Sunday, February 27, 2005

Worlds Without Number

A few months ago we had a Family Home Evening lesson where we disscussed the following two scriptures. Moses 1:33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. Moses 1:37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine. Most of this lesson was spent looking at the Sloan Digital Sky Survey / Sky Server.
This website presents data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a project to make a map of a large part of the universe. We would like to show you the beauty of the universe, and share with you our excitement as we build the largest map in the history of the world.
One of the best parts of this site is a page where you can navigate around the image of sky the way you do with mapquest. As you zoom and pan around the map of the sky you will be overwhelmed with the number of stars and galaxies. You can click on an object and it will tell you if it is a star or a galaxy. Many of the objects that look like stars are actually galaxies. The website says that when the survey is done they will have mapped hundreds of millions of celestial objects. We finished our lesson by singing "If You Could Hie to Kolob" (Music and Lyrics)

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Brad

My name is Brad.

I am a husband and father. I have a wonderful wife and four wonderful children.

My wife has just recently graduated form college and is now a Registered Nurse. My oldest is the manager of a Cold Stone Creamery. My second child just started attending a local community college. My third child is in middle school and my youngest is in Kindergarten.

I grew up in a family where I was the oldest of 6 children.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I have been a software engineer for the last 20 years. I have experience with the following computer languages: Python, C, VB, Fortran, APL, SQL, dBase, Pascal, Jovial, and Various assembly languages.

I have a day job developing embedded software in C. In my spare time I like to write Python.

I am a Libertarian.

I am interested in Genetics, Biology, Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Chess, and Science Fiction.

I also like to play Racquet ball.