Consider: The Worthington Jet

I am not sure how to handle this.  It is the scourge of millions each day at the same time it is a documented phenomenon.   A.N. Worthington along with   the London Society for Promotion of Christian Knowledge published A paper  in 1895 concerning splashes, or a phenomenon called the Worthington  Jet. This is the effect  observed when an object or material  is observed  as it travels
through the surface of a Newtonian fluid. (note PDF @ http://www.colorado.edu/MCEN/flowvis/galleries/2007/assignment6/OLoughlin.pdf) 

The effect is basically, as the object contacts the fluid's surface, it pulls this surface down and along with it.  A turbulent interface is observed between the bending surface of the fluid and the mass.  At this point the mass breaks away and the fluid rebounds into the cavity (due in part to surface tension, and pressure)  to form the Worthington jet.

The jet's structure can be controlled by varying the uniformity of the object.  Spherical objects provide the most uniform / cohesive jet, where as rough and or irregular object seems to produce jets consisting of several parts.  

As this effect can be troublesome, experiments have shown that changing the surface tension can eliminate or lessen the effect. 

Now if you haven't figured this out yet....oh I love the fact that there is a REAL name and a REAL effect,  continue on to the address below. 

For more on the effect and lessening its' effect, please watch this YouTube video

Odds on me doing this story with a straight face?

Star Wars VII

  Yep, you read that right. Star Wars 7. 

  Apparently, Disney spent 4.05 billion to acquire Skywalker Sound, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and the Indiana franchise, they announced a tentative release date of 2015. 

  Apparently a Disney representative mentioned that they had every intention of making more than one film. He said to the effect of episode 7 in 2015, and then episode 8 the next year, and 9 the year after, and see where they go from there then. 

   I admit that getting Lucas away from Star Wars is probably one of the best things that could happen. However, will it now get even more childish, or will they actually try and do something with that space fantasy.

  I was a fan myself, but I saw it for what it was even then. It wasn't science fiction, not even back when it came out. Lucas himself called it a Space Fantasy, and that is what it was. But after the first one, (episode 4), it just kind of went to shit. Everything could be seen coming so easily, and then when he got to the prequels, he went totally off base. The man goes from a mystical energy field, to symbiotic creatures in the blood as an explanation of the Force. Doesn't work. You can turn sci-fi into space fantasy, or science fantasy, but you can't do it the other way around. 

  And as for Disney, look what they did back then to a great movie, or could have been, called The Black Hole. We ended up with this nonsense about a black hole leading to heaven or hell. 

  And no folks, it isn't that I grew up when it comes to star wars. I'm an avid follower of bad movies, and anime of all types, even that childish Super Hero Squad that I watched every episode of.  Still Love Astro Boy too. So maybe this will be a good thing.

   Then again, if they go from what Lucas originally had planned, (which was the rebuilding of the old republic) and would decide to pick up shortly after the original 3, where would you get the people to play those characters now. And would they be accepted. 

  You know, I think I will be waiting much more anxiously for season 10 of Red Dwarf, (which is airing now in Britain) before I m ever waiting for episode 7.

  Anyway, here's a link for all interested. And also have 1 web series review later this week, and maybe 2. Depends what breaks, blows up, or blows out (my back again) next.  Meant to have those two watched and up here almost 2 weeks ago. Hell, I'm even an episode behind on Arrow. And the CW site sucks for playback usually.

http://moviepilot.com/stories/711065-new-star-wars-feature-film-set-for-2015-every-sci-fi-lover-rejoice?stamp=82203&utm_campaign=new-star-wars-feature-film-set-for-2015-every-last-sci-fi-lover-should-rejoice&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=fb-channel-scifi-movie-channel

Review: Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow

 Review: Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
Voice credits for the animated characters.

    Brenna O'Brien as Torunn
    Aidan Drummond as Henry Pym, Jr.
    Noah C. Crawford as James Rogers
    Dempsey M. Pappion as Azari T'Challa
    Adrian Petriw as Francis Barton/Hawkeye II
    Tom Kane as Tony Stark/Iron Man and Ultron
    Shawn MacDonald as Vision
    Ken Kramer as Bruce Banner/Hulk
    Nicole Oliver as Betty Ross
    Fred Tatasciore as Hulk
    Michael Adamthwaite as Thor

In this straight to video Lions Gate animated Marvel film we are again visited by some old nemesis but the twist here is that it is a couple of decades into the future and we are introduced not to the Avengers, but to their children.  It seems many of the avengers had married and produced children.  These children, of Black Panther and his queen Storm,  Black Widow & Captain America, Giant Man & Wasp and the daughter of Thor & Sif are kept in a secret enclave away from Ultron who has eliminated the Avengers and would do the same to the children if he discovered them.  Curiously it is Tony Stark / Iron Man who has been tasked with caring for the children since they were infants.  

Their lives are uneventful until a mysterious android called The Vision appears one day heavily damaged to tell Stark that Ultron is aware of another child, long thought dead, still alive in the city.

Through another bit of mis-adventure, Ultron is also made aware of the other children as well.  

The balance of the movie is Ultron trying to destroy  the children, Stark and even another Avenger who was not killed in the initial attack and the children finally pressed into destroying Ultron even though they were to flee to another hiding place.

I had seen bits and pieces of this movie in the past, but was unclear of the timeline.  Being interested in the comic/animated version of the Avengers, I took a stab at watching the animated carry on to the Avengers.  According to the on disk extras, this particular piece of Avengers timeline is in fact a stand alone with heretofore unheard of characters.  This was not one of the “tiny or mini” Avengers that you find on some of the kids channels.  Though aimed straight at a much younger audience, this full length animated feature is much more edgey and far more ambiguous when it came to the right choices.  So it is clear that the writers and directors were aiming at a much more sophisticated watcher.  Though the animation is certainly not Japanese anime quality, it is still far above what was usually available in Saturday morning fare.

I would give this a qualified watch.  I think the younger you are the more you might enjoy it.  As for extra features, the movie has two featurettes and a couple of Hulk VS introduction shorts and that is about it.  The featurettes however are interesting enough if you are a comic / anime fan, for the thought process and a view into the minds of fan / animators / artist, which is worth a watch.

So overall if you are an Avenger or comic Avenger fan and are intrigued by a stand alone follow on piece then this is for you and as far as entertainment goes under those parameters, the movie will  likely be an 7, but otherwise it will not work for you, it is clearly a fan film by fans for fans and as such will simply not appeal to the average movie viewer.

BMU #337 Now Online!

On the last show for Beam Me Up in October, once again is out traditional Halloween story, Happy Halloween by Colin P. Davies.  If you haven't heard this story yet you are in for a treat!  Colin went all out with this one and Crystal Wizard studios has done a masterful mix!  In its' third year, it continues to hold up and I am sure you will see why I feel it is one of the best stories for a season, that we have ever run.

But first up: Did you remember that Lost In Space had two theme music scores? I found the one that was played from year one to four, but there was another.

Ever been asked why is the sky blue or black at night?  Think you got the answer?  You may only be part right!

I dial it back for a sec to do Star Trek Trivia once again.

Nissan in an effort to improve the comfort of their car's ride are trying to emulate the texture of a very unusual substance...

With the advent of 3d-printing - scientist suggest that DNA and Drug manufacture can not be far behind and the implications are staggering!

That and much more this week on Beam Me UP!

Zoomable Milky Way Mosaic

Here is one short and sweet. Astronomers assembled hundreds of infrared photos of the milky way. All of them put together form a mosaic that is zoomable.

The utility was constructed using images from the nine gigapixel VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory.    This provided a dataset that contains more than ten times more stars than previous studies!  This gives viewers an incredible, zoomable view of the central part of our galaxy.

 You can find this browser based utility here  or click the top photo