and the answer is ..

Recently I encountered a dilemma (actually it was a trilemma) and I didn't like the result of either choice. I could have made no choice (the third option) but like in all situations it would come up at a later date and the resultant would have been worse. I felt that this entire situation was a pons asinorum.

Now, I could said that this particular paradox was a case of Buridan's ass, but it (the situation) was more of a case of Morton's Fork. But since the results were pleasant it was more of a Hobson's choice.

I wouldn't say that this was a Catch 22, but since I got around the problem (by changing the parameters) I would say that it would be more accurate to state that Kobayashi Maru came in to play.

Just the Fax ma'm

Before telephones there was the facsimile, more commonly known as FAX.
Later, the wireless picture (sometimes referred to as radio FAX), didn't come into play until the late 1920s. However, not until the mid-70s, through a series of improvements, was the telephone finally used to transmit images.

It was the Japanese who made usage of FAX as a popular medium. The Japanese language uses thousands of characters. To use the adage of "a picture is worth a thousand words" simplifies the reason the device quickly came into general use in the Orient.

The advent of Email, computerized files and the usage of PDF has supplanted the requirement for facsimile transmision. It now can all be done from your personal computer (PC) without having to get out of your chair.

The Star of Life goes wheeaa wheeaa

The "wand of Hermes", also referred to as a caduceus, was carried in the left hand by the ancient Greek God signifying Peace. Hermes, along with being the messenger of the gods, was the guide of the dead (psychopomp) and protector of merchants, shepherds, gamblers, liars and thieves.

The caduceus is sometimes mistakely used as a symbol for medicine even though the symbol has no connection with Hippocrates. The error might have come from a printer's vignette that separated the chapters of a medical book by using a caduceus.

If one observes the logos of modern medical associations they will notice the correct usage of the Rod of Asclepius instead.

A cold long stare

Around the middle of August of each year the Earth travels through a spacial debris field and thus creates a meteor shower. This particular light show appears to come from the the constellation Perseus.

Perseus, in Greek mythology, killed the sea monster Ceto to save the princess Andromeda from certain death. In some versions he used the severed head of the only Gorgon sister that was mortal. Since Medussa could turn living objects into stone, her severed head was used to save Perseus' future wife, from the monster.

The Perseids upon reaching the Earth's protective atmosphere literally burn up, in an ablative manner, and yield an enjoyable show. Space debris "falls" from their orbit due to friction, but once traveling at high speeds in the atmosphere they burn because of pressure.

The question I have is; if they were immortal, where are the other Gorgon sisters?

Mirage, that's all you are to me

According to legend, Morgan la Fay was King Arthur's sorceress half-sister. In Italian, her name is Fata Morgana, which is also the name given to a special mirage observed in the Strait of Messina.

A mirage is an optical phenomenon, but a mondegreen is when the ear hears (aural phenomenon) a certain lyric in a song, and due to near homophone, yields thus a new meaning.

Although "Donuts make my brown eyes blue." is humorous, I always appreciate "There's a bathroom on the right".

Patois

It's amazing how technology, especially the Internet, affects how the written word, as opposed to the spoken word, is utilized. For example, FYI is an acronym that is different than FAQ, these are terms that are mostly used with text messaging, WEB pages or Emails.

It's almost impossible to keep abreast of all the "internet speak" as most of the items are not obvious. However, even though obscure, some terms are more appropriate than others. One of these is RTMF. This particular acronym has many variants but it generally conveys, to the recipient, the message that "I'm a bit lazy and I'd rather ask a question than read the answer".

Although not entirely technical, my favourite acronyn is TANSTAAFL. It implies that when it comes down to it, It's always a question of money. In other words, "you get what you pay for".

Rock me gently, rock me slowly - Part 3

It is generally attributed that Homer wrote the epic poem "the Iliad". Basically, it's a story of the Trojan war, with its many heroes and their many exploits.

At Lagrangian points L₄ and L₅, in the Jupiter-Sun system, there exist groups of asteriods that are called the Jupiter Trojans. These asteroids are broken up into either of two camps; the Trojan camp (L₄) or the Greek camp (L₅).

One thing you notice going down the list of asteroids is the lack of names of heroines of the Trojan war, and there were many. I guess that it's that it's a continuation of "the Cassandra effect".

Rock me gently, rock me slowly - Part 2

When two celestial bodies of vastly different masses, say the Earth and the Sun, attract each other there are five Lagragian libration points, in space, were gravitational and orbital forces are in equilibrium.

  These points are abbreviated as L₁ through to L₅.



L₁ to L₃ are in direct line with the heavenly bodies. Whereas L₄ and L₅, the most stable, are on a plain of sixty degrees leading and trailing the orbit of the smaller body. Bearing this fact in mind, depending on the purpose of the mission, one of the most appropriate places to position an artificial satellite would be on or close to one of these libration points.

L₁ and L₂ are being, or will be, utilized by a number of man made probes. The Gaia mission and the Webb Space telescope are some of the projects planned to take advantage of the L₂ libration point.

As L₁ to L₃ are unstable (i.e., it tends to drift) any craft would be require a propulsion system to maintain their position. To get around the problem of how much propellant will be carried, a Lissajous orbit (click on the magnifying glass, in the link, to get a good visual) is utilized to counter this particular requirement.

My guess is that with the price of fuel and the frequency of available service stations, that an alternative method of improving mileage had to be found.

TE - Rock me gently, rock me slowly

I can only assume that Andy Kim wasn't thinking about librations when he sang "Rock me gently".

Libration is derived from the Latin, which means scales. There are many types of scales but one of most accurate for weighing is the balance scale. Nowadays, the the balance scale is mostly seen as a blindfolded maiden holding in one hand the "scales of justice"

Although "Justice is blind", there are many examples were cases are miscarried.

Rock me gently, rock me slowly

The gentle rocking back and forth of the moon, over a given time period, is called libration. Even though, the front of the Moon is tidally locked to always face towards Earth, this phenomena allows an observer on Earth to see close to 60% of the lunar surface.

The ancient Greek Deity for the moon was Selene; hence selenology, the study of the geology of the Moon. Whereas her brother, Helios, was the personification of the other celestial body, the Sun.

Since the the second lightest and the second most abundant element in the observable Universe was first discovered using a mass spectrometer on sunlight, it's only fitting that it would have the name Helium.