http://tracyleesmith.com/blog Once more unto the breach... Mon, 04 May 2009 16:10:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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 ... http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2009/05/04/backyard-scientists/ Take a gander at the amazing Atlas Moth, and one of the longest Flickr descriptions I've ever seen. Atlas Moth http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/11/10/the-magnificent-atlas-moth/ A great article addressing some common myths about recycling. Recycling Myths http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/11/10/addressing-some-recycling-myths/ The 'Great Worldwide Star Count', 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 ... http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/21/the-great-worldwide-star-count/ Just in time for that special date next month, the League of Conservation Voters (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 ... http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/18/league-of-conservation-voters-give-mccain-failure-rating/ 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 Endangered Species ... http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/04/save-the-endandered-species-act/ It appears that CERN 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 (LHC). It's the same principle as seti@home, currently the largest distributed computing project in operation, ... http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/10/04/add-your-2-bytes-to-the-lhc/ 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 extinct. Scientists think several factors ... http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/30/the-lady-vanishes/ How beautiful. Space-X has had their first successful launch of their space 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 space, following the US and Russia. And while that ... http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/29/space-x-and-falcon-1-make-history/ Here is a little article in my local paper regarding the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). 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 ... http://tracyleesmith.com/blog/2008/09/23/quarks-and-the-higgs-boson-and-mini-black-holes-oh-my/