Jupiter And Io

So, what I'm getting is metric vs. imperial is a states' right issue

The United States, much to my own surprise, does use the metric system. But only at the Federal level. The Drug Enforcement Administration seizes kilos of cocaine. Soldiers determine distance by “klicks” or kilometers. The Federal Government of the United States officially works in metric. Adoption of the metric system over the imperial system was left up to the individual state governments, who chose freedom (and not having to pay to re-survey all their land).

"The sun is a mass of incandescent gas, a giant nuclear furnace. Where HYDROGEN is built into HELIUM..." Main reason I remember that, thank you They Might Be Giants

I started stoichiometry today and began with the difference between nuclear and chemical reactions. I drew this equation on the board and asked where this reaction takes place and why it’s important to life and the universe. Blank stares and crickets…the entire class of 45 first-year college students had no clue WTF I was talking about.

Do they even teach earth space science in high school anymore?

One of the most dangerous pictures ever taken - Elephant’s Foot, Chernobyl. This is a photo of a now dead man next the ‘Elephant’ Foot’ at the Chernobyl power plant. 

The image distortions in the photo are created by intense level of radiation almost beyond comprehension. There is no way the person in this photo and the person photographing him could have survived for any more that a few years after being there, even if they quickly ran in, took the photos and ran out again. This photo would be impossible to take today as the rates of radioactive decay are even more extreme now due to a failed military experiment to bomb the reactor core with neuron absorbers.  The foot is made up of a small percentage of uranium with the bulk mostly melted sand, concrete and other materials which the molten corium turns into a kind of lava flow. In recent years, it has destroyed a robot which tried to approach it, and the last photos were taken via a mirror mounted to a pole held at the other end of the corridor for a few seconds. It is almost certainly the most dangerous and unstable creation made by humans.  These are the effects of exposure: 30 seconds of exposure - dizziness and fatigue a week later 2 minutes of exposure - cells begin to hemorrhage (ruptured blood vessels) 4 minutes - vomiting, diarrhea, and fever  300 seconds - two days to live

Archstudio. Alley Teahouses- Qulang Hospital. Beijing. China. photos: Archstudio

We can build things by growing plants in specific configurations now. We are slowly becoming elves.

The wood siding could age badly unless it's well-treated, but otherwise cool.