April 29, 2008
April 24, 2008
The Great Sunflower Project
I have joined The Great Sunflower Project to produce the first real map of the state of the bees. Some bees have had severe declines, such as Colony Collapse Disorder, which may be affecting food production. No one has ever measured how much pollination is happening over a region or continent, especially urban areas such as the Denver. Without pollinators, there will be no pollination, which in turn means there will be no fruits and veggies!
The Great Sunflower Project will supply me with wild, native sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seeds. Twice a month I'll collect the following data: temperature, count the number of flowers on the Sunflower plant and time how long it takes for five bees to visit. I will report the data online for their study.
Sunflowers make you happy.
Sunflowers make you smarter.
Sunflowers are wicked cool.
Sunflowers help you make friends.
Sunflowers make work go by quickly.
Sunflowers will teach you about science.
Sunflowers are pretty.
Sunflowers are a cherished gift.
Sunflowers are in my garden. (What about yours?)
Sunflowers will help.
I've joined the hunt for bees!!
April 21, 2008
Summer Jubilee Adventure Scrum 2008
Summer 2008 looks to be a fine summer of exploit. Plans are currently in work to chart adventure of most fun and frolic. Friends of mine shall be skiing in Chile or partying it up in the Las Vegas and I will construct similar merriment of my own. Similar but different.
I make it a habit to keep pleasurable activities on my plate and the summer of 2008 shall be no different. There will be plenty of ample opportunities to feel the Wakan of the Earth; the breeze of freedom. I am excited. If you could see me now you'd see the goose pimples on my arms.
Here is a brief list, a bragging dub of sorts, of the adventure to come:
1.) Gardening of course, such a splendorous GX-1134 Urban Garden of legend and myth. Songs will be sung of my epic garden. Tales and poetry will be spoken of the bounty grown.
2.) A road trip to the Kansas to an ancestral home of my family.
3.) A June camping trip to Tarryall Reservoir.
4.) A July camping trip to the old haunt of Turquoise Lake.
5.) A August camping trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Monument under the Full Sturgeon Moon.
6.) Bicycling through the city.
7.) Picnicking in parks and mountains.
8.) BBQs and merriment.
9.) Lard.
There will be fishing and hiking and camp cooking and campfires and relaxing in the wild; letting the wind penetrate the soul. This is just a brief list. More adventure will crop up I am sure.
April 20, 2008
planting
Planted sunflowers and ornamental corn this day.
WORM SIGN!
April 16, 2008
Moritz Embroidery Works
The Moritz Embroidery Works in Pennsylvania have been doing embroidery since 1885. They provided us with our mission patches the past 3 years.
The company was notified today of the mission patch all-weather testing done by Pumpkin Lord James. The images are being passed around the company this instant.
PLJ was asked if they were for space.
Day 291 and counting…
Mission Patch Project Alpha 1 Gallery
April 15, 2008
April 14, 2008
NSS CONTEST
Dear Russell,
Thank you for sending "The Day" for the National Space Society's Return to Luna short story contest. This is your confirmation that we've received the story and you are entered into the contest.
Before I forward your story onto the jurors your name will be removed and the story will be assigned a number to remove any biases while evaluating it. (Your name will be reunited with the story, if chosen, of course.)
We expect to have results and a list of winners, including a Grand Prize winner, by late Summer 2008. The anthology, RETURN TO LUNA, should be out by Fall 2008.
Check back at www.hadleyrillebooks.com and www.nss.org for updates and for the announcement of winners.
Note: if your email address changes, please be sure to notify us.
Good luck!
Eric T. Reynolds
Hadley Rille Books
April 13, 2008
Doors Open Denver 2008 and Yuri's Night
It was a pleasant weekend filled with Doors Open Denver and Yuri’s Night celebrations. I was carrying a 40-pound pack! It never hurts to be prepared.
I walk to my own music. Figuratively and literally. I fired up my portable sound system and softly jammed to good tunes all weekend long, usually causing many funny laughter moments in the process.
SS and I had a run in with Daryl at Doors Open Denver. Daryl was a homeless man, a musician. We walked down the 16th St. Mall talking with him, learning his story. We arrived at our destination and in lieu of giving him cash, SS sent him towards Ross, where we would meet him in 30 minutes and she would buy him a new pair of shoes.
Our tour of the D&F Tower complete, we hustled to Ross and watched Daryl from the stairs looking over the shoes, checking the price and trying them on. The shoe purchase complete and Daryl on his way with a new pair of sneakers, we continued our tour of the Denver.
It was the most beautiful thing I had ever witnessed, almost collapsing weak at the knees.
Candyman
Yuri’s Night was spent at Denver’s Chamberlin Observatory wallowing in tektites, transit telescopes, globes and stereo photography of the Aurora Borealis and comets. I mixed with memorizing chronometers and visual measurement tools. I was lost in Universal and sidereal time checking out the telescope, a priceless 114-year-old 20-inch aperture, f/15 Alvan Clark-George Saegmuller refractor! A smile never left my face.
Yuri’s Night finished at Sputnik. A splendid Yuri’s Night!!
Chamberlin Observatory
a 20-inch aperture, f/15 Alvan Clark-George Saegmuller refractor
a 20-inch aperture, f/15 Alvan Clark-George Saegmuller refractor
Transit Telescope
Yuri's Night 2008 at Sputnik
April 10, 2008
April 8, 2008
True Leaves
The King Arthur green bell pepper plants are 60 days old and starting to grow true leaves! I will care for it until it grows strong and tall and then I will eat it's fruit.
Yuri's Night is April 12, 2008
Yuri's Night is April 12, 2008.
www.yurisnight.net
Yuri's Night is like the St Patricks Day or Cinco de Mayo for space. It is one day when all the world can come together and celebrate the power and beauty of space and what it means for each of us.
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin embarked on the historic first manned space flight on 12 April 1961. Twenty years later on 12 April 1981, the US launched the first space shuttle flight.
April 6, 2008
The Smoke
The first smoked BBQ of the season; BBQ chicken quarters with apple wood, zucchini, yellow and red peppers.
April 5, 2008
April 4, 2008
April 3, 2008
Colorado Rockies Home Opener 2008
Ah yes, I scored tickets to the Colorado Rockies home opener following the World Series season of last year. It should be a raucous party for sure for sure. THANKS ROB AND MICHELE!
Colorado Rockies versus Arizona Diamondbacks
Friday April 4, 2008
02:05 pm MT
I will be in my Rockies cap. And I will drink beer.
April 2, 2008
Twin Powers
I am a twin. My sister and I have had random twin power occurrences over the years. The last one happened the other day. I popped in the Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back DVD and recorded the menu via my cell phone and sent the clip to my sister.
She was watching the same movie across town as I was at the same time and we were within 3 seconds of having the movie completely synced. It was awesome.