by Carl Strang

I have enjoyed watching Autumn’s transition in the savannas at Mayslake Forest Preserve. Early in the season I found an aster growing, and blooming, in an unlikely spot: a crevice a few feet off the ground between forks of a bur oak.

Here it is close up.

Squirrels continued to take advantage of the oaks’ mast year. Here is the synchronized eating team.

Colors peaked, then faded. The sumacs provided a final burst.

Meanwhile, assisted by other volunteers, stewards Conrad Fialkowski and Jacqui Gleason continued removing buckthorn bushes from the edges of the savanna. They augmented the brush piles by piling on leaves.

 They had raked the leaves to clear space for spreading bottlebrush grass seeds.

That grass is their workhorse for initially reclaiming restored ground in open woodlands.

Wilayah indonesia merupakan daerah dimana terdapat perpotongan tiga lempeng, yaitu Lempeng Samudera Hindia-Australia yang bergerak relatif ke utara, Lempeng Samudera Pasifik yang bergerak relatif ke barat dan Lempeng Benua Eurasia yang relatif stabil, akibatnya wilayah ini indonesia banyak terdapat sesar aktif yang dapat menimbulkan bencana pada waktu gempa terjadi. Sesar Lembang adalah salah satu landmark geologis yang paling menarik di Dataran Tinggi Bandung dan ekspresi geomorfologi yang jelas dari aktivitas neotektonik di Cekungan Bandung. Sesar Lembang secara morfologi diekspresikan berupa gawir sesar (fault scrap) dengan dinding gawir menghadap kearah utara. Bagian Sesar Lembang yang dapat dilihat, baik dari peta topografi terutama dari foto udara ataupun citra satelit, mempunyai panjang 22 km. Dari timur ke barat, tingginya gawir sesar yang mencerminkan besarnya pergeseran sesar (loncatan vertical/throw maupun dislokasi) berubah dari sekitar 450-an meter di ujung timur (Maribaya, G. Pulusari) dan 40-an meter di sebelah barat (Cisarua) dan kemudian menghilang di ujung barat utara Padalarang.

Dengan adanya perkembangan teknologi penginderaan jauh dan sistem informasi geografi (geographic information system) yang pesat saat ini, analisis spasial wilayah dalam hubungannya dengan bidang ilmu kebumian seperti geologi, geomorfologi, tataguna lahan dan lain-lainnya mudah dilakukan. Penggabungan atau integrasi hasil interpretasi dan data sekunder lainnya dapat dilakukan dengan cepat dan akurat dengan bantuan teknik sistem informasi geografis. Sajian dalam SIG dapat berupa manipulasi data yang berupa spasial serta data yang berupa atribut, serta mempunyai kemampuan untuk menyimpan dan memodelkan suatu 3D permukaan sebagai DEM (Digital Elevation Model ;, Model Digital Ketinggian) ; DTM (Digital Terrain model : Model Digital Permukaan) atau TIN (Triangular Irregular Network ; Jaringan Bersegitiga yang tidak beraturan). Berbagai kepentingan yang berkaitan dengan bidang spasial kebumian dapat dianalisa dan dimodelkan. Gambar 1. merupakan diagram alir penelitian

Gambar 1. Diagram Alir Penelitian

Secara umum geomorfologi merupakan ilmu yang membicarakn mengenai konfigurasi permukaan yang dalam hal ini tidak terlepas bahasan kita terkait dengan bentuklahan. Tenaga geomorfologi di bagi menjadi 2 yaitu tenaga endogen dan tenaga eksogen. Salah satu tenaga endogen akan menghasilkan suatu bentuklahan struktural dimana dalam sub bentuklahannya merupakan patahan/ blok patahan.

Penggunaan data-data spasial dalam penelitian ini menggunakan bahan data berupa citra SRTM, citra aster, serta peta dasar digital. Data srtm dilakukan peng-konversian ke dalam bentuk vektor yaitu berupa data kontur dengan interval kontur pada penelitian ini sebesar 3 meter, hal ini dilakukan guna pembuatan peta TIN (triangular irregular network) sehingga konfigurasi permukaan dengan kesan 3 dimensional dapat terlihat dengan jelas. Kesan topografi ini dapat mempermudah untuk mengetahui jalur sesar utama serta untuk mengetahui pola-pola aliran yang terbentuk pada daerah tersebut.

Data raster berupa citra aster dilakukan pengkoreksian terlebih dahulu sebelum dilakukan intepretasi dan analisis, koreksi tersebut meliputi koreksi geometrik dan koreksi radiometrik. Koreksi geometrik dimaksudkan agar citra sesuai dengan kondisi di permukaan, sedangkan koreksi radiometrik dimaksudkan guna piksel-piksel dalam citra bebas dari pengaruh awan pada saat perekaman data, sehingga data dapat digunakan untuk  intepretasi lebih lanjut. Saluran citra aster yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini menggunakan band 3B, VNIR (Visible and Near Infrared) dengan panjang gelombang 0, 78 – 0, 86 mm dengan resolusi spasial 30 meter, pemilihan saluran ini dikarenakan pada band 3B citra aster memiliki sudut penyiaman 27, 6 ° untuk mempertegas kenampakan permukaan maka digunakan penajaman citra linier 2%, kesan-kesan topografis lebih terlihat jelas sehingga intepretasi mengenai sesar serta pola aliran pada sesar lembang dapat dengan mudah dilakukan.

Pembuatan formula untuk mengetahui suatu kelurusan pun dapat dilakukan baik menggunakan aplikasi dari grid, dimana nilai piksel grid dirubah secara seragam. Permasalah yang sering dihadapi bahwa piksel grid mempunyai resolusi spasial yang sangat besar, sehingga diperlukan pembuatan data grid berdasarkan meta data dari citra SRTM. Hal ini juga terbentur dengan kemampuan komputer dalam mengolahnya. Ketika pembuatan data kontur dengan interval 0,5 meter diharapkan dapat memberikan output piksel DEM yang kecil dengan resolusi spasial memadai untuk mendapatkan kedetilan kelurusan. Data citra aster pun dapat dilakukan suatu analisis dengan beberapa pemodelan. Penggunaan formula untuk mengetahui kondisi permukaan guna mempertegas kenampakan permukaan salah satunya digunakan filter, menggabungkan beberapa parameter hasil klasifikasi. Kenampakan kelurusan ini hanya sebatas mengetahui keberadaan patahan-patahan (mikro) dan masih perlu dilakukan cross cek dengan data pendukung lainnya. Untuk mengetahui keaktifan sesar maka masih dilakukan survei dan pengukuran lapangan dengan beberapa metoda.

***

Daftar Pustaka

]]> http://labyrinthgarden.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/when-they-bloom-they-really-bloom/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:55:30 +0000 labyrinthgarden http://labyrinthgarden.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/when-they-bloom-they-really-bloom/

Asters in Bloom - Photo 1

This is another plant that has grown all spring and summer and finally burst into bloom — asters!  I couldn’t choose which photo, so I’m going to post all three today.  This first one is from above.

by Carl Strang

Earlier this week I completed my first year of observations at Mayslake Forest Preserve. Many of the posts in this blog, which also is approaching its first birthday, have shared pieces of Mayslake’s ongoing natural history. It’s appropriate to look back at what I have learned there so far. Today I’ll simply share some numbers, the counts of species I have observed on the preserve to date.

Resident vertebrates include 14 species of mammals, 4 reptiles and 3 amphibians (though additional frogs have been observed at Mayslake by others in recent years). The bird species count is 130, many of which were migrants passing through. I saw evidence for successful nests, fledging at least 1 young, in the following 21 species: eastern bluebird, chimney swift, song sparrow, house wren, eastern kingbird, robin, northern flicker, blue jay, eastern phoebe (cowbird produced), chipping sparrow (cowbird produced), downy woodpecker, red-winged blackbird, red-bellied woodpecker, common grackle, black-capped chickadee, tree swallow, European starling, blue-gray gnatcatcher, Baltimore oriole, white-breasted nuthatch, mallard.

The insect species count is only 97 so far, but most of these belong to 4 groups to which I have directed most of my attention: 26 species of singing insects, 29 dragonflies and damselflies, 24 butterflies and moths, and 6 bumblebees.

Likewise my attention to Mayslake’s vegetation has been limited to certain groups of vascular plants. These include 49 trees (including those planted by landowners prior to forest preserve acquisition), 23 vines and shrubs, and 184 forbs. I’ll elaborate the last a little by mentioning genera represented by 4 or more species: so far I know of 4 Asclepias (milkweeds), 6 Aster, 4 Erigeron (fleabanes), 5 Eupatorium (a diverse genus including Joe Pye weeds, bonesets, and white snakeroot), 4 Polygonum (knotweeds), 5 Ranunculus (buttercups), and 7 Solidago (goldenrods).

My favorite ( as of now) company in Big Data is Aster Data* ( I am partial to companies founded by Stanford Alumni having interacted with a lot of them while working with Trilogy- another Stanford dropout alumni company. There are also not too many Silicon Valley startups by us famously non intellectual Punjus

Q- What is the culture in Punjab A- In Punjab the only culture is agriculture)

Aster Data has correctly hit the marketing hammer on the nail of bigger data and with the quantities of data expanding rapidly  this is a lucrative market to get into ( as pointed by our favorite analytics journal NY Times)

Aster Data’s products of nCluster and nPath with MapReduce SQL, and the recent interactions with SAS Institute hold them in a nice promising place but with miles to go before they even rest ( or start thinking of that IPO)

Aster were present at Data Mining 2009 with terrific response to their booth.

As a techie wannabe stats frat boy, I like the Aster nPath product more (Time Series)  but the analytics within database claim with nCluster needs to be investigated and even tested further. Especially if you need  three days to get your monthly summary report.

( *and also an advertiser, sponsor to Big Data Summit as per FCC regulations)

The Data Services and Applications with flexibility for cloud computing is what makes this especially appealing from a product perspective while their relatively small size ( as compared to other bigger Vend- ORs) gives alliance partners more leverage in colloborating in Research and Design and maybe even co bundling applications.

Screenshots- Courtesy -The Lovely www.asterdata.com website ( Webmasters of other websites especially IBM and Oracle’s should take note how a website can have lots of content and yet be readable)

Also I will be posting the remaining Data Mining 2009 interviews shortly (including Part 2 with Anne) and share some/all of the presentations  via SlideShare embedding in WordPress.com ( post permission).

As for the Aster Data Interviews- I owe Peter Pavloski and the readers one. Coming up soon.

Just to show you I have been busy

Here’s a picture of the newest South Mountain ~ Naturally design that’s “in the works”: a set of cowls — all the same pattern but using different yarns to create the various sizes.

They are happily blocking

Yarns:

Mission Falls 136 superwash wool (colour: 536 Aster)

Patons Classic Wool (colour: Grey Mix)

Briggs & Little Heritage (colour: Dark Green)

The pattern will hopefully be published with 2 weeks.

Daphne odora

September & October have been very rushed and busy with work, causing me to almost miss the best part of fall.  In my last post, I managed to catch a little of it and yesterday I caught up with a little more.  I didn’t know Daphne odora bloomed in the fall!

Cyclamen hederifolium

My friend Angela at Parkdale Gardens Design Service is a plant collector and gave me this Cyclamen as well as many of my perennials.  She owned Parkdale Gardens for decades and now offers local and internet design services after closing her nursery.

Anemone

As I strolled through my garden, what a surprise to find so much in bloom since our day of snow last week.  The temperature has soared back up into the 50’s giving my garden one last breath before it’s winter sleep.  The anemone above was given to me by a friend long ago before I knew what I was doing and has managed to survive my many mistakes.

Tricyrtis

The toad lilies are finally blooming!  At least one of my varieties has opened her beautiful eyes and honored me with her presence before a hard frost hits.  Glad I didn’t miss one of my favorites!  Not sure which variety this is as I’ve moved them from place to place and managed to lose all their tags in the process.

Three Birds Flying

I believe this is Three Birds Flying, given to me by another plant collecting friend, Judy.  It can become rampant but is easy to pull out and blooms late spring through fall for me.

Blue Salvia

The last bloom of the Blue salvia that I picked up at Le Tour des Plants.

Echinacea

Even found a small clump of Purple Coneflowers in bloom.  The weather so strange this year, left me with few flowers from this otherwise prolific bloomer.

Aster

I love this tall pink aster.  It’s so bright it glows and calls me to it.  Even though my clump is small I divided it a few weeks ago to add it in other areas of my garden.  If I had time I’d rush out to the nurseries right now and buy more!

Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies'

The wispy Gaura is a great segue between plants.

Gaura lindheimeri

I love ‘Siskiyou Pink’.  Gaura is another of those plants I plan to buy more varieties of.  Yes, even collect them!  I can’t help myself.  Why have only one when you can have ten.  Or twenty for that matter!

Buddleia davidii ‘Honeycomb’

Another surprise as all my other Butterfly bush flowers are gone now, was to find ‘Honeycomb’ still blooming away.  Nothing like cheery yellow added to the fall reds and oranges to spice up the end of season.

Pink Rose

Even the deer surprised me by leaving yet another rose for me to enjoy during these last days.  That’s two for me and … er…ummmm…. hundreds for the deer!

Baby's Breath

Another pink, although a much smaller scale is the sweet ‘Baby’s Breath’ that I started from seed.  It grew into a robust shrub until I moved it to a new location where it’s remained rather pouty for two years.  I look forward to seeing it next year, fully loaded with little babies.

Hollyhock bud

I think my biggest surprise was finding this Hollyhock bud!  I didn’t know they bloomed this late!!  I’d better go check to see if it survived the deer last night.   In case you’re wondering why I haven’t sprayed liquid fence, I’ve simply run out of time due to my work schedule.

Unknown pink flower

Last but not least another gift from my friend Judy.  I don’t know what this is, other than a low growing summer bloomer.  It seems familiar and I should know its name but alas I don’t.  If you know, please tell me!

Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time….

Aurelia Poppy Jane

Aurelia Primrose, Aurelia Wren, Aurelia Coraline.

Aurelia Nesta Hazel

Aurelia Honey Belle

Aurelia Dolores Petal

Aurelia Frances Jane/Aurelia Frances Violet/Aurelia Lily Frances

Aurelia Winsome Violet/Aurelia Violet Fleur

Aurelia Mabel. Aurelia Juliet. Aurelia Jessamine.

Aurelia Mary Pearl

Aurelia Ivy Helen

Aurelia Dora Lucy

Aurelia Iris Pearl

Aurelia Beatrice Rose

Aurelia Ruby Harriet/Aurelia Ruby Clare/Aurelia Ruby Aster

Aurelia Millicent Plum

Aurelia Bluebelle. Aurelia Fern. Aurelia Sofie. Aurelia Juno.

Waterville, ME. January 24, 2004.

The first message arrives with leaves and flowers: a text file open on the screen. I recognize the excerpt from Hemmingway, from A Farewell to Arms. One sentence is highlighted:

The things of the night cannot be explained in the day, because they do not then exist.

I pick up the dried flowers and stare at them for a moment. Asters. My namesake. That’s an easy one. I’ve had boys give me those before… but the maple leaves! My last name is Acero, “maple” in Italian. But who could possibly know that? Is some random Italian guy from last semester’s Western Literature 101 class stalking me?

I sweep the flowers to the side and close the window. Over. Done.

Until the next message two days later.

How many people have you ever loved?

Another one from Hemmingway, but this time it’s not a text file. The words are spelled out with small stones across the top of my desk. This one took time.

I imagine some love-struck boy standing in my room, a pocketful of gravel, arranging letters. I feel sick.

“Hey, Aster, got a stalker?” It’s my roommate, Penny. She’s sipping a vitamin water and practically bouncing up and down in a new pair of white sneakers. About to head out for a run.

“It’s nothing.” The last thing I need is Penny spreading rumors everywhere. If I’ve learned anything from experience, at least ten guys will come forward claiming to be the one leaving messages.

No, I’ve never had a boyfriend. And no, you’re not going to be the first. How many times have I recited those lines? How many boys’ hearts have I broken? Each time I feel awful. Like I don’t deserve to be curvy in all the right places with perfect skin, piercing eyes, and lips just the right shade of pink.

I wish they would just leave me alone.

When Penny’s gone, I rearrange the stones. “Leave me alone.” I write.

There, no Hemmingway, but close enough.

I come back that night to find the stones swept away, and the leaves and flowers arranged in a heart. Pathetic.

I spend the next week trying to catch him in the act. I stake out the bathroom across the hall, listening at the door until I surprise Penny’s boyfriend trying to surprise Penny. Oops.

They want alone time. Of course. It’s after midnight but I head outside, kicking at the walls, the door jam, glad it’s getting colder at night and I can finally wear clothes that don’t show off any skin.

Outside, I nearly walk right into a girl carrying a handful of leaves. Our eyes meet, and I’m stunned. They are the most deeply black and beautiful eyes I have ever seen.

She yelps and dashes, dropping her gift. Maple leaves.

It’s not a him stalking me. It’s a her. A her I’ve never seen before. And a week later I can’t get her eyes out of my head, or the curve where her chin meets her neck. But she’s gone, not a single message, not another glimpse of her eyes.

I’ve never thought about anyone this way before — girl or guy. I always thought something was wrong with me. But now? Something’s still wrong — I’ve scared her away. If she even existed in the first place.

The things of the night cannot be explained in the day, because they do not then exist.

Aster simbolizeaza răbdare si dragoste, eleganta si rafinament.

In questo blog vorrei mettere tutta la mia esperienza nell’uso di software opensource per simulazioni fisiche in ambito industriale. Prima però voglio fare una carrellata dei software che utilizzerò e di cui farò esempi.

Preprocessing

gmsh: ottimo programma per generare una mesh da zero o da un file stl. Windows e Linux

Salome: Piattaforma per preprocessing e postprocessing, davvero molte funzioni peccato che il manuale non sia all’altezza. Linux

Postprocessing

Salome: Piattaforma per preprocessing e postprocessing, davvero molte funzioni peccato che il manuale non sia all’altezza. Linux

Paraview: Davvero un ottimo programma di postprocessing, veloce e stabile. Windows e Linux

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Code Saturne: Programma per CFD usato in ambito compressibile, davvero completo. Linux

OpenFOAM: Toolbox per la CFD ottimo soprattutto per la flessibilità di utilizzo. Linux

FEM

Code Aster: Forse il miglior software FEM opensource. Linux e Windows

Syrthes: Analisi termica non stazionaria con possibilità di utilizzo con Code Saturne. Linux

Multiphysics

Elmer: Potenzialmente può fare tutto. Linux e Windows

Matematica

Scilab: Programma per il calcolo numerico. Windows e Linux

Octave: Clone di Matlab. Linux

Maxima: Programma per il calcolo algebrico. Linux e Windows

Ovviamente questi sono quelli che conosco ed utilizzo ce ne sono anche altri!!!

From “The Long Trail” by Rudyard Kipling:

There’s a whisper down the field where the year has shot her yield,
And the ricks stand grey to the sun,
Singing: “Over then, come over, for the bee has quit the clover,
And your English summer’s done.”

This week brought the autumnal equinox (September 22), so by the calendar, at least, our New York summer is done (what there was of summer, that is).  But these Eastern Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens) haven’t yet quit the goldenrod (Solidago spp.) or the New England aster (Symphyotrichum/Aster novae-angliae).  For a while more, we can pretend that scarf-and-mitten weather isn’t just around the corner.

Love that proboscis!

This particular bee did quit the Solidago.

NATURAL HISTORY INFORMATION

Date/Time: 25 September 2009 between 4:30 and 5:30 PM

Location: Cornell Plantations, Ithaca, NY, USA.

Observation: I observed Bombus impatiens drinking nectar and resting on Solidago spp. (goldenrod) and Symphyotrichum/Aster novae-angliae (New England aster).  The bees appeared to be male, and gathered no pollen.  Many thanks to John Ascher of the AMNH and BugGuide.net for the species ID!

Photographs by Laurie Evanhoe

Boys

Ambrose, Leander, Lemuel, Washington, Barnaby, Raphael, Linden, Theodore, Tennyson, Leopold, Lazarus, Luther, Elias, Zeus, Rutherford, Linus, Benedict, October, Rowan, Solomon, Julius, Everett, Ira, Ignatius, Rupert, Cassian, Phineas, Rex, Tensing, Cosmo & Jude.

Girls

Prunella, Magnolia, Marigold, Magdalene, Beatrix, Aurelia, Jillian, Katherine, Linnea, Francesca, Araminta, Lucretia, Io, Lillian, Cecilia, Rosemary, Hazel, Guinevere, Isolde, Romilly, Philippa, Jemima, Lucinda, Raven, Allegra, Keturah, Clementine, Rosa, Indira, Ziva, Imogen, Aster, Leonora, Isadora, Myrtle, Evanthe, Seraphine & Cecily.

Just when the season of gardening is coming to an end, the opportunity is here for the planning of next year plantings.  Now we can evaluate what worked, which plants were placed in their ideal location for optimum performance, or in some cases, the realization that some plants will have to be moved.  Many perennials will need to be divided like crowded Bearded Irises that can be lifted now, separated and relocated.  Spring blooming bulbs should go in this fall to allow the roots to get established.  Keep after those weeds and do not allow them to bloom and set seed for next year!  You will save yourself a lot of work in the spring.  In the picture bellow, Rudbeckia or Coneflower, has just about finished blooming, I like to leave the seed heads for winter interest.  The Goldfinches love to perch on the stem and feed on the seeds. Here Rudbeckia was under planted with Aster amelus. At it’s feet, a young Ceratostigma plumbaginoides.

I looked at the shoes in front of Mike and Zack’s house and turns out my blue Vans stood out since the rest of them were either brown or black. I guess your shoes can only be a colour starting with the letter B if you want  to enter the house.

There’s a hint of yellow on Zack’s Nikes so maybe his count as more colourful.

September comes with cooler breeze
That teases flowers, rustles leaves.
Warm by day, by night deceives,
Its temperate hand from heat relieves.

Birch and maples hint of gold,
Their vibrant green, hard-pressed to hold,
Will soon be snatched by wind too cold,
Replaced by orange and red, so bold.

The land is hushed, but busy still,
Pondering harvest, gardens tilled,
Except for pumpkin patches willed
To jack-o-lanterns, when they’re filled.

There’s something in September’s wind
That brings us close to earth again,
Preparing us for Summer’s end,
And Winter that’s just round the bend.

I’ll take these days–full, crisp and clear–
O’er summers heat, so hard to bear.
The scent of Autumn’s in the air,
Fall’s tapestry will soon hang there.

© 2008 Nancy J. Bond

Pink has never been my favorite color, in fact it is pretty much at the bottom of my list, but somehow it seems to have worked its way into my life despite my protestations. My daughter discovered it in preschool, it was like a social virus running from one girl to the next. Now, thankfully, she seems to be moving on to other colors, but in the meantime she still has pink clothes that fit and I’m not going to just toss them out because purple is the new pink.

In the garden, I love the soft whitish-pink of cherry blossoms, although my current garden does not have any. My mom gave me a ton of echinacea, which goes by Purple Coneflower but the purple has always looked more pink to me. Or maybe you could use the term “pinky-purple,” which my 2 yr. old niece taught me recently when she was visiting.

Although the pink of this Gaura is a little on the Pepto-Bismol side for my taste, it has bloomed its head off for months with almost no supplemental water and zero fertilizer in crummy parking strip soil, despite being a new addition in the spring. Its full name is Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Rainbow’ and the purple leaves that it started out with have not been quite as apparent as I had hoped.

Every year, I say I will be more ruthless about ripping out the tall aster seedlings that reseed with wild abandon, but then I’m glad of them when summer begins its freefall into September and many of the other blooming plants start to give up. This is another pinky-purple one, and this blossom was the first to open of the many that will linger well into the fall.

Are there any colors that have crept into your garden (and your heart) despite initial resistance?