Author Archives: joel

Scenes from Space #22

Posted on February 10, 2006 by joel
These tracks were made by the Apollo 14 crew's two-wheeled Modularized Equipment Transporter (MET) - which the astronauts referred to as the "rickshaw" - which was designed to help the astronauts explore the Moon's surface. It carried lunar handtools, sample containers, spare film and a Lunar Surface Penetrometer. The tracks in the soil show the path of Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell as they explored this lunar landscape.

Posted in Misc | Comments Off on Scenes from Space #22

Make Just About Anything

Posted on February 3, 2006 by joel
Want to know how to make just about anything? Twenty years ago, you'd head to the library and hope for the best - maybe they would have a book on the subject, maybe not. Today, you pop on the web and you've got instructions at your fingertips in seconds. The only problem is that you've got to know what you want to know in order to search for it. What if you're like me, and are always looking for some project, but don't know what it will be and are looking for ideas? That's where two of my absolute favorite websites come in. The Make Blog over at Make Magazine, and the user-submitted project instructions on Instructables. Both are chuck full of cool ideas. I check them daily!
Posted in Other Projects | Comments Off on Make Just About Anything

Scenes from Space #21

Posted on February 3, 2006 by joel
This is an image of Europa, one of the four largest moons of Jupiter. Europa was discovered in 1610 by Galileo, along with Jupiter's three other largest moons - Io, Ganymede, and Callisto. This image was taken by the Galileo spacecraft, which was named for the famous astronomer. The surface of Europa is ice, and the features observed in this (false-color) image are believed to be cracks in the surface ice, which many scientists believe may cover a liquid ocean. This is very exciting, because scientists believe that it may be possible that Europa's subsurface ocean may once - or even may still - harbor life.

Posted in Misc | Comments Off on Scenes from Space #21

Diary of a Mad Photojournalist

Posted on February 2, 2006 by joel
Those who know me from back in the day probably know Chris Crook. What some of you may not know is that Chris now lives in Ohio, is married, and is a photojournalist - and a damn good one at that. After an on-again, off-again romance with having an internet presence, Chris appears to have buckled down and started a blog. This is cool for me, because I have always wanted to know more about the day-to-day stuff in his work. If you know Chris, check out his blog. And if you don't know Chris, check it out anyway - because he is an interesting and witty guy, and it's a good read.
Posted in Misc | Comments Off on Diary of a Mad Photojournalist

Kagen Schaefer

Posted on February 2, 2006 by joel
Here's a woodworker that I find inspirational - Kagen Schaefer. He builds puzzle boxes of his own design, and they are quite clever and beautiful. A puzzle box is a small wooden box that is opened using a secret combination of 'moves'. Different types of boxes use different types of moves. Traditional Japanese puzzle boxes often used sliding panels moved in a specific sequence to open the box. Kagen's boxes sometimes use the method, but he has also invented many other opening methods. Aside from the sheer creativity of designing the opening mechanisms, the boxes themselves are quite expertly crafted. Check out his page for examples of his work.

I myself would LOVE to build a puzzle box. I think I have come up with a couple of different types of opening mechanisms, but so far I have not had the time (or the accuracy in my tools) to try and build one. Maybe I will try very soon!

Posted in Misc | Comments Off on Kagen Schaefer

Kerplunk Radio – Episode 4

Posted on January 29, 2006 by joel
I give you episode 4 of Kerplunk Radio! This episode features an independent artist by the name of Jonathon Coulton. His stuff is incredibly catchy, and the lyrics are very quirky. He's got a definite "They Might be Giants" influence. Word-of-warning, though: he does drop the F-bomb in one of the songs. Right-click the "download mp3" button and choose "save-as" to save the show to your computer before listening. Jonathan Coulton's web page can be found at http://www.jonathancoulton.com/. The following songs are featured on this episode of Kerplunk Radio:

1. Baby Got Back
 4. DNA
2. Mandelbrot Set 6. A Laptop Like You
3. Skullcrusher Mountain

Posted in Other Projects | Comments Off on Kerplunk Radio – Episode 4

Scenes from Space #20

Posted on January 27, 2006 by joel
This image was taken from Cape Canaveral in Florida at the launch of the New Horizons spacecraft last week. New Horizons is a fly-by mission to Pluto, and will take almost 10 years to get there. The craft is one of the fastest spaceships ever launched, and will reach the moon in only nine hours (astronauts typically took 3 days to reach the moon) and will pass Jupiter in early 2007. Even traveling that fast, New Horizons will not reach Pluto until 2015. Pluto is the only remaining planet that has never been visited by a spacecraft or photographed up close. The coolest thing about New Horizions, in my opinion? I did some work on this project. I was actually invited to the launch, but was unable to go.

Posted in Misc | Comments Off on Scenes from Space #20

Scenes from Space #19

Posted on January 20, 2006 by joel
This image is composed of a montage of images taken by SOHO (the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory) over the 10 years that the satellite has been in orbit. While I personally was not involved with the mission, UNH does have an instrument flying on SOHO. SOHO has provided some very valuable scientific data during its lifetime, including providing detailed data about the Sun's internal structure, solar atmosphere, and solar wind. In addition, SOHO images have been used to discover over 1000 comets as they pass near the Sun.

Posted in Misc | Comments Off on Scenes from Space #19

Play Date

Posted on January 17, 2006 by joel
Sean had a little friend over today. Her name is Elizabeth, and she is cute as a button. It's funny - he seems to have gotten over his stranger anxiety with adults, and even with older kids - but babies still freak him out. They were playing nice together, but if Elizabeth touched Sean at all, he would immediately start crying. Maybe pretty girls make him nervous, just like his daddy!


Posted in Family | 1 Comment

How Quickly Time Flies…

Posted on January 10, 2006 by joel
A year ago today, a purple, bald-headed, wrinkly man affectionally known as "melonhead" was born. He came into the world six weeks before his time. Some say it was fate. Some say it was destiny. Some say Lori didn't follow the doctor's orders concerning bed-rest. But whatever the cause, a little bundle of happiness came forth to enrich our lives with joy. And poop. But mostly joy.

He was a quiet and introspective child, and spent most of his early months comtemplating this strange new world. And pooping. But mostly contemplating. Bald as a cue ball, and serious as an undertaker, we eagerly awaited a crack in his stony facade.

And then, the deluge. Once he had determined that we were acceptable stewards of his well-being, he graced us with the light of his smile. We were overjoyed. The poops became almost fun, if a smile could be stolen in the process. But alas, the poop-to-smile ratio was still mind-numbingly large.

Over the following months, he surprised us again and again with his ever-increasing array of skills. From sitting, to crawling, and then to standing - he was always ready to try new things before we were ready for him to change. As soon as we could adapt to some new ability, he would move on to the next step. In the baby-raising arms race, Sean was building his arsenal faster than we could keep pace.

As time has progressed, his personality has started to emerge. Lori and I have learned the ins and outs of his sense of humor, and have quite a few techniques in our bag of tricks that will score a guaranteed laugh. He has become very independent. He can play alone without getting bored, but also enjoys a bit of rough play with his daddy. He has inherited him mom's sense of goofiness and good humor. The two of them can get each other to laugh with only a look. Lori has been the cornerstone on which this family is founded, and has become the mom I had always hoped (and expected) her to be.

He also seems to have picked up an affinity for absurdity from his daddy - as nothing seems to crack him up more than the sillier aspects of the world around him. Just today, he had a bout of side-splitting laughter from the mere sight and sound of a goose. Admittedly, if I were seeing a goose for the first time, I would think that Mother Nature had played a pretty good joke as well.

We'd really like to thank everyone who has visited Sean, and those who haven't yet been able to - but have thought about him nonetheless. It has been tough to be away from all of you this past year, and to not have been able to share Sean with the people we care about. The number of times we have said "I wish so-and-so could see this!" can't even be counted. Wish us luck in the coming year!


Posted in Family | 1 Comment