The Maxson Homepage on the WWW
Do you watch the Big Bang Theory? Ever wanted to be like Howard Wolowitz and get your “stuff” in space? Hopefully it doesn’t go haywire like his toilet did…but…..
Seriously, NASA has announced a competition to see who can come up with an algorithm to best position the solar panels on the ISS. Here’s the promo video:
Today is a snow day for Lydia and we are going to attempt today’s geohash (link to the geohash wiki for it). What is a geohash? See this page to find out more. I’m sure we’ll take pictures on our way and while we are there. I’ll update this post when we get back.
I’ve already made a flickr set here.
Ok, so we left Redhill around 3pm. We made it to the geohash a bit before 4. Everyone else in the car fell asleep so there aren’t any pictures from the actual journey. Nor is there any proof. Although, I took pictures that should me marked with the date/time as well as the lat/long markers. Here they are:
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Geohashing is something invented by Alan Munroe of xkcd fame. He published the comic below–although I don’t know when–with an algorithm on locating a place in a certain section of latitude/longitude. You take some input (in this case, the date and dow jones opening) and mash it together to get a decimal set of coordinates. If you don’t want to do the work, here is a map online that will do it for you.
Finished/Attempted geohashes
Well, it didn’t snow yesterday; however, we did go sledding/sledging. Eventually, Cyndi will post the pictures…when she does, we’ll put in a link.
Today, it started snowing in the morning about the time we left for Church and kept it up all day. We got about another 2 inches on the ground and it is still snowing. Perhaps we’ll get a foot over night ;^)
Here’s a few pictures from a walk Lydia and I did this evening. The rest are on flickr in our UKSnowpocalypse2013 set.
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[Update 2013-01-20 18:45:43] Here’s links to other posts about the UKSnowpocalypse2013:
UKSnowpocalypse2013 has just begun
UKSnowpocalypse2013 — Pictures
Problems at Heathrow (LHR)
I’ve been to AIG’s Creation Museum. I have a few posts about Young Earth Creationism and Intelligent Design. But, I’ve never really done a post about why I’m a YEC–Young Earth Creationist. So, that is what this is.
First, I reject Darwinian monkey-to-man evolution because it is incompatible with the Bible. Plain and simple, the Bible says that God created. The Bible then goes on to say that God created kinds of animals that would reproduce within their own kind. I also reject the idea of the big-bang or theistic evolution. So, it should be fairly simply why I believe in the Creationism part of Young Earth Creationism.
Second, I reject old earth creationism because young earth is the simplest reading of the Bible text. First, most forms of OEC (old-earth creationism) require some form of the day-age form of creation. Just in case you don’t know, day-age ideas say that each day in Genesis was actually a long period of time instead of a literal as we know it 24 hour day. I believe that the days mentioned in Genesis were actual days. Why? Well, read it for yourself. That is the simplest reading of the text. Add to that, the Bible itself–in Genesis 5–tells us when people were born, how long they lived before their son was born, and then when they died. Simple math there (and with other places in the Bible) will get you a figure of 6,000 to 10,000 for the age of the earth.
Third, small changes seen today (darwin’s finches, the spotted moth, and others) are not a problem and are not evolution in the Darwinian monkey-to-man model. As a YEC, I don’t not believe that changes within kinds can happen. They even explain the diversity seen today. For example, from a medium-haired dog “kind” you can end up with short hair dogs, long-hair dogs, and poodles. We see horses and donkeys produce mules. Within “kinds” this can and does happen.
Fourth, I think that dating methods–carbon dating and the like–are based on assumptions that may or may not be the case (or may not have always been the case). So, in carbon dating the amount of c14 is measured. Based on the steady rate of change, scientists can determine an age (many other dating methods work the same). This would be like you entering a room with a bathtub being filled at a steady rate and being asked to determine how long it had been being filled. Sure, you could measure the rate of the water-flow, size of the container, and amount of water. However, you couldn’t determine what had happened before you entered the room. What if the container started out 1/3 full? What if the container had a small leak that was plugged in the past? What if the flow was faster or slower in the past? What if the temperature in the room were different (so the evaporation rate was different)? See where I’m going here?
Finally, a strong stand on YEC gives a “high” view of scripture. This high view and little compromise makes it more likely that I’ll keep a firm foundation on which to build other positions. Meaning, I think this position doesn’t compromise any Biblical position while others (theistic evolution, day age theory, etc…) cause compromise.
If you want more reading, check out this page on the Answers in Genesis website.
Image from NASA Goddard Photo and Video via flickr
This is why I don’t like that hand sanitizer stuff. Imagine the germs that are left. Now, imagine them developing some sort of immunity. That just adds to the resistance of bugs. Oh, and that 99% is under strictly controlled conditions.
Every morning, I have this question as I put on my belt: Is there a “correct” way to put the belt on?
For example, my nylon belt, I usually put on going counter-clockwise (looking down. Using the first loop on my right as I’m wearing the pants). This way, I cinch it up on my left. It works out well that way.
With my leather belt, I do it just the opposite. It buckles differently.
My question: is there a “correct” way one is supposed to wear a belt?
Image from boldtintin1 via flickr
This strip is hilarious. And so true. I’ve talked to people on skype before and yo can barely understand them or vice versa. The worst part is when one party can understand well but can’t communicate with the other. Although, I’ve never gotten this far (people usually recognize what is going on and end the call) I can see it happening.
Source: Dilbert strip for Sunday 20 Jan 2013
Tonight, Cyndi and I went to see The Hobbit — An Unexpected Journey in Real 3D.
First, I liked the movie. It keeps with the Lord of the Rings genre very well. The special effects were good. The acting was good. The landscape shots were outstanding. I haven’t read the Hobbit book in ages so I can’t speak for how close it is to the book. Although, one minor thing Cyndi pointed out: the scene where Bilbo “finds” the ring in The Hobbit is different than the flashback in whichever the Lord of the Rings movies had it. In that one, Bilbo found the ring…stumbled onto it, as it were. In this one, he sees Golum drop it then picks it up.
I didn’t care for the 3d. It was well done in that there were no “made for 3d” effects (like the horse chase scene in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter). However, everything seemed slightly out of focus. Here’s the problem….in a normal film, your eyes know the camera is doing the focusing. You will see whatever the director wants in focus. In 3d, you want to be able to focus on whatever you want. But, since it is filmed with cameras, you still only see what the camera has in focus in focus. Does that make sense?
I don’t know if I’ll ever go see a 3d movie just by choice. At least not until it improves.
On another note, heres a video from Peter Jackson talking about making the Hobbit in 3d.
[Update 2013-01-20 08:07:46] They have just announced that 20% of flights today are canceled because of forecast snow later today. I’d call your airline if you are scheduled to fly out of LHR. Here’s a screenshot from the LHR Website:
Yesterday, we got about 2in / 6cm of snow here at our house. It snowed fairly steady all day with no big bursts, etc…. Two years ago we got about 6 inches in 2 hours and the airport closed for a week. I wondered how the airport coped. I woke up this morning to this: Weather: Snow And Ice Causes Heathrow Misery
Watching the news, they talked about how the number of planes landing/taking off was reduced because they were limited to one runway. This after spending a zillion pounds on new snow removal equipment. What they described was this: close one runway, clear it while using the other for flightops, then close that one, clear it while using the other. Now, I’m not a pilot. I don’t claim to be one. I don’t play one on TV. However, I’m sure the process used in all but the heaviest snow fall goes something like this:
Lengthen time between takeoffs/landings
Preposition the equipment at the end of the runway
Plane lands/takes off
They have a 5 minute window to go from one end of the runway to the other. 1 pass and clear what you can.
Go back to position yourself at the start and repeat
Do this until the snow stops
Now, as the snow gets heavier, this won’t work so you’ll have to pause operations. Does anyone want to comment? Anyone with experience with airport snow/ice removal?
By the way, here’s a video of snow removal at IAD a few years ago of them coping with a heavy snow:
Here’s a link to the fvl of the video I downloaded for archive purposes
[Update 2013-01-20 18:45:43] Here’s links to other posts about the UKSnowpocalypse2013:
UKSnowpocalypse2013 has just begun
UKSnowpocalypse2013 — Pictures
UKSnowpocalypse2013 — More Pictures