The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles houses European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European and American photographs.
Browse by artist name, by medium, or by subject.
You can view the Current Exhibitions online, or check out the large collection of Past Exhibitions.
There’s even a Video gallery.
An average tornado has a power similar to that of a large power station. If only mankind could harness that energy, rather than being at its mercy. Louis Michaud, a Canadian engineer who works at a large oil company, believes he has devised a way to do just that, by generating artificial whirlwinds that can be controlled and harnessed. He calls his invention the “atmospheric vortex engine“.
His idea works on a similar principle to a solar chimney, which consists of a tall, hollow cylinder surrounded by a large greenhouse. The sun heats the air in the greenhouse, and the hot air rises. But its only escape route is via the chimney. A turbine at the base of the chimney generates electricity as the air rushes by. ~ His scheme replaces the chimney with a tornado-like vortex of spinning air, which could extend several kilometres into the atmosphere.
This vortex would be produced inside a large cylindrical wall, 200 metres in diameter and 100 metres tall. Warm air at ground level enters via tangential inlets around the base of the wall. Steam is also injected to get the vortex started. Once established, the heat content of the air at ground level is enough to keep the vortex going. As the air rises, it expands and cools, and water vapour condenses, releasing even more heat. This is, in fact, what powers a hurricane, which can be thought of as a heat engine that takes in warm, humid air at its base, releases cold, watery air at the top of the troposphere, about 12 kilometres up, and liberates a vast amount of energy in the process.
The existence of tornadoes proves that low intensity solar radiation can produce concentrated mechanical energy. It should be possible to control a naturally occurring process. Controlling where mechanical energy is produced in the atmosphere offers the possibility of harnessing solar energy without having to use solar collectors.
Plus, if they build one near you, it gets super easy to give directions to your house:
“Just head for the huge tornado. When you go past it, turn right at the next stoplight. Make sure you have your windshield wipers on.”
During the fall of 1997 I started putting a highway log together and did extensive research on past highway alignments through old road maps at the U of I’s Main Library. I launched the Iowa Highways Page on January 10, 1998, as part of Jason’s Pad on the Web. Then came Freeway Junctions of the Heartland and the Photo Gallery, which has grown in leaps and bounds since I got my own car in the fall of 1998. As time passed I phased out my non-highway-related pages to focus on what I know. I try to keep up with Iowa’s changing highway system by posting updates in the timeliest manner possible.
How many interstate highways are there in Iowa? Let’s see, there’s I35 and I80 going from border to border through Des Moines. I235 goes through downtown Des Moines. There’s I29 in western Iowa. I380 goes from Coralville to Waterloo. What are we up to, five? Don’t forget I280 in Davenport. Can you think of any more? This table shows ten.
I used to have a 69 Camaro. It could pass anything but a gas station. I spent a lot of time dreaming about restoring it. I also spent a lot of time regretting selling it.
After seeing this restoration page, I realize there’s no way I would have gone through anywhere near this much work – but I still wish I wouldn’t have sold it.
I am replacing the stock subframe with a modern lighter one, replacing the stock rear suspension and updating the entire drive train. And I am welding in new sheet metal in nearly every part of the car. There will be new floor pans, quarter panels, roof skin, trunk pan, and rear frame rails. There won’t be a single nut or bolt left unturned in this project. ~ So I bit the bullet, and I enrolled in two 13 week auto body paint, and collision repair classes at my local junior college.
“I’m freshly divorced – I’m not homeless… I’m just between places at the moment.”
Pictures of real people just trying to make it another day.
Last night we went to go see the Smothers Brothers – yes, they’re still alive. It was exactly as expected, and brought back fond memories of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
The show was noteworthy for some of the new, young talent it brought to the medium. ~ Mason Williams, heading the writing staff, achieved fame not so much for his politically engaged writing, but for his instant guitar classic, “Classical Gas.” Bob Einstein wrote for the show and also played the deadpan and very unamused cop, Officer Judy. He went on to greater fame as Super Dave. Finally, the as yet unknown Steve Martin cut his comedic teeth as a staff writer for the show.
After a good amount of singing (and bickering), the YoYo Man showed up.
We seemed to be right at the cut-off age of 50. Everyone else there was older than us.
I’m glad we went.
Nevada provides especially fertile grounds for studying ghost towns, as the hot desert air has preserved even many 100-year old wooden buildings, and many of the ghosts in Nevada remain in isolated solitude (unlike, say, Colorado, where former ghost towns are now ski resorts).
The (soft cover) booklet “Nevada Ghost Towns” is available here.
“History is in the making, and those paying attention have ringside seats.”
Americans have long valued autonomy as a component of freedom. ~ The more wealth one amasses, the more independent one is in the world. One is free by becoming self-reliant and an island unto oneself.
For Europeans, freedom is not found in autonomy, but in embeddedness. To be free is to have access to a myriad of interdependent relationships with others.
The American Dream pays homage to the work ethic. The European Dream is more attuned to leisure and deep play. The American Dream is inseparable from the country’s religious heritage and deep spiritual faith. The European Dream is secular to the core.
Everybody NEEDS Joel’s Blog – Don’t forget to have fun.
