I am in a hotel room in Vancouver, BC, writing this mere hours before embarking on a cruise ship bound for Alaska. On that ship will be James Randi and many dozens of skeptics, and we’re planning on having a vacation beyond belief (hahahahahahaha).
During this time I’m not sure how good my intertubes connection will be, but I’ll post what and when I can. I plan on taking lots of pictures and maybe even some video, so stick around I’ll share as much of this fantastic experience as I’m able.
If you went to BadAstronomy.com and found yourself here, never fear: the BA Blog has moved to its new home at Discover Blogs. The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking and all that) is still online, too.
Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
|
| Bad Astronomy is a Wikio Top Blog! Clearly, Wikio has excellent taste. | |
 | ||
 | Bad Astronomy was chosen as one of Time.com's Best Blogs of 2009. |
 |
"Reading this book is like getting punched in the face by Carl Sagan. Frightening, but oddly exhilarating."
-- Daniel H. Wilson, author of How to Survive a Robot Uprising
DISCOVERmagazine.com: Latest Articles on Space DISCOVER Blogs: The Loom
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:55 am
I am so jealous.
Have fun, you should take video of you and Randi again like you did at TAM.
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:53 am
Perhaps you’ll have an adventure on the high seas as Uri Gellar and his ship the “Chicanery Warrior” attempts to commandeer or sink your vessel.
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:31 am
Also jealous. Have a blast! We’ll be here waiting for stories and pics
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:39 am
I wish I could be there. Tell Mr. Randi I said hello.
Can’t wait to see the pics.
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:46 am
I am sooo jealous. Have fun!
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:55 am
I did an Alaska cruise on Princess a few years ago. It’s getting into storm season up that part of the coast, so I hope you’re not prone to sea sickness.
It’s a beautiful trip though… Hope you brought some big binos and a camera.
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Yeah, yeah, yeah… Have fun on your little boat with your little friends as you watch the little whales and whatnots. I’ll just go stand on the shores of Lake Michigan and shake my fist in a jealous rage.
Seriously, though, have a blast. I wish I could be there.
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
hey there just wondering what ur take is on this:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/29jul_planetx.htm
bye:)
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Hey (might have mailed this once but nvm here goes)
What is our take on this :
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/29jul_planetx.htm
just wondering…
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I think that planet’s been named, and has triggered a recategorisation of Pluto, since the article was written.
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Johan,
You’re referring to the KBO now known as “Eris”, and yes, as Alex said it’s triggered a recategorization of Pluto. Pluto, Eris, and the asteroid Ceres are all now classified as “dwarf planets”. This all happened late last summer or thereabouts.
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Have a great time on the cruise! I do apologize for the weather here in Vancouver today though. It’s been rather a pathetic excuse for a summer this year. Hopefully it will clear up as you head up the coast.
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I’m not certain but it looks like the internet service they provide is called Connect@Sea, which is something like $10-$25 per day and has speed similar to dial-up.
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I’m sure you’ll love the trip! If you make it up to Fairbanks pop me an email, I’d love to meet the man who’s been knocking sense into all the goofballs. Plus, should be some good Aurora activity this week.
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:52 pm
As pirates say, fair winds and following seas, me matey! Have fun, ’cause I’ll be starting school and you’ll be in the Galapagos! Razzle frazzle…
Troy- thanks for teaching me a new word:
Chicanery, noun, cheating or deception: deception or trickery, especially by the clever manipulation of language
(Encarta Dictionary Tools)
That would make a great movie, by the way. I can see the tagline: “Hidden in the waves- danger beyond belief!” You should pitch it, I’d pay to see it, as long as the BA played himself. (I just saw the latest Scooby-Doo movie and solved almost all of the mystery by myself, so I’m hooked on exotic adventures!)
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I must have obviously missed something…whappen to your cruise to Galapagos?
Pete
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Jealous.
But I’ll be on one of those cruises someday!
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Jealous. Yep. Jealous that you get to do stuff like this and my wife busts my chops for going next weekend to Bear Mountain on the Va/West Va border. I’ll be there 2 nights (with Saturday reserved for a little sidewalk astronomy with the EPO folks at NRAO’s Green Bank Radio Astronomy Observatory) and she’s pissed! Says I owe her one. Oh well… I hope it’s clear, dangnabbit! I have a 300mm Nikkor I want to train on Cygnus…
Have fun, Phil!
Rich
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Ah, yet again reading your blog causes the green-eyed monster to rear its ugly head again. *Sigh* We’re well acquainted now and there is so very little left to discuss with him. Oh, I guess there’s always board games.
Seriously though, have fun.
*Muttering to self*: I wonder what he’ll do if Colbert takes him up on his challenge while he’s away.
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:16 am
We want videos! More “Science, science! Send money!”
Think you’ll do whale watching?
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:30 am
Name dropper. I’mjealous.
Well, I’ll head off and hang with Derick and Swoopy. With my Aussie treats. (see… I can do it too).
Philip from Australia.
September 3rd, 2007 at 11:40 am
Phil Rememeber: If you fall overboard while the ship is underway, swim like hell AWAY from the ship. Obviously yell and scream and stuff to try to hopefully get the attention of someone, but the thing you also have to bear in mind is that (especially if you are near the stern) you could get drawn into the props by the massive current they generate.
This happened to those who tried to escape the Britannic shortly after it began to sink. So remember, swim away from the side of the ship with all you’ve got and try to splash and yell too. Hopefully someone saw you go over anyways, because in Alaskan waters you don’t have more than a few minutes before you’re going to seize up from hypothermia, even in the summer.
Hopefully they’ll signal a man overboard alert which will mean they’ll shut down the engines and send a rescuer down, possibly on a life boat… or lower a rope ladder once its safe
Anyways… it’s a bad situation no matter how you cut it, so don’t try to impress the ladies by showing how well you can swim and diving off the deck. THAT IS WHAT THE POOL IS FOR!
Also… remember that if you break the law in international waters you are no doubt going to have some jurisdictional dicey situations. That stuff is governed by a hodge podge of treaties and presidents going back centuries. For this reason, it often doesn’t get prosecuted at all. And stuff like smoking the wacky weed would not really be illegal because it’s not in violation of general international law or common law anything…
Also: RED SKY IN THE MORNING SAILOR TAKE WARNING. RED SKY AT NIGHT SAILORS DELIGHT!
Pirates: If you are boarded by pirates, just cooperate and give them what they want. Generally pirates do not want to kill the passengers and certainly not sink the ship. They just want the loot. And generally they don’t want to get a reputation for killing non-resisting passengers because that will only end up making things harder for them in the future. (If people start resisting it makes the whole thing harder).
This is not without exception, but unless you are better armed, you pretty much can’t do much and are safest handing whatever you got over…. even your telescope if you have to. The worst case senerio is they would kidnap you for ransom. So do NOT tell them you are Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer.
Submarines: Sailing in a zig-zag pattern does not actually do any good against U-boats, that’s just a myth. And doing so does make the trip take longer, which only helps the U-boats get a hit. If you think you are shadowed by a submarine, you may want to just stick to hugging the coast. It can be risky, but a submarine needs much deeper water to operate underwater safely than a surface ship needs.
If all else fails and you are being tailed by a submarine or a torpedo boat, you can play chicken and turn around. Such vessels can be easily destroyed by ramming. But that should be a last resort.
If there is an iceberg ahead and the ship does not have enough time to avoid it then the best thing to do may be to go straight for it and try to hit it with the bow, but try to slow as much as possible. This is counter-intuitive, but it’s better to hit dead on than try to turn and run the risk of scrapping down the side of the ship.
If the ship is under attack from aircraft, it may be possible to inject large amounts of something like glycerol or another simple chemical into the engines. If done properly this can create a massive smoke screen which will make accurate targeting difficult optically. Of course this does not effect radar. If you can try to get the ship wedged between rock outcroppings or against the shore, then the returns from these will make it hard to pick out the hull on the radar.
Keep a lookout for mines. It’s less than perfect, but they do sometimes break the surface or make an apparent effect on wave action. Be vigilant for them, because mines are a merciless enemy who knows no rule of law and is blind to who you are.
This may seem counter-intuitive, but if you are going up against a battle ship or a gun destroyer, and you’re in an unarmed cruise ship, do NOT RUN AWAY! Come as close to them as possible. The guns are less effective close up than far away and they may have a limit to how far down or up they can come. These are basically indirect fire weapons. If you’re right up next to them they’ll basically be limited to small arms. You can sideswipe them. That may be the best offensive maneuver.
Torpedoes:
Keep a lookout for these and inform the bridge of any potential bubble trials. The thing to remember is that defensive maneuvers can be effective, but you need to see it ASAP to have a chance. Try to make a turn and come back toward the torpedo so you can pull off to the side. But one thing to bare in mind is that you don’t want to do this if you think it might make the torpedo hit your vessel broadside. That’s worse.
Modern torpedoes however do not necessarily go for the ship. They may try to get UNDER the ship and explode with a high power blast and shock wave which will break the ship’s keel. The most effective place is the center. If you can get the explosion close enough to the bow or stern you may be able to be lifted up with minimal damage.
But remember that the stern has it’s own issues. This is where your rudders, props and such are. If those get jammed you are a sitting duck.
If you find yourself lost on an uninhabited island, well that’s a whole issue onto itself and I will be sure to post what you need to now a bit later.
September 3rd, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Pirates: If you are boarded by pirates, just cooperate and give them what they want. Generally pirates do not want to kill the passengers and certainly not sink the ship. They just want the loot. And generally they don’t want to get a reputation for killing non-resisting passengers because that will only end up making things harder for them in the future. (If people start resisting it makes the whole thing harder).
Pirates aren’t a huge concern in Canadian and American waters between Vancouver and Anchorage.
“Stop and give us the loot or we’ll harpoon you like a whale!!”
Most cruise ships don’t have propellers in the traditional sense. They use something different whose name escapes me at the moment. You wouldn’t want to be sucked into it, but it’s different from the traditional rotating fan.
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Older and smaller ones use propellers in the traditional sense, but many of the new ones use Azipods: http://www.marinelog.com/IMAGES/podazipod.jpg
I wouldn’t want phil sucked into either!
September 3rd, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Looks like a steerable propeller to me…
September 3rd, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I thought that pirates was much to busy these days, making illegal copies of DVDs, to roam the seas and pillage ships.
September 3rd, 2007 at 4:08 pm
On the subject of pirates – while we’re on it – there’s a good article on modern-day pirating in the latest Smithsonian Magazine.
Sounds like they’re trouble unless it happens to be Captain Feathersword.
September 3rd, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Thanks, Kevin F. Now I’m going to have the Wiggles bouncing around in my head for the rest of the afternoon.
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:04 pm
ABR, the big question for me now is: in 200 years will it be okay for a children’s program to have a character named “General Happybomb the friendly terrorist”?
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Johan, I noticed the last line of the article: “A permanent name has been proposed by the discoverers to the International Astronomical Union, and they are awaiting the decision of this body before announcing the name. Stay Tuned!”
Nibiru anyone? *Laughs maniacally* BUWAHAHAHAHAAA!
If nothing else, it would give George Noory and the rest of the conspiracy theorists of the world something to talk about for the next 1000 years or so…
September 3rd, 2007 at 6:13 pm
I only have one request. Can you ask Randi of he’s ever had a sceptical look at the Pharmaceutical industry and it’s Science ? I’ve seen articles defending Pharma Science in the Skeptical Inquirer, but they always cite the “peer reviewed” nature of Pharma Science. The drug trails that those papers are based on are highly expensive procedures that only the drug companies can afford. Does the “it’s been peer reviewed” confirmation pass everything ?
Oh, and look at the stars up there.. low light pollution ?
MouseOnMars
September 4th, 2007 at 7:48 am
Um… INTERESTING advice, drbuzz0. I really doubt that the pirates will know who BA is. And you don’t have to worry about him showing off for girls as he’s married. Are you by any chance a shipwreck buff? Because I thought I was the only one! (Scientific brain activates) Here’s a test: What was Britanic’s original name and why was it changed?
September 6th, 2007 at 11:22 am
I should have read this days ago.. DrBuzz0 is funny!
But, lest some folk think otherwise..
in no particular order:
Alaskan water – even “inland” is plenty deep. In fact, typically about as deep as the adjoining mountains are tall. Plenty of room for any modern submarine to maneuver – albeit slowly.
Pirates are *very* unlikely in Alaskan waters. 99% of all vessels are well armed (ok, not the vessels themselves, but the crew certainly is)
If you fall overboard, don’t worry about the ship stopping for you. Oh, it will, but it takes TIME to stop those things. It will be MUCH faster to send a small boat back for you. This time of year, in those waters.. you might have 15-30 minutes of survival time before hypothermia pulls the plug on you.
Hugging the shoreline or blowing smoke.. neither is effective at all in the modern era (haven’t been for years… munitions can target via radar, thermal, electronic signature…)
On the good side, of course, if the ship DOES sink and you don’t make it to a lifeboat, the shore is bare miles away at worst. Even better, there are very few sharks to worry about.