Ten years and counting

Ten years have passed since the adoption of the euro as the common currency of many European Union countries. Today, sixteen EU countries and three "microstates" (Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican) are officially using the euro. A few other countries use the euro unofficially or without formal agreements with the EU.

Beyond the economic implication of the euro introduction, which I won't discuss here, I'd like to mention the excitement and opportunities that all these new coins have provided coin collectors and enthusiasts. As every participating country has a distinct design on the coins' obverse (the coins have a common reverse), there are nineteen different versions for each euro coin denomination. On top of that, one should add the commemorative, circulating 2-euro coins that have been issued regularly since 1994 (fifty-one, by 2008. The first one is pictured here, issued by Greece for the 2004 Olympics).

The euro coins of Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican have attracted particular attention, as their low mintage numbers have led to a huge collector demand and high prices. Vatican euros especially are very highly sought after.

Happy New Year!

Glad tidings for Christmas and a happy New Year!

George Wesley Bellows (1882-1925)

Love of Winter
1914
Oil on canvas

In January 1914, George Bellows wrote to a friend: "There has been none of my favorite snow. I must always paint the snow at least once a year." Soon after, on February 13, a major blizzard hit New York City, inspiring the artist to paint Love of Winter. In the work, he used bright reds, yellows, and greens to intensify the winter scene and broad, slashing brushstrokes to convey movement, wind, and speed. The energetic group of skates and onlookers, composed of people of a range of ages and social classes, reflects the diversity of public parks and leisure activities in early-20th-century New York City.

Painting photographed and text copied at The Art Institute of Chicago.
Click for larger vesrion

Flying

A couple of pics captured earlier this week. Sunrise at the airport at Syracuse, NY,
and evening over Chicago, IL.

(click the pics for a larger version).

Rarely have both the left, the right, and the libertarian leaning part of popular opinion agreed on something as much as they did in disliking the "bailout" for the banking industry. The left, because the plan directs money to a part of the financial system always regarded as rich and well compensated. The right, and certainly the libertarian, because they believe that it runs counter to the principles of free economy: if you did not do well, you should fail. (Whether the bailout was necessary or not is another matter).
This editorial cartoon by Tom Toles captures the popular feeling pretty well!

ΜΠ = B

Some of the greek and greek-cypriot newspapers' front pages the day after the US election. Even if one hasn't learned the greek alphabet in a physics or math class, the new president's name should be pretty easy to spot!
(click the pic for a larger version)

formerly known as the "ninth planet"

Softening the blow of IAU's 2006 decision to strip Pluto of its planet status, an IAU committee, "has suggested that small, nearly spherical objects orbiting beyond Neptune should carry the "plutoid" tag", reported the BBC recently. Pluto is now a "dwarf planet", along with other solar system bodies like Ceres (who got promoted from asteroid), and recently discovered Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.
Many people are still fuming at IAU for Pluto's demotion and were not satisfied with the "plutoid" consolation. Among them is Alan Stern, the principal investigator of New Horizons, the NASA mission to Pluto, launched in 2006, and scheduled to arrive in 2015. Said, Alan Stern: "It's just some people in a smoke-filled room who dreamed it up," he told the Associated Press. "Plutoids or haemorrhoids, whatever they call it. This is irrelevant."

Seeing red...

My red-claw shrimp (Macrobrachium sp.) died yesterday, one and a half year after I got it. It was one of the liveliest inhabitants of my aquarium, always interesting to observe, especially when feeding - it had a huge appetite - or when it was chasing the fish away. I have to get a new one as soon as possible! This photo was taken last fall.

The end of summer...

A couple of pics from last month.
Sunset over Paros, as seen from Naxos.
And orange spoon-sweet, at a kafe in Syros.

Provincetown 2008

Morning, afternoon, evening, night...

Click pic for larger version