Tunguska, A Century Later

Asteroid or comet blamed for Siberian blast of 1908

BLAST FROM THE PAST
The Tunguska blast shook Siberia in 1908, but on-site investigations were delayed for two decades. One of the first photos showed a large area of flattened trees. Astro.WSU.edu

Early on the morning of June 30, 1908, a massive explosion shook central Siberia. Witnesses told of a fireball that streaked in from the southeast and then detonated in the sky above the desolate, forested region. At the nearest trading post, about 70 kilometers away from the blast, people were reportedly knocked from their feet. Seismic instruments in the area registered ground motions equivalent to those of a magnitude-5 earthquake.

Effects of the event—often called the Tunguska blast, after a major river running through the area—weren’t restricted to Siberia. Sensitive barometers in England detected an atmospheric shock wave as it raced westward and then detected it again after it traveled around the world. High-altitude clouds that formed over the region after the event were so lofty that they caught light from beyond the horizon, illuminating the sky so much that people at locales in Europe and Asia could read newspapers outdoors at midnight.

A number of factors—including the site’s remote location, World War I and the Russian Revolution—prevented scientists from mounting an expedition to the blast zone for almost two decades, says physicist Giuseppe Longo of the University of Bologna in Italy. When researchers eventually reached the region, they found that a 2,150-square-kilometer patch of forest had been flattened, with most of the 80 million trees lying in a radial pattern. What the researchers didn’t find, however, was an obvious crater.

A century later, scientists are still debating the cause of the Tunguska blast. Through the years, Longo notes, a variety of scenarios have been proposed, many of them involving the explosion of an unusual extraterrestrial object—everything from a small black hole or a chunk of antimatter to a UFO. Most researchers, however, now pin the blame on the mid-air explosion of a small comet or asteroid, which typically can’t stand up to the pummeling received while blazing through the atmosphere.

The damage in Siberia suggests that the Tunguska detonation happened at an altitude of between 6 and 8 kilometers and released the energy of about 15 megatons of TNT, about a thousand times more than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

Data gathered by military satellites—including those designed to detect clandestine nuclear explosions—suggest that tiny versions of the Tunguska blast occur rather frequently, says Philip A. Bland, a planetary scientist at Imperial College London. The largest airburst detected during the 1990s measured only a few tens of kilotons, the energy release expected from the explosion of an asteroid measuring about 7 or 8 meters across. Impacts of objects measuring at least 1 meter in diameter occur, on average, about once a week, the data suggest. Tunguska-sized airbursts would be expected to happen about once every 500 years, says Bland.

Previous studies have estimated that the Tunguska asteroid was between 50 and 80 meters in diameter, says Mark Boslough, a physicist at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. However, new supercomputer simulations by Boslough and his colleagues hint that a much smaller object could have produced the damage. New models account for the downward momentum of the air compressed beneath the incoming object, a component of the process “that previously had been thrown away,” says Boslough.

So the Tunguska asteroid may have been only 30 to 50 meters across, he notes. Simulations suggest that it entered the atmosphere traveling about 15 kilometers per second at an angle about 35 degrees above the horizon. The shock wave produced by the airburst could have slammed into the ground at 180 kilometers per hour, a gust with the wind speed of a category-3 hurricane, the team reports in an upcoming issue of the International Journal of Impact Engineering.

Late last year, Longo and his colleagues reported that Lake Cheko, a 400-meter–wide lake about eight kilometers northwest of the Tunguska blast’s epicenter, could be the long-sought crater produced by a chunk of asteroid that actually reached the ground. The lake is about 50 meters deep, has a cone-shaped bottom unlike other lakes in the region and—possibly most important—lies directly along the estimated path of the fireball. Sonar studies reveal a buried object or a densely compacted layer of sediment about 10 meters below the center of the lake bottom, the researchers reported in the August 2007 Terra Nova.

CELESTIAL CAUSE? Supercomputer simulations show how an asteroid would approach and explode with the force and extent known for the Tunguska event.
Sandia National Lab

But other factors suggest that Lake Cheko isn’t a water-filled impact crater, says Gareth Collins of Imperial College London. For one thing, he notes, a hole the size of this lake typically would be one in a series of holes excavated by pieces of the disintegrating object, whereas Lake Cheko apparently has no companions. And the area around the lake isn’t covered with a layer of material that would have been thrown out of a crater during the impact. Also, pictures of the lake from an aerial survey in 1938 show mature trees (more than 30 years old) on the lakeshore—a sure sign that this body of water has a more benign provenance, Collins and colleagues write in the April Terra Nova.

The lack of an impact crater, along with the dearth of geochemical anomalies in rock in the region, has spurred some scientists to seek an alternate explanation for the blast. One favorite down-to-Earth idea points to the modern-day formation of a kimberlite deposit, an eruption that brings diamonds to Earth’s surface (SN: 6/30/07, p. 412). Such an eruption could have injected about 10 million tons of methane into the atmosphere, a plume that if detonated would have released a forest-flattening burst of energy.

Scientists will attend conferences in Moscow at the end of June to commemorate the blast and discuss the latest findings. Those proposing an extraterrestrial cause will be meeting at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Those who favor an Earth-based origin of the blast will gather across town, at the Polytechnical Museum.

Back story

Explanations for the Tunguska event have spanned science and fiction

1925-A Russian scientist says the explosion’s recorded seismic and air waves suggest a meteorite as the culprit.

1934-A British scientist and a Russian scientist say the blast must have been an in-air comet explosion.

1941-An American researcher claims an antimatter meteoroid was annihilated when it encountered matter.

1946-Russian sci-fi writer Alexander Kazantsev tells the tale of Tunguska as a UFO that vaporized.

1973-Two theorists suggest a black hole as small as a comma passed through Earth and exited via the North Atlantic.

2001-Ideas go down: The blast perhaps was a kimberlite eruption, which lifts diamonds and methane from Earth’s depths.

Walter

Strange News

Lead Story: Crocodile trapped in surf off SC barrier island

Isle of Palms, S.C. - Officials at the Isle of Palms ordered everyone out of the water because of a dangerous animal. But it wasn't a shark this time. Instead, wildlife officials ended up trapping a 6-foot long American crocodile in the surf Thursday.

Steve Bennett of the Department of Natural Resources told The Post and Courier of Charleston that the crocodile likely escaped or was released by someone who illegally brought it from its normal habitat in southern Florida.

But Bennett says it is possible the crocodile could have swum up the coast. Officials say they shut down the beach and ordered hundreds out of the water as a precaution until the crocodile was trapped.

No injuries were reported. Officials planned to send the creature to an alligator park, or to a wildlife preserve in south Florida.

Man, 84, finally gets to attend high school prom

Chester, PA - He arrived in style: a black limo, a sharp tuxedo, a beautiful date and with an adoring crowd waiting for him. Kenneth Smith, 84, attended the Chester High School prom on Thursday night — fashionably late. Decades late.

Smith was drafted into military service 1943, before he could finish high school. He returned home after World War II but never got his high school diploma.

A friend arranged for him to receive an honorary diploma from Chester High School, just outside Philadelphia, and finally go to the prom.

He did — at the Springfield Country Club.

Smith said this prom wasn't just for him. He said it was also for all the other soldiers who couldn't make it to their own.

Police nab man claiming to be Christ, George Bush

Birmingham, AL - A Jefferson County Jail inmate has quite a tale to tell about how he got there. The nude man claimed to be Jesus Christ and George Bush when sheriff's deputies shot him with a stun gun after he ignored their commands.

A motorist spotted the 30-year-old standing nude in the middle of Alabama 79 early Friday morning and called police.

The man struggled with police and was shot with a Taser four times before they subdued him and put him in handcuffs and leg irons.

He told the deputies he was Jesus Christ and George Bush and could break the handcuffs.

Police say he appeared to be intoxicated. The man was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Stolen Jesus statue returned to Detroit church

Detroit, MI - A Detroit woman has found Jesus ... in an alley.

The pastor of a church in the city says its stolen 8-foot Jesus statue was recovered from bushes in an alley about two blocks away.

Patricia Bowers says she notified the church late Wednesday that she had seen the statue the previous day after she had gotten off a bus.

Bowers says she didn't realize the green-hued, plaster statue had been stolen until seeing news reports Tuesday night.

The Rev. Barry Randolph says the only damage to the statue is a broken hand. The cross it was attached to suffered major damage.

A church member noticed the statue missing Monday. Randolph says thieves may have thought the statue contained copper, which often is stolen and sold as scrap metal.

From bad to verse: Vandals get classroom penance

Middlebury, VT - Call it poetic justice: More than two dozen young people who broke into Robert Frost's former home for a beer party and trashed the place are being required to take classes in his poetry as part of their punishment.

Using "The Road Not Taken" and another poem as jumping-off points, Frost biographer Jay Parini hopes to show the vandals the error of their ways — and the redemptive power of poetry.

"I guess I was thinking that if these teens had a better understanding of who Robert Frost was and his contribution to our society, that they would be more respectful of other people's property in the future and would also learn something from the experience," said prosecutor John Quinn.

The vandalism occurred at the Homer Noble Farm in Ripton, where Frost spent more than 20 summers before his death in 1963. Now owned by Middlebury College, the unheated farmhouse on a dead-end road is used occasionally by the college and is open in the warmer months.

On Dec. 28, a 17-year-old former Middlebury College employee decided to hold a party and gave a friend $100 to buy beer. Word spread. Up to 50 people descended on the farm, the revelry turning destructive after a chair broke and someone threw it into the fireplace.

When it was over, windows, antique furniture and china had been broken, fire extinguishers discharged, and carpeting soiled with vomit and urine. Empty beer cans and drug paraphernalia were left behind. The damage was put at $10,600.

Twenty-eight people — all but two of them teenagers — were charged, mostly with trespassing.

About 25 ultimately entered pleas — or were accepted into a program that allows them to wipe their records clean — provided they underwent the Frost instruction. Some will also have to pay for some of the damage, and most were ordered to perform community service in addition to the classroom sessions. The man who bought the beer is the only one who went to jail; he got three days behind bars.

Parini, 60, a Middlebury College professor who has stayed at the house before, was eager to oblige when Quinn asked him to teach the classes. He donated his time for the two sessions.

On Wednesday, 11 turned out for the first, with Parini giving line-by-line interpretations of "The Road Not Taken" and "Out, Out-," seizing on parts with particular relevance to draw parallels to their case.

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood," he thundered, reciting the opening line of the first poem, which he called symbolic of the need to make choices in life.

"This is where Frost is relevant. This is the irony of this whole thing. You come to a path in the woods where you can say, `Shall I go to this party and get drunk out of my mind?'" he said. "Everything in life is choices."

Even the setting had parallels, he said: "Believe me, if you're a teenager, you're always in the damned woods. Literally, you're in the woods — probably too much you're in the woods. And metaphorically you're in the woods, in your life. Look at you here, in court diversion! If that isn't `in the woods,' what the hell is `in the woods'? You're in the woods!"

Dressed casually, one with his skateboard propped up against his desk, the young people listened to Parini and answered questions when he pressed. Then a court official asked them to describe how their arrests and the publicity affected them.

"I was worried about my family," said one boy, whose name was withheld because the so-called diversion program in which took part is confidential. "I'll be carrying on the family name and all that. And with this kind of thing tied to me, it doesn't look very good."

Another said: "After this, I'm thinking about staying out of trouble, because this is my last chance."

"My parents' business in town was affected," said a girl.

When the session ended, the vandals were offered snacks — apple cider, muffins, sliced fruit — but none partook. They went straight for the door, several declining comment as they walked out of the building. The next session is Tuesday.

"It's a lesson learned, that's for sure," said one of them, 22-year-old Ryan Kenyon, whose grandmother worked as hairdresser in the 1960s and knew Frost. "It did bring some insight. People do many things that they don't realize the consequences of. It shined a light, at least to me."

Woman accused of setting gas price protest fires

Danville, CA - A Danville woman faces arson charges after she allegedly set fires at two gas stations and a coffee house, saying she was protesting high gas prices. The woman, 64, remained Thursday in a Contra Costa jail on $810,000 bail on suspicion of premeditated arson and burglary.

Police say the woman used a fireplace log and a lighter to set fires in the restrooms of an Arco station, a Chevron station and a Starbucks on Wednesday. No structural damage was reported at the locations.

Police later found the woman at a nearby fast food restaurant with eight fireplace logs with her. She told officers that she was behind the fires and said she woke up that morning wanting to do something about high gas prices.

Police say they don't know why she targeted the Starbucks. Charges have not yet been filed, and it's not clear if the woman has a lawyer in the case.

Walter

Making A Difference

Diana Koebel has seen the darker side of the horse racing industry, where a fractured leg or bone chip can lead to a grim future. But as NBC's Amy Robach reports, Koebel is helping to give some thoroughbreds a second lease on life.

GLAST and Gamma-ray Astronomy

As scheduled, the GLAST gamma-ray telescope mission was launched last week, on June 5, around noon EDT. It's actually kind of a big deal, and I'll summarize some of the reasons for that here.

To begin with, you can find background information on the mission from NASA here and here.

In addition, there have been some good summaries already in science-oriented publications:

• Question and Answer with GLAST Scientists – good Q&A session available at the Sky and Telescope site
  
• GLAST goes for blast-off – very good 5/1/08 feature article provided by Physics World
  
• GLAST Mission Prepares to Explore the Extremes of Cosmic Violence – another very good article from the 5/23/08 issue of Science (sub. rqd.)
  

You can find good explanations of exactly what GLAST is in most of the above references.

What I'll summarize here are just some of the main objects and phenomena that GLAST is expected to help observe and study.

Gamma-ray bursts

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been discussed here several times, such as here and here. It is generally agreed that there are several different events that can cause a GRB, and a fair amount is known about the phenomenon already. For instance, the subtype known as a "long" GRB is thought to result from supernova explosions in which a high-energy jet of particles and radiation is emitted in a narrow beam that happens to point in our direction. But as yet we haven't measured the complete spectrum of energy from a GRB of any type. This spectrum can range from a few KeV to hundreds of GeV, and knowing it in detail would help determine the nature of the associated event much more accurately.

Dark matter

The visible universe that consists of luminous objects like stars and galaxies is composed of baryonic matter (mainly protons and helium nuclei). There may be at least as much baryonic matter in the form of diffuse gas that we cannot see. (Recent observations here and here.)

Yet it is essentially certain that the universe actually contains about four times as much matter that we can't detect at all (except by its gravitational effects) as all that baryonic matter put together. This is the dark matter. There are many theories about what this dark matter consists of, but in one of the main classes of theories, the matter consists of "weakly-interacting massive particles" (WIMPs). In most such theories, WIMPs can annihilate each other in pairs, giving off copious quantities of gamma-rays (among other things).

If some such theory accounts for a portion of the dark matter, GLAST will make it possible to estimate properties of WIMPs (e. g. their mass) by observing gamma-rays from locations where dark matter is expected to be concentrated, such as in the center of the Milky Way. This kind of information will complement and help corroborate observations made at the Large Hadron Collider, in which some kinds of WIMPs (if they exist at all) are expected to be created.

Solar gamma-rays

Although our Sun is a relatively weak source of gamma-rays compared to almost everything else mentioned here (even weaker than the Moon, where gamma-rays are produced when cosmic rays strike the surface), several solar events, such as flares and coronal mass ejections do produce gamma-rays. So GLAST will help us better understand solar events of this kind.

Supernova remnants

A large class of gamma-ray bursts are associated with the initial blast of a supernova event, and the gamma-rays from such bursts subside in a matter of minutes. But other gamma-rays may originate by other mechanisms from the supernova remnant long after the original event. Gamma-rays are thought to be produced in such remnants due to particles being accelerated to high energies in the blast and subsequently generating shock waves in the interstellar medium. The shock waves themselves are reasonably well understood, but how the particles are actually accelerated by the supernova blast needs much more elucidation, which GLAST can provide.

Pulsars

Another part of the remnant left over after a supernova is either a stellar-mass black hole, or else a rapidly spinning neutron star. Such a neutron star will produce jets of electromagnetic energy, usually at radio frequencies, and when the Earth is lined up with the jet the object is called a pulsar. These also emit gamma-rays. Since neutron stars are extremely small and dense, they have intense magnetic fields near their surface, and the fields reveal a lot about the nature of matter in the neutron star. The strong fields also convert gamma-rays into electron-positron pairs, so the overall gamma-ray spectrum can give us information about the object's magnetic fields, and about surface features that cause gamma-ray emission.

Supermassive black holes, active galactic nuclei, quasars, blazars

Supermassive black holes are thought to exist at the centers of most or all galaxies. We can estimate that they have masses ranging from 10⁵ to 10¹⁰ solar masses, yet there is a great deal more we would like to know about them, such as the process by which they form. (See here.) Most supermassive black holes are thought to be circled by an accretion disk of matter which has been attracted by the object's extreme gravity.

Depending on the amount of matter in the disk, large amounts of energy may be released as the matter falls into the black hole. Our own Milky Way has a smallish object of this sort, with a correspondingly small accretion disk. But if there is much more mass in the disk, one has a bright object called an active galactic nucleus (AGN). AGNs were more plentiful in the early days of the universe, before most of the available nearby matter had been consumed by the black hole, and especially active objects of this kind, usually at great distances, are called quasars.

Like supernovae (from which stellar-mass black holes or neutron stars are formed), supermassive black holes may emit powerful relativistic jets of particles and energy. If such a jet is pointed in our direction, we see an especially bright source, called a blazar. Most of the emitted electromagnetic energy from all these objects is in the gamma-ray part of the spectrum.

So one of the main objectives of GLAST is to measure how this spectrum varies over time, in order to get a better understanding of what is actually going on. For instance, there could be additional confirmation of a model of the relativistic jets as described in this recent research, and perhaps evidence as to whether the particles in the jets are protons or electrons.

Cosmic ray origins

As discussed in detail here, we are finally beginning to clear away some of the mystery surrounding the most energetic ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). But there's a lot more we'd like to know, such as whether these rays are mostly made up of relativistic protons, and what sort of process creates them in the first place. Gamma-rays are produced when UHECRs interact with interstellar gas and dust, so GLAST may be able to give us more information about UHECRs.

Primordial black holes

It is generally suspected that many small black holes (with masses covering a wide range, but much less than the mass of a star) could have been produced in the big bang. These are called primordial black holes. Their existence hasn't yet been confirmed. But Stephen Hawking made a strong case that any black hole will slowly emit weak electromagnetic radiation, due to quantum effects and called Hawking radiation. This radiation should be too weak to be directly observable. However, small primordial black holes should eventually evaporate completely by this process, and at the end disintegrate in a burst of gamma-rays. This is all rather conjectural, but if it happens, it may contribute to a continuous gamma-ray background that can be detected.

Cosmic gamma-ray background

In addition to discrete gamma-ray sources such as GRBs and supernova remnants, there is a diffuse background of gamma-ray photons, much like the cosmic microwave background (CMB), only vastly more energetic. Some of this background may be due to UHECRs, very distant and very powerful (TeV range) gamma-ray sources, or primordial black holes. But who knows what other kinds of sources might be out there? There will probably be some surprises, as well as a lot of useful information to be deduced, just as happened with the CMB.

Possible breakdowns of special relativity

Heading even further into speculative territory, various theorists of quantum gravityspecial relativity (as well as general relativity too) may break down under various conditions. For example, the speed of light might not be an exact constant, but might instead vary by a slight amount according to the energy carried by individual photons.

Thus not all gamma-ray photons from a GRB would need arrive at precisely the same time, and so any pattern in this radiation would be shifted very slightly depending on what part of the gamma-ray spectrum is observed. Even if the shift is as little as 1/1000 of a second (for photons that may have been travelling for billions of years), GLAST should be sensitive enough to detect the shift. That would certainly be quite a surprise if found.

Further reading:

GLAST Science Writer's Guide – An extremely informative 47-page document (PDF), with detailed descriptions of the relevant science, a glossary, and additional links

Simona Murgia: Dark Matter searches with GLAST – Blog posting that discusses the relevance of GLAST for dark matter searches

Walter

Why Is the Cross So Important?

Our sin separates us from God. “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.” Isaiah 59:2. Other religions offer no solution to our sin-caused separation from God. But the death of Jesus on the cross provides the solution.

Other religions suggest that improving personal behavior is the path to salvation ... in hopes that if we are good enough, God will overlook our record of sins. We can improve our moral and ethical behavior ... but that doesn’t change our record. Imagine a serial murderer asking to be pardoned because he’s been killing fewer and fewer people each year. Such a defense wouldn’t work in a courtroom ... and it won’t work with God. The penalty for our sins must be paid. Justice must be met. Improving our behavior isn’t enough ... that only makes our record get worse more slowly.

You may not have committed any "big" sins. But four sins a day for 15 years adds up to almost 22,000 sins. Six sins a day for 10 years adds up to the same number. We are far from perfect. God requires payment for our record of sins. We can pay with our own spiritual death ... by eternal separation from God. Or we can take God’s better way. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23.

Why is the cross important to you? It is important because it’s the place where Jesus paid for your sins. The gift of eternal life is free to you ... but Jesus paid for it with His death on the cross. However, that gift isn’t yours unless you do one thing.

Walter

Why oil prices will tank

High-flying tech stocks crashed. The roaring housing market crumbled. And oil, rest assured, will follow the same path down. Not everyone agrees. In an echo of our most recent market frenzies, some experts pronounce that the "world has changed," and that the demand spikes, supply disruptions, and government bungling we face now will saddle us with a future of $4, $5 or even $10 a gallon gasoline. But if you stick to basic economics, it's clear that the only question is when - not if - prices will succumb.

The oil bulls are correct in their explanations of why prices have jumped. It's indisputable that worldwide demand has surged, chiefly driven by strong growth in China, India and the Middle East. It's also true that most of the world's reserves are controlled by governments in places like Russia and Venezuela that mismanage production, thus curtailing supply growth. But rather than forming a permanent new plateau for prices - as the bulls contend - those forces are causing a classically unstable market that's destined for a steep fall. In a normal oil market, the cost of producing the last, most expensive barrel of oil needed to satisfy worldwide demand sets the price for every barrel the world over. Other auction commodity markets work much the same way. So even if Saudi Arabia produces at $4 a barrel, if the final, multi-millionth barrel required to heat houses and run cars costs $50, and is produced, for argument's sake, at a flagging field in West Texas, the world price is $50.

That's what economists call the equilibrium price: It's where the price that customers are willing to pay meets the production cost, including a cushion, naturally, for profit or "the cost of capital." But today, the sudden surge in demand and the production bottlenecks have thrown the market radically out of balance. Almost exactly the same thing happened in the housing market. And both housing and oil supply react to a surge in demand with a long lag. In housing, the lag is caused by restrictive zoning and development laws, especially in coastal markets like California and Florida. So when the economy roared back in 2002 and 2003, builders couldn't turn out homes fast enough for buyers armed with those cheap mortgages. As a result, prices spiked. They no longer bore any relation to the actual cost of buying and improving land, or constructing and marketing a new house (at some reasonable profit margin).

Instead, frenzied buyers were setting the price. Because builders were reaping huge windfall profits, they rushed to buy and develop land. And sure enough, those new houses were ready just as buyers were retreating to the sidelines because they could no longer afford to buy a home. That vast overhang of unsold homes is what's driving down prices today. The story is much the same with oil, with a twist. A big swath of the market isn't really paying that $125 a barrel number you hear about seemingly every hour. In China, India and the Middle East, governments are heavily subsidizing oil for their consumers and corporations, leading to rampant over-consumption - and driving up prices even more. But sooner or later the world won't keep paying those prices: Eventually, the price must fall back to the cost of that last barrel to clear the market. So what does that barrel cost today?

According to Stephen Brown, an economist at the Dallas Federal Reserve, that final barrel costs just $50 to produce. And when the price is $125, the incentive to pour out more oil, like homebuilders' incentive to build more two years ago, is irresistible. It takes a while to develop new supplies of oil, but the signs of a surge are already in place. Shale oil costing around $70 a barrel is now being produced in the Dakotas. Tar sands are attracting investment in Canada, also at around $70. New technology could soon minimize the pollution caused by producing oil from our super-plentiful supplies of coal. "History suggests that when there's this much money to be made, new supplies do get developed," says Brown. That's just the supply side of the equation. Demand should start to decline as well, albeit gradually. "Historically, the oil market has under-anticipated the amount of conservation brought on by high prices," says Brown. Sales of big cars are collapsing; Americans are cutting down on driving. The airlines are scaling back flights.

We've learned another important lesson from the housing market: The longer prices stay stratospheric, the worse the eventual crash - simply because the higher the prices and bigger the profit margins, the bigger the incentive to over-produce. It's even possible that, a few years hence, we could see a sustained period of plentiful oil supplies and low prices, meaning $50 or below. A similar scenario occurred following the price explosion in the 1970s and early 1980s. The price spike caused the world to cut back sharply on oil consumption. By the mid-80s, oil prices had fallen from almost $40 to around $15. They remained extremely low for two decades. It's impossible to predict how the adjustment this time will take shape, just as it was in housing. There the surge in supply came in places the experts swore there was "no supply," and wouldn't be any. Builders found a way to extend vast tracts of homes into California's Inland Empire and Central Valley, and even build "in-fill" projects near the densely-populated coasts.

An earlier bubble is also instructive. In the early 1980s silver prices jumped from $10 to $50 on the theory that the world was facing a permanent shortage of silver. Suddenly ads appeared asking homeowners to bring their tea sets and jewelry to Holiday Inns for a big price. Silver supplies poured from seemingly nowhere, out of America's cupboards, of all places. And so it will be with oil. We don't know where the new abundance will come from, from shale, or tar sands or coal or an OPEC desperate to regain market share. We just know that it will appear. With prices like these, it always does. Is Tully right? Join the reader debate here.

Walter

Experiment: Force vs. Acceleration

In my continuing series of physics and chemistry experiments - that just about anyone can do - the last experiment of the week will focus on force. Solving for force:



Where F is force equaled to mass times acceleration.

Sir Isaac Newton first presented his three laws of motion in the "Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis" in 1686. His second law defines a force to be equal to the differential change in momentum per unit time as described by the calculus of mathematics, which Newton also developed. The momentum is defined to be the mass of an object m times its velocity v. So the differential equation for force F is:

F = d(m * v) / dt

If the mass is a constant and using the definition of acceleration a as the change in velocity with time, the second law reduces to the more familiar product of a mass and an acceleration:

F = m * a

Since acceleration is a change in velocity with a change in time t, we can also write this equation in the third form shown on the slide:

F = m * (v1 - v0) / (t1 - t0)

The important fact is that a force will cause a change in velocity; and likewise, a change in velocity will generate a force. The equation works both ways. The velocity, force, acceleration, and momentum have both a magnitude and a direction associated with them. Scientists and mathematicians call this a vector quantity. The equations shown here are actually vector equations and can be applied in each of the component directions.

The motion of an aircraft resulting from aerodynamic forces and the aircraft weight and thrust can be computed by using the second law of motion.

Question:

How does the force effect the acceleration of a car?

We chose this question because we could make a clear relationship between force and acceleration of the car. We also chose it because Jimmy was really interested in doing this project. The relationship is important because we can apply our findings to real life situations like towing.

Background Information:

Prediction - the greater the force on the car, the more acceleration the car will have. This because the greater the force pulling the car, the faster the car will be pulled along the track. If there is less force, then the car won't be pulled as fast.

The amount of inertia, or mass, determines how difficult it is to change the way it is moving. The car has a weight of 658 g, so we need a weight on the string to change the resting position the car is in. The car weight was measured in grams, while the force was measured in grams and Newtons. The acceleration was measured in meters per second squared. Newton's First Law: Every object continues in a state of rest or of motion in a straight line at constant speed, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces exerted upon it. The outside force acting on the car is the weight on the end of the string.

Procedure:

Materials:

*Paper/Pencil

*Weights (50-500 g)

*String

*Pulley

*Car (658 g)

*Motion Detector (To The 1,000th m/s^2)

*Track

*Weight Holder (50 g)

*Force Detector (To The 1000th N)

Steps:

1.) Gather Necessary Materials

2.) Set Up Experiment As Shown In Diagram A-1

3.) Tie A 50g (.03N) Weight To The Car (W=Independent Variable)

4.) With Someone Holding The Car On The Track, Put The Weight In the Position Shown In Diagram A-2 (Logger Pro Should Be Up And Running At This Point)

5.) On The Count Of Three, Let Go of The Car And Press "Collect" On Logger Pro Exactly At The Same Time

6.) Stop The Car Before The Weight Hits The Ground To Prevent Damage On The Car Or Weight

7.) Have Logger Pro Analyze The Force (In Newtons) And Acceleration (A=Dependent Variable)

8.) Record Results On Paper

9.) Repeat Steps Four Through Eight Two More Times

9.) Untie 50g (.03N) Weight And Replace With 100g (.162N) Weight.

10.) Repeat Steps Four Through Nine

11.) After Recording The Results For the 100g (.162N) Weight, Increase The Weight By 50g Each Trial. (Be Sure To Perform Three Trials For Each Weight)

12.) Repeat Steps Four Through Nine Until You Get Up Through 550g (2.127N)

13.) After Completing Experiment, Put All Necessary Materials Away.

Comments:

The weight of the car is kept constant by keeping it from getting damaged and not adding or subtracting weight from it. We did the procedure the way we did because it was the most time efficient way to do it and easiest to get clear results. There were no changes made during our procedure. Helpful hints are repeating your tests several times to ensure accuracy because sometimes there might be a problem with detecting the motion or force. Don't use a hand to stop the cart from getting damaged. Try to use something else to stop the cart. Trials were rejected if the data did not follow the trend before it.

Data Table:

Uncertainty = + or - .075N & + or - .001 for acceleration

Car Weight (g)	Force (N)	Acceleration Trial #1	Acceleration Trial #2	Acceleration Trial #3	Average
658	50g - .03 N	.536 m/s^2	.537 m/s^2	.536 m/s^2	.576 m/s^2
658	100g - .162 N	.791 m/s^2	.791 m/s^2	.791 m/s^2	.791 m/s^2
658	150g - .415 N	1.182 m/s^2	1.182 m/s^2	1.182 m/s^2	1.182 m/s^2
658	200g - .638 N	1.496 m/s^2	1.495 m/s^2	1.495 m/s^2	1.495 m/s^2
658	250g - .856 N	1.759 m/s^2	1.759 m/s^2	1.759 m/s^2	1.759 m/s^2
658	300g - 1.161 N	2.105 m/s^2	2.104 m/s^2	2.105 m/s^2	2.105 m/s^2
658	350g - 1.389 N	2.341 m/s^2	2.342 m/s^2	2.341 m/s^2	2.341 m/s^2
658	400g - 1.537 N	2.679 m/s^2	2.679 m/s^2	2.679 m/s^2	2.679 m/s^2
658	450g - 1.631 N	2.884 m/s^2	2.884 m/s^2	2.884 m/s^2	2.884 m/s^2
658	500g - 1.986 N	3.246 m/s^2	3.246 m/s^2	3.247 m/s^2	3.246 m/s^2
658	550g - 2,217 N	3.412 m/s^2	3.412 m/s^2	3.412 m/s^2	3.412 m/s^2

Analysis:

Sample Calculations:

Averages-.537 + .537 +.536=.536666=.537 + or - .001

.791 +.791 +.791=.791 + or - .001

We analyzed our data by using a motion and force detector. Then we set up the logger pro to make force and acceleration graphs. Then we selected portions of the slope of the graphs to find the acceleration and force by analyzing the slope. We rejected data based on that if it did not follow the pattern of the previous test. For instance, if the car had less acceleration and more force then the test before, then we rejected the data because something went wrong to cause our data to be abnormal. To get the accurate results, we did the test again.

Conclusion:

We have observed through our experiment that as the mass increased, the force and acceleration of the car increased as well. This is because there is a greater portion of the mass of the weight pulling on the car to make it accelerate more. Not all the force of the falling weight is pulling the car, but a greater portion of it is pulling and increasing the acceleration. If one was to look at our table, they would clearly notice that the average acceleration of the car increased as the force increased. Our results turned out exactly the way we predicted it would. Our findings relate to our research question because it shows that the greater the force of the falling weight, the greater the acceleration of the car.

Evaluation of Results:

We thought our results were very reasonable because they are what one would expect and it follows Newton's 2nd Law (F= Mx A or A=F/M)). There isn't much room to disagree with our results because of what Newton's 2nd law states. Each data point on our graph were closely consistent with other data points. We had the force and motion detector which we will assume gave us accurate information. We should therefor expect consistent data because of the tools we used. The acceleration increased every time we increased the weight. The two most important points of uncertainty were force and acceleration because the depend on each other. The uncertainty was + or - .075 for the force. The uncertainty for the acceleration was + or - .001. We had the uncertainty because it was it was extremely difficult to select the same exact section of the data to analyze from our graph. We can however get pretty close because one would expect to trust the motion detector. Overall these uncertainties would not have changed our results greatly enough to alter our conclusion.

Generalizations:

The findings are very universal because it would be safe to say that if anyone in the world were to conduct the same experiment, they would get the same results. Newton's 2nd law applies to everything and makes our test very universal. Limitations to our findings where our results would not hold true are in space or in a bad weather condition. If the motion or force detector were not set right, our results could have been wrong. To improve the experiment, people should not use a hand to stop the car. Instead they should use something that stops the car and shows a clear distinction of the car stopped on the graph. Another way to have it more thoroughly tested would be notice our human errors in advance and take advantage of it. By this we mean, we could conduct more trials and two people agree on our results to get second opinions. Other related experiments include how does the mass of the car effect the acceleration or how the acceleration changes with the slope of the ramp.

Walter

Who Isn't Happy to Hear About This: Alcohol 'cuts risk of arthritis'

A regular sip cuts the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by up to half, Swedish research suggests.

The Karolinska Institute assessed 2,750 people in two studies, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases reports. The risk was up to 50% lower for those who drank the equivalent of five glasses of wine a week compared with those who drank the least, they found. However, arthritis experts warned that drinking too much alcohol increased the risk of a range of health problems. (Well, no kidding)

Rheumatoid arthritis - an auto-immune disease caused by a malfunctioning immune system - is a condition which results in tender, stiff and swollen joints. It affects 400,000 people in the US. The two separate studies assessed environmental and genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis. Participants were quizzed about their lifestyle, including how much they smoked and drank, while blood samples were taken to check for genetic risk factors.

Smoking highlighted

Researcher Dr Henrik Kallberg stressed the most important finding of the study was that smoking was a very significant risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis, reinforcing findings from previous studies. However, he added: "In addition, it is important to know that moderate alcohol consumption is not deleterious and may in some contexts be beneficial concerning risk for future onset of rheumatoid arthritis."

There are known to be links between moderate alcohol consumption and a reduced risk of other inflammatory processes, such as cardiovascular disease. However, the reason for this is still unclear. Professor Robert Moots, from the Arthritis Research Campaign, said it was possible that drinking alcohol may have a protective effect against rheumatoid arthritis. But he said the study was not conclusive and any protective effect was not properly understood.

He said: "There is no doubt that drinking too much is very bad for our health in many ways and these risks by far outweigh any potential benefit for reducing the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, which this study points to, without being conclusive.

"We must also remember that drinking alcohol in excess can be especially dangerous in patients taking some anti-rheumatoid drugs that may cause liver damage.

"There are many modifiable lifestyle risk factors for developing rheumatoid arthritis and, as this study also points out, smoking is by far the greatest."

A spokesman for Arthritis Care said: "It's too early to say what these findings may mean, so people with rheumatoid arthritis should continue to work in partnership with their health professionals to address their specific health needs."

No surprise that the Apostle Paul was right all along.

Walter

100 Explosions on the Moon

Not so long ago, anyone claiming to see flashes of light on the Moon would be viewed with deep suspicion by professional astronomers. Such reports were filed under "L" … for lunatic. Not anymore. Over the past two and a half years, NASA astronomers have observed the Moon flashing at them not just once but one hundred times. "They're explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the Moon," explains Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). "A typical blast is about as powerful as a few hundred pounds of TNT and can be photographed easily using a backyard telescope." As an example, he offers this video of an impact near crater Gauss on January 4, 2008: Above: A lunar impact on Jan. 4, 2008. This is number 86 on the list of 100 impacts recorded by the MEO team since their survey began in 2005. The impactor was a tiny fragment of extinct comet 2003 EH1. Every year in early January, the Earth-Moon system passes through a stream of debris from that comet, producing the well-known Quadrantid meteor shower. Here on Earth, Quadrantids disintegrate as flashes of light in the atmosphere; on the airless Moon they hit the ground and explode. "We started our monitoring program in late 2005 after NASA announced plans to return astronauts to the Moon," says team leader Rob Suggs of the MSFC. If people were going to be walking around up there, "it seemed like a good idea to measure how often the Moon was getting hit." "Almost immediately, we detected a flash." That first detection—"I'll never forget it," he says-- came on Nov. 7, 2005, when a piece of Comet Encke about the size of a baseball hit Mare Imbrium. The resulting explosion produced a 7th magnitude flash, too dim for the naked eye but an easy target for the team's 10-inch telescope. A common question, says Cooke, is "how can something explode on the Moon? There's no oxygen up there." These explosions don't require oxygen or combustion. Meteoroids hit the moon with tremendous kinetic energy, traveling 30,000 mph or faster. "At that speed, even a pebble can blast a crater several feet wide. The impact heats up rocks and soil on the lunar surface hot enough to glow like molten lava--hence the flash." During meteor showers such as the Quadrantids or Perseids, when the Moon passes through dense streams of cometary debris, the rate of lunar flashes can go as high as one per hour. Impacts subside when the Moon exits the stream, but curiously the rate never goes to zero. "Even when no meteor shower is active, we still see flashes," says Cooke. Above: A map of the 100 explosions observed since late 2005. A complete list with lunar coordinates is available here. These "off-shower" impacts come from a vast swarm of natural space junk littering the inner solar system. Bits of stray comet dust and chips off old asteroids pepper the Moon in small but ultimately significant numbers. Earth gets hit, too, which is why on any given night you can stand under a dark sky and see a few meteors per hour glide overhead—no meteor shower required. Over the course of a year, these random or "sporadic" impacts outnumber impacts from organized meteor showers by a ratio of approximately 2:1. "That's an important finding," says Suggs. "It means there's no time of year when the Moon is impact-free." Fortunately, says Cooke, astronauts are in little danger. "The odds of a direct hit are negligible. If, however, we start building big lunar outposts with lots of surface area, we'll have to carefully consider these statistics and bear in mind the odds of a structure getting hit." Secondary impacts are the greater concern. When meteoroids strike the Moon, debris goes flying in all directions. A single meteoroid produces a spray consisting of thousands of "secondary" particles all traveling at bullet-like velocities. This could be a problem because, while the odds of a direct hit are low, the odds of a secondary hit may be significantly greater. "Secondary particles smaller than a millimeter could pierce a spacesuit," notes Cooke. Gun Range. This is a genuine photo showing the spray of secondary particles. At present, no one knows how far and wide secondary particles travel. To get a handle on the problem, Cooke, Suggs and colleagues are shooting artificial meteoroids at simulated moon dust and measuring the spray. This work is being done at the Vertical Gun Range at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. Meanwhile, back at the observatory, the team has upgraded their original 10-inch (25 cm) telescope to a pair of telescopes, one 14-inch (36 cm) and one 20-inch (51 cm), located at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. They've also established a new observing site in Georgia with a 14-inch telescope. Multiple telescopes allow double- and triple-checking of faint flashes and improve the statistical underpinnings of the survey. "The Moon is still flashing," says Suggs. Indeed, during the writing of this story, three more impacts were detected.

Teacher's Workshop!

Teachers in the Southeast U.S. are invited to apply to attend a workshop
entitled "Paving the Way to the Moon and Beyond," held June 12 – 14, 2008
in Huntsville, Alabama. The two day workshop, sponsored by the Lunar Precursor
Robotic Program (LPRP), will focus on content that will explain the who, the what,
and the why of lunar exploration. Beginning with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
(LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), teachers
will research mission design and scientific goals and experiments through hands
on activities. Included in the workshop will be a tour of NASA science labs and an
opportunity to talk with scientists involved in exploration related activities.
All materials will be appropriate for elementary and middle school preservice
and inservice teachers and will be aligned with national standards. Example
activities: Earth-Moon comparisons and motions, craters and lunar soils,
solar influences on the Moon. Most activities will take place at the Educator
Resource Center, located at the Space and Rocket Center. Housing costs for
three nights will be provided (at the University of Alabama in Huntsville).
Stipends also will be provided. To attend, contact Mitzi Adams 256 961 7626
or mitzi dot adams @ nasa dot gov.

Walter

Death & Loss: Intensely Private, but An Open Book

I have two rules here for writing on my blog: 1) keep personal things just that, and 2) write about spiritual experiences on weekends. Rule number one is important since too much personal stuff may compromise privacy and the second rule is just as important because while I am obligated to share my thoughts and experiences and move as the Spirit moves in me, I keep the writings about these things for the weekend when I feel readers will get the most out of it.

I thought it was important to share my thoughts about death, grieving and loss because it is so prevalent - obviously. I have learned that I can't have an appreciation for life unless there is death - and even then death is limited in it's power since it was conquered on the Cross. But still, in the here and now, we do morn our losses along the way. Part of the human condition - the experience of being human - is to surround ourselves with the people we enjoy being with, the people we love, and inevitably the people we miss when they are no longer in the flesh.

This month marks the one year anniversary of my mother's death and the third month anniversary of my older sister's death. There are countless other anniversaries that may be marked as well: maternal grandparents, maternal aunts, greats aunt, uncles and great uncles as well as paternal grandfather. Time heals the pain of many departed in my life, not just family, but friends, but I do think of all of them, sometimes often. It could be a song, something I see, or a synaptic nerve firing in my brain to trigger a memory of a missing loved one.

We all suffer loss of some kind. Recently, I was told by the love of my life that she lost two friends. I think she handled the funeral well, but only she knows that for sure. I share her loss even if I never knew her friends. They were her friends and if they rose to that kind of status in her life, then they were marvelous people and worthy of prayer and remembrance.

Dealing with Death - Experienced By Everyone
Dealing with death is a life experience that no one wants to face. Life can often seem like swimming in the ocean during high tide. Even if we know how to swim and jump over the big waves at just the right time, when we least expect it-wham! We are broadsided, and find ourselves spinning and bouncing off the bottom of the ocean with a mouth full of sand. If we fight, it takes longer to get to the surface. But if we float with the current, we come right to the top. Floating when we are frightened is difficult. It takes trust and concentration. Dealing with the death of a loved one is similar. In order to cope, it takes trust.

Death is nearly always accompanied by questions - especially "why." Whether we are facing our own death, or the death of someone we love, we want answers. Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve this? Is there life after death? The sooner we learn to float - to trust - the easier it is to discover the answers we are seeking.

Dealing with Death - The True Position
When dealing with death, the solution is the same whether the death is our own or that of a loved one. As hard as it is to accept, we must understand that death is a part of life. As some have quipped, death is the only thing in life that comes with a 100% guarantee.

It is helpful to realized that while our bodies are mortal, all human beings are eternal - our soul and spirit will never die. Our spirits - the essence of who we are - will live forever!

Dealing with Death - No greater Love
Dealing with death was not a problem for Adam and Eve-the first man and woman who ever lived. However, once they sinned against God, things changed. Dying was a result of Adam's sin of disobedience.

We may think of death as final, but there is no end in the plan of God. We are eternal beings in His sight. Have you ever wondered why, even though your body might be aging, you don't feel "older" inside? It's because your spirit is eternal. The Bible says that God has placed eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

God desires for us to spend eternity with Him, yet He has left that choice up to us. God has made all the provisions for us to be with Him forever. He has no greater love than His love for us.

Dealing with Death - What is the issue?
Dealing with death is largely influenced by what we think of Jesus Christ. It also affects where we will spend eternity. In His infinite love, God sent His Son Jesus to die for us. When we believe in Jesus Christ and that He died as payment for our sins, we are guaranteed eternal life with Him forever.

If you are a child of God, dying is a promotion. Do we want to be with God forever? Do we understand that the only other option is to be separated from Him forever? Jesus said, "…I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26).

How we respond to the gift of Jesus Christ will determine where we spend eternity. God the Father loves all His creation and He waits on high to bless and redeem us. Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." If we know Christ as our personal Savior, we need not fear dying. As for those we love, it becomes our responsibility as believers to pray for the salvation of those who do not know Him. For those who do, death is a celebration - a homecoming!

As we begin to think of ourselves as eternal beings, the realization that there is a future will help us cope with the present circumstances. We begin to ask specific questions concerning eternity. We will be separated from our earthly body and separated from loved ones? Will we see them again? How do we define separation? How do we deal with separation in life and in death? God has a plan for us here on earth. God has a plan for eternity - He reveals it to us.

Dealing with a mother's death - Will I see her again?

Dealing with a mother's death is one of the most emotional and painful experiences that the human condition may require us to do. To most children, the mother is the focus of a great part of their formation years.

Death is separation and when we are separated from a loved one such as a mother, the question always arises about whether or not we will see that departed one again. In dealing with a mother's death and indeed any separation caused by death, there is hope found in the Word of God. "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him"(1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). This speaks to the fact that those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior will return with Him.

The year before mom died, I sat with her and questioned her about her personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus. He answer was always confident and sure, "I am a sheep in Christ." She once gave me the following Scripture. "Far be it from you to do such a thing - to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)

The comfort that I find in this passage is the phrase, "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right." God looks upon the heart of man and He and He alone can judge their motives and attitudes. Therefore, I know my mother had the truth and I can have knowledge and serenity that accepted it. If she did not, then my Lord is still a just and loving God because she was given ample chance to do so. God is always just and righteous and He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

The way for us to make sure our own reunion with those who have passed in faith before us is to make sure of our own salvation. Each of us needs to accept reconciliation with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. We can find comfort in the confidence born of faith that we will be "like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). And if we shall see Him, then we shall also see all those who have passed before us and who died with that same faith and confidence in His resurrection.

Lastly, the wonderful hope of heaven is the "no mores" that we will enjoy. "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4). That comfort means we will not have any sorrow over those we may not see again. We do not understand the way it will be, but this promise is one that should bring the believer comfort in dealing with a mother's death. One day, if we trust in God, all the sorrow and the tears will be gone.

Walter

Cowboy sets out to show a different America

FREDONIA - When rancher Bill Inman decided to show there's more to America than what's seen on the nightly news, he hopped on his horse Blackie and started riding.

And riding, and riding.

Weary of the daily drumbeat over war, crime, poverty and assorted social ills, he and his wife are burning through their life savings to tell the stories of hardworking, honest everyday people in rural America. Inman soaks it all in atop Blackie, a 16-year thoroughbred-quarter horse mix who's averaging 20-25 miles a day along backroads from Oregon to North Carolina.

"Unfortunately, the image they are portraying is there's corruption in every politician and there's criminals running everywhere," he said. "I guess guys that rope like me, we wouldn't need to rope steers. You could just sit out there and rope a criminal because they're coming by every 10 minutes."

Inman, 48, started June 2 from his hometown of Lebanon, Ore. Halfway through his cross-country trek dubbed Uncovering America by Horseback, he's rolled up 1,700 miles. His wife, Brenda, also 48, drives ahead in a pickup with a horse trailer filled with water and provisions for Blackie, three dogs and themselves.

"The scenery in America is changing and I'm really proud we're taking a snapshot at slow motion of this time period because 20 years from now it will be different," he said.

The couple estimates the journey will cost them $45,000. They want to make a documentary film and write a book, and a filmmaker and Web site operator are tagging along.

"If we waited until we could afford to do it, we could never do it. It was do it now or never do it," Brenda said. "We gave everything up in our lives to do this. We used all our savings and everything else."

Said Bill: "It's probably the most stupid thing I've done financially, but I truly believe in it."

Hundreds of interesting people have greeted Inman along the way. There's the Dodge City man who collects bridle bits, spurs and barbed wire. A Wyoming deputy sheriff who drove 25 miles through a rain storm to bring dinner to the Inmans where they were camped. A Wyoming woman who gave Bill a pair of stirrups she bought as a Christmas present for her grandson before he was killed in car wreck.

He arrived in Fredonia with jeans tucked into boots with spurs, a sweat-stained Stetson and a weathered face, leaving no doubt that ranching has been part of him all his life. As with most stops, they rely on a combination of media coverage and word-of-mouth to let people know about the ride.

Raised on a Texas ranch, he's worked cattle, herded wild horses and managed a ranch on an Indian reservation in Nevada before moving to Oregon last year and selling horses. He's also an auctioneer and has been a farrier for nearly 30 years.

Among those meeting Inman on the outskirts of town was Kurly Hebb, former rodeo cowboy and Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame member.

"He's got my respect. I can tell from talking to him he's going to make it. Just be a cowboy, that's all you got to do," said Hebb, an area rancher.

Walter

Source: The Wichita Eagle/AP