Trecutul galaxiei noastre, Calea Lactee, si-a dezvaluit unul dintre secrete, gratie observatiilor facute asupra bulbului sau central, o regiune care pana recent a fost prea putin accesibila astronomilor din cauza norilor de gaze si praf care o mascau. “Istoria Caii Lactee este gravata in cele mai vechi fragmente ale ei, roiurile globulare si alte sisteme de stele care au fost martorii intregii evolutii a galaxiei noastre”, a explicat Francesco Ferraro, de la Universitatea Bologna din Italia, unul dintre autorii acestui studiu, citat de Mediafax.
La fel cum arheologii fac sapaturi pentru a descoperi urme ale civilizatiilor disparute, astronomii au observat, dincolo de straturile groase de praf interstelar, bulbul central al galaxiei noastre, unde au gasit o relicva a trecutului acesteia. In urma acestor observatii, realizate cu ajutorul unui instrument de ultima generatie, instalat pe telescopul VLT (Very Large Telescope) de pe Muntele Paranal din Chile, oamenii de stiinta au putut sa constate ca stelele din roiul globular Terzan 5 s-au
format in epoci diferite.

Unele dintre stele s-au format in urma cu 12 miliarde de ani, o alta generatie de stele formandu-se sase miliarde de ani mai tarziu. Pana recent, savantii presupuneau ca fiecare dintre cele 150 de roiuri globulare – grupari dense de stele in centrul Caii Lactee – continea stele de varste apropiate. Istoria, mai complexa decat se credea, a roiului globular Terzan 5 i-a determinat pe experti sa considere ca ar putea fi vorba de un rest dintr-o galaxie pitica ce a fuzionat cu Calea Lactee atunci cand aceasta se afla la inceputul procesului ei de formare. “Terzan 5 ar putea fi primul exemplu de structura care a contribuit la formarea bulbului galactic”, a concluzionat Francesco Ferraro, al carui studiu a fost publicat in revista Nature.

Un alt studiu, coordonat de Jae-Woo Lee, de la Universitatea Sejong din Seul, publicat tot in revista Nature, vine in sprijinul acestei teorii. Mai multe roiuri globulare, care contin generatii diferite de stele, ar fi relicvele unor galaxii pitice care au fuzionat pentru a forma Calea Lactee. Un astfel de trecut nu era banuit decat pentru Omega Centauri, cel mai mare roi globular, considerat de specialisti ca fiind o exceptie.

Sursa: Romania Libera

Unsere westliche Kultur hält mittlerweile doch recht viel von sich: Durch sein ausgereiftes, hochentwickeltes Denken sieht sich der humanistische, aufgeklärte und selbstdenkende Mensch im Zentrum des Geschehens. Nicht so das Universum, auch nicht unsere Galaxie, in der wir wohnen. Für sie steht jemand anders im Zentrum…

Die Nadel im Heuhaufen

Wir liegen nicht im Zentrum unserer Galaxie.

Betrachtet man unsere Galaxie, würde vermutlich manch einer vermuten, dass wir irgendwo im Zentrum liegen müssten. Nein, wir leben zwischen ein paar Spiralarmen in einer freien Zone, etwa zwei Drittel vom Zentrum entfernt (weisse Punkt). Der Durchmesser unserer Galaxie beträgt ca. 100′000 Lichtjahre.

Im Vergleich zur Milchstrasse ist die Grösse unseres Sonnensystems ein 20 Rappenstück, der irgendwo auf dem nordamerikanischen Planeten liegt.

Ein 20 Rp. Stück auf Nordamerika

Es geht nicht darum, uns dazu zu bringen, dass wir uns klein fühlen sollen. Vielmehr sollten wir erkennen, dass wir klein sind!

Wenn ich anschaue deinen Himmel, deiner Finger Werk, den Mond und die Sterne, die du bereitet hast: Was ist der Mensch, dass du sein gedenkst, und des Menschen Sohn, dass du dich um ihn kümmerst? (Psalm 8,4-5)

Explosives Spektakel

Ein wütender Feuerball

150 Millionen Kilometer von der Erde entfernt erfreut uns die Sonne mit ihrem Licht und ihrer Wärme. Doch was uns so hell und wohl erscheint, ist in Wirklichkeit eine äusserst hitzige Angelegenheit. Als ein riesig wütender Feuerball gleicht sie Milliarden von Atombomben, die jede Sekunde explodieren. Sie verbreitet Licht mit einer Geschwindigkeit von 300′000 km pro Sekunde. Ein Lichtstrahl benötigt von der Sonne bloss 8 Minuten, um bis er auf unsere Haut gelangt. Man bedenke, dass laut der Bibel sogar die Sonne durch den Mund Gottes entsprang. Was für ein enormer Gott!

Unzählige Explosionen...

Es benötigt das Bruttosozialprodukt (BSP) der USA während 7 Millionen Jahren, nur um die Sonne für eine Sekunde zu heizen. Ein wirklicher Energie-Gigant, und doch ist sie bloss eine der Milliarden Sterne in unserer Unterabteilung, genannt Milchstrasse, welche wiederum eine Unterabteilung unter Milliarden weiterer Unterabteilungen im bisher bekannten Weltall ausmacht. Wie kann der Mensch bloss so viel von sich halten, dass er behauptet, es gäbe keinen Gott da draussen?

Und doch, trotz all den unzähligen Sternen und Galaxien hat Gott den Überblick nicht verloren. Er hat unseren Planeten nicht vergessen. Nicht nur kennt er alle Sterne mit Namen, er kennt auch jeden einzelnen Menschen – und zwar so gut, dass er nebenbei noch unsere Haare auf dem Kopf gezählt hat!

The first year of owning a classic car, it’s going to need more work than any other. So I’m going to end up talking a lot about the various problems I’ve had with my Galaxie, but that’s not all there is to it. If that were the case I would have sold it after the first couple weeks.

Before I go any further I need to explain something about myself. I’ve been in twenty-five car accidents. It’s not that I’m a terrible driver. I was only driving in five of those and none of those were very serious. Statistically you’re safer with me behind the wheel than in the passenger seat. That said, I’ve been in cars that were cut in half, cars that flipped over, cars that sunk, and cars that caught fire and exploded. (Yes, cars can explode. I know people tell you that that only happens in the movies, but I’ve got pictures on my Facebook to prove it.) Now given, this history with vehicles, it probably comes as no surprise that in general I don’t like to be in a car. This is where owning the Galaxie means something different than it might to other people.

The 1965 Ford Galaxie is twenty-two feet long. It’s a big steel box and it’s on the road with a bunch of plastic cars with less steel in them than your average Hot Wheels. The bottom line here is that I feel safe in my Galaxie. A hell of a lot safer than I felt in my ’83 Firebird (wrecked when I was 16), my ’83 Mustang (engine died), my ’73 Volkswagen Bus (engine died), my ’89 Convertible Mustang (hit a truck), my ’94 Toyota Camry (hit a Jeep), or even my ’78 Monte Carlo (caught fire and blew up).

In addition to my feeling safe, the Galaxie has the added bonus of having more style than any car made in the last twenty years. Yes, there may be a whole thing where there are Chevy Guys and Ford Guys, but first, you’re Classic Car guy. When I pass another classic car, I wave and they wave back because we know that while we’re both probably getting less than 15 miles per gallon, we’re still recycling, because our car has been used before. And let’s not forget that unlike new cars, my Galaxie doesn’t assume I’m stupid. It doesn’t tell me when I’ve left my keys in the ignition or left my lights on or my door open. It assumes that if I’m bright enough to drive a car, I can figure out when my lights are on and that just maybe I have a reason for them being on. It’s also not going to remind me to put on my seatbelt or when I’m really low on gas. Yes, it has a gas gauge, but it’s not going to beep at me. In fact my Galaxie is incapable of beeping at me for any reason at all.

Having said all of this, I still haven’t gotten to the best part about driving my Galaxie: It is fun to drive. Driving most modern cars is almost like playing a video game. Most modern cars are so air tight you can’t hear the road. You can’t feel the engine. Hell, you could easily be in some bad car simulator.  Whereas when you’re driving a car like the Galaxie, you experience the drive. You can feel the road. You can hear the engine. There aren’t sensors to tell you when something is wrong. YOU are the sensor.

My point here is that while I’m going to talk a lot about all of the problems I’ve had with my car, the only reason I’m talking about them is because I love my car. If it weren’t for that love, it’d just be this machine that needs work all the time. It’s not though. Instead it’s this machine that needs attention from time to time and after giving that attention, it continually rewards me with something more than just a means to get from point A to point B. It rewards me with a good drive.

To Be Continued….

   Una din cele mai apropiate şi strălucitoare galaxii spirale (15 milioane de ani lumină distanţă) – Messier 83 îşi etalează rămăşiţele de supernove, stelele în formare şi praful stelar . Credit imagine: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).

After work one day, I stopped by a Napa Auto Parts store to buy a battery. I told the bearded guy behind the counter that I needed a new battery for a 1965 Ford Galaxie. He grunted a little and said, “Ford Galaxie, eh?”

“Yeah, it’s in pretty good shape. It runs fine. It just needs a new battery. It’s been sitting for a while.”

“How long was it sitting?”

“I don’t know. I just bought it a few days ago for $1,200.”

The guy put a car battery on the counter and said, “Hmm, bad deal. Here’s your battery.”

Knowing what I know now, I would have walked out without the battery and found another place. At the time I thought the guy just didn’t like classic cars.

I got home and put the battery in the car and it started much easier. It still needed a little coaxing but I figured that was just the old car being an old car.

By late November it had started to freeze overnight and occasionally there was snow. Luckily I was driving a car weighing over two tons. Driving the Galaxie in the snow was even more like driving a boat.  One good thing about it was that the heater still worked. In fact it worked really damn well. The Galaxie could go from freezing cold to room temperature in about five minutes.

At first when I started the car on those cold mornings I thought that the car was overheating but I quickly discovered it was just the ice on the hood turning to steam. On one such morning, I noticed a bit more steam than normal as I drove to work. I checked the aftermarket gauges below the dash. The temp was closing in on three hundred degrees. The car was overheating.

I pulled into a nearby parking lot and shut off the car. I called my wife and got a ride to work. After work, I had my brother pick me up and we went back to my car. After a quick inspection it was clear that there was ice in the radiator. The previous owner hadn’t driven the car much and kept it in a garage. So I suppose it’s not all that surprising that he didn’t keep it full of antifreeze.

My brother suggested he’d follow me and I’d drive the car back to the house since working in a parking lot in the freezing cold with nowhere to go inside kind of sucks. It was a long two miles. I got the car started and within a couple minutes it was already past the 200 degree mark. By the time we got back to my house it was pouring steam out again.

We were fairly certain ice had not got into the engine block, but inspecting the radiator showed that it had at least one nickel sized hole. It was time for a new radiator.

I asked around and people said I should get an aluminum radiator. It was lighter and better. Unfortunately they were also upwards of $300. Finally I found one online for something like $280. I bought the thing and a week later the box showed up.

It was a beautiful silver and as soon as I looked at it I realized it was the wrong radiator. They’d insisted it was the right one, but not only were the hoses in the wrong spots, the radiator wasn’t even shaped right. I carefully put it back in the box and reassured myself that I had taken a look at their returns policy before buying and that they’d refund all of my money.

The bad part about that was that until the radiator company refunded my money, I didn’t have the cash to fix the car. While waiting for the refund, I looked more online. I called junk yards. I called my friend Gabe who has a 1966 Impala. He told me that when his radiator broke, he called a place down on South Tacoma Way called Northwest Radiator. I gave them a call. They said it would cost anywhere for $50 to $300 to fix it. The next day I brought the radiator down and they spent the next few days rebuilding it to the tune of just over $250.

Once I got it back, my brother and I reinstalled the radiator and my Galaxie was back up and running.

To be continued next week.

Nu stiu unde am fost… M-am trezit din visare. Asta-i ce-am vazut:

L-am ignorat. Si atunci cand l-am vazut sporadic la posturi TV britanice si cand a aparut la TVR si cand i-am vazut cartile in librarii de la noi. Dar cand vin de la job si gasesc pe birou trei reviste cu Jamie Oliver pe coperta, pune-te pe documentat.

Are 34 de ani si toata viata si-a petrecut-o in bucatarie. Nu-i de mirare deci ca a ajuns atat de bun. Un cuvant de spus l-au avut si talentul si mai ales rabdarea si ambitia de a depasi obstacolele ivite pentru a invata si face ce-i place.

Parintii sai aveau un pub unde, pana la varsta de 8 ani, a facut de toate: curatenie, spalat vase, strans mese si carat vesela. A inceput sa gateasca iar dupa terminarea scolii locale, la 16 ani, a inceput cursurile colegiului Westminster Catering. Dupa o experienta scurta in Franta s-a intors la Londra pentru a munci in restaurantul Neal Yard detinut de un italian, specializandu-se astfel in gastrononia italieneasca. De la urmatorul job la restaurantul River Cafe si-a luat zborul spre galaxia vedetelor BBC care il remarcase si invitase sa prezinte show-ul culinar The Naked Chef. In acelasi an 1999, Jamie Oliver a fost invitat sa gateasca acasa la Tony Blair, pe atunci prim-ministru.

In 2000 devine imaginea lantului de magazine Sainsbury’s pentru o intelegere valorand 2 milioane de dolari pe an. In 2002 a creat Fifteen Foundation prin care, in fiecare an, 15 tineri cu un trecut indoielnic (probleme cu legea sau cu drogurile) au fost instruiti in ale bucatariei. In 2005 a initiat si condus campania “Feed me better” pentru imbunatatirea alimentatiei elevilor si copiilor in general.

A fost inclus in lista celor mai bogati britanici cu varsta sub 30 de ani. Casatorit la varsta de 26 de ani, are 3 fete cu nume gustoase: Poppy Honey, Daisy Boo si Petal Blossom Rainbow, nasterea ultimei fetite anuntand-o prin Twitter. A aparut in numeroase emisiuni TV si a scris pana azi “doar” 15 carti.

Savurati-l intr-o reclama la Sainsbury’s:

Getting the $1200 together took a bit of doing, but a couple days later I had it. My wife and I drove out across the Narrows Bridge one November night after work and drove out to the seller’s house. The seller and his wife came out. I gave him the cash, which he immediately gave to his wife.  A few minutes later, I had the signed over title, a receipt for the payment, and keys to my 1965 Galaxie. He’d even warmed it up for me.

I started up the car with no problem. He mentioned that there was no gas in it and that the first place I should go is the gas station. Given that we were across the bridge near Port Orchard (which for non-locals is the middle of nowhere), I hoped the car could get to a gas station. I buckled the lap belt and took a look around. This car has some serious room in it. I turned on the stacked headlights and smiled at the dim glow of the dashboard. It ran two thirds of the way across the car and it looked cool as hell. I put the car into gear and followed my wife’s van out onto the road.

Driving a giant classic car like the Galaxie takes a lot of getting used to. You can’t make precision moves with a vehicle like this. As we drove through the night, it was totally clear to me why some people referred to these cars as ‘boats’. I kept looking at the gas gauge. It was on ‘E’ and not moving even a little. I’d never been to this part of the peninsula before. So I wasn’t concerned about nothing looking familiar. I was concerned that there wasn’t a gas station anywhere. I grabbed my cell off the bench seat and called my wife in the van ten feet in front of me. Unfortunately we were so in the middle of nowhere that it wasn’t connecting. I tried a couple more times and got through. She assured me that she knew where we were and where we were going. Five minutes later, we were at the gas station.

I put seventeen gallons of unleaded into the car and told my wife not to worry. She could go on ahead. I got in the car and turned the key. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing. I called my wife and asked if she could turn around. She came back, we hooked up some jumper cables and fifteen minutes later, we were on the road.

It was good to be on the freeway rather than the dark back roads. One of the benefits was I could suddenly see the car. While I was admiring the size and look of the car, I noticed I could see what was in front of me reflected on the hood of the car. The Galaxie had no problem getting to and maintaining freeway speeds. In fact it seemed more comfortable going fast than it did on surface streets.

Modern cars often feel like car simulators in that you feel very detached from the road. With the Galaxie it was very clear that I was driving on a road. It’s not a passive thing that you’re doing to get from point A to point B. It’s an active thing. The low roar of the engine sounded better than any other car I’d ever owned. I could also hear a low whistle like a window was down. I checked the driver’s side window. Shut. I reached over to the passenger side but I couldn’t reach the passenger door from the driver’s seat. This was a big car. I looked at the windows and saw the wing window on the passenger side had part of the rubber missing from it. That’s where the sound was coming from.

We got the car home. I grabbed the jump box and plugged it in. I decided the first thing I’d be buying was a new battery.

To Be Continued Next Week

It began with the idea that rather than spending $1,000 for some ten year old Toyota Camry, I would buy a classic car instead. I’ve had a thing for classic cars ever since my friend, Gabe got a 1966 Impala. Before that, cars were just a way to get around. The Impala, though, this wasn’t a car. It was a ride. And it was gigantic. It had bench seats instead of seats and seatbelts that felt like you were strapping yourself into a fighter jet. It didn’t have airbags. It didn’t have crumple zones. It was a big piece of American Steel with a lot of power and more room in the trunk than most closets.

Shortly after Gabe got his Impala, I started looking at classic cars trying to find the one I wanted. Then I saw the movie Wonder Boys. The car driven by Michael Douglas in that movie is a 1966 Maroon Ford Galaxie 500 Convertible. For whatever reason, I liked this car.

So I started at Ford Galaxies. From 1959 to 1964, Galaxies looked too much like Thunderbirds for my taste. And there was something about the tail lights of the 1966 that I just didn’t like. After 1966, Galaxies tended to get bigger and uglier.  But the 1965 Galaxie was beautiful. It was the first year that they did a significant redesign of the Galaxie and its stacked double headlights and chrome grill just worked for me for whatever reason. Sometime around the year 2001 or so, I told my friend Gabe that I would be getting a 1965 Ford Galaxie.

It wasn’t until November of 2008 that I finally realized my dream of owning a ’65 Galaxie. I was in need of a car and had around $1,000 to spend on one. I looked online and found a guy selling a 1965 four door Ford Galaxie for $1,200. Despite my interest in classic cars, I had no mechanical ability so I called up my brother, a tow truck driver and asked if he wanted to go across the bridge with me past Gig Harbor, to this guy’s house to check out his car.

We drove out there one night, down a long dead end road, to a guy’s house where he had half a dozen classic cars in and around his garage. We introduced ourselves and he opened a garage door. The Galaxie looked like it was a white or light gray. (Actually it was light blue, but the light just made it look that way.) I took a couple pictures.

As my brother and I walked around it we could see that there were a handful of dents and areas where there was a bit of rust. While we were checking it out, the guy told us how his wife used to drive it and that before that he drove it across the country to New Jersey and back a few times to visit relatives. He told us how the original 352 engine had died so he’d pulled that out and put in a two barrel 390. This meant something to my brother, but for me, at the time I had no idea what the difference was except that I was pretty sure a higher number was better.

I opened the driver’s side door and looked inside. Bench seats. I cannot stress enough how much I love bench seats. There were a couple of small rips in the front seat, but nothing too bad. The rug on the floor of the car was a bit worn. The front third of the headliner was missing entirely and there was a fair amount of surface rust on the exposed metal roof interior. He told us how the seats were actually out of a 1968 Galaxie because the original seats and headliner had been almost destroyed by his son’s dog during the time that his son had the car.

He opened the hood and we started it up. It just took a couple of pumps of the gas pedal to start. It was quiet. Not nearly as loud as Gabe’s Impala. Still, it sounded nice. It sounded like a real engine, rather the buzzing sound of most modern cars. And looking at the engine, it made sense. It looked like something I could understand if I put my mind to it.

I asked if we could take it for a test drive and the guy said, of course. I decided to let my brother drive because I didn’t know what to listen for. I shut the hood and got in the passenger seat. I looked behind me as we backed out and it seemed like there was a football field between me and the back window. This car was gigantic. We pulled out of the driveway and headed down the dead end street. The ride was smooth. I asked my brother what he thought of the car.

He said, “If you don’t buy this car, I’m going to.”

To Be Continued…

HI GUYS.

I know — you’re probably asking the Whats and the Whys now. And I kinda anticipate a furious flurry of flying bricks in my direction. 8D

I’m gonna be honest with you to say it straight out that I was taking a break. That is, kinda like stepping out of the Arashi circle, the fandom circle, and the fangirling circle. To be EVEN MORE FRANK, I was in this episode of having my fangirling/interest waning to a dangerous non-existent level. It was when I started returning back to my all-time-since-I-could-always-remember loves — romance novels and writing original stories. Did you know that I actually haven’t really written and/or finished an original story? I have spent my entire writing lifespan on fanfiction! You have no idea how shocked I was when it dawned on me. So anyways, I was ‘re-discovering’ my old loves, working on my stories and also reading all those mushy romance novels. I kinda didn’t have any sort of contact with Arashi at all. I stopped listening to Arashi songs on my iPod and went back to my ol’ favourite American songs (not those generic trash, but indie/alternative country/alternative rock genre). I started going on the computer lesser and lesser, coming on only to play some online games (my usual way of stress-relieving, though mostly it’s a closet addiction lol), or idle internet-surfing, or researching for my school projects/assignments. My phone is screwed up so I don’t have access to any videos, PV or crack!vids or no. Even my Arashi goodies have all been stashed into a box next to my study desk! It’s as though my 2-year obsession with Arashi never existed.

BUT. Of course, it takes a long while of taking a break before I realise how much I still love my Stormy boys. Of course, I’m not as obsessed as before, but I still love them. I started putting up my old Arashi photos/posters around my study desk, and at times I’d flip through old magazines to read those pages on Arashi, and sometimes I’d switch my iPod playlist back to Arashi. In fact, the other day during a free period in school, I plugged in my iPod without knowing my brother had altered the settings to play all songs instead of a specific playlist. The first song that came up was Kitto Daijoubu! IT WAS SO AWESOME. I’ve always loved Kitto Daijoubu, but hearing the song again after so long almost made me cry because I SO FUCKING MISS LISTENING TO ARASHI’S UNASAHAMED BUBBLEGUM POP SONGS. I was grinning like an idiot during the entire song. AND, I was so fucking happy to know that I still like Arashi songs. If it were otherwise I’d be a lost cause, man.

Give me some time, and I’ll find my way back (:

So — other updates on my life:

1. EXAMS ARE NEXT WEEK OMGAWSHWTF. And look at what I’m doing, in front of the computer. XD It’s exams for one whole week, before the last 2 weeks (or 1 week? I’m not sure, the school admin hasn’t confirmed anything wtf) of school and IT’S 2 MONTHS OF WELL-DESERVED HOLIDAYS, BAYBEH! I so need to get back on track with my life, man. 2009 has been such an eventful, screwed up year for me.
2. I GOT A NEW PUPPY. Although, he isn’t so much of a puppy anymore. XD He’s (currently) 3 months old, the MOST ADORABLE BEAGLE IN THE WORLD, and he’s named Benji <3 He’s amazingly huge for his age, because we were told the litter he was born in had only 3 puppies (imagine all the nutrients fit for 10 puppies going into mere 3 puppies! D:), and assuming by his I’m-the-boss swagger, he’s probably the first out of the litter. XD He’s nosy, too curious, too eager, he slobbers so much, he’s unrelenting, he loves playing with/bullying my other dog Tinkles and my 3 cats (who love teasing him), he drinks too much water that his entire snout is in the water bowl… and he’s just so adoring of us all, and he’s so goddamn adorable to be alive. I don’t have pictures of the computer right now, sadly. I posted a few on my Facebook weeks ago, just because my friends were pestering me lol. I swear I’ll post up a million of them when I get the chance!
3. HERE’S A HUMONGOUS UPDATE ON THE SOON-TO-BE-HALF-MIND LAPTOP. My dad and I have been eyeing on the Dell Studio 15 for some time, since it’s specs are pretty good considering the price is a bargain, before my dad started looking at the Dell XPS 16, just because it’s more of a game-inclined notebook and considering the awesome FPS/high-end games I’m planning to install. XD Then, my dad is also considering the Sony Vaio, as the price is only a few hundred ringgit more than the XPS yet its specs are of top-notch quality. I SO WANT THE VAIO! DDDDDD: The design is sooooo sleek and chic, and the functions are fantastic. The touchpad and keyboard function so effing smoothly (I tested it out at a Sony centre, mind), and look at the 8GB memory RAM <3 The GOOD news is that the laptops we’re looking for are all equipped with the new Windows 7 OS, which is our main priority, and hopefully by the time the school holidays arrive I’ll get the laptop!
4. When I get my laptop, it’s gonna be a TOTAL revamp of everything computer and internet. I’m changing my e-mail address, closing down several accounts, starting new ones. Basically, starting afresh. I’m mostly doing this in a way of ‘getting rid of the baggage‘ and starting anew with the chance I got. Most of all, I’m sick of all the junk I’m getting in my Hotmail account, and I need to get new e-mails, separate accounts for separate purposes, and I’M SO ANTI-MICROSOFT NOW. Hotmail is crap, man. I’m so pro-Google now XD So anyways, those who are connected to my Hotmail e-mail, I’ll notify you when my default e-mail is changed.
5. I actually have this piggy bank I call my Yukata Fund. 8D My friends and I decided, after Bon Odori, that we would save up a little from our allowance everyday so that we can afford to buy a yukata set next year (which costs around RM300++). But in recent weeks the Yukata Fund has been converted into a Holiday Trip Fund. XD I have been having doubts of buying a yukata. It’s really nice and awesome and all, but I don’t think I want to spend so much money on something which I can only wear yearly and only perhaps on one or two occasions like fangirl meetups. And my friends and I are planning a holiday trip to Penang, which is gonna be awesome because it’s 10 of us young ‘uns on a 3D2N trip up north with our teacher guiding us around since she’s a Penangite 8D BESIDES. I YEARN FOR THE SANDY BEACH MORE THAN CLOTHES ANYWAYS.
6. I mentioned this earlier in the post — MY BELOVED PHONE IS BROKEN! T_T The screen is totally fucked up, in the sense that it goes static and often blacks out completely. The functions work fine, though. And I haven’t been able to get it fixed at a service centre because it opens during office hours only. D: So I gotta wait till the holidays to make the trip there. Geez. I’m now using my mom’s old crappy non-colour-screen phone. Texting is so much fun because the keypad is awesome 8D
7. And the online game I mentioned earlier — it’s called Left 4 Dead. Think zombie apocalypse. Four survivors on a mission to find rescue. Awesome graphics. First Person Shooter mode. EPIC AWESOMENESS! <3 You should go on YouTube and watch the gameplay. I’m a self-confessed L4D addict! Zombie horror genre is my favourite, and this game totally converted me into a FPS player. I play almost every day when I get the chance on my brother’s computer lol. And yes I’M A CLOSET FEMALE GAMER! 8D And random fact: my in-game ID is Sakurai. Yes, as in Sakurai Sho <33333
8. My bedroom has gone through major arrangement changes! Before this, my study desk was in a study room, which is technically a GAME ROOM since it has 3 computers that are always on and occupied. It’s so goddamn hard to concentrate on my homework with the games distracting me D: So I moved my desk up to my bedroom. My sister is fine with me doing anything (she’s only in the room to sleep and bathe, anyways, she spends the entire day on the computer in the ’study room’), as long as she got the bed with the frame, and I get the pull-out mattress XD But in exchange for that, I now have my own bookshelf (PACKED with all our collection of books, books, books, that I only have one miserable shelf to fit all my school books LOL), and my own desk. The room is officially my GROUND ZERO, and I have easy access to all my stuff. INCLUDING MY ARASHI COLLECTION XD But the arrangements aren’t done, yet. I need to do a major spring cleaning and it’s gonna have to be during the holidays. And we need a bunk bed, lol. When I’m done I’ll take pictures

That’s all I can remember of in regards to Life Updates. BTW, the main reason I actually came on my blog is actually THIS. Arashi has been featured in numerous local magazines in recent months, but Galaxie is the only one I read regularly (and the only English entertainment magazine so far to feature Arashi, lol?), and IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I SEE A HALF PAGE FEATURE OF ARASHI! I love my mom for totally randomly buying this issue for me <3 Serendipity is such a wonderful thing, no? And yes, judging from the way I squealed and flailed and read through the article 3 times, I AM NO LOST CAUSE. YET.

Oh, and a month before, a letter from a reader in Galaxie magazine mentioned Arashi. Firstly, I’M SO HAPPY IT TOOK THE GALAXIE TEAM JUST A MONTH TO RESPOND WITH THIS FEATURE ARTICLE. It took more than a year of pestering them before they finally feature Arashi (prior to this, they’ve feature Matsujun and Aiba, individually and separately). And secondly, KITTY/FIQA DID YOU WRITE THAT LETTER? XDDDDDDDD Because the reader was signed as ‘Kitty’ and I SWEAAAAAAAAAAR it’s you. XD

So anyways! That’s a long post to make up for the few months I was gone. I would like to remind those who posted comments on any posts that I DO READ THEM! I’m gonna go read them after this post is published, in fact. XD Any comment left by my blog readers are always welcomed and well-loved. I would normally say I’m reachable through e-mail, but since I’m so inactive… I’m practically unreachable. XD Just leave comments and whatnot, and I’ll read them sooner or later, but never never!

Tashii, OUT.

500 de ani in viitor, ei sunt captivi intr-o nava spatiala pierduta in cel mai indepartat colt al galaxiei si sunt o prada usoara pentru un monstru nevazut!

NASA a realizat prima harta care arata pozitionarea sistemului solar in Calea Lactee, pe baza datelor transmise de naveta IBEX (Interstellar Boundary Explorer).

Noua harta ar urma sa schimbe viziunea cercetatorilor si sa ajute la studierea interactiunii dintre galaxie si soare. Harta a fost realizata cu ajutorul datelor transmise de IBEX pe parcursul a sase luni, informeaza NASA.

Harta dezvaluie amanunte din regiunea care separa partea cea mai apropiata a galaxiei (mediul interstelar), de heliosfera – zona din jurul soarelui, care protejeaza sistemul solar de radiatiile cosmice.

“Pentru prima oara iesim din atmosfera soarelui si incepem sa intelegem care este locul nostru in galaxie”, spune David J. McComas, cercetator in cadrul proiectului IBEX.

Informatiile pentru completarea hartii au fost furnizate si de naveta Cassini, care a studiat planeta Saturn, inelele si satelitii sai inca din 2004, dar si de date de la naveta Voyager, care in 2007 a patruns in mediul interstelar.

IBEX a fost lansata in octombrie 2008, obiectivul sau fiind descoperirea interactiunilor dintre vantul solar si mediul interstelar, fiind una din misiunile low-cost si cu lansare rapida a programului Small Explorers.

Sursa: ziare.com

Parce qu’on est con!
Parce qu’on est con!
Il m’est venu une réflexion
Ou devrais-je plutôt dire une suggestion
J’ai retourné maintes fois la question
J’en suis à la conclusion qu’on est tous des cons

On est con dès le matin au réveil
On traumatise notre corps qui a encore sommeil
Pour aller en cours, ou au TAF
Ce qui pour la plupart nous fait chier
Et ramène pas FAF
Pas de FAF, pas de thunes, pas de roue de la fortune
Notre connerie en compagnon d’infortune
On est jaloux dès qu’un mec se fait des thunes
Mais on a la flemme de faire des études
Ca vit dans le nord et ça rêve du sud
Ca veut baiser tout en restant prude
On vote pour des gens qui nous promettent la lune
Alors qu’on sait très bien qu’ils nous piquent nos thunes

La guerre c’est l’enfer, la paix le paradis
Et nous les hommes on choisit la guerre
Parce qu’on est con
On sait qu’on y passera en polluant l’atmosphère
Donc du coup on pollue l’atmosphère
Parce qu’on est con
On gaspille des tonnes de bouffe tous les jours
Sachant que la moitié du monde crève la dalle
Parce qu’on est con
On sait très bien que c’est mieux de faire le bien
Mais on est attiré par le mal

On est des cons car on confond tout
On a tous deux petites voix qui parlent au fond du nous
La voix du con ou la voix de la raison
Mais vu qu’on est des cons, on écoute la voix du con
La voix de la raison on l’écoute jamais
Au contraire on lui demande son avis en dernier
Des fois elle nous dit : « huum, fais pas ça »
Mais nous on le fait quand même, comme ça on a plein d’emmerdes
Tous les trucs à la Tourte.org qu’on fait quand même
Peur du cancer mais tu fumes quand même
T’as plus de fric, t’achètes des fringues quand même
T’aimes ta femme mais tu la trompes quand même
On est con à tort, à travers
Con à l’endroit, con à l’envers
Con en été, con en hiver
Con dans le futur, au moins aussi con qu’hier

Pour stopper la faim dans le monde, on trouve pas un dollar
Mais pour la crise on trouve des milliards
Parce qu’on est con
Quand on va faire des courses, on rachète des sachets
Alors qu’on en a encore plein dans le placard
Parce qu’on est con
On se fait chopper au lit en flagrant délit avec une autre
Et nous on dit : « Chéri c’est pas ce que tu crois »
Parce qu’on est con
Parfois on prend le risque de baiser sans capote
Alors qu’on peut chopper n’importe quoi
Parce qu’on est con
On est des cons mais c’est pas notre faute
C’est tout l’univers qui est con comme un phoque
Le bigbang, les étoiles, la galaxie, bla bla bla
Pourquoi y a tout ça? on ne sait pas!
Les astrophysiciens cherchent la solution
Moi je l’ai : « X = tout est con »
Elle est pas plus belle, elle est con la vie
D’ailleurs on ne sait même pas ce que l’homme fout ici
Déjà tu nais, alors que tu n’as rien demandé
Dès que tu es en vie, tu as l’angoisse de crever
Et le pire tu veux que je te l’annonce ?
Tu peux même pas choisir ta tronche
Ni ton prénom, ni ton foyer
Ni même l’endroit où tu nais
Si t’as pas de bol, tu nais con, pauvre et laid
Pour ça y a une phrase à la con : « Heuu C’est la vie! »

T’as bien révisé tes cours à part un seul sujet
Mais sur celui-là que t’es tombé
Parce que t’es con
Comme tous les samedis soirs, tu es encore rentré bourré
Sauf que là les flics ils t’ont choppé
Parce que t’es con
Tu matais un film de boules en pleine journée
Ta main dans le froc mais ta mère est rentrée
T’as bien l’air con
Tu as 65 ans, tu touches ta retraire
Et tu rends compte que tu t’es fait niquer
Parce que t’es con
Tu rêvais d’être célèbre
T’as fait la Nouvelle Star
Mais tu finis dans le bêtisier
Parce que t’es con
Tu as voulu t’acheter une grosse bagnole pour frimer
Mais tu n’as plus de fric pour payer le loyer
Parce que t’es con
La SNCF fait grêve pendant trois jours
Mais toi tu as déjà acheté tes billets
T’as bien l’air con
Tu t’es levé tôt ce matin pour aller faire tes courses
Sauf que c’était un jour férié
Parce que t’es con

© Tous droits réservés – 2009

Vartão de visita para Chofer Marcelo Finardi, com o intuito de divulgação dos serviços prestados tais como em casamentos e eventos sociais em geral.

Detalhes do serviço:
Motorista com experiência;
Carro luxuoso (Ford Galaxie branco);
Total atenção ao cliente durante o evento.

Maiores informações,
47 . 8822-9854 c/ Marcelo Finardi

Vetorização e Arte do cartão de visita.
Ruan Julian Weiss
Editor Eletrônico

Dans l’espace personne ne m’entendra crier, prier, pleurer, aimer.

En y réfléchissant, c’est la même chose sur Terre. Dites-moi qu’elle est la différence entre le silence et le bruit ?

Pas grand chose, alors…

Vivre ensemble ou séparés ? Il faudrait prendre une décision, la bonne, la meilleure pour moi, apparemment. Je ne choisis pas.

Comme la plupart, je passe plus de temps à parler qu’à écouter et quand l’occasion d’entendre se présente, je préfère nier toute présence étrangère ou même la mienne.

Observez autour de vous, il n’y a plus rien à défendre, cessez de parler pour nous, d’ailleurs vous n’êtes pas là, ici.

Et les années passent comme ma raison, péniblement mais rapidement et je ne me souviens plus de rien, tout en avançant, comme ça, sans rien dire, sans rien attendre.

Finalement, je choisis de tuer le temps pour ne pas lui laisser ce plaisir, en parlant seul, rarement au futur, souvent au passé, le regard toujours absent, mais jamais loin.

D’où je suis, sans pouvoir rien toucher excepté cet écran, je peux voir la Terre mourir, ton pays croupir, ma famille vieillir, l’avenir au passé.

J’opte pour mes petites habitudes sans lendemain plutôt que la grande lassitude de la postérité, en gestation entre l’inconnu et l’infini.

J’ai dû me méprendre à parler de voyage en faisant du surplace.

Encore, un moment, un instant, une minute et plus rien, jusqu’à la prochaine fois.

Je ne me lève plus pour me lever, mais juste pour ne pas crever !

…

Dans l’espace, mieux vaut avoir un ennemi imaginable qu’un ami imaginaire.

Je préfère la peur à l’ennui, le besoin à l’envie, la vie à la sécurité.

Intelligence artificielle, ordinateur, robot, machine, on s’obstine à mettre des noms sur des choses pour les contrôler, puis pour être sûr de ne plus les comprendre.

Le problème n’est pas que je parle à mon répondeur, mais que celui-ci me réponde.

Alors, je suis ma propre marionnette et je tisse des liens avec ceux en qui je dois croire pour mon salut plus tard, pour ma survie maintenant.

C’est une histoire de fou, une histoire de flous, une histoire de nous.

La lune, c’est comme le reste, c’était mieux avant. Elle ne fait plus rêver personne.

Et je suis là, en solo, ne sachant pas si je préfère sombrer dans la folie ou accepter demain.

Les gens, c’est tout de même pratique, cela comble l’angoisse.

L’homme se passionne pour les casse-tête afin de garder la sienne, pour tuer tout doute raisonnable qui nous éloignerait de cette ignorance qui fait de nous des gens heureux.

Il y a quelqu’un d’autre ici, dans mon crâne, chez moi, dans mes certitudes et lui aussi pense la même chose.

Je suis plus perdu que perdant.

Je ne sais plus qui je suis, je ne sais pas qui je fuis, mais je cours quand même, en orbite, c’est déjà ça.

Well, this one should put people in two distinct camps. You’ll either love it or absolutely hate it. “It” is a 1966 Ford Galaxie sporting an 850hp big-block Chevy motor, huge axles, massive tractor tires, and an appetite for mud pits.

It is a capable 4×4 with respect to mud bogging, but without any real axle articulation, a center of gravity about four feet higher than the Eiffel tower, and a throttle that appears to be more on-off switch than control pedal, it is a specialized machine.

We’ll go on record as loving it. Go ahead and fling mud at us!

It takes a minute or two to get to the Galaxie, but this mother is worth a look.

für meine Tochter Joanna

»Hubble Deep Field: The Most Important Image Ever Taken«

von tdarnell auf YouTube

✦

so informativ, so wunderschön und episch!

✦

Tony Darnell schreibt dazu auf YouTube unter anderem:

»In 2003, the Hubble Space Telescope took the image of a millenium,
an image that shows our place in the universe.
Anyone who understands what this image represents, is forever changed by it.«

✦

von tdarnell auf YouTube

✦

➢ Galaxie

Das Universum – unendlich, überdimensioniert, unfassbar, unsagbar schön, erschreckend riesig, unermesslich, unaufhaltsam, unerforschlich, überwältigend, gewaltig. Wie viel mehr treffen diese Beschreibungen demjenigen zu, der dahinter steckt…

Mehr als nur Funkeln

Einfach unbeschreiblich! Und für unser Denken überhaupt nicht fassbar. Das kann jeder herausfinden, der in einer sternenklarer Nacht nach draussen geht und in den Himmel hinaufschaut. Was dort oben ist, übersteigt unsere wildesten Träume. Doch das Firmament über uns birgt mehr in sich als nur mit seinen vielen Lichtern zu blinken und zu funkeln. Die unzähligen Sterne rufen uns zu. Jedem, der zu ihnen hinaufschaut, zeugen sie von einem Gott, der erstaunlich, unbeschreiblich, unglaublich und grösser ist als wir es uns jemals vorstellen könnten.

Der Himmel erzählt die Herrlichkeit Gottes, und das Himmelsgewölbe verkündet seiner Hände Werk. Ein Tag sprudelt dem anderen Kunde zu, und eine Nacht meldet der anderen Kenntnis – ohne Rede und ohne Worte, mit unhörbarer Stimme. (Psalm 19,2-4)

Sternen am Südhimmel (NASA)

Der erste Vers in der Bibel berichtet, dass Gott im Anfang die Himmel und die Erde erschuf. Wie muss das wohl abgelaufen sein? Gott schuf das Universum. Einen Kosmos, dessen Grösse unermesslich scheint, denn bis heute ist seine tatsächliche Grösse unbekannt.

Falls das Weltall bloss einen Wohnort für uns Menschen darstellen soll, dann ist es wirklich überdimensioniert. Doch was wenn die primäre Absicht unseres riesigen Universums darin besteht, von der Pracht, Majestät, Grösse und Herrlichkeit Gottes zu protzen? Dann erscheint das Universum überhaupt nicht mehr überdimensioniert, sondern hat gerade die richtige Grösse für Gott.

Als Gott das Weltall erschuf, sprach er Licht und Licht kam mit einer Geschwindigkeit von 300′000 km pro Sekunde aus seinem Mund. (Ein Lichtstrahl würde die Erde sieben mal pro Sekunde umkreisen.) Das Universum mit seinem ganzen Sternenheer ist das einzigartige Produkt von Gottes Wort.

Durch des HERRN Wort ist der Himmel gemacht und all sein Heer durch den Hauch seines Mundes. (Psalm 33,6)

Hier wohnen wir

Unsere Galaxie: die Milchstrasse

Wir leben in einer Unterabteilung des Universums, genannt Milchstrasse. Allein unsere Milchstrasse beinhaltet Milliarden von Sternen. Und Wissenschaftler sagen, dass weitere hunderte von Milliarden Unterabteilungen im bekannten Universum existieren. Will man aber bloss die Sterne in unserer Galaxie zählen – jede Sekunde einen Stern – würde man ganze 2500 Jahre benötigen.

Mit wem denn wollt ihr mich vergleichen, dem ich gleich wäre?, spricht der Heilige. Hebt zur Höhe eure Augen empor und seht: Wer hat diese da geschaffen? Er, der ihr Heer hervortreten lässt nach der Zahl, ruft sie alle mit Namen: Vor ihm, reich an Macht und stark an Kraft, fehlt kein Einziger. (Jesaja 40,25-26)

Bevor überhaupt jemand dazu berechtigt ist, die Existenz Gottes in Frage zu stellen, sollte er oder sie es ihm zuerst einmal nachmachen. Mindestens mal alle Sterne zu zählen.

Wir müssen Gott in die richtige Grösse in unserem Denken bringen! Er hat nicht unsere Grösse. Sein Gehirn ist nicht wie unser. Er denkt nicht wie wir. Er arbeitet an einer grösseren Leinwand, als wir uns jemals vorstellen können. Er ist grösser, als was wir jemals in unserem Leben gesehen haben. Er ist riesig! Und der Himmel erzählt uns davon. Das Universum beweist uns auch, dass wir wirklich sehr, sehr, sehr klein sind.

   Un ochi negru imens se afla undeva pe la 17 milioane de ani lumina distanta in constelatia Parul lui Berenice – galaxia M64 sau NGC4826 (credit imagine Hubble Heritage Team).