Perseids for Google Logo

I was browsing through the web earlier when I came across Google's new design for its logo. It looks very interesting and upon clicking on the picture, I was brought to a search page containing everything on the Perseid meteor shower.

Google Search Home Page (click on the image to enlarge)

Live image of the Perseid meteor shower (Credit: NASA)

According to NASA's page, this is an annual occurance that can be seen in the North America. The Perseid meteor shower is so-called because it appears to radiate from the constellation Perseus. This meteor shower seems to appear mostly in the Northern hemisphere. Well, I suppose I won't be able to see this kind of phenomenon in my part of the world. Singapore is situated directly in the centre of the Earth and that means we miss seeing lots of interesting stuffs that goes on in the atmosphere. I really hate that.

So the only way to enjoy these phenomenons is to go to websites like NASA, where pictures were taken using the latest technological equipments to capture that precious moment in the sky. The universe is such a wonderful entity that continues to thrill us non-stop with its display of works such as meteor showers.

I have never seen a meteor shower before and I heard it's really amazing to see it with your own eyes. Aww... I really wish that I could be in North America right now to see the Perseid meteor shower.

Oh man, my life sucks. Big time. =P

Rainy Weather Equals Gloomy Mood

Today has made me realized how unreliable my colleagues are and that my relationship with them has deteriorated beyond repair.

The weather was harsh this morning, with heavy downpour started even before I reached my destination. Being the lazy pig, I didn't bring along my umbrella and so I thought of calling my department colleagues for some help.

The sad thing is, none of them responded to my calls, which went unanswered. I called at least twice and in each instance, I get no reply from them. One of them didn't even bother to set her phone to ringing mode, but instead auto-direct to voicemail.

Perhaps I am truly a shallow person and hence, I couldn't make any lasting relationship with anybody. My only friend is the internet, where I can roam around aimlessly without an identity. It's kind of disheartening to discover that my naive beliefs had been wrong all along.

I though I had maintained a pretty good working relationship with my colleagues but somehow along the way, I get left out of things. Things that probably don't matter to me anyway but it still kind of bothers me, you see. Perhaps I should just ignore it all. Ignorance is the best medicine to use in the corporate world. Pretend that I didn't see anything or hear anything would be most helpful to me in avoiding unnecessary trouble.

As long as I continue to get my monthly pay, nothing else matters to me. Not even the subject of promotion could make me fluttered, for I know there's little chance of that happening anyway. My future in this company has already been condemned a long time ago and I don't see a way out for me unless I tender my resignation from my position.

In fact, I have no position in this company, especially in my department. I have no proper title, no proper job scope, and in fact, no proper workstation when I first joined the company. I even had to sit far away from my department and hence, no one bothers about me. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. It's a simple enough equation. So the only motivation that makes me going is the measly pay and the dismissal time. Why didn't I move on to a better job? The current economic is so bad that it is better to stay on as I am in the healthcare industry and it's rarely affected by any economic recessions for people fall sick all the time.

Nonetheless, I try to maintain sanity in these tough times purely for my own survival. I won't rely on other people nor will I extend an offer of help to anybody. Neutrality is the way to go to survive in this company. Well there's another way but it's disgusting. You'll have to buy your favour into the good books of the higher management people by playing up to them. In local terms, it's called sucking up to your boss. I am very lousy in pleasing people and making them happy, which is probably a career kamikaze for me since that's how the corporate world works.

Oh well, life is short so it's best I try not to dwell on such things for long periods of time. It's simply not worth the effort though once in a while rambling won't hurt either. My life is very boring and I don't have that many friends either. So I suppose I deserve it anyway since I am not a nice person to start with. *hiak hiak*

Oh well, it's as though it's the end of the world if I don't have any friends in my life. I live for myself, no one can live my life. That's the only way to go for me.

Wow, Google Earth looks so cool now

According to CNET, the latest version of Google Earth is now able to let users go right into the deep oceans for an unusual exploration.

There's even a picture of an underwater mountain that is found off the coast of Hawaii, taken by CNET. See below:



It's so cool being able to peep right into the ocean without getting out of the house. But of course, nothing still beat the real thing of going down personally into those oceans, eh?

It's really interesting to work for Google, seeing that all these sorts of fascinating softwares are coming from them. Such innovativeness is certainly useful in keeping them ahead of the competition.

Way to go, Google!

Now it's the Aurora Borealis

Wired Science is quite a good website with lots of gorgeous pictures on the galaxies, space and nature. I am only browsing a small portion of the site and I found quite a couple of awesome pictures that I have never seen before.

One of those pictures is the famed Aurora Borealis. You can click here to see the article. I have also posted the same picture below for illustration purposes.

The Aurora Borealis

It's cool, isn't it? If you head over to wikipedia, there is a general explanation on the phenomena. Wikipedia also has some really cool pictures too. See below:

Aurora Borealis, Bear Lake

Aurora Borealis, Fairbanks, Alaska

Aurora Borealis, Antarctica

Nature can be so intriguing in its own way. All these lights dancing across the night sky is something that is unique to Mother Nature. I hope I can witness this glorious show in the future soon and Alaska is one of the places to offer the unique view.

Good night, Aurora Borealis.

Hi-Definition Images of Milky Way

Now, this is really an old piece of news but I was browsing through Wired Science's website just now and I came across this article. Astronomers had compiled a series of high-definition resolution individual frames (24752x13520) using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to create the mosaic picture below:




There is even a dedicated viewer to get the full experience on the beauty of the Milky Way too. All these images are simply way too cool and I envy the guys' luck in getting assigned to do this job. It could be those once-in-a-lifetime chance ever. I bet these astronomers also get nice, fat salary checks to boot as well.

Right now I am using the viewer to look at the Milky Way and it's simply awesome! It's definitely worth seeing, you know. Billions and billions of stars are in that galaxy and they are so bright.

If you have the time, do pop over to view the awesome Milky Way. I'll be on the lookout for more of such sites too.

=)

Interesting Bite on the Milky Way

According to Wired Science, the Milky Way out there in the space is now supposedly much larger than what was previously thought. To me, I thought the telescope picture of the galaxy is pretty cool though. See below for illustrations.

The Milky Way

I think it's pretty awesome that there are some other beautiful galaxies out there other than our own solar system. The way all these things are formed is simply amazing and that's how nature works for itself.

Everything out there is so mysterious yet glorious enough to captivate humans for centuries. Be it stars or the moon or the planets, everything has enraptured our imaginations so thoroughly for the longest time.

It's too bad that I can't afford those highly advanced technological cameras or telescopes that will allow me to take those gorgeous pictures. A good thing that NASA is on hand to take those shots for us.

Say, wouldn't it be a dream to be able to work in NASA and stare at all those little stars in the space as part of the job description? Sure sounds cool to me. However those kind of jobs are only applicable to the elite people. Meaning people who probably possess a Masters or Doctorate in their resume in order to get considered for the job. *sighs*

For now, I can only gaze at the galaxies through the eyes of these pictures and I am going to use the picture as my laptop's wallpaper for now. Till the next gorgeous pictures comes along anyway.

*grinz*

Twilight Phenomenon Unique to USA

I was browsing through Google for some various pictures of Twilight the movie when I came across this gorgeous picture.



This is an example of a Twilight Phenomenon. An excerpt taken from wikipedia is posted below:

--
A Twilight phenomenon is produced when unburned particles of missile or rocket propellant and water left in the vapor trail of a launch vehicle condenses, freezes and then expands in the less dense upper atmosphere. The exhaust plume, which is suspended against a dark sky is then illuminated by reflective high altitude sunlight, which produces a spectacular, colorful effect when seen at ground level. The phenomenon typically occurs with launches that take place either 30 to 60 minutes before sunrise or after sunset when a booster rocket or missile rises out of the darkness and into a sunlit area, relative to an observer's perspective on the ground.

This phenomenon usually produces a cloud of green, blue, white and rose colored hues which takes on a corkscrew appearance as it is whipped around by wind currents. It is seen within two to three minutes after a launch has occurred. Depending on weather conditions, it could remain in the sky for up to half an hour before dispersing.
--

The above picture was taken at Tranquillon Peak in northern Santa Barbara county. The twilight phenomenon lights up the night sky over Vandenberg AFB following the launch of an unarmed Minuteman III missile on Sept. 19, 2002.

Only a small percentage of the malfunctioning missiles would create this twilight phenomenon as most of them would have been destroyed by a Range Safety Officer.

Nonetheless, it's truly a sight to behold if I could be there to witness it first-hand. That would be so spectacular. We could never have this kind of sight in Singapore as our army do not fire missiles so openly. Even if they do, pictures such as these would probably have been destroyed before they could be circulated.

For now, I can only envy the beauty on my laptop screen but that's enough.

=)

Raining non-stop once more

For the past few days, the weather has been pretty bad. Rain has been coming on strongly for hours on end and it show no signs of stopping either.

As it's the weekends, I can just stay at home without venturing outside. It's nice to be able to spend time alone by myself without any troubles nor worries. Besides, I have very few friends and most of these friends usually have other engagements to tend to, so I'm pretty much a loner these days.

Well, at least for now I have my MSI Wind by my side and the rain outside to keep me company. It's pathetic but that's how my life goes.

^.^