Monday, March 16, 2009
Up Close
It is common to see these guys in Waterton Canyon. They pretty much ignore people which is not necessarily a good thing. This ram was just off the road and I was able to get this closeup. He appears to be watching me. The horns are quite worn and show some scars of the battle to see who would be the big cheese in the herd. Click on the picture for a larger view.
Friday, March 13, 2009
First time on youtube
I posted a video on YouTube. It is a special train heading from Denver to Pueblo for the State Fair a few years ago. It is steam-powered
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Climbing
When I was a kid, it was not unusual to find me up in a tree. My friend Kevin and I were climbers for sure. There was one tree in the neighbor's yard that was especally good for climbing. We'd get 30-40 feet up easily. I don't climb trees that often anymore. Well, in fact, I did climb one today to retrieve a geocache.
Here is a picture of me on top of a rock that I had to climb. It's from a few years ago and is in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Here is a picture of me on top of a rock that I had to climb. It's from a few years ago and is in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
One of my hidden geocaches
One of my hidden geocaches requires a climb up this hill. It's a bit hairy but doable. That's me up there. This is definitely the hardest one of mine to get to. So far, only 3 cachers have found it and it has been there since November 23, 2008.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Thursday, March 05, 2009
The Train Crew (as I understand it)
At one time, it took 5 people to operate a typical train. In the locomotive, there was an engineer, a fireman, and a brakeman. In the caboose there was another brakeman and a conductor. In the steam days, the fireman's job was quite important as he was the guy who kept the fire going. The engineer operated the locomotive and the horns and no doubt lots of other gizmos. The head end brakeman obviously handled the brakes from the locomotive while the rear end brakeman handled the brakes from the caboose. The conductor in the caboose had all the paperwork for the train and was actually the person in charge of the train.
When diesels arrived, the fireman became a dunsel but was nevertheless kept in place for a long time due to union agreements. The same became true of both brakemen since the engineer could do all the braking for the train.
Eventually, the crew dwindled down to just the engineer and the conductor. It makes sense to have 2 people in the locomotive to support each other so the need for a caboose went away except for trains that had to run backwards for lots of switching moves. That's is the only type of train that still has a caboose today. The replacement for the caboose on regular trains is a "fred" - a flashing rear end device. It is a box of electronics that can monitor the systems on the train. This is one of the reasons for lots of antennas on today's locomotives.
P.S. I don't get to use the word "dunsel" very often.
When diesels arrived, the fireman became a dunsel but was nevertheless kept in place for a long time due to union agreements. The same became true of both brakemen since the engineer could do all the braking for the train.
Eventually, the crew dwindled down to just the engineer and the conductor. It makes sense to have 2 people in the locomotive to support each other so the need for a caboose went away except for trains that had to run backwards for lots of switching moves. That's is the only type of train that still has a caboose today. The replacement for the caboose on regular trains is a "fred" - a flashing rear end device. It is a box of electronics that can monitor the systems on the train. This is one of the reasons for lots of antennas on today's locomotives.
P.S. I don't get to use the word "dunsel" very often.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Cabooses were not all the same
The three below all have extended vision cupolas meaning the cuploas are wider than the body of the caboose. Two of them are very similar (BN and Rio Grande) but there are noticable differences. These two also have their windows plated over while the MP caboose does not.
Here is one from the Burlington Northern in Fort Worth, Texas in 1984.
Here is one from the Rio Grande in the same location as the BN caboose maybe on the same day.
Here is one from the Missouri Pacific in a different location in Fort Worth also in 1984.
Here is one from the Burlington Northern in Fort Worth, Texas in 1984.
Here is one from the Rio Grande in the same location as the BN caboose maybe on the same day.
Here is one from the Missouri Pacific in a different location in Fort Worth also in 1984.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Top 100
Last time I looked at the statistics, I had actually made it into the list of top 100 cachers in Colorado. I am #100 in Colorado and in a 6 way ties for #6397 in the world. What a hoot.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Series Caches
There seems to be a plethora of cache series these days. Here are my stats for some of the more significant series as of today:
The Plain Fun series are all hidden out on the plains near DIA. There are 30 so far and I have found these:: 21, 22, 23
The Silo View series consists of 47 caches so far out on the plains east of Denver. I have found these: 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47
The Barn View series consists of 17 caches so far out on the plains east of Denver. I have found these: 2, 3, 4, 10, 14, 15, 17
The National Park series are all named after national parks and are out on the plains east and north of DIA. There are 57 of these and I have found 41 of them.
The Hansel's Crumb series consits of 20 caches on the plains east of Denver. I have found these: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20
The Gretel's Crumb series consits of 9 caches on the plains east of Denver. I have found these: 7, 8
The Caching Stimulous Plan series consits of 10 caches on the plains east of Denver and Aurora. I have found these: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
The Colorado Spirit Quest series are hidden in or near cemeteries throughout Colorado by many cachers. There are over 150 of them. I have found these: 1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 17, 44, 47, 60, 68, 69, 79, 87, 140, 144
The On Every Corner series are all hidden by Walgreen's stores. There are 57 so far and I have found these: 15, 16, 18, 25, 26, 28, 29, 34, 35, 36, 43, 44, 50, 51, 54
Like the On Every Corner series, the Project Wal series are hidden by Walgreen's stores but by a different cacher. Of the 16 that exist, I have found these: 1, 12, 13, 14
The Douglas County Historical series are virtual caches where you have to go to some historical location and report a specific fact from it. There are 20 of them. I have found these: 2, 3, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
The Plain Fun series are all hidden out on the plains near DIA. There are 30 so far and I have found these:: 21, 22, 23
The Silo View series consists of 47 caches so far out on the plains east of Denver. I have found these: 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47
The Barn View series consists of 17 caches so far out on the plains east of Denver. I have found these: 2, 3, 4, 10, 14, 15, 17
The National Park series are all named after national parks and are out on the plains east and north of DIA. There are 57 of these and I have found 41 of them.
The Hansel's Crumb series consits of 20 caches on the plains east of Denver. I have found these: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20
The Gretel's Crumb series consits of 9 caches on the plains east of Denver. I have found these: 7, 8
The Caching Stimulous Plan series consits of 10 caches on the plains east of Denver and Aurora. I have found these: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
The Colorado Spirit Quest series are hidden in or near cemeteries throughout Colorado by many cachers. There are over 150 of them. I have found these: 1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 17, 44, 47, 60, 68, 69, 79, 87, 140, 144
The On Every Corner series are all hidden by Walgreen's stores. There are 57 so far and I have found these: 15, 16, 18, 25, 26, 28, 29, 34, 35, 36, 43, 44, 50, 51, 54
Like the On Every Corner series, the Project Wal series are hidden by Walgreen's stores but by a different cacher. Of the 16 that exist, I have found these: 1, 12, 13, 14
The Douglas County Historical series are virtual caches where you have to go to some historical location and report a specific fact from it. There are 20 of them. I have found these: 2, 3, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Four More Caches
This past weekend, I hid 4 more caches. All of them are along the Platte River and three of them are in Waterton Canyon. These three plus one that I hid a week before make up a series devoted to Waterton Canyon side trails. These side trails are rarely visited by people who go into the canyon and they are really interesting places. One of them in particular is about 500 feet down one of these trails and the side trail ends up in a really neat mini canyon. I think cachers will find all of this series a lot of fun.
However, they all require a bit of a hike since you can't drive into Waterton Canyon at all. You have to hike or bike. The closest one requires a hike of about 1.75 miles one way and the farthest one requires a trek of about 4 miles one way. This would be easiset by bike and that is what I recommend.
The other cache was also hidden along the Platte but over in the Two Forks area. It is another cache in the Fallen Flag railroad series. The trail along the river is on an old railroad grade. The road up into Waterton Canyon is also on the old railroad grade but after a little over 6 miles, it reaches the Strontia Springs Dam. At the far end of the reservoir behind the dam, the old railroad grade continues and comes out where the Platte River branches into "two forks". It is at this location that you can park and walk the half mile or so to this new cache.
The railroad through the canyon was constructed in 1878. It eventually became part of the Colorado & Southern Railroad. The last train went through there in 1937 and the rails were probably taken up not long after that - probably that year.
There are some interesting railroad-related artifacts along the right of way and you can see them every 100 feet or so on the hillside along the old grade. There were two methods employed for the telegraph line that followed the railroad and you can see the remains of both along the way if you keep a sharp eye out. The more common method was typical wooden poles. Most of these along this grade were sawed off leaving pole stumps about 3 feet high.
The other method is more interesting and this method is in evidence along this route as well as in Waterton Canyon and just about anywhere else along this old railroad grade. You can see one or two vertical metal poles stuck in rock outcroppings fairly high above the grade. This cache is hidden behind a spot where there is only one of these metal poles.
Getting to this cache requires a bit of climbing but it's not that hard. The cache is hidden about 35 feet above the trail and about 25 feet behind one of these metal poles.
These caches are not likely to be snow friendly and they require some effort to get to. They are all meant to be memorable caches. None of them have been found yet - not even the closest one in Waterton. It will be interesting to see how long it takes. It might even be next spring!
However, they all require a bit of a hike since you can't drive into Waterton Canyon at all. You have to hike or bike. The closest one requires a hike of about 1.75 miles one way and the farthest one requires a trek of about 4 miles one way. This would be easiset by bike and that is what I recommend.
The other cache was also hidden along the Platte but over in the Two Forks area. It is another cache in the Fallen Flag railroad series. The trail along the river is on an old railroad grade. The road up into Waterton Canyon is also on the old railroad grade but after a little over 6 miles, it reaches the Strontia Springs Dam. At the far end of the reservoir behind the dam, the old railroad grade continues and comes out where the Platte River branches into "two forks". It is at this location that you can park and walk the half mile or so to this new cache.
The railroad through the canyon was constructed in 1878. It eventually became part of the Colorado & Southern Railroad. The last train went through there in 1937 and the rails were probably taken up not long after that - probably that year.
There are some interesting railroad-related artifacts along the right of way and you can see them every 100 feet or so on the hillside along the old grade. There were two methods employed for the telegraph line that followed the railroad and you can see the remains of both along the way if you keep a sharp eye out. The more common method was typical wooden poles. Most of these along this grade were sawed off leaving pole stumps about 3 feet high.
The other method is more interesting and this method is in evidence along this route as well as in Waterton Canyon and just about anywhere else along this old railroad grade. You can see one or two vertical metal poles stuck in rock outcroppings fairly high above the grade. This cache is hidden behind a spot where there is only one of these metal poles.
Getting to this cache requires a bit of climbing but it's not that hard. The cache is hidden about 35 feet above the trail and about 25 feet behind one of these metal poles.
These caches are not likely to be snow friendly and they require some effort to get to. They are all meant to be memorable caches. None of them have been found yet - not even the closest one in Waterton. It will be interesting to see how long it takes. It might even be next spring!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Three New Caches
I hid three new geocaches today. Two of them are part of a series started by a cacher named Grand High Pobah dedicated to fallen flag railroads. Fallen flag railroads no longer exist either through abandonment or corporate takeover. These two new caches are near one of those historical railroads.
The Denver, South Park, and Pacific railroad was a narrow gauge line (3’ between the rails) that started life in Denver in 1874 and was headed to the mining camps in the mountains. The main route of this railroad followed the course of the Platte River through Waterton Canyon and eventually over Kenosha Pass.
There was a branch that split off of the main line just before the line entered Waterton Canyon. By the time the branch line was built, the DSP&P had become part of the Colorado and Southern (C&S) railroad. This branch line was called the Silica Branch and it crossed the river, went back downstream a ways and then headed up into what is now Roxborough. It then ended near the old kiln that was built there about 1904 by the Silicated Brick Company.
Construction of the railroad branch line began in September 1908. It was a narrow gauge line almost 4 miles long terminating at Silica. The brick company lasted less than 10 years but clay and silica was mined in the area until the 1960's. The railroad branch operated intermittently until 1940 when it was abandoned and then dismantled in 1941. All of the remaining brick-related buildings were demolished over time, except for the kiln which you can see even today.
I hid two caches, one at each end of the branch line. They are both camoflaged pastic containers.
The Denver, South Park, and Pacific railroad was a narrow gauge line (3’ between the rails) that started life in Denver in 1874 and was headed to the mining camps in the mountains. The main route of this railroad followed the course of the Platte River through Waterton Canyon and eventually over Kenosha Pass.
There was a branch that split off of the main line just before the line entered Waterton Canyon. By the time the branch line was built, the DSP&P had become part of the Colorado and Southern (C&S) railroad. This branch line was called the Silica Branch and it crossed the river, went back downstream a ways and then headed up into what is now Roxborough. It then ended near the old kiln that was built there about 1904 by the Silicated Brick Company.
Construction of the railroad branch line began in September 1908. It was a narrow gauge line almost 4 miles long terminating at Silica. The brick company lasted less than 10 years but clay and silica was mined in the area until the 1960's. The railroad branch operated intermittently until 1940 when it was abandoned and then dismantled in 1941. All of the remaining brick-related buildings were demolished over time, except for the kiln which you can see even today.
I hid two caches, one at each end of the branch line. They are both camoflaged pastic containers.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
1000 Caches
Actually, 1001 as I write this. I discovered a set of micro caches outside of DIA hidden by Mondou2. They are named after the national parks and I think there is one for just about every park that exists. So I went out there and found a bunch of these caches on consecutive weekends. On the first pass through the area, I found 52 caches most of which were part of the national park series. That beats my old record for one day of 22. And these 52 caches were found in about 4 hours.
The next weekend, I made my way up to Greeley to watch the Northern Colorado Bears lose another football game. I left early to find some more of this series of caches and found a total of 37 in about 3 hours. This put me past the 1000 milestone.
The 1000th cache was a micro in Greeley called Beware of the Bear. It is in the parking lot of the football stadium. Later in the day, I hid one of my own in Greeley on campus. It was published later in the day and found at 6:20 the next morning. A total of 2 people have found it so far.
MY next goal is to be among the top 100 cachers in Colorado. This will be difficult and might take some time. Right now, number 100 has found 1149 caches. My current rank is 113. Mondou2 has the most finds in Colorado with over 15,000. He has hidden more than 500 caches!
The next weekend, I made my way up to Greeley to watch the Northern Colorado Bears lose another football game. I left early to find some more of this series of caches and found a total of 37 in about 3 hours. This put me past the 1000 milestone.
The 1000th cache was a micro in Greeley called Beware of the Bear. It is in the parking lot of the football stadium. Later in the day, I hid one of my own in Greeley on campus. It was published later in the day and found at 6:20 the next morning. A total of 2 people have found it so far.
MY next goal is to be among the top 100 cachers in Colorado. This will be difficult and might take some time. Right now, number 100 has found 1149 caches. My current rank is 113. Mondou2 has the most finds in Colorado with over 15,000. He has hidden more than 500 caches!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Planets
We now have 8 planets since Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet. But did you know that Pluto is not even the largest of the dwarf planets? The knowledge of the Solar System has changed quite a bit in recent decades. When was in high school in the 70’s, I think Jupiter was known to have only 12 moons. Now it has 63.
Here is the order of the planets (8) and dwarf planets (5) along with some interesting facts about each one. By the way, one AU is the distance from the sun to the Earth.
1. Mercury - .38 AU – 4880 km in diameter
2. Venus - .72 AU – 12,100 km
3. Earth – 1 AU – 12,750 km
4. Mars – 1.52 AU – 6800 km
5. Ceres – 2.5-2.9 AU – 950 km
6. Jupiter – 5.2 AU – 143,000 km
7. Saturn – 9.54 AU – 120,500 km
8. Uranus – 19.2 AU – 51,100 km
9. Neptune – 30 AU – 49,500 km
10. Pluto – 29-49 AU – 2274 km in diameter
11. Haumea - 35-51 AU – 1400 km
12. Makemake - 38-53 AU – 1500 km
13. Eris – 96.7 AU – 2450 km in diameter
Not all of the planets have moons and some of the moons have not yet been named.
Earth – 1 – the moon
Mars – 2 – Phobos, Deimos
Jupiter – 63 – Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Themisto, Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Carpo, Euporie, Orthosie, Euanthe, Thyone, Mneme, Harpalyke, Hermippe, Praxidike, Thelxinoe, Iocaste, Ananke, Arche, Pasithee, Chaldene, Kale, Isonoe, Aitne, Erinome, Taygete, Carme, Kalyke, Eukelade, Kallichore, Helike, Eurydome, Autonoe, Sponde, Pasiphae, Megaclite, Sinope, Hegemone, Aoede, Callirrhoe, Cyllene, Kore
Saturn – 60 – Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Janus, Mimas, Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Telesto, Tethys, Calypso, Dione, Helene, Polydeuces, Rhea, Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus, Kiviuq, Ijiraq, Phoebe, Paaliaq, Skathi, Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapo, Siarnaq, Skoll, Tarvos, Tarqeq, Greip, Hyrrokkin, Mundilfari, Jarnsaxa, Narvi, Bergelmir, Suttungr, Hati, Bestla, Farbauti, Thrymr, Aegir, Kari, Fenrir, Surtur, Ymir, Loge, Fornjot
Uranus – 27 – Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda, Perdita, Puck, Mab. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Francisco, Caliban, Stephano, Trinculo, Sycorax, Margaret, Prospero, Setebos, Ferdinand
Neptune – 13 – Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus, Triton, Nereid, Halimede, Sao, Laomedeia, Psamathe, Neso
Pluto – 3 – Charon, Nix, Hydra
Haumea – 2 - Hi’iaka, Namaka
Eris – 1 – Dysnomia
Here is the order of the planets (8) and dwarf planets (5) along with some interesting facts about each one. By the way, one AU is the distance from the sun to the Earth.
1. Mercury - .38 AU – 4880 km in diameter
2. Venus - .72 AU – 12,100 km
3. Earth – 1 AU – 12,750 km
4. Mars – 1.52 AU – 6800 km
5. Ceres – 2.5-2.9 AU – 950 km
6. Jupiter – 5.2 AU – 143,000 km
7. Saturn – 9.54 AU – 120,500 km
8. Uranus – 19.2 AU – 51,100 km
9. Neptune – 30 AU – 49,500 km
10. Pluto – 29-49 AU – 2274 km in diameter
11. Haumea - 35-51 AU – 1400 km
12. Makemake - 38-53 AU – 1500 km
13. Eris – 96.7 AU – 2450 km in diameter
Not all of the planets have moons and some of the moons have not yet been named.
Earth – 1 – the moon
Mars – 2 – Phobos, Deimos
Jupiter – 63 – Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Themisto, Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Carpo, Euporie, Orthosie, Euanthe, Thyone, Mneme, Harpalyke, Hermippe, Praxidike, Thelxinoe, Iocaste, Ananke, Arche, Pasithee, Chaldene, Kale, Isonoe, Aitne, Erinome, Taygete, Carme, Kalyke, Eukelade, Kallichore, Helike, Eurydome, Autonoe, Sponde, Pasiphae, Megaclite, Sinope, Hegemone, Aoede, Callirrhoe, Cyllene, Kore
Saturn – 60 – Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Janus, Mimas, Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Telesto, Tethys, Calypso, Dione, Helene, Polydeuces, Rhea, Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus, Kiviuq, Ijiraq, Phoebe, Paaliaq, Skathi, Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapo, Siarnaq, Skoll, Tarvos, Tarqeq, Greip, Hyrrokkin, Mundilfari, Jarnsaxa, Narvi, Bergelmir, Suttungr, Hati, Bestla, Farbauti, Thrymr, Aegir, Kari, Fenrir, Surtur, Ymir, Loge, Fornjot
Uranus – 27 – Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda, Perdita, Puck, Mab. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Francisco, Caliban, Stephano, Trinculo, Sycorax, Margaret, Prospero, Setebos, Ferdinand
Neptune – 13 – Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus, Triton, Nereid, Halimede, Sao, Laomedeia, Psamathe, Neso
Pluto – 3 – Charon, Nix, Hydra
Haumea – 2 - Hi’iaka, Namaka
Eris – 1 – Dysnomia
Units of Time Part III
What about units of time that are shorter than one second? This topic enters the realm of physics and some of these units are used as measurements of half-life of elements and the amount of time it takes to do things that people don't ordinarily think about. Here are some definitions:
Centisecond – 1/100 of a second – the length of time a single frame is displayed on a tv
Millisecond – 1/1000 second – a blink of an eye
Microsecond – a millionth of a second
Shake – about 10 nanoseconds – the time it takes a lamb to shake its tail
Nanosecond – a billionth of a second – light travels about a foot in one of these
Picosecond – a trillionth
Femtosecond – a quadrillionth
Attosecond – a quintillionth
Zeptosecond – a sextillionth
Yoctosecond – a septillionth
Planck time – This is the smallest unit. It is the time it would take a photon traveling at the speed of light to go the distance equal to a Planck length. It is the "quantum of time", the smallest measurement of time that has any meaning, and is equal to 10 to the minus 43 seconds. A Planck length is the "quantum of length", the smallest measurement of length with any meaning. It is about 10 to the minus 20 times the size of a proton. It would take a bit of study in physics to understand what this really means.
And a few more second-based time units that are larger than a second. By anyone's reckoning, some of these have not yet happened even once.
Kilosecond – 1000 seconds – 16.7 minutes
Megasecond – 1,000,000 seconds – 11.6 days
Gigasecond – 1 billion seconds – 32 years
Terasecond – 1 trillion seconds – 32,000 years
Petasecond – 1 quadrillion seconds – 32 million years
Exasecond – 1 quintillion seconds - 32 billion years
Zettasecond – 1 sextillion seconds - 32 trillion years
Yottaseonds – 1 septillion seconds - 32 quadrillion years
Centisecond – 1/100 of a second – the length of time a single frame is displayed on a tv
Millisecond – 1/1000 second – a blink of an eye
Microsecond – a millionth of a second
Shake – about 10 nanoseconds – the time it takes a lamb to shake its tail
Nanosecond – a billionth of a second – light travels about a foot in one of these
Picosecond – a trillionth
Femtosecond – a quadrillionth
Attosecond – a quintillionth
Zeptosecond – a sextillionth
Yoctosecond – a septillionth
Planck time – This is the smallest unit. It is the time it would take a photon traveling at the speed of light to go the distance equal to a Planck length. It is the "quantum of time", the smallest measurement of time that has any meaning, and is equal to 10 to the minus 43 seconds. A Planck length is the "quantum of length", the smallest measurement of length with any meaning. It is about 10 to the minus 20 times the size of a proton. It would take a bit of study in physics to understand what this really means.
And a few more second-based time units that are larger than a second. By anyone's reckoning, some of these have not yet happened even once.
Kilosecond – 1000 seconds – 16.7 minutes
Megasecond – 1,000,000 seconds – 11.6 days
Gigasecond – 1 billion seconds – 32 years
Terasecond – 1 trillion seconds – 32,000 years
Petasecond – 1 quadrillion seconds – 32 million years
Exasecond – 1 quintillion seconds - 32 billion years
Zettasecond – 1 sextillion seconds - 32 trillion years
Yottaseonds – 1 septillion seconds - 32 quadrillion years
Monday, October 13, 2008
Units of Time - Part II
And now, continuing some thoughts on this very important matter - units of time. Please read part I first if you haven't already done so.
There are much more interesting units of time that are longer than a second because they are not precise measures ot time.
For instance, there is the "while". "How long will you be"? "Oh, a while". How long is a while? It depends on whether it is a short while, a long while, or just a while. I think a "short while" can be anywhere from a few minutes to about an hour and a half. A long while could be anywhere from several hours to a number of years. A regular while is somewhere inbetween and they no doubt overlap. Whiles are never plural. As in "I'll be away from home for two short whiles". Would two short whiles be equal to one while? How many whiles are in a long while? Do whales care about this at all?
How about a jiffy. This word is not used much today. I have never heard of a short jiffy or a long jiffy, just a jiffy. Like whiles, jiffies aren't plural and therefore can't be combined. "I'll be gone for a while and two jiffies." Oddly, a jiffy in some circles is a precise time interval of .01 seconds and in others, it is a precise 1/50th or 1/60 of a second (someone needs to make up their mind). However, it is more commonly intended to mean a very short but not a precise amount of time. What does a jiffy have to do with peanut butter or popcorn?
It is strange but both "minute" and "second" are sometimes used to refer to an amount of time that is not precise as in "I'll be there in a minute" or "just a second". Oddly, this doesn't bother me.
How about a "coon's age"? How long is that. How long does a raccoon live anyway? Well, it's about 5-7 years but the phrase could simply mean a long time and how long that is depends on the context. "I haven't seen you in a coon's age". Seems like that could be weeks, months or years.
A month of Sundays. Whoa. I suppose this could be 28, 29, 30, or 31 weeks. But it's really just another lengthy and indefinite amount of time - somewhat less than a coon's age. "I haven't seen a raccoon in a month of Sundays".
Speaking of ages, it's been ages since I lived in Chicago. How long is "ages"?
Can you think of any more? Take a short while and add a post to this one that shows your ability to waist a little time (or a lot of time, or a short while or a few jiffies). Once you send your posting, it will be on the blog in a New York minute (the time it takes from when the traffic light turns green, till the guy behind you starts honking his horn").
There are much more interesting units of time that are longer than a second because they are not precise measures ot time.
For instance, there is the "while". "How long will you be"? "Oh, a while". How long is a while? It depends on whether it is a short while, a long while, or just a while. I think a "short while" can be anywhere from a few minutes to about an hour and a half. A long while could be anywhere from several hours to a number of years. A regular while is somewhere inbetween and they no doubt overlap. Whiles are never plural. As in "I'll be away from home for two short whiles". Would two short whiles be equal to one while? How many whiles are in a long while? Do whales care about this at all?
How about a jiffy. This word is not used much today. I have never heard of a short jiffy or a long jiffy, just a jiffy. Like whiles, jiffies aren't plural and therefore can't be combined. "I'll be gone for a while and two jiffies." Oddly, a jiffy in some circles is a precise time interval of .01 seconds and in others, it is a precise 1/50th or 1/60 of a second (someone needs to make up their mind). However, it is more commonly intended to mean a very short but not a precise amount of time. What does a jiffy have to do with peanut butter or popcorn?
It is strange but both "minute" and "second" are sometimes used to refer to an amount of time that is not precise as in "I'll be there in a minute" or "just a second". Oddly, this doesn't bother me.
How about a "coon's age"? How long is that. How long does a raccoon live anyway? Well, it's about 5-7 years but the phrase could simply mean a long time and how long that is depends on the context. "I haven't seen you in a coon's age". Seems like that could be weeks, months or years.
A month of Sundays. Whoa. I suppose this could be 28, 29, 30, or 31 weeks. But it's really just another lengthy and indefinite amount of time - somewhat less than a coon's age. "I haven't seen a raccoon in a month of Sundays".
Speaking of ages, it's been ages since I lived in Chicago. How long is "ages"?
Can you think of any more? Take a short while and add a post to this one that shows your ability to waist a little time (or a lot of time, or a short while or a few jiffies). Once you send your posting, it will be on the blog in a New York minute (the time it takes from when the traffic light turns green, till the guy behind you starts honking his horn").
Units of Time - Part I
And now, on to a very important matter - units of time.
The other day, I got to wondering about this topic and have hereby compiled a list of various units of time that are longer than a second and are almost always the same length.
A minute consists of 60 seconds.
An hour consists of 60 of those.
A day consists of 24 of those.
A week consists of 7 of those.
A fortnight consists of 2 of those.
A month consists of, hmm, not always the same like the others. Sometimes 28 days, sometimes 29, 30, or 31. There was one month that only had 20 - September of 1752.
A quarter consists of 3 months.
A year consists of 12 months.
A decade takes 10 years to go by.
A presidential election cycle seems to fall here somwhere.
A century is ten decades.
A millennium, ten of those.
The other day, I got to wondering about this topic and have hereby compiled a list of various units of time that are longer than a second and are almost always the same length.
A minute consists of 60 seconds.
An hour consists of 60 of those.
A day consists of 24 of those.
A week consists of 7 of those.
A fortnight consists of 2 of those.
A month consists of, hmm, not always the same like the others. Sometimes 28 days, sometimes 29, 30, or 31. There was one month that only had 20 - September of 1752.
A quarter consists of 3 months.
A year consists of 12 months.
A decade takes 10 years to go by.
A presidential election cycle seems to fall here somwhere.
A century is ten decades.
A millennium, ten of those.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Disgusting
Someone stole our McCain sign from our front yard today. We happen to be sitting by the front window when it happened and Heather heard the guy and ran out and yelled at him. He dropped the sign in the street and kept going. A neighbor's McCain sign was replaced with an Obama one. They weren't home tonight. We called the police and they have been crusing the neighborhood.
No matter who one favors for president, there is just no excuse for this kind of behavior.
No matter who one favors for president, there is just no excuse for this kind of behavior.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Colorado Spirit Quest Caches
I found #1 in the series of Colorado Spirit Quest caches today. I have found #1, #17, #44, #60 and #79. I have a long ways to go since there are over 130 of them in the series so far.
The Colorado Spirit Quest is a series of caches placed near cemeteries in hopes of paying respect to the many pioneer ancestors that have gone before us. This idea is not unique to Colorado. The idea started in 2004 in Indiana and there are now similar series in many states. Indiana has over 650 of them!
The Colorado Spirit Quest is a series of caches placed near cemeteries in hopes of paying respect to the many pioneer ancestors that have gone before us. This idea is not unique to Colorado. The idea started in 2004 in Indiana and there are now similar series in many states. Indiana has over 650 of them!
Caching Sunday
After church today, I set out to have a caching day in Golden, Colorado. As usual, I made an ambitious list of caches to find, this time 33 of them. I failed to find 3 of the ones I ended up looking for. I also skipped quite a few because I didn't like the area or the lack of nearby parking. So, I ended up finding 18 today and did not break my record of 22 in one day. This ties for my second best day.
Almost all of the ones I found today were micros. Lots of pill bottles and quite a few cammoed containers in poine trees which I always have a hard time finding.
The best ones today were these:
Slim Pickens - a cache about 500 feet down a little used trail. Attached to a tree was a nose, two eyes and a mouth. The tiny cache was in the nose!
Ulysses 1.5 - In the cap of a chain link fence post.
A Stream Runs Through It - In the cap of a chain link fence post. I like this kind.
Colorado Spirit Quest #1 - The first in this series of caches. There are over 100 of them now. This one in Golden is in a pine tree right by Edward Berthoud's gravesite.
From the Halls of Montezuma - By the marine memorial in Golden. Nothing special about the cache but the sheriff did drive by while I was there. He didn't stop, though. Would have been fun if he did.
Walborn - Light pole cover caches are common. This one was full of bees. Good thing they were all dead.
Almost all of the ones I found today were micros. Lots of pill bottles and quite a few cammoed containers in poine trees which I always have a hard time finding.
The best ones today were these:
Slim Pickens - a cache about 500 feet down a little used trail. Attached to a tree was a nose, two eyes and a mouth. The tiny cache was in the nose!
Ulysses 1.5 - In the cap of a chain link fence post.
A Stream Runs Through It - In the cap of a chain link fence post. I like this kind.
Colorado Spirit Quest #1 - The first in this series of caches. There are over 100 of them now. This one in Golden is in a pine tree right by Edward Berthoud's gravesite.
From the Halls of Montezuma - By the marine memorial in Golden. Nothing special about the cache but the sheriff did drive by while I was there. He didn't stop, though. Would have been fun if he did.
Walborn - Light pole cover caches are common. This one was full of bees. Good thing they were all dead.
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