Friday, July 25, 2008

Rutern!

The thunder rolls in
Like a semi-trailer truck
Driving through picnics.


Oh goodness. This week has simply gotten away from me. Apologies. Please do not even consider for a moment that my absence is in anyway a comment on us. I was not off blogging for some other group of readers - ones that think my daily jokes are really funny. Nor was I purposefully ignoring you, hoping that a little time and distance would end our relationship without a messy confrontation about how my missives have been lacking in content. No. You and I are perfect together. I would never change that. Unless there was money involved.

The past few days have been heavy with the final preparations for the BNW's new show, which opens tonight. Most of the preparations have been centered on getting the show in tip-top shape. On top of that, we've mounted a couple of flat-screen televisions to the stage. Getting them to work was nothing short of an ordeal, requiring: three trips to Microcenter; the connecting of 45 feet of VGA cable; and crying. Lots and lots of crying. It took time, but the TVs are up and running, and they're beautiful. They're full of stars.

Anywho, that's all over and done with. Today offers no obligations besides an early call and a opening night performance. I shall enjoy this freedom, but not before I offer to you Today's Joke. It's the least I can do given our recent estrangement.
Scientists Find Trigger for Northern Lights
Researchers working on a NASA mission to understand the interplay of magnetic fields and charged particles blown outward from the Sun have identified the trigger for the colorful electrical storms in the polar regions.
Scientists have long known that the dancing auroras of color known as the northern and southern lights are generated by charged particles flying from the Sun and interacting with the Earth’s magnetic field, which is then pulled into a windsock shape by the solar wind.
Scientists knew the events that occur in the tail of the magnetic field during substorms, but did not know which event acted as the trigger for the auroras. Scientists were able to deduce the order of events in a substorm in February.
The snapping of magnetic fields occurred first, followed by a burst of auroras. Surprisingly, the disruption in the charged particle current occurred after the aurora. Proponents of that hypothesis had thought that the magnetic snapping caused the change in electric current and that, in turn, led to the auroras.
“This defies our old paradigms,” Dr. Angelopoulos said. "Still, we're very excited to have taken some of the magic and mystery out of this wondrous event. If there's one thing that makes a scientist smile, it's giving a rational explanation to anything that is held as a miraculous spectacle. It makes us feel complete."


Huzzah!


Monday!

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