Do you like TRAIN PICTURES or train watching? I have
sometimes had fun doing this, and that goes back to when I
was a little kid (a very long time ago. Check this). Anyway
here are some of my old train pictures in Mattoon and
Effingham in Illinois and also from Athens Ohio. These
really are old pictures. They include trains on the New York
Central, Illinois Central, Pennsylvania RR, and the Baltimore
and Ohio. That would include the Knickerbocker, the City of
New Orleans, the Penn Texas, and the Metropolitan. How is
that for old?
sometimes had fun doing this, and that goes back to when I
was a little kid (a very long time ago. Check this). Anyway
here are some of my old train pictures in Mattoon and
Effingham in Illinois and also from Athens Ohio. These
really are old pictures. They include trains on the New York
Central, Illinois Central, Pennsylvania RR, and the Baltimore
and Ohio. That would include the Knickerbocker, the City of
New Orleans, the Penn Texas, and the Metropolitan. How is
that for old?
Here is a SHORT STORY that I wrote a couple of years ago
called "THE GREAT HOOKWORM HUMPFEST OF HOGWASH
HEIGHTS". It might sound as if I was trying to write about
real people and didn't quite get it all right, but remember, it
is only a story. You know how it goes: any similarity with real
people, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Besides, if it
were about real people, I would go back and change the ending
to get one of the characters hanged. By the way, it is a little
ribald, but only a little -- at least for the reader.
Here is a version to print.
called "THE GREAT HOOKWORM HUMPFEST OF HOGWASH
HEIGHTS". It might sound as if I was trying to write about
real people and didn't quite get it all right, but remember, it
is only a story. You know how it goes: any similarity with real
people, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Besides, if it
were about real people, I would go back and change the ending
to get one of the characters hanged. By the way, it is a little
ribald, but only a little -- at least for the reader.
Here is a version to print.
I also fool around with a telescope sometimes. On June
8, 2004, the planet VENUS got right in the way of the
sun and could be seen as a small dot in front of it. That
is called a TRANSIT of VENUS. Actually, you had to go
to Europe to see the whole thing, but here in Clinton, IA
we got to see just the end of it at sunrise. Click HERE
to see a few pictures that I took of this event.
8, 2004, the planet VENUS got right in the way of the
sun and could be seen as a small dot in front of it. That
is called a TRANSIT of VENUS. Actually, you had to go
to Europe to see the whole thing, but here in Clinton, IA
we got to see just the end of it at sunrise. Click HERE
to see a few pictures that I took of this event.
Antarctica
Centrifuges for Uranium Separation (uses MATH)
Glaciers
Global Warming
Mississippi River Flood
Centrifuges for Uranium Separation (uses MATH)
Glaciers
Global Warming
Mississippi River Flood
Heating up the world -- GLOBAL WARMING. Are we
humans really doing this? I am trying to look at the actual science
of this in a simple way, only a minimal dose of politics, just a look at what
is happening, and I hope a resource for anyone who wants it. By the way,
the answer is this: Yes we are warming the planet and changing the climate
in some other ways that could easily become dangerous if allowed to continue.
I will try to answer some of the skepticism and provide links to other such
discussions. And if any of the skeptics manage to persuade me otherwise as
I work on this, then I will change my tune in this paragraph and rewrite it.
humans really doing this? I am trying to look at the actual science
of this in a simple way, only a minimal dose of politics, just a look at what
is happening, and I hope a resource for anyone who wants it. By the way,
the answer is this: Yes we are warming the planet and changing the climate
in some other ways that could easily become dangerous if allowed to continue.
I will try to answer some of the skepticism and provide links to other such
discussions. And if any of the skeptics manage to persuade me otherwise as
I work on this, then I will change my tune in this paragraph and rewrite it.
Will the next big WAR be like your father's war? Or
are the weapons just getting so good at what they do that warfare can
never be the same. Anyone exposed might just be wiped out. It might
be necessary to fight the next big war without exposing anyone to it if
we expect anyone to survive. Among the ways of fighting a war without
exposing anyone to it are adopting guerrilla warfare tactics, fighting it
by remote control from California even though the war is in the Middle
East, and building robots to do all the fighting. Have any changes like
this happened before? Are they happening now?
I am placing materials in this section based on a once-per-semester talk
on the history of WAR TECHNOLOGY that I gave while I was teaching
and which I am still giving as a guest speaker even though I am now
retired. However, I am revising and updating everything, so this is
probably always going to be a work in progress.
are the weapons just getting so good at what they do that warfare can
never be the same. Anyone exposed might just be wiped out. It might
be necessary to fight the next big war without exposing anyone to it if
we expect anyone to survive. Among the ways of fighting a war without
exposing anyone to it are adopting guerrilla warfare tactics, fighting it
by remote control from California even though the war is in the Middle
East, and building robots to do all the fighting. Have any changes like
this happened before? Are they happening now?
I am placing materials in this section based on a once-per-semester talk
on the history of WAR TECHNOLOGY that I gave while I was teaching
and which I am still giving as a guest speaker even though I am now
retired. However, I am revising and updating everything, so this is
probably always going to be a work in progress.
A GLACIER is a big river of flowing ice which can thrill you with its
scenic grandeur, daze you when big chunks fall off with a sound like
thunder, and worry you when you realize that most of them are
retreating. I have managed to visit one in Colorado and a whole bunch
of them in Alaska. So if you click my glacier link, you can find pictures
and information about St. Mary's Glacier in Colorado, and about the
following glaciers in Alaska: Kahiltna, Exit, Hubbard, Margerie,
Meade, Mendenhall, and Northwestern, and the glaciers in College Fjord
including Harvard and Yale. Among other things, I got some pictures of
a couple of them calving. That is what they call it when chunks fall off.
Those are not the only ones I have visited, and I will try to get some
pictures of more of them up later. (And see the Antarctic link above.)
scenic grandeur, daze you when big chunks fall off with a sound like
thunder, and worry you when you realize that most of them are
retreating. I have managed to visit one in Colorado and a whole bunch
of them in Alaska. So if you click my glacier link, you can find pictures
and information about St. Mary's Glacier in Colorado, and about the
following glaciers in Alaska: Kahiltna, Exit, Hubbard, Margerie,
Meade, Mendenhall, and Northwestern, and the glaciers in College Fjord
including Harvard and Yale. Among other things, I got some pictures of
a couple of them calving. That is what they call it when chunks fall off.
Those are not the only ones I have visited, and I will try to get some
pictures of more of them up later. (And see the Antarctic link above.)
| Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, AK (Click the pic to enlarge.) |
I live in a town along the MISSISSIPPI RIVER (Clinton, IA).
Sometimes this river wants to drown us all, but we have a big
levee to get in its way. It made one such attempt in 2001,
and I got a few pictures of it along the levee. Check them out
here.
Sometimes this river wants to drown us all, but we have a big
levee to get in its way. It made one such attempt in 2001,
and I got a few pictures of it along the levee. Check them out
here.
| Who am I anyway??? Well, there I am. |
| My first rather fuzzy picture of Venus in front of the sun. |
| My later pictures were better, but by then Venus had partially made its exit. (Click pics to enlarge.) |
| Well, of course a picture that I took of a thermometer in Death Valley does not really say anything about global warming. But I like the picture. And it was hot. (Click the pic to enlarge and see how hot it was.) |
| Not the flood -- just a picture out on the river looking downstream in 2003. (Click the link to the left for the flood and this pic for a larger version.) |
An Amtrak Chicago
to Carbondale
train, The Illini,
arriving in Mattoon,
IL.
In Mattoon
Leaving Mattoon
(Click pics for larger
versions.)
to Carbondale
train, The Illini,
arriving in Mattoon,
IL.
In Mattoon
Leaving Mattoon
(Click pics for larger
versions.)
And here is another SHORT STORY that I wrote more
recently. This one is called "SPACED OUT POTUS". Any
similarity etc., etc. Only a story. By the way, my apologies
to the Chicago Cubs and their fans. Actually, I like the Cubs
too, but the only characters laughing at them are Sox fans,
and that probably reflects reality.
Here is a version of this one to print.
recently. This one is called "SPACED OUT POTUS". Any
similarity etc., etc. Only a story. By the way, my apologies
to the Chicago Cubs and their fans. Actually, I like the Cubs
too, but the only characters laughing at them are Sox fans,
and that probably reflects reality.
Here is a version of this one to print.
| Looking right into a Civil War cannon at the Civil War Visitor Center In Richmond, VA (Click pic to enlarge) |
Old Train Pics
Short Story (Hookworm) (Version to Print)
Short Story (POTUS) (Version to Print)
Venus Transit
War and Its Technology
Short Story (Hookworm) (Version to Print)
Short Story (POTUS) (Version to Print)
Venus Transit
War and Its Technology
ANTARCTICA: which probably reminds you, as it does me, of snow,
ice, glaciers, penguins, and other cold stuff and things that like cold
stuff. I spent three days cruising off the Antarctic Peninsula's
coast on the cruise ship MS Amsterdam in January, 2009. In the
summer, in other words. I didn't get cold; it was in the 30's F (and
getting warmer). But I saw a lot, observed a lot, and took a lot of
pictures. Here are many of the pictures and observations.
ice, glaciers, penguins, and other cold stuff and things that like cold
stuff. I spent three days cruising off the Antarctic Peninsula's
coast on the cruise ship MS Amsterdam in January, 2009. In the
summer, in other words. I didn't get cold; it was in the 30's F (and
getting warmer). But I saw a lot, observed a lot, and took a lot of
pictures. Here are many of the pictures and observations.
| A little way down the Peninsula. Click the picture to enlarge. |
| Mom and Dad's Slides They were travelers and great photographers. I am working on a site to remember their pictures. If you are from Mattoon, IL, you might remember them. |
| This is sunset at the Grand Canyon, not my world. I am from the Midwest - Clinton, Iowa, on the Mississippi River. But I like to travel, take pictures, write stories. Alaska. Antarctica. Glaciers. Trains. Politics. Science. War. Continue on below for a few selected images and other parts of my real world. There, just below are some links followed farther down by more information and explantions. |
| Pleased to meet you. I am Thomas C. Gibbons, a retired science teacher. MORE here. |