Bright flash on Australian mountain 19 Jun 2009 A bright flash has occurred near Gin Gin in Queensland, followed by a fire on the mountain. Authorities are not saying what it was, but the locals have come up with the most likely explanation: space junk, rubbish that has re-entered. About ten years ago I was driving my kids and wife back from central Victoria at about 3am, when the sky lit up like a very large lightning flash, on a cloudless night. And then falling fire in front of me, for all the world like melting metal, slowly faded. It was, by my estimation, about 20km in front and at about 3km high or so. Nothing on the news the next day, so I was possibly the only person who saw it. In town it would have looked like a plane light or something. My family were, of course, asleep. But I am still convinced that it was a re-entering booster or something, that exploded after being heated to the right temperature on re-entry. Great fun. General Science
General Science Sociology and science 26 Apr 2008 I have an uncanny ability to offend those who I shouldn’t be offending, with bad jokes. In a recent post I put in a Tom Lehrer video where he mocks sociology. Having had philosophy mocked by my friends and contacts over the years (you study what? Your navel?), I guess… Read More
General Science On what Quine was… 22 Jun 2008 Willard Van Ormond Quine was, I believe, one of the best of the 20th century philosophers, and is someone who has greatly influenced me. Here is a TV interview by Brian Magee, from the 1970s, if I am right. They discuss the nature of philosophy. This year marks the centenary… Read More
General Science Why it’s alright to be an elite bastard 1 Jun 2008 John Pieret’s blog Thoughts in a Haystack has an essay on this that is well worth reading, although I’d rather be called an elite snob than an elite bastard because all Australians are bastards. It’s part of the Carnival of the Elite Bastards #1 at En Tequila es Verdad. Read More
About four years ago in Pennsylvania, I witnessed a gigantic green fireball that lit up the entire sky for about five seconds. It was the most incredible astronomical thing I’ve ever seen, but not reported anywhere on the news that I could find. Probably just a meteor, but you never know. Where I am right now, in the US West at 10,000 ft, it’s hard to look up at the night sky without seeing a meteor. And at that altitude on a clear moonless night, the milky way is a spectacular, living, glowing thing.
I saw something similar to what jeff describes (green and all) camping on the beach with some friends along the south pacific coast of Mexico, about 18 years ago. We were drinking by the fire. We all stood up and cheer as it disintegrated. It was great.