November 16, 2005

It feels good to do things right.

This plot is the conclusion of a problem I've just completed. It describes how the temperature varies at very small distances above a surface in some sort of flow. Pr is the Prandtl number which is the measure of a fluid's viscous diffusion to it's thermal diffusion. (For a point of reference, Pr for air is around 0.75, while for molten metals it's on the order of 0.1 and lower). The computer code that I wrote to produce this plot worked flawlessly on the first try. It's a good thing when you do things right.

October 28, 2005

Fall

We're in a great neighborhood that has a lot of character: old houses, lots of trees, old brick sidewalks that mold over thick tree roots as the bricks sink into the ground. These are all pictures I took while walking a couple of blocks down our street. Fall is definitely my favorite season.










This is the pathway from our car to our front door. See what I mean? Character.

October 22, 2005

Pumpkin a la mode

This is a trip the U of I Baha'i Association made out to Curtiss Orchard, which is a working farm but it's also kind of like a Braum's for fruit and other produce. It's a big place with lots of acres of farmland, orchards, and, for our purposes, a pumpkin patch. I took it upon myself to photograph the ugliest, most obliterated pumpkins, and I think I did pretty good. The weather was pristine, but the lighting was very harsh. I particularly like the last photo.


Curtis Orchard is known for perfect apple donuts.


Eric enjoying one of said donuts.










There was an airfield just to the south. Pretty cool seeing these flying overhead.


Eric presents the smallest pumkin in the world.



















Danger in the water

This is the scene of danger, destruction and mayhem. If you go into the water here, instead of the designated, roped-in, safe swimming zone 100 yards to the north with an $8 per person admission fee, you are endangering your life. What makes this portion of the beach so dangerous is the 4 foot depth at the buoy, a complete lack of sharp rocks or objects in the sand, and the clear water. Thank goodness the police patrol the shoreline every once in a while to hand out tickets to these people placing their lives in peril.

October 14, 2005


These are a lot of pictures that I (and other people) have taken with our Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ15. Obviously too many for me to comment about each, so I'll leave that up to you.