RenoVous

  Neutrinos are subatomic particles that are very small, neutral, and have almost no mass.  They are called "ghost particles" because they rarely interact with other matter. But recently, a cosmic neutrino plunged into the Mediterranean Sea with an energy that blows all other neutrinos out of the water. With some 220 million billion electron volts, this particle was around 20 times as energetic as the highest seen before. It was seen thanks to the partially built Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope located at the bottom of the sea. The neutrino detectors are three-dimensional arrays of light sensor modules or optical modules distributed over large volumes of the transparent water.  The optical modules register the faint Cherenkov light from charged particles induced by neutrino interactions in the seawater. There's more. The neutrino's interaction with matter spawns charged particles such as muons.  As these careen through the water, that is what the detectors pick up...

  Downtown Reno hosted something pretty cool last weekend. Definitely some pieces from Burning Man.

  Created on this day in 1929. The mountain range was named by French-Canadian fur trappers, meaning "big breasts." The valley at its base, Jackson Hole, was settled in 1887, ideal for grazing cattle.  Ranches drew tourism, eastern "tenderfoots" who wanted a taste of the Old West, and the growing numbers led to concerns about preserving the natural beauty of the region. In 1916, Horace Albright, director of the National Park Service, suggested incorporating the land into Yellowstone National Park.  The ranchers and business owners disagreed, and when the park was established, it excluded Jackson Hole, encompassing only the mountains and a narrow strip at the base. Albright persuaded John Rockefeller to buy up land in the Jackson Hole area for possible future incorporation.  This angered the landowners more, complaining of "eastern money interests" dictating the future of the west. In 1949, Rockefeller donated his land to the federal government, and now Jac...

 This week highlights the importance of standing up for animals and ensuring they receive the care and protection they deserve. The ALDF files high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm, provides free legal assistance and training to prosecutors in their fight against animal cruelty, supports animal protection legislation, and provides resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the field of animal law. From animals used in research to captive animals and farm animals, wildlife and companions. The Crows are this year's representatives. Support I found this topic timely as just last week, a man who was convicted of animal cruelty in 2015, was denied parole.  He was sentenced to 28 years, the maximum under Nevada law.  His acts were torturous, brutal - someone who is a danger not only to animals at this point.  But he will, eventually, be released. Nevada ranks in the middle for animal protection laws.  The five best are: Oregon...

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  The "Wooly Devil" is the first new plant genus to be discovered in a US national park since 1976. It was confirmed last year in Big Bend National Park, Texas. It was initially found near an area known as the Devil's Den.  It's scientific name is Ovicula biradial. Turns out, it's a member of the sunflower family. It blooms after rain, so "as climate change pushes deserts to become hotter and drier, highly specialized plants like the wooly devil face extinction," said Dr. Isaac Lichter Marck. It has so far been documented in three narrow locations across the northernmost corner of the park.

 Special shots of my sweet boys. Mighty. Bowie. Always missing Chewy. That's a #tbt ❤️

The Kiss, 1907-1908   Brancusi was born on this day in 1876.  From Romania, he is considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century.  He was a pioneer of modernism, a move away from traditional styles, embracing experimentation and abstraction. Mademoiselle Pogany She sat for him several times in 1910 and 1911.  He then carved a marble and made a plaster mold from which he cast four bronze statues.  The Infinite (Endless) Column A UNESCO World Heritage site in Targu Jiu, Romania, commissioned to honor fallen soldiers in World War I. The ensemble also includes Table of Silence. As well as Gate of the Kiss. Brancusi was also a photographer. Bouquet

 On this day in 1930, American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. The heart shape there is named the Tombaugh Regio in his honor. The western lobe, called Sputnik Planitia, is a plain of nitrogen and other ices lying within a basin.  The eastern lobe consists of reflective uplands thought to be coated in nitrogen transported through the atmosphere from the west.  Some of this nitrogen returns to the basin via glacial flow. Percival Lowell, who founded the observatory, had always believed there was a 9th planet in our solar system.  He died 14 years before it was found. Before him, in the 1840's, Urbain Le Verrier had predicted the existence of Neptune through mathematics.  To explain discrepancies in Uranus' orbit, he provided calculations to Johann Gottfried Galle, who was able to locate the planet.  But then they realized there had to be something else disturbing Uranus as well.... It's been almost 20 y...

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 Love Bug sends love! I'll be off tomorrow - we were hoping to camp but it's currently snowing, so we'll see how it looks. The plan also involved a mobile DJ who said he'd set up for President's Day Weekend.  But again, this weather could change that...  This was from a previous attempt - he forgot his power source. We'll still make something of it though, you know that!

  February 12, 1909, to be exact, and the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. It was a response to race riots in Illinois, segregation laws, lynchings.  Many members came from the Niagara Movement, a group of Black activists who were opposed to the concepts of conciliation and assimilation.  The founding also included such leaders as W.E.B. DuBois and Ida B. Wells-Barnett. The need for such an organization is evident with other bits of history.  On this day in 1793, the first fugitive slave laws were enacted.  When Northern states were lax on enforcement, Southern states were enraged, which led to the passing of a second law as part of the Compromise of 1850. The second law allowed for a jury trial, such as the Dred Scott case of 1857. Also on this day, in 1924, George Gershwin performed "Rhapsody in Blue" for the first time.  The reason this correlates with Black History is the jazz of it.  In an 1893 essay, Czech composer Antonin Dvorak wro...

  The Tapati Festival is also called Rapa Nui Week, celebrated on Easter Island for the first two weeks of February. The festival began in the 1970's as a way of maintaining and promoting the Rapa Nui culture, generating interest and a sense of identity for the children. There are numerous dancing and singing competitions, as well as traditional sporting events such as canoeing, horse racing, and the island triathlon. Haka Pei is an old rite of passage, proving oneself to be an adult and a warrior, by riding down the side of a volcano on a banana trunk sled.  As training for warriors, this was called "Ma'ari." Only in the last few years has the festival become known among travelers, and the locals encourage visitors to join the events.