h4ilstorm: Black And White Colobus (by William T Hornaday)
Posted 2 days ago
When I see a man in a state of anxiety, I say, What can this man want? If he did not want something which is not in his power, how could he still be anxious?
Epictetus (via samsaranmusing)
Posted 2 days ago
Hills and other topology can have interesting and complex effects on a flowfield. With the FAITH experiment, NASA has been investigating an axisymmetric model hill using a combination of experimental methods. The video above shows flow visualization over the hill in a water channel using dye injection both upstream and downstream of the model. They’ve also done wind tunnel tests with oil-flow visualization, particle-image velocimetry, pressure sensitive paint and other measurement techniques. There are nice photos of some of these by Rob Bulmahn. By combining qualitative and quantitative flow measurement techniques, the researchers are able to capture many different aspects of the flow, which can then be shared and compared with other groups’ works. (Video credit: NASA Ames Research Center)
Posted 2 days ago
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Khalil Gibran (via samsaranmusing)
Posted 2 days ago
This urn will turn you into a tree after you die
You can choose what kind of tree you want to become
Idk I just find this beautiful
just imagine cemeteries looking like this
a forest of living, changing, beautiful trees. I think a tombstone holds much more finality in death than a tree. It’s like you are living on symbolically through something greater than yourself.
this is a serious post about how much I want this. I’ll make sure my family knows.
Posted 3 days ago
Posted 3 days ago
The Earliest Days of NASA
Maria Popova, at Brain Pickings, happened upon a treasure trove of early NASA (and its airplane-only predecessor NACA) archive photos. They are really something. From biplanes to the Mercury capsule, pre-1950 aeronautics seemed to live by the motto of “If we build it, then we can go there.” That’s a sentiment we could use a bit more of.
Posted 1 week ago
Nothingness: An Original Parable of Zen
Master Po sat quietly in the garden absorbed in contemplation when a young monk approached him. “Master”, he said “I am troubled”. The teacher bade him sit next to him. ”What is troubling you young acolyte?” he asked. “Nothingness is troubling me” he replied. ”How so” the master asked his eyes half closed. ”I know we are to seek nothingness but why is this so … is not death nothingness … why do we seek death while still alive?” the young man asked with puzzlement.
The master took a tea cup and filled it and asked “what is the state of this cup?” “Why it is full master” replied the student. Master Po then dumped the tea onto the ground. ”What is its state now? he asked. “It is empty” the young monk replied. “Is it now?” said the teacher and plunged the “empty cup” into the water open side down trapping the air inside … he then tipped the cup so that trapped air escaped and bubbled to the surface. He went on “if the cup was empty where did the bubbles come from?. The young man looked at his teacher with a new admiration and said “so the cup was never really empty?” His teacher replied “no it was not but there was no room in the cup for air when it was filled with water just as there is no room for the oneness of God when you are filled with self.”
Postscript: I wrote this parable partly in response to the young person who wrote that her youth pastor warned her of the “danger” of emptiness. Young “anon”, if you are out there, I am sorry I did not give your message the attention it deserved when I first received it. I hope this little story clears things up for you a bit.
☯ Samsaran ☯
