Nudged by the USSR's launch of
Sputnik 1 on October 4th 1957, the US created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA now DARPA) in early 1958 to produce advanced technology.
Wiki Link:
ARPAAn early ARPA project was the development of ARPANET, a web of interconnected computing devices using a packet switching methodology. Packet switching, unlike a direct communication method, takes the sent message and chops it up into smaller pieces (packets) which are sent thru a mesh-like collection of pathways and nodes. The recipient receives these packets in no particular order, then orders them to reconstitute the original message.
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PacketWiki Link:
ARPANETA particular advantage (crucial for government and military use during emergency or war) of using packet-based communications over its predecessor,
circuit switching, is that pathways and nodes may be destroyed without cutting communication between the sender and the recipient. If a packet encounters a dead end, it is routed around the roadblock using a different path and still has a good chance of reaching the recipient. Think 2 tin cans connected by 3 strings instead of the traditional 1 string. If a string is cut, the children will still hear each other thru the other 2 strings. Now imagine those 3 strings are a vast mesh of connections...
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Tin Can TelephoneWiki Link:
Mesh Networking
The first ARPANET link was connected in late 1969. It was conceived in its modern sense largely from the mind of J.C. R. Licklider who wrote memos concerning the "intergalactic computer network" in 1962 and championed the ARPANET project. This gives the internet an age of about 38 years with a gestation period of 8 years. Its birthday is November 21st.
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J.C.R. Licklider Wiki Link:
Intergalactic Computer NetworkLink:
Licklider Memo (humble isn't it?)Afterthought:
Wikipedia's listing of Al Gore's notable contributions to the internet can be found by clicking on his picture.
The recipe: -50 F + Hot Water = Snow
Wiki Link: Snow
Wiki Link: Evaporate
Wiki Link: Deposition
Due to the shallow angle of the sun this time of year, civil twilight (dawn and dusk) draws longer than in lower latitudes. This, combined with other atmospheric effects, creates "abnormal" shifts of light and color. For instance, exhaust from a steam plant may look grey or dark purple instead of white. Most noticeably, sunlight paints the snow golden, leaving shadows an eerie electric blue color (see top right pic of tree shadows).
The non-traditional coloration of shadows by the French Impressionists (compared to the black and grays common at the time) played a large role in defining their revolutionary style. Monet's series of Rouen Cathedral paintings are good examples of this effect (see left pic). Although it seems boring now, aparently painting shadows in electric blues or lavender was nerve-racking to the average art "critic" back then.
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Impressionism (gallery tip: look at each separate quadrant of an impressionist painting from a 2 or 3 ft viewing distance - each quarter appears to be nothing but random splotches - now back away to the intended viewing distance, usually 20 ft or more, soften your eyes and the painting comes alive...the mind happy to fill in "missing" movement and detail)
Snow dogs are another interesting visual oddity up here. Think of them as rainbows caused by the refraction of light thru airborne ice instead of water. I noticed a few while driving yesterday, both as colored clouds to either side of the sun and as a single rainbow "leg" sticking straight out of a mountain top (see 2 bottom right pics). Polarized sunglasses are a must, as sun dogs are faint compared to the glare of the sun.
Locals tell you that sun dogs are predictors of colder temperatures. It's now 2 days after I first observed them and the weather has dropped from -20 F to -45 F.
The Alaskan landscape is far from a bland snowy white, containing all sorts of visual strange loops. I wait curiously to notice Mother Nature’s next optical "illusion".
Afterthought:
For more examples of strange loops, consider picking up Douglas Hofstadter's book I Am a Strange Loop.
Nudged by the USSR's launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4th 1957, the US created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA now DARPA) in early 1958 to produce advanced technology.
