R E F L E C T I O N S

That's the title of  the course I'm taking tonight.  It's at The Center for Lifelong Learning (local adult continuing education).  I am curious about who my ancestors are.  I've never met my grandparents on either my mother's or father's side of the family so I don't know how far I'll get. My roots will probably be traceable only back to my grandparents. Maybe I'm just a "mutt from the pound".  But they say some of the best tempered and healthiest dogs come from pounds. It should be very interesting.

I enjoy watching these wolves as they were meant to live, out in the wild. This video gets to me every time.

I came across this video while I was surfing on YouTube.

Image via Wikipedia The other day when I was looking again at my post The Spinning Dancer Illusion I found a way to control the direction she is spinning. Click on link below to see the dancer in motion: REFLECTIONS- The Spinning Dancer Illusion If you read any text below the dancer and watch her from your peripheral field of vision she will change direction back and forth then change more slowly if you look directly at her. Let me know how this works for you.

I saw this illusion a few years ago.  At first I suspected the animation caused the girl to alternately spin clockwise then stop and spin counterclockwise.  I tested this suspicion with my wife. We both watched at the same time.  At first I saw the girl spin the way my wife saw it.  Then the girl changed the direction of her spin for me while not for my wife.  Then she changed again.  Sometimes we saw the same thing other times we saw the opposite. This difference in our view of which direction she was spinning proved it was a real optical illusion and not a trick in the animation. Here she is: Image via Wikipedia  From Wikipedia: The Spinning Dancer is a kinetic, bistable optical illusion resembling a pirouetting female dancer. Some observers initially see the figure as spinning clockwise and some counterclockwise. Additionally, some may see the figure suddenly spin in the opposite direction. The illusion derives from ...

In my last post I mentioned how when looking out the window of a moving vehicle the passing trees seemed to be rotating on their own turntables.  Yesterday I payed more attention to the scenery and noticed that when looking out the right side of the car the trees seemed to rotate counterclockwise.  Looking out the left side of the car the trees seemed to rotate clockwise. Let me know how you see this effect when you travel in a moving vehicle.

I came across this photo of an historic reenactment.  Somehow it made me very excited.  I felt like a boy again playing with toy soldiers. (Click on photo to enlarge it then use the "back" button to return to my blog.) Here are the details: Centurion - (ancient Rome) the leader of 100 soldiers. [from Latin centuri, centurin-, from centuria, group of a hundred; see century.] Qualities necessary for the centurion: 1. Centurions had to be literate. 2. Have connections (letters of recommendation). 3. Be at least 30 years of age. 4. Had already served a few years in the military. The centurion in the infantry is chosen for: -his size, strength and dexterity in throwing his missile weapons and for his skill in the use of his sword and shield; in short for his expertness in all the exercises. He is to be vigilant, temperate, active and readier to execute the orders he receives than to --talk -- Strict in exercising and keeping up proper discipline amon...