Watch this: You ain't gonna believe it. Even if you've seen it before.

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A Stunt Cyclist’s Tour de Fence

NYTimes reports here that Danny MacAskill, a stunt bicyclist can divide his life into two parts --  before his YouTube video came out and after it came out.

Remember, I told you so:  You still can't quite believe it.
This video was filmed over the period of a several months in and around Edinburgh by Dave Sowerby, a videographer who has earned my admiration for his work and deserves great credit for the level of quality he has achieved.

'Romeo And Juliet': Just As You Misremembered It

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'Romeo And Juliet':
Just As You Misremembered It

Tell the truth - You really did sleep thru English class, didn't you.

Here's NPR's  review of this charming recreation of the greatest love story of all time.  The entire script was written from several people's somewhat off-the-mark memories of the details.  It's a hoot!

Enjoy!

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Happy New Year 2010!

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This just arrived in an email from a good friend of mine -- who is a devout Muslim.

So much for stereotypes.

Have a wonderful year everybody!
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Are you afriad of flying? That's irrational

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Jerry Lee Lewis should be quite proud.  The New York Post's headline, after the December 25th attempt to blow an airliner out of the sky, was "Great Balls of Fire"!

NPR reports that, "... risk experts say that Americans are simply reacting — by not overreacting — in a way that reflects the circumstances.

"The response makes absolute sense given the evidence, the nature of this weekend's events, and this risk in general," says David Ropeik, a risk communication consultant...."

NPR further reports that passengers are citing inconvenience as their predominant concern.

The most dangerous part of any flight was, is and will remain, the car trips to and from the airports. 

Have a nice flight.

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Save your electronic toys with rice -- Yes! Rice

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This item over on LifeHacker tells about saving a mobile phone after a 30 minute soak in a puddle during a rainstorm.

In addition to being delicious & nutricious, rice is so versatile.
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Exponentials R Us

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In an article on xconomy.com, Ed Lazowska, the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, tells us that Exponentials R Us.

He wrote, "Forty years ago, in 1969, Neil Armstrong left footprints on the surface of the moon. It was an extraordinary accomplishment." 

He goes on to point out that, the same year - 1969, the very first message was sent over Arpanet - predecessor to the internet.

Continuing his discussion of Exponentials R Us, he lists several phenomenal advances in computer science - that have led directly to major changes in the way we live out lives.  Then he suggests some areas to watch over the next decade or so.
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A book review: The Zombie Survival Guide

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The Zombie Survival Guide

Jake Halpern teaches writing at Yale University.


Here he tells us, via NPR, about "Beware, Zombies: This 'Guide' Will Save Humankind". You can hear the interview here.

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Carlos Kleiber conducting the Bavarian State Orchestra in Johann Strauss II "Unter Donner und Blitz"

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I love the way the late Carlos Kleiber conducts an orchestra.  I believe he provides an excellent example of how to manage people.  Here he is clearly in charge of the performance -- but not by 'commanding' the band.  He does it by leading them and giving them the space for each of them to exercise his or her own creativity.

Did you notice his left hand when he rests it on the bar behind him?  It clearly shows how relaxed he is.  He further demonstrates his confidence in the musicians' abilities by sometimes not even waving his baton -- during the playing.  And his smile shows how much fun he is having all while the the band is making beautiful music.  He is extraordinary!

We are very fortunate that such technologies as YouTube allow us to travel back in time to see such a genius in action.

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Watch the water droplet bounce -- Yes!  Bounce -- on top of the water.

Ain't science cool!
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Avoid getting worms by taking Cocaine? I don't think so.

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As if I needed another reason not to use cocaine, now from PopSci, via BoingBoing, we learn here that more than two thirds of the cocaine distributed in the United States is laced with a veterinary deworming drug!  The drug, levamisole, was removed from the U.S. market (for Human use) in 2000.  However, although levamisole is still available to deworm your pets, I don't recommend substituting cocaine as a dewormer.  But, I'm not a Veterinarian.
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How Mr. Splashy Pants got his name

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How Mr. Splashy Pants got his name

Alexis Ohanian, a co-founder of Reddit, tells, on TED, the real-life story of how a humpback whale became a Web star. The real lesson of Mister Splashy Pants is how to do something serious and important while having fun doing it.  Meme-makers and marketers (that includes you & me) in the Facebook age should take note.
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ASU BioDesign Institute making BioFuel more competitive - by creating self-destucting microbes!

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Developments like this will help the United States stop borrowing money from China and shipping that money to the Middle East to buy oil from OPEC countries.


"An Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing lower-cost, renewable biofuels."

 The results were published here in an online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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NSF Scientists Discover Erupting Volcano 4.000 feet Undersea

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The National Science Foundation tells here about eruptions from the West Mata Volcano.  There are videos with sound here and here.

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Pilot Jessica Cox on Inside Edition

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AVweb reports, "Jessica Cox, of Tucson, Ariz., was born without arms, but she hasn't let that define her role in life, and last week she scored a first when she earned her Sport Pilot certificate using only her feet to manipulate the controls of an Ercoupe. "I highly encourage people with disabilities to consider flying," Cox said. "It helps reverse the stereotype that people with disabilities are powerless into the belief that they are powerful and capable of setting high goals and achieving them." Cox, who is 25, won an Able Flight scholarship and trained with instructor Parrish Traweek in his Ercoupe 415C. "What is most incredible about Able Flight is the relentless faith and support not only from the board but also from the other pilots who have succeeded in the program," Cox said. "Thank you, Able Flight, for helping me make history as the first licensed pilot to fly with only her feet!" Since the Ercoupe design has no rudder pedals, no special modifications were required for Cox to fly it.

The rudder and aileron systems are linked, and both are controlled with a single control yoke. The yoke also controls nosewheel steering on the ground. Cox also drives a car and types on a computer using her feet. She works as a motivational speaker and is writing a book about her life."

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FEMA & FCC moving toward Emergency Notification System

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Gateway Interface for Wireless Carriers

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Federal Telemedicine News reports that FEMA and FCC have adopted design specifications to develop a gateway interface so that wireless carriers can provide customers with timely and accurate emergency alerts and warnings via cell phones and other mobile devices.

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Ride on a U2 spy plane

I believe comments from me are not herein required.

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The birth of an elephant

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This sounds like the beginning of a joke: 
So this elephant gave birth....

But, it's not a joke.  It is real. 
The elephant did give birth.

amazing video .. elephant being born ---
VERY GRAPHIC !!--- (but real)

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(This year) Chanukah begins at Sundown today

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Chanukah is the only holiday dedicated to religious freedom.
This year I'm celebrating with Neil Diamond's cover of The Chaukah Song.

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Capitalism at work - making money in clean energy

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Physorg.com has an item saying, "The clean energy technology sector will grow into a 1.6 trillion-euro (2.4 trillion-dollar) industry by 2020, becoming the third largest industrial sector after automobiles and electronics, WWF said Friday."

"Wind turbines off the coast of Spain. The clean energy technology sector will grow into a 1.6 trillion-euro (2.4 trillion-dollar) industry by 2020, becoming the third largest industrial sector after automobiles and electronics, WWF said Friday."

I figger WWF is either the World Wrestling Federation or the World Wildlife Fund, but I'm no expert in these matters.   ;-)

Nonetheless, there are big profits being made and to be made in clean energy.
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World's First Robot vs. Human Pro Wrestling Match Ends in KO

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Gizmodo reports on a very interesting pro wrestling match - It must be seen to be believed.  And, as with the rest of pro wrestling, you still don't have to believe it.  But, it's fun.

ロボットvsプロレスラー

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The National Science Foundation is discussing how the United States currently leads the World in computer science, and why computer science is not taught at the K-12 school level - and how other Nations are requiring computer science in K-12, and pulling ahead of the U.S.  Then they discuss the the National Security danger that creates and reasons why we need to get back into the game and how to do that. 

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Ever get pulled aside for secondary screening at an airport? Ever wonder why?

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According to Wandering Aramean, TSA has "accidently" released their Screening Management Standard Operating Procedure.  Cryptome has a copy of it here.  Wired.com has the story here.

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The Largest Machine in the World

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C|Net Interview:
Inside CERN
with an LHC scientist

"The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is one of the most ambitious experiments of all time and following a year of shutdown, it's finally started to do its business again. So we thought we'd have a chat to someone directly involved in the experiments to get a sense of what it's like to work in geek heaven.

"Paul Jackson is a particle physicist from SLAC and Stanford University, based at CERN. He's working on the Atlas experiment, looking for the Higgs boson--the so-called "God particle." Read on to find out whether he's about to kill us, what would happen to you if you stood in front of the LHC beam and what CERN's favorite snacks are. (Also see our definitive guide to the collider, CERN and the Higgs boson.)"


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The Old Chicken & Egg Question -- On a Cosmic Scale!

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Which came first, the Quasar or the Galaxy?

Quid pro quo? Quasar HE0450 seems to be pulling in gas from a nearby galaxy then blasting out matter to create new stars.

Credit: ESO/L. Calcada

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Need a good Sunscreen? Wrap yourself in a coral reef!

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"Coral Reefs Act Like Sunscreen

Protector. A coral skeleton irradiated with ultraviolet radiation, fluorescing yellow.

Credit: R. Reef et al., PLoS ONE 4 (11) (November 2009)

"By Charles Choi
ScienceNOW Daily News
30 November 2009
"Living on a coral reef is a bit like living in a tanning bed. As the sun's rays shine through the water and reflect off the reef, they strike corals, their symbiotic photosynthetic algae, and other inhabitants from above and below. So what keeps these creatures from being fried? A new study suggests that coral acts as a sunscreen, absorbing UV light and limiting the harm it inflicts on the reef's denizens."

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Migrating Lakes? Yeah, You Read That Right -- Migrating Lakes!

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) reports evidence that Methane lakes on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, appear to migrate!
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"Wave of Discovery: Harnessing the Ocean's Power" -- Science Nation

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From National Science Foundation comes

"Wave of Discovery: Harnessing the Ocean's Power" -- Science Nation

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