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I'm not sure about [this]... but I can see their point, damn welsh... , lol.... me thinks the date of the article is a big give away... oh well, it was a good theory for a while (shame good old George Bush thinks it is solid science... its been a while since I slagged him off on here...)

I decided that the image gallery on my website was really not up to scratch... since I don't update it! I am a big user of Flickr and decided that it was about time I merged it into my main pages. I recently came across a great tool lumis Gallery (by David Rencher) so I decided I would embed this in my site. So from now on the image gallery will be based on my flickr images... take a look at it [gallery] - I think it looks quite cool.

In a funny attempt to combat Apple's wonderful Mac/Pc adverts (well maybe not but I'm thinking it is likely) the below video has appeared from Microsoft (or at least by people who won't get sued by them for having a laugh)... nice way to tackle the Apple iPhone.

Following on from the earlier ofone blog entry.. my girlfriend after watching the ophone video followed a link to this piece of interesting video. You just know this is what microsoft would do, though saying that I think there is something to be said for having some details on a box other than just a nice and shiny looking iPod (though that sold it for me )

Last weekend and the one before were so much fun. We took over the BBC Birmingham's public space inside the mailbox to build and launch air rockets. This resulted in me being quite tired after launching countless numbers of them! This was part of the celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the BBC television show "The Sky at Night" - a show that is produced at the Birmingham centre. Over the course of four days some 2,000 members of the general public passed into our reaches! They were treated to a variety of fun activities that utlimately ended up with kids building rockets and having them propelled upwards by compressed air. Lots hit the ceiling but only one managed to wedge itself into the roof tiling. Woops! It was lots of fun.. if you missed out, watch out as we might come and do this again.

The event was put together by the BBC and the University of Birmingham Astrophysics and Space Research group (with lots and lots of help from Astrosoc, the University's astronomy society).

I took some quite cool vids of the rockets being launched and I'll get these put online soon....

More photos can be found [here].

I'm proud to say that we have launched a new astronomy outreach website, [talkandtelescope.org.uk]. This site is aimed at promoting the public talks that are run at the University of Birmingham by the UoB Astronomy Society and the School of Physics and Astronomy. Go on, take a look... you never know you might even fancy coming to hear one of the talks! Oh and refresh that page a few sides and see if you can spot something changing at the top...

A bunch of enthused astronomers from the Birmingham Astronomical Society and the University of Birmingham Astronomical Society will be getting together in the light polluted city centre of Birmingham to offer the chance of night sky observing to all who wish it. This will be taking place next Saturday (Saturday 19 May 2007) from 8pm. So if you want to take a glimpse at the planets or a distant cluster of stars come down to Birmingham City Centre and make use of our equipment. This is part of the 1st International Sidewalk Astronomy Night with the major idea to get a thousand telescopes out on city streets all around the world!

It seem that it is all go in the field of exoplanets... the lowest mass detection a few weeks ago and now this, the first "map". The first "map" I refer to is [Astronomers make the first map of an extrasolar planet] I'm at a bit of a loss about this map. Ok it is a map but it could be a bit confusing for the non-scientist. Basically they have observed the planet using Spitzer (works in the infrared spectrum) to detect a particular hot spot on the surface, so at best it is a very very low resolution map. Don't get me wrong the result is quite exciting but it is far from the "first good look at a completely alien world". The key is that this planet has not be resolved, we have not imaged the planet as you would with Jupiter, but they have measured changes as the planet rotated (based on models of its orbit). Still though it is pretty cool and well on the way to getting to the direct look... now I just need to get the radio detection....

I really shouldn't post these photos as some are quite embarassing.. oh well, I just won't post those of Lizzie... well maybe a few.

Here I am with rather straight hair....

Lizzie shows she loves me... but thats probably fair as I am dripping and not looking my emo best (see above!)

Tom does the rabbit....

Oh yes, we are idiots...

Oh and there are more [here].

Not only did I take lots of pictures of rockets being launched during the event at the mailbox but I also took a few videos of the rockets being launched so, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,.....

Good reason to go out an buy microsoft office? No, us Geeks would never get any

The Reason I use Ubuntu... its linux for human beings.. well see the picture, you will understand

oh if this inspires you to want to give Ubuntu linux ago, try [here]

Now this is a question I don't particularly want to address as you never know what could happen. Anyone who reads my blog regularly can guess my view on this... I have had my stress test and came out of it with a moist feeling on my hands that can only mean I sweated and caused the current of the detector to increase... anyway the reason I bring this title up is because of the recent BBC Panorama programme which I thought was quite interesting though it did not address the question at hand. Is Scientology a cult or religion? I don't actually think they went out to address this question but more to look into their activities. I was shocked what they found. If you want to watch the programme try [here]. Worth a watch. Their aggressiveness and complete disregard for laws and common human respect was awful. Nevermind if they are or aren't a cult - they are indeed a bunch of scary, paranoid, people. All I would say to anyone who is a scientologist or thinking about becoming one... have a look around and read the info that other people are telling you than just them. If you were buying a phone you would and this is a far more drastic decision.

Now this is a pretty cool and terrifying job... I couldn't see myself doing it but still it looks like he enjoys it...

How cool is this image of the Carina Nebula:

Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (U. California, Berkeley) et al., and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

This is essentially a massive pillar of dust which are being destroyed due to the presence of star deep inside the dust cloud. It will take about 100,000 years for the energetic particles of the star to destroy the surround material. Technically this object is known as a [Herbig-Haro object]. Nevermind the physics going on it is a beautiful sight to behold.

Well are you concerned and confused about climate change? I know I am at times. I am a strong believe that human activity is doing damage to our climate but when you get lots of "scientists" arguing about it, it can be hard to figure out what is actually going on! Well NewScientist are attempting to make this info easier to take in... well if you are interested, read [this].

Now I feel like a proper scientist.

GCX is an astronomical image processing and photometry application written in C using Gtk+-1.2, and provided under the Gnu General Public License. It was tested on Linux, FreeBSD and OS/X (using the X Window System). I have recently been playing around with this, well worth a look at if you are interested in Astro Imaging on a non-mircosoft platform. [The GCX project]

I can't believe this is at all true, though its pretty fun...

Change Traffic Lights With A Universal Remote! - video powered by Metacafe

The Sidewalk Astronomers (i.e. on the pavement!) have been helping people to observe the night sky since 1976, last night was the first [International Sidewalk Astronomy Night]. This meant that many people around the world took out their telescopes to the streets around the world. Here in [Birmingham] we did the same. The 'scopes were provided by members of the [Birmingham Astronomical Society] (a few members of the [Uni society] were also present but without 'scopes). It was great fun. We had well over a thousand memebers of the public passing by and asking what was going on before looking through a telescope. For many this was their first time and some of the reactions that we had when people realised that the bright object in the sky was in fact the planet Venus were wonderful to see. It was even better to see their faces after they saw the rings of the planet Saturn for the first time. Great fun! We hope to do similar events in the city centre again.

The Moon and Venus were very nicely placed for some photos as well (it was a conjunction after all)....

More pictures can be found: [here]

I'm pretty sure I have mentioned this in the past but I have noticed a bit of a change since I last did (whenever that was, I'm tired and being too lazy to search the archives!)... but if you are an astronomer and want to switch over to linux to do your imaging etc... then you should really give Lin4Astro go. Lin4Astro is a pretty solid Linux distribution that has a combination of the usual and bloody essentially linux tasks and some very cool and sophisticated astronomical software. This should nicely fill most observers needs and of course is being developed continously, oh and its free!! Take a look... [lin4astro.org].

Oh and on that note take a look at [usinglinux.org] for a decent list of useful astronomical software available on linux (this list is very far from exhaustive though).

In other news, cause I'm tired and in the need for a bit of a rant... I think I may have just completed my first paper to be submitted to the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Publication... wooo hooo.... better check it in the morning though as tiredness has really kicked in now!

A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows infant stars "hatching" in the head of Orion, the famous hunter constellation visible from northern hemispheres during winter nights. Astronomers suspect that shockwaves from a 3-million-year-old explosion of a massive star may have initiated this newfound birth.

Credit: [NASA/JPL-Caltech/ Laboratorio de Astrofisica Espacial y Fisica Fundamental]

It looks like the head of Orion is spawning new stars... well according to new data obtained by the Sptizer Space Telescope. The images are actually of the region Barnard 30 which is about 1,300 light years away and is nicely positioned on the hunters head. It is near the massive star Lambda Orionis and it suggested that this new star formation is possibly due to the shockwaves that were produced from a 3-million-year-old explosion of a massive star.

In "The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute" one learns how strange scientists actually can be! Well maybe not, this article is definetly just for fun and itneresting to read, take a look [here]. Its quite interesting but I think it actually shows more about how cluttered people can be and generally office sociology than anything about the teaspoon fairies.. I think there should be much more discussion on that particularly phenomenon. Their main outcome is that they determine how many teaspoons are lost per year.

I decided to pop outside last night to do some stargazing and this wonderful sight was out there...

Windows Vista comes with Aero to do some cool 3d effects in your desktop... well xgl has been around for linux for a while (and the mac does some nice 3d rendering) but if you a fan of free software then Beryl has to be heaven, of course you have also like having a pretty linux desktop. If you don't know what I mean take a look at this video... even if you aren't ever going to use linux just take a look I think you might find it cool:

Oh and if you want to get Beryl some pretty useful stuff can be found on their site and if you know how to use Linux its pretty straight forward.

Astronomers using the Japanese Subaru 8.2-m reflector at Mauna Kea have discovered three new satellites orbiting Saturn, S/2007 S 1, S 2, and S 3. They have orbital periods of 895, 793, and 992 days respectively; S 2 and S 3 have retrograde orbits. I haven't been able to find a mass value for these objects, I do wonder how much of a moon they actually are?

The story of a little boy who grew up to be Jesus... oh and his cybernetic pal, Arnie...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to send a robot for its mission to Moon. It will be built by a bunch of student engineers and research staff at the IIT-Kanpur. Its going to be a two-legged robot that will help detect hindrances and collect surface samples. It is expected to cost about $50,000.... !! Beats NASA on that front, but I guess things get built for cheaper in India. More info at [sifynews].

The BBC's Panorama show did cause a bit of a fuss about Wi-Fi didn't it? Well read a nice arguement against their "findings" [here]

Credit: NASA, JPL, U. Arizona

Many black spots have been discovered on Mars over the years, they are so dark that you can not see inside. Are these possibly the entrances to deep underground caves? Could these be were Martian life is hiding? Interesting... maybe we need to send a probe into them. More info at [apod]

"If the world's future lies in scientists' hands, the answers are unlikely to come from the UK unless we reverse decades of political neglect" wrote Nobel laureate Sir Harry Kroto in a article for the Guardian newspaper last week. Shame its all true.

The UK is seeing a drain of people interested in science... and it has been noticeable over the years I have been at Uni.. more people now do "silly" courses than did when I started my undergrad.. what do they hope to get from this? Do they really think that a useless degree will help them in a future career.. a degree is a degree after all, it has to mean something doesn't it? Well this is not true for all degrees. It is well worth doing a subject if you have a natural enjoyement / interest in it but is it worthwile doing if you think it will make you rich? Possibly, some degrees might but most probably won't. They will put you in financial debt. Of course going to Uni is far from just about the academic education but it is not worthwhile going into it blindly.

Anyway, the article by Sir Harry Kroto (thanks to Lizzie's mom for pointing it out...) is well worth a read and can be found at: [education.guardian.co.uk]

had to be a woman....

"A German woman in Dusseldorf blocked the entrance to an underground station when she mistook it for a subterranean car park, police said on Wednesday."

For the full article see: [bbc.co.uk]

BrainFall.com have a bunch of those online click an option sort of scripts and it tell you what you should be... so I decided to fill of their "What College Major Are You/Should You Be?" and I got:

It's a tie!
Your major should be part Computer Science. You like nothing more than spending long nights with friends in the computer lab... which is a good thing since that's exactly how you'll spend the next couple years.

Your major should be part Business. You believe confidence is everything, and nothing's more important than a first impression. Success is measured in dollars and your attitude's going to make you very successful. All that's left is to choose which I-Bank to work for after you graduate.

Oh well I guess that is actually not to far from the truth.. but I did physics I'm not entirely a computer geek....

Looks like some other people are annoyed by the fact that the fountain that sits in the middle of the Guild of Students here at the University of Birmingham is never on! I've seen it on for a few weeks at a time and its such a lovely sight... its a shame its not on... The Mermaid Fountain was made out of bronze by William Bloye and is the centre piece of the Guild's courtyard, one of the best places to enjoy a pint in the summer Sun... this is what it can look like in the summer (photo credit unknown taken off Guild server):

If you are a Birmingham student and care join the petition [here] (just make sure you don't make any donations by accident...)