Sullivan Ballou Letter – Ashoken Farewell

I’ve not yet had the opportunity to see Ken Burns’ masterful work, The Civil War. But I did see this one clip. [1] A week before the Battle of Bull Run, Sullivan Ballou, a Major in the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers, wrote home to his wife, Sarah, in Smithfield. The letter was written from Washington, D.C. [...]

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Where Is The Center of the Universe?

In the beginning, the universe was a single point. But where was that point exactly? What was its location? As explained in an article in the FYI section of PopSci.com, it was, and still is… everywhere. In other words, no matter where you are in the universe, you’re at the centre! [1] It’s answers like [...]

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Hubble’s Greatest Snapshots!

On April 24, 1990, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope was launched into space. In the 22 years since, it has sent back over a million observations. Here are just some of Hubble’s greatest images, year by year, courtesy of those wonderful space geeks at HubbleCast. ___________________________________________________________ Articles about ASTRONOMY: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=astronomy (Speaking of milestones, my friendly neighbourhood blog [...]

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Dust Devils on Mars!

Dust devils occur on Earth as well as on Mars. They are spinning columns of air, made visible by the dust they pull off the ground. Unlike a tornado, a dust devil typically forms on a clear day when the ground is heated by the sun, warming the air just above the ground. As heated [...]

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Exhibit Two and The Upcoming Zombie Apocalypse

The other day, I received a series of text messages from my son, Exhibit Two, asking some questions about preparing for The Upcoming Zombie Apocalypse. Me being a ‘Noted Zombie Expert’ (in addition to his dear old Daddio), it was only natural that he come to me. I put this question to him… a question I [...]

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Neil deGrasse Tyson (and why I love him!)

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson [1] is America’s nattiest nerd, its chicest geek! He’s a sharp-looking scientist. A trendy twerp. He looks great. He is handsome and well-spoken, funny, witty and charming. And he’s smart. Sweet Lord in heaven, is he ever smart! (America’s most dapper dweeb!) He’s the kind of smart that takes very complicated super-brainy [...]

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Ring Around the Moon

Earlier this month (February 7, to be exact), was the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat. Like some other Jewish holidays, it occurs on a full moon. But unlike Purim (the following full moon), Passover (the next full moon after that) or Succot (either a Harvest Moon or Hunter Moon), the Tu B’Shevat full moon happens [...]

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Partners in Torah

A few weeks ago, I signed up with a program called Partners in Torah. It is run by that fabulous adult Jewish education organization, Aish HaTorah. [1] The premise is quite simple. People who, for various reasons, cannot get together with a study partner to learn Torah, Jewish history, Hebrew, Talmud, Halacha (Jewish law), and [...]

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Bees Use Sign Language to Give Hornets the Finger!

We all know that bees do the most amazing things. They set up intricate societies. They wage war on other bee colonies. They clear their beehives of debris and dead bee bodies. But perhaps one of their most famous talents is the ability to communicate with other bees by means of a ‘wiggle dance’ by [...]

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Cricket Fossil Reveals Jurassic Love Song!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day… Fossil Cricket Reveals Jurassic Love Song Yes, those love-besotted geeks over at ScienceDaily.com have spared every expense in bringing us this heart-warming tale of prehistoric passion. [Present day Katydid (Tettigonia viridissima)] The nerdlings gush, “The love song of an extinct cricket that lived 165 million years ago has been [...]

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