Sci Fi Jungle

Methane Rainstorm Sighted on on Saturn Moon Titan

Methane rain - it sounds like a great name for a rock song.   Scientists at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona have observed a massive methane rainstorm brewing on Titan.

ABC News quote:

"It's really surprising how closely Titan's surface resembles Earth's," noted Rosaly Lopes, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., at a recent meeting of the International Astronomical Union in Brazil. "Titan looks more like the Earth than any other body in the solar system, despite the huge differences in temperature and other environmental conditions."

Here is an more explanatory article about methane rain on Titan from the Lowell Observatory's blog.  They explain that methane rain is not rare on Titan, but that it was rare to capture the data from this large storm system.

 

Image courtesy of Lowell Observatory

Meteor Showers 2009 - Night of August 11th/12th 4-5 AM

It's time to stay up or get up early, and see the Perseid meteor shower 2009.  Here is some info from HamptonRoads.com:

TIME TO WATCH  |  After dark on Aug. 11 until sunrise on the 12th. Best viewing might be between 4 and 5 a.m. Get away from city lights for the best view.

WHERE TO LOOK  |  Anywhere overhead. View a sky map.

HOW MANY  |  Anywhere from a few to several hundred per hour.

HOW IT WORKS  |  The Comet Swift-Tuttle, located beyond the orbit of Uranus, has left a trail of dust stretching back to Earth. As Earth orbits the sun, the specks of dust hit the atmosphere at 132,000 mph, creating streaks of light as they disintegrate.

 

photo courtesy of NASA

Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride $11.49 Blu-Ray

If you are looking to shore up your Blu-Ray collection, Amazon has Tim Burton's "The Corpse Bride" on sale for $11.49

Kepler Telescope Turns its Eye Toward Planet with Atmosphere

The Kepler Telescope, which was launched on March 6th and has not even gone into full scientific operation yet, has already made a discovery.

According to this CNN report, the telescope has reported that "a planet  orbiting a distant star has an atmosphere, shows only one side to its sun and is so hot it glows."  This is not a new planet to us, but the Kepler Telescope has given us new information about its strange temperature - extremely hot and hotter on one side than the other.  Kind of reminds me of the movie "Pitch Black."

According to NASA:

The planet used in the test, a giant gas planet about the size of Jupiter, orbits a star called HAT P-7 in just 2.2 days and is 26 times closer than Earth is to the sun, according to NASA. It is called an exoplanet because it orbits a star outside the solar system.

image courtesy of NASA

The purpose of the Kepler Mission is to explore the structure of planetary systems with one goal being to search for habitable planets.  How cool is that?

Gamer Deals Web Site

I found a deals website that focuses just on video games, computer games, etc.  Its called Cheap Ass Gamer.

Today they are posting about how Target is selling DS Lites for $99.00.  My kids love their DSs and I am sure would love one of the new ones with the cameras.  But alas, not in our budget until I am working again.

By the way - if you know of anyone looking for an email and collaborative computing specialist, check out my professional web site: Beyond Messaging.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers the Movie Free on Hulu

If you've got kidlies like me, you might want to keep this link handy.  Hulu.com has the entire move of The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers streaming free online.

Cool Site - Strip Generator (Comic Strips, that is)

Another flavor of blogging (mommy blogs, microblogs, corporate blog, hire me blog) is the strip blog.  Strip blogging is using cartoon strips to make your daily posts.  The web site stipgenerator.com not only has a list of strip blogs, but it also gives you the tools to get started making your own comic strip.

The site is blasted today, after they got publicity from LifeHacker. (also a great site, btw) so expect it to be very slow until the "slashdot effect" wears off.

I tell you - there is very little you can't learn to do on the Internet these days.  I learned how to knit using youtube videos, you can even learn to play piano.  Now there is a way to learn how to create your own comic strips.

G.I. Joe Review

Here is a second hand G.I. Joe review,  from the hubster.

"It was good.  Non stop action all the way through.   It was fun.  They set it up for a sequel, and worked of the development of the characters."

Brendan Frasier had about a minute and a half cameo as an Gung Ho, playing an instructor.  I think The Rock had a cameo as well, playing Shipwreck, but Jin didn't catch that one.

Jin says that G.I. Joe would be good for kids that are a little older.  (The movie is rated PG 13.) It was loud with a lot of destruction and action, so we are not sure if our little guys, who are 4 and 6, will like it.  (They might)

Jin has a crush on Baroness, and thought the character as played by Sienna Miller, was hot.  Here's a funny story about how she burned her chest while filming the movie, quoted from Fox News.

"I burned my boobs," Miller admitted to Tarts at Thursday's Hollywood premiere. "I slipped on a rubber bullet and I was covered in bruises. But it was all funny, that's what you sign up for."

I bet G.I. Joe and team have to pay a lot for their no medical life insurance.  You know, because of all the destruction going on all around them...

Free Ebook by Morgan Howell - Well Written & Recently Published

I previously blogged about how much I enjoyed Morgan Howell's "A Woman Worth 10 Coppers."  I have had the sequel on my shopping list for a while.  Candle in the Storm isn't going on sale until October, but look what I found - a FREE ebook of Howell's book King's Property.  This is the first in the Queen of the Orcs series.

The book is available in a number of formats, from pdf to Amazon Kindle download. 

Howell's writing style is engaging, and her characters are three dimensional and interesting.  I am very excited to download this ebook.  There are a lot of free ebooks out there but this is rare in that is its a relatively new book from an author I can recommend as truly a good read.  By the way - 19 out of 34 Amazon reviewers gave this book 5 stars.

Free ebook "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld's Young Adult Sci Fi book, Uglies, will be available as a free PDF download for a limited time (30 days) on the Simon and Schuster web site.  It also includes the first chpater of his upcoming steampunk adventure, Leviathan.