Should we celebrate Columbus Day or Exploration Day?

Recently I watched a hangout on Google+ where Nicole Gugliucci of CosmoQuest interviewed Tom Diehl about a proposal he is involved with to rededicate Columbus Day to Exploration Day, and within minutes of watching the hangout and listing to Tom I was hooked on the idea.

Tom Diehl along with Karl Frank and Dr. Rod Wright are putting forth a proposal that Columbus Day be rededicated as Exploration Day. You may ask why should Columbus Day be rededicated as Exploration Day? Well in my opinion this quote from Karl Frank in this Discovery.com article best sums up the rationale behind the proposal:

"Rededicating Columbus Day as Exploration Day will allow those who wish to commemorate his accomplishments to continue doing so," says Frank. "But for those who find Columbus's role in history disquieting, it will enable them to celebrate the day in a very different way. Exploration Day covers the depth and breath of America’s rich history of exploration, research and discovery. Thus, Exploration Day will be something that unites rather than divides." (1)

That quote drives home the one point that I really like about the Exploration Day proposal, and that is that Exploration Day would be an all inclusive celebration of exploration that anyone in the US can embrace. Also given that the holiday would be near the start of the school year it would also be a great springboard to get students more involved in exploring science, technology, engineering, and math; also known as STEM.

Below is the video of the Google+ hangout Nicole Gugliucci, and Tom Diehl that is well worth watching. I am hopeful that once you watch the video and check out the included links to the Exploration Day web site, and several articles, you too will also be a supporter of Exploration Day:



Links to the website and articles:

• The Exploration Day web site which includes links for petitions to both Congress and to the President.
• Discovery.com - SHOULD COLUMBUS DAY BECOME 'EXPLORATION DAY'?
• Wired.com - Why Exploration Deserves a Holiday

Happy Exploration Day ~ Jim

Credits:
(1) Discovery.com

Friday fun: Mars:2020:Springtime

Here a hilarious piece of animation to celebrate the successful landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars:



This great piece of work by nickjsky was originally uploaded to YouTube in Aug 17, 2006.  Check out his comments regarding the video here, and give him a thumbs up for his excellent work.

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: POrtal: Terminal Velocity

This video has been making the rounds this week, and even though it has been posted elsewhere it's so cool that I just have to repost it here:



You can be certain that I'll be playing Portal this weekend..

Thanks to Jason Craft for posting this video.

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Music for a Monday: Sascha Funke - Mango (Original Mix)

I don't know what it is about this video, but I love it and I thought I would share it with you:



Thanks to eggbirdtherooster for not only posting this video on Youtube, but for also introducing me to Sascha Funke.

Maybe some day I will visit the Netherlands and make the trip from Delft to De Lier.

Cheers ~ Jim

Friday fun: Real Tracking and Shooting Portal Turret

After watching this I find myself in a quandary. Do I go and play Portal for a few hours, or do I get cracking on my Arduino project(s).



I think I'll get cracking with the Arduino.

Thanks to kss5095  for post this on Youtube.  Best of luck on your project!

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: How To Survive A Robot Uprising (aka Robopocalypse)

Hmm, so what about Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics?



Thanks to epipheo for post this on Youtube!

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: Darth Vader and the Imperial March on Bagpipes and Unicycle - The Unipiper

Umm, words fail me:



Thanks to squiddkidd for posting this on YouTube. Check out the Unipiper on Facebook: www.facebook.com/theunipiper

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

New Sony SL-HF-2000 Beta VCR For Sale

And now for something other than a Friday Fun post.

I have a New Sony SL-HF-2000 Beta VCR for sale. When I say new I mean "never used and still in it's original unopened box".

A quick scan of listings on Amazon and eBay indicated that the going price for a used / refurbished Sony SL-HF-2000 Beta VCR is somewhere between $500 and $1000.

I will accept bids on the SL-HF-2000 until June 1st, 2012. The minimum bid is $500 unless someone makes me an outlandish offer for a quick sale :)

Purchaser will pay for shipping unless you live in the Seattle area. Since the box is to remain unopened the conditions are "as is".

You can email me at betavcr@miba51.com if you have any questions.

I also have another Sony SL-HF-2000 Beta VCR that I haven't used for a long time, but I want to hold on to that until I transfer some tapes to DVD. If you live in the Seattle area and you can readily transfer the tapes to DVD for me then you can have this used Beta for $250. I'll even throw in an old Sanyo Beta that you can use for a tape rewinder.

Of course this may all seem a little preposterous to many people out there, but I don't want to deal with eBay, and this is the best way I can think of for finding a good home for these VCRs.

This posting will be deleted either once the "new" Sony SL-HF-2000 Beta VCR has been sold or after June 1st.

Cheers ~ Jim Cox

Friday fun: Arduino PIR Alarm

Here is another great project courtesy of makemagazine featuring John Park, host of Make: Television, showing how to build a PIR (passive infrared) based motion alarm using an Arduino.



More information on the Arduino PIR Alarm can be found here: http://makeprojects.com/Project/PIR-Sensor-Arduino-Alarm/72/1

You can buy the PIR here: http://www.makershed.com/product_p/mkpx6.htm

As John points out, because of their cold body temperatures this PIR alarm is ineffective against zombies, but may be useful against other beasties!

Have a great zombie free weekend ~ Jim
PS: I forgot to follow up the last post regarding the Sony SL-HF-2000 Beta VCR that is still in the box. I'll try to follow up later this weekend.

Friday fun: We Code Hard.mp4

As I have said before I am not a big fan of rap, but video is worth posting:



Thanks to my friend and fellow CoConut Rogelio for sharing this on FB and G+, and thanks to abdulshahbazkhan for originally uploading this to YouTube.

For those of you who read this blog you may have noticed that I haven't been posting much lately. Sorry, but work and other issues have a higher priority. I do plan to post more frequently in the future and hopefully I will have time to work on my Arduino project and post about it as well as my studies in networking (I am working towards some sort of certification).

Have a great weekend ~ Jim
PS: Anyone out there in need of a Sony SL-HF-2000 Beta VCR that is still in the box? I will be posting about that later in the weekend.