Giant Ginkgo

I stumbled across this web site a few days ago, and ended up spending a couple of hours reading the articles and going through their galleries of pictures from the World Trade Center destruction.

This article about Bill Biggart, a photojournalist who covered the disaster and lost his life in doing so really moved me. This picture was taken by him about 30 seconds before he was crushed by the collapse of the second tower.

I definitely recommend checking out the two issues devoted to the disaster.

CNN ran an article over the weekend that mentioned that the tests have come back from the black sidewalk blobs that made headline news earlier this week. It turns out that they are paraffin. Unfortunately nobody would hazzard a guess as to where the stuff came from.

Tonight I went out again to the end of the pier at Pratt and watched the large waves roll in off of the lake. The 30 mile an hour wind was kicking up some awesome surf, and I was nearly soaked by the waves crashing over the end of the pier. The wind was strong enough that I didn't have to peddle my bike down the path, instead I coasted along at a good six to seven miles an hour.

I love Lake Michigan!

Nasa is continuing its research into past extra-terrestrial life on Mars with some amazing results.

Earlier this week I received free promotional tickets for the summer movie "The Master of Disguise," which has to be one of the worst films I have ever sat down and watched in or out of a theater.

The only thing actually worth saying about the movie was the odd fact that the end credits were actually funnier than the 72 minutes of film that preceeded it. When was the last time that happened?

I don't think I've ever seen a movie wish such bad reviews on Rotten Tomatoes before. There is not a single positive review! Here are a couple choice quotes:

In on odd twist, a recent topic of thought and conversation of mine has coincidentally become a national story. I've been wondering about the black blobs that are found on sidewalks all over the place. While I am sure that they are generally the result of gum that has been spit out (the local 7-11 has an amazing number of blobs in front of their store), I find it odd that they are all the same black color in all of the locations that I have observed them. (I wouldn't be surprised if the gum heavily attracts automotive pollutants and soot.)

Why do I find them fascinating? Mainly the smooth slightly shiny patina, the blobs don't look like a substance that has been covered with dirt; they look like they started off mixed up that color originally. Plus one rarely sees the transitional state.

On a side note, the black blobs near the 'L' in Chicago are quite often a very noxious oil that drips off of the tracks.