Zviane

Une artiste BD d'un talent fou (et indéniable!) propose plein de tranches de vies, en texte, en BD, en musique et en dessins. Génial.

http://www.zviane.com/

Un peu comme tous ces trucs simples et bêtes en apparence à propos desquels je déblatère sur ce blog, les tranches de vies n'ont rien de fantastique ou d'épique, mais elles sont parsemées de leçons, de petites vérités, de petites douceurs, de petits douleurs.

À trop passer de temps à me relaxer et à me divertir, je ressens un vide incroyable. C'est du vide, de l'intangible... J'ai besoin d'avancer, sinon je recule... L'entropie je suppose. J'ai besoin de trucs concrets, de trucs constructifs. Un peu comme la viande dans un bon repas; c'est ben bon le p'tit pain au beurre à l'ail tout chaud, mais c'est pas ça qui te fait toffer, même si c'est tentant de se bourrer!

Ces biographies, ces tranches de vie, l'expérience humaine, me fait avancer.

Asphalt

What is it with all these black and somewhat toxic substances? After coal, now asphalt! A friend's inquiry as to why the roads start off pitch black, then gradually lighten prompted my small query.

Asphalt is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits. Asphalt is composed almost entirely of bitumen. The term asphalt is often used as an abbreviation for asphalt concrete.

The largest use of asphalt is for making asphalt concrete for road surfaces, which accounts for approximately 80% of the asphalt consumed in the United States. Roofing shingles account for most of the remaining asphalt consumption. Other uses include cattle sprays, fence post treatments, and waterproofing for fabrics.

While Americans are accustomed to thinking about recycling their newspapers and beverage containers, the most widely recycled product in terms of both percentage and tonnage is actually asphalt road surfaces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt

I must note that that friend told me aged roads can vary in color because the rock used in the asphalt concrete is often local to the road (as so much is needed I guess). I remember seeing green-ish and red-ish road around here, but I never asked myself why! Woe!

Charcoal

Thinking of coal, I knew of man-made "BBQ" charcoal nuggets, but I didn't know about them...

Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. It is usually produced by heating wood in the absence of oxygen (see char), but sugar charcoal, bone charcoal (which contains a great amount of calcium phosphate), and others can be produced as well. The soft, brittle, light, black, porous material is 85% to 98% carbon, the remainder consisting of volatile chemicals and ash, and resembles coal.

The porosity of activated charcoal accounts for its ability to readily adsorb gases and liquids; charcoal is often used to filter water or adsorb odors. Its pharmacological action depends on the same property; it adsorbs the gases of the stomach and intestines, and also liquids and solids (hence its use in the treatment of certain poisonings). Charcoal filters are used in some types of gas mask to remove poisonous gases from inhaled air.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal

Coal

I knew coal was an extremely important part of the world's economy due to it's base role in industrial processes, but needed to know more...

Coal (previously referred to as pitcoal or seacoal) is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (surface mining). It is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. It is composed primarily of carbon along with assorted other elements, including sulfur. Often associated with the Industrial Revolution, coal remains an enormously important fuel. It is the largest single source of electricity world-wide, and a vital component in the extraction of iron. Coal is formed from plant remains that have been compacted, hardened, chemically altered, and metamorphosed by heat and pressure over geologic time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal

Seal level

You find mountains' height expressed in feet or meters, relative to the sea level...

Mean sea level (MSL) is the average (mean) height of the sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface. Defining the reference level, however, involves complex measurement, and accurately determining MSL can prove difficult.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level

Waves

Went to Salisbury Beach, MA. The air, the ocean, the crashing waves...

Ocean surface waves are surface waves that occur at the surface of an ocean. They result from usually distant winds or geologic effects and may travel thousands of miles before striking land. They range in size from small ripples to huge tsunamis. There is surprisingly little actual forward motion of individual water particles in a wave, despite the large amount of forward energy it may carry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waves

Humble knowledge

It might be might fascination with all things simulation, but I long not for knowledge of the deep and obscure; the smaller and humbler phenomenas of everyday life, that we take for granted are more appealing to me.

The knowledge we have is too frequently polluted by myths, urban legends and plain falsenesses. We get that from childhood memories, erroneous, shallow and/or short TV programs, and good ol' enthropy.

So I'll gather some topics I am curious of, some quite bland, some very specific and far off. But most will be simple and down to earth. But mostly it is knowledge I think we all need, since we need to understand the simple things first, before linking our knowledge snippets together and building hard opinions on more everyday subjects.

I'll see how it evolves. At first I'll edit info I find here and there, mostly from www.wikipdeia.org.

Let us be humble.

Newborn

Newborn blog. How cute!

Now visite Geoff Manaugh's blog at bldgblog.blogspot.com