The Kudzu Files

Red Sky At Night...

sunset_clouds, originally uploaded by staryeti.

Red sky at night.... these clouds were flooding the room with a red glow late Tuesday afternoon.

Art and Architecture In The Storm Drain

From BLDGBLOG, an interesting interview with Canadian urban explorer Michael Cook. It's interesting on two levels, first for the interview itself, and second for the accompanying pictures, which definitely don't look like the storm drains in my town. Who knows, maybe if he explored the sewers of Washington DC he'd find GWB's approval ratings.

OK, This Is Ridiculous!

What, He Couldn't Find The Elevator?

Via James, here's a story about a Russian crocodile who survived a leap out of a 12th-story window. The croc has done this three times now. What the hell could be in a Russian apartment that would scare a crocodile enough to make it jump out of a window? Or this some strange step up on the evolutionary ladder? People along the Nile River think they've got it bad now, just wait for flying Nile crocodiles. Seriously nasty.

Will Mars Look As Big As The Moon?

It's BAAAAAAACK!!!! That stupid email about Mars looming in our night sky like a big ol' 'nuther Moon is making the rounds again. No! It won't happen!! It can't happen!!!

No, not at all. Or, mostly not at all. This began in 2003, when Mars really did make the closest approach in modern human history. But it still just appeared as a bright red star. The original information was meant for stargazers, not really the general public. Through a telescope, at a magnification of 35 power, Mars would appear through the telescope to be about the same size as the Moon with the naked eye (not through the telescope). Comprehendo? The first time it came around, I think it was an honest misunderstanding. Second time, in 2005, might have been another honest misunderstanding. Third time? I sorta think people are deliberately sending this around.

If Mars ever got close enough to appear naked eye as big as the Moon, like this has led some folk to believe, the gravitational disruption would end human civilization and change Earth's orbit. Bad news, worse than Bush getting a third term.

I wrote about this last year, when it didn't even have the decency to come around at the right time (Mars is on a roughly 2-year close approach cycle thing).

But we like the Moon!

GPS navigator wierdness, and TR

We just returned from a week in DC, visiting our daughter. More on that trip later, but I just have to mention this little glitch that came from our Garmin GPS navigator. Twice (well, once, because I only fell for it once), when we were crossing the Key Bridge from Arlington into DC, the Garmin unit had us circle back, cross back over to Arlington on another bridge, then come back over Key Bridge. I would have thought it was my driving, but the second time we aproached Key Bridge from a different route. The Garmin just really wanted to see the underside of the Kennedy Center, I guess.

Also, I found out that there is a Teddy Roosevelt Memorial. On Teddy Roosevelt Island, no less.