Two Thousand People, May be More (II - The Dance)

Some people came a couple of days before. In the night a few
danced at the sound of Celtic music.

Two Thousand People, May be More (I - The Gathering)

Last October the 3rd I was in the S. Bartolomeu (Bartholomew) Hill (41.66178N, 6.63081W, 728m, WGS84) where around two thousand people gather to see the (Sun) annular eclipse.

Rocinante-7

in Bragança on the 3th of October

I hope to be in Bragança (41.8167N, 6.7500W, 581M) on the 3th of October, to see the annular

Some links:

http://www.nuclio.pt/nuclio/eclipse2005

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEmono/ASE2005/ASE2005.html

http://www.moonwise.co.uk/year/2005sky.htm

http://www.fallingrain.com/world/PO/5/Braganca.html


Location1: (map, zoom in and out as you like)

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=41.81&longitude=-6.76


Location2: (aerial photo, zoom in and out as you like)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=portugal&ll=41.81,-6.76&spn=0.005300,0.007124&t=k&hl=en

Weather Report:

http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/POXX0038_c.html?force_units=1

Publicity Gimmick OR Malfunction?

One of these days I was driving behind this van.

In a sunny day, the windshield wiper was working. Usually a windshield wiper working without any rain (water) for any extended period damages the glass.

But paying attention to the van I could read “waterless”.

Publicity Gimmick OR Malfunction?

My Candidate

In the first turn of the next presidential election I will vote MANUELA MAGNO

I cannot deny support to someone that

(a) is a college
(b) was sited, by my side, in the same bench, at my first class at the university (end of 1971, calculus I, at the calculus amphitheatre)

some links:

http://www.manuelamagno.com.pt/

http://manuelamagno.blogspot.com/

Starting a New (Academic) Year

Memories

A snack, in the afternoon, by myself, remembering Paris.

Prof. Bruce Bolt died

Prof. Bruce Bolt died.

I worked with him, in 1986, at Berkeley, and we were expected to have a get together in November this year.

Last December we had lunch in San Francisco. At that time he looked OK.

More at:

http://seismo.berkeley.edu/memorial/bruce_bolt/

http://www.mundiconvenius.pt/2005/lisbon1755/

Geophysical Traditions

Every year, in the 19th of July we have a tradition. We book a restaurant for the all evening and most of the people, in Portugal, with links to geophysics come to the gathering.

At least 90% of then have been one (or are) my profs, my collegs or my students. Some even fit in more of those groups.

We eat, we drink, we talk, we make speeches, etc., all evening.

19th of July is the birthday of the older living professor in geophysics, at the University of Lisbon.

The Trouble with Math

I rarely see TV on real time. I rather record the programs I want to watch.

That fits well with my schedule that is sometime unusual and, this way, I can see most programs with double speed and no commercials, saving a lot of time.

“Showview” consoles (we can see my 3 sets in the pic) are very handy if you want to program all your recorders in the beginning of the month without much work. I had been using then for ages.

However they have become useless because Portuguese TV-guides stop printing the numerical codes for each program.

Lisbon, in August, on a Saturday

Caparica Fossil Cliff

In the picture above, taken from my place, we can see the "Caparica Fossil Cliff".

It is 70 meter high and only 10 thousand years old.

If you want to learn more about the subject join a "Life Science 2005" visit.

More details in:

http://www.cienciaviva.pt/veraocv/geologia/geo2005/index.asp?accao=showactivdistrito&id_distrito=17


As usually, the following links show an aerial photo AND a map of the area: (zoom in and out as you like)


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lisbon+portugal&ll=38.65400,-9.23400&spn=0.005300,0.007124&t=k&hl=en


http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=38.65400&longitude=-9.23400

No Comments

Things (my box camera)

The beginning of the (last) century was the beginning of mass production.

The most known example is, of course, the "Ford T". But a very good example, also, is the "Kodak Brownie" the first "box camera" and the first camera build to be build for the masses. With minor improvements this camera has been produced until the '70s.

I cannot afford a "Ford T", but I have this nice "Brownie", shown in the pictures. I found this camera, in the attic, when I was perhaps 14 years old. At that time it worked faultless. Unfortunately it uses a kind of film that is not available anymore (some adaptation is possible to use other kind of film, though) so I cannot assess its present condition.

This particular camera build, perhaps, in the '40 or in the '50, has, as the most curious characteristic, the lateral blade we can pull out to insert an extra lens to decrease the focal distance. Working as a sort of macro lens it was build to be use in portrait photos (i.e. at medium-close range).

Note also the 2 identical "half a periscope" visors. Each one is linked to one of the two identical small lens in the from that give this camera an anthropomorphic aspect. The camera can be used in 2 positions and each visor has been build to use in each of the positions.

Graduation

The photos show some details of the graduation of a student that as completed her graduation work offshore Angola (Cabinda), under my supervision. She used some seismic data (and a lot of computer power!) to evaluate the properties of an oil reservoir.

David and Goliath

I like this picture a lot. As you all probably know I have been a supporter of the “no software patents” campaign.

The “pro software parents” movement, fulled by the resources of big companies and bureaucratic organizations, lobbied heavily.

Although the most known example was the “free ice cream”, they have, also, used a boat to ask for support of the “CII Directive”.

The “no software patents movement”, is mainly rooted in small size companies, almost all programmers and in academia.

Although the odds seem to favor the first, the “no software patents” has shown a lot of imagination. In the image, they got their own boat and allowed the photographer to capture the picture.

And the "CII Directive" was NOT approved.

Blowing up a comet for the 4th of July (III)

The get-together to follow the comet impact went very well. We got a big screen where we project, at will, the NASA TV (relayed throw ESA TV) or the screen of a Internet connected PC.

Although very early in the morning (he session started at 06:30, with the climax about 07:00), we had a very friendly and enthusiastic audience, so most of the time the commentators where not on central stage, but mangling with the people ( sometimes forming small groups around one of the large number of portables computers in the room).

As far as I understand all national TV channels, except SIC (channel 3) where there and we had a direct at 07:00 on channel 1 news service (I have been told). Several newspapers were also present.

A friend of mine has digitally recorded – and sent to me - a TVI news flash, broadcasted at lunchtime and I captured a frame seen above.

v-day

In the last few months I spend some of my time campaigning against software patents, as has been proposed by the EU Council of Ministers and the European Commission, and in support of the September 2003 decision of the (elected) European Parliament.

http://lasers-in-the-jungle.blogspot.com/2005/06/june-21-demonstration-in-lisbon.html

Today is Victory Day.

BUT eternal vigilance is the price of democracy. Please do NOT forget.

Some links:

http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/07/06/1156214.shtml?tid=155&tid=17

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20050705130920424

http://www.ffii.org/

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8B5BPBG0.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down

Blowing up a comet for the 4th of July (II)

The best 2 ways to follow the event:

******(1) WAY ONE - Join me at...

starting 06:30 AM :-)))


Location1: (map, zoom in and out as you like)

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=38.77820&longitude=-9.11400


Location2: (aerial photo, zoom in and out as you like)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lisbon+portugal&ll=38.77820,-9.11400&spn=0.005300,0.007124&t=k&hl=en


Location3: (coordinates)

38.77820N 9.11400W (WGS-84)


Location4: (address)

IGeoE - Instituto Geográfico do Exército
( Call: Ten. Cor. António Afonso)
Morada: Av. Dr. Alfredo Bensaúde 1849-014 Lisboa
Telefone: +351 21 850 53 00
Fax: +351 21 853 21 19
igeoe@igeoe.pt

( more details in: http://www.nuclio.pt/projectos/000040.html )


******(2) WAY TWO Look at the sattelite/webcast

see details at:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

****** EVENTS TIME LINE:

Mission Events, Earth-receive time - in EDT (also in Lisboa/Lisbon Time)

July 3, 2:07 a.m: (Lisboa/Lisbon 7:07 a.m Sunday)Impactor released into comet's path

July 4, 12:22 a.m.:(Lisboa/Lisbon 5:07 a.m Monday)1st impactor targeting maneuver

July 4, 1:17 a.m.: (Lisboa/Lisbon 6:17 a.m Monday)2nd impactor targeting maneuver

July 4, 1:39 a.m.: (Lisboa/Lisbon 6:39 a.m Monday)3rd impactor targeting maneuver

July 4, 1:52 a.m.: (Lisboa/Lisbon 6:52 a.m Monday)(+ or - 3 min.): Impact with Tempel 1

July 4, 2:05 a.m.: (Lisboa/Lisbon 7:05 a.m Monday)Flyby goes into shield mode

July 4, 2:06 a.m.: (Lisboa/Lisbon 7:06 a.m Monday)Flyby's closest approach to Tempel 1

****** WEBCAST TIME LINE:

All times in EDT (also in Lisboa/Lisbon Time)

Pre-impact update
July 3, 2 p.m. (Lisboa/Lisbon 19:00 Sunday)

NASA TV encounter coverage begins
July 3, 11:30 p.m. (Lisboa/Lisbon 04:30 a.m Monday)

Post-impact briefing
July 4, 4 a.m. (Lisboa/Lisbon 09:00 a.m Monday)

Post-impact press conference
July 4, 2 p.m. (Lisboa/Lisbon 19:00 Monday)

****** More links:

http://www.nuclio.pt

http://www.portaldoastronomo.org

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/main/index.html

http://lasers-in-the-jungle.blogspot.com

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMVKW5DIAE_index_0.html

Threepenny Opera

Last Thursday I went to see the Threepenny Opera [a Ópera dos 3 Vinténs] by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill.

I took this picture (without flash, of course).

Blowing up a comet for the 4th of July

At around 06:52 – Lisbon Time - (or 05:52 UTC/GMT) the 4th of July, NASA's Deep Impact Mission is going to send an impactor to blow a hole in the "Tempel 1" comet.

The impactor is just a piece of metal with, more or less, the same size and shape of a small table.

Perhaps, in the future, people will look at this mission as the first trying to "explode" a comet, routine procedure to save the earth from catastrophic encounters (a subject science-fiction as visited several times, just remember the movie pictures: "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon”).

Since the internal structure of the comets is not know, there is no clear idea about what is going to happen and if the event would be seen from Earth (with a telescope).

Several other probes, beside “Deep Impact”, will try to collect info during the collision. The Hubble Space Telescope will take a snapshot.

There are not going to use explosives, but do not be fooled by that; with the velocity involved, and since the kinetic energy is proportional to de SQUARE of the velocity (i.e. each time you double the velocity, you multiply the energy by 4) the shock is going to be quite "explosive" (as everybody who as read "The Moon is an Harsh Mistress", my Robert A. Heinlein favorite book, know).

The velocity of impact is about 37 100 Km/h (30 times the speed of sound in the Earth surface). With 364 kg the impactor will reach to comet with almost 2E10 Joules of energy, the equivalent of around 5 tons of TNT.

Probably I will joint nuclio [ link: http://www.nuclio.pt ] to follow the event using a ESA satellite link (C-band?) . (Programs also available ay the internet)

The timetable (ESA TV):

*** 4 July

07:15 CEST (05:15 UTC/GMT) (06:15 Lisbon)
ESA TV live event (approx 60 minutes) based on NASA-TV plus studio interviews and inserts. with links to ESO, MPI Lindau (Rosetta), ESA/ ESAC (XMM/Newton) and ESA/ESOC (mission operations).

07:52 CEST (05:52 UTC/GMT) (06:52 Lisbon)
***** IMPACT *****

09:30 CEST (07:30 UTC/GMT) (08:30 Lisbon)
ESA TV update on European observations (approx 20 minutes).

10:00 CEST (08:00 UTC/GMT) (09:00 Lisbon)
NASA media briefing – live rebroadcast by ESA TV (approx 30 minutes).

18:00 CEST (16:00 UTC/GMT) (17:00 Lisbon)
ESA TV update with first Hubble image (black and white) (approx 20 minutes).

20:00 CEST (18:00 UTC/GMT) (19:00 Lisbon)
NASA media briefing – live rebroadcast by ESA TV (approx 30 minutes).

*** 5 July

06:00 CEST (04:00 UTC/GMT) (05:00 Lisbon)
ESA TV update with first ESO colour images

More links:

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/main/index.html

ESA TV (Internet downlink guide):

http://television.esa.int

and see also "Things to watch" in the upper left corner of this blog.

UPDATE: (location)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lisbon+portugal&ll=38.778563,-9.114425&spn=0.005300,0.007124&t=k&hl=en

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=38.77856&longitude=-9.11442

UPDATE2 – 28th of June: (picture on the top of this post) The comet from Hubble Space Telescope, in a picture taken in the 27th of June.

On the right we can see a natural burst from the comet. The result of the 4 o July impact may as well be like that.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/multimedia/tempel1-hst-062705.html

June 21 - Demonstration in Lisbon against software patents

Tomorrow (June 21) we will have a demonstration against "software patents" in Lisbon.

In my other blog [ http://lasers-na-selva.blogspot.com/2005/06/contra-as-patentes-de-software.html ] I have pictures of the place and a link to a map of the area.

As tidy as it can get

.

Today I feel like cleaning my office

How to save money and work in a birthday party?

How to same money and work in a birthday party?

Just find more three friends or relatives that have the birthday in a given week. Celebrate all the 4 birthdays in the weekend with a big party.

For the birthday cake, just and put the name of each person in a corner, with candles. Everybody blows the candles at the same time.

Things (my slide rule)

This is a picture of my slide rule. It is a "Aristo trig-log", because it has 3 logarithm scales (plus 3 INVERSE logarithms scales). In my last year at high scool and in my first two years at the University I became very proficient in using slide rules for all sort of computations and the slide rule shown was quite precise.

My favorite slide rule, however, was a "multi-log" (5+5 log scales). With half the size of this tri-log it was not so precise, but it was more powerful and, besides, it fitted well in my coat pocket.

Around 1975 electronic calculators became very cheap and, around 1977, I made some money tutoring high school students and I bought a programmable Texas Calculator. I never used any of my slide rules again.

I lost some familiarity with numbers, and some inside, but I gain a lot of significant figures.

A Cool Picture

Now that the weather is becoming hotter by the day (at least in the Northern Hemisphere...) I am showing a cool picture. It was taken by Professor Hideki Shimamura in the campus of the Hokkaido University, in Sapporo, Japan.

To have an idea of the place where the picture was taken, click in the following link:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=43.08222&longitude=141.33917

(zoom in and out as you like)

The last time I have been to Hokkaido I didn't have a GPS yet. Because of that I have use maps to find the location, so this is just a rough approximation, perhaps with 1 Km of error.

Things (my rolleiflex)

This use to be my father favorite camera. I try to keep it functional, but I do not use it often, because is clumsy and because I have to go special stores to buy the film and, latter, to process it (the film is not cheap, 5 times more expensive that the usual film for cameras).

It's a Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) Rolleiflex, probably the most famous camera - ever.

Twins means that we have a set of lens to record the image in the film, and a duplicate set of lens to produce the same image in the "visor" - OK parallax is a (solvable) problem.

That’s why we see the “8 shaped” objective in the front. In reality it’s the 2 twin objectives side by side.

This machine uses 6cm x 6 cm film, with 56mm X 56 mm negatives, witch compares to the 35 mm film, widely used today, with a 36mm x 24mm negative. The increased area of the negative allows a better quality of the photo (if all other parameters are equal). This makes the difference, for example, if you enlarge the picture in order to frame and hang it on the wall. It also compensates, somehow, the lack of zoom lens.

more info:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/rollei/rolleiflex/

http://www.stutterheim.nl/rollei/faq.html

Thirteen Years ago Today I...

Thirteen years ago today I got my PhD in Physics. In the picture we can see that, at that time, my beard was much more dark.

I post something about the subject of my thesis, in this blog, recently [ link: http://lasers-in-the-jungle.blogspot.com/2005/04/otas-tsumami-tsunami-warning-system.html ].

Future Seismologists

Some of my students, in campus, testing instruments, as part of an assignment.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=38.75728&longitude=-9.15603

Keiiti Aki (1930-2005)

I realize that my blog, this week, look a little like the "obituary section" of a news paper (or "transitions" as it is called today) but I can not leave unnoticed the dead of Keiiti Aki (on the left, in the biggest photo), that was probably the most influential seismologist alive.

some links:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/24/news/obits.php

http://www.uscibooks.com/aki.htm

http://www.scec.org/news/00news/spot000417.html

George Dantzig

This is mainly to the 0.001% of the readers of this blog, that have ALSO, study linear programming with me, in the summer of 76.

George Dantzig, the inventor of the Simplex method, died.





http://in.news.yahoo.com/050516/139/5yk5m.html


http://www.stanford.edu/group/SOL/dantzig.html


http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/may18/dantzigmem-051405.html



A true "legend in his time":
http://www.snopes.com/college/homework/unsolvable.asp

Book Presentation

In this blog, a few days ago [link: http://lasers-in-the-jungle.blogspot.com/2005/05/from-math-to-fiction.html] I spoke about a fiction book a friend of mine wrote.

Today we had the public presentation of the book, in the Lisbon Municipal Library. Above I put a couple of pictures I took at the ocasion.

(remember that, as a rule, if you click in any of the pictures in this blog you will go to my photo album where usually you can find other versions of the same picture, some with better resolution)

UPDATE:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=38.74156&longitude=-9.14376

I Ibercon (2005)

I can not go because at the same time I am going to speak at a conferenve in Lisbom [ link: http://www.mundiconvenius.pt/2005/lisbon1755/ ]

The bridge in the picture is a mix of the "Ponte 25 Abril"(the 25th of April Bridge), near Lisbon, and the Rande Bridge (Vigo)

pictures of both bridges in

Links:

http://www.vigoenfotos.com/semana.html

http://www.worldeyereports.com/Reports/portugal/











First Iberian (Portugal + Spain) science-fiction meeting

Brave new world (admirável mundo novo)

Brave New World
2005 conferences

Next Saturday, May the 14, 15:30-18:00

What is the "cyberspace"?

This is a subject that I find interesting, not only the subject itself, but also the perception that people have of it.

I will be there (and two of my friends are going to speak)

(brave new world by brave new world, they could have give us the coordinates of the conference builing, so I could use my GPS instead of getting lost in Seixal, a city that I do not know particularly well)

UPDATE:

I did some research on the internet and I believe the address is:

Galeria de Exposições Augusto Cabrita - Fórum Cultural
do Seixal

FÓRUM CULTURAL DO SEIXAL
Quinta dos Franceses 2840 Seixal

LINKS:

http://www.cm-seixal.pt/pls/dseixal/agenda_detalhe_cultura?xcode=1169793§ion=2

http://geo.sapo.pt/link.asp?path=/emails_geosapo/1115844327_sec/

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=38.63900&longitude=-9.10400

Coordinates are included in the last link

UPDATE:

The last links had around 100 m error (what is OK, if without in situ measurements). The following link is the correction (after in situ measurements):

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=38.63903&longitude=-9.10287

Where I am NOW (but not for long)

Here we can see 3 different stoves (cookers). The first one, is on the left, black, is a fire wood cooker. On the bottom is a (red) firewood deposit. On top of it is the first gas cooker an on the right is a modern cooker.

As far as I can tell they are all operational.

Also we can see two generations of chimneys. The first is a black column linked to the wood cooker. The second is brown and covers the first.

Mars Express Successfully Deploys Marsis First Boom

Sort of geo-radar. One of the most interesting instruments onboard the European probe orbiting Mars (increased importance after some recent finds).

links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4516535.stm

http://science.slashdot.org/science/05/05/08/0348213.shtml?tid=226&tid=160&tid=14

Where I am NOW 5

Lately the free-living wild boar (pig) is abundant in the area. In the picture we can see a mire.

On the left we can see details (A) fur marks (B) foot prints

To learn more about the wild boar:

http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Mammal/Boar.htm

Where I am NOW 4

Although the road (street?) has only 2 houses, it has a very nice name sign, in glazed tiles, with a nice cote of arms.

(as a rule if you click in any of the pictures in this blog you will go to my photo album where sometimes you can find other versions of the same picture, generally with better resolution)

From Math to Fiction

The author of this book is a good friend of mine, writing her first book. We have been friends for more than 30 years, from the times when we were both students the Faculty of Sciences. She is a damn good mathematician. I hope she will be a good writer as well.

Where I am NOW 3

Another aerial photo.


The photo I posted last Wednesday is just a blow up of this.

My house is near the upper left. The other house in the picture was bought by a closer relative of mine, 10 years ago or so, although its associated plot of land is in the other side of the road.