Two New Sciences

It has become a habit with me that I read more than one book at a time. I never used to, in fact it confused me when I would try. But not any longer. I find that having several books on hand at once (and completely of different character) makes getting through all of them much easier. I am knee deep in three books at the moment, but the one I am choosing to write about now is the one I consider the most "difficult" of the three. It is the one I only read when I am wide awake, and very clear headed as it was written originally in 1665, and originally in Latin. I am reading an English translation of course, and the book is titled Two New Sciences and was written by Galileo. (The same Galileo that discovered the moons of Jupiter, and was forgiven for...whatever by the Roman Catholic Church in 1996 I think.)
Anyway, in an attempt to be honest, I am a quarter way into the book and have no idea what the first "new science" is. It's hard to tell what was cutting edge "new" science in the late 1600's from my position in time.
But my interest in not in discovering whatever genius Galileo had to impart on his readers, but more the...spirit, or historical value of his writing. I'm more interested in "listening" to Galileo speak, and admiring how his brain worked than what he thought. (Or maybe it's just me inadvertently admitting that I don't get all of what he's saying?)
Anyway, so far, the thing I find the most interesting is that the book is written as a dialogue. It's basically a discussion between three men; Simplicio, Sagredo, and Salviati. Galileo is not a "speaker" although he is referenced by the men as the Academician, and they are obviously discussing his ideas.
They are having a conversation, and trying to explain to each other the parts of Galileo's ideas (i.e. the Academican) the other doesn't understand.
One will begin by telling a story, or giving an analogy for a given point, and the others will be amazed by it, and confused and need clarification. For example Sagredo says. "My brain already reels. My mind like a cloud momentarily illuminated by a lightning-flash, is for an instant filled with an unusual light, which now beckons to me, and which suddenly mingles and obscures strange, crude ideas." (At this point I'm thinking to myself, "Dude! I am totally with you!") And so the dialogue progresses. Explanation, question, etc.
So far they have spent a fair amount of time talking about hemp rope and explaining why twisting it makes it stronger than each of the fibers it is made of. To be fair, while I don't really get what the "new science" part is about, I do now thoroughly understand why twisting rope makes it strong. And reading that the characters feel confused makes me feel slightly less idiotic. And that's nice. Maybe that was the point? I have no idea why you would write a scientific treatise as a dialogue, but I don't know who Galileo's audience was either. And maybe they were a lot like me? You know, 30-something geologists, who have nothing better to do than read books that were written hundreds of years ago:)
Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how the rest of the book goes. This is only my second attempt to read classic historical science, and well, it's a bit of a bear to weed through the language and ideas. At least for me, and my brain.

The L-Train. I wanna ride!

So I just watched this incredible video of a 5 course gourmet meal that was served on the L-train of the New York subway system! Each course was brought onto the train at different stops, and all the food was strategically prepared ahead of time. It's totally the coolest thing I've seen on the internet in a while. Check it out! Get the full story and video HERE.

My New Favorite Thing: Book Darts

I accidentally discovered some awesome place markers (for those of us who still read actual paper books) stuck in a book at work, and after a little hunting online, I found out what they were called and where to buy them. They are called Book Darts, and I love them! I used to write in all the books I read, underlining quotes, or sections I thought were important. And while that's fine since the books are mine, I always felt bad about writing all over them. I felt like I was defacing them, and it also occurred to me that if I were to want to pass them on to someone else, it might be hard to read with all my highlighting etc.  I could use paper to mark the passages, but it's hard to find the spot on a page that's just book marked, and post it notes...well, I could easily go through a whole pad worth on one book, and it was such a waste of paper. I had sticky tabs (that I would try to reuse a couple times) but then they are always hanging out all over the place, and it made it hard to put them on a shelf and it was just annoying. But what to do?
Then I discovered book darts! They are tiny metal clips that slide perfectly on the edge of a sheet of paper. They don't fall off, they are flat, and they point to whatever line you are trying to mark.
And not only do they look totally cool looking, and very retro, they actually work great, stay out of my way, and are re-usable (so I can mark places in a book, then after I write a blog on it I can remove them and the book is like new!) Isn't that awesome? I use them for casual reading but they'd be great to use in textbooks for studying, (and you can remove them after you are done with the class). You can use just one to  save your spot (like a regular book mark), or if you often re-read books but want to only hit upon the important points these are great, or if you know of someone who is a real book worm, these would make a great gift!
Besides that the company that makes them seems pretty awesome. I got them in about three days, and when they sent me all the same color by accident (you can get copper, stainless, or brass, or a mixture) they sent me 50 more at no extra charge or shipping. They are a little pricey  at 125 darts for $13 or so, but when you consider you can re-use them, and you can get them in numbers as small as 12 darts for $2.50 depending on your needs, I really think they have something that would work for anyone or budget.
Anyway, I think they are awesome, and wanted to pass along my discovery in case any of you would be interested!

Old Like New

Ugly old cocktail cart.

 I've been looking for some kind of table to put on my patio for my little grill to sit on. I was using it either on the ground, or on my patio table, but neither was convenient. I also wanted something inexpensive because a.) I figured eventually it would become covered in meat juice (yummm) from the grill, and b.) I'm trying not to spend too much money. Anyway while out and about with my mom I found an ugly cocktail cart for 5 bucks, and with about 8 dollars worth of paint I was able to convert the unsightly piece of furniture into the perfect grill counter for my yard! It matches my outdoor umbrella, folds out so I have plenty of room when I need it, and rolls on wheels so I can pull it out when I am grilling and push it back against the doorwall when I'm not! It's amazing what you can do with a little paint and a bit of imagination. For less than $15 I was able to get exactly what I wanted, and I think it looks way better than anything I could have gotten at Ikea. You never know what you might find at rummage sales, and spring/ summer are the best times to shop them. Ahhhh spring time! It fills my head with all sorts of outdoor ideas! What's next on the list? Clean my grill!

Beautiful new grill table!

A Full Moon

A couple weeks ago I was driving home from somewhere when I saw a strange light in the sky. It took me a minute to figure out what it was, and another minute to believe it was the Moon. It was so huge! I snapped a photo with my phone, and jazzed it up a little in Photoshop. It doesn't look as big as it did in real life of course, but I still thought it was pretty impressive. Take a look!

Coldfoot Alaska: How deep is the snow?

Snow depth at Coldfoot at the end of March (model is wearing  Patagonia pants and Muckluck boots:)

Coldfoot Alaska: The Aurora Borealis (Part 2)

All of these amazing photos were taken by Naoo Maruyama (with the help of his wife Sumi) and sent to me yesterday from Japan. These are the Aurora we saw on our first viewing night at Coldfoot Camp.The last photo was taken a couple days later in Fairbanks by Naoo at the same time we were watching (presumably) the same thing up in Coldfoot. In fact, I am pretty sure that the last photo is they one I painted from memory (onto the two canvases)! It was my favorite display, and I can't believe I have been so fortunate as to get an actual photo courtesy of my new Japanese friends! Thanks Naoo and Sumi!!!!!

Aurora over Coldfoot Mountain, (photo. N. Maruyama)

Aurora at Coldfoot Camp, AK, (photo. N. Maruyama)

Aurora at Coldfoot Camp, AK, (photo. N. Maruyama)

Aurora at Coldfoot Camp, AK, (photo. N. Maruyama)

Aurora at Coldfoot Camp, AK, (photo. N. Maruyama)

Aurora in Fairbanks, AK, (photo. N. Maruyama)