Until Next Time, Luna! January 14, 2009
Posted by adastra271 in Astronomy.add a comment
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie… well, you probably just witnessed the Moon at its perigee. And it most certainly was amore, at least to people such as myself. For those unaware, the full Moon which occurred just this past weekend was and will be the largest moon of 2009. Because of the Moon’s elliptical orbit around the Earth, its angular size is dependent on how close the Moon is to our planet. A few days ago marked our Moon’s perigee, or closest approach. The Wolf Moon — the name given to January’s full moon by the Native Americans — was about 15 percent larger in area and brightness than a typical full Moon. Unfortunately, due to unfavorable weather conditions, I was unable to witness such a memorable event directly. I did, however, get the chance to see the waning Moon last night as I looked up at the night sky. Despite being a few days late, the Moon was still a spectacular sight to see. Not surprisingly, the Astronomy Picture of the Day featured a wonderful portrayal of this past full Moon which I felt compelled to share. I hope you enjoy!
Largest Full Moon of 2009
A Closed Window for Windows 7 January 12, 2009
Posted by adastra271 in Computer Science.add a comment
The time has finally arrived: Windows 7 Beta is available to the public! So like every other computer geek — er, I mean computer enthusiast — I got my excitement up, readied my computer, and downloaded the next release of Microsoft Windows. As every experienced computer user knows, though, being the first kid on the block with the shiny new toy usually leads to a frustrating time for the distraught soul, so I certainly wasn’t planning on upgrading my current version of Windows to a beta operating system, especially when my academic life is dependent on this machine. Instead, I figured I would install it on my external drive and dual boot between my current, stable version and this enticing, but risky release. I wasn’t too sure yet how I was going to implement Windows 7 in my life, but my initial thought was to run it as my default OS when I’m in my dorm room and have my external drive hooked up, have Windows XP as my OS at all other times, and sync my documents between the two. I simply wanted to experience the new Windows rather than make it my full-time OS, thus not falling into the trap of relying on beta software.
As it turns out, however, I found myself running into several obstacles and never did get Windows 7 installed. The first obstruction in my way dealt with a problem I had run into several days before. When my Java Virtual Machine was called by a website, an error message would pop up telling me that several virtual machines running in the same process caused an error. I Google’d the error message but the results were not too helpful. It seems this is a popular error with no concrete solution. So I uninstalled Java in the hopes of solving my problem with a fresh install. Unfortunately, when I went to install Java, another error message popped up and upon clicking OK the installer would terminate. So at that point I was without Java on my machine. When I went to download Windows 7, nothing would happen upon clicking “download now”. Further inspection on my part would lead to the realization that my absence of Java was the culprit. So now I was forced to solve my Java issue. To make a long story short, I booted up without loading start-up items or non-Windows system services. This seemed to solve the issue and Java successfully installed.
Welcome to the International Year of Astronomy! January 1, 2009
Posted by adastra271 in Aerospace Engineering, Astronomy, Computer Science, Personal.add a comment
That’s the first thing I wanted to say on my new weblog. Yeah, I know, the only people reading this right now are either my friends who I told to check out my blog ever so surreptitiously through instant messenger conversation or those who have accidentally stumbled across my little piece of the internet and are most likely wondering why they’re still here. Whatever the case, I’m glad you’re taking the time to read this rambling of mine. Since this is my first post, I’m very tempted to just go all-out and start writing about anything and everything that I have stumbled upon in the past few days. I will, however, refrain from doing so. I intentionally started this blog today, being the first day of the new year, so as to set up a boundary for myself, otherwise this post would be ten screens long and I highly doubt any of you would finish (or start for that matter). So with that in mind now, I want to welcome you to my blog and hope you will find reason to return.
Before I officially begin my post, however, I’d like to give credit where credit is due. Although I have been somewhat against weblogs (as I always saw it as a crude attempt at web design), I have found one blog in particular that has shifted my perspective. My new friend, David, has been posting his remarks, opinions, and insights on the world of technology through his blog, My Piece of the Inter(.)net, since October of 2007. Upon reading his blog, I became inspired by the capabilities a blog could hold. All this time I have come across so many discoveries, articles, software, etc. and just wanted to share it with those who shared the same interests and passions as I do. Now through this blog, I hope to do just that. So I invite you to share with me now my dream, my passion, and my life. Ad astra — to the stars!
