RichC | March 25, 2020
It may not come from space in the form of meteorites as mentioned in the story below, but I think the biggest advancement in this decade will be in superconductivity. Physicists have made fantastic advancements in reducing electrical resistance ever since Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes experimented with ferromagnetism in 1911, but getting superconductivity state […]
RichC | February 6, 2020
It has been a shockingly mild winter, at least in Cincinnati this year. Generally I don’t put the snow blower on the John Deere 330 tractor until it is needed, yet this year I prepared early … and may have frightened the snow away? Having a winter without much snow is not totally unheard of, […]
RichC | January 31, 2020
A wide-angle view of the solar surface from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope is the highest-resolution image of the Sun ever taken, showing details as small as 30 km wide. Seen here are granules, the tops of giant convection cells. Credit: NSO/NSF/AURA Whether it is gazing at the millions of stars night sky (the […]
RichC | October 29, 2019
It has been 26 years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided on Roe v. Wade. In 1973, our nine justices decided that pregnant women should have the right to legally choose an abortion (would it be different today?). Our national debate has continued non-stop for decades, but the call is getting louder to re-address the issue […]
RichC | July 28, 2019
Who wants to go swimming? The Great White Shark can detect blood in the water up to 3 miles away! Just look at those expensive teeth. I watched several science programs regarding space and the Apollo 11 moon landing these past couple of weeks … and one the other night explaining the Big Bang theory […]
RichC | June 15, 2019
Brenda and I watched the movie Interstellar (2014) once before, but we watched it again this past week, and as often happens, we picked up on a few more interesting facts that made our brains hurt … well at least mine: General relativity, The Science of Interstellar, Black Holes and Time Warps. Thankfully I could […]
RichC | June 14, 2019
With the colder weather and clear sky over Cincinnati late Thursday evening and Friday morning this week, I took my Lumix GX-8 camera and 100-300mm lens out in the backyard to see what I could photograph. Not much as expected from Jupiter, but I think I could make out a couple moons in the pixelated […]
RichC | June 12, 2019
Just north of Cincinnati the sky was perfect for viewing the rise of Jupiter as the sky darkened about 9:30PM. The bright dot (photo below from my iPhone) rose in the SE sky and arched slowly until reaching its highest point due south at about 12:30AM and then moved lower well after I was in […]
RichC | February 12, 2019
Having worked on my family tree with Ancestry.com back in 2010 and then ignored returning 9 years later, it has been interesting to look into it again now that DNA testing has grown in popularity. My results came back a few days ago and they were “as expected” (although the map a bit deceiving). From […]
RichC | January 17, 2019
One of my favorite YouTube channels is Engineering Explained and in this video car guru and mechanical engineer Jason Fenske explains just how BMW used water injection to increase power at full throttle and high manifold pressures. Great stuff. And if this kind of "automotive engineering stuff" interests you and you like aviation like me, […]
RichC | December 13, 2018
While this article (PDF version) may not necessarily garner front page news, it is something I wanted to read and archive because it was researched and published by my nephew Aaron Howard. Well done. The consequences of altered flowering dates due to climate change can be severe, especially for plants that rely on coordinated flower […]
RichC | November 17, 2018
Last week while clearing off our bookshelves I came across a ticket to The Music Man from 18 years ago when my nephew Ben played the lead in his high school musical. It occurred to me that his birthday was this month and that I should post it to his Facebook page while sending him […]
RichC | September 1, 2018
Some interesting results using my birth town and the "number of 90 degree days" in a New York Times "tool" which I interpret as wanting to alarm us into action over the "human induced climate change" projections. If you haven’t already dug your heels in with an opinion (likely influenced by politics either way) … […]
RichC | December 19, 2017
Although I have the traditional conservative view that one’s gender is in our DNA and one that we are born with, I understand there are those who differ. Let’s at least try to agree as a nation that we should at least protect young kids and early teens from the irreparable damage parents and doctor […]
RichC | December 3, 2017
Sadly trying to capture the moon with a smartphone is not so smart … but hopefully those who wanted to see it found the time, and a clear sky, to enjoy the large early evening Supermoon. Besides looking up, we enjoyed looking at our granddaughter at 9-months. So great to see Annalyn smiling so big […]
RichC | December 9, 2016
I helped fund the Raspberry Pi based computer Kickstarter project known as the RaspberryShake networkingworking a large number of inexpensive earthquake monitoring station around the world (www.raspberryshake.org/quick-start-guide). The idea of connecting hundreds if not thousands of independent volunteer monitoring stations isn’t new, but it is a growing force in data collection. Hopefully I’ll be able […]
RichC | November 2, 2016
Our go-to pain killers are addictive and over prescribed … that’s a given. The problem is what can be done besides better management and stiffer penalties (debatable) to solve the near epidemic problem with Opioid addiction (PDF). Enter the lowly venomous snake. Toxins in the venom of poisonous snakes have the properties of triggering nerves […]
RichC | September 28, 2015
A few of my photos on Sunday night of the Super Moon Solar Eclipse in the sky over Cincinnati, Ohio. Very cool. Graphic from skyandtelescope.com and usatoday.com below.
RichC | September 19, 2015
It’s probably being marveled by all things engineering that has me gravitating daily to the Interesting Engineering website and I probably browse longer than I should through the educational and “interesting” posts. Image Courtesy of Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Architecture, skyscrapers and buildings around the world are a monumental undertakings and amazing […]
RichC | June 17, 2014
While listening to CNBC’s Squawkbox yesterday morning, Southern Company’s CEO Thomas Fanning sees exporting U.S. energy as economically a best path forward. The strategy is not without debate and hits opposition from both sides – the anti-fossil fuel greens and conservatives wanting to preserve our nation’s natural resources for America’s future. That argument aside, one […]
RichC | May 21, 2014
The Dryden Flight Research Center posted ten technology examples on their site that made a big impact on aviation. Most assume NASA has contributed to our science and engineering advancements, but the debate continues over the the high cost of the taxpayers through government funding the NASA research centers or if the private sector can […]
RichC | April 6, 2014
Chris Mooney in an Inquiring Minds podcast interviewed John Hibbing, a political scientist (University of Nebraska) and co-author of Predisposed: Liberal, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences. They conversed at length about the research in measuring sympathetic symptoms of differing political ideologies. Mooney’s follow-up article also appeared in Mother Jones. According to John Hibbing, […]
RichC | January 25, 2008
While I was out feeding the dog before sunrise and creaking over the light snow on the sidewalk, I thought “it feels really cold today?” Brrr … it is! Thankfully the sun is out and should warm thing up a little bit. Maybe this is a good time to point out during the 1970’s were […]
RichC | November 29, 2006
My son came home and demonstrated the “scared pepper” — surface tension of water experiment today. I’m not sure I fully understand the ‘science’ behind the dish washing soap and water, but from an offset printing background we depend on surface tension and even enhance it with isopropyl alcohol or a substitute to dampen aluminum […]
RichC | November 11, 2005
For many baby boomers, “The Eagle has landed” and “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (click for audio) were monumental audio moments that recall American success and rekindle proud memories of the Apollo space program. Practically every American alive and countless millions around the world held their breath and watched as […]
