I’m still recovering from the lack of sleep and overdose of costumes at Dragon*Con, so for now I’ll just point you to a funny Foxtrot cartoon.
I’ll note he got the angles wrong, but I can forgive that.
Tip o’ the chef’s hat and heat shield to BABloggee Tim Froehlich.
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
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"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, 2008 at 8:54 am
Wow Phil. After just getting back from a summer term final in microcontrollers, that just made my day!
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:20 am
If you liked the Foxtrot cartoon, you’ll probably get a kick out of a recent La Cucaracha series:
We Join the Mexicans to Mars Press Conference in Progress – with Lou Dobbs
La Cucaracha
by Lalo Alcaraz
http://www.gocomics.com/lacucaracha/2008/08/20/
http://www.gocomics.com/lacucaracha/2008/08/21/
http://www.gocomics.com/lacucaracha/2008/08/22/
http://www.gocomics.com/lacucaracha/2008/08/25/
http://www.gocomics.com/lacucaracha/2008/08/26/
http://www.gocomics.com/lacucaracha/2008/08/27/
http://www.gocomics.com/lacucaracha/2008/08/28/
http://www.gocomics.com/lacucaracha/2008/08/29/
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 am
Angles? What if Mars is overhead in the cartoon? What if they’re on the equator when they’re having their barbecue? And what if suddenly there’s a huge shift on Mars, and the Polar Lander is now facing toward earth?
Huh? Huh?
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:58 am
I agree, the angles are perfect, clearly this comic is scientifically sound. You’re such a nitpicker!
By the way, this comic totally reminds me of you, Phil:
http://www.stonemakerargument.com/3.html
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:13 am
And that was just with lighter fluid. Imagine what Roger Fox could have done with some liquid oxygen!
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Exploding BBQ matter has mass and is effected by gravity, clearly it only looks like the angles are wrong, because we are only shown short segments of the line and they simply appear to be straight.
If they were shown from enough away, the correct trajectory, including the trans-lunar slingshot, would be more apparent. Of course, that orbital path is covered by international patents, and would open the author up to significant personal liability if it’s use was fully disclosed.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Angle problem aside- look at the spatial coherence of that flame!
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:09 pm
BBQHB (BBQ Hoax Believer): That was clearly done on a soundstage in Hollywood. Space is a vacuum, and a flame like that could not continue once it leaves Earth’s atmosphere.
GWB (our current
kingPres.): Give that man a job at the Pentagon. With a weapon like that, who needs nucular bombs! Now we’ll finally get that Obama bin Laden. What? It’s Osama? Oh, right. Him. Heh heh heh.SECI: The Search for Combustible Life?