Tam and Sam

20100328

Swap A Rama

I had a blast last weekend at Swap A Rama. I made a hat and learned basic sewing on a machine!! I only got to go to the second day due to work but it was more than worth it.

Swap A Rama is a two day DIY craft fair started by Wendy Tremayne.
It brings together professional artist/designers who teach participants how to:
Make Hats
Do Natural Dyeing
Silk Screen
Do Embroidery
Make T-Shirt Scarves
Make Handbags
Basic Sewing on Machines (Assisted and DIY)

To participate you bring a bag of unwanted clothes/fabric/shoes in usable condition and pay a "suggested donation" (20 dollars) which mean you can pay whatever you can =()!
It is a traveling fair so you can register to host one in your city.
You can go here to find out about upcoming events
http://swaporamarama.org/events.htm

Happy Crafting!

20100302

NASA: Chilean quake pushes earth of its axis and shortens earth days

Not living in Chile or close to it has not saved us from the effects. My question is does this happen after every natural disaster and if so why is this not being reported?

"The Feb. 27 magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile may have shortened the length of each Earth day.

JPL research scientist Richard Gross computed how Earth's rotation should have changed as a result of the Feb. 27 quake. Using a complex model, he and fellow scientists came up with a preliminary calculation that the quake should have shortened the length of an Earth day by about 1.26 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second).

Perhaps more impressive is how much the quake shifted Earth's axis. Gross calculates the quake should have moved Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters, or 3 inches). Earth’s figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet).

By comparison, Gross said the same model estimated the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth's axis by 2.32 milliarcseconds (about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches).

Gross said that even though the Chilean earthquake is much smaller than the Sumatran quake, it is predicted to have changed the position of the figure axis by a bit more for two reasons. First, unlike the 2004 Sumatran earthquake, which was located near the equator, the 2010 Chilean earthquake was located in Earth's mid-latitudes, which makes it more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis. Second, the fault responsible for the 2010 Chiliean earthquake dips into Earth at a slightly steeper angle than does the fault responsible for the 2004 Sumatran earthquake. This makes the Chile fault more effective in moving Earth's mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis.

Gross said the Chile predictions will likely change as data on the quake are further refined."