• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Shelter in place is one thing. Shelter in pants is quite another.

Screw the Judean People’s Front. Splitters.

False Scribes! False Scribes!

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Just a few bad apples.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

I thought we were promised Infrastructure Week.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn – Nancy Pelosi

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

We can agree to disagree, but i’m right.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Nevertheless, she persisted.

I did not have this on my fuck 2020 bingo card.

Naturally gregarious and alpha

I can’t take this shit today. I just can’t.

Everybody saw this coming.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Something seems odd about that, but i have been drinking.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Mobile Menu

  • Look Forward & Back
  • Balloon Juice 2021 Pet Calendar
  • Site Feedback
  • All 2020 Fundraising
  • I Voted!
  • Take Action: Things We Can Do
  • Team Claire, and Family
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • BJ PayPal Donations
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Nature & Respite
  • Information As Power
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • On The Road
  • Garden Chats
  • Nature & Respite
  • Look Forward & Back
You are here: Home / Open Threads / A moment of zen

A moment of zen

by David Anderson|  November 6, 20182:11 pm| 20 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Readership Capture, Rare Sincerity

Facebook0Tweet0Email0

As we wait for everything to make itself clear tonight, a moment of zen. Jim Bales up at MIT runs the Edgerton Center where they play with light, photography and science. Jim invited me in for a tour last weekend when I was in town for my high school reunion and it was awesome.

Here is my favorite picture that he took:

We had placed a white balloon inside of an orange balloon. We inflated both and then I popped the balloons. The “pop” was the strobe light trigger for the camera and this is what happened. If you look closely at the bottom, you can see the needle most of the way into the white balloon but the balloon not breaking (yet).

One of the other things that he showed me and my dad was using light columns to identify density differentiation. This was an awesome picture that he took.

This was just awesome and I had to share this great experience with you all for a moment of zen.

Open Thread.

Facebook0Tweet0Email0
Previous Post: « Bloody Mary morning
Next Post: NFL Teams To Loathe In The Age Of Trump* »

Reader Interactions

20Comments

  1. 1.

    Barbara

    November 6, 2018 at 2:26 pm

    I don’t want zen. I want cupcakes.

  2. 2.

    David Anderson

    November 6, 2018 at 2:28 pm

    @Barbara: that is the 16:00 post

  3. 3.

    Tom Levenson

    November 6, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    Jim’s great. He once shot my business card for me.

    And you were in town and even in my shop and didn’t reach out? Dude!

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    November 6, 2018 at 2:33 pm

    This is a response to Yarrow:

    Yarrow says:
    November 6, 2018 at 11:57 am
    Guys, we have a Juicer who is in the hospital in Houston, TX who wants to vote. Keith P has been posting about his problems getting what he needs to vote. Let’s see if we can help him. Front pagers, can you contact him and see if we can find a way to help him. If we can find out his district we can maybe contact the campaign offices of his Rep or his Rep’s Dem challenger. I asked if he has friends or family who can run the paperwork back and forth but so far he hasn’t responded.

    He said he planned to vote straight ticket Dem. I HATE to leave votes on the table when every vote counts, especially in Texas this year. Let’s figure out how to help him!

    This is from the Harris County Elections Department:

    Special Circumstances

    You may submit an application for a late ballot because of sickness or disability after the last day of early voting and before 5:00pm on election day. In order to qualify the sickness or disability must originate on or after the 12th day before election day. (Secs. 102.001; 102.003).

    You may submit an application to vote due to a death in the immediate family that occurred on or after the 5th day before election day and will be absent from the county on election day. (Secs. 103.001; 103.003b).

    Voters are required to submit an application for these specific instances. Please contact the Elections Division at 713-755-3150 for questions.

    https://www.harrisvotes.com/VotingInfo?lang=en-US#VoteByMail

  5. 5.

    Jason

    November 6, 2018 at 2:37 pm

    Offered to the science geeks like me:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXYlrw2JQwo

    Very cool ISS experiments by Don Pettit involving water. My favorite series of space experiments ever starts at 12:52.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    November 6, 2018 at 2:40 pm

    Has anyone checked on lamh36? Because she may have fainted with happiness when she hears that Idris Elba was picked as this year’s People Magazine Sexiest Man Alive.

  7. 7.

    David Anderson

    November 6, 2018 at 2:41 pm

    @Tom Levenson: I was already massively overbooked; I know my limitations unless you wanted to talk on the 4:35 Central Square to Government Center Redline train before I ran to Milk Street for a 4:50 beer

  8. 8.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    November 6, 2018 at 2:53 pm

    @Mnemosyne: She did. And then got up and shouted it from the rooftops.

  9. 9.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    November 6, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Late b-day present for lamh?

    ETA: Just returned from voting.

  10. 10.

    Tom Levenson

    November 6, 2018 at 3:07 pm

    @David Anderson: I know. Just feel it’s important never to leave an opportunity to give grief go unutilized.

  11. 11.

    cleek

    November 6, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    the Schlieren effect!

  12. 12.

    Waynski

    November 6, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    So, I went over to the GOS and they had a pretty longish but good analysis of what Mueller as well as Trump may do post-election and the comments section was immediately hijacked by two knobs talking about the Lord of the Rings.

  13. 13.

    RedDirtGirl

    November 6, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    I’m having some cognitive dissonance trying to put a popping balloon and Zen together…

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    November 6, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Of course he was! How fun.

  15. 15.

    Matt Wesson

    November 6, 2018 at 4:12 pm

    @RedDirtGirl: What is the sound of no balloons popping?

  16. 16.

    Jim Bales

    November 6, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    @cleek: Yes! Schlieren is fun :-)

    Jim

  17. 17.

    Jim Bales

    November 6, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    Dave,

    As I said in person, it is the least I can do in recognition of the immense value I have received from your ACA and health insurance blogging — it was a delight to meet you and your father!

    Best
    Jim

  18. 18.

    ruemara

    November 6, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    You should drop by my lab next time you want to play with light. Granted, we don’t do physics, we do lighting development & sustainability, but it’s still pretty fascinating.

  19. 19.

    David Anderson

    November 6, 2018 at 5:42 pm

    @ruemara: sounds like fun

  20. 20.

    Jim Bales

    November 9, 2018 at 7:42 am

    @ruemara: ruemara — this sounds interesting — can you tell me more? Feel free to email me at work “bales” “at” “mit.edu”

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Biden-Harris Inauguration

Biden-Harris Inauguration Website

Official events – watch at top link

Kakistocracy
I believe In My Fellow Americans
Defeat Them
Turning Bystanders Into Activists
First Up, COVID

Do Something!

Call Your Senators & Representatives
Directory of US Senators
Directory of US Representatives
Letter to Elected Officials – Albatrossity
Letter to Elected Officials – Martin

I Got the Shot!

🎈Ways to Support Our Site

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal
Shop Amazon via this link to support Balloon Juice ⬇  

Recent Comments

  • SiubhanDuinne on Guest Post: Defeat Them (Jan 20, 2021 @ 5:01pm)
  • Haroldo on Guest Post: I Believe In My Fellow Americans (Jan 20, 2021 @ 5:00pm)
  • Baud on Guest Post: Defeat Them (Jan 20, 2021 @ 5:00pm)
  • Just Some Fuckhead on Guest Post: Defeat Them (Jan 20, 2021 @ 5:00pm)
  • Martin on Guest Post: Defeat Them (Jan 20, 2021 @ 4:59pm)

Team Claire, and Family

Help for David’s Niece Claire
Claire Updates
Claire update for the holidays 12/23

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year

Featuring

John Cole
Silverman on Security
COVID-19 Coronavirus
Medium Cool with BGinCHI
Information Is Power

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Submit Photos to On the Road
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Meetups: Proof of Life
2021 Pets of Balloon Juice Calendar

Culture: Books, Film, TV, Music, Games, Podcasts

Noir: Favorites in Film, Books, TV
Book Recommendations & Indy Recs
Mystery Recommendations
Medium Cool: What If (Books & Films)
Netflix Favorites
Amazon Prime Favorites
Netflix Suggestions in July
Fun Music Thread
Longmire & Netflix Suggestions
Medium Cool: Places!
Medium Cool: Games!
Medium Cool: Watch or Read Again

Twitter

John Cole’s Twitter

[custom-twitter-feeds]

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!