I’ve been out of town for a week and have not had regular computer access. But here’s a preview of some things to come.
On fire from the top down. Color was at its peak in the north and west, but just beginning to show in the south and east; still got to see some beautiful displays, though. More to come soon.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Taken during a bicycle ride by redditor /u/mannyotr. Unsure where this was taken, but a lot of people are suggesting Florida or somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon line, at any rate.
Beautiful image!
But not the way you might think.
This is a hydrophane opal, found in mines at Welo, Ethiopia. You can read more about these opals at the School of Gemology.
When I first saw this posted over at reddit, people were mentioning that it looks like an ocean bottom – but the first thing I saw was this:
The “Pillars of Creation” in the Eagle Nebula
Whatever you see, the stone is beautiful. Some of the other pictures of the stone reminded me of Ammolite, which I first encountered in Vancouver, BC.
Nature is amazing.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
A new video has recently surfaced showing the devastation suffered in the Tohoku area of Japan in 2011. People in the first part of the video have no clue how serious things are about to get. At about 9:50 the debris arrives; that much water flowing that fast has about the same impact as solid rock.
Much of the debris has now been removed, but people continue to suffer. There are still ways to help.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Beautiful spiral aurora, photograph by David Cartier. See more gorgeous photography at his Flickr Stream.
I love the aurora, I’ve only seen it in person once – as far south as Montana, on a dark night at around 2:00 AM. We were driving back home from a trip to Calgary, and off behind some hills we saw what looked like those big advertising spotlights moving across the sky. We stopped to watch, and saw some ribbons as well. Someday I’ll make it up to Alaska and hope to see some better displays.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Incredible bird!
Now that you’ve had your laugh, please realize that the above clip was a parody by Waverly Films – the original clip from the BBC can be watched below.
Still an amazing bird, but Seinfeld is not part of its routine. You can read more about the Lyrebird at Wikipedia.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Beautiful time-lapse video of Mother Nature getting her knickers in a twist. Watch this at 108op and go full screen. You can see a beautiful still from the video here.
Of course, since I have an odd mind, if you hadn’t figured that out by now, I couldn’t help but think of this much older and much less serious video effort:
The Old Wolf has spoken.
It’s true. No one can appreciate this more than those who have lost things, or those who have lost people. Many individuals lost their lives in Oklahoma today, and many families are grieving. Words like this are scant comfort for them, and only time will – hopefully – transform the bitterness of loss into the sweetness of memory.
Far more people kept their lives but lost everything they had, and their hardships are none the less – but I am sure there is much gratitude being felt by those who survived the ordeal, realizing that things can be replaced and that, in the end, nothing truly belongs to us. We can only preside over our goods for a short time, and then they pass into the hands of others.
My thoughts and prayers are with the good people of Oklahoma and other areas affected by these devastating storms. I have done what I could, and wish only that it could be more. If you want to help, one good place is the United Way of Oklahoma.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
This astonishing photo of the Milky Way rising over the Australian horizon with the Magellanic Clouds on the left was captured by Greg Gibbs. Visit his website for more starry goodness.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Playing in the World Game 