Resonant Constellation

Well, I’ve had a bit of a break from blogging for a while, but I think it’s high time I get back into it. Let’s start with this internet gem:
The Journal of Universal Rejection.
At least they have a quick turnaround time.

As I’m reading the Iliad for my classics class, I thought it’d be fun to go along as we read and modify it to be more entertaining. It actually helps with my reading retention, since I have to pay way more attention to what’s going on when I’m mocking it than I usually would.

Anyway, the first few pages can be found HERE. I’m not posting it to the main page because of extreme profanity, vulgarity, and other fun things.

Well, I haven’t posted in a while, mostly because I’ve been buried under a mountain of school stuff. In any case, I’ll finish posting the the Hawaii travelogue on the Travelogue page, and I’ll also be updating my Tahoe travelogue as things happen.

Day 2: Kona-Submarine & Luau
11:30 PM (HI)
Today was a big day. Perhaps the best way to put it would be to say this: I took more pictures today on my digital camera than I ever have before in a single day (~530 total). I’d say that 60% of these photos are not really all that great for one reason or another. Perhaps 35% are okay pictures, though, and 5% are very good. One or two are actually great pictures, which is always encouraging-getting even a few right is always good.

We started the day by heading to the large harbor to the north for our submarine ride. We were very early, and consequently had quite some time to wait around. This we spent watching the ocean and surmising on the possible presence of sharks (which my dad hates). When the guides arrived, they told us that they only saw a shark maybe once every month which set my dad at ease, but slightly disappointed me. We were soon on the short ferry ride over to our little submarine, and after a five minute ride, boarded the undersea craft.

Immediately when we got underwater, everything turned blue. As we dove deeper, this simply intensified, and at about 60 feet under we basically lost the color red. Throughout the entire trip, we were followed by many Sergeant Majors (a small black and white striped fish which apparently like submarines), and while down on the sea floor, we saw approximately seven species of fish by my count including surgeonfish, yellow tang, pufferfish, and at least one eel. These were all most common among the several shipwrecks we passed.

(continue reading…)

8:30 PM (HI)
Today has been a relatively quiet day, though we did get our first look at the island in sunlight. It is truly amazing-every picture you see of Hawaii is entirely correct-these are not staged nor rare-it seems that the entire island looks like this. I probably spent an hour just watching the waves crash into the rocky beach in the small bay next from our deck. There is something about the ocean that is entirely hypnotizing.

We went for dinner at a wonderful restaurant just up the coast, and had seats right at the water’s edge. Periodically through the meal (which was excellent), large waves would crash into the rocks below us and shower us with sea mist. We watched an incredible sunset over the western pacific. The golden-red sunlight reflecting off of the water, the light blue of the foam, and the sea-green of the ocean contrasted perfectly. I’m still kicking myself for leaving my camera in the condo.

Eventually, the sun went down and we finished dinner. I had a coffee with desert, and it turned out to be one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had (french press 100% Kona coffee, which I’m sure was completely fresh). I’m going to have to bring some back.

And now we’re watching Mythbusters on TV before bed. Tomorrow we’re taking a submarine ride and going to a Luau. I, personally, can’t wait.
LJS-8:40 PM (HI)

Day 1: Kona-Gravmas

12:30 AM (HI)

Let me just say this in my defense: I would have updated sooner, but my computer was practically dead. In other news, Happy Apple Day, everybody! First, though, I should catch you up.

I last left you in the Tucson International Airport, headed for LAX. The flight was uneventful, if slightly filled with a strange fishy smell. When I arrived at LAX, the usual smog haze on the skyline was surprisingly low, which bade well for our several hour layover. I quickly located my family (whose plane had just docked one gate down from mine), and noted that-poetically-my plane would next be flying to Albuquerque.

Luckily, we happened to be near a relatively good mexican eatery, so we settled down there for lunch. This initiated a period of time which was amazingly uneventful, though my stomach did settle down quite a bit with food. Following this, we located our terminal, and I set about trying to find somewhere to plug in my ailing computer (my dad had checked one of his bags, and as luck would have it, the new, fully charged battery he had brought for me was in that bag). Unfortunately, the only open plug was so over-used that my power cable kept falling out and refused to stay in. Of course, five minutes before boarding the plane, we discovered another power socket.

So we boarded the plane and took off, again without incident. I noted, however, that the 767-300 we were flying in was nowhere near as nice as the 747 we flew to Australia. This fact soon proved itself, as the climate control in the passenger cabin was discovered to be entirely ineffectual. We were in for a hot, sweaty, and stuffy 5.5 hour flight, which made it impossible to sleep. Certain members of the family who were not so used to long flights needed to be fanned periodically to counteract the temperature. My dad and I both agreed-this flight felt longer and was far more taxing than the flight to Australia, even though it was only a third as long!

The in-flight movie was Up!, and though we didn’t buy headphones, I still enjoyed it. I may have enjoyed it more than some people with headphones, actually, because I got to fill in my own dialogue and storyline. I must remember to watch more movies without the sound on-it is a fascinating exercise.

We did eventually arrive in Honolulu, a bit worse for the wear, and we took a shuttle bus across the airport to the inter-island terminal. I immediately noticed that the air was denser than I’m used to. It is sodden and heavy, which sounds much worse than it actually is. The humidity isn’t that intrusive-it’s just another causal reminder that you’re right next to the ocean. We took another plane on a very quick hop across the islands to Hawai’i itself-the big island, and landed in a tiny terminal which really reminds me of a weird cross between Burbank Airport in Los Angeles, and the Alice Springs Airport in Northern Territories, Australia. It is a bit different that both though-as far as I could tell, it was entirely open air. We walked directly outside, picked up our bags, then headed straight for the rental car place. A few minutes later, we drove away in a typical midsized rental car.

By the time we had landed in Honolulu, it was entirely dark, and in Kona it was no different. I had fun reading off the streetsigns and mangling the pronunciation of the local names-things like Wa’aki’kilualu’alopoko and Hiluikapo’oapoae or some such suitably ridiculous spellings.To the right of the car, the few lights I could see would suddenly end, demarcating the coast. We turned slightly, and I caught a sight I think I will never forget. The yellow half moon was at about 40 degrees in the sky, and cast a shimmering sheen across the ocean, leading directly to the horizon. I wish I could have gotten a picture of it, but I think the mental image will probably stay with me for quite a while.

When we arrived at our rented condo, things seemed to keep improving. Not only is the place amazing inside, we have a deck which must be no more than 100 meters from the bay. Sitting outside, stargazing, and watching (and especially listening to) the breakers roll in in the dim light of torches across the bay is simply stunning. I have no words for it now, so I think I’ll stop and say just this:

Merry Christmas.

LJS-1:00 AM (HI)

Tomorrow is Festivus, so get thinking about your grievances and good luck with the feats of strength. Here’s hoping for some nice Festivus miracles.

I’ll be on hiatus until after finals, but until then, enjoy some Taco Explosions!

Well, I haven’t updated here in a while, mostly because I’ve had an unbelievably busy schedule. In between several observing dates, I’ve taken both my general GRE and the physics GRE, as well as continuing to work on several papers and the ever-present gigantic amounts of homework. Hopefully things will calm down a bit now, so I’ll be posting regularly once again.

Well, summer is over now and school has begun. This means that I’m going to be quite a bit more busy with work, but at least I’ll have a normal sleep schedule. I’m really looking forward to this semester, as I’m taking an advanced laboratory course in which I get to design my own project. I’ve decided to grind my own telescope mirror and do several different optical tests on it, which is something I’ve always been interested in. Aside from this, I’ll get a nice telescope out of the deal, so it’ll be rather fun.

I also have some side projects going this semester, such as growing various plants and herbs. Several of us Physics/Astronomy majors decided it would be interesting to see if we could grow living things, so we got pots, soil, and seeds for various things. I’m growing basil, oregano, and tomatoes so that I can make my tomato sauce out of homegrown ingredients. Pete chose to grow corn, pumpkins, and watermelon, which should be interesting. Several of us are also considering trying our hands at homebrewing beer. The equipment is rather expensive, so we’ve decided to split it four ways. Still, the kit is supposed to produce about 5 gallons of beer, so we’ll end up with an excess.

In other news, I’ve finally figured out how to use my camera to take nice long exposure astrophotos. Although I don’t have a tracker, some of these photos turned out pretty well. I’ll post some in my next entry.