Sun from near space
Team TechShop RDU (or NC Nearspace, as they are now calling themselves) had the balloon they thought was lost located yesterday. It turned up in the field of a soybean farmer in Wendell. Like the second balloon they launched, this one took some amazing photographs of near space.
You can see the collection of photos at Adrian Likins’s Flickr page.
My friends were ultimately successful in their balloon launch yesterday! Tanner Lovelace posted a collection of near-space photographs on his Flickr page.
Amazing work, folks!
Update: Here’s a nice video slideshow of the launch.
Before our area media start feeling high and mighty, I was amused to find it nearly impossible to track down today’s story on Russ’s comments about the city’s website on the News and Observer website. After searching in vain using the N&O’s own search engine, it took me some thoughtful Google searches to turn it up.
With each iteration of its website, the paper’s search engine has become less useful. What’s even worse, with each redesign all the web links to online stories have changed completely, breaking not only any links any outside sites made to stories but also any links indexed by search engines. Thus if you couldn’t find what you’re looking for after the N&O redesign, God help you because Google certainly won’t. I’m no web professional, but even I know to create forwards from old links to new ones whenever humble MT.Net makes changes. That’s Webmastering 101.
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The City of Raleigh’s new website was in the news again today. City Councilor Russ Stephenson picked it apart in an email to City Manager Russell Allen. Russ’s experience is the same as most folks’: he tried using the search engine to find something and failed utterly. When I critiqued it myself, I faulted it for simply relying on the search engine as heavily as it does. That wasn’t even considering that the search engine seems so completely broken.
My buddy Scott has built many a website in his many years of geekdom. He’s a professional. He tells me that he had seen many $500,000 websites, and what Raleigh got is not one of them.
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I was doing some vanity searches on the News and Observer website today when I discovered that editor Dan Barkin saw my earlier post about Tom Fetzer’s photo. Dan agreed it was time for an update. Soon after I posted I noticed that the outdated photo was no longer being used but until today I hadn’t seen Dan’s response.
Kudos to Dan for doing the right thing (and thanks, sir, for the compliments).
Surprise! BP is lying through its teeth again, and the goverment is buying it.
As BP finishes pumping cement into the damaged Deepwater Horizon wellhead Thursday, some scientists are taking issue with a new U.S. government report that says the "vast majority" of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been taken care of by nature and "robust" cleanup efforts.In addition, experts warn, much of the toxic oil from the worst spill in U.S. history may be trapped under Gulf beaches—where it could linger for years—or still migrating into the ocean depths, where it’s a "3-D catastrophe," one scientist said.
Alberto Contador is to Lance Armstrong what Mike Tyson is to Muhammad Ali.
Remember the evil MT.Net lair I diabolically schemed to purchase? The winning bidder, Richard Neal of Mint Hill, intends to turn the former Frying Pan Shoals lighthouse into a bed and breakfast. Curses!
A Mint Hill man hopes to turn an abandoned tower standing 60 feet above the white-capped waves of the Atlantic into one of North Carolina’s most distinctive vacation getaways.
The tower’s 5,000 square feet of living space includes seven bedrooms, a kitchen and a rec room. Guests would come by boat or helicopter. They could expect fabulous views of sunrises, sunsets, sea turtles and even migrating whales.
While I am intrigued with the idea of spending time on this rusty outpost just for the fun of it, I find the best thing about beds and breakfasts is the neighborhood around them. When you get to Frying Pan Shoals B&B, what are you going to do? Can’t go for a walk. Can’t shop at the quaint stores nearby because nearby is 25 miles away. However, if you like to fish you’ve got a great place to do it. Also, I think it would make a great recording studio. Or pirate radio station!
Or … an evil lair. Sigh.
Update 29 July: You can follow Richard’s progress (and book a reservation) here.
Photo by Haggisnl
I like the distinction made in this Christian Science Monitor story on this year’s Tour De France (emphasis mine):
The 97th Tour de France was filled with action after a lackluster 2009 edition.
A new rivalry was cemented – winner Alberto Contador of Spain barely defeated Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck on the penultimate day – as the race bid adieu to seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, riding in his final Tour amidst a developing federal doping investigation.
See? Contador is a winner but Armstrong is a champion. As long as Contador disrespects cycling tradition he will never be a champion.
via Tour de France 2010 delivers drama – without the doping – CSMonitor.com.
After I wondered where the good guys are who might have steered Reggie Gemeille to the right path, I read about James Johnson. Thank goodness there are men out there like him:
Retired police officer James Johnson spent 20 years dealing with gangs in New York City and is now sharing his wisdom with Raleigh children at the J.T. Locke Resource Center’s summer camp.
Johnson uses the same speeches he gave to members of New York’s Crips and Bloods gangs, urging youths ages 9 to 17 to cultivate their talents to better society and to value themselves over fitting in.
The talks have proven successful; Johnson says the youth program he participated in helped reduce gang violence 62 percent in New York City.
“Every child is reachable,” Johnson said. “Children’s strength is in their motivation for life.”
via This tough cop knows how to reach tough kids – Local/State – NewsObserver.com.