Ok, é meio não ter o que fazer:

Mas é divertido, vai!

Boa ideia!

We shared a dream that night. A tornado pursued us. The sky was orange and the world was græy. Cars flew over head and parked airplanes from some unknown airport dragged down the street. There were flashes of lightning, blood pink as light filtered through a hand. The trees were a flurry of forces and the tornado itself was dark, desolate, void. Imminent danger filled our souls with adrenaline but our bodies stood entranced by a chilling emptiness, futility. For a fleeting moment we became death and oblivion. We passed and we awoke. We remember everything.

Golf is an obsession for millions and now an Olympic sport. The intricacies, delicacies and finer details of the game is what sets it apart and makes it one of the most loved and hated sports in the world. Golf is a rough sea of changing hope and fortune, a game of highs and lows, alterations and frustrations. At the centre of this sporting mosaic lies the swing. The way the club moves through the air determines everything from whether or not the ball feels like a rock or marshmallow on impact to its resulting trajectory and indeed, its destination. Every golfer dreams of the perfect swing, of hitting that monster drive, of playing that perfect approach. Coaching is essential for improvement; and even the best players in the world receive regular support. However, lessons can be expensive and sometimes self-analysis can be an easier and more rewarding option. Recording and watching your swing is a crucial first step and seeing it properly for the first time is akin to hearing to the sound of your own voice. The next step is to compare your swing to one that works and who better to look to for guidance than those that swing a club for a living? For years I have compared my swing to that of a certain Mr Eldrick Woods, believed by many to have the greatest golf swing of all time.

Before the days of high speed Internet, when classic dial up was the pinnacle of technology, I subscribed to the Golf digest website. There, amongst the plethora of help articles, were frame-by-frame visual maps of all of the top golfer’s swings. It was basic, but strangely rewarding despite having to wait 15 minutes for the pictures to load. Since the advent of high speed Internet and video upload sites, it has become relatively easy to find clips of almost any professional golfer online. In seconds you can access fast loading, high quality streams of your favourite player on youtube. To add to this, advances in camera technology have meant golf swings can be captured at extremely high frame rates. For instance, BBC golf coverage now makes regular use of its ARRI Tornado camera, which operates at 1000 frames per second (fps). The combination of this technology and broadband means that professional golfer’s swings can be analysed online and in detail by anyone. Below is some stunning high-speed camera footage of Tiger captured by Nike with a Phantom V5:

Armed with Tiger’s footage, it should be easy to compare the differences with my own. Unfortunately for amateur golfers like me, capturing my own swing in such detail is a rather expensive affair. High-speed cameras such as the Phantom typically cost in excess of $10,000. Not exactly a small time investment and a factor that has kept high-speed filming firmly planted on the professional side of the line. However, that could be all about to change. No longer will high-speed footage be a privilege reserved only for those who get special passes at tour events and wear funny green caps. A new Casio range of cameras delivers rapid frame exchange at a price that doesn’t require you to sell your Pings and get a second mortgage.

The EXILM High speed range delivers high-speed filming to the masses. The new EX FS-10, EX FH-20 and EX-F1 are all capable of shooting slow-motion (which is really high-speed) video at at least fps, putting it them par with much larger, pricier commercial systems such as the Phantom. No tripod is needed and they work well in a variety of light conditions so you can leave the high-powered halogens at home. Casio’s flagship high-speed camera, the EX-F1 can shoot 1200 fps at a resolution of 336 x 96 and 300 fps (an industry standard for high speed golf analysis), at a respectable 512 x 384. This particular camera is already being employed in commercial applications such as crash dummy design due to its relative low cost to performance ratio.

The cameras are already available for purchase in the US. However, most interesting is the recent announcement of the addition of some virtual golf pro firmware to a new version of the EX FS-10. Casio clearly understand the impact their cameras are going to have on the golfing market. The firmware will allow the posture and swing plane of the player to be analysed in tandem with the high-speed video modes. In video review, corrective positions for key body parts such as the head and elbow as well as adjustments in spine angle are suggested in an attempt to improve general swing technique. This means that as well as being able to see what your swing looks like in glorious slow motion and compare it to Tiger’s; you can get advice on how to improve it, straight from the camera.

How exactly the feedback is given will be an essential component to the success of the product. As the general population is being targeted the information needs to be easy to understand and interpret without requiring expert knowledge on the golf swing. However, the system could also potentially be an affordable way for golf professionals to implement high-speed camera analysis into lessons.

But how effective is the camera at capturing high-speed footage? A crucial aspect is the resolution as this is typically what is most affected by an increase in frame rate. According to Casio, at 1000fps the resolution of the EX-FS10 is 224 x 56. To put this is perspective here is an image of the same size:

The Resolution of the EX-FS10 at 1000 fps

It is clear that at this resolution, it is not really possible to capture the entire swing, rendering the accompanying software somewhat useless at the maximum frame rate. Having said that, at 210 fps, which is still quite high, the resolution is 480 x 360, which is not terrible considering the camera does not require a tripod or any additional specialist equipment. This is most likely the frame rate for which the firmware update is intended and at which it will be most effective.

It is interesting this technology has been implemented by Casio, not generally considered one of the front runners and more known for their retro digital watches and school calculators than innovative digital cameras. I would have thought this technology would have come from Sony or Canon. One of the big boys. The high-speed capability paired with the virtual pro feature comes as a surprise, and a very pleasant one. It is important to note that this technology has been implemented in a consumer product rather than at the top end of the EX line, meaning it is going to be available to the average golfer. Sadly the firmware will initially only be made available in Japan. This is possibly to test the waters before the all-important US golf market is targeted. Not that the firmware itself is essential. You can download a whole host of swing analysis software online, with features exceeding those to be implemented in the EX-FS10. What sets the Casio firmware apart is the ability to analyse on the go, which makes it ideal for swing tweaks on the course or at the driving range. The release of cameras with such high-speed capabilities highlights the sharp rise we are seeing in imaging technology. For instance, at the top end of the scale, the latest Phantom V710 allows for a 7520fps capture at full resolution (1280x 800). At an equivalent resolution to the 1000fps on the Casio Ex-FX10, the Phantom can capture an astonishing 288,800 fps. It is only a matter of time before some of this high speed filming prowess further trickles down to the consumer market.

The new Casio EX-FS10 with Virtual pro firmware will be released in Japan on November 26th 2009, with an RRP of around $350. I have a feeling we are going to be seeing a lot more slow motion golf swings on youtube very soon.

I recently saw an alternet.org story, How an Entire Town Leveled By a Tornado is Rebuilding Green, about the rebirth of Greensburg, Kansas. It tells a remarkable story of optimism, recovery, and dedication to a single goal.

That’s why I thought it would be good to talk about the Greensburg tornado now.

Overview

If there were one tornado that best symbolizes the way in which a tornado can change life forever, it would be the tornado that destroyed Greensburg, Kansas, on May 4, 2007. And if there’s one story that represents the ability of people to recover from disaster, it’s what’s going on in Greensburg, Kansas, today.

Greensburg History

Greensburg, a small town (only 1.5 square miles) on the farming plains of the southwestern part of the state, was first established in 1886, and it was best known for being the home of the world’s largest hand-dug well. The “Big Well,” 109 feet deep and 32 feet wide, was used as the town’s water supply from 1887 until 1932 and was a major tourist attraction for decades.

Spring in Kansas

Spring is often a dramatic weather time in the Plains, with the building warmth of the upcoming summer competing with the winter cold that is sometimes unwilling to release its grip. This contrast often results in numerous rounds of dangerous thunderstorms, and 2007 was a spring with frequent dangerous storms.

May 4, 2007

Even though May 2007 began without much weather fanfare (after multiple late-winter and early spring tornadoes), a strong late-season storm along the West Coast grabbed the attention of meteorologists. On Friday, May 4, the strengthening spring sun pushed temperatures into the middle 80s in Greensburg, and while the warmth was undoubtedly appreciated, there was an understanding that the warm, humid air mass in combination with the approaching storm would result in dangerous thunderstorms and perhaps tornadoes.

The Tornado

A supercell thunderstorm that had already produced tornadoes in the extreme western part of Kansas approached Greensburg, and at 9:20 p.m., a rapidly intensifying tornado was spotted to the southwest of Greensburg. The National Weather Service issued something called a Tornado Emergency, which is an enhanced tornado warning issued when a violent tornado is headed for a populated area. The intention is to warn residents of Greensburg an immediate, extreme threat.

An EF5 tornado (the strongest category) estimated to be nearly two miles wide (remember–the town was 1.5 miles wide) arrived on the western end of town just before 9:45 p.m. Buildings were no match for the power of the tornado; structures that were not completely blown away were scattered into piles of unrecognizable wreckage. The swirling debris cloud that is associated with a tornado was filled with what had been Greensburg Kansas–two-by-fours, metal plumbing pipes, sofas, broken glass, and everything else became projectiles, projectiles with such force that they would become embedded in any object that they hit.

Two-ton automobiles were lifted from driveways and dumped into crumpled piles hundreds of feet away, railroad cars were overturned, and any trees left standing were stripped of their leaves and bark. Approximately 95% of the town was destroyed.

Aftermath

White House photograph of Greensburg, Kansas, after the tornado

Residents who climbed out of storm cellars felt as if they had been transported to another place or time, unable to discern where their homes had been and which direction was West. Even in the black of night, it was clear that everything was gone. They knew that they were standing on their property, but there were no longer homes or any other buildings on the street. Stores that they’d gone to for years were gone. Neighbors that they had talked to hours earlier may have been missing, perhaps safely hiding a cellar or trapped under a pile of debris—or perhaps dead.

According to the 2000 Census, eleven out of the 1,154 residents had been killed, dozens had been injured, and the town was gone. Anyone who wants to understand the power and danger of tornadoes need look no further than Greensburg, Kansas. Life will never be the same.

–Paul Yeager

Is that a tornado inside a bubble??? Somebody please tell me how did he do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…..Watch the amazing video.

[Random Good Stuff via Gizmodo]

trotz ENIGMA musik, video und so sehr zu empfehlen…

mehr bubbles mit experminenten…kraa bei

RANDOM GOOD STUFF

Recuerdo cuando hiba al centro de ciencias, aparte de serel priemr ciber publico i de ver porno, tmb entraba al museo de experimentos i eso, i el q mas me wstaba era una maquina, q generaba un tornado, i too el p2, aun recuerdo

pos este hace lomismo pero en una burbuja :O

This is the first image that pops up when I search “Pampa, TX” on Google. (The “this is only a test” voice after sirens on Saturdays at noon means that you’ve slept in and the weekend has officially begun.) There are several more images in the search that show the variety of weather that the Texas Panhandle has to offer its residents.

Dust Storm 1945

There have been moments in the Texas Panhandle where I could not see twenty feet from my vehicle’s windshield because of blowing dirt. It is no wonder that you can look out over the plains and see wind turbines dotting the land near the highways.

The best part about all of that open space is that you can always see what’s coming.

Wall Cloud 1989

And watch the show (instead of taking cover in your basement or cellar).

The 1995 Tornado

The sky gives us plenty to look at. If you don’t believe that Texas can boast that it has the best sunsets, go here.

Pampa Sunset 1998

2006

I still think that the big wildfires look like medieval battles and cities burning to the ground. You can smell the burnt land for weeks.

Wildfire

Things die rather quickly after the first freeze.

Road to Pampa 2006

And, yes, it does snow in Texas.

Amarillo, TX Snow

I think the longer I am away from this setting, the more I miss certain things about it.

But never the hail.

Ayer tuve uno de esos sueños de “superproducción”. Resulta que estaba en la orilla de una pequeña isla, mirando hacia el horizonte con una isla mayor el espectáculo que allí se producía.

En primer lugar estaba el cielo todo nublado, un manto de nubes grises a cada cual más oscura de color. Una tormenta sin igual. De pronto surgía un tornado de la nubes, de un color lechoso, directo a la isla.

Esa isla estaba siendo azotada por un viento espectacular, palmeras agitadas de forma violenta.

Entonces, de entre los árboles surgía una forma oscura, parecida a humo negro, que pretendía chocar con el tornado blanco. El tornado había retrocedido a las nubes, el humo oscuro propinaba si es que un gas puede hacer tal cosa, un golpe a esa masa gigantesca de nubes.

En el tercer movimiento de esa especie de lucha épica de extraños elementos, ambos chocaban, el tornado blanco y la masa de humo negra.

Lo peculiar es que yo estaba en la isla Hydra, y presenciaba una lucha definitiva entre Blanco y Negro en la isla principal, de la serie Lost.

Have you ever heard that a dog ‘knows’ when an earthquake is about to hit?

Have you ever heard that a dog can ’sense’ when a tornado is stirring up, even 20 miles away?

Do you remember hearing that before the December tsunami struck Southeast Asia, dogs started running frantically away from the seashore, at breakneck speed?

Do you know that dogs can detect cancer and other serious illnesses and danger of fire?

Somehow they always know when they can ‘go for a ride’ before you even ask and how do those dogs and cats get home from hundreds of miles away?

I’m a firm believer that animals – and especially dogs – have keen insights into the Truth.

And you can’t tell me that dogs can’t sense a potentially terrible disaster well in advance.

Simply said, a dog just KNOWS when something isn’t right…. when impending doom is upon us. They’ll always try to warn us!!!

via Blame it on the voices

The Met Office has issued three weather warnings today. More severe conditions are expected in the coming week. Are you scared?

Very wet and windy conditions are anticipated with widespread rain and strong winds gusting at 60mph at time. Winds at up to 100mph were recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight today.

On Saturday, four teenagers were killed in a car accident in Birmingham due to severe weather. The car hit one side of the road and shot through the front wall of the garden, said a local resident.

In Essex, a tornado wrecked 60 homes on Sunday. “It was devastating. Whole roofs were rocking from side to side and chimneys came crashing down,” described Adele Ashdown, from Benfleet. In Devon and Cornwall, 10,000 homes faced a black out as the power line was down.

The great storm of 1987 killed 18 people with winds of 115mph, leaving a trail of destruction estimated at £1.5 billion. This weekend’s storm has been the heaviest storm of the year so far. “We have had gusts reported of 72mph at Culdrose in Cornwall and 71mph at Plymouth,” said Byron Chakcraft, Met. Office.

The Environment Agency urges people to stay in alert. “We may issue flood warnings for possible sea flooding around parts of South Wales coast and possible floodings for rivers across Wales. So we urge people to remain vigilant,” said Jeremy Parr, Flood Risk Manager of The Environment Agency.

But, what if we cut the crap for a moment… how does that small storm compare to any flood that happened this year in Asia? What are real catastrophes? We journalists just love sensationalism too much sometimes…

The Scarecrow Syndrome

                Watching the movie “The Wizard of OZ” for the thousandths time it occurred to me that this film is not only about a young lady being caught up in a tornado and being transported to a faraway land where she meets three unlikely friends that set out on a journey to find the Wizard of OZ so that she can return home and her friends can be granted with a brain, heart and courage, but it is actually a story of one’s search to find love not knowing that the love they seek is right there within them.

            We can all learn a valuable lesson from this masterpiece of movie making. Each of us, at one time or another, have looked for love outside of ourselves, whether through another individual, money, material things or whatever there is outside of us that we felt would bring us love. When we found those things, we would love them for awhile but would find that in time those things did not bring us total satisfaction or love, simply a sense of appeasement until they grew old. All the while, we were ignorant of the fact that all we needed to do was look within ourselves.

            The characters in the movie “The Wizard of OZ,” Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion were all guilty of looking outside of themselves, in search of things that they already owned. Dorothy searched for love, when all the while the love she searched for was right there at home with her family. The Scarecrow was in search of a brain, when all that he needed was right there within his heart and that alone made him intelligent. The Tin Man was in search of a heart to fill the void within having no idea that he already had heart due to the care and love he showed Dorothy and his other comrades. The Lion wanted a hefty dose of courage because he felt that he was a coward when all the while he showed courage in everything that he did.

            At the finale of the Yellow Brick Road all of them discovered that the Wizard was only an ‘illusion’ and possessed no power at all, signifying our search to find something outside of ourselves to complete us or make us happy, there in discovering that all they needed was to look within and this is usually what happens with us in our search for love or something to complete us, we set out on journeys, searching for something outside of us only to discover at the end of the journey that it was within us the entire time.

            I named this the Scarecrow Syndrome not only because he is my favorite character from “The Wizard of OZ” but because of his search for a brain and his already having the HEART that allowed him the ability to do and accomplish all of the things that he wanted to do, inspiring me to look within myself to discover all that I need to do is follow my heart to reach my destiny. It’s ALL within us!

            “OZ never gave the Tin Man what he didn’t already have…”

                                                                        -AMERICA/”Tin Man”                       

When you talk about “The Tornado” in Huntsville, everyone knows which one you mean.  It’s the one in 1989, on November 15th.  The one that leveled building from the Parkway, along Airport Drive, and on through Jones Valley.  Only a lucky few in Huntsville at that time were unaffected by the tornado.

I was not in Huntsville then, but my family was.  I was sitting down for dinner at the Fraternity House in Auburn.  My mother was at home in Southeast Huntsville, about 4 miles south of the path of the Tornado.  My brother, however, was just topping the road at the top of Airport Road, where it becomes Carl T. Jones.  My father was at a doctor’s office in front of Crestwood.

My brother made it home to Mom with little trouble.  The Tornado rocked his car, but he wasn’t aware that it was a tornado at the time.  He had a brief scare and little else.  Seeing as he was only 16 at the time, and a new driver, that is a stroke of luck.

Father was less fortunate.  The nurses at the doctor’s office gathered everyone up in the two story building and moved them into a closet.  Dad was the last to enter, and the one to close the door.  Almost.  According to him, he never got the door fully closed before the tornado hit.  The wind pulled at the door and Dad held it mostly shut as it passed.  At some point, the roof of the building left, but the people in the closet didn’t realize it till after it was over and they could look up into the sky.  The top of the door jam broke and slammed into my Father’s shoulder.  He was the only one in the closet to receive an injury.

Dad’s group of 10 or so left the closet to find it the only part of the second story still standing.  The roof was gone.  All other interior walls were gone.  According to Dad, there wasn’t even much debris on the floor.  It was just wiped clean.  Dad was the only male present at the time, and being a good southern man, insisted on helping those women down from the building.

The only staircase left was full of debris, and initially they decided to wait until help arrived to get them down.  When it started to snow, Dad knew they had to get down without help.  He carefully climbed down the stairs and cleaned off the debris as best he could.  He then used a flashlight one of the women had in their purse to guide people down one at a time and get them outside.  He repeated the process for each woman until they were all out of the building.  They then walked to Crestwood Hospital where a command center of sorts had been set up.

I got the word from another Fraternity Brother that Huntsville had been hit.  I managed to get through to Mom first, and gave her a list of names and numbers to start calling.  Lines within Huntsville and into Huntsville were full, and getting through difficult.  Mom called down to the house with updates.  Fairly quickly the only member of the fraternity with family still missing was me.  Dad couldn’t get through to Mom to let her know she was okay.

Ultimately Dad never did get Mom on the phone.  Instead, on a whim, he tried me at the House.  He almost didn’t get me there.  The Brother answering the phone was trying to keep the line clear for Mom to call with news, and Dad had to quickly explain who he was.  After getting the bare details, I managed to get ahold of Mom and tell her Dad was okay.

Waiting at Crestwood, Dad ran into a friend.  The two of them were fine, Dad probably should have gotten a stitch or two in his shoulder but he didn’t want to tie doctors up from the more seriously wounded.  He bandaged himself up with the help of one of the nurses from the doctor’s office and started trying to figure out how to get home.  His truck was totaled.  The camper on the back was just gone, the truck was beat all to pieces and three tires were flat.

Dad’s friend suggested they see if it would start, so they tried and it did.  They then put the spare on the back, giving them two good tires.  They then stole two tires off another truck that had been wrapped around a tree in the parking lot.  With four good tires, they tried to drive home, only to find all the roads blocked.  The radio told them that the roads were all closed anyway.

But luckily the front windshield was still intact, and Dad had a sticker for the Army post.  He drove north, away from the damage and home, to cut through the post and come out far south of the damage.  He then drove his friend home, and then himself.  He got home around midnight.

I didn’t get back to Huntsville till that weekend.  I drove up with the other Huntsville Brothers to see if we could help, but by then everything was well under control and the damage had quickly turned into a macabre tourist attraction.

That’s my story of “The Tornado.”  What’s yours?

I had the most vivid dream last night.

Maybe it was the beer.

Or the leftover Hamburger Helper I warmed up too late and then forgot about and left sitting in the microwave where it cooled down so much that I had to nuke it again. How many times can you reheat Hamburger Helper, I wonder, before it becomes just a rock of something unrecognizable and then sits in your gut all night while you try and get some sleep.

I’ll blame the Hamburger Helper.

I had taken a job at a child care center shaped like one of those A frame houses with the loft at the top where the toddlers have plenty of room but we had to duck to keep from banging our heads.

We were playing some game with little plastic blocks that were all the colors of the rainbow and shaped like squares and circles and rectangles and stars. There seemed to be no rules but little Johnny won every time and the other kids were getting pissed off and screaming at him and trying to hit him with the blocks and crying when we told them it was just a game and to not take life so seriously but they weren’t having it and so they started to run around the room and kick stuff and throw Cheerios.

And so I decided to take them all outside into the fenced in backyard for some fresh air. The sun shone brightly and there was no breeze to speak of and so things went well for a minute or two. Then overhead a mass of clouds formed and out of them dipped the most perfectly cylindrical tornado I had ever seen, like God took a straw and stuck it through the sky and just started sucking.

And the kids started screaming again and trying to run away even though I told them it was no big deal, that this sort of thing happens all the time and is actually kind of cool to witness. But they ran toward the fence, which was an electric fence for some reason, and they all stuck to the fence and stopped screaming and began writhing and a few caught on fire.

It was like that scene in The Green Mile when that asshole Percy Wetmore tricked everyone and didn’t get the sponge wet and so Eduard Delacroix caught on fire and the flames from his eyes burned right through the sack over his head and all that was left was a charbroiled Cajun who had once gone so far as to love a magical mouse. It was like that, and so it wasn’t really frightening or all that gross to watch.

But Johnny hadn’t run. He had stood there in the middle of the backyard and stared at the perfect tornado even as it ripped apart the fence and the kids that were on fire and sucked them up. Even as it came right up to him, sucked him up, and then just like that swooped right back up into the clouds and then the clouds vanished and there was sunshine again.

And there were no kids left to care for and so I went home for the rest of the day. And that’s when I woke up.

Un cielo tormentoso amenazador, con profusión de bases nubosas procedentes de cúmulos y cumulonimbos, ocupa todo el horizonte. Repentinamente, en la lejanía, desciende una figura tubular desde una de estas bases planas; todo indica que se trata de un “landspout”, o lo que es lo mismo, un tornado no supercelular.

In what was described as the worst storm of the year, gale-force winds and torrential rain have battered large parts of Britain. Gusts of 80mph hit parts of the southern coast. Ferries from Dover, Plymouth and Poole suffered from disruption and face cancellations. A tornado hit Benfleet in Essex causing damage to a number of houses. In Pembrokeshire, 14 people were rescued from vehicles as flooding hit roads around Tenby. Nearby another 12 people were rescued from a coach in Haverfordwest.