Humidity myths/other science-y tidbits
June 29, 2010
If you live in TN, or even the southeast at all, you know damn well that it’s been hot and humid as hell lately. The entire southeast has been a sauna for several weeks in a row. You always hear people say stuff like, “man, it’s 90 degrees and 90% humidity out there!” Anyone with half a brain knows that’s a VAST exaggeration, but honestly the concept of humidity is a rather confusing one, and even some meteorologists don’t explain it very well. I’m not going to attempt to fully explain it because it’s already been done quite well at this Cincinnati meteorologist’s website. Please click through that link if you want a very detailed, but still in layman’s terms, explanation. Read on if you want my extremely condensed version.
Basically, in terms of actually knowing how much water vapor is in the air, relative humidity sucks. In order to really know how humid it is, and how uncomfortable you will be, look at the dew point. The dew point is simply the temperature at which the water vapor in the air will begin to condense. The higher the dew point, the more H2O is in the air. According to most charts that I’ve found, dew points in the 40-50 degree range feel very dry, like you would feel in a desert… Dew points between 50-60 degrees generally feel comfortable, dew points between 60-70 degrees are generally uncomfortable, and dew points 70+ degrees are utterly oppressive. Yesterday afternoon our dew point in Nashville was hovering around 70-72 degrees. Relative humidity takes into account the air temperature as well as the dew point, and the relationship between temperature and RH is inverse. That means that as the air temp goes up, the RH goes down. Of course the relationship between dew point and RH is converse. Again, if you want a really good, albeit long explanation then visit this website. Fortunately, TN is in for a bit of a relief from the oppressive conditions we’ve been enduring. Cold fronts during the summertime aren’t exactly “cold” though they do normally bring slightly cooler temps, but the main thing they usually bring is a drier airmass. The typical summer weather pattern in the southeast US often involves hot and humid air from the Gulf of Mexico being blown northward across the southeastern states, creating the conditions we’ve been experiencing the past few weeks. Sometimes, however, an airmass that originates over the northern US and Canada will make its way southward. That’s exactly what’s happening today, and the dew point is already falling (this morning it was 68, and right now at lunchtime it’s all the way down to 61!). This airmass is drier because it originated over a large area of land, rather than water. All forecast I’ve seen are in agreement that the dry weather will persist for at least a week, if not more, though the temps will creep back up into the 90s by this weekend. But 90 degree temps with a dew point of 60 is hella better than 90/70!
I must mention a couple of science news tidbits that pinged my radar today and yesterday…
The Obama Administration has announced a new national policy for aerospace that supports and guides the plans for NASA that were announced back in February. This is more of an over-arching “this is where we’re headed” type of policy, and it needed to be implemented to be in line with Obama’s NASA plans. Again, I fully agree with his desire to cancel the Constellation program, rely on the private space industry for low-earth orbit, and focus NASA on exploring beyond the moon. With this new policy, NASA basically has no choice but to use the plan unveiled in February. Hopefully this will get some of the opponents of Obama’s plan in Congress to STFU. But that’s probably a pipe dream. (Via Space.com)
The Large Hadron Collider in Geneva continues to creep closer and closer to its final goal of having the most intense proton collisions ever. Right now, Fermilab still holds the record for highest beam intensity, but the LHC just set a new record for overall number of proton collisions. It will be several more years before they have the LHC running at full capacity, but I have no doubt it will pay off. (Via Discovery News)
POWERBRRRD “Bottle Rocket” music video
June 28, 2010
We’ve been sitting on this one for several days now, but the time is finally here. I apologize for all the shameless self-promotion as of late, but fuck it. Here it is, the feel-good hit of the summer in two-thousand WIN, Bottle Rocket by Powerbrrrd. It’s available in full 1080p HD if you click on through to the youtube page.
Good job, Powerbrrrd.
TNTRC showcase Saturday at USN
June 25, 2010
So I did a little guest post over at Nashville Cream regarding my experience this week at the Tennessee Teens Rock & Roll Camp at USN. Check it out. That will suffice as my Friday post this week. Please do come to the showcase and support this amazing cause.
New sElf video
June 22, 2010
I’ve been rather tied up the past couple of days since I’m volunteering/teaching photography at the Tennessee Teens Rock & Roll Camp, so you’ve probably already seen this on the Nashville Cream, but since I’m the world’s biggest sElf fan, I have to post this. Because it deserves reposting. Holy fucking shit this video is cool… I already mentioned the new song, now here’s the video. One fucking take, in reverse. I can’t tell if he actually lip-synced backwards or not, or if the words work out so that him lip-syncing in reverse looks close enough that it works… but whatevs. This video fucking rules. Matt is a genius.
Burgers Summer 2010 Mixxxx
June 21, 2010
It’s here, it’s hotttt. The official Burgers Summer 2010 Mixxxx. I’ve started using soundcloud, so just use the widget below to listen and/or download! (If the widget isn’t working click here to go to the soundcloud page.)
Summer2010Mixxxx by IamBurgers
Here’s the tracklisting:
Kamei-Computer Malfunction
Uffie Ft. Pharrel-ADD SUV (Armand Van Helden RMX)
Aston Shuffle-Don’t Wanna See You (DCUP RMX)
Treasure Fingers-What Am I Supposed To Do
Florrie-Panic Attack (Bit Funk RMX)
Ocelot-Beating Hearts (Blende Extended Mix)
Light Year-Motor Booty
Donna Summer-Bad Girls (Sonicc RMX)
Hazel & Entyce-In Da Club (Fukkk Offf RMX)
Bag Raiders Ft. Donnis-All The Girls
Holy Ghost!-Say My Name (U Tern RMX)
Hussle Club-Loose Tights (HS or Beat RMX)
New Burgers and Powerbrrrd material/weekend stuff
June 18, 2010
Just a couple of quick self-promotional updates…
I’ve got some new material coming down the pipe from my DJ/Electronic music project Burgers. I just completed the “Burgers Summer 2010 Mixxxx” and it will hit this blog and everywhere else this coming sunday. I’ll dedicate a post to that sunday or monday. I’m also working on the first official Burgers remix. It’s the Armed Forces track “Vultures (You Never Shut Up),” and it’s really fun, but also a pain in the ass, as I haven’t used any electronic music software in a few years and I’m almost having to learn it all over again. I have no idea when I’ll be done with that, but hopefully sometime this summer…
My band Powerbrrrd has been working on some new recordings, and those should be release in one format or another sometime this summer. We’re also making a music video this weekend, which will end up on this blog sometime next week no doubt. We also have a show tomorrow night at Springwater… (more on that below).
Be sure to head over to Nashville Nights and check out part 1 of Joseph’s Bonnaroo review. Pretty good stuff if you ask me, and I’m looking forward to the rest.
Speaking of Bonnaroo, check out this Fader video interview with Chromeo: (Via Fool’s Gold)
Now for the weekend stuff:
Tonight there’s a pretty bizarre/interesting show happening at the End: Most Amazing Century of Science/Lazer Slut/Brown Swarm/Meth Dad/Cunningham. I have a feeling 4/4 time signatures will be hard to come by at this one…
Saturday the obvious choice is of course, Powerbrrrd, Look What I Did, Thelma & the Sleaze, and The Grayces @ Springwater. But if you’re totally crazy, you could also check out “The Queen is Risen: A Tribute to The Smiths feat. Mother/Father, Nite Nite, The Armed Forces & more at Mercy Lounge,” or De Novo Dahl, Majestico, Fly Golden Eagle, and The Mattoid @ Exit/In. That last one is a benefit for the return of the Bat Poet. More on that via Sean Maloney’s Critic’s Pick in the Scene.
That’s all I have time for right now. Have a great weekend!
A massive grin sprawled across my face as I read this Nashvillest post about the upcoming “Way Late Play Date” nights at the Adventure Science Center. “Best idea ever” is an understatement. It’s been at least 15 years since I’ve been to that place- then it was called Cumberland Science Museum I believe- and I’ve wanted to go back ever since moving to middle TN in 2000. I’m quite sure I’m not the only one who’s wanted to go but felt like I’d get in the way of all the kids if I went without having my own kids. Some genius in their event planning dept. must’ve realized this and come up with the idea for this event. It’s a 21+ event, which will include 2 alcoholic drinks in the $15 ticket price. Booze+science is a winning combination in my mind. I just really hope some dumbass doesn’t get wasted and then hurl while in the moonwalk simulator. Oh, and you can also get a discount by buying 2 tickets together for only $25. The dates are June 24th and July 27th. Embrace your inner nerd and get tickets here before they sell out! (Megan & I will be there June 24th.)
I’ve written many blog posts about NASA’s Kepler Mission here early last year around the time it launched, but it’s been a while since I mentioned it. The spacecraft has been silently staring into the heavens looking for minuscule dips in stars’ brightness which may indicate a transiting planet orbiting said star. Now that it’s been over a year since its first observations, NASA is obligated by law to release the data to the public for further scrutinization. Astoundingly, Kepler has produced a list of 750 candidates for exoplanets. This is a massive list, considering the current list of known exoplanets is at about 450. I say “candidates” because these are not confirmed exoplanets yet, they are data sets that could indicate exoplanets, but those stars need further review and observation by other telescopes to confirm that the dips in their brightness was definitely caused by a transiting planet. This could take years, because in some of the cases, another transit will have to be observed to confirm that it’s indeed a planet. Nevertheless, this is very exciting news, and I have absolutely no doubt that at least one of these candidates will turn out to be the holy grail of planet-hunting: an earth twin. Read more about this at Universe Today, and even more at the NY Times.
Now behold the most badass kid ever. He had his tooth pulled by a rocket. (You may think this is a bit cruel, but I’m positive that the tooth was a baby tooth that was on the verge of falling out anyway.) (Also via Universe Today)
Some good new releases/Bonnaroo quick recap
June 15, 2010
I thought I was going crazy for a while, but then A-Trak posted this blog last Thursday confirming that I’m not crazy. His project with Armand Van Helden Duck Sauce released their first single “aNYway” a few months ago basically everywhere but the US. A 128 kb version was relatively easy to find on some blogs, but the full-quality official version wasn’t available in the US… until now. Trizzy acknowledges this travesty in his comments, but I sincerely hope this doesn’t happen for future releases. Go grab this amazing track on beatport now!
The vinyl version of Uncle Skeleton’s new full-length Warm Under the Covers is now officially available via YK records. Go grab it at the Uncle Skeleton bandcamp, or just get the digital version for however much you want to pay. (Via Yewknee)
So as you well know from my last post, I went to Bonnaroo. I had an artist pass, and even though that grants one a much better experience than a regular patron (access to cleaner showers, a couple of air-conditioned tents, and free booze backstage), it was still FUCKING HOT. Aside from the heat, my mind was blown by two performances in particular: Daryl Hall + Chromeo and LCD Soundsystem.
Daryl Hall and Chromeo are the perfect match of old and new stylistically. Daryl Hall had a huge fan blowing his snowy mane into an utterly God-like immensity, P-Thugg’s vocoder leads were spot-on, and the overall silky smoothness of the affair was beyond words. I was there with Drew Mischke from Mercy Lounge and Jon Burr of How I Became the Bomb (and a few others), and if you know anything about either of those individuals, you can imagine how giddy they both were at this spectacle. It was kind of endearing.
LCD Soundsystem was about an hour after the above show, and having not seen them before, a 2:30am set complete with the largest and brightest disco ball I’ve ever seen was enough to blow my mind yet again. I watched most of the set from sidestage, but the sound was good enough that I could sense how awesomely tight James Murphy’s backing band is. I was literally running on fumes by that point, but the energy of their performance kept me going right till the end.
I also learned more than I ever wanted to know about bros and the phenomenon of getting ICED and/or ICING someone else.
That’s really all I have to say, and if you haven’t checked out the numerous blog posts (most of which are a bit belated thanks to the press wi-fi meltdown that occurred) from the Nashville Cream, please do so for further, more in-depth coverage and some great photos by Lance Conzett and Eric England.
Bonnaroo weather/CMA bingo/no more posts this week
June 9, 2010
*This will be my last post this week, and today will be my last day of web presence until after Bonnaroo.*
As I’ve said before, I’m going to Bonnaroo this year. I’m not going the way I’ve gone the past 2 years, however, as the Scene/SouthComm is sending their staff photographers to cover it this year, obviously the result of a rough economy/tight budget. (They are full-time staff photographers, so in the end SouthComm isn’t having to pay them anymore than they would have already, whereas my work would be an extra expense to them since I’m freelance.) Let me say that I’m in no way irked at them for doing this, as they have to do what makes financial sense in these times especially, and if I were in their shoes, I’d probably do the same. Since they weren’t sending me, I had to work a little harder to acquire a pass, but I did. So, don’t expect any photos from me this year, as I won’t be able to get into the photo pits, and honestly don’t want to have to lug the expensive/heavy equipment around and keep up with it unless I have to. My only real goal is to see LCD Soundsystem, since this is expected to be their last year of live shows, ever.
I’ve heard a lot of ridiculous rumors that there’s going to be a monsoon in Manchester this year. THIS IS BALONEY. The weather forecast looks exactly like every other June forecast in TN has since the beginning of time. It’s going to be hot, humid, and there’s a slight chance (20-30%) of scattered showers and storms in the afternoon. I’d say there will be at least 1 or 2 of those showers/storms that happen across Bonnaroo, but it will by no means equate to a monsoon. The cause of this rumor is probably the fact that most weather apps and “forecast-at-a-glance” sources don’t include the probability of precipitation (PoP). They just show a small icon that has the sun covered partially by a storm cloud, a few rain drops, and a lightning bolt. It still shows that icon, even if the PoP is only 10%. This is a problem in my opinion, because sadly the vast majority of people will probably look at those icons on each day and think that it means it’s going to rain all day, everyday. So if you’re going this year, of course be prepared for rain and mud- it’s going to rain at some point, but it’s not going to rain the whole time. Remember to drink plenty of water and you’ll be fine.
I must also point you to Nashvillest’s 2nd (I think) annual CMA Bingo card. With the “CMApocalypse” quickly approaching, this little bit of local humor/snark is all but necessary to keep your sanity if you’re a Nashvillian who hates this annual gathering of:
AND
Have a great rest of the week/Bonnaroo if you’re going, and I will see you here sometime next week.
No aliens on Titan
June 9, 2010
Actual image of surface of Titan taken by the Huygens probe which landed on Titan in 2005.
Lately the media has been buzzing about the possibility of methane-based life on Saturn’s moon Titan. As usual, when scientists include the words “interesting,” “odd,” “life,” “extraterrestrial,” and “discovery” in the same press release, the media starts creating misleading headlines that make people think we’ve discovered extraterrestrial life. Chill out, folks, that’s not the case here. Basically what they found is that, in the hydrocarbon lakes on Titan’s surface, there is much less acetylene than expected, based on other measurements taken by the Cassini probe, currently orbiting Saturn. They also found via a computer simulation modeling the atmospheric conditions on Titan (not direct measurement) that there is also much less hydrogen at the surface than there should be. These are intriguing results, and deserve much further study, but methane-based life on Titan is just one of many possible explanations, the rest of which are non-biological. Good articles explaining this further can be found at Universe Today and Bad Astronomy, but the best explanation comes from Chris McKay at the NASA Ames Research Center. He’s one of the astrobiologists working with the Cassini mission, and states the facts very clearly (at least if you’re vaguely familiar with biology and/or organic chemistry. For a little bit more “laymen’s terms” explanation, I recommend reading either the Universe Today or Bad Astronomy articles.
steve cross loves music and science 