Goertz Thoughts

This post is written in part to fulfill my promise to Maya that I would watch Treasure Planet  before she graduated. It was either this or Dead Poet's Society. I thought I had seen this movie before, but it must have been too long ago because a lot of it seemed unfamiliar (not too unfamiliar as I've read Treasure Island , seen the live action Disney movie, and Muppet Treasure Island ). Here are a few things that I thought about it: It's very artistic. The mix of traditional and CGI is well done (not as jarring as Fox's Titan AE  from two years previous) This movie is fantasy, not science fiction. So, I'm not going to say "Space doesn't work that way!" except for one comment. Solar sails don't work that way! Solar sailing  is a fascinating process, but it relies on the pressure of photons. It leads to very slow acceleration over a long period of time. The surface area of the sails needs to be much bigger than that depicted. Every species seems uniqu...

You're familiar with the trolley problem, right?   (Here's a different take from The Good Place .  Trigger warning: copious fake blood) Here's a variation that came up in astronomy class the other day. It didn't start off as a traditional trolley problem. We were discussing government spending. We're pretty sure that a dinosaur killing sized asteroid is not currently heading towards us due to projects such as ATLAS . We could be even more sure if more money was given to build telescopes. However, any funds given to telescopes is less given to other causes (say for example orphans). Both protecting the Earth from asteroids and helping children are good things. We cannot fully solve either problem no matter how much money we throw at them. So, in this case the question comes down to how much is too much?  To keep it simple, let's pretend these are the only two funding issues. If we miss seeing a massive asteroid in time, it could  kill everyone on Earth. On the ot...

I'm sure you've seen Encanto . It was really big 3(ish) years ago. I remember because the current seniors were freshmen and wouldn't stop singing We Don't Talk about Bruno  (watch this cool video about how the song works). I know this post seems a little late to the game, but I just finished watching Brooklyn 99  and how crazy is it that Stefanie Beatriz is the voice of Mirabel and Rosa ? Anyway, one of the things that feels most unfair about the movie is that Mirabel doesn't get a gift. Here's my take: Mirabel does have a gift. Extreme empathy. She can literally enter people's minds! Let's take a look at this. Really watch Mirabel in these songs: Talking with Luisa Talking with Pepa and Felix Talking with Abuela This is more than just normal song and dance fantasy numbers from musicals. She is entering into her family's thoughts and memories. She's an active participant in some of the scenes in their heads. This explains a whole lot: No one not...

 Back to posting with a relatively simple one. Students, you may or may not know this, but the board games that are in the Commons are from my collection *. My hope is that someday everyone will put down their cellphones and pick up a game instead. I really enjoy board games (although I don't play them as often as I would like). I'm not talking chess and checkers. I'm not even talking Monopoly and Scrabble. While those are technically board games, the genre has come a long way in the past few decades. Here's a few of my favorites (I'll use the term "board game" loosely, as some of these don't actually use a board). (Settlers of**) Catan If you're familiar with modern board games, you probably know this one. It first came out in 1995 and its popularity really exploded. Collect resources Build towns, cities, and roads. Each has different point values. First player to 10 points wins. It's a very good entry point due to the straightforward rules. T...

  Today’s topic is: Getting the most out of your eclipse experience While most of the lower 48 states will see a partial eclipse, total solar eclipses are rare. The last time that Austin experienced a total solar eclipse was May 26th, 1397. The next one will be February 25th, 2343. So, this will be the only total eclipse that most of us will witness (there’s always eclipse tourism, though).  If at all possible, you really need to try to look at the sky during the eclipse. Even with the clouds, you’ll be able to see some effects (I’ll specifically list those later). Here’s some of the things that you might be able to observe: Look at the ground as totality approaches: The shadows of leaves under a tree will make the shape of the eclipse Alternating dark/light shadow bands The shadow line moving quickly across the landscape right before totality. Look at the Sun: First Contact: The Moon starts to cover the Sun (12:17) Second Contact: The Moon completely covers the Sun (1:35). It...

  Today’s topic is: Eclipse Safety. You know not to look at the sun, right?  This is even more important during an eclipse. The overall light is decreased, so your pupils will dilate to let in more light. However, since the actual intensity of the sun is undiminished, you will damage your retina even quicker. The retina does not contain pain receptors, so you won’t necessarily feel anything as you destroy your ability to see. It’s called solar retinopathy and there is no cure for severe cases.  Now that you’ve been sufficiently warned, there are ways to watch the eclipse safely. Ways to safely observe the sun: Binoculars/telescope with a solar filter (we’ll have the school’s 8 inch refractor on the field, if it’s not raining) Eclipse Glasses* (we have enough for all students and faculty/staff. They’re selling out through other sources, but you might be able to find some online, HEB, or Sonic . Prices are going up, so watch out for scalpers and imitations) Pinhole project...