1+1+1 for 365 day 4: Rustic and classic

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"When you re-read a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than there was before." - Cliff Fadiman



TODAY'S BOOK:

A year in Provence by Peter Mayle

I think of this as a modern classic of a autobiographical travel journal, but also a book on food, life and above all a celebration of the Provence - or at least those parts of it that have not been overrun by too many tourists.  This bestseller about the adventures of Mayle and his wife when they first bought a house and settled in the Provence is rich with atmosphere, keen observations and down-to-earth wisdoms.  Even if you had never been to the Provence (I'm lucky, I have been), reading his books on the subject makes you feel that you can smell the earth (and the truffles) and taste the wine, cheese and olives.

1+1+1 for 365 day 3: Galileo

TODAY'S QUOTE

"I render infinite thanks to God for being so kind as to make me alone the first observer of marvels kept hidden in obscurity for all previous centuries." - Galileo Galilei


TODAY'S BOOK

Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel.

Some of Dava Sobel's other books are sure to feature later in the 1+1+1 for 365 project, but I mention this one first because it was the first of her books I read and also it ties in well with today's quote.

Einstein said of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) that he was "the father of modern physics - indeed of modern science altogether."  Galileo revolutionised observational astronomy - and man's view of our place in the universe - by being the first to make scientific observations of the heavens through a telescope.  How remarkable his work was, becomes clear when you look at pictures of his telescopes: they were tiny and indeed less powerful than the smallest amateur telescopes available today. 

1+1+1 for 365 day 2: Reflections

TODAY'S QUOTE:

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."  - Oscar Wilde

I've loved this quote for many years. Astronomy is one of my enduring interests - but even if it weren't, I would have found the words inspirational.

TODAY'S BOOK:

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Wilde's only novel and one that could be summarised in the phrase "Vanity, thy name is... man?" (I know this might get me in trouble with some of my friends, but could not resist.)

There is no particular reason why I chose this as thefirst "classic"book to feature in this challenge other than the fact that I wanted something to tie in with the quote. Choosing between those many books that are standard works in so many libraries is not easy. I'll feature many more in days to come - not only because it was my field of study at varsity, but also because I feel naturally drawn to the elegance of books from the 17th to early 20th century.

Those novels made me fall in love with literature even as a young girl, and before I started my studies. I carried arms full of books home from our local library - often using my mom's library card because that meant I could

1 plus 1 plus 1 for 365 days

 

Let me start with the thank you: I have to thank Suki Lock, who is a fellow astronomy enthusiast, young mom and freelancer doing tons of different, interesting things, for the idea to do this 1+1+1 for 365 thing.

Or rather, I have to thank her for the picture part of this concept.  She has a 365-pictures project going and I suggested casually the other day that "maybe, I should copy your idea in my blog."  She did not mind - so there you go.

My overall concept goes a bit further, though and it starts today:  One picture, one book and one quote per day for a year.  I've been thinking for a while about adapting my blog to something that has a theme that will inspire me to keep going regularly. Well, this is it and let's see how long I can make it work.

Suddenly they were gone

It was a case of "now you see them, now you don't". That is how fast the cooling towers at the old power station at Athlone came down - 4 minutes before schedule.It happened quickly and indeed we were caught unawares because they pushed the button 4 minutes ahead of the scheduled time at noon. Also, there had been a rain shower and most of us had our cameras hidden at the time. I managed to get only one shot of the actual implosion, because my camera was hidden under my sweater. But I did manage to capture some of the atmosphere at Pinelands from where we watched.

The two "salt and pepper" towers had been a Cape Town landmark for decades since they were commissioned in the early 1960s. The power station was closed down in 2003 and after it bacame clear that the tower structures had become dangerous, the decision was made to implode them, following the example of similar cooling towers at power stations in other parts of the world.

I watched the event from Pinelands where my family live, together with my nephew Ulwin and niece Tara. It was one of those events where you know that people will say in future "I was there when..."

It took only a few seconds to destroy the towers, but somehow it had become a large, sociable event with many thousands people of all ages and backgrounds sharing the experience of witnessing it first hand. No decision has yet been taken about what the area will be used for in future. There have been many ideas and in the end it will probably end up being used for a mixture of residential, commercial and perhaps cultural and educational purposes. We'll have to see..

Also see my article at Digital Journal here where there are some excellent pictures courtesy of the demolition company Ross Demolitions and a video.

The best is yet to come for astronomy in SA

Among the many electronic newsletters on various subjects that end up in my inbox, the ones that I always glance at least briefly, are the astronomy-related ones.

Together with regular “clicks” to visit links via the places like the Astronomy Picture of the Day and numerous newsfeeds, the newsletters from NASA, JPL, Space.com, astronomynow.com, the Planetary Society and various astronomy clubs & societies around the world are very useful to keep up to date with relevant developments.

Naturally, for professional as well as amateur astronomers the “looking up” is the main thing. Professionals worry about funds and research project deadlines if their domes remain closed and data cannot be gathered from ancient light hitting their mirrors. Big, complicated research telescopes like SALT are not commissioned overnight and running them smoothly takes the technical expertise of some of the best minds on the planet. The astronomers find ways to work around problems and use existing data to continue their work or plan new projects from their offices – indeed, their telescopes no longer have the traditional eye pieces and modern research astronomers are mostly desk bound.

8 Management Lessons from Paul the Octopus

The world's most famous octopus may  have retired from the arduous task of predicting football games' outcomes, but he still has some lessons for managers. On the one hand, his high profile job is now done, but on the other hand, he leaves behind some perfectly sensible management principles. As far as the other four hands  and two legs are concerned (according to scientists, an octopus has six arms and two legs), he will use them doing what he likes best: entertaining children.

So what did we learn from Paul?  Here are some of his lessons:

¡Viva la Roja! and Viva South African pride!

The FIFA World Cup was an extraordinary event in many ways.  Not only did it produce a winner that had never won a World Cup before (from two finalists who had never done it), but it was held in a continent where it had never been held before. 

Many thousands of words have been written about how successful South Africa had been as hosts - and about the surge of national pride and togetherness that it brought.  Most of us are hoping that the same spirit will continue.  For a few days the "What now?" question will reflect the national psyche and then we'll have to address the "What's next" question in all seriousness. If somehow we can put the same energy behind education, the arts, science and especially also job creation and delivery of services as we did behind staging a successful world cup, we could keep those flags of pride flying high.

Meanwhile, I bet never before in the history of mankind has so much Rioja (the red wine that immediately says "Spain" to me) and cerveza been consumed by so many supporters of la Roja (literally "the red ones") in so little time. Or headache tablets on the morning thereafter.  And who would blame them?  As one of my favourite teams from the start, I was supporting them during the later stages of the tournament and was delighted that they won.  Having lived in Spain for a while many years ago as a young girl, there was a personal link - especially since I started watching football on TV in Spain on a small black and white set in my tiny apartment in Calle Capitan Haya in Madrid.  I became a fan of Real Madrid and have

Intermittent Internet driving us crazy

There's been a problem with local Internet service for many people using a range of ISPs due to part of the SEACOM cable being damaged.   Very frustrating not to know when you will be able to send/receive messages or reach your own or other websites.

Anyone reading this and who may have be suffering from this issue, may want to read the stories here (from Moneyweb) and various items on My Broadband , especially this one.  There is also this informative article by my friend  Christopher Szabo.

Starlit Ponderings July 2010 - Looking for Links

I was multitasking – working and listening with one ear to one of the FIFA World Cup matches on the radio - when my concentration was interrupted by the little voice that says “time you wrote the Ponderings for this month.” Well of course the inevitable happened – I started thinking about a link between the big celebration of the Beautiful Game here in South Africa and what I think of as the Beautiful Science.

First to the rescue was Albert Einstein. Since I am working on updating my talks about his life and work, I am reading yet another biography and from thoughts about space, time and gravity it was one quick mental jump to thinking that the world’s football lovers had been drawn as if by some strong force of gravity to South Africa.

From the author of "the Little Prince"

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward in the same direction. " Antoine de Saint-Exupery (one of his most beautiful quotes on the day he would have turned 110)

"I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind. " - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Google appropriately commemorated him with their Google Doodle today.

There's more in this article from The Guardian

Vuvuzelas et al

WOW the FIFA World Cup sure is interesting.  My early prediction is that Argentina has the best chance to take the Cup, with their closest competitors being Brazil, Spain, Portugal and dark horse the Nethnerlands.   In the meanwhile I was glad that both the US and UK made it to the next round since I have many friends in both those countries.

Bafana Bafana ended their campaign with honour, beating the French 2-1 but sadly did not get through to the next round. I shall be shouting for my two sentimental favourites Switzerland and Spain (two countries where I lived) for as long as they keep going...

Meanwhile, on those vuvuzelas that has everyone talking, some Friday fun:

Well done to the SpaceX team on Falcon 9 launch

One of the best "good news" stories of the past week has been the successful launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

If their programme continues to be this successful, it will indeed start a new era of spaceflight. It is already helping to stimulate new ideas about how to approach launch vehicles for spacecraft and may help to go further into other aspects of space exploration.

The FIFA World Cup 2010 - yes, it is here

It has been in the headlines for so long that one can almost not remember what it felt like without the FIFA World Cup dominating just about everything else in South Africa as far as hot topics are concerned.

For very many it is truly a dream come true. Some couldn't really care less about sport in general and football in particular, or about large events involving big crowds. Many worry about the real economic impact the World Cup will have on the South African economy. 

Others worry for different reasons - because they are in charge of some of the major arrangements nationally or in their home city. Let's hope for their sake they will have reason to start relaxing soon.

The Case of the Missing Ring and the New Bright Spot

Well no, this is not a whodunnit story (although it might easily be one!), it is a real science mystery.

The case of Jupiter's missing South Equatorial Belt is one that even professional astronomers are finding hard to explain. Although it has happened before on this planet with its turbulent weather, it is relatively rare for us to see the gas giant without that belt. Generally it is a rather baffling event.

The restaurant at the end of the Universe does not close in 2012...

25 May is a special day in the lives of fans of the work of Douglas Adams (1952-2001). Since I am one of those fans, I’m indulging in ponderings about his writings which, as I have discovered over the years, are close to the hearts of many of my friends and acquaintances  as well.

I am not aware of many other authors who have a special commemorative day that is celebrated all over the world. But on Towel Day, the annual celebration on 25 May, Adams fans around the world – and presumably the rest of the universe - proudly carry a towel in his honour. If you forgot to do so this year, then there are about 360 days left to plan your outfit (plaid dressing gown and slippers are strongly advised) and get your towel laundered.

The greatest threat?

Recently I was contemplating the significance of Earth Day (today, 22 April) and asked people on one of my websites what they thought of as the main candidates as the “greatest threat to Earth”. The answers included global warming (and related factors such as the ice caps melting and major coral reefs and forests dying), over-population, the lack of (or limited use of) renewable energy resources, a strike by a major asteroid or comet, some other major event in the Solar System, a nearby supernova and of course also the Sun.

My original question had been a bit misleading, because I wanted to see to what extent people equate the future of the planet with the future of life on Earth, and specifically the future of the human race. It is natural that we see the universe from the one point of view with which we can identify – the human perspective.

Although natural disasters may play a role, modern man is the probably the greatest threat to life on Earth - or to sustain life for beings such as the human race. There is no agreement on the time scales involved, but the majority view seems to be that, unless we act fast, we are heading towards destroying the environment to such an extent that in time to come, only very resilient life forms (and man might not be one of those!) will survive.

Fleeting moments - astronomically speaking

The fireball seen in the Northern parts of South Africa the country late last year prompted me to ponder about our fragile planet being hit by objects from space. However, it also made me think about the thrill and lasting impressions of some fleeting moments relating to astronomy.

There is the “everyday” beauty of moments of unexpected delight: a full moon that suddenly rises from behind buildings or a mountain like a butter-coloured yellow balloon against a navy-blue early evening sky. Or the pleasant surprise of looking up from the centre of a light-polluted city on a very clear evening - and realising that I could easily count six of the Seven Sisters in the Pleiades. Or watching the stars pop out one by one as you sit at the beachfront and having a stranger come up to you to ask if they may borrow your binoculars for a moment to look at Jupiter or Saturn.