The Mystery Of Ants

Now this is the kind of research paper I would like to write. Check it out. This guy figured the best way to learn about the physical structure of an ant colony was to pour liquid plaster down it, let it set up, and then dig out the casting. Reading into the article a bit, it sounds like molten metal has also been attempted with varying degrees of success. Fun quote from the article: "Pouring red-hot aluminum in the bottom of a 2-meter pit runs the risk of having ones socks catch on fire from the radiant heat."

I read the abstract of the paper but not the full article itself. For best results, scroll down to the bottom of the article for all the neato pictures. Here's the first and most eye-catching:

Jeff Wenzel

This past weekend a prominent member of our church passed away after fighting a brain tumor for four years. Today was the service for Jeff Wenzel and I was glad to be a part of it. There are a lot of trivial things I could say about the service today and maybe I will some other time.

One significant truth became more clear to me today, though: the repeated Biblical command to care for the orphans and widows is a significant and needed service in the corporate Body. Though I have read it many times throughout Scripture, the reality of what this means moved from a mental exercise to living practice today. Jeff's three children no longer have a biological father to provide for them. The role of fathering, for now, has been passed on to our church body as a whole. I don't know what kind financial provisions are in place but I know a trust was established to help with the education of his children. As one of the pastor's at the service said, "It is appropriate to donate generously." This is probably one of the most significant ways my wife and I will be able to help Jeff's family.

Ironically, Jeff and another member of our church founded an organization here in Wichita ( Youth Horizons ) geared towards mentoring the fatherless children of Wichita. I pray that God will provide good father-figures for his children.

Name That Dot

Just recently I was able to do something I've wanted to do since I moved to Wichita: I used the telescope at Lake Afton Observatory to take a photograph of the heavens. One evening a month the observatory allows anybody with a camera to come and use the telescope for photographic purposes. The subject for the evening is pre-selected and the staff at the observatory provide the hardware you need to connect the camera to the telescope.

Part of the reason it has taken me this long to participate in the program is that it usually takes place at 11pm Sat. night; this is WAY past my bedtime. Additionally, the weather has also stymied a few past attempts. Things worked out great this month, though, as the skies were clear and the shoot started at 8:30pm Sunday night.

As for the quality of the photo, well, I don't have a ton of excuses. It was my first time on the telescope so that didn't help. The heat of the day rising off the cooling ground also added a lot of, uhmm, shimmer making a nice, solid, National Geographic photo pretty much out of the question. Plus, this particular subject is quite a ways away so even through the telescope it wasn't very large.

The mystery object: Venus.

The observatory is doing also Jupiter and Mars this year but I think I may hold out for the moon as I expected the shots to turn out much better.