Tom Reestman // Hello and welcome to my twin blogs:
Twenty years ago Today
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With 66% of Americans obese compared to 47% in the 1970s, it's interesting to compare typical food portions today with those of two decades earlier. The "damage" isn't just that the amount of food and calories has increased; so has the idea of what constitutes a "normal" portion. See more at the above link.
Physicist Axel Mellinger pieced together this image of the night sky out of 3,000 individual images. Mellinger traveled 26,000 miles, taking images in South Africa, Texas and Michigan, then added data from two space probes. Yes, it's hardcore.
I love this kind of stuff. Making use of the viewer's intended point of view and perspective to create an illusion.
When viewed from the targeted point, it appears as a specific object represented in space (in the example above, a line seeming to bounce up and down). But when viewed from other angles, you see how it was actually painted to give the intended effect.
10 more great examples at the above link.
It's amazing how far some of this stuff goes. The mental Teddy Bears above are pretty mild compared to some. From toys a bit too suggestive, to those screaming racism, to those that emit harmful radiation, there's a lot here to make sure is not on your Christmas list.
The most prominent feature in the image is a ring with dozens of bright spots. A shock wave of material unleashed by the stellar blast is slamming into regions along the ring's inner regions, heating them up, and causing them to glow.
There is plenty of natural beauty here on earth, but for even more allure look up to the skies. Nine more at the above link, some of which can be viewed with amateur telescopes.
It really does seem to be a smarter mode of air travel long-term. See more at the above link.
Some of these are spectacular for the sheer beauty in them. Others I find remarkable just by knowing what it is, such as the above shot of Niagara Falls as it dumps 2 million liters of water over the side every second.
From cyclones, to wildfires, to glaciers, to landscapes that look like another planet, there are 19 more photos at the above link.
Lightning is one of nature's most beautiful and awe-inspiring displays, yet at the same time it's absolutely terrifying (along with its companion, thunder) to many.
At the above link you'll not only find stunning photographs of these spectacular light shows, but also great explanations of the many kinds of lightning that exist. It's not all thunderbolts, you know.
Lots of us know about glow worms and fireflies (they're here, too), but there are other exquisite living things that create their own light. From the beautiful and delicate sea creatures above -- first described only 30 years ago -- to glowing mushrooms or plankton, once again nature is putting on a show for us to see.
See more photos at the above link.
