Mandy Meets Otis

Wiggles is the white Pom, Otis is
the huge Golden Retriever and Mandy
is his minature sniffing his butt.


Otis is on the left and Mandy is on
the right...sure glad Otis is friendly



Mandy loves all dogs. They
remind me of the movie twins
with Arnold Swartzenheger and
Danny Divito.

Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus

Duane's Christmas Visit 2008

Jan having breakfast at Sadies


Duane having a Western Omlete on a Belgium Waffle



Duane standing next to Kenny's Photograph

Duane just striking a pose

Duane getting packed to head to his mother's

Duane arrived right on schedule last night at 9:30PM. His plane landed safely at 7:30PM and considering he had to rent a car because we could not make it to the airport, he didn't let any grass grow under his feet.

This morning it was a 3-2-1 where the cars were concerned. We left in three cars, dropped the rental off at Wal_Mart Budget Car Rental desk.

Took two cars from there and went to Sadies for breakfast. Came home in one car as Duane took our Taurus and headed for Michigan to vist with his mother and sister. \

He plans on coming back to our house on December 28th and then fly back to Orlando on January 2nd.

See what you have to look forward to Nicole? ha ha ha. Don't worry though we will not leave you stranded no matter what the weather.

Help

We need you Yupers to go to the Indianapolis International Airport and pick up Duane. He is flying in on Air Trans 370 at 7:30pm tonight. We would do it but we do not drive in freezing rain, sleet and snow which is predicted for tonight between 3:00 pm and 9:00 pm...right in the middle of Duane landing. We are suggesting that he pick up a rental car and drive down to our house. That way, there is only one nut on the road and he only has to drive one way where as we would have to drive both directions.

If he should make it to our house then we are going to loan him our Ford Taurus so that he can drive up to see your mother. This whole deal was to save him the cost of a rental car and reduce his airline fare because he only needed to fly into Indianapolis rather than Detroit and then to Indianapolis on his return.

Howell, MI is supposed to get another nine inches of snow between tonight and tomorrow night so even if he makes it to Michigan tomorrow, the question is can he make it to your mother's place.

This is why Jan and I do not travel in the winter month. I just don't know how you Yupers do it year after year driving back and forth to the Mackinac Bridge.

Of course I also have to ask myself why the hell we are moving back to Michigan next year...we are all nuts.

You Gotta Luv 'em

The dog on the left is Mandy
The dog on the right is Wiggles
These are our kids in fur.


Tinkerbell was 16 years old
and we had to have her put
to sleep last month. She was one
of a kind. Never demanding but
always lovable.

I hope you enjoy the rest of
the photos as I will not bore
you you with captions for each one.

Photo Journal

Wiggles our 22 pound Pomeranian

Me, Wiggles and Mandy

Mandy

Marshmallow Games

While attending our annual Staff Christmas Party last night, we learned a couple of marshmallow games that were just hilarious.

The first one was called Marshmallow Stick. Two people put shower caps on and the rest of the group covered the caps in shaving creme.

Another Marshmallow game that I do not have pictures for was Marshmallow Shooting Gallery. You line up about six empty pop cans, sit about 20 feet away and try to knock the cans of with the marshmallows.

These would be great birthday party games.

We may not have the woods to walk through like you guys have but this is why I love walking my dogs when I get home from work. This photo was taken on Thursday, December 11th at about 5:30 PM

Astronomy for Kids

Here are some pretty cool astronomy sites for kids:

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm

http://www.frontiernet.net/~kidpower/astronomy.html

http://www.frontiernet.net/~kidpower/planets.html

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html

Have fun looking up.

The December Sky

December Sky Features from Stars and Planets by Ian Ridpath, Starry Night and various internet sites.

I set Starry Night to December 6, 2008 at 10:00 PM viewing from Indianapolis, IN

Auriga

Abbreviation Aur. Highest in the sky at 10:00 pm December to February

Auriga represents the driver of a horse-drawn chariot. According to one myth, he is Erichthonius, a legendary king of Athens. However, there is no explanation in mythology for his depiction in the sky with a goat and its kids on his left arm. The goat is marked by the constellation’s brightest star, Capella (Latin name meaning “she-goat”).


Excerpt from http://www.seds.org/MESSIER/

During the years from 1758 to 1782 Charles Messier, a French astronomer (1730 - 1817), compiled a list of approximately 100 diffuse objects that were difficult to distinguish from comets through the telescopes of the day. Discovering comets was the way to make a name for yourself in astronomy in the 18th century -- Messier's first aim was to catalog the objects that were often mistaken for comets.
Fortunately for us, the Messier Catalog became well known for a much higher purpose, as a collection of the most beautiful objects in the sky including nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. It was one of the first major milestones in the history of the discovery of Deep Sky objects, as it was the first more comprehensive and more reliable list: Only four or five objects were initially missing because of data reduction errors, which could be figured out later though. Today's versions of the catalog usually include also later additions of objects observed by Charles Messier and his collegial friend, Pierre Méchain, but not included in his original list. The study of these objects by astronomers has led, and continues to lead, to important, incredible discoveries such as the life cycles of stars, the reality of galaxies as separate 'island universes,' and the possible age of the universe.
The purpose of these web pages is to provide a complete guide to the 110 objects recognized as the standard Messier catalog. More importantly, we would like to generate interest in astronomy, the night sky and the universe beyond us, and to encourage a sense of wonder and exploration. We also hope that these pages may be useful as a reference for amateur astronomers.
As you look East above the horizon, the December sky will introduce you to a few of these Deep Sky Objects:

M35 (Gemini) Alt 43° AZ 93° a large and bright open cluster

M37, (Auriga) Alt 51° AZ 85° this naked eye cluster is a joy to observe an undoubtedly the best open cluster in Auriga.

M38 (Auriga) Alt 57° AZ 83° just visible with the naked eye and easy to see with binoculars.

The Hyades, (Taurus) Alt 58° AZ 129° a large, loose, V-shaped star cluster easily visible to the naked eye.

M45 (The Pleiades) (Taurus) Alt 70° AZ 136° also easy to see with the naked eye.


December Meteors

The Geminids reaching a maximum on December 13th

Go to this site for more information on the Geminids: http://meteorshowersonline.com/geminids.html

Meteorite Hits Canada!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKsSXu1JynI

http://fromlaurelstreet.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/meteorite-hits-canada/

Jupiter Core is as Big as Uranus or Neptune

Jupiter Core is as Big as Uranus or Neptunehttp://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Cal-Scientist-Jupiter-Has-Core-2X-as-Big-as-Thought.html
Jupiter has a rocky core that is more than twice as large as previously thought, according to computer calculations by UC Berkeley and University of Arizona scientists.
Burkhard Militzer, an assistant professor of astronomy and earth and planetary science at Cal, simulated conditions inside the planet on the scale of individual hydrogen and helium atoms.
The simulation predicted the properties of hydrogen and helium for temperature, density and pressure at the surface, all the way to the planet's center. The technique is often used to study semi-conductors, according to a UC Berkeley statement on the discovery.
Militzer's partner, William B. Hubbard, from the University of Arizona, used the data to build the new model for Jupiter's interior.
A comparison of the model with the planet's current known mass, radius, surface temperature, gravity and equatorial bulge implies that Jupiter's core is an Earth-like rock 14 to 18 times the mass of Earth, or about one-twentieth of Jupiter's total mass, Militzer said.
Previous models predicted a much smaller core of only 7 Earth masses, or no core at all.
Jupiter, like many planets its size already discovered throughout the galaxy, is believed to be a failed star. Most of the planet's mass is made up of gas.
The results were published Nov. 20 in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The simulation suggests that the core is made of layers of metals, rocks and ices of methane, ammonia and water, while above it is an atmosphere of mostly hydrogen and helium.
At the center of the rocky core is probably a metallic ball of iron and nickel, just like Earth's core, scientists said.
"Our simulations show there is a big rocky object in the center surrounded by an ice layer and hardly any ice elsewhere in the planet," Militzer said. "This is a very different result for the interior structure of Jupiter than other recent models, which predict a relatively small or hardly any core and a mixture of ices throughout the atmosphere."
"Basically, Jupiter's interior resembles that of Saturn, with a Neptune or Uranus at the center," he said.
Neptune and Uranus have been called "ice giants" because they also appear to have a rocky core surrounded by icy hydrogen and helium, but without the gas envelope of Jupiter and Saturn.
"This new calculation by Burkhard removes a lot of the old uncertainties of the 19-year-old model we have had until now," Hubbard said. "The new thermodynamic model is a more precise physical description of what's going on inside Jupiter."
Scientists said the large, rocky core implies that as Jupiter and other giant gas planets formed 4.5 billion years ago, they grew through the collision of small rocks. The rocks formed cores that captured a huge atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.
"According to the core accretion model, as the original planetary nebula cooled, planetesimals collided and stuck together in a runaway effect that formed planet cores," Militzer said. "If true, this implies that the planets have large cores, which is what the simulation predicts. It is more difficult to make a planet with a small core."
In order to match the observed gravity of Jupiter, Militzer's simulation also predicts that different parts of Jupiter's interior rotate at different rates.
Jupiter can be thought of as a series of concentric cylinders rotating around the planet's spin axis, with the outer cylinders - the equatorial regions - rotating faster than the inner cylinders. This is identical to the sun's rotation, Militzer said.

How They Did It …

Militzer modeled Jupiter's interior as a collection of 110 hydrogen and nine helium atoms in a tiny cube that is replicated throughout the planet, a common approximation in "density functional theory."
The ratio of hydrogen to helium atoms approximates the ratio measured on the surface of Jupiter.
Each simulation took from one to seven days on parallel computing clusters.
Based on this simulation, under the high pressure and temperature deep within the planet, hydrogen changes from a molecular to a metallic state, which provides good electrical conductivity and gives rise to Jupiter's magnetic field.
This transition happens gradually, contrary to earlier models that predict a sharp transition.
The new model of Jupiter predicts that most of the ices are concentrated in the outer layer of the core, while only a small amount is mixed in the hydrogen-helium gas envelope that contains 95 percent of the planet's mass.
The "planetary ices" in the envelope amount to about four Earth masses, or 1 percent of Jupiter's mass, Militzer said.
"The simulation was in pretty good agreement with what the Galileo probe measured" when the NASA spacecraft descended through Jupiter's atmosphere in 1995, Hubbard said.
Militzer plans to use the new model to simulate other planets' interiors, and to investigate the implications for the formation of planets outside our solar system.
Future data from NASA's Juno mission, to be launched in 2011, orbit Jupiter by 2016 and measure the planet's magnetic field and gravity, will provide a check on Militzer's predictions. Hubbard is one of the mission's co-investigators.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation supported the research.

STS Launch

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=1221

The Six Stages of Change

Pre-contemplation – Change has not been identified.

March 1, 2008

I Received invitation to participate in the Healthy Roads Weight Management Program.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), two out of three Americans are overweight and one out of three Americans is considered obese.

Cummina Inc. has partnered with https://www.healthyroads.com to offer an innovative weight management program to help me lose weight and develop a healthier lifestyle.

The Healthy roads Weight Management Program includes one on one consultations with a personal health coach – providing motivation, planning, education and support – as well as online tools, customized planning and analysis service, and rewards for participation.

Contemplation - Change has been identified but path to change may seem unclear or unattainable

March 13, 2008

Biometric screening offered by Cummina Inc. through htpps://cummins.online.staywell.com

Height – Inches - 67

Weight – Pounds - 207

Systolic Blood Pressure -137

Diastolic Blood Pressure - 80

• Total Cholesterol - 107
  HDL Cholosterol - 29
  Glucose - 112
  
  Preparation - Setting realistic goals identifying motivators Planning ahead for challenges
  
  
  March 18, 2008
  
  Nutrition
  Exercise
  Stress Management
  Increase water to 64 ounces per day.
  Take personal care assessment
  
  
  March 20, 2008
  
  Enrolled in HealthSpan Care Management program for diabetes support.
  
  
  April 24, 2008
  
  Cummins Occupational Health Center
  
  Height – Inches - 67
  
  Weight – Pounds - 203
  
  Systolic Blood Pressure - 120
  Diastolic Blood Pressure - 80
  Total Cholesterol - 101
  HDL Cholosterol - 36
  Glucose - 101
  
  6-17-2008
  Indianapolis VAMC
  
  Height – Inches - 67
  
  Weight – Pounds - 196
  
  Systolic Blood Pressure - 117
  Diastolic Blood Pressure - 65
  Total Cholesterol - 114
  HDL Cholosterol - 35
  Glucose - 112
  Hemoglobin A1C - 6.6 H
  
  
  
  Action - Modify behavior
  
  Walking an average of 4 to 5 miles per day (10,000 steps).
  Swimming two three days per week (six to 10 laps each time).
  Wii Fit:
  Yoga
  Balance Games
  Strength Training
  Aerobics
  Nutrition
  Control Portions
  Eat more good carbs: fruit, vegetables beans, etc.
  Eat less bad carbs: table sugar, cakes, cookies, candy, etc.
  Read all labels.
  
  
  Maintenance - Maintain new behavior
  
  November 23, 2008
  
  Current weight = 196.7 pounds…a loss of 10.3 pounds.
  
  Termination - New behavior becomes habit
  
  I am enjoying this program so much, I am not sure I want to terminate it. At least not until I hit my target of 185 pounds or less.
  
  
  

A friend of mine and me graduated from Redford High School (Detroit, MI) in June 1960. We ran into each other in Korat, Thailand in 1962 while serving in different units in the Army...he was a medic and I was in the Signal Corps. That was the last time we would see each other until just a few weeks ago when he and wife stopped here in Columbus, Indiana to pay us a surprise visit.

Last night another military buddy paid us an unexpected visit as he was traveling from Escanaba, Michigan to Atlanta, Georgia with his mother.

We had dinner at Bob Evans while we share many memories of our military past.

Say what you may about the military but, you can not replace the commoradarie the develops during your tour of duty.

Well, I couldn't believe it. It was a clear and cold night. Seven astronomers showed up from both of my clubs...Indiana Astronomy Society and The_Local_Group here in Columbus. At 6:30 pm, the kids started showing up and by 7:30, there was like 180 first graders, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents etc, etc, etc. Everyone was bundled up and hot chocolate was flowing through out the crowd. Jupiter and Venus were close together and extremely bright as always. The four moons of Jupiter always entertain and Venus looking like a spot light in the sky was awesome when viewed through a telescope.

Aldebaran made the kids gasp in awe. This is a double star which actually shows the colors of Blue (hottest) and Yellow (cooler)...a crowd favorite.

So, was it a success? You Betcha!!!

And it only took two hours for my feet to thaw out. :0)

Astronomy Outreach

Well tomorrow night should prove to be very interesting. Four of my astronomy buddies and me are going to give a Star Party to roughly 150 first graders...well actually 40 first graders and their parents, brothers and sisters, etc. That is of course on two counts. Count 1 the skies are clear. Count 2 the temperatures don't dip into the teens...if either one of those counts happen...the Star Party will be scrubbed. Wish us luck everyone.

"Knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to tolerance of people with a different view point." I am undergoing a quest for knowledge and would ask that you join me.

Publishers
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society New York, Inc.
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.

Mankind's Search for God has led people down thousands of pathways, as is evidenced by the diversity of religions, sects, and cults in the world today.

But how can you find the true God? This book will help you, regardless of your religious background, to join in the search.

Chapter 1 - Why Be Interested in Other Religions?

Some manifestations of the world's various religions:

Hindus revere the river ganges - called Ganga Ma, or Mother Ganga
In some Buddhist countries, most males serve some time as saffron-robed monks.

Sincere Catholics turn to Mary in their use of the rosary.

Faithful Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once.

In Protestant lands, chapels and churches abound.

In Islamic countries, you can hear the voices of the muezzins, the Muslim criers who make the call from minarates five times a day, summoning the faithaful to the ritual prayer.

Practiced mainly in Japan, Shinto enters into daily life with family shrines and offerings to ancestors.

Another religious activity known the world over is that of people going from house to house and standing in the streets with bibles and bible literatur. Nearly everyone recoginizes thes people as Jehovah's Witnesses.

What does this worldwide variety of religious devotion indicate? Religions tries to address the great questions; Why are we here? How should we live? What does the future hold for mankind?

Just like me on the other hand, there are millions of people who profess no religion nor any belief in a god.

Religions has become almost a matter of family tradition.

If you were born in Italy or South America, then, without choice you wre probably raised a Catholic. If you were born in India, then likely you autmattically became a Hindu or if from Punjab, perhaps a Sikh. If your parents were from Pakistan, then you would obviously be a Muslim. And if you were born in a Socialist Country over the last few decades you might have had no choice but to be raised an atheist.

Today, people of different religions share the same neighborhoods. Therefore, understanding one another's viewpoint can lead to a more meaningful cmmunication and conversation between people of different faiths.

The ancient Jewish law stated: You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as your self...

The founder of Christianity stated: "But I say to you who are listening, Continue to love your enemies, to do good to those hating you...and your reward will be great.

The Qur'an states: "It may be that Allah will brigh about friendship between you and those of them whom you hold as enemies."

However, while tolerance and understanding are needed, that does not imply that it makes no difference what one believes...The ancient Aztecs who held up the beating hearts of their victims to the sun did not have as good a religion as that of the peacful Buddhists.

Why have so many people killed and been killed in the name of religions? The Crusades, the Inquisition, the conflicts in the Middle East and Northern Ireland, the slaughter between Iraq and Iran (1980-88), the Hindu-Sikh clashes in India.

The realm of Chirstendom has been noteworthy for it hypocrisy in this field.
Catholic has killed Catholic, Protestant has killed Protestant at the behest of their "christian" political leaders. yet the Bible clearly contrasts the works of the flesh. It states, "They are fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, idolatry, practice of spritiism, enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, envies, drunken bouts, revelries, and thing like these. As to these things I am forwarning you, the same way as I did forewarn you that those who practice such things willo not inherit God's kingdom>" Yet so-called Christians have practiced these things for centuries, and their conduct has often been dondoned by their clergy.

All religions should produce peacable fruitage but, do they?

Questions that require an answer. (Each religion has different answers)


Does the Bible teach what the majority of religions teach and what manyh people believe, namely that humans have an immortal soul and that at death it moves on to another realm, the "hereafter." heaven, hell, or purgatory, or that it returns in a reincarnation? As an atheist, I say humans do not have an immortal soul and once you die, there is no heaven, no hell, or purgatory. You only get one trip through this world and there is no hereafter.
Does the Bible teach that the Sovereign Lord of the universe is nameless.
Does it teach that he is one God? The Bible is confusing in this matter as it mentions the first two.
three persons in one God?
Many gods?
What does the Bible say was God's original purpose in creating mankind for life on earth? Some questions do not have an absolute answer.
Does the Bible teach the earth will be destroyed? Or does it point only to the end, or conclusion, for the corrupt world system?Again this is confusing. God supposedly said that he would not flood the world again. Tell that to the people who just went through the worst flooding in over 100 years. Not to mention the record number of Hurricanes and Tsunamis.
How can inner peace and salvation really be achieved?Man controls his own distany.

While attending my Indiana Astronomical Society meeting last night, I was privileged to hear this lecture given by Dr. Lisa M. Pratt


Are we ready for a Mars Sample Return Mission?

Geologists, biologists, and astronomers are looking for signs of extra-terrestrial life within and beyond our solar system using telescopes, satellites, and rovers. Evidence of life-sustaining processes also is being investigated through molecular and isotopic characterization of carbon compounds in meteorites, comets, and interplanetary dust particles. The current Phoenix mission and the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory mission will carry sophisticated instrument payloads to the surface of Mars for the purpose of analyzing organic molecules in sedimentary strata and ice. These two missions provide a scientific and engineering framework for a flagship mission around 2022 with the goal of collecting and returning samples from Mars to Earth for study. We have found life thriving at extremes of temperature, acidity, and salinity on Earth, leading to a new recognition of life’s tenacity and invigorating the search for extra-terrestrial life. Data coming from the current orbiting and roving instruments provide many lines of evidence for persistent surface water on ancient Mars and intermittent surface water on present-day Mars. Remarkably, it may be too late to fully protect Mars from contamination by Earth organisms but improved decontamination and sterilization of spacecraft will help preserve natural conditions at Martian sites with the highest potential for habitability.
Dr. Lisa M. Pratt is a Professor of Geological Sciences at Indiana University and she is Director of a NASA Astrobiology Team entitled Biosustaining Energy and Nutrient Cycles in the Deep Subsurface of Earth and Mars. She has published more than 80 papers in scientific journals. Pratt’s collaborative research with Tullis Onstott (Princeton University) on radiolysis of water as a source of energy for microbes has been highlighted worldwide by newspaper, magazine, and radio interviews. She currently serves on the NASA Planetary Science Subcommittee and she will be a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting scholar in 2009-