Wednesday, September 30, 2015
A woman on a 107-mile kayak journey from Ketchikan to Petersburg said she had to hitch a ride to Wrangell on a sailboat after a bear ate her kayak
Mary Maley claims she was outside a U.S. Forest Service cabin in Berg Bay, 22 miles southeast of Wrangell, when the hungry bear approached.
The U.S. Forest Service office in Wrangell said Wednesday morning that it had not heard of the encounter, but confirmed the video was taken from its Berg Bay cabin.
At the beginning of the video, Maley is heard thanking the bear for "not eating my kayak," before the animal turns around to do just that.
Over the next two minutes, Maley yells repeatedly at the bear, tries to bargains with it and pepper sprays it.
"Please stop, bear," she pleads at one point. "It's September, why are you here? You're supposed to be asleep."
For its part, the bear continues to gnaw on the sea kayak lying on the ground outside the cabin.
"Bear, please stop breaking my things. It's not even food, it's doesn’t even taste good -- it's just plastic," Maley says.
Hahahaha! That bear knew how to ignore her. She's lucky it didn't turn around and chase her. She would have been far more satisfying to eat than the tough old kayak.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Impressive sail speed
Two days after finally smashing the Outright world speed sailing record, the Vestas Sailrocket 2 team decide to tackle the 'Nautical Mile' world record which was held by the mighty 'Hydroptere'. It was always going to be an interesting challenge for the VSR2 team as the speed course that they sail on in Walvis Bay, Namibia is defined by a beach which is exactly 1.04 miles long. This requires them to launch the boat out in more exposed waters and try and get up to as high a speed as they dare in rough water before they hit the start of the mile. At the end of the course they also fire out into rough water and have to bring the boat to a stop. It's hard on the boat. The beach is not straight but has a slight curve in it . The mile is measured by TRIMBLE GPS equipment in a straight line so pilot Paul Larsen needs to balance between sailing in close to the beach for the flat water... and sailing the straightest and hence shortest distance between A and B. In this run, with winds that averaged just under 25 knots, The team smashed not only the nautical mile record* by over 5 knots averaging over 55.3 knots... but also raised their own 'Outright speed' record* to 59.38 knots over 500 meters hitting a peak speed of 64.78 knots (74.55 mph, 120 kph). For Larsen it was the perfect payback for 10 years chasing 'the perfect reach'. Speed sailing had paid him back in full and a dream was realised.
Had grandpa been aware of this, he might have sold off more of his junk
For the record, I'm well on my way to collecting a similar stash - known to the family as the "pile of junk" - in my barn. Much of it I inherited from my dad, and some of it he from his. Hopefully it will be just as epic when I kick it, but my kids can split it up and do whatever with it, but not draw it!
Talented artist Lee John Phillips has undertaken a project of epic proportions to celebrate the memory of his late grandfather. Phillips estimates that it will take him about 4-5 years to draw all 100,000+ items left behind in the shed by his grandfather, who passed away roughly 20 years ago. Everything from large tools to jars full of nails, nuts and bolts will be covered!
Phillips has been numbering each object in his meticulous project, and has drawn nearly 4,000 at this point.
Fascinating, but can decades of Enviro-greenie negative propaganda be overcome?
"In just two decades Sweden went from burning oil for generating electricity to fissioning uranium. And if the world as a whole were to follow that example, all fossil fuel–fired power plants could be replaced with nuclear facilities in a little over 30 years. That's the conclusion of a new nuclear grand plan published May 13 in PLoS One. Such a switch would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nearly achieving much-ballyhooed global goals to combat climate change. Even swelling electricity demands, concentrated in developing nations, could be met. All that's missing is the wealth, will and wherewithal to build hundreds of fission-based reactors, largely due to concerns about safety and cost."
Naturally, safety and cost are critical, but the dangers from nuclear energy are grossly exaggerated. For instance, name one person who was specifically killed by the radiation released by Fukushima. You can't, because there isn't one.
As long as you can ensure competent operators, as is done currently all over the world, you should have no real problems, and huge advantages. It's all in the planning and management.
Naturally, safety and cost are critical, but the dangers from nuclear energy are grossly exaggerated. For instance, name one person who was specifically killed by the radiation released by Fukushima. You can't, because there isn't one.
As long as you can ensure competent operators, as is done currently all over the world, you should have no real problems, and huge advantages. It's all in the planning and management.
Monday, September 28, 2015
The man made sea
Southern California’s Salton Sea is a prominent visual for astronauts. This large lake supports the rich agricultural fields of the Imperial, Coachella and Mexicali Valleys in the California and Mexico desert. The Salton Sea formed by accident in 1905 when an irrigation canal ruptured, allowing the Colorado River to flood the Salton Basin. Today the Sea performs an important function as the sink for agricultural runoff; water levels are maintained by the runoff from the surrounding agricultural valleys. The Salton Sea salinity is high—nearly 1/4 saltier than ocean water—but it remains an important stopover point for migratory water birds, including several endangered species.
New launch tech tested on the USS Gerald Ford.
The Navy's new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) is a fully electric, magnetically-powered way of launching fighter jets and drones off an aircraft carrier and into the sky. It works based on the same basic principles of a railgun, while being distinct from the Navy's literal railgun.
A unit on the USS Gerald Ford started testing with a weighted sled earlier this month, but a recent video shows a new, impressive feat: Making a weighted sled that weighs as much as a car literally skip like a stone.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
ABC Dragonfly aircraft radial engine.
The ABC Dragonfly was a British radial engine developed towards the end of the First World War. It was expected to deliver excellent performance for the time and was ordered in very large numbers. It proved, however, to be extremely unreliable and was abandoned when its faults were unable to be corrected
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Pulsating water - your science for the day.
Most people know that throwing water into hot oil is a bad idea. But, as dramatic as the results can be, the boiling of a water droplet submerged in oil is remarkably beautiful, as seen in the animations above. The initial water droplet expands as it shifts from liquid to vapor (top). At a critical volume, the expansion occurs explosively (middle), causing the bubble to overexpand relative to the pressure of the surrounding fluid. The higher pressure of the oil around it collapses the drop, which then re-expands, creating the cycle we see in the final two animations. This oscillation triggers a Rayleigh-Taylor type instability along the bubble’s interface, causing the surface corrugations observed. The vapor bubble will continue to rise through the oil, eventually breaking the surface and scattering hot oil droplets.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Well, the weeping Cheeto is gone
Let's hope they choose a real, rock ribbed Republican to replace him.
I half expect to see him on the ballot next year with Joe Biden.
