Thanks to my wonderful sister (Hi, sis  :>  ) I get my mail forwarded to me through a maildrop every few weeks. So when I arrived in Louisville I called one of the Post Offices and asked which branch received the General Deliveries and what Zip Code I needed to use for it, then had … More Well, It Looks Like the Post Office Screwed Me……

I have always considered Muhammad Ali to be one of the most significant people of the 1960s. More than just a boxer—he was a cultural icon and a political symbol. The Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville KY (Ali’s hometown) is more than a museum documenting Ali’s life—it is a celebration of racial, religious, cultural and … More Muhammad Ali Center

The science of heat flow is called “thermodynamics”, and it has been an active branch of physics since the early 1800s. It involves a lot of mathy formulas, but in essence the entire science of thermodynamics can be boiled down to one simple statement: heat always flow from high-temperature areas to low-temperature areas, and never … More Hot Weather and Insulation

After the retreats from Shiloh and then Corinth in 1862, Confederate General Pierre Beauregard was relieved of command and replaced by General Braxton Bragg. At first, Bragg gave thought to an assault to re-take Corinth, but concluded that the Federals there were too strong. Then he was presented with an alternate objective by Colonel John … More Perryville Battlefield

This large park in Louisville was established in 1899 and designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the guy who designed New York’s Central Park. It has playgrounds for the kids, and a couple miles of nature trails. Some photos from a day at the park: The park Catalpa tree, aka Catawba tree Osage Orange. It’s not … More Iroquois Park

In late June 1863, Confederate cavalry commander and guerrilla leader John Hunt Morgan launched a raid from Kentucky into Indiana, hoping to attack Indianapolis and draw Federal troops away from Pennsylvania (which was being approached by General Robert E Lee’s army). At the town of Corydon, which was then Indiana’s state capitol, Morgan’s force of … More Corydon Battlefield

I had a good time here.  🙂 Despite the name, “Mega-Cavern” is not a natural cave. Back in the 1930s, it began as an open-air limestone pit. When they found a particularly good layer of limestone, the miners followed it underground. Eventually they reached a depth of over 100 feet, with 27 miles of underground … More Mega-Cavern

OK, the only thing I know about horse-racing is “Secretariat”, probably the most famous horse since Incitatus.  😉 But here are some photos from a visit to Churchill Downs in Louisville, the site of the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs. The original grandstand is a National Historic Landmark. The Museum entrance is graced by the gravestone … More Kentucky Derby Museum

Most cities have a science museum like this one—oriented towards kids, they are mostly glorified playgrounds. For me, the attraction is the IMAX movies and the science demonstrations (electricity shows are always fun—also liquid nitrogen). Some photos from a visit to the Louisville Science Museum. The museum Midget Mustang, a homebuilt airplane based on the … More Louisville Science Museum

OK, this is a seriously cool place. I spent the entire day here. As the Ohio River passes by Louisville KY, it has carved out a portion of an ancient fossilized coral reef, from the Devonian period about 420 million years ago. On the Indiana side of the river is “Falls of the Ohio State … More Falls of the Ohio State Park