Bag of Randomness

  • I’m still in awe of how the U.S. men finished the 400 freestyle relay.  There’s a lot of things that helped make that the greatest swim race in history, but the one fact that still amazes me was that the team that came in 5th place still beat the previous world record of 3:12.23, and here are the results of the record breakers of that race:
    1.  U.S. – 3:08.24
    2.  France – 3:08.32
    3.  Australia – 3:09.91
    4.  Italy – 3:11.48
    5.  Sweden – 3:11.92
    Source
  • I really didn’t care much for Michael Phelps until this race when I saw his raw emotion come out.
  • I really like the green world record line NBC has been using for the swimming events.  Overall, their coverage has been fantastic.
  • Is it me, or is there a certain buzz about this Olympics?  And we still have track and field to go.
  • One example of what I meant when I stated that the Asian culture is often made fun of.
  • I find the Where is Bob?  Tales of an absentee manager blog highly entertaining.
  • I’m surprised Madden is no longer an announcer on his own game.
  • Over the weekend, a college friend of mine celebrated her one year anniversary of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  You can read about her journey here.  I’m sure women of faith would greatly benefit from it.  Being an early 30’s mom with three young kiddos and cancer would rock anyone’s world, but not surprisingly, she handled the whole thing gracefully.  I’m sure she would recall that I was the very first person to buy her alcohol on her 21st birthday shortly after midnight I think, on a Baptist campus.  Egad!
  • I saw that Kerri Walsh lost her wedding ring during sand volleyball play.  Lucky for her slow-mo instant replay and metal detectors were there to help her out.
  • I finally found the answer to what that check box does in iTunes.  Check out #7.
  • The majority of the light bulbs in GeedingManor are energy efficient.  Those bulbs have come a long way.  They aren’t as big and you can choose from a florescent or natural shine.
Posted in Personal | 5 Comments

Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints ‘faked’

As the ceremony got under way with a dramatic, drummed countdown, viewers watching at home and on giant screens inside the Bird’s Nest National Stadium watched as a series of giant footprints outlined in fireworks processed gloriously above the city from Tiananmen Square.

What they did not realise was that what they were watching was in fact computer graphics, meticulously created over a period of months and inserted into the coverage electronically at exactly the right moment.

The fireworks were there for real, outside the stadium. But those responsible for filming the extravaganza decided in advance it would be impossible to capture all 29 footprints from the air.

As a result, only the last, visible from the camera stands inside the Bird’s Nest was captured on film.

The trick was revealed in a local Chinese newspaper, the Beijing Times, at the weekend.

Gao Xiaolong, head of the visual effects team for the ceremony, said it had taken almost a year to create the 55-second sequence. Meticulous efforts were made to ensure the sequence was as unnoticeable as possible: they sought advice from the Beijing meteorological office as to how to recreate the hazy effects of Beijing’s smog at night, and inserted a slight camera shake effect to simulate the idea that it was filmed from a helicopter.

Full Article

Posted in Interesting, Pop Culture, Sports | 3 Comments

Astronomy Picture of the Day – The Crown of the Sun

During a total solar eclipse, the Sun’s extensive outer atmosphere, or corona, is an inspirational sight. The subtle shades and shimmering features of the corona that engage the eye span a brightness range of over 10,000 to 1, making them notoriously difficult to capture in a single picture. But this composite of 28 digital images ranging in exposure time from 1/1000 to 2 seconds comes close to revealing the crown of the Sun in all its glory. The telescopic views were recorded near Kochenevo, Russia during the August 1 total solar eclipse and also show solar prominences extending just beyond the edge of the eclipsed sun. Remarkably, features on the dark near side of the New Moon can also be made out, illuminated by sunlight reflected from a Full Earth.

Link

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