1/05/2007
I know these are silly but... Galileo is counting on YOU.
Let's see how the test "predicted" my philosophy.
 | I scored as Materialist / Existentialist. Materialism stresses the essence of fundamental particles. Everything that exists is purely physical matter. Anything can be explained by breaking it up into its pieces. i.e. the big picture can be understood by its smaller elements.
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Religion has tried to make humanity 'special.' You are the center of the universe, are you not? The Earth is flat, is it not? And my favorite- the stars and planets are all atached to a great crystalline structure in the sky which gives them their apparent motions! Each new generation of religious leadership must recant the last generation of atrocities they have commited in the name of 'god.'
1 Galileo was required to recant his heliocentric ideas; the idea that the Sun is stationary was condemned as "formally heretical".
He was ordered imprisoned; the sentence was later commuted to house arrest.
2 His offending Dialogue was banned; and in an action not announced at the trial and not enforced, publication of any of his works was forbidden, including any he might write in the future.
3 After a period with the friendly Ascanio Piccolomini (the Archbishop of Siena), Galileo was allowed to return to his villa at Arcetri near Florence, where he spent the remainder of his life under house arrest, dying on January 8, 1642.
It was while Galileo was under house arrest when he dedicated his time to one of his finest works, Two New Sciences.
This book has received high praise from both Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. As a result of this work, Galileo is often called, the "father of modern physics".
Galileo was "formally rehabilitated" in 1741, when Pope Benedict XIV authorized the publication of Galileo's complete scientific works (a censored edition had been published in 1718), and in 1758 the general prohibition against heliocentrism was removed from the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. On 31 October 1992, Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the Galileo affair was handled, as the result of a study conducted by the Pontifical Council for Culture. [2]
Oh, thank you very much for interupting one of the most brilliant scientific advances in Human history. It is good that you would stifle and incarcerate people who think differently, and that you would try to bury the truth. You maybe set us back a few hundred years, but who's counting. But try as you might- you can't keep a hard working old-timey dude down: this dude INVENTED the thermometer and improved clocks while writing the most accurate physical description of the entire universe (at the time).
In 2006, the movie An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore featured the "Pale Blue Dot" photo at the end of the movie. Gore used it in his slide show to demonstrate the need to stop global warming.[12] He said "That's all we've got" in reference to the Earth as a dot seen 4 billion miles away. Gore also paraphrased Carl Sagan when he spoke about the photograph during the documentary.
Later in the book, Sagan's wife, Ann Druyan, challenges readers to pick one of the other planetary dots photographed and featured in the book and imagine there are inhabitants on that world that believe the universe was created solely for themselves. She shared Sagan's belief that humans are not as important as they believe.
Book summary
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1994) is a non-fiction book by Carl Sagan. It is the sequel to Cosmos and was inspired by the "Pale Blue Dot" photograph, for which Sagan provides a sobering description[13]. In this book, Sagan mixes philosophy about the human place in the universe with a description of what was known about the solar system at the time the book was published. He also details a human vision for the future. [14]
The first part of the book looks at the claims made throughout history that Earth and the human species are unique. Sagan makes two claims for the persistance of the idea of a geocentric, or Earth-centred universe: human pride in our existence, and the threat of torturing those who dissented from it, particularly during the Spanish Inquisition. However, he also admits the scientific tools to prove the Earth orbited the Sun were (until the last few hundred years) not accurate enough to measure effects such as parallax, making it difficult for astronomers to prove the geocentric theory was false.
After saying that we have gained humility from understanding we are not, literally, the centre of the universe, Sagan embarks on an exploration of the entire solar system.[15] He begins with an account of the Voyager program, in which Sagan was a scientist. He describes the difficulty of working with low light levels at distant planets, and the mechanical and computer problems which beset the twin spacecraft as they aged. Sagan then examines each one of the major planets as well as some of the moons, including Titan, Triton and Miranda, focusing on whether life is possible at the frontiers of the solar system.
Sagan argues that studying other planets provides context for understanding the Earth - and protecting it from environmental catastrophe.[15] He feels NASA's decision to cut back human explorations to the moon after the Apollo program was a short-sighted decision, despite the expense and the failing popularity of the program among the American public. Sagan says future exploration of space should focus on ways to protect Earth. The book was published the year after the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter, an event Sagan uses to highlight the danger Earth faces from the occasional asteroid or comet large enough to cause substantial damage if it were to hit Earth. He says we need the political will to track large extra-terrestrial objects, or we risk losing everything. Sagan argues that in order to save the human race, space colonization and terraforming should be utilized.[15]
12/13/2006
brashermarketplace.com
8/09/2006
The Middle East? Why do I care?
Here's why I care about the 3rd world war.
Humanity is much bigger than wars, much larger than violence and bombs. When a child bullies another kid, it's is the same to me as someone who pushes the button to launch a rocket to kill people.
When scientists, or when I, think about the course of life on Earth we are forced to notice many periods of slow population growth and then just as many sudden jumps from 100% to perhaps as few as 20% of the original population- mostly caused by meteorites and disease. And since we have no other planets to study, we then take a leap and wonder about the fate of intelligent populations that could be out there- focusing on how long their civilizations could last.
Since the universe is not giving up any secrets about extraterrestrial life we are forced to base our conclusions on the input we gather from planet Earth. What could possibly end life on earth? Well, think:
- Famine and Drought
- Large Meteorite
- Extreme Volcanic Eruption
- Extreme Earthquake/Tsunami
- Disease
- Pollution
- World War
- Sun Explodes Earlier than we Expect
- The Unforseen
We really cannot control 1-4, we can partially control #5, and we completely control 6 and 7. And I'm hoping for a daytime event when 8 happens. And you can't forsee #9.
I'm hoping for a really awesome end to this whole thing, like, just as some idiot is launching a nuclear weapon at me there's a massive earthquake that puts up a Tsunami made of the dirt and rocks and mountains, and then some supervolcano explodes just as the nuke wails into the ground a few miles away and I get to witness it all as I'm smeared into a fine paste and the earth plunges into a nuclear winter for a billion years and ends up as airless as the moon.
"That was unforseen", said I.
Awesome.
Mike
Further Reading
2012 Apocalypse Apophis Asteroid Armageddon Bible Code Bird Flu Doomsday Clock Eschatology End of Civilization End of the World Eta Carinae Fallout Hubble Telescope Hypothetical Disaster Manhattan Project Mayan Calendar Megatsunami Near Earth Object Nuclear Warfare Nuclear Winter Ring of Fire Shoemaker-Levy 9 Suitcase Bombs Tropical Storms Tunguska Event Ultimate Fate WMD's Yellowstone Caldera
8/08/2006
Surfin stomp
8/02/2006
OUR BUSH, IS AN AWESOME BUSH!
When we go to war in Iraq we will do so to summon the Messiah. That is what the Christian right believes. The final battle to rid the world of all non-believers, non-Christians, more exactly non-Evangelical Christians, is going to take place very soon at Armageddon in Israel. The Bible tells us so. Rev. Jerry Falwell believes fully, and un-equivocally that we must go to war with Iraq to set in motion the cataclysmic events that will ensure the second coming of Jesus Christ. War with Iraq will lead to the end of the World, as we know it. God will reign and Jerry Falwell will sit at the right hand of God. Israel will be no more. Israel will be destroyed during the apocalypse. Any Jews that survive anywhere will be converted to Christianity. Or more precisely, Evangelical Christianity. The Moslems, the Jews, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Shintos, the Animists, the Voodooists, the Catholics, et al, will be converted to the Evangelical Christian legions of the Lord commanded by Jerry Falwell. If you believe otherwise, if you believe that Biblical prophesies as interpreted by the Christian right are so much lunacy, you are in the helpless majority. Because the Christian right has extraordinary influence in the administration of President George Bush. George Bush is one of their number. He does not attempt to hide this; he is quite deliberate in his public discussions of his re-birth, and his salvation. He was saved from a life of excess when he embraced the rigorous teachings of the Christian Evangelicals. The Christian right managed, through the rebirth of George Bush, to gain a good measure of influence over the most powerful nation on this earth. The Christian right believes that only the apocalypse will purify the souls of the heretics, and the United States will be the instrument to bring forth God's wrath. The great resources, the military might, of the United States is part of the divine plan to bring the Apocalypse upon us. Jerry Falwell has made the truth about the administration's desperate attempts to go to war with Iraq frighteningly clear. Falwell has said publicly he believes Mohammad the Prophet was evil. Falwell said that Mohammad was a terrorist. That is why he and the Christian fundamentalists support Israel in their battle against the Palestinians. Because the battle Israel is fighting against the Moslem Palestinians is to reclaim the lands of biblical Israel. Evangelicals believe the lands of ancient Israel must be reunited in order to fulfill the biblical prophesy of Christ's return to earth. That is why George Bush makes no effort to stop Ariel Sharon's furious attempt to drive the Palestinians from the occupied territories. Sharon will restore the ancient Hebrew Kingdom, including Judea and Samaria, provinces which make up the modern-day West Bank. George Bush makes no effort to protect the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat because the Evangelicals tell him not to. When President Bush told the Israelis to withdraw their tanks and troops from the occupied territories last April, Falwell sent him a letter of protest. Falwell had his followers send one hundred thousand emails to President Bush to support his demand. Israel did not withdraw its tanks and troops and George Bush stopped calling. George Bush has given Ariel Sharon a free hand since. The Evangelicals are Bush's core support. They are the people who helped him defeat John McCain, who once called Jerry Falwell "evil". in the crucial South Carolina primary. Falwell's Evangelicals called thousands of South Carolina voters to inform them that McCain has a black child. (McCain and his wife Cindy adopted a little girl from Bangladesh.) These righteous people do not believe in the mixing of the races. The Bible tells them the mixing of race is an abomination. These same pious people, who await the coming of Christ, find nothing wrong with murdering doctors who perform abortions. These virtuous people and their leader are the same people who have condemned homosexuals, and will never give women the right to an abortion. These devout people regard other religious beliefs as heresy. They want to go to war with Iraq so that millions will die in the apocalyptic horror that will follow for their own salvation. What is frightening is the language President Bush uses when he describes Saddam and others as the "Evil Ones," the "Evil Doers," to incite the American people to war. They are the same descriptions; carrying the same religious connotations, that Jerry Falwell and his flock employ to describe non-believers. George Bush is a child of their beliefs. George Bush seems to believe he and Ariel Sharon are locked in a struggle together against the "Evil Ones" for the world's salvation. Sharon represents the key to the coming salvation. The Evangelicals adore him. Sharon has said often he wants to reclaim the land of ancient Israel. He believes the Palestinians have a homeland - called Jordan. He does not want peace with the Palestinians, and he does not want Iraq to remain a threat to Israel. Sharon and Falwell have formed a partnership based on the lunacy of biblical prophecies, and the insanity of Sharon's vision of the resurrection of the ancient Hebrew Kingdom. We, the majority of Americans, are only observers, and have no real influence to stop what will surely occur. There may be a reason for the war. Saddam is truly a very bad person. He should be removed. But he is not the only bad person who runs a country. Where do we stop? Or do we stop at the second coming? What worries me is that we may be going to war to fulfill what a few deluded people believe to be biblical prophecy. And what really worries me is that we have a President who might believe this nonsense, too. Morgan Strong a former professor of Middle Eastern History at S.U.N.Y. Poughkeepsie, is a consultant to 60Minutes on the Middle East. He has written for Playboy, USA Today, Vanity Fair, and many other publications.
7/26/2006
9 foot 6 inchs
It's made by WATERCOOLED surf boards. It's exactly like this board, but no graphics. Plain white foam with a shiny finish. And now it's got a bunch of dings and boardwax all over it so it looks kinda crappy. But she sails...
6/25/2006
ME ON TV
Frenchy
6/12/2006
Balls
"The balls, lowered to the ocean floor by a crane, will help create undersea habitat for fish and other marine life. "
Dude, that's not funny! Well, the writing is.mike
5/21/2006
MikeAcrossAmerica FaceLift
a much needed facelift.
See also, AURORA
http://www.mikeacrossamerica.com/aurora.html
Mike
5/13/2006
What's a sky-clock?
WHATS WRONG WITH AMERICA?
5/06/2006
AMERICAN INDIANS
American Indians are our continental hosts, and one day may they rise up and tell us that some of us have overstayed our welcome before we completely decimate them.
MF
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ARCHIVE
4/25/2006
K INDEX IN JEOPARDY! And you dont care, do you?
Anyway, I digressssss..... NASA's ACE spacecraft is almost four years past its intended lifetime. Although ACE measurements of the solar wind flowing past Earth are crucial to space weather forecasts, there is no plan to replace ACE when the craft ceases to function. NOAA is seeking public comment on this state of affairs.
If you enjoy auroras, please let them know that ACE needs a successor.
The following products will be terminated completely.
- Real-time solar wind plasma, particle, and magnetic field data
- Geomagnetic sudden impulse warning
- Radiation belt electron model output
- Geomagnetic activity prediction model (Forecasters use the Costello Model in formulating the Solar and Geophysical Activity Report and 3-Day Forecast Product)
- Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor (EPAM) low-energy ion data (Forecasters use these data to predict the arrival of an interplanetary shock, and the intensity of the ensuing geomagnetic storm.
Meltdowns
A number of Russian nuclear submarines have experienced nuclear meltdowns. The only known large scale nuclear meltdowns at civilian nuclear power plants were in the Chernobyl accident at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986, and Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1979 although there have been several partial core meltdowns, including accidents at:
PARTIAL MELTDOWNS:
NRX, Ontario, Canada, in 1952
EBR-I, Idaho, USA, in 1955
Windscale, Sellafield, England, in 1957
Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Simi Hills, California, in 1959
Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station, Michigan, USA, in 1966
Chapelcross, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, in 1967
Not all of these were caused by a loss of coolant and in several cases (the Chernobyl accident and the Windscale fire, for example) the meltdown was not the most severe problem.
The Three Mile Island accident was caused by a loss of coolant, but "despite melting of about one-third of the fuel, the reactor vessel itself maintained its integrity and contained the damaged fuel". [2].
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ARCHIVE
4/20/2006
Bittorrent
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4/19/2006
Lance Armstrong the Magnet90
4/11/2006
PANORAMIO
4/09/2006
The NY Times said so!
4/05/2006
911 Pentagon Question
Lifted from WFMY.com
time keeps on clickin
Around 1 oclock it was
01:02:03 04/05/06
That will only happen 2 times ever, and it's already gone by! You missed it.
3/18/2006
MY FINEST BLOG
3/17/2006
SWEET ROADSIGN IN NORTH CAROLINA
I found this sign while cycling home from a ride north of Kernersville, NC. It's just down the road from a church. It's 100% great..
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ARCHIVE
3/15/2006
NYC
LA GUARDIA TOWER
MANHATTAN FROM THE SKY
GET SOME BALLS!
ARCHIVE
3/08/2006
Better Organization
It is exactly this:
- NEW ORGANIZATION FOR THE IMAGES!
- Rivers
- Landscapes
- Oddities
- Me and the Bike
- Signs
- National Parks
- Wildlife
- Plants
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ARCHIVE
3/06/2006
Why do you think?
I know what I think is the reason why this is so, but I'm iterested in hearing your top 3 reasons. Hit the "comments" section below.
The red dot was the last visitor. The green dots are the last 10 visitors, and the white are the last 100. This is a free application that I use to monitor the physical location of my viewership.
ARCHIVE
3/01/2006
Trees.
2/20/2006
Search for Intelligence. Elsewhere...
2/18/2006
RS Ophiuchi ?
SPACEWEATHER.COM (NASA)
NOVA! A few days ago, the star RS Ophiuchi exploded. Not the whole star, just some material dumped onto it by a neighboring red giant. The resulting nuclear conflagration is visible to the naked eye--barely--in the constellation Ophiuchus just before dawn: sky map. Astrophotographer John Chumack snapped a picture of RS Ophiuchi on Feb. 16th: see www.spaceweather.com and adjust the date to read feb 18, 06 to see his pic.
Normally RS Ophiuchi would be indistinguisable from the scatter of dim background stars in this image, but as a nova, it stands out front and center. The explosion multiplied RS Ophiuchi's brightness by a factor of 1700--from magnitude 12.5 to 4.5. "But, cautions Chumack, "the nova is fading now, currently at mag 5.3, so get out and take a look [before it disappears]."
Huh?
The apparent magnitude (m) of a star, planet or other celestial body is a measure of its apparent brightness as seen by an observer on Earth. The brighter the object appears, the lower the numerical value of its magnitude.
| Scale of apparent magnitudes | |
| App. Mag. | Celestial object |
|---|---|
| −26.73 | Sun |
| −12.6 | full Moon |
| −8.0 | Maximum brightness of an Iridium Flare |
| −4.4 | Maximum brightness of Venus |
| −4.0 | Faintest objects observable during the day with naked eye |
| −2.8 | Maximum brightness of Mars |
| −1.5 | Brightest star at visible wavelengths: Sirius |
| −0.7 | Second brightest star: Canopus |
| 0 | The zero point by definition: This used to be Vega (see references for modern zero point) |
| ~3 | Faintest stars visible in an urban neighborhood |
| ~6 | Faintest stars observable with naked eye |
| 12.6 | Brightest quasar |
| 27 | Faintest objects observable in visible light with 8m ground-based telescopes |
| 30 | Faintest objects observable in visible light with Hubble Space Telescope |
| 38 | Faintest objects observable in visible light with planned OWL (2020) |
| (see also List of brightest stars) | |
The apparent magnitude in the band x can be defined as
where 
is the observed flux in the band x, and 
is a constant that depends on the units of the flux and the band. The constant is defined in Aller et al 1982 for the most commonly used system.
The second thing to notice is that the scale is logarithmic: the relative brightness of two objects is determined by the difference of their magnitudes. For example, a difference of 3.2 means that one object is about 19 times as bright as the other, because Pogson's ratio raised to the power 3.2 is 19.054607... The logarithmic nature of the scale is due to the fact of the human eye itself having a logarithmic response, see Weber-Fechner law.
Since cooler stars, such as red giants and red dwarfs, emit little energy in the blue and UV regions of the spectrum their power is often under-represented by the UBV scale. Indeed, some L and T class stars have an estimated magnitude of well over 100, since they emit extremely little visible light, but are strongest in infrared.
Measures of magnitude need cautious treatment and it is extremely important to measure like with like. On early 20th-century and older orthochromatic (blue-sensitive) photographic film, the relative brightnesses of the blue supergiant Rigel and the red supergiant Betelgeuse irregular variable star (at maximum) are reversed compared to what our eyes see since this archaic film is more sensitive to blue light than it is to red light. Magnitudes obtained from this method are known as photographic magnitudes, and are now considered obsolete.
For objects within our Galaxy with a given absolute magnitude, 5 is added to the apparent magnitude for every tenfold increase in the distance to the object. This relationship does not apply for objects at very great distances (far beyond our galaxy), since a correction for General Relativity must then be taken into account due to the non-Euclidean nature of space. Duh.
See also
Beard-o
spins an amazing story of his hike replete with Bear encounters and dead end hikes, skeeters by the pound, and utter exhaustion. And the way he describes the people he's met and how they affect his life, all without closure for the most part- it's great reading because it's honest. Somehow real life does not come with a scripted beginning - middle - and end. Sometimes you just leave a situation, or the situation leaves you.The strongest lesson I learned this summer is that great things must sometimes be left behind no matter how much you want to stay, because the journey and the change is what is most valuable.
He even gives yours-truely a mention in "leg-5" -Here - or http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/faculty/cwillett/cdt/leg5.html.
Chris's Long Distance Hiking Experience
Prologue
The Border to East Glacier, MT.
East Glacier to Lincoln, MT.
Lincoln to Bozeman, MT.
Bozeman to Mammoth, WY.
Mammoth to Jackson, WY. (Where we intersected)
The Journey Home
Postscript
Questions and Answers
Selected Gear Notes
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And also Chris's:
Long Distance Hiking
Local Trips
Short Trips, Far Away
Foreign Touron
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ARCHIVE
2/13/2006
http://www.mikeacrossamerica.com/photos/ADK/adirondack.html
2/11/2006
SPRING CLEANING
2/09/2006
Cool Links
Here's one for instance. LINK.
That kicks ass.
HTMLgoodies can help you too. And also, http://www.computerhope.com/learnhtm.htm
43 places and 43 people (cool site)
43 PLACES
First, it's kind of a cool site. Original. Second, there's lots of pictures of cool places. 3rd, and it's the reason I like this site.
You can search for, let's say, Plattsburgh, NY. Then you can see the places people have added in Plattsburgh. And you can go into, for instance, the State University of Plattsburgh. And then you can go into Macomb Hall, and post your images of your floor within the Hall. Or add your hall, floor, and room, then add a picture of your room.Again, you can start with Earth, go into the USA, NY, Adirondack Mountains, and then each individual Mountain. If you don't see your favorite place, add it, and add a picture if you want.
43 PEOPLE
Another cool addition to this site is your additions to this site are useful to everyone else. So, you can see the people I've met and perhaps, I could meet you there and get to know the places you know well?
WHO?
I have not been able to figure out who owns it, but I know google has at least a small part of it. Can you find the owners for me?
2/05/2006
For Carl...
Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the facts.
Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view.
Arguments from authority carry little weight (in science there are no "authorities").
Spin more than one hypothesis - don't simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy.
Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours.
Quantify, wherever possible.
If there is a chain of argument every link in the chain must work.
Occam's razor - if there are two hypotheses that explain the data equally well choose the simpler.
Ask whether the hypothesis can, at least in principle, be falsified (shown to be false by some unambiguous test). In other words, it is testable? Can others duplicate the experiment and get the same result?- Additional issues are:
Conduct control experiments - especially "double blind" experiments where the person taking measurements is not aware of the test and control subjects.
Check for confounding factors - separate the variables.
Common fallacies of logic and rhetoric
Ad hominem - attacking the arguer and not the argument.
Argument from "authority".
Argument from adverse consequences (putting pressure on the decision maker by pointing out dire consequences of an "unfavorable" decision).
Appeal to ignorance (absence of evidence is not evidence of absence).
Special pleading (typically referring to god's will).
Begging the question (assuming an answer in the way the question is phrased).
Observational selection (counting the hits and forgetting the misses).
Statistics of small numbers (such as drawing conclusions from inadequate sample sizes).
Misunderstanding the nature of statistics (President Eisenhower expressing astonishment and alarm on discovering that fully half of all Americans have below average intelligence!)
Inconsistency (e.g. military expenditures based on worst case scenarios but scientific projections on environmental dangers thriftily ignored because they are not "proved").
Non sequitur - "it does not follow" - the logic falls down.
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc - "it happened after so it was caused by" - confusion of cause and effect.
Meaningless question ("what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?).
Excluded middle - considering only the two extremes in a range of possibilities (making the "other side" look worse than it really is).
Short-term v. long-term - a subset of excluded middle ("why pursue fundamental science when we have so huge a budget deficit?").
Slippery slope - a subset of excluded middle - unwarranted extrapolation of the effects (give an inch and they will take a mile).
Confusion of correlation and causation.
Caricaturing (or stereotyping) a position to make it easier to attack.
Suppressed evidence or half-truths.
Weasel words - for example, use of euphemisms for war such as "police action" to get around limitations on Presidential powers. "An important art of politicians is to find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the public"
(excerpted from The Planetary Society Australian Volunteer Coordinators Prepared by Michael Paine )
2/03/2006
CYCLING in the SOUTH
Allright, here's what happened today. I started out in Kernersville, at my place, and got about a mile down the road to be yelled at by some local, "GET OFF THE ROAD." I whipped around in an intersection and gave chase. I know, it's against the rules but I was turning around anyway and it looked like I was gonna do that- it seemed natural that I would come around, so the guy
didnt immediately get hopped up. I caught the guy in the blue pickup with a ladder on top, I was in the left lane and he was in the right lane, surprised that I caught him. He yelled in as hick a voice as I can imagine, literally missing teeth, "GET AN ENGINE ON THAT THING AND GET OFF THE ROAD." SO, I shot back, I have exactly as much right to be on this road as you my friend. I really said that, i didnt yell or swear. He jammed on the gas and got caught at a red, a few lights up. So I gingerly approached the jackass and said casually that "it turns out that I am the engine on my bike." And the dude kinda laughed, and I could tell he was shocked I could catch him in his motorized futuremobile from planet "Rusted Chevy '78." Sure, I'm wearing tight clothing and a jersey that is the flag of France. So what? It's a Kraftwerk jersey and I like it. Plus it was like 60 degrees out today in the shade.
MikeAcrossAmerica.com
2/01/2006
Technology Will Save Us All
Sorry.
1/30/2006
Rem Koolhaas
More and more I think that architecture has nothing to do with it. Of course, that's both liberating and alarming. But the generic city, the general urban condition, is happening everywhere, and just the fact that it occurs in such enormous quantities must mean that it's habitable. Architecture can't do anything that the culture doesn't. We all complain that we are confronted by urban environments that are completely similar. We say we want to create beauty, identity, quality, singularity. And yet, maybe in truth these cities that we have are desired. Maybe their very characterlessness provides the best context for living." —R. Koolhaas interviewed in Wired Magazine 4.07, July 1996 [1]Are you now more interested in Architecture than ever? http://www.greatbuildings.com/types/models/spatial_models.htmlLive Airport Radar
1/26/2006
GO OUT! LOOK UP! SEE SATURN!
Bad weather on Friday? Don't worry. Saturn will remain close to Earth for weeks tocome. You'll have many more chances to see the ringed planet at its best. Visit www.Spaceweather.com for details and a sky map.
And there's a great way to find Saturn; go to www.starrynight.com and do the free trail of the program called Starry Night 5 Pro. It's an amazing tool, a map to the night sky.
mf
1/23/2006
'Gooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal's.
- Buy a small house somewhere there's dark sky, and put an
observatory on the roof of the garage, and do some real deep sky observing (see telescope below) - build stuff like my Dad, furniture and houses
- become a cheif photographer at a tv news station
- get back into waterskiing and skateboarding like I used to
- bike at least 2500 miles per year, and keep fit
- Kayak with Dusty from Greenland to Iceland, or Kayak the entire Hawaiian Island chain, or do the Montreal-NYC trip, or do the length of Lake Baikal; even though we have never talked about a trip but I bet I can talk him into one of these scenarios... Or we could circumnavigate Nova Scotia by bike. Whatever.
And here's the 5-10 year goals list:
- Start a buisness selling Solar and Wind power for individual homes
- Ski into central Antarctica with Frank Szaba
- Tell Dusty's kids that he's a mime and clown lover
This list is by no means done or complete, it needs revision.
1/22/2006
The Hubble's Sharpest View of the Orion Nebula
1/19/2006
Home Dome
observatory for the house I don't yet own, I am going to need a scope. Here's the one that's caught my eye. Meade Lx200 10 inch model. It's like 80 pounds of awesomeness.
Mike (related story below!)
1/17/2006
Oh, I would walk 150,000,000,000,000,000 miles...
super unbelieveably wicked far, far away. It's hard to imagine the distance, but as your ever intrepid mathamagician and fearless leader, I, Mike the Triumphant, will grind your brains into goo untill you understand, or at least yell "Uncle.".
How far are stars from here anyway? To give you an idea of the distance I'm about to describe, you gotta know the difference between the speed of light and the speed of minivan.
The moon is about 300,000 miles away, and light gets there in under 2 seconds. (Light goes 186,000 miles per second.) Shine a laser on the moon, and the light you see bouncing back will be about 4 seconds old. Comparatively, at the speed of minivan (50 miles per hour) it would take 8 months just to go one way! The return trip makes it 1 year and 4 months as opposed to 4 seconds.
THE NEAREST STAR
Well, the sun is a star and it's about 8 minutes away at the speed of light. The minivan would get there in about 204 years. It's about 90 million miles to the sun.
That being said, the next dozen nearest stars in our local neighborhood are randomly distributed between 4 to 11 light years away, and most of them are intrinsically dimmer than our sun, that is, they are a lower wattage bulb compared to our Sun. The notable exception for you people in the Northern Hemispehere at least is the star Sirius which is not only bright in our Northern Hemisphere sky as seen in the southern part of your sky-- but if you were to put the Sun and Sirius side by side, Sirius would be much brighter and you'd need a whole lot of sunbl- er- starblock. The factors that determine brightness is just as you would expect, it's actual brightness and it's proximity to the dudes doing the looking.
I'm going to choose a star that is nearby but not "close." So I choose Vega. It's only 27 light years away and by any standard it is one of the nearby neighbors to our own solar system- even if it's not included in your local calling plan. 27 light-years equals about 1.5x10^14 miles, or, 
one hundred fifty thousand-million-million miles. That's not even a typo. It's roughly 15o,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo miles. But that's too hard to comprehend so let me break it on down fo ya.
Hey look it's a picture featuring Vega in your Northern Hemisphere sky! ----------->
If you drove your car to Vega at 50 miles per hour with no pee break it would take you about 300,000,000,000,000 hours to get there, or 3 hundred million million hours. That, too, is way too difficult to wrap your noggin around. "How about calculating the number of days?" I hear you cry.... Well, it's 12 trillion, can you dig it? Really?! YOU can get a sense of 12,500,000,000,000 days? I didn't think so, you only live about 30,000 days- shudder to think.... Anyway, how many years is that trip in the van equal to? Only 34,246,575,317 or 34 Billion years. Still, that's a long time to be in the drivers seat of the old El Camino.
At the speed of light, which is 186,282.397 miles per second it still takes 27 years to get there.
So perhaps we are looking the wrong way at this buisness- suppose we dont bother to try to get to Vega! We should think about how far we can possibly go in 27 years and then compare it to 27 light years of distance.
Imagine it's road trip time again, and you tell your friends to load up the car with Pizza and Soda because you are going to drive to the nearby star for some hot Vegan women. They don't eat animal byproducts, you remind yourself as you stow the sausage in the overhead compartment.
If you went the "speed of station wagon" at 50 mph constantly for 27 years, you'd go approxamately 11,834,100 miles, or 11.5 million miles.
If you go "speed of space shuttle in orbit" which is 17,500 miles per hour, then in 27 years you'd go 4,141,935,000 miles. Not bad, 4 Billion miles is pretty far. You'd only have to do that 36,214,957 (36 million) more times to get there! That's 1/36,214,957th the way there! A 36 millionth? Why, that's like starting out on a journey to walk around the Earth and moving a whole 3 and a half feet. 3.5 feet! 36 million more three-and-a-half-foot-lurches and you're there! You're practically back home already and you didn't even have to face the Camel Spiders over in Iran.
And what if you drove tward Vega nonstop for 100 years @ 50mph? You would still need to travel for 13,698,630,037 (13.5 billion) years to get there. Again, in a different way- 100 years of travel @ 50mph would be only .0000007% the way there. You'd still have 99.9999993% ahead of you after a lifetime of haulin' ass. Anyway, permit me to go one more step in the rediculuousness.
How many times around the Earth's Equator would you have to go in order to travel 27 light years? Just 6 trillion times. Pack a lunch.
The Earth goes 8.5 million miles in it's orbit around the sun once a year, which means the Earth goes 27 light years in 17,647,058,823 orbits, I mean, 17.6 Trillion orbits- in other words, an orbit by definition is a year, and 17.6 Trillion Orbits = 17.6 Trillion Years at the 1000 miles per hour speed the Earth travels through the cosmos.
eeeep. We were describing a star only 27 light years away, can you imagine a star that is a million light years, or a Billion Light Years away?
Now, those are far out.
And finally, after all this, imagine the distance from here to Vega, and then imagine the thickness of a human hair, or a cell, or a proton, or an electron, or a quark, or a photon, or imagine the Plank length.... What's the Planck length I hear you cry?!
Why, that's another discussion of distance! Get ready to get small!
More to come...
1/11/2006
A live Cam at Mike's House
Virgin 'Galactic'
The British company created by entrepreneur Richard Branson to send tourists into space, and New Mexico announced an agreement Tuesday for the state to build a $225 million spaceport.
London, Great Britain -- Virgin Galactic revealed that up to 38,000 people from 126 countries have paid a deposit for a seat on one of its manned commercial flights, including a core group of 100 "founders" who have paid the initial $200,000 cost of a flight upfront. Virgin Galactic is planning to begin flights in late 2008 or early 2009.New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans said construction of the spaceport, to be built largely underground in the south of the state near the White Sands Missile Range, could begin in early 2007, depending on approval from environmental and aviation authorities.Virgin will have a 20-year lease on the facility, with annual payments of $1 million for the first five years and rising to cover the cost of the project by the end of the lease."Experts predict that thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment will be created in the next 20 years as the private sector develops new commercial markets in the space industry in New Mexico," Homans said in London. "Virgin is the beginning and many other space companies will follow."
1/06/2006
Answer the Jetsophone, Dear.
I hate text chat. BOORING. But, as it turns out, I like videophone. I grew up watching the Jetsons.
I videophoned my mom and dad during the great Brasher Falls New Years Eve Party at their house and it really felt like I was AT their party when I was 1200 miles away.
If you get one, and then get a hotmail account, we can use the IM feature of Hotmail called MSN Messenger which is basically the Jetson's picturephone and it's free- if you have internet access, a computer and a Logitech IM cam, or the like... Yeah, free...
Anyway, if you ask me "who's the Jetsons?" I'll slap you.
technocratically yours,
Mike
PAT ROBERTSON
1/05/2006
LASER
What's the difference?
The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true.Ecclesiastes
So lately I've gotten into Microsoft's Flight Simulator. It's so real that it's unnderving.
1/01/2006
2006
12/29/2005
Movie Quiz
12/26/2005
Tom Lehrer
He was a professor and a singer/songwriter, and an amazing entertainer. I'd imagine these qualities made for some interesting classes. Here's a flash animation of my favorite Lehrer song. http://www.privatehand.com/flash/elements.html
Tom, if you're out there on the net, and you read this, keep in mind that George W. is a sitting duck for your brand of comedy -and we're all hoping you might bring your considerable wisdom to bear on this subject...
12/23/2005
Turn $1 into $14.74 in only 37 years...
Total account balance at say 27 years old: $1.00
Let's calculate the value of 1 dollar when saved until age 65 when we retire: Current Federal Tax Rate of 25% + Expected Rate of Return
8% = your dollar's projected account value at
retirement $14.79
Michael French
12/22/2005
Sen. Ted Stevens of Pristine Alaska
He's seeing red because he cares about paying for the Lower 48's problems so, so much.
Wait a sec- I think I remember him: OH YEAH- he's the guy who was about to build the "bridge to nowhere" before Hurricane Katrina took his golden egg away. I'm sure the bridge would have paid for Homeland Security as well, and that was his plan all along.
Why all the anger, Senator?
12/21/2005
So it turns out I'm a Socialist, a website told me!
You are a Social Liberal (95% permissive) Economic Liberal (13% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist
Link: The Politics Test |
12/19/2005
The Nature of Reality
12/14/2005
Insurgents
Are there pictures or video of the "insurgents?" Just curious.12/13/2005
Idiot News
So there's this woman who bought a manequin to stand in for her husband while he's gone to Iraq. She takes it out to eat and is making a photo ambum. There's another name for that- it's called a blow-up doll.
I egshelled my whole face.
Whammy. (That's the link.)
If you do anything today, read this story about a girl who skydives for the first time, and ends up faceplanting in the parkinglot, lives, and then finds out she's pregnant.
The highway isn't a parkinglot.
Don't park on the highway. And furthermore, if your car breaks down, move it off the highway in less than 24 hours. LINK with video!
12/11/2005
Robot King Kong
REINTRODUCING: MECHANIKONG
It's King Kong's arch nemisis, and he's made of metal. Here's a link to a description of the flick.
"They do have a cool battle as Mechanikong seems armed to the teeth with bombs and a two big, bright spotlight eyes. Poor regular Kong armed with only B.O. and fleas appears overmatched, but ends up living by film’s end when the plug gets pulled on his robot buddy by a traitorous female of Dr. Who. Mechanikong falls to his demise from atop a huge..."
Monotropa uniflora...
It's called Indian Pipe and it's a plant. Why do I care about plants today? Because, this one's really intersting. It has no chlorophyll.
KINGDOM Plant DIVISION Magnoliophyta CLASS Magnoliopsida ORDER Ericales
FAMILY Monotropaceae GENUS Monotropa SPECIES Monotropa uniflora
SOUTH AMERICA
I propose Natal, Brazil for the solar eclipse check this -- if you have nto seen a solar eclipse, then duh, you need to see this. http://newton.physics.metu.edu.tr/~aat/TSE2006/TSE2006.html --
http://newton.physics.metu.edu.tr/~aat/TSE2006/Map1.jpg and this is the close up.
This should be at least a stop off...
Mike french
12/07/2005
BURN THE FLAG!
Look. I love America. I have been to many other contries where there is no protection to express yourself- no freedom from military service- some countries even limit their citizen's right to freely move about within their own country.
Here's some places I've been : HERE : search the username area with the word " cameraperson "
And you need google earth. get it here
It's a freedom I cherish, burning the flag. It's like owning a gun- it's American. I don't own guns currently but I would like to at least have the right to own a gun, buy one at walmart, and shoot me some god damned hippies.
I don't currently want to burn the US flag, but if I ever do- in protest or as a speech tool, I will buy a really big one- and then go get the gasoline and bottle rockets.
Who's on notice; Here's the list!
Everyone in North Carolina for voting 80/20 against burning the flag in an unofficial poll.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for proposing this as a law.
Flags are on notice, because it's still legal to burn them; watch out flags, I've got your number...
Mf
12/05/2005
ANWR
Perhaps it's more important to preserve small areas of the world. Keep them off limits to any construction. Even vast areas of frozen land area important to keep healthy, in my estimation.
Today, Bush buried a reference to ANWR in a speech he gave to workers at a Hitachi/Deere plant in Kernersville, NC. He said that it is important to realize the fact that we will get 1 million barrels of oil per day out of ANWR and we'll not only do it 'environmentally,' but we'll do it on less than about 2000 of the 8 000 000 acres up there- I don't have the actual numbers he said but I believe he meant a very small area used in the extremely large preserve.How do you expect to do this cleanly, Mr. President? With respect, I doubt you or even the "American Worker" can get a million barrels of oil out of the ground, piped to the sea ports, transported by sea in boats that routinely dump massive amounts of raw oil into the ocean, and then trucked into cities and piped into factories, and finally burned to satisfy an ever growing energy appetite?? And we'll do this rather than amp up our wind, solar, expanded clean hydro, and legislate massive conservation? Wouldn't that be a move that truely gets us off our dependence of foreign oil?
But, you pander to the "American Worker" with your 'that's how the american consumer views the tar heel state American worker' rhetoric. Why not just say "Goood boyyy Gooood Boooy!" Most sickeningly- they clap when they here the planted Bush supporter start to clap.
I look for optimism but I just don't know, it's seeds are planted in a place where nothing grows.
How many references to Ronald Reagan can you make in a week to align yourself with him? Bushonomics is a failure from the start. Reagan the innovator, Bush2 the War Monger, the economy buster, the footnote.
Mf
I just think it's funny. That's all.
This is so much funny. If you don't think it is, you're wrong. The truth is so much funnier than things that are not so much troooo.
Again, go here. Wicked crewl.
12/04/2005
I know what you did last summer...
Anyone can see where you are. They cant see your address, but if you live near your server, then they can get an idea of where you are based on that alone... these dots are my last bunch of visitors to this blog.
12/01/2005
Long Distance Chess Matchs
http://chessmatch.blogspot.com/ Against Frank 5000.
http://chessmatch2.blogspot.com/ Against Dusty Wood, dot Com.
My new favorite movie that I havn't seen yet.
11/30/2005
The Moon Landing Was Real, Stupid.
Duh. We walked on the moon. If I see one more website or TV special devoted to "debunking the myth-" especially the ones using shadows that aren't parallel, then I am going to email them angrily like I do to all the others. It's a shame people aren't will
Look at 2 people's shadows that occur at sunrise or sunset, especially when they are cast over odd angles or bumps on the ground.
See? Duh!
11/29/2005
Link of the Week
11/26/2005
NIN
The most interesting video I've seen in a while-
NIN's "Only."
It features an average desk in a office.
Here's where to view it. LINK
M
11/25/2005
Dusty, Chris, Mike, Hooter, Chainsaw, a monkey - ON EARTH?
--- http://www.mikeacrossamerica.com/earth/crew.html ---.
It'll explain what to do. I've been obsessed with Google Earth for like 3 months and I finally did something super awesome with it that I can share with you, and anyone. It's so awesome, it should be against the law to not execute my plan to the fullest.
Mike
TAKE A CHANCE?
CLICK ME,
I SWEAR YOU WONT REGRET IT,
BUT FIRST TURN UP YOUR VOLUME.
"I need a more manly protoge..." said the Emperor.
PAT ROBERTSON
Yeah, he's married to the metal.
11/24/2005
The greatest Gorilla Prank ever.
"Drivers were shocked after seeing what appeared to be a person in a gorilla suit hanging from the billboard by a parachute. It turned out to be a dummy, but firefighters took it down anyway so it wouldn't distract any more drivers. " said WIS-TV.
People got in accidents and the whole highway slowed to a crawl.
11/23/2005
CHRISMAHANUKWANZAKAH
CHRISMAHANUKWANZAKAH can kiss off. I think it's stupid. You are not celebrating the "mix of the american family" nor are you celebrating something you believe in. You are celebrating PC camouflage that makes it acceptable to not believe in any of it, but you can still do your duty as an American Consumer.11/20/2005
The roadrage is excellent this time of year...
That icon links audio which I recorded at that show last night on a cell phone. I am a true believer. The Loved Ones : Don't throw full cups of water when the Loved Ones are playing, they'll call you out and heckle you because they are hard as nails. But if you do wing one at em, and miss, you look like a sissy.
PAINT IT BLACK : The singer is an ape man. Seriously. He swings his arms wildly and is like a nuclear powered robot ape man bent on destruction. When he walked on stage, he basically told the crowd in one sentence that he would kill the person who thew the water at the poor person trying to enjoy the show, and let's go, we're vegans and wont hurt anyone- yes we will. We will kill you.
The funniest thing about this part of the show was the dirty 'wife-beater' t-shirt the bass player was wearing with the words 'AFFIRMATIVE ACTION JACKSON' in big letters. I mean, truth be told, the kids with the pretend swastikas was pretty comical in a different way. Then throughout the show at different times he was rambling about Bush and how he's a tyrant who needs to be stopped. But, may I remind you that we're at a show on the border of N and S Carolina. Then, seeing the kids getting restless and not exactly feeling his message, he declared the pit to be 'a blue state.' Awesome.
Then, he started getting into politics, but the drummer from the Bouncing Souls (pinch hitting for DAVID WAGENSCHUTZ who's apparently having some cranial surgery, tee he he?) would just start the songs mid-diatribe. Tee he he.
The Bouncing Souls : If you don't know 'em, go get free MP3's from them and become a true believer. Anyway, the Bouncing Souls were pretty tired- wiped out from touring- they sounded great, but imagine this schedule.
11/18 Charleston, SC - Cumberlands 11/19 Gainesville, FL - Abbey Road - The Fest
11/20 Charlotte, NC - Treemont Music Hall (where I saw them perform)
11/23 New York, NY - Irving Plaza 11/25 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero 11/26 Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
They Rocked, obviously. They are currently the Kings of Punk, the only game in town, etc. And when they closed the show, they said, 'we're going to play True Believers next, and then we're leaving, we're not going off stage and pretending to leave- we're actually going to leave.' So when the last note rang, I was the first person in the show to start the car and roll out. 10-4. The last time I saw the Bouncing Souls was in Washington DC with The Evens. That was a special show because it was for Operation CeaseFire. Here's some of my own pictures of that night. Also Theivery Coorporation was there sounding right.
ROAD RAGE On the highway there was this dude with a extended cab pickup with dual back wheels (a dead giveaway that the driver's a jerk) who's pulling a 25 foot trailer full of loose furniture driving drunk at 80 mph in the fast lane. And when he'd catch a slow car, he'd slow to 60 or 55 right beside them so no-one could pass. 
I wasn't mad after the first few times, but this guy was persistent and I had to pass at about 85mph on a 6 lane intersection that he couldn't manouver through because of the length of his vehicle and trailer.
About 45 minutes after I passed him, I got gas. I pulled onto the higheway and to my surprise I found that I was about 3 seconds ahead of this situation again. So, I did what any red blooded American motorist would do.... I shot at him. Oppps, I mean, that's what flashed through my brain. No, at about 80 mph I got directly ahead of him as we passed a 55mph semi, and I slowed to 55, turned to make eye contact, and remained side-by-side with the tractor trailer for about 5 minutes. There was a long line of cars behind us, but as I saw this guy getting restless, I thought of the safty of all the other motorists out there who are unarmed and unsuspecting. I jammed on the acceleratrix, hit 85mph, and left that ass to deal with the traffic jam I created while I rocked out at the show.
The extention of the cab is no substitute for that.
Frenchy
I Walk The Line
So I saw the movie in a packed theatre. There was barely any room to sit for 2 people. It's going to make a boatload of money. There are billboards all over highway 40 reminding people that it starts yesterday.The critique; as if I have a leg on which to stand. Possible spoilers.
The movie has no ending. Perhaps it dosn't need one because it ends in the middle of his life, and he has like 10 career comebacks after this point.
It starts in Dyess, Arkansas, on the family farm- the whole family picking cotton. If you've ever read anything about John's life, then you'd see those books come to life. John as a young boy just itchin' to go fishin. His brother gets killed while John's father basically blames the young John for the death- it has a resouding impact through John's life.
This part was as good as it could be. A real story with tragedy, the young JR listening to the radio who makes it clear he wants to sing a song on the radio one day as he hears 10 year old June Carter's voice on the speaker.
The part where Cash is in Germany in the military is well done. His first encounter with Folsom Prison is shown here, and it's as if John is oblivious to his own future as he sits there half paying attention to the movie being shown to the american service-men in Germany.
We see a budding Elvis, Jerry Lee, and Carl Perkins of the million dollar quartet. We see the seeds of Johnny Cash in a few scenes.
I suppose I really liked the movie, but there's something about it that's off and I can't quite put my finger on it- the part that makes me feel weird about it is especially in the ending.
I will form an opinion after the next viewing, so for now I leave you wondering where I stand.
Mike
11/19/2005
My First 'Audio Blog' and Lake Placid 1980
-------------------------------------------------------------
LAKE PLACID 1980
Hell Yes
would play like a marionette who would in turn, play the music. "Hell Yes" is a music video that dosn't quite destroy my idea, but it features 4 Asimo robots as the dancers. It's really great. It's about Robots.11/18/2005
My Autophotographic History Blog
It's pictures of my life.
Why is the banner at the top messed up?
m
11/17/2005
John Cash
I'm going to see it on saturday with an open mind, but I have no faith in Hollywood.
M
11/16/2005
See where visitors are from!
-and you can see it at the bottom of this page- the one for this page is below but the link above is for my websote (not this blog).
It was easy to install. Just follow the steps and eventually you will have a counter. It took perhaps 10 minutes. Sweet.
11/14/2005
BLOGGER BREAKDOWN?
I cant see my images! I can't do anything
and it's screwed up my banner above?
11/12/2005
SETI
Perhaps we should look for intelligence on Earth before we start looking elsewhere...
he he he
11/11/2005
Bidness Card
11/10/2005
More Cuba Pictures
Tour De Georgia
pictures of
Lance Armstrong?
(perhaps 10 images)
http://www.geocities.com/mfrenchy2002biketrip/tourdegeorgia.html
or more pictures (like a hundred)
http://www.mikeacrossamerica.com/photos/tourdegeorgia/lance.html
I have a copy of the 2005 TDF that I've only seen bits and pieces of- shhh, don't tell me how it ends!
Rock out kids.
Mike
11/09/2005
STATISTICS
Total Requests
Total Files 19582
Total Pages 918
Total Visits 230
Total KBytes 982036
Total Unique Sites 310
Total Unique URLs 1947
Total Unique Referrers 67
Total Unique User Agents 80
Avg - Max
Hits per Hour 117 - 2018
Hits per Day 2823 -5830
Files per Day 2175 -4831
Pages per Day 102 -198
It was dry land when I was there....
This is in Cuba and there is usually dry land under this place with highways on either side.
In fact, Audioslave played under the arch above.
And the next shot is waves higher than El Morro... It's like 5 stories tall.
I went to Cuba with the dude on the right.
That's me in the center, and then on the left, Chip.
Work Schedule
M-F 12mid to 9 in the morning, or around that schedule, i.e. YUCK. Around February 10-20th approx. it will be permanently set at the following:
- SAT 4am-4pm Receive Room AM/Shoot PM
- SUN 4am-4pm Receive Room AM/Shoot PM
- MON 9-6:30 pm dayside shooting
- TUE 9-6:30 pm dayside shooting
Perhaps you didn't notice but that's a 4 day week, 12+12+8+8=40
WHAMMY
11/08/2005
CUBA
I took the picture to the left & below. These are Cuba pre-hurricane circa 2003. Cuba is a country surrounded by water and it's cities are often at or near sea level.It's people are not "middle-class" as Castro would tell the world.
I went there. I was on the malecon (waterfront), in the 5th street tunnel, and through the city and with the people- all of which we saw for about 30 seconds on CNN. God forbid they show the flooding that competes with the Gulf Coast. Yeah that's right CNN, you're on notice.
A Cuban man in my girlfriend's family showed me this website (which is educational)
it talks about Cuba -and interestingly one of the articles discusses the hurricane. This websute shows the malecon ripped up, the 5th street tunnel full of water, and people not evacuated standing in chest deep water in the city. Way to go Castro! Yup, you guessed it- you're on notice.
The picture to the right was taken on 2002, and that is the city pre-hurricane. Can you imagine it now?
My Cuba Pictures ---> http://www.geocities.com/mfrenchy2002cuba but be warned, the server always crashes after like 3 people view it...
And is there an outcry for Cuba? If there is I have not heard it.
Again, these 2 pix are mine, pre-storm.
MF
I commute to work
The only thing that sucks is the commute. Seriously, I have to travel about 45
minutes each way right now- all that will change soon but today I saw a huge steel container, perhaps 8 feet square, sitting in the middle of I-40. MF
11/07/2005
Like a Rolling Stone
Charlotte, NC for one song and she can sing the high parts at the end of "you can't always get what you want." You know that part that goes higher than Mariah could possible reach. I'll link her name later but she was dye-no-mite.
11/05/2005
You don't win friends with salad!
1. Lisa the Vegetarian
2. Simpson Tide
11/04/2005
SPACE
gizmos and widgets and doo bobs.On monday we're going to train me on the operation of the microwave receive equipment- and in a month or so I'll be out in the field sending back to the
receiver and have a better understanding of whats going on "behind the scenes."The other cool part is the editing. There are a slew of edit bays and all of them are non-linear, in other words, there are like 5-7 Newscutters and a few media composers at arms length. The whole video flow is pretty much digital from the time the tape is recorded into the system at 4x speed, and that means anyone from the folks in art to the reporters at their desks to the editors cutting promos- everyone has instant access to the video.
So, what has this to do with Space?
Everything.
Soon I'll be trained to do Satellite Up and Down links on the equipment you see on the right. That's right, I'll be calling ET on the telelphone COLLECT.
Part of the job is dialing up the satellite and either sending or receiving a beam of video signal. I'll keep you posted on how the training goes.
I'm excited!
So go back to the top and check out J-Track, the real time satellite tracking system available to anyone interested. That's the SPACE, baby.
11/03/2005
FIREBALLS
Mike
A portrait of Mike in the Adirondacks
definately one of the better climbs out there. You must go through a stand of white birch- the result of a fire years ago. The hike feels huge compared to the actual milage.11/02/2005
That Damn Andy Griffith Show
I mean, it was a good show for the time, but let's be real. Andy Griffith left "Mayberry" a long time ago. In fact, he left when he was young! There's a town called Mount Airy that is living in the shadow of Mayberry- I really liked that little town and they should just let it go. But they wont because they feel special being linked to the show.
This dude has his picture on the diner wall, he's a cook at Snappy Lunch- a diner in Mt. Airy, and he's standing (in the picture) first next to Jimmy Carter, and then Clinton, and Oprah. Did he cure cancer or build a pyramid? No. He stayed behind and lived a life in reality.
11/01/2005
JON JACOB
to NC Chappel Hill, you got a job in Texas in TV News and then you went to Florida for another job. YouThat was the last I heard from you. Contact me. I want to know if you are alright. 
Aloha and Jon no ka oi.
Mike French mikeacrossamerica.com cameraperson@hotmail.com
10/31/2005
Halloween
apartment soon in a town called Kernersville, NC. The link will show you where I will be living New Location + New ApartmentOh yeah, and I also saw a really huge bug while rock climbing the other day. I think it may have been Zorak from Spaceghost Coast-to-Coast, he's their Mantis King of the Keyboards.
10/30/2005
Pluton Envy
- Pluton: An igneous intrusion; that is, a body of rock that formed when a molten mass cooled subsurface.
I went hiking the other day and climbed "Stone Mountian" about an hour from Winston-Salem NC. It is a Pluton, and I always wanted to see one and hike around on it. And down here in the South I really feel a closeness with the odd Pluton, as the next definition should illustrate:
- Pluton: An intrusive rock, as distinguished from the preexisting country rock that surrounds it.
So that's me. Intrusive, surrounded by Country Rock.
10/23/2005
Rebellious, but in a Conformist sort of way...
I just don't understand what it is to stand in the back of a pickup truck, wave a huge rebel flag at the guy with the NY plates shouting "Go Home Yankee." At least get an original thought! 
And this garbage is everywhere. You can't get away from it. They sell huge rebel flags at road side stands, as if there's a huge demand for rebel flags.
These folks in the pickup truck had their flag emblazoned with the word "REDNECK" in big letters. It's hard for me not to see this as uneducated latent racism.
You might call it "culture" but I can't see why you'd allign yourself with a pro-slavery movement. Since you rebel flag wavers probably do not believe in evolution as well it's going to be hard for you to understand that the war is over, and the strong survived, and a mental evolution took place- but seriously you gotta get over the evolution barrier- it can be demonstrated by a 5th grader using Drosophila.
You're on notice, American Southerners. It's time to shape up or go back to England.
10/18/2005
I took your advice and made my own blog.
French 5000
MikeAcrossAmerica.com picture storage and 1st post
THIS IS THE FIRST MIKEACROSSAMERICA.COM BLOG POST!
I don't care if it rains or freezes'Long as I got my plastic JesusRiding on the dashboard of my carThrough my trials and tribulationsAnd my travels through the nationsWith my plastic Jesus I'll go far/ D - / G - / D - A - / 1st, 2nd / D A D - / Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus Riding on the dashboard of my car I'm afraid He'll have to go His magnets ruin my radio And if I have a wreck He'll leave a scar / D - - - / - - A - / D - / G - / D A D - /Riding down a thoroughfareWith His nose up in the airA wreck may be ahead, but He don't mindTrouble coming He don't seeHe just keeps His eye on meAnd any other thing that lies behind Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus Riding on the dashboard of my car Though the sunshine on His back Make Him peel, chip and crack A little patching keeps Him up to parWhen I'm in a traffic jamHe don't care if I say "damn"I can let all my curses rollPlastic Jesus doesn't hear'Cause he has a plastic earThe man who invented plastic saved my soul Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus Riding on the dashboard of my car Once His robe was snowy white Now it isn't quite so bright Stained by the smoke of my cigarIf I weave around at nightAnd policemen think I'm tightThey never find my bottle, though they askPlastic Jesus shelters meFor His head comes off, you seeHe's hollow, and I use Him for a flask Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus Riding on the dashboard of my car Ride with me and have a dram Of the blood of the Lamb Plastic Jesus is a holy bar
[Plastic Jesus has become quite entrenched in the folk tradition, so there are considerably more folk verses than there were original ones. Following are folk additions and emendations, as well as additions from recording artists who have covered this song.]Well, I don't care if it rains or freezes
Long as I have my plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
I could go a hundred miles an hour
Long as I got the almighty power
Glued up there with my pair of fuzzy dice
{Refrain - repeat between verses}
Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Through all trials and tribulations
We will travel every nation
With my plastic Jesus I'll go far
I don't care if it rains or snowses
Long as I got my plastic Moses
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Through all trials and tribulations
We will travel every nation
Me and plastic Moses will go far
I don't care if it rains or freezes
As long as I've got my plastic Jesus
Glued to the dashboard of my car
You can buy Him phosphorescent
Glows in the dark, He's pink and pleasant
Take Him with you when you're travelling far
I don't care if it's dark or scary
Long as I have magnetic Mary
Ridin' on the dashboard of my car
I feel I'm protected amply
I've got the whole damn holy family
Riding on the dashboard of my car
You can buy a sweet Madonna
Dressed in rhinestones sitting on a
Pedestal of abalone shell
Goin' ninety, I'm not wary
'Cause I've got my virgin Mary
Guaranteeing I won't go to Hell
I don't care what they say, I'm gonna
Keep on prayin' to that pink Madonna
Melted to the dashboard of my car
Goin' ninety, I'm not wary
'Cause I've got my Virgin Mary
Guaranteeing I won't go to Hell
I don't care if it bumps or jostles
Long as I got the twelve apostles
Bolted to the dashboard of my car
Don't I have a pious mess
Such a crowd of holiness
Strung across the dashboard of my car
When pedestrians try to cross
I let them know who's boss
I never blow my horn or give them warning
I ride all over town
Trying to run them down
And it's seldom that they live to see the morning
{As refrain}
Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
His halo fits just right
And I use it as a sight
And they'll scatter or they'll splatter near and far
God made Christ a holy Jew
God made Him a Christian too
Paradoxes populate my car
Joseph beams with a feigned elan
From the shaggy dash of my furlined van
Famous cuckold in the master plan
Naughty Mary, smug and smiling
Jesus dainty and beguiling
Knee-deep in the piling of my van
His message clear by night or day
My phosphorescent plastic gay
Simpering from the dashboard of my van
{As refrain}
Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Once his robe was snowy white
Now it isn't quite so bright
Stained by the smoke of my cigar
When I'm goin' fornicatin'
I got my ceramic Satan
Sinnin' on the dashboard of my Winnebago motor home
The women know I'm on the level
Thanks to the wild-eyed stoneware devil
Ridin' on the dashboard of my Winnebago motor home
Sneerin' from the dashboard of my Winnebago motor home
Leering from the dashboard of my van
I don't care if I'm broke or starvin'
As long as I've got a fish named Darwin
Glued to the trunk lid of my car
God, I'm feeling so evolved
Drivin' with my problems solved
Proclaiming what I think of what we are
Riding home one foggy night
With my honey cuddled tight
I missed a curve and off the road we veered
My windshield got smashed-up good
And my darling graced the hood
Plastic Jesus, He had disappeared
{As Refrain}
Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus,
No longer chides me with His holy grin
Doctors in the X-ray room
Found Him in my darling's womb
Someday, He'll be born again!
I don't care if it rains or freezes
Long as I got my plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
He's the dude with the rusty nails
Walks on water, don't need no sails
Riding on the dashboard of me car
I don't care if the night is scary
As long as I got the virgin Mary
Sittin' on the dashboard of my car
She don't slip and she don't slide
'Cause her ass is magnetized
Sittin' on the dashboard of my car
