Julia is a writer, blogger, speaker and skeptic who has managed to become an important figure in public engagement in just a couple of years of involvement.   She’s been heavily involved in the establishment of the New York City Skeptics and contributed enormously to events like NECSS.   She also regularly hosts their podcast and has an excellent blog which she shares with her brother Jesse.

I’ve always liked Julia’s writing and addresses a lot.  She provides excellent intellectual analysis, but her style is light and entertaining, which is very important in making it accessible and maintaining broad appeal.  She has a great sense of humor which she manages to weave into her commentary very cleverly and subtly, making it all the more entertaining to read.

Julia is also exactly the kind of person who skepticism needs the most.   The stereotype of the skeptic is generally a rather stuck-up, old bitter white male, and Julia is none of those (well, except she is Caucasian, but none of the others.)  Rather, she’s the kind of engaging, youthful face of an ever expanding and inclusive movement.   Julia is also not prone to limiting things to the more traditional venues for skepticism.   Recently she wrote of her trip to Burningman, the kind of event one typically does not associate with skeptic types.

But unfortunately, this post is not simply about gushing over how great Julia is and how much everyone appreciates her seemingly limitless enthusiasm for empirical skepticism and science in popular culture.

I recently found out that Julia had been badly injured in a household accident.   She received some very serious burns after knocking over a pot of deep-frying oil, and has second and third degree burns over most of her legs.  Julia has been in the hospital for more than a week and is expected to be there for at least another week to ten days.  She stated that she will be “regrowing my skin and relearning to walk.”

(Note: I feel okay saying this because she has posted it on her public Facebook account and the topic has been discussed on forums and boards, so I’m pretty sure she’s not keeping it a secret.)

Like everyone else who heard this news, I was shocked and saddened that such a horrific accident had happened to such an admirable person.   In fact, I figured that my best wishes for her recovery deserved, at the very least, a blog post.

As for everyone else:

Since I know Julia is passionate about her contributions to skepticism, why don’t you go check out her blog and podcast.  Not only is the content great, but like any other author, I’m sure she loves having her stuff read.   Also, be sure to leave her some love in the comments, because she really needs it right now.

Keep on getting better, Julia, and if your moral starts to wane, remember how many of us appreciate what you do and are enthusiastically waiting to see you again, once you are fully recovered!

TEPCO Press Room – Frequently updated English language press releases from the plant’s operators on the latest state of the reactors.

MIT Nuclear Information Service – Blog-style posts providing expert analysis and information written in layperson’s terminology with good explanations.   Highly recommended.   Rational and direct.

International Atomic Energy Agency – Contains regular press releases on confirmed information relating to the Fukushima reactors. Also provides information on confirmed injuries relating to the nuclear plant. At this time there are no confirmed cases of acute radiation poisoning, though workers have been injured in the explosions at the plant.

Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (English Language Site) – Frequent updates on status of reactors. This site provides some of the best primary information as soon as it is avaliable on both the reactor conditions and efforts underway to address problems. This is the primary source of information used to provide the concise “Status Updates” updates, which are hosted by HPS.
(note that this is not a “forum” in the sense of an internet discussion board)

Health Physics Society – In addition to having updates on the Fukushima, HPS is by far the best site to go to for reference information on the health effects of ionizing radiation, the measurement of radiation, safety issues and other important background info. HPS provides exceptionally well-written and understandable references for media and laypersons.

Fukushima Status Updates – Provided by the Health Physics Society and the Japan Atomic Information Forum, this PDF document is updated whenever new information on the status of the reactors become available. As of this writing, three reactors are severely damaged but stable. All reactors at the nearby Fukushima-2 plant are safe and relatively undamaged. This document offers the best concise rundown of status.

Due to the exceptionally poor reporting and sensationalize in the mainstream press, readers are warned to take press reports, even those from otherwise reputable newspapers with a grain of salt. Likewise, statements by politicians and commentators should not be viewed as necessarily being reliable.

This has been met with a curious response on numerous occasions.   Many concede that uranium is not all that harmful when touched or even ingested but then say “but what about the nano-particles.”   The dust, or “nanoparticles” resulting from uranium combustion are one thing that seems to come up again and again.  They are often credited with nearly magical properties, like the ability to stay suspended in the air indefinitely or to cause horrible health problems even in those far from the location where the uranium projectile was fired.

Indeed uranium tends to be more hazardous when inhaled than when exposure is by other routes, but that’s the extent of the truth to these statements.  Uranium is hardly unique in this respect.  Exposure to dust in general can cause respiratory problems, and certain metallic particles, such as beryllium, are well known to be especially hazardous if inhaled.   By comparison, uranium less dangerous, though it can be a hazard in high concentrations.

What’s so special about depleted uranium projectiles:

Uranium is used for armor-penetrating munitions because it has a number of properties that make it the most ideal material available.  Its use is generally confined to rounds intended to be used against armor, as the difficulties in machining uranium make it more expensive than other materials and its unique physical properties are of less use against softer targets.   Uranium rounds are generally of the kinetic energy penitrator variety, meaning they contain no explosive and simply use their own energy to punch through armor.

Uranium is very heavy, with a density of 19.1 grams per cubic centimeter.  That’s nearly twice as heavy as lead.   The increased mass means that the round has more kinetic energy than a lighter round moving at the same velocity.

Uranium metal also has a very unique property in how it reacts on impact.  Uranium is pyrophoric and auto-ignites when it is ground or ablated.   Solid samples of uranium will not burn under normal circumstances, but granular uranium or uranium turnings will.  When a round strikes armor, tiny particles of uranium break free from the surface and ignite.  The friction of being pushed through the target effectively grinds off a layer of material from the round, which burns, creating an aerosol of burning uranium which surrounds the round and cuts through the armor like a plasma lance.

In addition to this, uranium is extremely hard.  The hardness of uranium combined with he pyrophoric qualities of the metal give depleted uranium rounds a very unique property known as self-sharpening.   Rather than “mushrooming” as most metals do on impact, uranium rounds actually keep their sharpness.   As material peels away from the round, it retains its taper and even becomes sharper.   Maximizing this property is achieved through specialized (and sometimes classified) alloying methods.

Some have described the effect of depleted uranium as being like a laser in its ability to punch a hole through armor.  The projectiles do not themselves contain explosives, but explosions often result from the fuel or munitions stored within a vehicle.   In addition to being highly effective, depleted uranium rounds have the advantage of avoiding unexploded ordinance left on the battlefield or causing extreme collateral damage if the round misses the target.  They also won’t explode in the breach of a gun.

All of these properties make uranium the best material available for armor penetrating munitions.

What happens to the uranium after the round has been fired:

In most cases, the majority of the uranium in a round stays relatively intact, and only a small portion of the metal peals off and burns.   Uranium metal tends to oxidize relatively quickly when exposed to the atmosphere, so the round and any large portions of it will rapidly acquire a layer of uranium oxide.  Once the layer forms, the oxidization process will slow, as the metal is no longer in direct contact with the air.   Because the uranium oxide layer is not a perfectly impermeable material, oxidation will continue, although at a much slower rate.

The process is analogous to a how a piece of iron corrodes when left to weather.   It will quickly form a layer of rust and, over time, more and more of the iron will rust away, but it may take many years for the metal to be completely reduced to oxides.  Like iron, given enough time, uranium will return to a state similar to how it is found in nature.  The most common form of uranium ore is composed of uranium dioxide. This stable form of uranium is ultimately what uranium metal will revert to.

The uranium which aerosols or combusts when the projectile strikes will also revert to an oxide.   The combustion of uranium produces stable uranium oxides, such as uranium dioxide as well as some intermediate products, including uranyl.   Uranyl is a polyatomic ion of uranium in its +6 oxidation state.

Because uranyl is an ion, it will no be found on its own in nature.   Uranyl itself is fairly stable but due to its positive charge, it behaves like a free-radical and will form a compound almost immediately.   In most circumstances, this will be uranium trioxide (also known as uranyl oxide).   Occasionally, a small amount of uranyl nitrate or uranyl carbonate will be created.   Uranium trioxide is also found in uranium ores, though it is not as common as uranium dioxide.  Other less common forms of uranium oxide, such as U3O8 or U3O7 may be present in insignificant amounts.

Therefore, it can be said that when uranium combusts, it is converted to uranium oxides, primarily uranium dioxide, which are very similar to those found in uranium minerals.

Where the dust goes:

The material which does burn is atomized, reduced to dust or “nanoparticles” – which is really just another way of saying “really small dust.”   Some of the uranium particles may bond to the still-molten metal of the armor that the round has penetrated and become embedded in it.   However, much of it will be expelled into the environment.

There is already quite a lot of dust in the earth’s atmosphere.   Tiny dust particles help give the sky its blue color and seed clouds to produce precipitation.    Uranium dust, however, does not tend to stay suspended in the atmosphere as well as other types of dust.  The fact that uranium is so heavy means that it will settle out faster than nearly any other particle of similar size.

The vast majority of dust from a uranium projectile will settle to the ground quite quickly.   Once the “smoke” (composed of uranium dust as well as other dust and debris) has cleared, all the larger particles of uranium will have settled to the ground.  Most of the uranium oxide dust settles out of the air within a maximum of about fifty yards of the impact.   The area around the impact may therefore have a small amount of increased uranium content, but this is not all that significant considering that uranium is already quite abundant in the earth’s crust and therefore already present in soil.   Aside from absence of most of the uranium-235 a few specks of uranium dust mixed in with local dust and soil is generally identical to the uranium already found in the environment.

Only a tiny fraction of the dust produced by the combustion of a uranium projectile will have any chance at remaining suspended in the atmosphere for any significant period of time.   Some of the dust may also be kicked up again after it has settled from suspension.  As distance increases from the site of the impact, the concentration of uranium particles will become lower and lower until they are, for all intents and purposes, negligible.

The odd particle of uranium in the atmosphere is hardly unusual.  Any time that mineral dust is kicked up into the atmosphere, there is likely to be some uranium mixed in.

In addition to the vast amounts of uranium already present in the soils and sands of the world, human activity does contribute some to the amount of uranium present in the atmosphere.   The single largest contributor (by far) is the burning of coal.   In addition to numerous other heavy metals released each year, coal fired power plants blow hundreds of tons of particulate uranium into the atmosphere each year and leave hundreds of thousands of tons more in the ash produced. Though the concentration of uranium in coal is low, the sheer amount burned produces significant uranium releases.

In the event that any tiny particles of uranium manage to stay suspended in the atmosphere for an extended period of time, they will eventually be cleared by the same natural process that removes all other forms of dust from the atmosphere: precipitation.   Tiny particles of dust form the seeds onto which water vapor can condense in the upper atmosphere.  This allows the formation of clouds and eventually rain or snow.  Upon raining out of the atmosphere, the uranium will find its way into the hydrosphere and eventually the world’s oceans, which already have quite a bit of uranium dissolved in them.

Health Effects of Uranium Dust:

There is no doubt that the inhalation of significant quantities of uranium dust poses a health hazard.   Indeed, inhaling any dust at all in large enough quantities is something that should be avoided.  Chronic exposure to metallic or non-metallic dust, even of non-toxic materials can cause damage to the lungs.  Those in occupations that involve grinding, sanding or scraping are therefore advised to wear some type of respirator or dust mask.   Of course, some materials are worse than others due to their toxic or carcinogenic nature.  In such cases, greater precautions may be necessary.

It would certainly not be healthy to be in the immediate area of a depleted uranium round impact when it occurs.  The impact would not only produce uranium dust, but also various metallic and non-metallic debris from the target it hits and any explosives it contains.   Of course, for those who are so close to the target, there would be much greater concerns.  At greater distances, the possibility of inhaling any uranium from such an impact is remote and if any is inhaled, will be of an extremely small quantity.

It is known that sufficient uranium inhalation can cause lung damage and, in some cases, lead to lung cancer, but this has only been shown in cases of fairly large and chronic exposure.  There are other materials which are of far greater hazard when compared to uranium.  Beryllium is well known for its inhalation hazards, which are far greater than uranium.   If beryllium is to be machined, it is important to have proper ventilation and respiratory protection;.   Still, when beryllium is ground or machined, nobody worries that it will contaminate whole regions of the earth’s surface.

By contrast, uranium is less toxic than lead and, although radioactive, its long half-life assures that only a minuscule amount of radiation is produced by a tiny particle.   In circumstances where uranium is being worked with and inhalation is a possibility, general purpose respiration protection and dust control measures are recommended.   Even when uranium dust is produced by activities, it is not necessary to resort to extreme measures of protection, such as negative pressure glove boxes or fully isolated protective suits.   Such measures are may be with materials like plutonium, but uranium is not toxic or hazardous enough to warrant anything beyond standard measure of protection.   Handling of solid uranium metal, in circumstances where it is not being cut, machined or drilled, requires no special protection at all.

Should a particle of uranium be inhaled, one of three things will happen.   Either the particle will be trapped in the mucus membranes of the respiratory system, the particle will be exhaled or the particle will become embedded in the tissue of the lungs.  Most dust particles, especially larger ones, never make it to the lungs if inhaled.  The human body has a very effective system to filter air that is inhaled through the use of mucus and small hairs that line the sinuses and trachea.   Should the dust particle be stopped here it will either be expelled from the body or ingested, in which case, it will pass through the digestive tract with little absorption.   In most circumstances, about 50% of inhaled uranium is swallowed, rather than being deposited in the lungs.  If the particle is tiny enough to avoid being filtered out by the body, it may well remain suspended and be exhaled when the individual takes their next breath.

If the particle becomes embedded in the lungs, it may cause some very minor irritation or damage to surrounding tissue.   The damage from a single particle is generally insignificant, however significant damage can occur if enough uranium is inhaled.   Uranium is primarily an alpha emitter, so radiation produced will only effect the most localized portion of the body, and the long half life of uranium means that it will only produce a tiny amount of radiation exposure.   This exposure, along with the chemical toxicity to cells, is reason for concern, but only if the amount of uranium inhaled is fairly significant – more than the occasional tiny particle.

Tiny particles of uranium which manage to make it all the way to the alveoli of the lungs cannot be as easily cleared from the body.  Some of the larger particles may still be cleared by phlem, while those which are deeply embedded or which are are less than about a half a micron in size are absorbed into the bloodstream. The process of absorbing the uranium typically takes a period of days, for the tiniest “nano”-particles, up to months for larger particles of uranium dust, but once in the body it clears the bloodstream and is passed in urine quickly.

NOTE:  This is being discussed in the context of possible exposure to a tiny amount of uranium, as might occur from the impact of a projectile at a distance of hundreds of meters or more.  In these circumstances the total level of possible exposure is minuscule and thus damage to the lungs is not a major issue.  This should not be taken to mean that more direct exposure to uranium particles is not a health hazard.

The kidneys are quite effective in the removal of uranium from the body.   Concern has been expressed about the danger of kidney damage due to uranium exposure, and kidney damage remains the most prevalent health effect observed in humans as the result of uranium exposure.   The kidneys are, however, capable of handling a certain level of toxic metals before damage occurs.  Renal tube damage has been observed in those exposed to uranium, but only in circumstances where the exposure is extremely high and generally of a chronic nature.   In all but the most extreme examples, the damage is temporary and heals once the uranium exposure ends.  It takes about eight milligrams of uranium absorbed by the body to produce even mild, temporary effects on the kidneys.

Other effects, such as disposition in the skeleton or damage to the reproductive system has only been observed at very very extreme exposure levels.

Standards for inhaled uranium exposure:

In the US, the maximum occupational exposure for uranium by the NRC (of 5% U-235 or less) is .2 milligrams per cubic meter, for a typical 40 hour work week.  OSHA’s upper limit is .25 milligrams per cubic centimeter.  This level is significantly lower than the level at which any health effects are detectable, but is much higher than the regional exposure one would expect from the use of uranium projectiles.

For soluble uranium compounds, which are more readily absorbed, the standard is lower at .05 milligrams per cubic centimeter. This is also higher than the average exposure from a projectile used the general region one lives in, but it does not apply anyway, because the dust produced by uranium combustion is not a “soluble” form of uranium.

The WHO considers the standard of one .1 milligrams of uranium per cubic meter of air to be acceptable for the general population.   Surveys by the WHO of sites where depleted uranium has been used have shown that an increased concentration of uranium is only detectable within a very small area around the impact.  The general increase in environmental uranium and background radiation is described by the WHO as “negligible.”   A full survey of several areas in Kosovo concluded “the probability of significant exposure to local populations was considered to be very low.”

It is estimated that the average human absorbs up to 1.1 micrograms of uranium per day, primarily from natural enviornmental sources. At any given time, the average person’s body contains 90 micrograms of uranium, although some may contain significantly more due to the levels in their localized environment.   A total body burden of up to few hundred micrograms is not generally considered to be abnormal or reason for concern.

Sources of Additional Information:
Uranium Lung Solubility – LANL Report [PDF]
Chemical Toxicity Of Uranium
Depleted Uranium Health: Facts and Helpful Suggestions, by Glen Lawrence
Health Physics Society Fact Sheet on Depleted Uranium

Links to even more references on this topic can be found in this previous post.

Check it out here

]]> http://depletedcranium.com/tam-8-links-from-gess/feed/ 0 http://depletedcranium.com/check-out-yottawatts-from-thorium/ http://depletedcranium.com/check-out-yottawatts-from-thorium/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:00:54 +0000 drbuzz0 http://depletedcranium.com/?p=4802 Starting a blog can be pretty frustrating.  For the first few weeks (or more) there are few visitors and even fewer comments, which really makes it feel like you’re posting to a vacuum.   So when someone starts a blog that advocates things like nuclear energy, better enviornmental policy, human health and those kind of things, it’s always a good idea to support it and help it get going.

So why not do that for our friend Robert Steinhaus who has a brand-spankin-new blog called “Yottawatts From Thorium.” It’s worth a read anyway and although it only has a few posts up thus far, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more insightful and top-notch posts in the near future.

A fellow nuclear energy promoter and very knowledgeable about the subject, Rod Adams has one hell of an engine design, one hell of a mustache and is one hell of a guy.  Rod knows how reliable and safe nuclear reactors are because he used to live next to one, while under hundreds of feet of ice cold sea water, no less!  He’s a very smart and knowledgeable nuker and runs an excellent site that is informative and occasionally shows his excellent sense of humor.    Above all else, he’s always very insightful.

Why am I mentioning this?   Because it’s his birthday!

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ROD ADAMS

Definately worth a look!

In addition to information debunking chemtrails, you can also find spectacular historic and modern photos of contrails and related aviation and meteorological interest.   One of my favorite posts was one that did an excellent post debunking a local news story that claimed to have found barium being sprayed by government aircraft.

It should not be much of a surprise, however, that any effort to dispell silly myths with some good science and common sense would attract some angry responses by conspiracy theorists who insist that the author is either blind or part of the conspiracy

Here are a few:

wildwelder az

more of goverment shills trying to dis credit people

TELL US THE TRUTH AND STOP SPAYING US LIKE INSECTS.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=okB-489l6MI

wildwelder az

dude you can say it is “debunked” all you want here in arizona especially the phoenix area “they”start spraying on monday morning at 0800 am ,spray until sunset,then start again on tuesday am untill sunset and wednesday we have overcast skies,people cannot breathe ,and “oh”it is a miracle”we are going to get rain in the south of our state and snow up north!!
say what you want “they”are spraying us like insects.

Anonymous

I fail to see how comparisons with tap water, especially American tap water, the water you get fromyour taps is some of the more heavily bastardised in the world, can prove or disprove anything…

perhaps it should be compared to the clean rain water, purified by nature that falls from the sky here in NZ… i could send you some from milford sound, they average over 6m/year, the rain clouds come in from the west where there is but ocean for 1,500+ Kilometres

Mehdi

Barium is the least of the problem. They did not mention the red blood cells and pathogens in those chemicals.
and why they always spray this crap over populated areas? and what is all the secrecy about?
Ozone hole my a**. the supposed hole is over the south pole or Australia why the hell spraying the northern hemisphere?
Global warming is another Hoax! It is BS. dig NASA for some valid info if you can and you will find that the sun has been getting hotter for the bast 100 years (about the same time these british-israeli bastards took over America) and the frozen lakes around one of the Jupiter’s moon has melted, is that because some ppl drive SUVs o earth too? WTH?
don’t beieve anything you hear from main stream media liars. they are owned by the same british-israeli bastards.

any ways..
You know if the govts do anything for the good of the people which I have not seen lately, they would announce the hell out of it until we get sick and tired of hearing about it , then they use that to raise the taxes (again) now these planes cost $20,000 dollars Per Day, Per Flight ,Each! They come every day (7 days a week) and spray and there are many planes , …it adds up to millions of dollars per week, who is paying for all that?

And for those fools who think this is normal contrail (water vapor/condensation) I ask why then there are NO trails off the passenger jets which fly at almost the same altitude and at the same time??!!
And why they turn around and come back ? dont they need to go some damn place?
and why the trails spread like cancer over the skies above? are you blind or stupid or both?
until the sky is hazy and the beautiful blue asky has this shi**y color to it?
you must also be color blind too (no that goes back to being retarded/stupid)! bcs I dont think anyone can make a mistake about the discolored skies!

Imhotech

There is plenty of evidence of the “sprayer plane nozzels”. Your efforts to debunk substantial proof the chemtrails are abundant, will fail very shortly.

Me

AAhh nice goverment sponsord disinfo page!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can i pleeeeese by your soul? or else! I noticed somone writing about education:

Look up H.R.2977, H.R 3616, Owning the weather by 2025, Treaty on open skies.

Now you can go back to sleep!

Maximus

Let me see if I have this correct?

An obscure person sets up a site to tell everyone that the Chem trails they personally witness below the cloud level are all just perfectly ordinary Contrails.

How unscientific is that?

How could anyone possibley know this for a fact?

Indeed, is this not BUSH Science?

As in 911 BUSH Science?

Please Check this out and explain how contrails can form so low in Summer?

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pL50vs899uw

WILDWELDER AZ

WELL I THINK you are a government shill ,there are alot of you N.W.O. types out here now trying to make the “sheeple” think that what they are really seeing is not what is happening

i spent too many years in the military and spent alot of time flying to know the difference between a CLOUD/CONTRAIL and CHEMICAL SPRAY.

Are all these comments on the page just trolls and flamebaiters who don’t really buy into this bull?   Well, perhaps a few, but some are just too persistant, too detailed and probably are from legitimate CT’ers.   There certainly are people who believe this stuff and react with a combination of anger and a supperiority complex that they “can see the truth” when confronted with some rational science that debunks their pet theories.

(Believe me, I  myself get plenty of communications from people who believe that this stuff is legit and that I am either blindly repeating the lies of the conspirators or that I’m being paid off by them.   Yes, people seriously believe that.)

I personally applaud “Uncinus,” the author of the blog.   He’s done an excellent job of providing rich content and very thouroughly refuting all the chemtrail silliness with solid facts and information.   Contrail Science is definately a site fighting the good fight.

But Sketchup is much different. It is designed for freehanded drawing and creation of 3D objects and worlds. It has a “tape-measure” as a measuring tool, but by and large it’s click-drag-draw and eyeball the dimensions and layout. This is combined with some very useful geometric tools allow for easy scaling, dividing and aligning of components. It’s a ball to make simple and complex figures and the models are rendered in real time, even on a relatively lackluster computer, allowing you to pan, tilt, zoom and fly around the models. It has some very useful features including “push/pull” which is akin to extrude and “follow me” which allows for extrusions that create circles, spirals, shapes or follow almost any profile. You can create “components” which allows you to put a given figure in multiple places and have it change in all locations by just editing it once.

Importing and Exporting:

You can import any Jpeg or PNG image and attach it to a surface or use it as a texture in your model. The program also comes with a few premade textures, which you can edit if you like. You can also import numerous premade models of everything from spacecraft to lamps and windows from the 3D warehouse. It can export to Google Earth and to major file formats. It can import and export Autodesk DWG files, 3D studio files and other major 3D design file formats.

Google Sketchup is free, but it also comes in an optional pro version which throws in a few extra tools. It also has various plugin applications which extend it’s capabilities to import and export. Sketchup only does simple rendering, and while it will do shadows and basic fog effects, it can’t do reflections or refractive lighting or light from multiple sources. However with plugin applications, such as RPS Raytrace, it can do all this and more, resulting in some very smooth and well rendered images. Other plugins also allow for exporting of vector images or 3D PDF files.

What it’s good for and what it’s not good for:

As mentioned above, Sketchup is not really a CAD program, so it’s not so good for mechanical design, architectural plans or other tasks that require specialized technical diagrams. What it is excellent for is for 3D illustrations, such as 3d worlds, video games, concept drawings and such. It does have an important place in the serious world of design, because it’s about the best way I’ve seen to create the overall concept illustrations and show how a design will look in real life.

I’d say it makes me feel like a kid again, because as a kid, I loved making fantasy designs out of legos or building blocks. With Sketchup it’s a lot of fun to make such figures of imagination and fantasy. Worth checking out. It takes about five minutes to figure out the basics. Also, it’s free!

Here’s part of my design proposal for the Freedom Tower from a while back. Needless to say, it didn’t make it very far and I doubt the Lower Manhattan Commission even saw it:

(click to enlarge)

Of course, this only works from the proper angle. When viewed from another direction, the image looks much different.

I’m sure Jerry Andrus would be proud to know that people still carry on his legacy of creating amazing illusions and showing the world that things are not always what they seem.

(Hopefully I won’t get sued for posting his pictures, because I do give them credit and link to his website. I mean I’m helping… I think.)