Concert In honor of the memory of Ebbe Altberg
2021-06-06 07:00 - 08:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | The Lighthouse Café

Fireside Chat Titanoboa
2021-06-07 14:00 - 15:00 | Fireside

Abyssinia
2021-06-12 10:00 - 11:00 | Science Circle Opensim Grid
Abyssinia
Abyssinia, which is intended as a living museum & educational resource on the Science Circle’s OpenSim grid, is my reconstruction of ancient archaeological sites in Tigray (northern Ethiopia) & Eritrea that date from at least 1000 BCE through roughly 800 CE. I excavated at several of these sites decades ago (1969-1972), & now am restoring parts of them virtually to their prominence during their heyday. Currently I have constructed two major buildings & other parts of Yeha, capital of the kingdom then known as Di’amat, located in Tigray.

I created a similar project on Second Life more than a decade ago, but technical & financial issues prevented its continuation, so I am grateful to be able to created it again.

Framed within the striking dragon-tooth mountains characteristic of the region, Yeha was the administrative & religious capital of a kingdom that controlled trade along the Red Sea together with its counterpart & related South Arabian kingdom Saba’ in what is now Yemen, The language, culture, religion, & architecture of the two kingdoms bear strong similarities, indicating their close contact.

There are two major buildings in Yeha from that period, the Great Temple, which still remains largely standing, & the administrative palace, whose ruins are known as Grat Be’al Gibri (the field of the tax collector). I participated in the first two seasons of excavation at the latter, during which the front of the building, including a colonnaded portico, were opened.

Subsequent more recent excavations on both buildings by a joint German-Ethiopian team have revealed many additional details about them, which are incorporated in my full-scale recreations of the buildings, which can be fully explored. I also included several other structures which represent other aspects of the city as it must have appeared at that time, including houses, a market, a pavilion for a royal festival, farm fields, & a representative war elephant, which were one of the exports from the kingdom to the Mediterranean & the Middle East. As time & space permit, it is my intention to add other important sites from both Tigray & Eritrea.

This project has gained greater significance for me since the tragic war which has been fought throughout Tigray since November 2020, causing great human suffering & destruction. Many of the sites & artifacts that have been or will be represented are located in Tigray, which now is undergoing the upheaval of disastrous civil war.

Skip dedicates this project to the people of Tigray, as well as those of Ethiopia & Eritrea, with urgent hopes for return to peace & stability.

An Opensim excursion with Archaeologist Skip Dahlgren.

Fireside Chat on Wednesday, June 16 at 4 PM PDT in Second Life

Classical Sunday Concerts
2021-06-13 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-06-20 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-06-27 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-07-04 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-07-11 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-07-18 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-07-25 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-08-01 07:00 - 08:00 and 6 more dates | The Lighthouse Café

Fireside Chat Abyssinia
2021-06-16 16:00 - 17:00 | Fireside

Understanding Science: The Day the Dinosaurs Died
2021-06-19 10:00 - 11:00
Understanding Science: The Day the Dinosaurs Died – A Lesson in Planetary Ecology
This series of presentations started with the worlds of the very small (particle physics) and very large (our solar system and beyond). Last time we looked at one of the artificial worlds we have created from our knowledge of science, that is, the technologies of computing devices. This month we examine ecology, the study of living things and their surrounding world, by looking at one of the living worlds that existed long before us and understanding what happened when that world was suddenly shattered by an asteroid.

Our scientific study of the world in which we are a part has enabled us to create technologies to change the world around us to better suit our survival. Yet we are powerless to change some things. One of these is that we live on the surface of a relatively small, rocky planet with a thin atmosphere and crust. Another is that there is a lot of debris out there in space that we did not create that sometimes encounters the Earth. Our atmosphere, and the magnetic field that surrounds the Earth, provide some protection from certain types of wave and particle radiation, and even from small objects that disintegrate and burn up before reaching the surface, but not from larger objects.

The Geminids – Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy

Did you Know… – NASA
In this presentation we will first explore this world of objects floating around space and what happens when the Earth and they meet. Then we will examine what has happened to the Earth and to life on it when large objects collided with the Earth in the past. This is not only fascinating and terrifying, but it is instructive because it will surely happen again. We just do not know when exactly, but we have good evidence of how often objects of various size collide with the Earth.

In particular, we will examine what happened on the day the dinosaurs died, and what happened in the ensuing days and years, and how that changed the history of our world. We can also speculate what would happen if the same event occurred tomorrow or in the near future and how our world would change.
Presentation by Dr. Phil Youngblood

Dr. Phil Youngblood

Reference work in the library

Previous lectures on film

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Science Fair 2021
2021-06-26 07:00 - 10:00
The annual Science Fair is approaching again and this year the organization is in the hands of Special events coordinator Shiloh Emmons.
For this year we have chosen the underwater location at the lighthouse, the temperate coastal and marine ecosystems (New England) of Linda Kelley. No market stalls or pergolas, but give full attention to your single creation / subject.
Create or bring ONE object that embodies the creative idea you wish to share, as well as ONE poster to support your concept. Bring an object + poster that you can pull out of your inventory, on the spot, and about which you can inform us for 10 minutes.
Create the object yourself; purchase it, or even designed by a colleague; in any case, an educational object that you would like to share with us. One Slide/Poster design MUST be created by the scientist presenter (be creative, be artistic!).
The Da Vinci Award of L$10,000 will be awarded to best overall Object choice + Poster design which convey the idea. The Winner will have their science project on display at Science Circle for one year.
Registration for the Science Fair 2021 time slots at Shiloh Emmons in SL / Karina Solski by email.

WHEN : Saturday, June 26th
TIMES : Starts at 7 am to 10 am PDT

MUSIC : 8am to 9am, Piano stream provided by Scientist & Maestro, Earl Kiech

WHERE : Science Circle region, On the seabed under the lighthouse.

Time
Participant

7:00 AM
Karthik Prathaban

7:20 AM
Linda Kelley

7:40 AM
Stephen Gasior

8 AM – 9 AM
Earl Kiech
Classical concert at the Light house

9:00 AM
Greg Bollella

9:20 AM
Phil Youngblood

9:40 AM
William Schmachtenberg

Abyssinia
2021-06-27 12:00 - 13:00 | Abyssinia
Abyssinia
Abyssinia, which is intended as a living museum & educational resource on the Science Circle’s OpenSim grid, is my reconstruction of ancient archaeological sites in Tigray (northern Ethiopia) & Eritrea that date from at least 1000 BCE through roughly 800 CE. I excavated at several of these sites decades ago (1969-1972), & now am restoring parts of them virtually to their prominence during their heyday. Currently I have constructed two major buildings & other parts of Yeha, capital of the kingdom then known as Di’amat, located in Tigray. More information…

Skip dedicates this project to the people of Tigray, as well as those of Ethiopia & Eritrea, with urgent hopes for return to peace & stability.

An OPENSIM excursion with Archaeologist Skip Dahlgren.

Follow the Food
2021-07-10 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-07-17 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-07-24 07:00 - 08:00, 2021-07-31 07:00 - 08:00 | Auditorium

Ingenuity: First Aircraft on Mars!
2021-09-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
Ingenuity – First Aircraft on Mars!
We were not even sure it would work, but Ingenuity, the first helicopter on Mars, indeed the first manoeuvrable aircraft to operate outside the Earth’s atmosphere, has been a stunning success!
First we will examine the conditions and mechanics of flight and what makes Ingenuity’s performance a “Wright Brothers” moment.
Then we will follow Ingenuity’s progress from the drawing board through the dozen or more flights it has taken so far, with a look at how it can operate when its ‘pilot’ is 100s of millions of miles away, plus a peak at possible missions it might undertake in its future.
Finally, we will explore where and how other craft might operate in our solar system now that this technological breakthrough has been achieved.

— Dr. Phil Youngblood founded the CIS/Cyber Security degree programs at the University of the Incarnate Word, following retirement from naval aviation and research at NASA.

Presentation by Dr. Phil Youngblood

Dr. Phil Youngblood

Reference work in the library

Previous lectures on film

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Flight
2021-09-04 21:00 - 22:00 | Auditorium
Flight

Welcome aboard Science Circle flight 409, covering the scientific principles and technologies that enable and enhance air transport. We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts before we discuss the fundamentals, from aerodynamics to aircraft stability. Take a few minutes to locate and understand the mechanisms of aircraft engines, whose designs have evolved for fuel efficiency and noise reduction.
As we experience astounding innovations in areas like material science, descriptions of the benefits to the environment and your comfort in the cabin will be deployed. Thank you for choosing the Science Circle. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your Flight!

A presentation by Karthik P., Graduate Student

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Discussion: 'Oumuamua & UFO'S
2021-09-06 10:00 - 11:00 | Fireside
To give you some background on the subject, Matt has selected some interesting URLs and Youtubes.

Navy UFO Preliminary Report
The videos that prompted the Navy investigation
60 Minutes story about it
Here’s a pretty good explanation debunking the Navy videos by parallax and other visual illusions
How to fake a UFO video

In view of this info, what do you think of these:

I saw a UFO last summer…
Classic “tictac” lights in the sky UFOs over NYC
I think this might be the same sighting. A detail of the UFO splitting up
John Lennon describes the UFO he saw
UFOs: Retired Navy Commander Describes His Sighting In 2004 | The Overview | NBC News
UFO over Chile
UFO tracked over an airport in Puerto Rico. Famously, a detail at about 2:00 shows the object splashing in waves.
UFO with structure over Quebec
Carl Sagan
‘Oumuamua links
Is it a nitrogen iceberg?
Avi Loeb’s rebuttal to iceberg
Interview with Loeb

Titanoboa & Fireside Chat
2021-09-11 10:00 - 11:00 | Titanoboa exhibition
This is an abbreviated replay of June 5 presentation with a Fireside Chat attached.

The Science Behind Titanoboa
Dr. Alex Hastings will lead part of the tour discussing the world of Titanoboa, 60 million years ago. How and why was the snake so big? What else lived in those murky waters? Plus he’ll share what it was like finding Titanoboa fossils in the Cerrejon coal mine.

Linda Kelley’s Ecosystem
Linda will talk a little about what it takes to bring fossils to life and particularly building an ecosystem from what is shown and not shown in the fossil records. For her this entailed doing a lot of literature review and sussing out how all these things could plausibly fit together. In addition to the fauna that shared space with the Titanoboa, and the kinds of flora, this included reading about geologic changes during that period and estimates of Paleocene weather.

Creating an Animated Animesh Titanoboa for Second Life
Dr. Greg Bollella will discuss the process for creating, texturing, rigging, and animating an animesh object for Second Life. Most of the presentation will be an overview of the processes with more detail for a few very interesting techniques and observations. The workflow and tool-chain are important and will be presented. The tools used were, ZBrush, Maya, Photoshop, Substance Painter, and Substance Designer. Of particular interest is that no images were used in creating the textures for Titanoboa, only math!

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The Dynamic Geology of Asia-Oceania
2021-09-11 21:00 - 22:00 | Auditorium
The Dynamic Geology of Asia-Oceania
The dynamic geology of the Asia-Oceania region might be viewed as a metaphor for the history of the area itself. While living in harmony with earth, water, fire, and air during tranquil times, each generation is reminded of the tension and power inherent in these elements, in the form of earthquakes, violent seas, volcanoes, and typhoons, just as they are aware of the tension and power of the human forces in the area.
While we will concentrate on geology this hour, it is difficult not to look at geography as well, that is, the relationship of people to the land. The Asia-Oceania region is a complex array of blends and contrasts. Just as it hosts some of the oldest and youngest physical features, plus the tallest and deepest points on Earth today, the land was also host to some of the earliest and most recent human origins, plus some of the oldest and youngest human cultures.
EARTH. We will start with the tectonic forces that formed the area and that continue to slowly move beneath the land, remaining tranquil for the most part until upheaval and slippage lead to jarring events that transform both the life of the Earth and the lives of the people who live there. The numerous plates that make up the area continue to move, throwing up mountain chains that affect the region’s climate, as well as submerging whole continents such as Zealandia. The land of the region hosts bounties that support the world’s most populous and densely populated areas, but also can challenge their lives.
WATER. On the continents, towering mountain ranges and imposing deserts separate peoples, but mighty rivers bring them together. In the Pacific and Indian oceans, water both separates but also enables peoples to be a community. When earth and water combine to form tsunamis, the region’s shallow seas can exacerbate their destructive effects, but water so near land also provides climates that support the abundant plant, animal, and human life. While the rise and fall of the seas created passageways for early humans, the shallow seas that were once land hide a wealth of resources that create political tension in the area today.
FIRE. The ‘fire’ deep below the ground is the driver of the tectonic forces that shaped the Asia-Oceania region. There are more volcanoes in this region than anywhere on Earth, and when earth and fire combine in spectacular volcanic events, these forces can both destroy and create at the same time, including adding new land and creating the fertile soils that support the human populations that farm them.
AIR. Like the other elements, the air can seem remarkably tranquil, until it combines with water to create swirling storms that can wreak havoc on the land. And it is not always the combination of elements that create and destroy but also the absence of one or the other, such as when air contains too little water, leading to desertification, dust storms, and fires that sweep across areas with tinderbox conditions.
Join me as we explore the dynamic geology of the Asia-Oceania region, the harmony and tensions inherent in the earth, water, fire, and air that are influenced byt it, and how this affects the lives of the people who live there.

Presentation by Dr. Phil Youngblood

Dr. Phil Youngblood

Reference work in the library

Previous lectures on film

Podcast

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