tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11031159448040188162024-02-07T23:08:12.175-07:00KalofXenoKalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-31841333573521446672012-05-07T19:13:00.001-07:002012-05-07T19:14:34.461-07:00Simple Orange Julius Recipe<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<b></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://i.imgur.com/3v2Je.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://i.imgur.com/3v2Je.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div>
<b>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
Ingredients:</b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>1 - cup sugar</b></li>
<li><b>1 - cup water</b></li>
<li><b>1 - cup milk</b></li>
<li><b>1 tsp vanilla extract</b></li>
<li><b>8 oz. orange concentrate</b></li>
<li><b>8 ice cubes</b></li>
</ul>
<b></b><br />
<ol><b>
<li>Blend</li>
<li>Drink!</li>
</b></ol>
<b>
</b></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-67787361703844145082011-12-03T12:55:00.001-07:002011-12-03T13:35:12.028-07:00Space-borne Applications of GPS/GNSS<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="s1">
</span></div>
<div class="p1">
Global Navigation Satellite Systems have many wide reaching applications through their evolving technologies. The space environment is proving to be a great setting for new applications. Formation flying spacecraft and autonomous navigation in servicing missions are the two applications discussed below. The <a href="http://www.infoterra.de/tandem-x-satellite" target="_blank">TanDEM-X</a> mission will be the example for the formation flying spacecraft. Some topics covered for this mission will include hardware deployed, data products created, accuracies/precisions of the products, and applications for the products. With respect to the application of autonomous navigation, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Servicing Mission 4 (SM4) and its Relative Navigation Sensor (RNS) is the topic presented. </div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">TerraSAR-X was launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on June 15, 2007. Since becoming fully operational in near the beginning of 2008 the spacecraft has been using its active X-band antenna to create high quality radar images of the Earth. Using this active form of remote sensing it can operate without relying on weather and lighting conditions. Some of the key technical features include its one meter per pixel high resolution operating mode. The TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement (TanDEM-X) was launched on June 21, 2010. These similar satellites are in a “514 km altitude sun-synchronous dusk-dawn orbit with 97° inclination and an eleven day repeat cycle (Ardaens et al., 2008).” The two spacecraft have a variable baseline and TanDEM-X has the ability to make small corrections in its following orbit. The small perturbations due to the topographical differences on the Earth’s surface and the atmospheric drag create challenges for maintaining an appropriate baseline as well as avoiding collision of the spacecraft.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGTf3Y1V6Jj0EjBm_7zo5cqTGOL5zKM1wrszv7nQZRJAWRE0ls620RZX-l7ULfqGC8mgWn-4pwoDlqwC01e02P0sEnW85qvjaRhJ-yb36Q2IdGQ0aJJGm38e0Hg8s40LUXY8c0wAtj6wo/s1600/tandem-x_quer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGTf3Y1V6Jj0EjBm_7zo5cqTGOL5zKM1wrszv7nQZRJAWRE0ls620RZX-l7ULfqGC8mgWn-4pwoDlqwC01e02P0sEnW85qvjaRhJ-yb36Q2IdGQ0aJJGm38e0Hg8s40LUXY8c0wAtj6wo/s320/tandem-x_quer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TanDEM-X (image credit: infoterra)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The hardware deployed for these spacecraft include a real-time onboard autonomous formation keeping module, called TAFF (TanDEM-X Autonomous Formation Flying), which makes use of the MosaicGNSS receivers available on the two spacecraft (Ardaens et al. 2007). The MosaicGNSS receivers are made by the aerospace subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) known as Astrium. They are radiation tolerant GPS that can even process weak signals to determine position, velocity, and time when less than four satellites are acquired for tracking (astrium.eads.net). To plan and carry out the orbit control maneuvers autonomously an additional Inter Satellite Link (ISL) hardware with a cold-gas propulsion system was integrated (Ardaens et al. 2008). </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The Ardaens et al. paper conducted a simulation to determine the control performance of TAFF. This was done using both autonomous and ground-in-the loop control. For the ground-in-the loop control the performance was 2.7 meters radial, 26 meters along-track, and 0.4 meters cross-track. The TAFF performed at 1.7 meters radial, 6.5 meters along-track, and 0.3 meters cross-track (Ardaens et al. 2008). This indeed shows a better performance can be gathered by TAFF as stated in Jean-Sebastien Ardaens paper. These performances lead to high quality products made by the TanDEM-X mission. The mission has just recently started with data acqusition to follow in early 2011. The quality features include a vertical accuracy of 2 meters (relative) and 10 meters (absolute) and a horizontal raster of ~12 meters by 12 meters (infoterra.de/tandem-x_dem). </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">According to Infoterra the first regional DEMs will be available in 2013. Full global coverage is expected to be in the year 2014 (infoterra.de/tandem-x_dem). There are many applications for these digital elevation models. The uses in knowing more about the geomorphology of the Earth’s surface through DEM creation help in determining which areas will be affected by climate change first. The changing thickness of ice sheets and glaciers in the world’s most remote places can be measured by DEMs. Other mass wasting of the Earth’s surface in the form of avalanches and landslides can be studied for hazard control. Flooding of areas can be better modelled at large and small scales through this new data set. Presented was just a few examples but there are many more applications for a high quality DEM that the TanDEM-X mission will produce. </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The evolving application of using GNSS technology for autonomous navigation has been recently used for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Service Mission 4 (SM4). A paper by Ian Cohen titled, “Relative Navigation Using Reflected GPS Signals” examines the design and implementation of a system that uses autonomous relative navigation. The simulations Cohen conducted for the HST SM4 included using an extended Kalman filter. Cohen used a GPS receiver that ran on a radiation hardened ColdFire Processor at 65.536 MHz with 2 MB of application SRAM. The simulations Cohen performed used a dynamic model of spacecraft maneuvering at close proximity in near circular orbits. This system called for a relative range measurement carried out by differencing the reflected pseudo-range and the direct pseudo-range (Cohen 2008). “Differencing is done to mitigate the common mode errors from the GPS signal, including ionospheric effects, oscillator bias, and front end noise; providing a relatively clean measurement of the relative position (Cohen 2008).” With enough measurement available, the Kalman filter was a sufficient solution (Cohen 2008). However, the algorithm had difficulty in short ranges and in the case of very long ranges signal visibility problems arise (Cohen 2008). The Cohen paper noted that they did not seek to examine the impact of the reflection on the measurement accuracy.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">On the 11th of May, 2009 the Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted of the launchpad heading to the highest altitude it ever takes. The RNS system flying in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle met many goals. In addition to the GPS receiver, the system hardware also consisted of three cameras, an electronics box for recording data, and a microprocessor system for running algorithms. The three cameras had varying optical ranges and the electronics box used several commercial hard drives (Naasz et al. 2010). The Navigator GPS receiver used was optimized for fast signal acquisition and weak signal tracking (Bamford et al. 2004). The threshold is between 22 and 25 dB-Hz, a great sensitivity allowing for better GPS observing (Bamford et al. 2004). </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfh1xJuZ51zU18hdWZ2TG7C84k6BbIL52hU7q9lquJOSl6KyYiGAVBYFyeNnAdm1tSTJJ_6ysXb5br3hQ258iPg4zLZ9fQmB7FgI1m9ITGr-sK-mPWoZa_8pyHxXmN-hTVn1yTPBA0G3O/s1600/2009-3071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfh1xJuZ51zU18hdWZ2TG7C84k6BbIL52hU7q9lquJOSl6KyYiGAVBYFyeNnAdm1tSTJJ_6ysXb5br3hQ258iPg4zLZ9fQmB7FgI1m9ITGr-sK-mPWoZa_8pyHxXmN-hTVn1yTPBA0G3O/s320/2009-3071.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">STS-125 Launches (image credit: NASA GSFC)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhvrtsAkFth6kZBOWFB6Tdrw0Z0GScZ6pvBCzoZ96vHEdywpWiHXSklqK4qzrFwcUOv_scB42yXXAtfj-j0GmNltJXfHSAR1vCxbV8OnFB6FuQBTEwDsTUMbdrAr24yy6lBH3966OrDNY/s1600/hubblefloat_sts125_big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhvrtsAkFth6kZBOWFB6Tdrw0Z0GScZ6pvBCzoZ96vHEdywpWiHXSklqK4qzrFwcUOv_scB42yXXAtfj-j0GmNltJXfHSAR1vCxbV8OnFB6FuQBTEwDsTUMbdrAr24yy6lBH3966OrDNY/s320/hubblefloat_sts125_big.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of HST from the Atlantis (image credit: STS-125 Crew, NASA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The GPS aspect of the system operated very well during the Rendezvous Proximity Operations and Docking (RPOD) procedure (Naasz et al. 2010). During the rendezvous an algorithm tracked HST for 20 minutes and 27 seconds with a peak quality of 99.2% and another algorithm tracked HST for 15 minutes and 31 seconds with a quality of 87.1% during the HST deployment phase (Naasz et al. 2010). In the review of this application there was no mention of the accuracy performed by the GPS found. A change to the relative approach attitude in the form of a 45 degree Shuttle yaw maneuver resulted in the RNS being mis-configured for the initial pose acquisition (Naasz et al. 2010). This is the reason why both algorithms were not in operation for the rendezvous part of the mission. The flight data for the algorithms of the RNS system were compared to truth data from the Shuttle program and the attitude results were within the desired levels but the path results were not (Naasz et al. 2010). The operating environment and its many variables continue to be the biggest difficulty for writing algorithms to perform autonomous navigation. </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">A team of engineers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center are still working to continue the evolving instruments that can track weak GPS signals above the altitude of the GNSS constellations. This is the same team that developed the technology needed to perform the RNS experiment for the HST SM4. The current developed technology “will serve as the primary navigation sensor on NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM)” (www.nasa.gov). Another future mission to use this technology is the Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission. The next line of technology under development may be able to “acquire the GPS signal even if the spacecraft carrying the receiver is located at lunar distances” (www.nasa.gov). NASA Goddard’s Navigator team and other engineers working with various space agencies are helping reduce mission costs. The autonomy through formation flying and rendezvous/docking enables ground control costs to be lowered. The faster, better cheaper is not just a goal of NASA but ESA as well. </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuDBbXHcx-ZNED6ylQ2e-pW2DSwm4ynmGxoLu6BlwLPXfZwme682E6P1XJCXc8qhcNS0GkmMU8JpxgOwrTQSZa8Yqo0BEMy4tRVeNFJzFZlgmQzZ4Cz9wpHW2Yn1nXyP0n1CcnQvxtK0O4/s1600/442159main_GPSTeamFull.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuDBbXHcx-ZNED6ylQ2e-pW2DSwm4ynmGxoLu6BlwLPXfZwme682E6P1XJCXc8qhcNS0GkmMU8JpxgOwrTQSZa8Yqo0BEMy4tRVeNFJzFZlgmQzZ4Cz9wpHW2Yn1nXyP0n1CcnQvxtK0O4/s320/442159main_GPSTeamFull.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">NASA Goddard's Navigator team developed a new receiver that allows spacecraft to quickly acquire GPS navigational signals in weak-signal areas. The team includes (from left to right): Bill Bamford, Steve Sirotzky, Greg Heckler, Luke Winternitz, and Rich Butler. </span><b style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Credit:</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">NASA, Bill Hrybyk</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">These two applications of GNSS technology in the space environment start to show the promise for the future. The TanDEM-X mission is only in the beginning and the world will see great data products come out of using formation flying spacecraft through the help of GNSS. The Space Shuttle program has ended but many lessons were learned from the STS-125 mission. In years to come it is likely that robotic missions will replace humans in the servicing missions of satellites and hopefully allow humans to reach new heights. The future of human space exploration will continue from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to beyond, hopefully in the next 30 years. If humans return to the Moon for longer missions and continue on to Mars, there is little doubt that GNSS technology will be involved.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s2"><b><u>References:</u></b></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">Ardaens, Jean-Sébastien, Simone D'Amico, Dieter Ulrich, and Denis Fischer. "TanDEM-X <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Autonomous Formation Flying System." 3rd International Symposium on <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Formation Flying, Missions and Technology (2008): 1-9. Print.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">Astrium Mosaic GNSS Receiver LEO, MEO, GEO. EADS, 2010. Web. 26 Dec. 2010. </span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><<a href="http://www.astrium.eads.net/node.php?articleid=5361">http://www.astrium.eads.net/node.php?articleid=5361</a>>.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">Bamford, W. et al., <a href="http://www.emergentspace.com/pubs/Final_GEO_copy.pdf">“Real-Time Geostationary Orbit Determination Using the Navigator <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>GPS Receiver,”</a> 2005 Flight Mechanics Symposium, NASA Goddard Space Flight <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Center, Greenbelt, MD, October 18-20, 2005.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">Cohen, Ian R., "Relative Navigation Using Reflected GPS Signals," Proceedings of the 2008 <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, San Diego, CA, January <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>2008, <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>pp. 224-231.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">Keesey, Lori. NASA - Navigator Technology Takes GPS to a New High. Ed. Karl Hille. NASA, 9 <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Apr. 2010. Web. 2 Jan. 2011. </span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/navigator-gps.html">http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/navigator-gps.html</a>>.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">Kriger, G, A Moreira, H Fiedler, I Hajnsek, and M Werner. "TanDEM-X: A Satellite Formation <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>for High-Resolution SAR Interferometry." IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Remote Sensing 45.11 (2007): 3317-41. Print.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">Naasz, Bo, John V. Eopoel, Steve Queen, C M. Southward, and Joel Hannah. "Flight Results of <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>the HST SM4 Relative Navigation Sensor System." 33rd Annual AAS Guidance and <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Control Conference 08.280 (2010): 1-24. Print.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">TanDEM-X Global Homogeneous DEM. Infoterra, 2010. Web. 27 Dec. 2010. </span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><<a href="http://www.infoterra.de/tandem-x_dem">http://www.infoterra.de/tandem-x_dem</a>>.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">TanDEM-X Satellite and Mission. Infoterra, 2010. Web. 27 Dec. 2010. </span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><<a href="http://www.infoterra.de/tandem-x-satellite">http://www.infoterra.de/tandem-x-satellite</a>>.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">TerraSAR-X Satellite and Mission. Infoterra, 2010. Web. 27 Dec. 2010. </span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><<a href="http://www.infoterra.de/terrasar-x-satellite">http://www.infoterra.de/terrasar-x-satellite</a>>.</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">Torrence, Mark. Satellite TanDEM-X. Ed. Carey Noll. International Laser Ranging Service, <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>2010. Web. 27 Dec. 2010. </span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><<a href="http://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellite_missions/list_of_satellites/tand_general.html#obj">http://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellite_missions/list_of_satellites <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>tand_general.html#obj</a>>.</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-37269982880066895632011-09-06T02:46:00.000-07:002011-09-06T02:46:30.747-07:00Nokia Maps 3D BetaGoogle Earth faces some competition in the quality that Nokia Maps is starting to put out.<br />
<br />
If you head on over to <a href="http://maps.nokia.com/3D/">Nokia Maps</a> and click on "Choose a City," you can view some of the large beautiful cities around the world in 3D. Using a combination of satellite and aerial imagery the buildings that Nokia renders is stunning.<br />
<br />
Here are a couple of screen shots of the Las Vegas Rio and Hilton that are (and were) the Mecca for thousands of Trekkies (and a few "Trekkers").<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiex1Y17Yusuc8P-inG7dsJ-KKe3e8iKyESncPrh4RnWA7LqEu4UQj-VHZXvkikWbIdlFRzBJ7xWgJgbZVkIo7qGgeN6L7jKLwomw6p84hg8vD_BmHmElj7ZTLMwrBU5jJmUa1BDvqX9M84/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-08-24+at+10.46.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiex1Y17Yusuc8P-inG7dsJ-KKe3e8iKyESncPrh4RnWA7LqEu4UQj-VHZXvkikWbIdlFRzBJ7xWgJgbZVkIo7qGgeN6L7jKLwomw6p84hg8vD_BmHmElj7ZTLMwrBU5jJmUa1BDvqX9M84/s400/Screen+shot+2011-08-24+at+10.46.36+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/vggb8.jpg">LV Hilton</a> (you can still see the Star Trek delta near the monorail)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPDdoxeedDUmSe0FDpPHT7RBS_vBuxG2SgqMhtgbOW9Iue9bMglGnhHnKufX3AKDIUXgzZFCAJ2fXP_s-AMscdI1QWW2ND6pyWXOpD6lWZwLhBtR80_rLEChzx5iz9XGYo9DRYx2vNCCu/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-08-24+at+10.49.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPDdoxeedDUmSe0FDpPHT7RBS_vBuxG2SgqMhtgbOW9Iue9bMglGnhHnKufX3AKDIUXgzZFCAJ2fXP_s-AMscdI1QWW2ND6pyWXOpD6lWZwLhBtR80_rLEChzx5iz9XGYo9DRYx2vNCCu/s400/Screen+shot+2011-08-24+at+10.49.55+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/P5w5R.jpg">Rio</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-86592654626015704122011-04-23T11:48:00.004-07:002011-04-23T11:52:31.746-07:00LyX<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTBNz3JTKlq71XUmOg2peglUzH_u9feY-p2uoRRXBnxDgkbwbvlhLCo-xDDVhAtWQupbKOoa0ppSDtGxsV7kFDo_-MsiPMAkHDEOifxIE1pecIAy5lFYwZbH2mwxuayDpQgh1KOqHdwnY/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-04-23+at+6.37.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTBNz3JTKlq71XUmOg2peglUzH_u9feY-p2uoRRXBnxDgkbwbvlhLCo-xDDVhAtWQupbKOoa0ppSDtGxsV7kFDo_-MsiPMAkHDEOifxIE1pecIAy5lFYwZbH2mwxuayDpQgh1KOqHdwnY/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-04-23+at+6.37.12+PM.png" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I finally decided to start to learn LyX. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What is LyX?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"LyX is a document processor that encourages an approach to writing based on the <em>structure</em> of your documents (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WYSIWYM">WYSIWYM</a>) and not simply their appearance (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WYSIWYG">WYSIWYG</a>) (lyx.org/)."</span><br />
<br />
<div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">"LyX is released under a <a href="http://www.lyx.org/License">Free Software/Open Source license</a>, runs on Linux/Unix, Windows, and Mac OS X, and is available in several <a href="http://www.lyx.org/I18n">languages</a> (lyx.org)."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It uses LaTeX a powerful document markup language that can handle loads of chapter sections, bibliography entries and generate completed pages of works cited and tables of contents. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">LaTeX is also great for writing math equations into documents so that they look like they are supposed to. An equation for surface temperature looks like <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FXjIbyrP7mwZkMQCDN7487iaFqdqaYJRzqyR4V4TBuj271GKMS0iLk25adOP_FIdAOJ1w33DqFLciUaq1A6HZMk11TMSpgArqWzZMo28gKuHmfV2IbJoGK5yhyphenhyphenKID8djgdtiHot7Y9-P/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-04-23+at+7.05.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FXjIbyrP7mwZkMQCDN7487iaFqdqaYJRzqyR4V4TBuj271GKMS0iLk25adOP_FIdAOJ1w33DqFLciUaq1A6HZMk11TMSpgArqWzZMo28gKuHmfV2IbJoGK5yhyphenhyphenKID8djgdtiHot7Y9-P/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-04-23+at+7.05.13+PM.png" style="cursor: move;" /></a></span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">instead of T=((1-α)S)/(4εσ))^(1/4). </span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I first heard of LyX from a friend who recommended LaTeX because he has received extra marks on papers in high school just from the formatting and structure looking so great. </span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I downloaded it almost a year ago and never gave the software the patience it takes to learn a new way of document creation. </span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Recent use of Google Docs and its support for LaTeX math equations, I finally decided to learn more about document processing through LyX . </span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">LyX has great tutorials in the help section of the software. </span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">If you want to learn how to do something in LyX, there are plenty of useful website so just Google it! </span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="p1"><a href="http://wiki.lyx.org/LyX/Welcome">LyX Wiki</a><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://web.ift.uib.no/Teori/KURS/WRK/TeX/symALL.html">Math Symbols</a></span></div><div class="p1"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1983262846"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></a></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX">WikiBook on LaTeX</a></span></div><div class="p1"><br />
</div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I look forward to writing my master thesis using LyX!!!</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.lyx.org/Download">Download LyX</a></span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-36000972460951186772011-03-15T16:15:00.002-07:002011-03-16T05:04:18.015-07:00NRC Planetary Decadal SurveyI thought Steve Squyres did an amazing job presenting the National Research Council Planetary Decadal Survey at the 42nd <a href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/">Lunar and Planetary Science Conference</a><br />
<br />
The people of the Mars Program have really shown that they have been working hard to keep the program alive for the coming years. (A personal shout out to Phil Christensen of Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) Tiger Team III (RAWRRR!!!) for all the hard work he has done!)<br />
<br />
*Check out the Top Ten Discoveries of the Mars Exploration Program! <a href="http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/science/index.html">http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/science/index.html</a><br />
<br />
It is a clever thought that the cache produced by the rover MAX-C could sit on the surface of Mars for a period of time while other missions take place. I have lived in the UK for six months now and know that the engineers and scientists really want and have been waiting for a long time to have a robot of their own land on Mars and do science (my visits to the Mullard Space Science Laboratory and Astrium are my biggest data points). The idea is to have NASA's MAX-C rover sit next to ESA's EXOMARS rover during the journey to Mars. Sky Crane would then lower both rovers at the same time to the surface. So lets hope that we can get those cost projections down.<br />
<br />
The Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM - they're still trying to think of a better name) is an awesome flagship mission that I continue to look forward to. This is another instance where NASA and ESA would be working together to do exciting science. Squyres mostly talks about the NASA-led Jupiter Europa Obiter. The other partner in this choreographed exploration is the ESA-led Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter. Looking forward to the exploration of Europa a moon with a geologically young surface and a icy brine/ocean subsurface and Ganymede, the largest moon in our solar system (that's right even our own large moon) with its whispy terrain and magnetosphere producing geo-dynamo. <br />
<br />
Learn more about this Outer Planet Flagship Mission<br />
<a href="http://opfm.jpl.nasa.gov/europajupitersystemmissionejsm/">http://opfm.jpl.nasa.gov/europajupitersystemmissionejsm/</a><br />
<br />
The mentioned Uranus orbiter mission would be interesting to see if we decided to go there when both hemispheres are receiving the sun light. This is when there is more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Uranus_clouds.jpg">atmospheric activity </a>(i. e. white ammonia/methane clouds and dark spots). Uranus does also have its interesting moons: Miranda (chevron features), Ariel, Umbriel (dark surface - carbonaceous material), Titania, and Oberon. I am however extremely interested in Neptune's Triton. Triton is geologically (cryovolcanism) active with its geysers producing a tenuous atmosphere. It has young and interesting cantaloupe terrain. It is also thought to be a captured Kuiper Belt Object and its retrograde orbit supports this idea.<br />
<br />
Much more information and exciting times to come can be gathered by watching the presentation.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="340" scrolling="no" src="http://cdn.livestream.com/embed/2011lpsc?layout=4&clip=pla_18e48f98-4a78-4acc-ad2a-29c7a8ae326c&color=0xffad4b&autoPlay=false&mute=false&iconColorOver=0xe17b00&iconColor=0xb96500&allowchat=true" style="border: 0; outline: 0;" width="520"></iframe><br />
<div style="font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 560px;">Watch <a href="http://www.livestream.com/?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" streaming="" title="live" video="">live streaming video</a> from <a 2011lpsc="" at="" href="http://www.livestream.com/2011lpsc?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" livestream.com="" title="Watch">2011lpsc</a> at livestream.com</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-50204877599389596902011-03-14T17:05:00.000-07:002011-03-14T17:05:34.605-07:00Have you looked at Blogger lately?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looks like it may have been a good time to switch and start blogging again. I look forward to all the new improvements!<br />
<br />
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="520" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hPhFc6GqVdU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-71567633876429576352011-03-14T16:35:00.002-07:002011-03-14T16:44:07.305-07:00update and switch<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Greetings and Salutations to whomever may read this, </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have decided to switch back from Wordpress to Blogger after a couple of years of messing around and not really blogging at all. I just have been using Twitter (@KalofXeno) to "microblog."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I chose to switch because Blogger is more simple and I want this blog to be about the content written/displayed and not about what theme I am using. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Quick Update:</span></u><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am an android powered MacBook Pro carrying planetary geologist doing a masters in space sciences at University College London. A Cambridge <=> London train commuter on the fast track through a one year masters program. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Currently looking to do a PhD at Open University or Imperial College. I choose not to apply to UCL because geology would be somewhat of a second thought and I do not want that. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking forward to seeing my girlfriend when I visit Orleans, France later this month. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Topics likely to be posted here:</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">climate change</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">science in general</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">space news</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">humanist views</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my American views</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">other views and news about this lovely pale blue dot</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and really random thoughts</span></li>
</ul><div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-6259492035280473142008-03-14T18:54:00.003-07:002008-03-14T18:59:40.931-07:00iPhone in dreamI am so accustomed to carrying my iPhone everywhere I go that I recently have been taking it with my into my dreams. <br /><br />In my dreams it does not have any super abilities. It is just as it is in reality. <br /><br />Am I obsessed with Apple's iPhone?<br /><br />I don't care, I love it. Anyone who has one or even an iPod Touch knows what I mean. <br /><br />I hope I do not have anymore nightmares about dropping it into pools. <br /><br />I leave you with this quote:<br /><br />"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."<br /> -Christopher Reeve<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-42852546312302208782008-03-14T18:27:00.002-07:002008-03-14T18:54:35.895-07:00Where's Waldo Where's JesusGrowing up I always loved the Where is Waldo books that were fun and maybe a little educational. <br /><br />I would like to see a Where is Jesus book. The book could have biblical settings with a hard to find Jesus H. Christ among the many other characters. Each set of pages could have all kinds of historical events from his birth to today. <br /><br />I forget how I came upon this idea. All I remember is that I was walking around campus. <br /><br />I will try to work on a prototype soon.<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-80520745718889707952008-02-04T17:17:00.000-07:002008-02-04T17:21:39.915-07:00Reaching for Interstellar-HopeGattaca, a futuristic fable where most people are genetically engineered to be perfect. This movie is well performed and completed. I watched this movie in wonder and as the credits scrolled upward I thought about the future and the many tangents one could discuss relating to this brilliant film. The director, cast, and plot made this movie a sci-fi cinematic masterpiece. This collaboration was sculpted by Andrew Niccol.<br /> <br />As one of the first of Andrew Niccol’s sophisticated movies, Gattaca strengthened his writing and directing abilities. Many of his movies have been futuristic and intelligent. Niccol wrote and directed Simone (2002) and Gattaca (1997). Simone premiered nation-wide in 2002. Andrew Niccol also wrote The Truman Show (1998). The scenes of escape and exposition are artistic throughout the movie. <br /><br /> The formation of the cast portrayed a believable story set in the not too distant future. Ethan Hawke played character Vincent Freeman with a sterile style of a navigator. Ethan Hawke has played diverse roles throughout his career, from the “good cop” in Training Day to the villain in Taking Lives. Actress Uma Thurman plays Irene, another employee of Gattaca. Uma has starred in movies such as Kill Bill, Paycheck, and Batman & Robin. Loren Dean plays Vincent’s superior younger brother, Anton. Loren Dean has similar sized roles in Apollo 13, Enemy of the State, and Space Cowboys. Jude Law takes part in the role of Jerome Morrow. The character Jerome is a crippled ex-swimmer who was born with a perfect combination of genes. Jude law is spreading into numerous roles in films such as Alfie and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.<br /><br /> Vincent Freeman was conceived by the way of odds and probability. He is a “God-child,” a child not genetically engineered but formed with an inferior combination of genes. His younger brother is a product of a combination genes selected by his parents. Vincent grows up with the dream of becoming a space navigator. To get accepted, he assumes the identity of a crippled ex-swimmer with perfect genes. His ploy is going smoothly until a murder occurs in the Gattaca office. The police and detectives find some DNA of an “in-valid” and start to suspect an inside job. Vincent is supposed to leave for Titan, a moon of Saturn, in a week and must remain a step ahead of the authorities to not get caught before reaching his dream of navigating a ship through space. <br /><br /> This movie stimulates the brain and stirs the heart. The success of this movie can be credited to the dazzling cast, ingenious plot, and superb director. This movie shows with will and determination one can fight the odds with ordinary genes, reach for the stars, and achieve self-actualization. The future is not set in stone and destiny can be changed by the variable known as choice. To what I know, this film is inspiring.<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-36992000727449436452008-01-24T16:15:00.000-07:002008-01-24T16:16:29.750-07:00Looking for a Camera?There is a lot to look for besides the usual color and design. The first thing you should do, ask yourself, “What am I going to use the camera for?”<br />If you are going to use your camera for basic use at social gatherings, vacations, documenting products for eBay etc. You might want to take a look at a “point and shoot” camera. <br /> “Point and shoot” cameras have evolved a great deal over the past few years. In 2007, the 7.0 mega pixel was the common/standard. The year before that was the 6.0 mega pixel. Lately I have noticed that newer models are moving to make 8.0 mega pixels the new standard. I think that anything higher than an 8.0 or 10.0 mega pixel camera is excessive for a “point and shoot” camera and a basic consumer. With more mega pixels one can do more editing and cropping on the computer. The one thing that has not really changed over the years for digital “point and shoot” cameras is the optical zoom.<br /> The average optical zoom for them is 3.0x. Some very low-end digital cameras do not even have an optical zoom and only carry a digital zoom. There is a number of high-end new models that carry an optical zoom up to 5.0x. If you are looking for a camera with more zoom you should look at “high zoom” or Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras. <br /> “High Zoom” cameras are always larger than “point and shoot” cameras. These cameras will carry an optical zoom anywhere from 8x to 15x. Most models you will find in an electronics retail store will not have the ability to interchange any lens. The size of the camera can range from a small SLR to the size of a four-year-old “point and shoot” camera. <br /> Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras have the benefits of having the ability to manually adjust aperture, shutter speed, and many other advanced features. The larger lenses can capture more light and thus have a greater resolution. SLR cameras are all about the feature of interchangeable accessories, whether they be zoom lenses or advanced flashes. <br /> There are two other things to look at when looking for a camera. One is the feature of a high ISO and the other is the type of battery the camera uses. An ISO is a sensor that deals with three different aspects when taking a picture. New cameras have the ability to shoot at high ISO or higher ISOs than their predecessors. The lower the ISO the better the camera will be for taking pictures in darker settings. The sensor in the camera will help so that dark pictures do not turn out grainy. The ISO on a camera will also help with shutter speed and image stabilization as well. For the topic concerning what type of battery the camera takes depends on personal preference. Cameras with Li-ion batteries have the ability to be much more sleek and compact. If lost, they are not cheap to replace and can very difficult to find. There is often confusion of the difference between lithium and lithium-ion batteries. The difference is that lithium batteries are one time use and are not rechargeable like lithium-ion batteries. However, both can last up to many times longer than standard batteries.<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-39726071905985925082007-09-28T12:34:00.000-07:002007-09-28T12:43:01.160-07:00TerabyteI was recently reading the headlines of Google News Sci/Tech and I thought about how terabyte hard drives will come sooner than I thought. <br /><br />I realized this when thinking about HD DVD and Bluray. Since Hi Def is the must have of today I would expect to see more terabyte hard drives soon. <br /><br />A 60GB hard drive can only hold about 14 hours of DVD quality video and about 5 hours of HD quality.<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-75791036163847911482007-08-09T01:51:00.000-07:002007-09-28T12:46:32.736-07:00Opera Browser = Amazin'!!!WOW!<br /><br />I just downloaded the Opera Browser for my Windows Mobile 5 PPC - 6700. I am amazed by how fast and intuitive the software is. <br /><br />I normally use the WM5 version of Internet Explorer (IE) and have been let down by Mozilla's Mini browser, Minimo. Minimo had the right idea of tabbed browsing and cool buttons. But when I went to a site that Minimo did not like it would randomly close and I would have to start all over again. Also the program ran very slow for a PPC with a 416Mhz processor and 64 MB of RAM. <br /><br />IE also sucks (not as much as Minimo) since it too does not like certain sites and sometimes freezes. <br /><br />My device is old but was ahead of its time when it was released (early 2006). <br /><br />Conclusion: Opera Browser>IE>Minimo. <br /><br />(Sorry Mozilla, I still love you for your Firefox and Thunderbird)<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-1501155482546309512007-04-11T10:29:00.000-07:002007-04-11T10:42:15.325-07:00New stuffI have not posted in a while. Wow!<br /><br /> A few months ago I was behind a mediocre car that had a purple bumper sticker that said, "Jesus is the Answer." This person was about to turn right to get onto the 101 and head South. When I was sitting patiencently, I noticed that she was smoking and as she was turning she littered her cigarette butt. I honked at her and thought about how her lord and savior Jesus H. Christ would be unhappy.<br /><br />**Side note (Jesus' middle name = Horace?)<br /><br /> I still have been going to research meetings with Jeff Hester for researching star formation. I am still not being paid. I had my parents fill out the FAFSA to get paid for a work study job. I am also waiting for another key to the workroom since the first key that they gave me did not work.<br /><br />I will try to post more frequently.<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-34071970634250907472007-01-15T10:19:00.000-07:002007-01-15T10:22:40.139-07:00History MonthsPractically everyone in America knows that February is Black History Month. Has anyone ever thought about the other months? People don't even seem to care!<br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="190"><tbody><tr><td class="pubText" width="8"><br /></td> <td class="pubText" width="174"><a href="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/"><span>Black History Month</span><br />February 2007</a></td> <td width="8"><img src="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/global/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="8" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pubText" colspan="3" width="138"><img src="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/global/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="8" width="1" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pubText" width="8"><img src="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/global/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="8" /></td> <td class="pubText" width="174"><a href="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/"><span>Women's History Month</span><br />March 2007</a></td> <td width="8"><img src="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/global/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="8" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pubText" colspan="3" width="138"><img src="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/global/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="8" width="1" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pubText" width="8"><img src="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/global/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="8" /></td> <td class="pubText" width="174"><a href="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/"><span>Asian Pacific American Heritage Month </span><br />May 2007</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="190"><tbody><tr><td class="pubText" width="8"><br /></td> <td class="pubText" width="174"><a href="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/smithsonian_hhm_2006.pdf"><span>Hispanic Heritage Month </span><br />September 15 - October 15, 2006</a></td> <td width="8"><img src="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/global/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="8" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pubText" colspan="3" width="138"><img src="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/global/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="8" width="1" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pubText" width="8"><img src="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/global/spacer.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="8" /></td> <td class="pubText" width="174"><a href="http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/aihm06/event_calendar.html"><span>American Indian Heritage Month </span><br />November 2006</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-39391536373052655702006-12-07T18:14:00.000-07:002006-12-07T18:22:07.538-07:00IDL > MATLAB 7. . .Plus flowing liquid on Mars in Last 5 years!Yesterday, Kayla and I went to another research meeting. Prof. Hester helped us create accounts and showed us some features with IDL. He also said that we could purchase the student version of IDL on their site. The version is $90 and he said that we could give him our receipts and that he could figure out a way to get us reimbursed.<br /><br />Kayla and I also went to the SES 101 review for the final. It was very helpful. I also brought my laptop and found out just in time that their was a conference on the NASA channel about recent water flowing on Mars. I quickly found a link that provided streaming video of the NASA channel and Kayla and I watched it. It was very exciting and we saw our teacher, Dr. Christensen talk among others about the findings on Mars.<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-75875797585903454782006-11-29T22:21:00.000-07:002006-11-29T22:27:50.607-07:00Research MeetingToday I went with my astronomy teacher, Jeff Hester, to a research meeting. Kayla and I will be learning <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">IDL</span> (interactive data language). This is the same software that NASA uses. Today I listened to the grad students ask their questions. One student asked about her project which is on star formation and the magnetic polarity. The other asked about the visible part of the Crab Nebula. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around all this. Next week Kayla and I will get a chance to sit in front of a computer and create <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">IDL</span> accounts and start learning the basics. In the spring we will be setting up our space grants from NASA!<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-238508769277384492006-11-27T22:38:00.000-07:002006-11-27T22:43:12.156-07:00Superman Returns Video GameMy amazing girlfriend Kayla bought me Superman Returns for ps2. The game is amazing. The effects of Superman's superpowers are excellently done. I finished the game and still want more. I wish that games had the ability to load maps from something like Google Earth to play in environments that are real and I could fly as Superman from ASU to anywhere my mind can think of.<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1103115944804018816.post-5186330415607214312006-11-11T13:43:00.000-07:002006-11-27T23:12:18.729-07:00BlogThis is my first post.<br /><br />check out my website at <a href="http://kalofxeno.googlepages.com/">http://kalofxeno.googlepages.com</a> !!!<div class="blogger-post-footer">KalofXeno Blog</div>KalofXenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09140514029948126421noreply@blogger.com0