25 Things About Me

I have a friend that posted 25 things about him and he challenged me to do the same. I tried to think of things about me that most would not know or that might be interesting. ENJOY!

1. I have lived in 8 different states. The western states are better. Sorry!
2. I attended 10 different schools growing up, including 3 different high schools. Once again! The western schools are better. Sorry!
3. I have ran a mile in 4:50, many years ago. My goal was to break 5 minute. I DID IT!
4. I have jumped off a cliff over 85 ft high into water, OUCH! My pants split open. Luckily the only girl there was my sister Christine. Whew!
5. I drove my dad’s car to 125 mph in high school (His first turbo, he has a much faster and nicer one now, but I will not take this one to 125). My father suspected something when the gas mileage was way down. My sister Lisa later told on me, years later. DOH!
6. I drove my first car a Mustang GT Turbo, yes turbo (they only made these one year) to 135 mph coming out of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Yes! I won the race. Looking back, hmmmm, DUMB!
7. I drove my bullet-bike (Suzuki Katana 600) to a speed of 140 mph, Yes! I just had to take it faster than my car. And Yes! 140 mph on a bike is quite intense. I know it would go faster, but this was enough. Can you say, ROAD KILL!
8. I have run across a field with burned crosses with one of my friends in Arkansas. Can
you say KKK. We are sure there was a gathering the night before. SICK!
9. I have chased a shoplifter in a store in New Mexico. I almost caught him, but he threw a table at me. AAAAARRRRGGGGG! I did write down his plate number on my hand though. They caught him later, about a year later. He ran to Mexico for a while.
10. I was involved in a couple of scuffles in New Mexico in my 20’s. I had a good friend that taught me how to handle myself in New Mexico. Yes! This is important if you are going to hang out in Espanola as a white guy. One in Espanola and one in Los Alamos. Yes! I was victorious in both. I knocked the guy in Espanola “out cold.” The one in Los Alamos was a fight with a large group. Sorry, but I guess they will think twice before they mess with someones Mustang GT Turbo again.
11. I have never done any drugs, but I have been on a drug deal with a biker named “Chongo” in Espanola, New Mexico. And yes he did have the “Chongo” bars on his Harley. DUDE!
12. I have been asked out by both genders. Sorry, but I only went out with the women. I did try to ask one girl out during college in New Mexico that just never showed much interest. I found out years later that she was interested in my wife. I wonder why she did not show interest in me? Just Wondering!
13. President Thomas S. Monson spoke at my commencement at the University of Utah. He is also Utah Alumni.
14. I graduated in the top 2.5% of my class with a 3.935 GPA from the University of Utah. I think I had less than a 2.0 in high school. Perhaps I was bored in high school.
15. I have driven a Porsche 911 Twin Turbo, YES! VERY FAST! 0-60 in about 3 seconds. After driving this Porsche my bullet-bike seemed slow. DANG GERMANS!
16. I have run from the police with my Mustang GT in New Mexico. It was night and yes, I got away. ADRENALINE! Let’s just say I was going more than double the speed limit and I was in a 55 zone. I am sure this would have been bad news. He was going the other way. He turned on his top lights!!!!!What a head start! SEE YA!
17. I can ride a wheelie on my motorcycle for just about as long as I want. No, not my bullet bike, my dirt bike I had growing up. I liked to keep both wheels of my Suzuki Katana 600 on the ground. Call me CRAZY!
18. I have had my foot caught on the rope behind a motor boat, OUCH! Luckily the rope broke, because my sister Lisa and her friend Jennifer driving the boat did not know I had gone down until they heard the rope snap. LUCKY! I do remember thinking to take a breath before I went under, GOOD THING!
19. The first time I went to kiss my wife I missed and kissed her nose. Good thing she did not have a cold.
20. I lived in the ghetto in Russellville, Arkansas. South Houston! Scary for there! I have been to a real ghetto since. South Phoenix, Arizona. Russellville don’t worry, you are just fine.
21. I rode in a helicopter before an airplane. Completely different!
22. I have seen a Grizzly bear in the wild. ROAR!!!!
23. I attended 3 different colleges and graduated with 187 credit hours, most people do around 120-125. I should have a Ph.D, but only a B.S. Lucky Me! Doe anyone want to buy them??????
24. I have been “stalked.” NOT FUN!


DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
25. And best of all!!!!!! I married a Princess in the LDS Arizona Temple, Mesa Arizona, on February 25, 1995.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I love the Christmas Season. I am so very grateful for the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love the joy and peace that most of us enjoy this time of year. I wish that the world could feel this joy and peace all through the year.

You probably saw this coming, but I will not bore you at this time with technical details of my thoughts. I will save this for a later post. You probably know by now, by reading my blog, that I love to think about very detailed and head spinning ideas. Having a strong background in the Earth sciences I love to research items relating to the Earth's history and Earth system processes as related to religion. The more that I research and study these processes the more fascinated I become with the Creation of this wonderful Earth and the creation of the Universe. I know that our Heavenly Father uses laws and rules as to how He and others created this great universe. As I continue to learn and study the universe and our Earth, I gain a further respect for how great this Creation is. My faith grows as I continue to learn and try to understand such a grand design.

There is something that I think about at Christmas time pertaining to miracles here on the Earth. I will just mention this and leave it for a future post, perhaps! Could the Star of Bethlehem been a Type Ia/Ic Supernova in the Andromeda Galaxy? Perhaps, not that this matters, but very interesting to think about. What is so great to think about at Christmas is how not just the Earth, but the Universe was in obedience to the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Whatever this event was perhaps a conjunction of planets, stars, moon and sun, or "just" a supernova, it does not really matter. It was the star that signified the birth of the Saviour. This event was so great that the Universe changed and obeyed in order for such a great event to occur.

So this Christmas, I hope that I leave with you a little something to think about. The birth of our Saviour was probably the greatest event here on Earth, but stop and think, this event was so great that it caused things to change in the Universe. This helps me to gain a greater understanding as to the importance of this event. His life is very important to us here on Earth, but it is greater than this, it has significance throughout the Universe. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Birthday Lisa

Lisa and Karl 1972


Tuesday December, 23rd is my sister Lisa's birthday. She is one of my three sisters. I wanted to wish her a "Happy Birthday" and share a little bit about my sister. I will never tell you her age, but I will let you know that she is older than me. While she has been here on Earth there have been 7 different Presidents of the United States of America, also the same number of Presidents of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Although she was not born when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, she was "In Utero." On Tuesday she will have completed roughly 39 successful solar passes of our sun, while here on Earth. Once again, I have never stated how many years of age she is.


Lisa and Karl 1972


My sister Lisa is a very kind and caring person. She is probably one of the most innocent and honest persons you could know. Growing up she was very popular in high school and there was a lot of things going on around her that she had no idea about. She would ask me about boys that would show interest in her and wonder what I thought of them. Well, a lot of these boys were not for her. I would just tell her not to worry about that certain boy. I would just say that I hear stuff in the locker room and you don't want to go out with them. She really was very naive in high school and I think to an extent that really was better for her. I know that she set a very good example to her friends around her in high school. I also think by being naive in high school it also protected her from some negative influences. By not really knowing what was going on I am sure this helped her to be such the great person she is.

Lisa and Karl 1973

I wanted to end with just a few trivial facts about my sister Lisa. She has killed two dogs at once while driving her dads car. She can belch "LOUDER" than anyone I know, but she refuses to perform this task now. She has dated "Rednecks" in the past, thank goodness! She can not eat a salad gracefully, as far as I know. And best of all, she was a car hog of a 1986 Mazda 626 GT Turbo in high school, according to her older sister Christine, even though Christine had nowhere to go.

Lisa and Karl 1975

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA! I LOVE YOU!

Lisa and Karl 1975

"Quotes" from my Dad

I thought that I would do a little different post this time. My father is a very smart man. I have learned many things from him, by example, through the years. Growing up I was always "the flashlight holder." This may not sound like fun, but it was. I would always help my father by holding the flashlight when he was fixing things such as cars, trucks, televisions, and many other items. These were very valuable experiences. I learned many things while holding this flashlight, Thank You Dad. I hope to be able to pass this on to my boys by having them help me fix things. Some of you may know this, but my father was a nuclear engineer and worked many years in nuclear power, but later in his career he worked with nuclear weapons, much more exciting, at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in Los Alamos, New Mexico. This was the location of the making of the first atomic bomb. Growing up my father would explain to us how a nuclear power plant functioned and in "great" detail. I really enjoyed listening, but some of my siblings would lose interest quickly. The thing I did not like about him telling us about work came later in his career. Yes! Los Alamos. My father could not tell us anything, other than he worked with weapons. Even now that he is retired, he can not tell us anything. I would really like to hear stories, but I understand the security behind this all. What I would like to do now is share some of my favorite quotes from my father over the years and perhaps by these quotes you might receive a little understanding of how I received a thinking mentality. I am thankful for having such a great father. And mother, "Look Out" you are next and in the works. Enjoy! These quotes may not be exact words, but close.

When speaking of why he could not sleep one night. "I could not sleep last night, because of the 10 to the 6th dogs barking, that's one million, by the way." (Sorry for the incorrect scientific notation, the blog does not allow superscripted exponents)

When speaking of rain. "I perceive that moisture has commenced to precipitate earthward."

When speaking of when the Sh!t hits the fan. "There is going to be a fecal-velenatory collision."

When speaking to me. "Do you know if you park your car facing north and south, it will be longer that when you park it facing east and west, but don't bother to measure it, the tape measure will do the same."

While visiting my grandmothers he knocked some nuts (nuts and bolts) off of the counter and as he picked them up he said to me, "It hurts when your nuts hit the floor."

When speaking of using his cars. "You can run them out of gas, but don't run them out of oil."

When working on an old Zenith Television set, back in the late 70's. Yes! I was holding the flashlight. "Don't touch the back of the picture tube, it has a lot of stored electricity and will shock you." ZZZAAAAAAPPPPPP! "Sh!t." As my fathers arm brushed up against the back of the picture tube.

There are many others, but I will leave it at these. Thank you for the fun times Daddy.

Full Moon, Earthquake????

Last night I enjoyed viewing a very bright and full moon. Beautiful! And if you thought perhaps it was a little closer and larger than normal, it was (Of course you were!).The moon's average distance from us is about 238,855 miles (384,400 km). Friday night it was just 221,560 miles (356,567 km) away (Wow! 17,295 miles closer). It was 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during the year. This was the closet the moon has been to Earth in nearly 15 years. So, is there any significances to the moon being so close to Earth, well yes.

Earth's oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. These tides are named perigean tides, because the moon's closest point to Earth is called perigee. The farthest point on the lunar orbit is called apogee. Sorry, back to the point. Beaches are more polluted during full moon, owing to the higher tides. And also people go crazy during full moons, well there is no scientific evidence of that, but it sounds good. More women give birth during a full moon? Well, Shari is still pregnant, so thank goodness for that not being true.

The new theory I would like to discuss is full moon causing earthquakes. Can full moons and the pull of gravity cause earthquakes? Lets start off by using some statistics to make it look as this is very true. Of the only magnitude 9.0 or greater earthquakes in our Earth's recorded history, 3/4 of them occurred during a full moon. The Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami in 2004 occurred at full moon and yes, this was one of the greater than magnitude 9.0, it was a magnitude 9.1. A group of Applied Geologists at Madras University in Chennai, India predicted the 2004 earthquake with minor deviations of 150 km and missed it by 30 minutes. Could they be onto something, perhaps. Russian scientists and others have observed that probability of major earthquakes is high at or 1 to 3 days after full or new moon when the line of gravitation crosses close to the tectonic plates boundaries. These Chennai scientists sent their prediction of the 2004 Sumatran earthquake to several institutions such as US Geological Survey, International Union of 'Geodesy and Geophysics' and NASA, but were not taken seriously and they did not receive any reply.

There is no research to conclude that a "full" moon contributes to earthquakes, however there are indications that a planetary alignment could contribute to tectonic disturbance. I will leave it at this, I will bore you no more with planetary alignments. I am in no way saying that these scientists in India have this thing figured out, but with science we need to continue to research and try to find answers. After all, people thought Nicolaus Copernicus was crazy for thinking that the Earth revolved around the Sun instead of everything revolving around the Earth.

The Earth and the Heavens above are a miraculous creation and we do not know it all, but by research we are able to understand these things better. THINK ABOUT IT!

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning." - Albert Einstein

"TWILIGHT"

"Twilight" (1820) by Caspar David Friedrich

I have something I need to get off of my chest. I have always been interested in "Twilight." Please do not let my wife know, she will never let me live this one down. Although, she reads my blog and will most certainly find out, please DO NOT let her know. It could damage the town. Twilight is very interesting to me. It even reaches farther than we know, even into other planets. and galaxies. That is how far reaching "Twilight" is.

There are many versions of "Twilight." My wife has all of these on our bookcase. I see them every day and wonder which version is best. Technically, there is only one truly defined "Twilight", but there are three established and widely accepted subcategories of twilight: civil twilight (brightest), nautical twilight and astronomical twilight (darkest). Civil twilight begins in the morning when the geometric center of the Sun is 6° below the horizon and ends at sunrise. Evening civil twilight begins at sunset and ends when the center of the Sun reaches 6° below the horizon. Nautical twilight is defined as the time beginning when the geometric center of the Sun is exactly 12° below the horizon and ending when the sun's center is exactly 12° below the horizon. Astronomical twilight is defined as the time beginning when the center of the Sun is exactly 18° below the horizon and ending when the sun's center reaches exactly 18° below the horizon. I prefer the version "Civil Twilight in the Morning," but my wife prefers another version of "Twilight."

"Twilight" can have varied durations of time, depending on the latitude of the observer. In the Arctic and Antarctic regions, twilight (if at all) can last for several hours. I know that at my geographic location, "Twilight" can last all night and keep me awake for many, many hours. There is no twilight at the poles within a month on either side of the winter solstice. I am going to enforce this rule at my house, this sounds like a great idea. At the poles, twilight can be as long as two weeks, while at the equator, it can go from day to night in as little as twenty minutes. "Twilight" even reaches the Martians. Twilight on Mars is longer than on Earth, lasting for up to two hours before sunrise or after sunset.

I know that "Twilight" will continue around my house for quite some time, but I guess I should be very grateful that "Twilight" is not continuous. Within the polar circles of Earth, twilight literally lasts for weeks in the polar fall and spring. Poor men. What makes me most grateful is that it could be much, much worse. There is a planet in a distant solar system, the name escapes me, that continually faces its sun. By doing this there is one side that is continually light and the other side is continually dark. Yes! you guessed it. Poor, Poor men, if any there. There is an area on this poor planet, roughly 200 miles wide, from pole to pole, that is in continuous never ending "Twilight." This sounds like a planet that my wife and many of her friends would like to visit, but not me. I will be happy with intermittent "Twilight" here at my geographic location.

Is 186,000 Miles Per Second The Speed Limit?

Back in September I posted about the speed of light and how there is nothing faster. Ever since I posted that I have been wondering if that is true. I know, that is really something that most people worry about, but it keeps me busy thinking about. I know scientifically and theoretically that there is nothing faster. That has been proven by the calculations of Albert Einstein with his theory of special relativity. We know that light travels at, roughly, 186,000 miles per second or 299,792,458 meters per second. Since then we have found that the speed of light can be manipulated. Light can slow as it is refracted passing through much denser materials, such as water, glass, and much slower through diamonds. We can also temporarily speed up light. One experiment in 2000 made the group velocity, or speed, of laser beams travel for extremely short distances through caesium or cesium atoms at 300 times the speed of light, WOW! now that is fast.

Now let me let you in on what I have been thinking about. We use many wavelenghts of nonvisible light for communication purposes. Most common is radiowaves and microwaves, no not ovens, but that makes me hungry. There is another form of communication that many use each day. This may get a little deep in thought so bare with me. Prayer! Prayer, what is the mechanism used to transfer our thoughts and words in prayer? Is it some sort of wavelenght of light? Perhaps, but it all depends on how far our prayers need to travel to be heard and then the time it takes for our answers to travel back. We do not know the exact location of our Heavenly Father, but it is probably pretty far. Let's just say we probably know that it is farther than our sun. Our sun is roughly 93 million miles from Earth. Using a wavelenght of light for communication and using the distance of our sun as our prayers destination, that would take our prayer 8.31 minutes to arrive and then an additional 8.31 minutes to return if answered immediately. I know that I have had prayers answered almost instantly. So, probably not a wavelenght of light, since we know that the speed of light is constant, but could caesium surround us while we pray? (I am joking here) That could speed up our prayers, I sure hope not, that could be very dangerous. Caesium is highly reactive and is highly explosive when it comes in contact with water. I don't know about you, but I have often cried while praying, so that could be deadly.

This is what makes me wonder, what is the mechanism used to transfer our thoughts and words in prayer. Whatever this mechanism is, our Heavenly Father has it all worked out and I do believe that it is much faster that the speed of light. It all depends on where are prayers are going and how far that really is. Or could it be that we all live in very close proximity, just in a different dimension perhaps? After all the veil is very thin at times between this world and others, but that is just going WAY TOO into things. That is another thing I think about, but I will just leave it at this point. The point is that I believe that the speed of light is theoretically the fastest, but I also believe that this mechanism that transfers our prayers is much faster that the speed of light, how fast? Who knows, but science can not measure this. THINK ABOUT IT!

"Earthshine" not "Moonshine"

EARTHSHINE


MOONSHINE

If you know me very well, you know that I like to keep my eyes on the skies. On this Monday evening you might want to take a look to the sky toward the southwest. You will be able to view two planets and also my favorite satellite, no not the International Space Station, but the moon. The two visible planets are Venus, the much brighter one, and also Jupiter. Venus is very bright this time of year. You might even try to go out just before sunset and try to view Venus in the sky, it is that bright. During World War II, aircraft spotters sometimes mistook Venus for an enemy airplane. There were even cases in which Venus drew antiaircraft fire.

The moon will also be highly visible, but only a crescent moon, but there is more to the story. What will make this viewing so great is what is called, "earthshine." This vision is sometimes called "the old moon in the young moon's arms." Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was the first to recognize it. Earthshine is when the light from the sun reflects off of the Earth an additionally illuminates the moon. The crescent part of the moon will be much brighter, this is the light from the sun. The rest of the globe of the moon will be illuminated from light reflected off of the earth, this will be in a more blueish-gray color. Viewing the two planets plus the moon in this form will be a great sight to behold. If you have the chance I recommend taking the time to view our amazing Universe.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

"The First Thanksgiving"

painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863–1930).

Utah 48 BYU 48/2 = 24

Sean Smith



Brother Paul Kruger (Return Missionary)


What a great game, if you are a Utes fan. I must say, I really like Max Hall. I think he is a great quarterback. I do not think it was his fault that BYU lost. It was the Utes defense. I feel that Max has not felt the pressure of a Ute defense this year. They threw things at him that he was not ready for. And do not blame him for running with the ball, it was what he was forced to do. But, in the end the best team did win this game. Great job Utes! perfect season, 12-0 and BCS bound, AGAIN!

"Great Men"

President Thomas S. Monson (Utah Alumni) speaking
at my commencement.


Rivalry week only comes around once a year here in Utah. I really enjoy the rivalry. As some of you may know I am the "Black (or red) Sheep" of my family. My father graduated from BYU, my mother attended BYU, my older brother and two of my older sisters graduated from BYU. I did not. I graduated from the University of Utah. So this makes for fun times when it comes to Utah and BYU.

One of my sisters who is a BYU fan made a comment on one of my posts and I responded to her comment, but I felt with it being rivalry week I would share my response. She commented on which school was holier. I responded with this answer.

"As for who is holier I will not cast stones, but there have been some GREAT! men that have attended the University of Utah. President Thomas S. Monson, President Gordon B. Hinkley, James E. Faust, Robert D. Hales, Henry B. Eyring, Karl B. Schempp, Bruce R. McConkie, Russell M. Nelson, M. Russell Ballard, Joseph B. Wirthlin (Wirthlin played football as a running back for the University of Utah), David O. McKay, George Albert Smith, and many others. This place must be pretty good if such great and smart men have attended there."

Rivalry week is great. We have a lot of fun here in Utah with this. Although, some get pretty ugly with it, but I am glad that at least our families have fun with it. I have heard listening to local sports radio that many families get into it so bad that they will stop talking, WOW! Afterall, it is just a game. And yes BYU fans, Thomas S. Monson did attend BYU also, but he a Ute at heart, because he did come to my graduation.

Almost!

I almost won tickets to Utah vs. BYU, almost. I often listen to a local radio station here in Utah, Kall 700 AM radio. This station had a contest today to win tickets to the "Holy War." The contest was to e-mail a game day checklist for a BYU fan or a Utah fan. The fun in this was that you were to make the game day checklist for the other fan. So, I being a Ute fan was to make a game day checklist for a BYU fan. The contest was to end at 6:00 pm, so I hurry and put a quick list together a little after 5:00 pm. The idea was to be very creative so I did my best with the short notice. The rules were that if they read your entry over the air you would be in the running at the end of the hour. They had a group of about six that were going through the e-mails. Just a few minutes after sending my entry, my entry was read. I wish I could had recorded the audio, because the person reading it was cracking up, but in the end they went with another entry. But, for your enjoyment and because of rivalry week I will post my entry. ENJOY!

BYU game day checklist

Friday 21, November

4:00pm Begin fast for the cougars.

Saturday 22, November

7:30 am Oh My Heck! I woke up late this morning because our Elders Quorum had to set up chairs at church on Friday night because we will be too upset after the loss on Saturday night to set them up.

7:45 am Go to service project for lonely Utah Ute (SINNER!) fan in our ward this morning, laid sod. Hopefully doing service for a Ute fan will help the Cougars win. “Do Good things off the field.”

9:00 am Took a load of old personal items to DI. Service again!, it can only help the Cougars.

10:00 am Go to Wal-Mart. Need to go early today it is game day. Need to pick up jello and some carrots and caffeine-free Dr. Pepper for the game. Have to take the kids. The wife is gone to a shower.

12:00 pm Iron my white shirt for church. I really wish we could wear blue shirts to church. Fetch!

1:00 pm Go home-teaching. 100% this month, November only. Hopefully this will bless the cougars to win today.

2:00 pm Make jello with shredded carrots for game day. Mothers recipe from Relief Society Cook Book.

3:00 pm Pray for the cougars and pray that the next prophet will not have attended the University of Utah like the last two have.

4:00 pm End fast for the cougars.

4:00 pm Watch the the Fetchin Utes beat our Cougars.

9:00 pm Pray for forgiveness for all the fetchin words I said during the game. Promise to do my home teaching every month next year to help the Cougars win next year.

10:00 pm Get Primary lesson ready for church. I hope I get released soon.


Karl Schempp
Utah Ute Fan
Lonely Ute fan in Utah County

"The Holy War"

The Holy War is a college football rivalry game played between the University of Utah Runnin' Utes and the Brigham Young University Cougars. The term Holy War, rather than its common reference to a war between religions, in this context refers to a battle between BYU and the University of Utah, the flagship and secular institution of higher education in the state of Utah.

This is one of the oldest rivalries in college football. The battle between these two teams is always a good one. The game this year should be an even greater one. Both teams are ranked in the top 25 this year. BYU is coming in ranked 14th in the BCS with a record of 10-1. Utah is coming in ranked 7th in the BCS with an impressive 11-0 record. Even if you are not a fan of either team, this will be a great game to watch.

Being a Ute fan I must set the record straight.

The Utes lead the all time series 53-33-4.

Coach Whittingham selects Cruz.

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

"BLACKOUT"

Most blackouts are not welcomed or something that one wants to occur. These blackouts often occur unexpectedly. Well, Utah recently experienced a blackout. This blackout occurred intentionally and was wanted by most in the general area. There were a few people visiting from out of town that were not too happy about this blackout. I will speak for most in Utah when I say that we were not sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused for any visitors from the Fort Worth, Texas area. The blackout area was concentrated on the campus that I am proud to be a graduate of, the University of Utah. The blackout was mostly in the area of Rice-Eccles Stadium. During this blackout there was a football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah was playing TCU and at the end of this blackout, the final score was, Utah 13 and TCU 10. It was amazing to watch this game even though it was played during a blackout.


Utah quarterback Brian Johnson passing during the blackout

WAY TO GO UTES! Lets make it a perfect season and get the recognition that we deserve. We did it in 2004 and became the original BCS busters and spanked Pittsburg 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl in January 200o5. We did not get a shot at the title then so let do it again and see if they will give us a shot. Kyle Whittingham deserves it. WAY TO GO COACH WHITTINGHAM!

Cruz with autographed cap from Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham

"The Greatest Snow on Earth"

Yes, we do have the greatest snow on Earth here in Utah. And the mineral that we use to battle the snow on our roads actually helps to create this greatest snow. Sounds strange, but it is true. Salt makes snow melt, right? Salt also lets water reach a lower temperature before freezing or to not freeze at all (well, not at absolute zero, but hey we would not be here if that happened). Here in Utah we receive very little precipitation a year. In the Salt Lake City area we receive about 15 inches on average, not much huh. So how can we have the greatest snow on Earth? Yes, we may receive most of our precipitation in the winter, but that is not the main reason. We have "The Greatest Snow on Earth" because of the Great Salt Lake. GREAT isn't it! The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville, a pluvial lake that covered a large area of Utah, Nevada, and Idaho some 14,500 years ago. This lake formed in an area termed North America's Great Basin. The Great Salt Lake drains neither to the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean like other water bodies. The Great Salt Lake stays in this basin and evaporates and when water evaporates it leaves behind the salts (Great name huh!). So, how does this salt help with the snow? The Great Salt Lake has a very high salinity content. The salinity range of the Great Salt Lake runs between 5-27% depending on location of the lake. The oceans are on average 3.5%. Since the Great Salt Lake has this high of salinity it never freezes. This is where we get into the greatest snow. The lake remains relatively warmer than the air in the winter and especially after a cold front moves in. When the cold front moves in, especially from the northwest, this causes the warmer lake water to evaporate into the atmosphere and then increase snowfall in close proximity to the Great Salt Lake. This process is termed a lake-effect snow. Some areas of the Wasatch Mountain Range in the path of the lake effect see up to 500 inches per year. These lake-effect snows can be very geographic. Just this morning we received about 6 inches of snow, but as I went just a few miles to the west there was only a couple of inches. We were in the path of a lake-effect snow and further west was not.

I would now like to point out that this is evidence of a Great Creation. Imagine if here in Utah we did not receive most of our precipitation during the winter. We would not have water here in the summer running down from the snow packed mountains. The Great Salt Lake would completely dry up during the summer months. Also, it is great that we can take these salt from the lake and use to place on our roads to help with winter driving. It is almost like there was a Creator who came up with this wonderful design. As I have studied the Earth System Processes and continue to do so, I gain a greater understanding the creation of this Great Earth. I am amazed continually of the Creation that has been made for us. I am very grateful for a Creator that would design such a great place for us to live, EARTH.

I would like to end with a little observation I have made with respect to tithing and the lake- effect snows here in Utah. Without the added lake effect snows here in Utah we would have much less water. Some 10% of the precipitation we receive here in the Salt Lake area is from the lake-effect. Hmmmm! Sounds like a tithing blessing if you ask me. Blessing from tithing are not always monetary. THINK ABOUT IT!

"The Old West"

Cruz and I continued the new tradition that I have started with my kids. I take each child on Fridays and we do something fun for each of them. The week before, Kenyon and I visited a cave in Saratoga Springs, Utah. Cruz viewed these pictures of the cave and decided that he wanted to go to this cave also (see Kenyon and the Giant Short-face Bear cave post). Cruz and I decided to see if we could find easier access to the cave. We parked the van at the end of a paved road behind the cave and began to hike up the back side of the mountain. On this day there was a cold front moving in from the north and kicking up quite a bit of dust. Cruz said to me, "This is like the old west." I assume he has seen a western movie that has the dust blowing around and we were in the old west. I thought this was quite funny. The batteries on the camera died while we were at the cave so we do not have any picture to document the event, but I know I will remember this in my mind for years to come. While inside we searched for any aquatic fossils that may have been left behind from Lake Bonneville, but did not find any. We only found webs and soot from a recent campfire.

These are the times that create memories. I really enjoy the time I spend with each of them. By spending time with each of them I get to see better their own personalities are little bit better. I know that I enjoy each time I spend with them, but I mostly do this to create memories for them. I hope that they will be able to remember the times that they have spent with their father and the good times we had together. I have only been a father for just shy of seven years, but know that these times go by way too fast. I hope by continuing these dates that, perhaps, this may give the illusion to slow time down a little. If only I could bring Albert Einstein back and we could work on finding a way to pause or slow down the space time continuum.

International Space Station

This post may not be interesting for most, but it is something that goes on above our heads all the time, so give it a chance, you might enjoy this. And sorry for those not living in Utah near 40.3920 latitude, -111.8500 longitude, altitude 1390 meters, but if you are in close proximity to Lehi, Utah you are in luck. There is going to be a visible pass of the International Space Station with a magnitude -2.3 (yes this is very bright, relatively) on the morning of October 23rd at 07:27:29 (7:27 am). I wanted to give adequate warning so you could make plans to view this event. This may not sound very interesting, but it is very fascinating to view such an event. The International Space Station makes 15.77 orbits around Earth in one day. Depending on the suns angle, height of the space station, time of day, and location of the space station and location on Earth, it can become highly visible. So, if you are not on this general area at this exact time and location, don't worry the space station is visible at any location. But, do not forget, the space station moves with exactness just like any other celestial sphere. It moves with perfect time as the planets and stars do. So make sure your watch is set to the accuracy of an atomic clock. An atomic clock is accurate to 10 to the 9th seconds per day. To set your time accurately see http://www.time.gov/ and select your time zone.

This pass of the space station is going to be a very bright pass in terms of magnitude. Magnitude is the measure of the brightness of a celestial object. The lower the value, the brighter the object. The sun has a magnitude of -26.7, full moon -12.7, and Venus at brightest -4.4. I will not bore you with any further details, but I hope you get the idea that this is going to be a highly visible pass. If you are interested in viewing this event you will need to be very punctual, because as stated earlier the space station moves as celestial object and they were set by our Heavenly Fathers laws and they have to obey them. On the morning of Thursday, October 23rd you will need to look to west, southwest at 07:25:29 and begin the watch the horizon for this is when the space station will pass over the horizon. Those of this in this area will not see this until later because of some strange masses of dirt/rock named mountains. Continue to scan the sky looking for an object that resembles a bright star moving in an exact straight line. At 07:27:29 the space station will be at 10 degrees in the sky, location west, southwest (The horizon is 0 degrees and straight above your head is 90 degrees). At 07:30:18 the space station will be at maximum altitude at 66 degrees at a location roughly northwest. At 07:33:22 the space station will drop below 10 degrees at a location roughly northeast. Basically what you will want to do is look to the west, southwest at 7:25 am and look in this area for what looks like a star moving in a straight line from the west, southwest to the northeast. !!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!! Remember to be very punctual.

If you do not view this pass there will be many more to enjoy (If you want just ask me for information on how and when to view these events in your location). This one is just going to be relatively bright. My favorite passes are the ones when the space shuttle are near docking or have just released and are in close proximity to the station. These are interesting because you view two objects moving across the sky in concert with one another. And you are in luck. Th e next Shuttle mission will be STS-126 to the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for November 14th.

As I view these passes I like to remember that you are watching a man-made object with humans aboard flying around our Earth with only gravity moving them, nor form of propulsion. The only thing better than watching them pass overhead would be to see the view from their vantage point in space, watching the beautiful creation of Earth pass below. Enjoy!

Mara and flowers

Mara and I went out on a date last Friday. We went to a large field of wild sunflowers and took some pictures. She loved spending time looking for the perfect place to take pictures. She would tell me that she did not like a certain spot and wanted to move locations. After spending about an hour taking pictures we went to McDonald's and she received a toy from The Wizard of Oz. She really liked just being with her dad, but I think her dad enjoyed this much more than her. Sorry I did not tie anything to earth science to this blog. Well, we were on a large alluvial fan, sorry I could not resist.

Kenyon and the Giant Short-face Bear cave

Kenyon and I continued the date day with each one of the kids on Fridays. Kenyon wanted to hike up a small mountain to go into a small cave, a small increase of around 300 feet. He informed me that he thought this was a cave where the now extinct giant short-faced bear. We hiked up this hill and we found a chair along the trail. Kenyon really thought this was funny. Along the way we hiked through blooming sagebrush and Kenyon informed me that mammoths consumed yellow grass. He knows anything and everything about dinosaurs, animals and anything that is now extinct The last 50 feet or so up to the cave was very steep and full of small lose rocks. At this time he wanted to return back to the car, but I encouraged him to make it to the cave. We made it and he really enjoyed it. On the way back he was able to see a jackrabbit, lizard, and many large spiders (duh! spiders, we were in Saratoga Springs). Kenyon let me know that it was hard work climbing mountains. I am glad that he stuck to it. Kenyon also informed me that he noticed Utah Lake was big and he also said it was long too. He is correct. Utah Lake is around 5-8 miles across the east-west axis and around 22-26 miles long across the north-south axis depending on the year and amount of evaporation and precipitation. We really enjoyed out time together. By the way, we were below the old Lake Bonneville shoreline.

SPEED LIMIT 186,000 miles per second

Call me crazy, but I like to think about things that make your head spin. I can remember when I was younger my father telling me that if you park your car north to south that it is longer that if you parked it east to west. But, do not bother to measure this, because the device you use to measure the length of your car will be affected the same. Makes you think.

I have been reading about Albert Einstein and many of his contributions to science. I have read a few books on his special and general theory of relativity and they are all a little bit hard to understand. One was written by Einstein specifically for those with lesser mathematical abilities. Well, even that was a little confusing. I have found that if you read a little on these theories in physics, astronomy, and physical science texts first, it become a little easier to understand. Einstein made great contributions to the understanding of light. Growing up I always wondered if you were traveling at the speed of light and you had a flashlight in your hand and turned it on, would the beam of light proceed out at twice the speed of light? I always thought that this would be the case. After all, if you are driving in your car at a steady rate of 40 mph and threw a ball out of the car forward at 40 mph the ball would travel at 80 mph relative to the ground. After reading Einsteins work on relativity he has proven that the speed of light is the cosmic speed limit. Nothing can travel faster than light. So, if I travel at the speed of light and turn my flashlight on, my light will not travel twice the speed of light. So, the speed limit is 186,282.397 miles per second or 983,571,056.4 feet per second. Pretty fast huh!

Last night I began to think about light and light speed, as I think we all often do at night. I took my thoughts on the flashlight a little further. What if I were traveling at the speed of light, as you can see I often think about doing this, and I had a little hand mirror with me. While traveling at the speed of light I place the mirror in front of me to view my reflection. Will I see my reflection in the mirror? Think about this for a moment. ?????????????? What to we view when we look at something or someone? We see the reflection of light off of the object we are viewing. So, the answer would be no. The light would not be reflected from your face toward the mirror in front of you because of this cosmic speed limit. Think About it!

Y"IKE"S!

Get the hell out of there! Why do people think that they can fool with "Mother Nature?" Nature's furry is more powerful than most think. As I have studied natural disasters I have gained a great respect for the power of the Earth. Also having studied emergency management issues I have seen many disasters and the death and injury that comes with these events. Many deaths and injuries could have been avoided if individuals had taken evacuation measures seriously. I am amazed at how stupid (see photo below) some of the people in the path of hurricane Ike are. (Hurricane Ike is a very large storm in area. The photo above can show you scale. This image is take from the International Space Station. Yes, that is the curve of the Earth at the top of the photo. ) I believe that the media makes the category of a hurricane the most important issue. Yes, the category is important as far as wind speed goes, but the most destructive part of a hurricane is the storm surge and the flooding that this causes. Not only is water forced in by the winds of a hurricane on the northeast side of the eye, but also the oceans are actually elevated because of the intense low air pressures associated with hurricanes. The air pressure is so low in a hurricane that there is actually a dome of water that lifts up under a hurricane (cool huh!). This also aids in the flooding of land. What is particularly concerning about Ike is that it is very similar to a hurricane in Galveston in 1900. This hurricane basically wiped Galveston off of the map. This hurricane started to flood Galveston before the storm surge hit. Ike started to do this while it was still some 140 mile off of the coast. Yes, they have elevated Galveston some 15 ft and built a seawall, but we are no match for the power of "Mother Nature." The Earth is in charge. If it wants to move something it can and will.

There is a group of people at a bar in Galveston that are going to ride the storm out close to the shore. (see photo above) They have been warned by the National Weather Service that if they stay they will most likely die. I am happy to think that these individuals will most likely be so drunk that this will help to ease their pain in death. Others in the area said they were going to ride the storm out, but soon changed their minds when the winds began to blow water in ahead of the storm surge. These are the lucky ones. There is a point of no return. There is a point where if you have not left, well, say a prayer and hang on you are pretty much screwed. Individuals need to take evacuation orders seriously. Emergency management officials do not order evacuations just to see if they can tie up roads and cause panic. These are given well in advance and ordered to save lives. Yes, many evacuations have turned out to be not needed, but better safe than sorry. I know this is why many people do not evacuate, they feel it is a false alarm. We saw not long after hurricane Katrina that most of the people in the Houston area took the evacuation orders seriously for hurricane Rita, but turned out to not to be so bad. I hope that this is the case with Ike, but conditions are not looking good. GOOD LUCK! for those who have chosen to stay.

I tend to get a little fired up about these issues. After all, this is what I went to school for and what I do. I am intrigued and fascinated my natural and technological hazards and disasters, but I do not like to see people get injured and killed by these events. I love to watch volcanoes erupt, tsunamis crash on shore, tornadoes tuchdown, but not death. These events will continue and will increase with magnitude and intensity. This is why I started my business in emergency and disaster planning. I understand the earth science behind theses events and know what can be done to help reduce injury and death by preparing and planning for such events. It does not matter where you live, there is something that nature or man will throw your way. Get prepared.

Let me, if you will, tell you of the "Perfect Storm" that could happen from this hurricane Ike. The chances of this are very small, but just humor me and "Think About It." You may not know, but there is a tropical storm "Josephine" in the Atlantic moving WNW at 5 mph (lookout). That could possibly turn into a hurricane. We also have Ike of course that will move onto land and move up through Texas and into Arkansas. As Ike move onto land dumping large amounts of rain it is also meeting a large cold front moving in from the west. Well, cold air and warm moist air are not a good combination. This will bring even more rain and more intense thunderstorms and tornadoes. Lets forget about the tornadoes and just focus on the rain. Well, this is going to cause flooding across Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and some other states. These states all have something in common. All of these states waterways drain into the Mississippi river. The Mississippi river drains into the Gulf of Mexico right near a city, that in my opinion, people should not live there. Yes, New Orleans should be used for shipping, oil, industry, and agriculture, but not for living. Something about living below sea-level that close to the ocean just concerns me, call me crazy. Okay, back to my scenario. All of these flood water is going to drain down the Mississippi river just as Josephine gains strength into a category 5 hurricane, not that the category matters, and the eye hits just west of New Orleans. WOW! All of that flood water combined with the surge of hurricane Josephine will make Katrina look like the fictional Coriolis force on the flush of your toilet. All of this floodwater will be backed up from the storm surge and cause catastrophic flooding and damage. And the Mississippi river will be set free once again as in many years past to choose its path of least resistance and flow freely along the Gulf of Mexico. Yes, this is very, very unlikely to happen, but that would make for a great Hollywood movie. But, then again New Orleans, strike one Katrina, strike two Gustav, and strike three Josephine and "Your Out!" Think About It.

Winter? Where is fall?

We woke up to snow in the mountains today. Not unusual for Utah this time of year, but it sure lets you know that the seasons are changing. This was taken from my back yard in Lehi, Utah looking toward the east to Mt. Timpanogos. Better that a hurricane though.

GO UTES

The Utes got it done today. They beat Michigan 25 to 23, even though they played like BYU toward the end and tried to lose, they got it done in the "Big House." GO UTES! They also have the best record for a non-BCS team for beating BCS teams. Also they are tied for the most consecutive bowl game wins. Can you tell I am a little happy? Congrats to the Cougars who also won. Perhaps the Mountain West will get some recognition this year, probably not, but we can only hope. Good luck to BYU. I hope BYU can win all but two games this year. I attended both the University of New Mexico and the University of Utah. So I hope you know which two games I hope BYU does not win.

Moral Decay

If case you have not noticed, the world is a mess. There is still a lot of good in the world, but the world is going downhill fast. I am currently reading a book written by one of my hero's, Albert Einstein. This book talks about some of his inner thoughts and also some of contributions to science (of course this is my favorite). One of the sections talked about moral decay. I must remind you that the writings in this book took place between 1934-1950. Even back in these days he was able to see that there was some moral decay. I can not even start to think what he would have to say if he saw our society today.

A couple of days before I started reading this book and came across the chapter on moral decay my wife Shari and I were able to go on a date with some free movie tickets that we had received. We decided to go see the new batman movie (for those of you in Utah, we did not leave our kids in the car, another case of moral decay). This movie was rated PG-13, not that that is good these days, so we thought it might be a good movie. We had heard from so many people how good it was. Well, in our opinion it was a very dark and evil movie. Many of the previews at the beginning of the movie gave me the creeps and a very dark feeling. During many of the murder scenes in the movie you could hear people laughing at these scenes. During this movie I began thinking about how the morals in the world were decaying. I know that this is a fictional movie, but the situations and the graphics in the movie are nothing to laugh at. I think that many people these days become very numb to the movies that they watch. I know that Hollywood is aware of this too. They reel you in little by little. You get a little taste of the violence and then you want more and more. I believe that this is just a small fraction of the reason for moral decay in this world. If you do not agree with me about the batman movie then perhaps you have become numb to what you are watching (the truth may hurt a little).

I have seen many people close to me go down this road and that are going down this road, the slippery slope. Satan does not take you all at once. He takes you a little at a time. You can clearly see this in movies. Many people will try to justify what they watch and say, well it is PG-13, but that is not safe. One movie may be a little much for you to take and then you get home or talk with friends and then you may feel okay with it, but what next? One that is even worse and the slippery slope has begun. Since viewing this movie I have wondered what rating this movie would have had received just 10 years ago. I would bet an R rating. Satan is not stupid, he knows what he is doing.

Moral Decay. I can see it all around. I know that times are going to get worse, but look around. IT IS BAD RIGHT NOW. As I have talked about the numbing we get by watching movies, we also get this numbing by the world we live in. We watch the violence all around the world and in our own towns. We hear about it all the time and then it does not shock us anymore. Stop and take a look at what is going on. Put up your walls around your homes. If you do not put up these walls and keep the evil out, it will get in. Once it is in, it is harder to get it back out.

I could go on and on on this subject, but I urge everyone to look at the world around them and take an inventory of the evil and good around them. Yes, there is a lot of good, but please be aware of the moral decay that is around. I said it before, the world is going to get a lot worse, but it is bad right now. Don't be fooled or tricked with what is out there. There are too many people being taken, great people that are being tricked and taken down the wrong path.

I have really been thinking about the moral decay of our world since reading Einsteins chapter on the subject. I think of what my kids are going to have to face and deal with. I hope and pray that they will be able to handle all that comes their way. I will do everything to teach them how to fight these temptations. I urge everyone again to look around and not ignore what is around, but do whatever you need to do to put up your walls to fight this decay that will continue. Think about it!

College Girl

There is something that has been on my mind for a few weeks. I feel that I need to get this out in the open. I have been having a relationship with a college girl for quite some time now and things went a little far. I hope everyone does not think different of me after I tell you what has happened. Well, I have gotten a college girl pregnant. Some may think that this is not something that a man in his late thirties should do, but things happen. I have talked with my kids and they are okay with it and are quite excited. I have even talked with my parents about this situation and surprisingly they too are okay with it and are also quite excited. As for Shari my wonderful wife, she has been a little sick over the whole situation, but I guess she has a good reason to be sick. The baby will be due sometime in April. I hope that everything works out for the best. Please pray for us and the baby. Oh! by the way I forgot to mention that Shari starts back to school on the 27th.

Light Experiment

I have been feeling a little under the weather the past few days, but still wanted to post something for those of you who just can't wait to see what I have to say. I feel that some of you may not have grasped the idea on visible light (my first post). For those of you that don't really get it I have a simple experiment for you, also those that do get it can try just for fun. Once again our eyes can only view the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, but some other lenses can aid us in viewing other wavelenghts. For this simple experiment you will need a digital camera, or even a camera phone and a remote control device. This can be for a television, stereo, or just any remote. Take your remote and point it at your camera while you are viewing the remote through your camera. As you view the remote through your camera press any button on the remote and hold it down. You will be able to take a glimpse into the world I speak of in viewing all wavelenghts of the electromagnetic spectrum. CAUTION! This can be very addictive. And who knows, years down the road may even cause cancer of the retina. Think about it.

Happy Birthday Mama

I would like to wish my wonderful mother a Happy Birthday. I would like to congratulate her on making 67 successful solar passes. I also would like to inform her on a possible hypothesis for why she becomes light-headed often. As we all know the Earth makes one revolution in a 24 hour period giving us one day, or an average of 23 hours 56 minutes and 4.096 seconds, but we will use 24 hours to make it easy. (I am not even going to account for leap years, aren't you glad) As the Earth rotates it does this at the rate of 1,700 kilometers per hour or roughly 1,056 miles per hour. Also as it orbits the sun it moves at the rate of 110,000 kilometers per hour or 68,350 miles per hour. With the combination of these two simple orbital movements we can see that this could possibly cause one to become dizzy. And to think that she has completed roughly 24,455 revolutions on Earth. If we could only work on an over-the-counter medication to combat these universal gravitational forces. Perhaps the Dramamine company can come up with a special formula for such individuals. I hope that I have helped my mother understand why she gets light-headed and have not shed any light on her age, after all I never actually said how old she is.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! She is the greatest mother that anyone could have. To show an example of what a great mother she still is. I work outside and one day before I was to start working she called me to inform me that it was going to be cooler that day and that I should be sure to take a jacket. But, the greatest example is that she has not had a child-free house in 45 years. When I was 11 my younger brother Kelly was born with Downs Syndrome. She continues to care for him everyday without complaining and will always do this. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Rainbows and Moonbows

Have you ever seen a rainbow on a completely cloudy day? Probably not. But, most of us have viewed spectacular rainbows during the day and some may have been lucky enough to view a rainbow at night, or known as a moonbow. To view these beautiful refractions of light all we need is the correct solar zenith, around 40 to 42 degrees (no this is not temperature) and rain, ice crystals or some form of moisture. What we need is the correct angle of sunlight to pass through drops of rain to refract the light so we are able to view the prism of light. Most of us view rainbows when we are facing east. The sunlight needs to be at our backs and rain to our front to view rainbows. Some of us may have viewed rainbows facing west, of course all of us know this would only be possible in the morning. Well, maybe not, but rainbows viewed in the east are in the afternoon or evening depending on the time of year and rainbows viewed in the west are in the morning when the sun is at our backs. An interesting thing to think of when viewing rainbows is the weather associated with these rainbows. Most mid latitude storm systems pass from west to east, so when you see a rainbow in the east it is most likely indicating the weather is improving. This is evident because of the sun shinning from the west void of cloud cover. Now when you view a rainbow in the west this would probably indicate that the weather on this day is going to involve some moisture.

Moonbows are not as viewed and well known. I have not viewed one but, would really like the chance to see one. I guess I will need to keep an eye out for partly cloudy, full moonlit, misty nights, but for some reason the weather forecast does not usually give me the indications for such events. This works with the same basic principles as a rainbow, but uses reflected sunlight from the moon to form the prism with rain. The moon needs to be relatively full or bright. You also need to have the same angle of light coming from the moon, around 40 to 42 degrees. Using the same principles as with rainbows your back must be facing the moon.

My favorite thing about rainbows is the double rainbow. Is this really two rainbows? Think about it. Do we have two suns? No, thank goodness, it is hot enough with one. A double rainbow is the reflection of the first rainbow. To prove this think about the colors and their order in the rainbow. We can use Sir Issac Newtons sevenfold red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Some of us may remember this by using the mnemonic, "Roy G. Biv." One rainbow will follow this color order. A second or double rainbow will not. The colors are in reverse clearly indicating a reflection of the first. Reflections are in reverse, this is why when you look at an ambulance in your rear view mirror you are able to read the words. The next time that you are lucky enough to view a double rainbow, take a closer look. You will be amazed.

If you do not want to wait for a rainbow you can make your own using a garden hose, sprinkler, or view one at a water fall. But, remember to have your back facing the sun. And try not to loose too much sleep waiting for a moonbow, but then again, I probably will.

Visible Light

This is my opening thought for my blog. I am a thinker. If you know me you may think I am rather quiet. (Shari will tell you different) However, I am probably entertaining my mind with some interesting (to me) thought. This opening post will give you an idea of what goes on in my mind. Enter if you dare.

Have you ever thought what life might be like if we saw in more than just the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum? This is the rather large area of light that we can not view. Well, probably not. Let me tell you how lucky we are to just to be able to view just the rather cleverly named, "visible light." Your day would probably start out pretty rough. You roll over to turn off your alarm clock and view all the FM or AM waves being transmited in the air, but that is just the begining. As you make your way down the hall you would be able to see the thermal infrared being given off by everyone in the house, even pets if you have them. Lets say you decide to make breakfast using the microwave oven, WOW! I bet that would be a good light show to watch. If you decide to watch the television you will probably want to limit the use of your remote, I am sure that beam sent out of your remote might make you late for work. You might practice with this like it is your Jedi lightsaber. So, are you getting the idea of how lucky we are? We have not even stepped outside yet. You open your garage and back out of your garage, as you press the remote to close your garage you will see light being emitted from your remote. Now the fun begins. Imagine all of the many wavelengths of light tramsmitted through space and our atmosphere. Gamma, shortwave radio, microwaves, AM/FM radio, CB radio, cell communications, satellite television, short wave and long wave radiation, or many of the other wavelengths that you are now able to see. We would probably feel as though we were living in the 60's or 70's and having a bad acid trip, or good one depending on who you may talk to. I hope I have opened your mind to something else to be thankful for. So, when you kneel down tonight to say you prayers, please be thankful that you only view the visible light. I would say that there would be one day of the year that I would like to be able to view all the electromagnetic spectrum. This would be for just an hour on the 4th of July. Talk about your fireworks display. And all of this without the risk of fire and injury. Think about it.