SpaceBit

Rings

Before, during, and after shots (and a whole bunch more) from a day spent making wedding rings.

New York City is Leaking

From the NYT:

New York City is leaking some 20 million gallons a day. To fix it, the city has enlisted six deep-sea divers who are living for more than a month in a sealed 24-foot tubular pressurized tank complete with showers, a television and a Nerf basketball hoop, breathing air that is 97.5 percent helium and 2.5 percent oxygen, so their high-pitched squeals are all but unintelligible.

In the 1820s, New Yorkers used an average of 12 gallons of water a day. Individual water use peaked in the 1980s, at more than 200 gallons. Through conservation, technology like low-flush toilets and repairs to the city’s leaky pipes, consumption is now about 150 gallons a day per person.

Thanks to Apollo18 for linking to the article.

How do I use less water? Take shorter showers. Low flow shower head. Don’t flush urine. Brick or two in the back of the toilet. I haven’t timed it but it takes about 200 to 300 seconds to get hot water up 6 flights. I capture some of the cold water to give the plants. Do dishes soon after showering so that the water is already hot.

See where we have been. Look where we can go.

I was particularly interested in the last few minutes of the Obama acceptance speech last night when he discussed a 106 year old black female voter from South Carolina. He went over all the major events that she had witnessed our country had overcome, setting a stage for what we are capable of doing.

I was interested because it draws significant parallels to another motivational speech many of us have seen, and one I give frequently. As Obama did last night, the last few minutes of An Inconvenient Truth mentions slavery, women’s suffrage, the World Wars, segregation, MLK, cars and planes and the Moon, Berlin, Communism, and a few other environmental-specific events. Obama adds a “Yes We Can” between each event, and he is a better orator than Gore or I. But the examples and reasons for presenting them like that are the same.

I think I will be a bit embarrassed next time I give my version of AIT because it seems silly to try to compete with Obama as a motivational speaker. But I also realize I have a new event to discuss, one that can perhaps motivate people more than all the other historical images combined.

…Now I just need to have a discussion with Obama about this whole “clean coal” thing…

Microscope

I was inspired by a New York Times article and the Nikon Small World Competition to break out my digital microscope and take some pictures.

Help Us Win a Photo Contest

National Geographic Magazine is holding a photo contest. We are going to submit some of our photos. Help us pick the best ones. You can anonymously vote on them. Browse around and click the stars of each image that you like. If you click on an image, you’ll get a larger view, a brief description, the ability to vote there, and links to the previous and next images.

If you have suggestions or questions about any pictures, you can leave comments here, or below each photo. Comments won’t show up right away because I filter them to make sure they are not spam.

New Domain Name

Apologies for changing the domain name so soon after launch. I see where this blog is heading and I’ve decided to host it on a domain name I bought several years ago, http://spacebit.org. I chose that name because it is two things I like: Space (space) and computers (bits). Either you are reading this on that domain or this site will exist there shortly. Redirects will remain in place for a while, and then this site (fiftyfour) will be taken down, and your RSS feeds will stop working.

Civil Disobedience

My source at the Clinton Global Initiative spent the morning in a room with Clinton, Gore, Bush Sr., Bono, and a bunch of other interesting people. Apparently Gore called for civil disobedience, specifically by young people, to stop construction of new coal plants. An impressive request from a respected figure, but I’m not sure why he made it a generational issue. I think a disobedient grandmother would be more impressive than a disobedient teenager.

I’ve heeded the Gore call to action (pics) in the past. As I write this I’m debating if I’m willing to chain myself to something and get arrested for this cause. I am aware that any future astronaut applications would be disqualified by this action.

A bat in the shower

Yesterday we found a bat (status: deceased) hanging from the shower head in the bathroom. The bathroom door and window were closed. The bathroom is in the house. Most of the time the house door is closed too. No, I don’t know how or why either…

Me imitating Penguin

From Antarctica

Bye-bye Nexus of the Universe

Bye-bye wonderful home at 1st and 1st!

I've rented out my home for a year (bye-bye neighbors, bye-bye evil restuarant, hello tenant). I've canceled all the snail mail I can possibly cancel, set up e-bills where possible, and forwarded the rest (thank you Mom and Dad). I've canceled my phone (bye-bye evil phone company). I've moved out.

Now I need to pack…