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You are here: Home / Open Threads / A moment of zen

A moment of zen

by David Anderson|  November 6, 20182:11 pm| 20 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Readership Capture, Rare Sincerity

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As we wait for everything to make itself clear tonight, a moment of zen. Jim Bales up at MIT runs the Edgerton Center where they play with light, photography and science. Jim invited me in for a tour last weekend when I was in town for my high school reunion and it was awesome.

Here is my favorite picture that he took:

We had placed a white balloon inside of an orange balloon. We inflated both and then I popped the balloons. The “pop” was the strobe light trigger for the camera and this is what happened. If you look closely at the bottom, you can see the needle most of the way into the white balloon but the balloon not breaking (yet).

One of the other things that he showed me and my dad was using light columns to identify density differentiation. This was an awesome picture that he took.

This was just awesome and I had to share this great experience with you all for a moment of zen.

Open Thread.

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Reader Interactions

20Comments

  1. 1.

    Barbara

    November 6, 2018 at 2:26 pm

    I don’t want zen. I want cupcakes.

  2. 2.

    David Anderson

    November 6, 2018 at 2:28 pm

    @Barbara: that is the 16:00 post

  3. 3.

    Tom Levenson

    November 6, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    Jim’s great. He once shot my business card for me.

    And you were in town and even in my shop and didn’t reach out? Dude!

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    November 6, 2018 at 2:33 pm

    This is a response to Yarrow:

    Yarrow says:
    November 6, 2018 at 11:57 am
    Guys, we have a Juicer who is in the hospital in Houston, TX who wants to vote. Keith P has been posting about his problems getting what he needs to vote. Let’s see if we can help him. Front pagers, can you contact him and see if we can find a way to help him. If we can find out his district we can maybe contact the campaign offices of his Rep or his Rep’s Dem challenger. I asked if he has friends or family who can run the paperwork back and forth but so far he hasn’t responded.

    He said he planned to vote straight ticket Dem. I HATE to leave votes on the table when every vote counts, especially in Texas this year. Let’s figure out how to help him!

    This is from the Harris County Elections Department:

    Special Circumstances

    You may submit an application for a late ballot because of sickness or disability after the last day of early voting and before 5:00pm on election day. In order to qualify the sickness or disability must originate on or after the 12th day before election day. (Secs. 102.001; 102.003).

    You may submit an application to vote due to a death in the immediate family that occurred on or after the 5th day before election day and will be absent from the county on election day. (Secs. 103.001; 103.003b).

    Voters are required to submit an application for these specific instances. Please contact the Elections Division at 713-755-3150 for questions.

    https://www.harrisvotes.com/VotingInfo?lang=en-US#VoteByMail

  5. 5.

    Jason

    November 6, 2018 at 2:37 pm

    Offered to the science geeks like me:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXYlrw2JQwo

    Very cool ISS experiments by Don Pettit involving water. My favorite series of space experiments ever starts at 12:52.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    November 6, 2018 at 2:40 pm

    Has anyone checked on lamh36? Because she may have fainted with happiness when she hears that Idris Elba was picked as this year’s People Magazine Sexiest Man Alive.

  7. 7.

    David Anderson

    November 6, 2018 at 2:41 pm

    @Tom Levenson: I was already massively overbooked; I know my limitations unless you wanted to talk on the 4:35 Central Square to Government Center Redline train before I ran to Milk Street for a 4:50 beer

  8. 8.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    November 6, 2018 at 2:53 pm

    @Mnemosyne: She did. And then got up and shouted it from the rooftops.

  9. 9.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    November 6, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Late b-day present for lamh?

    ETA: Just returned from voting.

  10. 10.

    Tom Levenson

    November 6, 2018 at 3:07 pm

    @David Anderson: I know. Just feel it’s important never to leave an opportunity to give grief go unutilized.

  11. 11.

    cleek

    November 6, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    the Schlieren effect!

  12. 12.

    Waynski

    November 6, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    So, I went over to the GOS and they had a pretty longish but good analysis of what Mueller as well as Trump may do post-election and the comments section was immediately hijacked by two knobs talking about the Lord of the Rings.

  13. 13.

    RedDirtGirl

    November 6, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    I’m having some cognitive dissonance trying to put a popping balloon and Zen together…

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    November 6, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Of course he was! How fun.

  15. 15.

    Matt Wesson

    November 6, 2018 at 4:12 pm

    @RedDirtGirl: What is the sound of no balloons popping?

  16. 16.

    Jim Bales

    November 6, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    @cleek: Yes! Schlieren is fun :-)

    Jim

  17. 17.

    Jim Bales

    November 6, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    Dave,

    As I said in person, it is the least I can do in recognition of the immense value I have received from your ACA and health insurance blogging — it was a delight to meet you and your father!

    Best
    Jim

  18. 18.

    ruemara

    November 6, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    You should drop by my lab next time you want to play with light. Granted, we don’t do physics, we do lighting development & sustainability, but it’s still pretty fascinating.

  19. 19.

    David Anderson

    November 6, 2018 at 5:42 pm

    @ruemara: sounds like fun

  20. 20.

    Jim Bales

    November 9, 2018 at 7:42 am

    @ruemara: ruemara — this sounds interesting — can you tell me more? Feel free to email me at work “bales” “at” “mit.edu”

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