you get on the Shopping Network.
At any rate, a Van Allen Radiation Belt is one of those technically unexplainable phenomena beyond the outer stratosphere that one would not want to spend too much time worrying about.
Those who fly in space (Including Ham the Chimp who had his space flight on this day in 1961) need to be aware of the Van Allen belt, especially as it effects their space vehicles. The Apollo astronauts were the first to transverse the Van Allen Belt and scientists were concerned about the level of radiation they would receive. Subsequent tests have shown that you get more radiation eating off of one of those old red Fiestware plates, so that is a relief.
There really is not much of a point to this except to give nod to James Van Allen of the University of Iowa, and to remind you to radiate something positive as you go about your Van Allen Radiation Belt Day, today.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
If you drive anywhere today...
Give a word of thanks, or whatever other word you may wish, to dear old Karl Benz.
Why?
Because on this day in 1886, Karl patented the first successful gasoline driven automobile.
It is worth noting that the oldest auto maker is still around after all these years when other marques famous and celebrated have disappeared. When was the last time you saw a Packard, Pierce Arrow or Peerless on the road, and soon, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles will be every bit as rare as DeSotos and Duesenbergs. If not as pricey.
Well, what Karl began the world has adopted with such enthusiasm that we can scarcely find a place where the roads are not crowded with traffic. Even yesterday as I drove to Webster and back, I found that the byways were as busy as the highways. Since it was a leisurely drive ( or supposed to be) my roof was open (like Karl Benz's first car) and I was drifting along enjoying the warm January weather and blue skies. I spied bald eagles, great blue herons, ibis and red shouldered hawks along the way. Somewhere around Zellwood I took that shortcut turning to go toward Howey-in-the-Hills and as I got up to warp 55 mph (something Karl Benz never dreamed of in 1886) I could feel the busy world being left behind me. For just a moment. Then, in my rear view mirror, a car appeared. And grew large by the moment. And suddenly was on my rear bumper.
Now people who tailgate may not know this, but THE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF YOU CAN SEE YOU. And this woman looked like nothing so much as the hood ornament on a Mac Truck. If you look up "Pugnacious" in the dictionary you will find her illustrated there. She was not interested in the blue skies, the green grass, the feathered friends--oh no. All she and her big blah Buick (it was that dreadful shade of metallic beige that looks like used sandpaper) were in a hurry and I was one of many obstacles that she would have pushed into the ditch if she could. I suppose she was late for work, since it was by that time 8:57 and there was no place of business in sight for miles. I was glad at the T she turned left (blasting her horn at me as she went was, I thought an unnecessary way to say fare-thee-well).
At that moment, even though I am fond of cars and enjoy traveling in them, I must say that I thought, just for a split second, of Karl Benz...
...and sincerely wished he hadn't.
Why?
Because on this day in 1886, Karl patented the first successful gasoline driven automobile.
It is worth noting that the oldest auto maker is still around after all these years when other marques famous and celebrated have disappeared. When was the last time you saw a Packard, Pierce Arrow or Peerless on the road, and soon, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles will be every bit as rare as DeSotos and Duesenbergs. If not as pricey.
Well, what Karl began the world has adopted with such enthusiasm that we can scarcely find a place where the roads are not crowded with traffic. Even yesterday as I drove to Webster and back, I found that the byways were as busy as the highways. Since it was a leisurely drive ( or supposed to be) my roof was open (like Karl Benz's first car) and I was drifting along enjoying the warm January weather and blue skies. I spied bald eagles, great blue herons, ibis and red shouldered hawks along the way. Somewhere around Zellwood I took that shortcut turning to go toward Howey-in-the-Hills and as I got up to warp 55 mph (something Karl Benz never dreamed of in 1886) I could feel the busy world being left behind me. For just a moment. Then, in my rear view mirror, a car appeared. And grew large by the moment. And suddenly was on my rear bumper.
Now people who tailgate may not know this, but THE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF YOU CAN SEE YOU. And this woman looked like nothing so much as the hood ornament on a Mac Truck. If you look up "Pugnacious" in the dictionary you will find her illustrated there. She was not interested in the blue skies, the green grass, the feathered friends--oh no. All she and her big blah Buick (it was that dreadful shade of metallic beige that looks like used sandpaper) were in a hurry and I was one of many obstacles that she would have pushed into the ditch if she could. I suppose she was late for work, since it was by that time 8:57 and there was no place of business in sight for miles. I was glad at the T she turned left (blasting her horn at me as she went was, I thought an unnecessary way to say fare-thee-well).
At that moment, even though I am fond of cars and enjoy traveling in them, I must say that I thought, just for a split second, of Karl Benz...
...and sincerely wished he hadn't.
Psalm 24:9: Jesus longs to enter every heart and every home, from earth’s farthest regions to your home. Are the gates of your heart and the gates of your home truly open to Him? Ask yourself whether you are making every effort to open yourself to His love and grace. The way to do that is to let go of your defenses, to set aside worry, fear and apathy, and accept the blessings He will bring you. This is a Wekivaword.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Today is January 26...
On this day in 1911 (no friends I truly was NOT there) Glenn Curtiss flew the first American seaplane.
1911. 102 years ago. Today.
There are parts of the world where seaplanes are still the only way to fly (remote parts of Canada and Alaska spring to mind). Curtiss did it in this way. The first American seaplane flight occurred on January 26, 1911 by Curtiss in his "hydroaeroplane" from the waters of San Diego Bay, landing next to the "USS Pennsylvania". The ship’s crew hoisted the aircraft aboard, lowered it back to the water, meeting the requirements set by the Secretary of the Navy, convincing him to appropriate money for aviation.
Hooray!
Much of the later development of Curtiss seaplanes occurred from the surface of Keuka Lake in New York State, on whose southern end Hammondsport is located. He went on to found the Curtiss Aviation Company, have a court dispute with the Wright brothers, make a fortune in the WWI years, and retire to Florida in the middle of the roaring Twenties, to become a highly-successful land developer. With friends, he developed the Florida cities of Hialeah, Miami Springs, and Opa-Locka.
Opa-Locka was based on "One Thousand and One" Arabian nights and boasts streets witih names like Ali Baba. Not to mention the REAL Sesame Street! Opa-locka boasts the biggest concentration of Moorish Revival architecture in the Americas.
For most 21 century people, Curtiss does not spring to mind when you ask who the pioneers of aviation were. Wright. Lindbergh. Erhart. Maybe. Curtiss is in that rare group.
On this day in 1911 (no friends I truly was NOT there) Glenn Curtiss flew the first American seaplane.
1911. 102 years ago. Today.
There are parts of the world where seaplanes are still the only way to fly (remote parts of Canada and Alaska spring to mind). Curtiss did it in this way. The first American seaplane flight occurred on January 26, 1911 by Curtiss in his "hydroaeroplane" from the waters of San Diego Bay, landing next to the "USS Pennsylvania". The ship’s crew hoisted the aircraft aboard, lowered it back to the water, meeting the requirements set by the Secretary of the Navy, convincing him to appropriate money for aviation.
Hooray!
Much of the later development of Curtiss seaplanes occurred from the surface of Keuka Lake in New York State, on whose southern end Hammondsport is located. He went on to found the Curtiss Aviation Company, have a court dispute with the Wright brothers, make a fortune in the WWI years, and retire to Florida in the middle of the roaring Twenties, to become a highly-successful land developer. With friends, he developed the Florida cities of Hialeah, Miami Springs, and Opa-Locka.
Opa-Locka was based on "One Thousand and One" Arabian nights and boasts streets witih names like Ali Baba. Not to mention the REAL Sesame Street! Opa-locka boasts the biggest concentration of Moorish Revival architecture in the Americas.
For most 21 century people, Curtiss does not spring to mind when you ask who the pioneers of aviation were. Wright. Lindbergh. Erhart. Maybe. Curtiss is in that rare group.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Selling Soap
Today is January 25...
On this date in 1937 the radio soap opera "The Guiding Light" premiered on NBC radio. It moved to CBS in 1952, where it remained until September of 2009.
Now I am not a soap opera aficionado. Nor do I encourage the watching of daytime dramas. The main reason why is that the likelihood of the plot line in 1937 being more or less the same as in 1952 or 2009 is pretty probable. You know, the same kinds of tension and drama, the same hardships and wrecked romances, down the decades.
Judy and I were at my grandmother's one day, early in our married years. Grandma had lived in the same house since 1928 and this would have been in the mid 1980s. All of the near neighbors were her nephews and neices or distant cousins or related somehow to my grandfather's side of the family, excepting two other extended families who also populated the same street. We were used to Grandma telling us that Minnie was having an operation or Ida's son was in college, or Tony was growing tomatoes this year.
My aunt lived with my grandmother and their conversation together on that particular day had to do with the folks who lived in the neighborhood... Freddy, Phillip, Mindy, Beth, Alexandra, Reva... Judy looked at me for "interpretation" which I was not always good at, since I did not live on that street.
I said, "Grandma, how are we related to them?"
And she said, "We aren't. They are on my program..."
In other words, on her "Soap".
Ha!
Sometimes we get caught up in real life dramas, and sometimes we get caught up in pretend dramas. And sometimes whether real or pretend, they loom large in our thoughts and conversation. I would say that as the world turns today, you might want to consider how you are living the days of your lives and all your children, and think about the fact that whether bold or beautiful, or young and restless, you have one life to live...
Make it count for something more than selling soap!
On this date in 1937 the radio soap opera "The Guiding Light" premiered on NBC radio. It moved to CBS in 1952, where it remained until September of 2009.
Now I am not a soap opera aficionado. Nor do I encourage the watching of daytime dramas. The main reason why is that the likelihood of the plot line in 1937 being more or less the same as in 1952 or 2009 is pretty probable. You know, the same kinds of tension and drama, the same hardships and wrecked romances, down the decades.
Judy and I were at my grandmother's one day, early in our married years. Grandma had lived in the same house since 1928 and this would have been in the mid 1980s. All of the near neighbors were her nephews and neices or distant cousins or related somehow to my grandfather's side of the family, excepting two other extended families who also populated the same street. We were used to Grandma telling us that Minnie was having an operation or Ida's son was in college, or Tony was growing tomatoes this year.
My aunt lived with my grandmother and their conversation together on that particular day had to do with the folks who lived in the neighborhood... Freddy, Phillip, Mindy, Beth, Alexandra, Reva... Judy looked at me for "interpretation" which I was not always good at, since I did not live on that street.
I said, "Grandma, how are we related to them?"
And she said, "We aren't. They are on my program..."
In other words, on her "Soap".
Ha!
Sometimes we get caught up in real life dramas, and sometimes we get caught up in pretend dramas. And sometimes whether real or pretend, they loom large in our thoughts and conversation. I would say that as the world turns today, you might want to consider how you are living the days of your lives and all your children, and think about the fact that whether bold or beautiful, or young and restless, you have one life to live...
Make it count for something more than selling soap!
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