No this is not Sci-Fi

This is an actual cave in Mexico, only recently discovered in 2000. It was a veritable crystal factory for tens of thousands of years, sitting under just the right conditions of mineral filled water, heat and time until the 1980s when a mining company accidentally drained the cave. If these crystals look huge, its because they are the biggest on Earth. Some of them weigh in at over 50 tons. Because the mining company drained the cave they have to be extremely careful about who goes in there. The lack of water, introduction of other natural gases and air temp can all effect the crystals, possibly causing them to collapse. So for now, marvel at the photos and check the story from National Geographic about the authors trip into the stifling cave.

Global Warming

350 is the number in parts per million that we need to bring our carbon dioxide down to in order to not die a catastrophic death. Its currently been hovering in the 380s and growing at 1-3 ppm per year. Not good, considering that prior to the industrial revolution and coal burning/car driving growth, it was at 270. An observation lab in Hawaii has been tracking it since the 60s. More at 350.org.

Ten things you don't know about the earth

More fun facts and an interesting read from Discover magazine about the planet. No time to pull out the key tidbits, so I'm suggesting this is worth a full read. Most of the first facts talk about the weird and shifting shape of the earth but there is more, oh, there is more. From multiple moons, to yo-yoing in a tunnel through the center of the planet infinitely like a pendulum, the author outlines some pretty wondrous facts. He also closes with a cheesy but appropriately Bueller paragraph I found resonant. Its reflects one of my motivations for this here blog.

But remember the main point here: you live on a planet, and you may not know all that much about it. The only cure for that is learning, and that’s driven by wonder. Keep wondering, and keep learning. And don’t forget to look around.

Thanks to Kottke.org.

Bigfoot gets stabilized

We've all seen the notorious and grainy Bigfoot footage shot in the woods in Northern California. Well someone has stabilized the film into a gif and its pretty fun to watch. Just for kicks, I checked my skepticism and watched the footage objectively. After a close look, I'm convinced that it's a person, once you remove the shaking, Bigfoot has a pretty recognizable gate. I would think that even if a human lived in the woods his/her whole life, he/she would naturally develop a unique gait suited for the terrain. So for a cryptid (an animal unknown to science) to have such a human-looking gait, is pretty dubious.

But the history of the tape and the guys who filmed it is well documented, and pretty interesting. I had no idea there was such credence given to the tape. Check the story courtesy of Wikipedia.

From Boing Boing

Back at it!

Apologies to all 3 of my readers, I have been away for the last week and the blog has sat in a pool of its own pee and sweat. While I try to get back on top of things, I figured a good way to commemorate the week off would be to share what my pristine yurt went through during that time, so you have an idea of the state of me (actually I'm doing really well).

Earthquake

An earthquake rattled LA this morning. In my office on the 25th floor there was a large smash and then some serious swaying. It's pretty unsettling when you look out the window and see the earth moving from 300 feet up.

More from CNN,

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A magnitude-5.4 earthquake has struck just east of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Officials say there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 3 miles west-southwest of Chino Hills and 28 miles east-southeast of the Los Angeles Civic Center, which is in downtown Los Angeles, the USGS reports. The epicenter was about 8.5 miles deep. In general, earthquakes closer to the surface produce stronger shaking and can cause more damage than those farther underground. It was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego and across the border in Tijuana, Mexico. The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. (2:42 p.m. ET), according to the USGS. Kate Hutton, a staff seismologist at Caltech, said 11 aftershocks followed, with 3.8 being the largest and the only one felt, the Los Angeles Times reported.

No major aftershocks so far. Whew!

Water Water Everywhere!

They found water on the moon (care of Nat'l Geo). So, by my amateur calculations, we have water on Earth, Jupiter's moons, Mars and the Earth's moon. Only life on Earth though, unfortunately.

Anyway, back to the moon. They JUST discovered water molecules embedded in volcanic glass beads that were brought back from the moon by the Apollo missions in the 60s and 70s. Pretty startling stuff, especially because it throws a wrench in astronomers' long held theory that the moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago by a planet colliding with earth. For that to happen, the explosion would have reached a certain temp (that of molten solids) and would have vaporised the molecules that form water. So, the debate rages.

For some cool facts on the Moon, go here.

Undiscovered Tribe a Hoax?

I posted earlier about an undiscovered tribe of people in the Brazilian jungle. Turns out its not as impressive as it sounds. It might even be a hoax. More over at Boing Boing.

Ice? wOOt!

The Mars Rover discovered water ice on the surface of Mars. This is one of the biggest discoveries in the history of the space program I would have to imagine. Start here at the LAist for the story, including why I used wOOt in the title.

Undiscovered Tribes

News flash of the day - there are tribes of people living in the Brazilian and Peruvian jungle that are currently "undiscovered," i.e. that have not had contact with the outside world (presumably). National Geographic posted a story and the above image of what they believe was one of these tribes, shooting arrows at an airplane. Pretty strange situation. What surprised me the most was learning who usually finds these hidden communities. In my mind I've placed archaeologists at the far reaches of the globe, exploring, digging and studying ancient cultures and undiscovered lands (did I mention all of my friends went to see Indiana Jones this weekend?). Well, apparently I'm ignorant. Its not kind-hearted archaeologists that are finding these undiscovered tribes. It's oil company speculators. Not only oil company scientists, but logging companies and energy researchers. No wonder they paint themselves black and red and attack anything that is not a part of their tribe.

Another possible undiscovered tribe here.

Cherry Blossoms

Time lapse video of this year's recent cherry blossom bloom at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Better video and more here.