The magnitude 8.9 earthquake that hit Japan last night has done a vast amount of damage. I’m seeing lots of information scattered around the web, and figured a post listing them might help.
First, if you need info about the quake, CNET has a long list of links for finding lost loved ones, information on the quake in general, and more.
There are many charitable, non-profit organizations that may or will be providing aid and relief. I asked on Twitter which ones people liked, and here are a few. I do not necessarily endorse these groups, but provide this for your information.
On Wednesday, February 9, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern (US) time (01:00 Thursday morning GMT) I will be participating in a live video webcast with Andrew Shaner of the Lunar and Planetary Institute. We’ll be talking about the Moon — I’m sure the Moon Hoax will be in there, but I have a hard time staying on topic, so I imagine we’ll also talk exploration, science, and more. And really, I’m always happy to talk about any astronomy or skeptical topic.
This will be a lot of fun, and I hope a bunch of BABloggees will be there. The audience can participate by filling out a brief form and entering their question at the link above. Easy peasy.
P.S. Despite the poster, I really don’t know where you live. Well, for some of you I do. I won’t say who though.
[UPDATE: We have a megawinner! @kurtjmac had the inning tweet, and the swag is on its way to him now. Thanks to everyone for joining in, and as always, stay tuned for more giveaways like this one. I still have a ton of stuff lying around.]
At the top of this year I had to do two things: replace my Mac laptop, which is so old the operating system is called Sabre Tooth (baddaBING!), which in turn meant rearranging my office as well (to make room for all the joyous new cables). While performing this archaeological dig I unearthed a lot of really cool stuff lying around in boxes and bags, plus a lot of what can only be called random crap, so I figure the sweat of my brow is your good fortune: I’m giving it away.
That’s right! I’m having Yet Another Bad Astronomy Giveaway contest, and this time it’ll be on Twitter. What am I including? This:
[Click to sharktopusenate.]
This is truly an awesome load of geekiness. To wit:
A SyFy tote bag from Comic Con last year that says "GIANT BACK PACK" on one side and "MEGA TOTE" on the other. Yes.
A copy of George Hrab’s CD "Trebuchet" (it has a track on it narrated by Yours Truly), signed by him and me.
A pre-production signed copy of my book Death from the Skies!, because why not?
A very cool 2011 desk calendar "The Year in Space", with tons of great pictures; that would normally run you $12 plus shipping. It’s published with cooperation by the wonderful Planetary Society.
A copy of (the sadly now-defunct) Geek Monthly magazine that has an article about me, and another about Wil Wheaton — signed by both of us.
A copy of Skeptical Inquirer with an article I wrote about star naming schemes.
A bunch of stickers, including one signed by SETI astronomer Seth Shostak.
Two anaglyph glasses (one red/blue, the other red/green) so you can see stuff posted in glorious 3D.
The SkepStick, a flash drive given away at the first TAM London, with cool skeptical documents on it.
A bunch of other stuff, including an NOAO four port USB hub, a plushy cosmic microwave background, some buttons, some postcards, a deck of Amazon cards I picked up at a conference, an origami flying pig folded by Aussie skeptic Richard Saunders, and more.
Phew! So, how do you win this megastuff? There are some rules, so avast:
Just some quick notes for a Sunday after a big holiday:
I heard that "Bad Universe" will air on Discovery Asia and Discovery Channel in New Zealand and Australia starting Sunday January 16 at 7:30 p.m. Just so’s you know. Check your local listings, etc. etc.
So you read this blog, which means you’re a hopeless geek. And chances are, you have other such folks in your life too (I have too many to count*). And what geek doesn’t want more books? One who’s dead, that’s who, and assuming your geek friends aren’t zombies, then they’re both alive and want books. So here are a few that might keep them enthralled over winter’s chill grasp.
BSG is one of the very few scifi shows that made the crossover into mainstream, and for good reason: tough, gritty, and with a devotion to getting as much of the science right as possible. That last bit was in no small part due to my friend Kevin Grazier who was the science advisor on the show, and is the co-author of this book. I was expecting it to be pretty good, but it still exceeded my expectations. It was a very enjoyable read, briskly taking on cutting-edge scientific ideas as explored in BSG. Artificial Intelligence (duh), faster-than-light travel, radiation, weaponry, ships, planetary science — it’s a complete and nerdtastic dissection of all the science you ever saw in the show. Before the book came out, Kevin and I would debate various science topics in the show (he always had some comeback to my critiques) and I had a lot of fun finding those same arguments in the book. If you’re a BSG fan, then yeah, you want this book.
James is the author of The Physics of Superheroes and was the science advisor for the Watchmen movie, so you know we’re talking serious dork here. He’s also a really good writer; this new book on quantum mechanics was a lot of fun to read. He ties together comic book and pulp story predictions of the future with the way things really turned out, stressing that the energy revolution predicted (that would give us rockets to other stars and flying cars) turned out to be an information revolution fanned by advances in QM. And this weirdest of all sciences is made understandable by James; I’ve always wondered how glow-in-the-dark materials work, why lasers hardly need any energy source given how bright and strong they are, and just what makes semi-conductors so versatile. It’s all there. Also? Coolest cover for a science book ever.
Last week, I posted a very cool picture of the Nile delta region taken at night by a NASA satellite. I commented that this photo really makes it clear why that area was the seat of a civilization for millennia; the lights of the cities up and down the river contrast hugely with the dark desert areas.
I wasn’t trying to give an in-depth analysis; I wanted to spark some thinking and a conversation about it. That certainly happened; the post and picture have generated some fascinating comments. One of the best is from science journalist Heather Pringle, who wrote an interesting post about how the desert may have actually helped support Egyptian pharaohs regain power after a long decline.
I am no expert on this part of mankind’s history, so I don’t have an opinion on how likely or not this scenario is, but I will say this: you never know what a single photograph might start. Sometimes, the only way to see a situation is to see it from the outside, and when you do there’s no telling what might come of it. In this case — as is so often true — a look down from space, a glimpse from above and beyond, can ignite thought processes and inspire treks through avenues previously unsuspected.
That’s not why we set out to explore space, but I sometimes think that this may be its enduring legacy.
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's written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic and fights the abuse of science, but his true love is praising the wonders of real science.
The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking, movie reviews, and all that) can be found here.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
"If things worked the way I wanted them to, any reporter about to do another 'sensational' story on deadly meteors would consult this volume, and bang! common sense would find its way into the news. How strange would that world be?" -- Adam Savage, Mythbusters
"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
