Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Paradise ponders...

Paradise ponders...  A few photos from our walk yesterday morning, with a beautiful giant full moon:


Somehow the moon doesn't look as large in those photos as it did in real life :)  I sure wish they could fit a nice zoom lens into the iPhone.  Most of the time the wide angle lens is exactly what you want, but I'd have liked about a 150mm for those first two shots...

This morning I went out to the shed to fire up the tractor.  I'm getting ready for the delivery of some trees, and the backhoe is my tool of choice for moving dirt.  As I approached the shed, I noticed this great big spider hanging on the side.  I've never seen a spider that looked like this (click the photos below to embiggen them).  Anybody have a clue what it is?

Update: I think I found it, by searching for similar images on Google Images.  I think it's Araneus gemma, aka the cat-faced spider.



The tree guys just called, and they're on the way. I'm expecting to be quite tired by tonight :)

Meanwhile, back at comet 67P...

Meanwhile, back at comet 67P ... Rosetta's research continues.  Here's a photo from August showing some of the evidence for a recent conclusion: that the two-lobed “rubber ducky” shape of 67P is due to an ancient low-speed collision of two comets with roughly spherical shapes...

Sure looks like water was involved, doesn't it?

Sure looks like water was involved, doesn't it?  Curiosity, the Mars rover, is looking at those rocks at right.  Meanwhile, as I'm sure you've heard, NASA announced confirmation of present-day flows of liquid water on Mars.  This is a necessary prerequisite for life-as-we-know it.  There are organisms on Earth that most likely could live on Mars, in or near those water flows...

Steve McIntyre follows the money...

Steve McIntyre follows the money ... and it ain't purty: Shukla's Gold...

Our neighbors win an award...

Our neighbors win an award ... for the “Wil can fly!” project.  That's Alan Lawrence at right, with his son Wil.  From the news story:
...the family was selected by the community and recognized for doing the most to create awareness for Down syndrome in the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation Cache County Chapter. The Lawrences received the award Saturday at the American West Heritage Center as part of the annual Buddy Walk event, according to Utah Down Syndrome Foundation Cache County Chapter advertising director Donnell Owen.
Great people abound here in Paradise...