Doug Cornelius .com

Stefan Ager was celebrating at the top of the mountain in the Stubai Alps with a friend, filming the scenery and preparing to descend on their skis. Then things went wrong. He had bad footing and started sliding backwards.

Fortunately, for us his camera was rolling the whole time.

Fortunately for him, Ager walked away from the accident, apparently completely unhurt

Space shuttle Discovery’s liftoff from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 24 for the last time.

Discovery and its six-member crew are on a mission to deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module and Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the International Space Station.

This is Discovery’s 39th and final mission. It is scheduled to be retired following STS-133.

Watch the animated version of the historic winter storm moving Across the U.S.

From NASA:

In a winter marked by several crippling storms, the storm of February 1–2, 2011, stands out. Heavy snow, ice, freezing rain, and frigid wind battered about two thirds of the United States, making it “a winter storm of historic proportions,” said the National Weather Service. This animation—made with images from the NOAA-NASA GOES 13 satellite—shows the giant storm developing and moving across the country between January 31 and February 2.

This image, a still taken from the animation, shows the storm at 4:31 p.m. Eastern Time on February 1. In the image, the storm measures about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from west to east. The storm formed when cold Arctic air pushed south from Canada while moist air streamed north from the Gulf of the Mexico. The animation shows clouds building over New Mexico and Texas early in the day. As the system develops and moves northeast, the storm grows and becomes more organized. By the end of February 1, the storm was a sprawling comma that extended from the Midwest to New England.

By 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on February 2, the National Weather Service reported that 21 states from New Mexico to New Hampshire had received at least 5 inches (13 centimeters) of snow. Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma declared states of emergency. According to news reports, one in three Americans were affected by the storm.

The monster storm brought record snowfall to many areas, including Chicago, perhaps the hardest hit population center. The city received 20.2 inches of snow, a record for February and the third biggest snowstorm for any date in Chicago. The record was set at 23 inches (58.4 cm) on January 26–27, 1967.

The storm left a solid swath of snow from New Mexico to New England. Images of previous 2010-11 winter storms in December and January can be viewed in the severe storms section of the Earth Observatory.

References

1. NASA Earth Observatory Historic Winter Storm Moves Across the U.S.
2. Animated version of the historic winter storm moving Across the U.S.
3. CNN. (2011, February 2). Powerful storm brings record snowfall across the country. Accessed February 2, 2011.
4. Masters, J. (2011, January 31). Potentially historic winter storm poised to impact 100 million Americans. Weather Underground. Accessed February 2, 2011.
5. National Weather Service. (2011, February 2). Historic winter storm. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Accessed February 2, 2011.
6. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Chicago, IL. (2011, February 2). History of 10 inch or greater snow storms in Chicago. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Accessed February 2, 2011.
7. The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. (2011, February 2). Storm summary message. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Accessed February 2, 2011.
8. Wisniewski, M. (2011, February 1). Winter storm engulfs huge swath of U.S. Washington Post. Accessed February 2, 2011.

I was excited when I saw the press release that NASA was holding a press conference to “discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.”

NASA scientists announced that they found a form of microbe that apparently evolved the ability to use otherwise toxic arsenic in their biochemistry!

Although I thought it might have been discovered on Titan (or maybe Mars). The bacteria was found in Mono Lake, an extremely alkaline and salty lake in California near the Nevada border. That means it’s not really an alien, just very different.

Mono Lake has a pH of 10, about twice the saltiness of ocean water and a high concentration of arsenic. That’s going to kill lots of stuff. But not these little critters.

This constitutes the first discovery of a life form capable of replacing one of the “big six” (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus) elements in its genetic makeup. If something can live on a diet of arsenic, a potent poison to us humans, then the standard definitions of “life as we know it” will need a bit of revision.

Study lead author Felisa Wolfe-Simon and her colleagues Professor Davies and Ariel Anbar of Arizona State University initially suggested in a paper an alternative scheme to life as we know it. The scientists’ idea was that there might be life in which arsenic and arsentates could work in place of phosphorus and phosphates.

Putting it to the test, they began to study the bacteria that live in Mono Lake.

They grew the bacteria in a laboratory on a diet of increasing levels of arsenic. To their surprise, the microbes eventually took up arsenic and incorporated it into the phosphate groups that cling to the bacteria’s DNA.

However, the research found that the bacteria thrived best in a phosphorus environment. That means the bacteria are not second type of life on Earth, but merely adapted to work with arsenic in place of phosphorus.

See also:

• Mono Lake bacteria build their DNA using arsenic (and no, this isn’t about aliens) in Not exactly Rocket Science
• NASA’s real news: bacterium on Earth that lives off arsenic! by Phil Plait in Bad Astronomy
• Subsisting on Arsenic, a Microbe May Redefine Life By Dennis Overbye in the New York Times
• Arsenic-loving bacteria may help in hunt for alien life
  By Jason Palmer for the BBC

“NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.”

Think about that for a minute.

Have they found a secret Martian base?

From the background of the participants it sounds more like they have found some extra-terrestrial basis for life that is different from most life here on Earth. I would guess that it is arsenic-based biochemistry happening on Titan.

Let’s look at the participants:

Mary Voytek, Director, NASA Astrobiology Program

“Dr. Voytek’s primary research interest is aquatic microbial ecology and biogeochemistry. She studies environmental controls on microbial transformations of nutrients, xenobiotics, and metals in freshwater and marine systems.”

Felisa Wolfe-Simon, NASA astrobiology research fellow

“I apply a background in molecular biology, biochemistry, and phytoplankton physiology to uncover the sequence of events that shaped the evolution of the modern oceans phytoplankton and life itself.”

“Arsenic as a prebiotic chemical analog of phosphate ( Wolfe-Simon, Davies, & Anbar, 2009). Essentially, arsenic (in the oxidized 5+ state as arsenate) is biologically, so similar to phosphate that many enzymes cannot recognize the difference. This constitutes the basis for much of the toxicity of arsenate and so most detoxification pathways in biology aim to reduce arsenate to more volatile forms for easier removal from biological systems. However, due to the increased mobility of reduced arsenic species, often the toxicity of arsenic increases as the redox state decreases.

To further this hypothesis, we have embarked on two different approaches to test assimilatory arsenic utilization. Firstly, as part of the NASA Astrobiology Institute we are examining arsenate-rich environments to hunt and enrich cultures for organisms utilizing arsenate in novel and unique modes.Here is a good recent review on what is known about arsenic microbial pathways put in an astrobiological context (Oremland, Saltikov, Wolfe-Simon & Stolz, 2009).

In concert with this in situ and/or in vivo type work, we are also collaborating with Dr. Steve Benner and Dr. Nicole Leal at The Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and Dr. Marcelo Guzman to measure the spontanous incorporation of arsenate into a DNA backbone.

There are other approaches to search for life “as we do not know it” here on Earth. For more information, check out this paper (Davies, Benner, Cleland, Lineweaver, McKay & Wolfe-Simon, 2009).”

Pamela Conrad, astrobiologist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Pamela was a primary author of  Geochronology and Mars Exploration which focuses on the planetary process as a foundation for framing geological and biological evolution.

Steven Benner, distinguished fellow, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, Fla.

“While ‘life’ may universally be a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution, alien life may be quite different in its chemistry from the terrain life that we know here on Earth. In this case it will be difficult to recognize, especially if it has not advanced beyond the single cell life forms that have dominated much of terran biosphere.” [Chemistry, Life, and the Search for Aliens]

Benner is on the Titan team at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was an early proponent that the methane on Titan could play the role that water plays for life here on Earth.

James Elser, professor, Arizona State University

Is a champion of the “follow the elements” in addition to water when searching for extra-terrestrial life.

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, with a dense atmosphere and bodies of liquid on its surface. It’s about 50% larger in diameter than Earth’s moon and bigger than the planet Mercury.

The Cassini–Huygens mission in 2004 discovered liquid hydrocarbon lakes in Titan’s polar regions. These are the first stable bodies of surface liquid found off Earth.

See also

• Has NASA discovered extraterrestrial life? on Kottke.org
• Have We Discovered Evidence For Life On Titan by Chris McKay on Space Daily

Getting an idea from the 1,000 places to See Before You Die, Massachusetts decided to put together a list of 1,000 great places in Massachusetts.

It’s a mixed bag of places, with some obvious choice, some obscure places, and some head scratchers.

The worst part of the list is that it’s sloppy. There are at least two duplicates on the list

• The Longfellow Bridge and Longfellow Bridge in Boston
• Mount Auburn Cemetery and The Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge

That leaves us with 998 great places to visit.

I won’t mention the typos or mislocated items in the list. They didn’t even get the first item on the list correct. It’s Ames Nowell State park in Abington, not Ames Nole State Park.

They published the list as .pdf document: 1,000 Great Places. I find that completely useless. Boston Globe broke it down by municipality:1,000 places to visit in Massachusetts.

I’ve already been to many places on the list. Some are on my list of things to do. Some I should probably revisit with my kids. Some I’ve never heard of…… I sense a challenge.

Game ON!

The obvious game is to visit every Great Place on the list.

The first step requires making the list into a more usable piece of information. I created a Google Spreadsheet [Doug and the 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts] of all of the Great Places, a map location, whether I have been there and my story about the “Great Place.” I also started a Google Map of the 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts.

Sitting down and doing the math. If I visit one place per day, it would take about three years to visit each one. This is going to be a long project.

View 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts in a larger map
Yellow markers are places I’ve been
Green markers are places I’ve been and have published some information.
Blue markers are place I have not been.

PRESS RELEASE:

July 12, 2010, (Boston, MA) The committee charged with compiling the nominations for 1000 Great Places revealed the 1000 Great Places list at the State House today. With over 12,000 nominations, the range of Great Places shines on every part of the Commonwealth.

The Great Places initiative celebrates what is unique about the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, its communities, and its people. It aims to boost visitation to Massachusetts as well as give local residents the opportunity to visit known and unknown historic sites, cultural venues, and natural landscapes.

“This list of 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts celebrates what a truly special place Massachusetts is,” says Eric Turkington of Falmouth, a former state representative who chairs the Great Places in Massachusetts Commission. “It reminds us how fortunate we are to have such a wealth of heritage, cultural diversity, and natural beauty right in our backyard.”

“There are so many wonderful and exciting places to explore in Massachusetts,” said Betsy Wall, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, “the list of 1000 great places gives visitors the opportunity to see the variety and richness the Commonwealth has to offer”

“It was so exciting to see the enthusiasm this process generated from thousands of residents across the Commonwealth,” said Anita Walker, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. “The people of Massachusetts love their state and its special places with passion.”

All Great Places are open and available to the public.

The list of 1000 Great Places will be posted on the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) website at www.massvacation.com.

The 1,000 Great Places Commission was created by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick in 2009. Its mission is to identify and recognize the 1000 most truly special places in the Commonwealth, in order to celebrate pride in our history and culture, increase knowledge of our natural surroundings, and encourage regional and international tourism.

The program is administered through a partnership of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development; the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism and its regional tourism councils; and the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC).

Its members are listed below, along with their affiliation:

•The Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development:
Eric Turkington, Falmouth, former House Chair •Massachusetts Senate:
Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz, Boston
Senator Benjamin Downing, Pittsfield
Senator Robert Hedlund, Weymouth

•Massachusetts House of Representatives:
Rep. Susan Gifford, Wareham
Rep. Smitty Pignatelli, Pittsfield
Rep. Rosemary Sandlin, Agawam

•Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism/Regional Tourism Councils:
Larry Meehan, Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau
Nancy Gardella, Southeastern Mass. Convention & Visitors Bureau
Peter Tomyl, Mohawk Trail Association

•Massachusetts Cultural Council:
Sheila Balboni, Lawrence
Ricardo Barreto, Boston

When I first saw this picture, I thought it was fake:

It appears to be real.

• Street view of the sinkhole
• Other views of the sinkhole from CNN
• Guatemala: First, volcanic eruption; then, devastating tropical storm in Boing Boing

Apparently, the city sits on top of a Karst formation. The underlying limestone is highly soluble to underground water. As the underground water flows, the limestone is eroded, creating a cave. The Mammoth Caves in Kentucky is Karst Geology (.pdf).

In the sinkhole picture, the groundwater burst through the roof of the underground cave, letting the soil fall in and eventually creating a collapse sinkhole. Now it’s a portal into a deep underground cavern.

The US Coast Guard has published a few videos showing the underwater efforts to stop the gushing oil.

Here is the oil and gas stream from the riser of the Deepwater Horizon well May 11, 2010. This video is from the larger of two existing leaks on the riser. This leak is located approximately 460 feet from the top of the blowout preventer and rests on the sea floor at a depth of about 5,000 feet:

Here is a video as they lower the 100-ton containment dome to the sea bed May 7, 2010 as part of an effort to contain the leak from the Deepwater Horizon well.

With the rest of the state underwater, why has the City of Boston stayed dry? After all that same Charles River that runs along the Back Bay is the same river that has over-spilled its banks throughout Metro West. You would think that Storrow Drive, the Esplanade and the Hatch Shell would be under water.

The answer: the New Charles River Dam. The six pumps in the dam are pushing over three million gallons of water per minute from the Charles River Basin into the harbor.

Here is the NECN story:

Will the world of book publishing be subject to the same revolution as the music industry because of digital content? With the Kindle (or iPad or Nook) do to books what the iPod did to record albums?

It’s not my question to answer. But Jason Epstein from the The New York Review of Books has an excellent view on this in his article: Publishing: The Revolutionary Future

Digitization makes possible a world in which anyone can claim to be a publisher and anyone can call him- or herself an author. In this world the traditional filters will have melted into air and only the ultimate filter—the human inability to read what is unreadable—will remain to winnow what is worth keeping in a virtual marketplace where Keats’s nightingale shares electronic space with Aunt Mary’s haikus. That the contents of the world’s libraries will eventually be accessed practically anywhere at the click of a mouse is not an unmixed blessing. Another click might obliterate these same contents and bring civilization to an end: an overwhelming argument, if one is needed, for physical books in the digital age.