Video
“Drowning in the last hours of the day…”
Tweet Somewhat belatedly, here’s the annual excellent Bloomsday video. It’s tradition! Those of a sensitive disposition are duly warned, again, that James Joyce enjoys the language in all its fecund nuttiness. Enjoy! more »
ODI: Ireland v Pakistan
Tweet A four from the last ball of the game by Kevin O’Brien saw Ireland secure a draw in Thursday’s rain affected One-Day International against Pakistan [Duckworth-Lewis applied]. Ireland’s 275 for 5 included 103 runs from 107 balls by Paul “that kid is a freak” Stirling. Going into today’s second ODI in the two game series, Ireland were confident of an upset [...] more »
“…the only thing that’s real…”
Tweet Apropos of nothing… more »
Three Years of SDO Data – Narrated
Tweet If you enjoyed the recent video from Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) - “Three years in three minutes” – but would have liked more of an explanation of what was going on with our own local star… here it is again! This time, though, extended, and narrated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center heliophysicist Alex [...] more »
“A major difference between the hurricanes is that the one on Saturn is much bigger…”
Tweet As I mentioned previously, Saturn doesn’t get the love some of our other gas giants do. [All hail our friend and lord, Jupiter! Keeping Ogdy at bay… - Ed] Indeed… [new link] But, with the help of Cassini, Saturn does provide some wondrous images. In some of its first sunlit images of Saturn’s north pole, Cassini has looked [...] more »
Solar Dynamics Observatory: Three years in three minutes
Tweet What it says on the tin. Three years after First Light, Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has released three stunning minutes of images compiled during its virtually unbroken coverage of the sun’s rise toward solar maximum. Enjoy! [Video from NasaExplorer on YouTube. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO] As they note in the associated text [...] more »
“But we’re still part of the UK…”
Tweet The DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson, MP, and Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey, MLA, appeared separately on UTV Live this evening to give their thoughts on the 15th anniversary of the 1998 Agreement. Apparently Alex Maskey hadn’t arrived at the studio in time for the first segment… Whether by accident, or design, it was left to presenter Seamus [...] more »
Dublin 1982: What a difference thirty odd years makes?
Tweet This is the Dublin I remember in 1982. The lighting gives it a slightly dour feeling, and you need to stop it every now and then to get the detail. The old cars, VW Beetles were once ubiquitous on southern roads in a way they never were north the border. GM cars were sold [...] more »
Comet 2013 A1: Rendezvous with Mars…
Tweet Here’s something to think about whilst waiting to see if Comet ISON will fizzle, or sizzle. The latest Science at Nasa video looks at the trajectory, and consequences for Mars missions, of Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring). Discovered as recently as 3 January this year, this Oort cloud object will pass “extraordinarily close” to the planet Mars [...] more »
Theresa Villiers: “I’m extremely pleased that we were able to answer the Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill’s request for a military helicopter…”
Tweet Following a request yesterday from the Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister, Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill, to the Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, for “urgent access to helicopter support“, an RAF Chinook flew from its Hampshire base today to airlift supplies in order ”to get food on the ground for stranded animals“. [It's just "a transport helicopter"! [...] more »
The ALMA Inauguration
Tweet As the BBC reported on Wednesday, having opened its eyes in 2011, and with 57 of its 66 antennas now ready to receive data on the Chajnantor Plateau in the Atacama desert, Chile, the Atacama Large Millimetre/Sub-millimetre Array (ALMA) was officially inaugurated on March 13. Here’s the associated ESOcast 55: The ALMA Inauguration. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO). Editing: [...] more »
Friday Thread: Eradication of extreme poverty and the idea of momentum, inertia and jeopardy…
Tweet Bono talks data poverty eradication at TED and, crucially, eradication of corruption. For which he proposes a familar solution: “The biggest disease of all is corruption. There is vaccine for that too. It’s called transparency. Open datasets.” First he may have to convince first world countries. Well worth taking the time to watch it [...] more »
Story of St Patrick 60s style: “That’s all over not letting that little boy on…”
Tweet Not new, by any means. But still a bravura piece of native story telling… more »
“It was a meteor strike–the most powerful since the Tunguska event of 1908″
Tweet ScienceAtNasa has a sobering video on the latest information about the visitation by the god Ogdy unexpected meteor strike in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia on 15 February. Video credit: ScienceAtNasa. From the accompanying ScienceAtNasa press release The Russian meteor’s infrasound signal was was the strongest ever detected by the CTBTO network. The furthest station to record the sub-audible sound [...] more »
“President Vladimir Putin said he thanked God no big fragments had fallen in populated areas.”
Tweet As I mentioned previously, asteroid 2012 DA14 is due to make its close encounter with Earth later this evening. Meanwhile, earlier today several hundred people in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia were injured during a visitation by the god Ogdy by debris caused by the unexpected appearance of a relatively large meteor. It’s reported that a crater 6m (20ft) [...] more »
Just saying: “Any crack? No. Youse all f***ed off”
Tweet Great stuff… more »
“Will Comet ISON fizzle … or sizzle?”
Tweet Science at Nasa has a great assessment of the potential for Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) to become the ‘Comet of the Century’. Worth watching. Just remember – “comets are like cats: they have tails, and do whatever they want to do.” But as the Science at Nasa assessment notes “Comet ISON is probably at least twice [...] more »
An Gnáthrud: Scéal i rap ó sean Bhéal Feirste..
Tweet Na héifeachtaí uafásach daonna dúnmharú seicteach a rinneadh i rap láidre ag Gaelgory, na focail spreagadh le scéal ag Deirdre Ní Ghrianna… (Analysis of the original here in English) H/T Ciaran!! more »
Beware of Mr Baker…
Tweet That’s Pete ‘Ginger’ Baker, by the way. No relation… [Are you sure?! - Ed] In the Guardian Edward Helmore talks to the former Cream drummer as a taster for the forthcoming documentary “Beware of Mr Baker” – the “second-best rock documentary of the year”, according to Rolling Stone. There’s also a Guardian gallery, Ginger Baker’s [...] more »
“comets are like cats: they have tails, and do whatever they want to do”
Tweet In the BBC’s science news preview of 2013, reporter Jason Palmer highlights a couple of astronomical events worth keeping an eye out for. In mid-February we will get another reminder we live in a (potentially) violent cosmos – asteroid 2012 DA14 will make a harmless but attention-grabbing pass near the Earth, at a distance just a [...] more »
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Books
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Book Review: The McGurk’s Bar Bombing
Tweet The McGurk’s Bar Bombing: Collusion, Cover-Up and a Campaign for Truth with a foreword by Colin Wallace, just published by Frontline Noir, is the first book by Ciarán MacAirt, grandson of one of those killed in the bombing and the most visible campaigner on behalf of the victims and their families. The book pulls together the [...] read our review » -
It’s Derry again – with London and Liverpool, commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic
Tweet From the Dalai Lama to a “ VVIP” at the weekend, Londonderry is proving quite a venue, one of three for commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic this weekend. Good to see the UK City of Culture grafting this on to the programme and the recognition given to its role as a major port [...] read our review » -
Roddy Doyle’s Two Pints: An epic tale of modern Ireland in less than 90 pages..
Tweet Less than 90 pages long, Roddy Doyle’s latest book sounds like a must have… I must admit I have never heard three reviewers so obviously break down in laughter over just one book as on Saturday Review (12.02 in) this weekend. This extract from the Irish Times Review section is all I have to [...] read our review »
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