Author: Gary

There is not a lot that gets me excited. (and despite the pretenses I put on, there isn’t a lot that really bothers me either)

Tuesday night was one of the few times in a long time I really got excited about something. I was able to spend several hours in the evening at the University of Minnesota Obersvatory, on the roof of the Physics building.

Believe it or not, I had never before looked through a telescope before at the heavens. In one night I was able to view all the things that Galleilo saw that proved the Earth does not revolve around the Sun: the phases of Venus (half), the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and even a fuzzy Mars.

I’m going to get a telescope.

I’m writing this from a lecture hall at the University of Minnesota, while I’m listening to a lecture by the Minnesota Planetarium Society on the transit of Venus which will take place June 8. The transit of Venus with the Sun hasn’t taken place since 1882. The next will occur in 2012, followed by another 105 year span.

You can view it if you view it like you would view a solar eclipse.

Vexillology is the study of flags. I’ve posted before on this subject, and I again found something interesting. Someone sat down and made a ranking of all the flags of the world (including territories).

The #1 flag: Gambia
Dead last: Northern Mariana Islands (which they describe as being made with clip art)

Minnesota and Wisconsin have horrible flags. Both incorporate the state’s seal as the main element of the flag. As a result, it is impossible to draw. If a child can’t draw it, its a crappy flag.

The Down Jones Industrial Average announced changes today. It happens every few years, and when it does, it always shows some sort of reflection of the state of the economy and by extension, society. ATT, Kodak, and International Paper got the boot off of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. AT&T. 20 years ago, that would have been unthinkable. Now, two of the baby bells are on the DJIA, and Verizon is on primarily because of their cellular service. This is sort of an acknowledgement of the changes that technology brings, and that in a market economy, nothing is forever. ATT and Kodak had been on the DJIA since the 1930’s and International Paper since the 1950’s. Landlines, film, and paper. Replaced with cell phones, pharmaceuticals, and insurance. No heavy industry in the new companies.

Looking at the historical changes in the component companies of the DJIA is really interesting, and a great look at how the economy has changed. The average as we know it began on October 4, 1916 and consisted of:

The “industrial average” isn’t very industrial anymore.

I suppose an update is in order:

• Props to Scott Kurtz for making the Amazon.com Top 100 bestseller list for his latest trade paperback. Scott, no matter what you achieve in life………………I still wont be impressed.
• I finished my second Astronomy midterm. I did better than last time, but not as good as I could have. Dumb mistakes. Most of my reading consisted of keeping the textbook in the bathroom. Its actually not a bad way to study, but more indepth time is needed studying. Because the tests are only a fraction of the total grade, I think i’m doing fine…..so far.
• The second midterm for my Sequences and Series class is a week from today. I feel pretty confident about it, but those are famous last words. I need to crush on it so I can solidify my A and not have to worry about A- stuff.
• The NFL District Tournament is in 27 days, and the state tournament is in 20 days. There is a great deal of overall improvement in the team, but there are still lots of little things to work on. Tim Hogan needs to quit screwing around and actually get working giving speeches. This year is harder than last year, and repeating is harder than winning. Hopefully making this public will serve as some sort of incentive.
• On a related note, we watched an old national final round last night, and the quality of the final rounds we’ve had all year in MN are better than what I saw on the tape. The state could easily produce 3 finalists this year in extemp. If it wasn’t for the no double entry rule, it could be more.
• I’ve got to register for class for the summer session soon. There aren’t many classes offered, but I think I might take 3 courses if the schedule allows it. Physics I, Chemestry I, and differential equations. I’ve had diffeq before, but I think taking it again would be a good idea. My first stab at it and real analysis wasn’t something to be proud of. I’d take a geology course, but they don’t offer a real one.
• More of calculus is coming back to me. Its mostly a matter of exposure. When you are forced to use it, it can come back pretty quick. Trying to remember it without context is pretty hard.
• The april fools joke at Homestarrunner.com is pretty good. It had me for about 1 second….which is sort of how most april fools jokes on the web work.