Albatross can sleep while flying!

Did you know that an albatross can sleep while flying? I first read about this from a weak advertisement as I browsed through a magazine and then researched it on the internet to confirm that the fact was true. Indeed it is; furthermore, I learned that the albatross is a rather large bird (that spends almost all of its life at sea or in the air). How large? Some, like the wandering albatross, have been reported with wingspans of up to eleven feet (11') long!

My first reaction was to wonder how, and the next was to dream about the sensation of sustained flight without using anything but the wind. My guess was that the bird stays aloft on major trade winds or they utilize some sort of phenomena in air that is near the ocean surface. I still don't know exactly, but this site from students(?) at Wake Forest University shows how an albatross can glide without having to flap their wings using just the current of the wind. This process is called dynamic soaring, and there's a short animation that depicts how it works on the link provided.

Furthermore, these birds live a potentially long life, as I have read they can live past 50 years of age. However, what most often threatens their lifespan today is a method of fishing such as "longlining" (using thousands of baited hooks trailing off of long lines behind a boat or set between buoys) can snag an albatross that goes for the bait and drown it or a hook may get fed to its chicks if it successfully removes the and gill nets; it can get to be a problem, and the Kiwi Conservation club in New Zealand, asks for people to write the Minister of Fisheries to request for better conservation and fishing policy.

I've become fascinated with the albatross since reading that tidbit, and I realize as I type that the advertisement did direct my interest to learn more about the bird rather than their product (something to do with software, though I doubt I needed it anyhow). If a company is going to put a fascinating fact up such as "albatross can sleep while flying," I would expect that whatever follows should be at the least equally interesting or significant. Not "they don't see where they're going" in big print and then somewhere at the bottom of the page write what their company has to offer. Or maybe follow up with something like "albatross can sleep while flying, and some pilots can too, but they know where they'll end up if they do".

Anyhow, I wonder what the albatross dream about when they sleep aloft.

First Post, First Blog, and First Thoughts

Salutations reader,

My name is Ian Tran. I'm from Michigan, which is surrounded by [most of] the Great Lakes. Being a resident of this area, I take pride in our close proximity to fresh water (in Michigan, you are never more than six miles from a body of water), and the erratic weather that we and our fellows from neighboring geographies (let's not forget about nearby states and Canada) experience.

Starting this blog, (this is my first) was intimidating, especially after looking at other people's blogs moments before creating this post. Questions abounded even when I set up my account information, but chiefly I wondered about these two:

1) What is this blog going to be about?
2) What should I title my blog?

At first, I had the inspiration to dive right in and post random thoughts, items, and clips--and there was nothing to stop me except for my research habits nipping at the back of my mind. So research I did, and as I read through other people's blogs, I was impressed to see that some individuals and companies would treat their first post as a kind of thesis statement to their entire blog, mission statement, or philosophy. Of course it made sense to do so, but could I find something greater that overlies or underlies the things I love to think about and share? What exactly are these things?

My answer soon became apparent as I continued my studies as a student. Having interests ranging from the arts to the sciences and numerous things in between, I realized that what typically brought me to appreciate them was either having the privilege of experiencing it firsthand, or by learning about them through effective communication. So that's what I plan to do, I'd share some of my experiences, communicate a bit about communication, and go about my usual business of pondering as I go along.

Time for the title: Light Telecommunication
Right away, I knew I would mostly be writing in brief about what I've found or thought about on a blog. At the same time, I also knew that I would probably want to share something that seems particularly enlightening to me.

I made a violin piece titled Light Telecommunication last year which references several forms of communication technologies within the music. When I looked at all of the available definitions for the words Light and Telecommunication, the available choices were particularly fitting for identifying what I hope to do with this blog. Hopefully, we won't have to adhere to one particular set of definitions for this title to convey a satisfactory meaning. See for yourself, both hyper links go to the respective definitions found at dictionary.com. There's plenty of variety, and yet we have a notion about what we may or may not expect to see.

So why would I be so passionate about communication? I'm currently listed as an environmental science major, and my interests frequently involve the arts, outdoor recreation, and the occasional bit of science fiction or mythology.

I believe our desire and capacity to communicate is what makes us human. As described under the blog title, communication is a part of everything we do. Even the arts (music included when I say arts) communicate information, so long as we consider what can be learned from the experience. A brief look at some definitions about communication (again I cite from dictionary.com) and we'll find that communication can be:

The imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.

So if I feel like posting a poem, an art piece, or something else I found interesting without much explanation, I'll be doing some light telecommunication. If I've felt particularly enlightened by by something I want to share in detail, I'll also be doing some light telecommunication.

Best wishes,
Ian D. Tran