December 6

The L&TM5K Advent Calendar
December 6

2007 British postage stamp featuring William Dyce's Madonna and Child, painted c. 1827-30.

December 5

The L&TM5K Advent Calendar
December 5

Dubious Commercial Image, possible dates given as 1954 and 1960.

December's Element of the Month: Beryllium!

December's Element of the Month:
Beryllium!
Be
4

Atomic Mass: 9.01 amu
Melting Point: 1287 °C
Boiling Point: 2469 °C


Beryllium has a very low atomic number, so it gets to hang out with all of the popular elements like Hydrogen and Oxygen and Carbon and Nitrogen in the Single-Digits Club. It's actually pretty rare, though. I mean, it's thousands of times more common than Ruthenium, of course, but it's still only the 48th most common element on the crust of our little planet, coming in behind such minor-leaguers as Gadolinium, Dysprosium, and Ytterbium. It's rare because it's too unstable to be generated in stars by hydrogen-helium nucleosynthesis, like most matter is, so what we've got comes mostly straight from the Big Bang.

The Centerfold!

In nature, Beryllium is only found in compounds with other elements. Once you isolate it, it's a very light, strong metal, only a quarter the weight of steel and much stiffer. It has a high melting point, it's not magnetic, and it doesn't expand and contract very much with temperature changes. This all gives it a lot of applications in aerospace, where its low wieght and ability to withstand heat and stress have obvious value. They use this stuff to make rocket nozzles, for crying out loud! It's handy in alloys, and is often used to strengthen copper. It also has some specialty uses; guys who detect and disarm land and sea mines often use Beryllium tools because they won't set off magnetic triggers.


If you are in the market for Beryllium, you should be able to get a modest amount; it runs at about $500 per kilogram. Think before you buy, though, as this stuff is extremely toxic. Skin contact and inhalation can cause you no end of grief, and the existence of phrases like "Chronic Beryllium Disease" and "Chronic Berylliosis" should give you pause even before you realize that every Beryllium compound is classified as a Category 1 carcinogen. That's why they stopped using it in flourescent lights back in the 1940s, and why you should think twice before getting your child the "Lil' Mine Defuser" playset this holiday season. It's also considered a bad idea to lick Beryllium nowadays, despite that one of its oddest features is that it is very sweet -- for a long time, a lot of periodic tables called it Glucinium (Gl), meaning basically the "sugar-metal."


The L&TM5K Advent Calendar
December 4
Eric Gill, The Manger. Wood Engraving. 1.95" x 1.95" From Eric Gill's Book of Engravings, 1929.

The michael5000 Community Calendar -- Dec. 2009

Coming Events

Thursday, December 3rd, 6 p.m. PST -- The Civil War. Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon. It is the first instance in the history of time that the annual contest between the University of Oregon and Oregon State University will result in the winner going to the Rose Bowl. It is entirely possible that this is not as exciting to you as it is to me, in which case I suggest smiling politely and uttering a chipper "Go Ducks!" Portland's sports radio franchise is offering thirty hours of pre-game coverage, which began at noon on the Second. I am not joking.

December 2nd - 6th -- Holiday Ale Festival. Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland. "More than 50 potent winter ales are featured at this year's event," says the website, "all of which are created specifically to bring warmth and cheer to the holiday season." If I read this correctly, it indicates an opportunity to get trashed in public in a genteel setting.

Thursday, December 10th -- Earliest Northern Hemisphere Sunset. Rejoice! As far as going home from work in the dark like some kind of mole-person, today is as bad as it gets!

December 10th - 17th -- Hanukkah. A relatively minor Jewish religious holiday with big time secular importance, especially among UnitedStatesians. Awesome because: yo, eight days long!

Friday, December 11, 6:30 PST -- Housewarming Hannukah Horn Jam. See comments for details.

Sunday, December 13th, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. PST -- the Super Colossal Crafty Wonderland. L&TM5K regular Margaret and 199 other crafty artisans will be selling their wares at the Oregon Convention Center. Admission is free, but spending a huge wad on the wares is considered excellent form.

­­Sunday, Decem­b­er 13th, 4 p.m. CST -- Handel's Messiah. The Dayton Philharmonic is joined by the Dayton Philharmonic Chamber Choir in a performance of the popular holiday masterpiece. Westminster Presbyterian Church, Dayton, Ohio.

Wednesday, December 16th -- Beethoven's Birthday. Cue up some of The Classical Music and celebrate the man.

Friday, December 18th and ongoing -- Rebel at Castle5000. Fresh from her adventures in exotic Thailand, Honorable Vice-Dork Emeritus Rebel will be staying briefly at the Castle. No doubt it will be your big chance to get the inside scoop on the dirt michael5000 doesn't want you to know!

Saturday, December 19th -- The Annual Castle5000 Holiday Party. We are hoping to beat last year's mid-blizzard attendance figure of, um, five. If you have not been invited, but would like to be, let me know.

Monday, December 21st, 9:47 a.m. PST -- Winter Solstice. From here on out, the net daylight will increase daily for six wonderful, wonderful months. Spring is coming.

Friday, December 25th -- Christmas. A Christian feast day and a secular holiday of gift-giving celebrated by many Americans.

Thursday, December 31st -- New Year's Eve. A traditional drinking holiday. Last day of the aughts. Also, a Blue Moon in participating locations (see comments).

Friday, January 1, 2010, 1:30 p.m. (PST) -- It's the Freakin' Rose Bowl Baby!!!

Thursday, February 11th -- Portland Opera, Cosi Fan Tutte. As I mentioned last month, this production of my favorite opera should be awesome. There will be four or five showings; the Thursday show is the one Mrs.5000 and I are going to.

• If you would like to add your event to the michael5000 Community Calendar, say so in the comments.

The L&TM5K Advent Calendar
December 3

From the In-Laws5000 family postcard collection.

The Wednesday Quiz I:1 -- World Cities

The Wednesday Quiz -- Season I -- Quiz I

World Cities

The Wednesday Quiz is a test of knowledge and intuition. Looking up answers or asking your buddy is right out. Questions about the rules are answered here.

Identify each city from the clues given!

Name That Famous World City!

1. The unofficial capital of its country’s high tech industry, it is also the official capital of the state of Karnataka. It is the third largest city in its country, and easily the largest urban area on the Deccan plateau.

2. The second largest city in England was one of the first major centers of the Industrial Revolution. It’s not only the home of soccer’s Aston Villa F.C. but also home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, the site of the highest ever score by a batsman. One Brian Lara apparently “scored 501 not out” for Warwickshire there, whatever that means.

3. The fourth largest city in the United States is a port and industrial city near Galveston Bay. Its skyline looks like this:


4. The biggest city in Southeast Asia is on the northwest coast of Java. From 1619 to 1942, it was called Batavia.

5. Traditionally a university town, it was made into an industrial city during Poland’s communist era. It has grown very rapidly over the last 100 years, and recently passed Lodz to become the country’s second largest city.

6. It’s the largest city, but not the capital, of the most populous country in Africa. It’s a terminus of the Trans-West African Coastal Highway and of the soon to be completed Trans-Sahara Highway, but it might be faster just to fly into Murtala Mohammed International Airport.

7. A little more than a hundred miles east from Buenos Aires across the bay of the Rio de la Plata, it is a national capital and home to around a third of its country’s population.

8. The biggest city and capital of Saudi Arabia had a population of around 150,000 fifty years ago, but has reached about 7 million today.

9. This city grew explosively as a center of international trade in the 19th Century, and is growing explosively as a center of international trade even as we speak. It is now one of biggest cities in the world. At night, it looks something like this:


10. The third largest city in Canada, it’s a harbor at the mouth of the Frasier River. It is home, among other things, to Stanley Park and Simon Frasier University.

Submit your answers in the comments!

The L&TM5K Advent Calendar
December 2


Domenico Ghirlandaio, Adoration of the Shepherds. 1485. Tempera on wood. Santa Trinita, Sassetti Chapel, Florence, Italy.

Introducing: The Wednesday Quiz!!

The Wednesday Quiz

Rules and Such

Tomorrow is the first day of the first season of the the newest, bestest test of dorky knowledge to be found on the internet: The Wednesday Quiz! This here post lays down the laws.

Timing and Format

Q: When does the Wednesday Quiz happen?

A: Almost every Wednesday, with occasional weeks off between Seasons (see below).

The Quiz will generally be posted sometime between 9 p.m. Tuesday night and 1:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, Pacific Time. The answers will be posted in the comments sometime after 6 p.m. Wednesday. The Quiz is “live” from when it is posted until the answers come out, regardless of whether it is technically “Wednesday” when you answer.

Q: What is a Quiz Season?

A: Twelve Quizzes given over a three-month period. Winter ‘09-‘10, the first season, runs November through January.

Q: What’s the Format?

A: Unlike other dorky online Quizzes you may have taken, WQ questions may be fill-in-the-blank, is-it-or-isn’t it, short answer, or other formats. There will typically be ten questions, but occasionally there may be eight or even five questions.

Rules

Q: Can I look answers up?
A: Hell no.

It is strictly forbidden to check any online or offline reference, to consult a spouse, child, coworker, or any other human being, or in any other way to educate yourself on the subject at hand. To avoid accidentally seeing other people’s answers, I suggest writing your answers on scratch paper before opening the comments window.

Q: How does the scoring work?

Individual Quizzes: The person with the largest number of correct answers wins the Quiz for that week. If there is tie, then there are co-winners. And naturally, everyone who participates wins, because they stretched their intellect and reveled in their knowledge, intuition, curiosity, and moxie, yadda yadda yadda.

Seasons: Each Quiz is worth 100 points toward seasonal scoring. In ten-question Quizzes, each question is worth 10 points; in eight-question Quizzes, each question is worth 12.5 points, etc. Each contestant’s best eight (out of the possible twelve) scores will count toward their score for the season.

If there is a tie, the best nine scores will count; if there is a further tie, the best ten scores will count, etc. If there’s still a tie considering all twelve scores, then it’s just a tie.

Q: Why only the best eight scores?
You go on vacation, you are busy that Wednesday, you forgot until after the answers were posted, your kid got sick, etc. Most people will miss a few days. The best-of-eight rule keeps the contest from just being a roll call.

Q: Why does even scoring matter?
The top three winners for each season will win fabulous prizes.

Fabulous Prizes?!?

Q: Prizes? Really?
A: Oh aye. The first place winner will get the first pick of a small selection of fabulous items, the second place winner will get second pick, and the third place winner third pick. Plus, there will be little graphics that you can display on your sidebar if you are so inclined.

Q: Will the prizes really be fabulous?
A: Oh, I wouldn’t count on a cash value of over, let’s say, $15. But I’ll try to make it worth your while.

Stuff That Will Come Up Eventually

Q: But my second guess was right!
A: If a contestant provides more than one answer, or more than one answer-like statement, and does not clearly indicate which one is their REAL answer, the first one is the one that counts.

Examples: “That could be either Mozart or Haydn” = Mozart. “Cincinnati? Cleveland?” = Cincinnati. But: “Photosynthesis. NO! Parthenogenesis!” = Parthenogenesis; the punctuation makes the intended answer clear.

Q: There is a problem with a quiz question!
A: Oops. If it’s caught right away, I’ll fix it. If other people have already stumbled over it, I’ll throw out the question and possibly a few others as needed to make the scoring system work.

Q: You made an error in scoring, such that I did not receive the award I deserved!
A: You have until the next Wednesday Quiz is posted to state your grievance. This should be done in a flamboyant and witty fashion. The review committee must see decisive evidence in order to overturn the original judgment.

Personal Baggage

Q: Why are you doing this?
A: It’s required by the mission statement.

Q: I don’t like quizzes.
A: O.K.

Q: I like quizzes, but I don’t like to submit my answers.
A: O.K.

Q: I think this week’s quiz was too hard/easy!
A: Yeah, that can be tough to get right. If you think it’s too easy, rejoice in your win and be cool about it. Not everyone shares your body of knowledge, and if they’re struggling they don’t want to hear that every ten-year-old knows this stuff.

Q: This quiz makes me feel stupid.
A: It shouldn’t. You didn’t know in advance what the Quiz would be on. I’ve deliberately tried to make it tough enough so that even someone fairly knowledgeable about the subject will be challenged. The topics are fairly old-school. Nobody else thinks you’re stupid. Speaking just for myself, I think you’re pretty brilliant.

December 1

The L&TM5K Advent Calendar
December 1


U.S. Postage Stamp, 1962.