About nine years ago I started flying as a way to blow off steam from the stresses of work. As with anything I do, once I got past the initial learning hurdles, I pursued the hobby very aggressively, eventually earning an instrument rating, a commercial certificate (land) and a private pilot certificate in seaplanes. (NB: […]
As I mentioned a few days ago, I’ve been taking a basic camera operation course at one of the local community colleges. I had taken some rather pathetic photos while working through all the exercises (depth of field, shutter speed, light) but all of it came together last weekend during a photo shoot. Below are
I’m taking a photography class in hopes that I can improve my technique. We have an exhibition in a couple of weeks, and I’m behind on the number of “exhibitable” (ahem) prints. This weekend I rented a fisheye (16mm f2.8) and a macro (105mm f2.8) lens and set out to take a bunch of photos
There’s a great urban legend that says a penny tossed off the top of the Empire State building will impact with enough force to embed itself in the ground. Or, if it hit someone in the head, it would kill them. Last week’s Mythbusters (one of my favorite TV shows) busted the myth experimentally. However,
Monday morning armchair physicist Read More »
Model 911 reflector I had a lot of fun researching the road signs and thought I’d delve into another area of mystery: roads themselves. So today, I’ll look at weird things like road striping, road dots, and the interstate system in general.
More Highway Arcana Read More »
If you’ve traveled on an interstate, you’ve no doubt noticed an abundance of helpful blue signs pointing out things interesting to a motorist: food, lodging/camping, fuel, and major attractions. In my recent odyssey around the western US, I noticed many of these signs and was curious how one gets them, how much they cost, rules,
Interstate logo signs Read More »
Jonathan Corum has expanded upon half of the age old question, What is the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow?.
Airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow Read More »
A simple physics question was asked yesterday at work, but it generated a lot of debate: “A guy’s on top of a 20 foot ladder when it falls over. How fast was he going when he hit the ground?”
A simple physics problem Read More »