It’s Monday and I haven’t had my coffee.
Continue reading “Monday Morning Grievance: Pluto v Planet 9”
Monday Morning Grievance: Pluto v Planet 9
Oc: The Element of Magic
Sign the Petition to Name Element 117 Octarine
in Honour of Sir Terry Pratchett
The Petition
To:
IUPAC [International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
This petition is to name element 117, recently confirmed by the International Union of Applied Chemistry, as ‘Octarine’, with the proposed symbol Oc (pronounced ‘ook’), in honour of the late Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series of books.
The Discworld series has sold more than 70 million books worldwide, in 37 different languages. Terry Pratchett died in 2015 and his final book, The Shepherd’s Crown, was published in the same year. He was well-known as a lover of science and, with two well-known science writers, co-wrote a series of four books called The Science of the Discworld, which took a sideways look at ’roundworld’ (Earth) science.
Octarine, in the Discworld books, is known as ‘the colour of magic’, which forms the title of Pratchett’s first ever Discworld book. According to Disc mythology, octarine is visible only to wizards and cats, and is generally described as a sort of greenish-yellow purple colour, which seems perfect for what will probably be the final halogen in the periodic table. Octarine is also a particularly pleasing choice because, not only would it honour a world-famous and much-loved author, but it also has an ‘ine’ ending, consistent with the other elements in group 17.
Octarine is being counted as ‘a mythological concept’ under IUPAC rules, which state that elements must be named after “a mythological concept or character; a mineral, or similar substance; a place or geographical region; a property of the element; or a scientist”. The Discworld stories are certainly stories about gods and heroes, and 70 million books surely count for something.
[signed]
The Chronicle Flask & 8,000+ Others
Now, should we call it
“The Element of Magic”
or
“The Element Fantastic”
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Sunday Snapshots
As you [probably] know, this week I masqueraded as my alter ego:
I started working every morning before sunrise;
111+ heat indexes are not to be trifled with!
My working hours looked remarkably the same:
I counted at least twelve trips to the solid waste recycling center.
The center is only open Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
There was even one incredibly large azalea that turned out to be six separate plantings grown together.
However, the Master Shrubber has power to create . . . and to destroy:
We’re probably going to burn the stumps out.
Being summer in the South. every afternoon brought rain showers.
The one redeeming feature: the breeze blowing off the water:
What did you do this week?
Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?
Drop a note in the prompt box!
Don’t forget to follow me on:
Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.
Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?
Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.
Sunday Snaphots
This week I stayed inside and tried to beat the 100+ heat index.
However, I did go out earlier in the week and take some photographs.
These were inspired by DM Shepherd’s Ghost Sign:
I did some tutoring at the school this week; tree removal has begun:
Smokey begged for the venison I cooked up:
What did I make?
Venison Alfredo and Venison Sloppy Joe.
My sister-in-law needed her battery changed:
This sunset caught my eye:
Don’t worry, I wasn’t driving!
These little guys and girls reminded me to make way for ducklings:
An ever-present reminder of hurricane season:
Science Friday favorited and retweeted one of my tweets!
What did you do this week?
Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?
Drop a note in the prompt box!
Don’t forget to follow me on:
Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.
Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?
Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.
Sunday Snapshots
The week started with one of the earliest tropical storms on record: Tropical Storm Ana.
For reference, the ditch in the second picture is approximately 5 foot deep.
The photograph was taken approximately 6:00 AM on Monday morning.
Things did not improve until early Tuesday.
Personally, I like how the downspout turned out.
On Tuesday, we held a surprise Spring Recital for F_____’s wife. Normally she puts this on herself; with everything that’s happened, she cancelled it this year. My cousin, one of her students, organized and put on the recital for her. One of my jobs was to make this chocolate piano keyboard.
I didn’t get the right dark bars – I got the “mini” kind instead of the “fun size” ones – but still think it turned out okay. Actually, there were two of them, and only one white bar remained at the end of the evening.
Things were both normal and hectic on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday; you know, typical end-of-term stuff. My principal surprised me with not one but two kinds of sushi: eel (my favorite!) and yellowfin (which I hadn’t tried before but found to have just the right amount of spice and kick to it).
Saturday I cleaned the house (laundry and dishes) and cut the grass. Go me!
Now I can treat those annoying anthills . .
Sunday Snapshots
Despite the flood of papers threatening to overwhelm my desk in these last weeks of school, I did manage to take a few photographs this week.
This week was Teacher Appreciation Week. This is what I received:
Then, my sister-in-law bought yet another car in her seemingly never ending quest to find the perfect used car. The newest candidate is this 1996 soft-top Mustang convertible:
I attempted to capture the morning fog, inspired by Eclectic Odds n Sods current theme of “Momentarily:”
This week was also the school’s Junior/Senior Banquet – one event I honestly don’t mind chaperoning. Not only did I find a snazzy new silver bow tie (on sale!), but I also found some angry jewelry while my wife looked for something to match her dress:
We were invited by several of the students to come take pictures with them down by the river, which coincided with the heraldric winds of Tropical Storm Ana:
This weekend I was finally able to finish typing my exams and exam reviews. Smokey lent moral support.
Don’t forget to follow me on:
Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.
Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?
Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.
Running In My Head 