Scientific Artist

Today’s Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) http://epod.usra.edu/ is my Carbon Stars of Kemble’s Cascade image – it is also my 66th EPOD

Thank you Jim for continuing to publish my work – must say that one came out particularly sparkly

I only need 300 more hits to take me up to the half million mark

Take a browse through my Flickr  images today and let’s see if we can get there:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/12801949@N02/

Never forget Dr. David Kelly!

I certainly won’t.

Last night I was very disturbed by a one and a half hour documentary on BBC4 about a young man I had never heard of before – Aaron Swartz.

For those of you in the American Government Departments responsible for this young man’s death – and you know exactly who you are – you are the most despicable pieces of filth I’ve ever come across in my lifetime.

If there is a Higher Being out there dishing out Justice – you’ll be getting yours soon!!

Today’s EPOD encore is my image of the frost covered spider webs.

Good to see that one again Jim

The 2015 prices for all photography courses remain the same as for 2014

Whether it is DSLR photography (macro, micro, high-speed, Nature or specialist) or deep-sky imaging – the Scientific Artist has a custom made course for you.

The February 2015 issue of Astronomy Now has a 4-page article on the mini-WASP parallel imaging refractor array at the New Forest Observatory

Today’s EPOD http://epod.usra.edu/ is my recent image of a Lunar Halo over the observatories.

Thank you Jim at EPOD for continuing to publish my work

Sorry – another non-scientific post – if you don’t like seeing this stuff please stop here.

But I have reached an age where I don’t have to suffer crap anymore because for the first time in my life I answer to no one – and let me tell you it’s like being reborn.  Retirement – bring it on!!

I have had to keep the vomit bowl within easy reach these past few days as the Conservative and Labour dements spout their crap, trying their hardest to keep a straight face and look as if they actually mean what they say.  I swear they amaze themselves at how they don’t break down in tears of laughter during one of their moronic diatribes.

And if I feel like that I KNOW that millions feel exactly the same way too.  So what can the “hard working British people” (give me strength) actually do to teach these morons a lesson they have never been dealt before?  Now on this one I do not agree with Russel Brand that not voting is a good idea.  That is a passive response to the insulting and provocative behaviour of our politicians.  No – what I would like everyone to do is vote for UKIP.  This has NOTHING to do with agreeing with UKIP’s policies (whatever they are) or philosophy (whatever that is) – but it has EVERYTHING to do with sending a message to Labour and Conservatives alike, in a language that even these morons can understand.  I have not mentioned the Liberal Democrats at all as they completely lost all credibility the moment they backed down on the Student Fees issue – shame on you, you lily-livered plebs!!

O.K. everybody – this is YOUR chance to show “those in charge” that you haven’t just got off the boat.  Are you going to just sit there and do nothing – or are you going to upset their whole year?

O.K. so there appears to be some more Idiocracy-based garbage that needs to be put to bed.

Killer planet Nibiru – it ain’t there people, sorry but your quick life cop-out isn’t just around the corner – not with non-existent Nibiru anyway.

However – if you are dead keen (pun intended) on killer scenarios, how about dealing with some straight facts rather than pure fiction.

Remember that massive Russian meteor/meteorite that came crashing in unannounced around a year or so ago?  That would have ruined your day if it had arrived more intact in your location. And around a year or so before that we got a near Earth asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool (to put it on scale that the Idiocracy can appreciate) that shot past us at a distance that put it inside the orbit of some Earth-orbiting satellites – so that was REALLY close – and I got a picture of that one too  And again if that had come down near you, you would have noticed it.

And do you have any idea why you are actually still here to read this stuff I’m writing, at all?  No of course you don’t.  You can actually thank a Russian submarine commander who disobeyed orders and didn’t set his nukes off as he suspected the order was a false alarm.  Thank you my man for engaging your brain and not ending our world in such a pointless fashion.

Then of course we have the possibility of a nearby (in galactic terms) Gamma Ray Burst that would instantaneously sterilise everything for cubic light years around – no life whatsoever remaining – except perhaps for the odd Deinococcus radiodurans or two.

So why get yourself all upset and agitated about the fictions of an over active imagination (nutter if you prefer)  – when there’s so much more really mundane stuff out there ready, willing and waiting to snuff you out, before you even saw it. And let’s go back to our Russian mate just for a moment and remember – it is pure good luck, and an unexpected act of bravery from a virtually unknown man – that you’re still around today.