Christopher Merle

Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, but first I need more coffee.

Year: 2006 (Page 5 of 7)

Hayabusa

July 12, 2006 /

Read this comment. Hayabusa is an unusual asteroid. It is believed to be a pile O’ rubble held together loosely with low gravity. What would happen if such an asteroid were to hit Earth? I supposed it would depend on the angle of attack. Would it break up? Would the damage be less severe if it broke up into thousands of small boulders instead of striking as one solid mass?

What are the implications for other loose pils O’ rubble in the solar system that are hazards for Earth? If a lot of asteroids are actually a pile of rubble held together loosely with low gravity how does this change the asteroid impact theory. Yes, we know there were large solid meteors that hit the Earth and made some big ass craters including causing at least one mass extinction, possibly more.

Jesus H Christ

July 12, 2006 /

It’s all The Da Vinci Code’s fault. Christians are up in arms over a work of fiction. Let me repeat that, a work of fiction. I haven’t seen this much protest since The Last Temptation of Christ and The Life of Brian. It’s been said there are more birth defects among Born Again Christians than any other religious group. Think about it.

Take a look at this link.
I’m going to write about The History Channels Banned from the Bible, the Gnostic Gospels, the historicity of Jesus, Biblical innerency (covering Creation and the Great Flood), the Essenes, Buddhism, Alexander the Great, and some dude named Jehoshua Ben Pandira. And I’ll write about Anguipedes.

Note – I’ve begun reviewing previous posts. I’ve noticed a number of mispelled words and poorly phrased sentences. And there are probably grammatical errors as well. I’m not going to worry about it. I may decide to go back and fix them. I’ll most likely just endeavor to write better and more carefully for future posts.

Puerto Vallarta

June 7, 2006 /

We honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Melissa didn’t enjoy the place as much as I did. I’d be willing to go back, but not till I’d seen other parts of Mexico. She’s not keen on going back at all. We had a very good time, but the negatives outweighed the positives. I think armed with the proper knowledge on how to deal with the locals and a bit more Spanish would help alot. Anyway, here is our “honeymoon” slideshow (14.2MB in PDF format).

Our return flight was eventful, rather the first flight. We took off in a Super 80. About fifteen minutes after takeoff, we heard a loud bang, the plane shuddered briefly, and 120 butts puckered simultaneously. Since Melissa and I were sitting a few rows in front of the starboard engine, the bang was rather loud. The flight crew went forward quickly to the front of the plane, sop. A minute later the flight attendant came on to announce we were returning to Puerto Vallarta. A few minutes after that the pilot came on to announce we’d have a normal landing. So ten minutes later we landed safely on one engine. The emergency crews were waiting. The plane parked away from the terminal, but PV is such a small airport that’s normal. As we were bussed to the terminal building, we could see the right engine. It had char marks around the last foot.

Three hours later (yes, 3 hours because rebooking us was hampered by jerks tying up the airline agents and their inexperience in dealing with the situation) we were in a very nice hotel Velas Vallarta. The room was called a studio. I found out when we got back it cost $310/night. That’s $310 USD. I’d learned that Mexico used the $ symbol for the peso too which was somewhat annoying. The next day we took off on a very full Super 80 and returned to DFW, no problem.

One of the things we did NOT do was go to the Wal Mart in Puerto Vallarta.Yes, they have a Wal Mart and a Sam’s Club right near the dock where the cruise ships come in. Among the other things we did not do was parasailing or a jungle canopy tour. Though I think if it weren’t the dry season and my fear of heights I would have done the canopy tour.

Ye Olde Pseudo Medievel Renaissance Faire

June 6, 2006 /

I’ve been in the SCA and I’ve been to medievel and renaissance faires. These are popular misconceptions of the the Renaissance and Middle Ages were in Europe based on Victorian fantasies. Some are more authentic than others. Church and society were very different. Most people would be peasants and Catholic or Protestant. The SCA is a pseudo medievel theme party with bits of authenticity thrown in. They are not re-enactors like the Civil War buffs.
I’m not crazy about the way at ren-faires the performers accost you. It’s annoying and I don’t want to be immersed in their world. Most of them are carnie types. And it is often said that a ren faire is the last refuge of an out of work actor.

How would I do a medievel or renaissance faire? I’d have a little more authenticity to it. Especially in the costumes and crafts. To be authentic would be to pick a particular location and a particular time. Since there are different eras that appeal to people I’d probably have to create a multi-historical theme park. One area would have Vikings, another a Scottish village, another an old English village. If I were to include pirates I’d have to go up to the 18th century. I’d probably do an Arthurian/Robin Hood middle ages section. Then I’d do an Elizabethan/Tudor era village. The pirates would be contemporary with the Scots era because that’ when they’d get to wear kilts in the Jacobite era. I could mix the Vikings in with the Irish.

It’s all about entertainment. Alas most don’t care. I think authentic history can be portrayed in an entertaining manner. People should know that overall we are better of than those who lived during the Black Death or the Thirty Years War or the Spanish Inquisistion. If the historians and re-enactors are passionate it will come through. It’s nice to have a window on the past and though it is a pleasant fiction at least we can see how differently people lived.

It’s OK if ren-faires are fantasies as long as people are told they are and do not even begin to portray things they way they really were.

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