mjh's blog

The Distance Scale of the Universe (another 47)

The Distance Scale of the Universe

On the Comoving Distance scale the very edge of the visible universe is now about 47 billion light years from us.

The Distance Scale of the Universe

Your Subject is One You Never Tire Of

OK, this isn’t exactly a photo topic, although it involves images in an album that I’ve been meaning to assemble. This might be about the meaning of life, devotion to a subject, or obsession. My special number (not entirely lucky nor magical, nor exclusively mine) is forty-seven. I see it almost daily without looking for it. Just a couple of days ago, I was working on my computer and noticed this one:

Yeah, 2:47:47. But, there are so many of these examples:

The Meaning of 47

Between the Summer Solstice and the Winter solstice, the sun moves 47 degrees (23 1/2 degrees North and South of the equator)

People born with Down’s Syndrome have 47 chromosomes instead of the more common 46

Some people believe a flying saucer crash-landed in 1947 in New Mexico, the 47^th state (in order of admission)

DVDs have a minimum capacity of 4.7 gigabytes

Our randomly distributed trash receptacle has a serial number ending in “4774”

The Meaning of 47

Forcing this back to photography, I love particular subjects, especially birds, bugs, and flowers. On the other hand, I’m less interested in photographing architecture, machines or people. Find the subject that captivates you. Your subject will also inspire and energize you.

http://www.edgewiseblog.com/mjh/category/47/

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1054135229466.2010981.1108374610&l=39d6859a26 (more screenshots)

Happy 4/7 at 7:47am.

http://www.edgewiseblog.com/mjh/category/47/

Lieber Gott! Die Tina Fey ruft mich an!

OK, Tina Fey did not literally call me and I don’t recall whether the Germans are anything but literal with the verb anrufen. Nevertheless, Tina Fey spoke to me last week through 30Rock.

1) Like Jack Donaghy, I was going to be a marine biologist. That may be the only thing Donaghy and I have in common. (No, wait, he speaks German, too. Well-played.)

2) Liz Lemon, like Tina Fey, is smart enough to have placed out of first year German. Tina Fey and I studied German at UVa, albeit years apart. The German word for albeit is obwohl. I don’t normally take personally Tina Fey’s frequent use of German in 30 Rock. («Ich denke, daß sie die schönste Sprache in der Welt ist.» Ja, das stimmt!) However, with the first year reference plus the other items…

3) This shirt made me gasp! Why would a character appear in a scene with a 47 on her shirt? Note the IMDB clip is 1 minute 47 seconds long – no lie. As far as I know, Tina Fey is not in that cult of screenwriters (such as J.J. Abrams) who refer to 47 as a sly inside joke to other cultists. (On the radio this morning there was a discussion of economic indicators based on a survey of 47 economists. Now that’s real stuff.)

Believing celebrities or gods are speaking directly to you is a sign of madness, except when you are face-to-face with them. However, this is no goofy Da Vinci code or The Secret. Still, Tina, if you’re really reaching out to me, use the phrase “that’s crazy” in an upcoming script. bis später. _{Dein, Mark}

Second round with Watson AI on Jeopardy was very different, but more like what one would expect: Computers kick human ass in collating and recalling facts. Watson’s wagers were odd: $947 in the final round?! And what glitch produced Toronto as a US city?

This protracted IBM infomercial revealed the long-term goal: To create Doctor Watson, a Holmes of medical diagnosis.

“It is you talking just as much as myself…I act as the tongue of you” (Section *47*) / “I am large, I contain multitudes.” (Section 51) – Song of Myself by Walt Whitman

Song of Myself – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At 2:47pm I pulled into the gas station. The trip odometer said 247 miles. A fill-up indicated I still had 2.47 gallons in the tank. No lie.

Do-do-do-do.