Zeitgeistland http://tracyleesmith.com/blog Once more unto the breach... Mon, 04 May 2009 16:10:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 en Backyard Scientists http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2009/05/04/backyard-scientists/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2009/05/04/backyard-scientists/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 16:10:38 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=235 CNN has a nice little article on backyard scientists, their growing ranks and their ability to contribute to science through the use of simple, modern devices such as a mobile phone with a camera and access to the internet.  Of particular note, is the mention of two projects which utilize willing , the Encyclopedia of Life (one of Zeitgeistland’s beloved projects) and Project Budburst. The first has the ‘humble’ goal of cataloging all life on Earth and giving each species its own webpage. It’s amazing, that’s all I can say, and not to be missed. They even have a group page through which you may submit your own scientifically interesting photos, Encyclopedia of Life Flickr Group. The second is called Project BudBurst, and is a site devoted to encouraging to report their observations of a list of plant species across the continental United States.

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]]> http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2009/05/04/backyard-scientists/feed/ The Magnificent Atlas Moth http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/11/10/the-magnificent-atlas-moth/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/11/10/the-magnificent-atlas-moth/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:49:58 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=234 Take a gander at the amazing Atlas , and one of the longest descriptions I’ve ever
seen.

Atlas Moth

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]]> http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/11/10/the-magnificent-atlas-moth/feed/ Addressing Some Recycling Myths http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/11/10/addressing-some-recycling-myths/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/11/10/addressing-some-recycling-myths/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:13:17 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=233 A great article addressing some common about .

Recycling Myths

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]]> http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/11/10/addressing-some-recycling-myths/feed/ The Great Worldwide Star Count http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/21/the-great-worldwide-star-count/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/21/the-great-worldwide-star-count/#comments Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:01:15 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=232 The ‘Great Worldwide ‘, occuring between October 20th and November 3rd, is “organized by the Windows to the Universe project at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colo., in conjunction with planetariums and scientific societies across the country and abroad” (according to Jason McManus, Daily Galaxy ), with funding provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The event, in which anyone can participate, gets people out of their houses and into their backyards to see if they can see any stars, and if so, how many in the vicinity of a chosen constellation. Your data gets entered into a database in a citizen study of across the world.

Citizen Scientists Count the Stars

The Great Worldwide Star Count

I have included a thoughtful article on , written for National Geographic, by one of my favorite New York Times writers, Verlyn Klinkenborg with pictures by Jim Richardson.

Light Pollution

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]]> http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/21/the-great-worldwide-star-count/feed/ League of Conservation Voters Gives McCain Failure Rating http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/18/league-of-conservation-voters-give-mccain-failure-rating/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/18/league-of-conservation-voters-give-mccain-failure-rating/#comments Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:19:14 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=231 Just in time for that special date next month, the League of (LCV) has released an in depth report on our representatives and their voting record on environmental concerns. Read all about it at their website:

The League of Conservation Voters

Below is a quick summary of John McCain’s record. It can be summed up quickly enough as a 0% rating for 2008, while Obama gets an 18% rating, both low ratings  mostly due to not being present to vote on the major environmental issues.  Lifetime ratings are, 24% for McCain and 72% for Obama.

LCV on Think Progress

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]]> http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/18/league-of-conservation-voters-give-mccain-failure-rating/feed/ Save the Endandered Species Act http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/04/save-the-endandered-species-act/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/04/save-the-endandered-species-act/#comments Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:42:58 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=230 Well, you would think the Bush administration would have enough to deal with at this point in time, what with the economic meltdown and all, but alas, no. They are at it again. Sure, land and resource use is complicated and not all applications of the (ESA) have led to productive outcomes, but, come on! If this administration has been about anything, it’s been about wholesale deregulation in many areas, continuing the work started in the Regan administration. Gee, see how well that works? Human nature is what defines history, both the good and the bad, and that really hasn’t changed. The market did not regulate itself, and neither will people and industry necessarily be ‘voluntary’ good stewards of the environment. It just doesn’t work like that when money and assets are involved, because everyone wants their piece. So, in the era of limited pieces, when will we have to be serious about how those resources are best used? Our current state of capitalism is based (and crashing on) a highly leveraged, paper monetary system that is greatly divorced from our existing, natural world. Some thought the party would last forever, but it didn’t. How long will it take people to realize that our natural resources aren’t limited either? Below I include an article from the Center for Biological Diversity on the Bush administration’s attempt to essentially dismantle the , and after that is a link to a petition directed to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, urging him to abandon the awful changes to the ESA.

Endangered Species Act

Petition

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]]> http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/04/save-the-endandered-species-act/feed/ Add Your 2 Bytes to the LHC http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/04/add-your-2-bytes-to-the-lhc/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/04/add-your-2-bytes-to-the-lhc/#comments Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:05:57 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=229 It appears that has organized a project so that the amateur scientist can participate in analyzing data from one of the biggest scientific endeavors so far attempted by humanity, the Large Hadron Collider (). It’s the same principle as seti@home, currently the largest distributed computing project in operation, which will happily use your idle cpu time in order to analyze radio telescope data in the search for extra terrestrial intelligence ().

LHC At Home

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]]> http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/04/add-your-2-bytes-to-the-lhc/feed/ The Lady Vanishes http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/30/the-lady-vanishes/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/30/the-lady-vanishes/#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:15:36 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=228 A certain type of ladybug is disappearing from the eastern United States, and entymologists would like to know why. The nine-spotted ladybug, a beetle, used to be very common, but seems to have slipped into a disappearing act, one that might leave them . Scientists think several factors have led to their demise, and to find out what those are, you should read the article. They are also asking school children for their help in tracking where the few remaining members of this species might be hanging out.

Vanishing Ladybugs

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]]> http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/30/the-lady-vanishes/feed/ Space-X and Falcon 1 Make History http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/29/space-x-and-falcon-1-make-history/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/29/space-x-and-falcon-1-make-history/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:20:00 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=227 How beautiful. -X has had their first successful launch of their vehicle, Falcon 1. It’s a lovely thing to see the video embedded in the article. The Chinese government has embarked on their own odyssey in , following the US and Russia. And while that is great to see, a program I hope will inspire NASA to bigger and better things, and hopefully even cooperation between the nations, this event is special. The US has moved part of the exploration of into private hands. This is the beginning of an interesting era.

Space-X Success

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]]> http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/29/space-x-and-falcon-1-make-history/feed/ Quarks, and the Higgs Boson and Mini-Black Holes, Oh My! http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/23/quarks-and-the-higgs-boson-and-mini-black-holes-oh-my/ http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/23/quarks-and-the-higgs-boson-and-mini-black-holes-oh-my/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:28:46 +0000 admin http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/?p=226 Here is a little article in my local paper regarding the Large Hadron Collider (). It looks like the poor thing will be off line, until next year. I have a personal interest in this story, because my husband, Thomas Humanic, is quoted, and indeed involved in the ALICE experiment at the . Well, this is big science, the largest and most complex experiment in human history.

The LHC

Ohio Supercomputer Center

There are many reasons for exploring the unknown, but for most people these things only become clear in hindsight, so sometimes only those who are delving into the great unknown really understand the details and why it is being done. As a scientist myself, I understand this, but I also know that it is important to share this with the public.  Below is a nice article by an Ohio astronomer, Kenneth Hicks, a professor of physics and at Ohio University (Athens, Ohio), explaining why abstract science is worth doing.

The Good of Doing Abstract Science

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