Saturday, May 12, 2007

Aurora australis from space



Animated video of an aurora from space
Giant crystal cave





Awesome Video of a gravity wave

Hi-res image of a wave cloud formation [NASA]



From wikipedia:

In physics, a gravitational wave is a fluctuation in the curvature of spacetime which propagates as a wave, traveling outward from a moving object or system of objects. Gravitational radiation is the energy transported by these waves. Important examples of systems which emit gravitational waves are binary star systems, where the two stars in the binary are white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes.

In Einstein's theory of general relativity, the force of gravity is due to curvature of spacetime. This curvature is caused by the presence of massive objects. Roughly speaking, the more massive the object is, the greater the curvature it causes, and hence the more intense the gravity. As massive objects move around in spacetime, the curvature will change. If the objects move around in the right way, ripples in spacetime can spread outward like ripples on the surface of a pond. These ripples are gravitational waves.

Friday, May 11, 2007

New Domain Names Could Come in Mid-2008

AP:

"
New Internet addresses for general use could start appearing in the summer of 2008 under a timeline the Internet's key oversight agency announced Thursday.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers invited public comment on procedures for creating new names, the first expansion for general use since 2000. Names added since then have been limited to specific regions or industries."

[Source]
MySpace Aims to Stop Reposting of Videos

AP:

MySpace, a networking Web site owned by media conglomerate News Corp. (NWS) (NWS), said Friday it launched copyright protection software for video content.

The feature, called Take Down Stay Down, prevents users from reposting videos that have been removed at the request of the copyright owner.

MySpace has several other copyright protection features already available, such as an audio filtering application which screens audio files to prevent people from uploading bootlegged music; a video filtering application, which screens video files to prevent illegal video uploads; and a Content Take Down tool, which allows copyright owners to request unauthorized content be taken down.

[Source]
On Carrier in Gulf, Cheney Warns Iran

Vice President Dick Cheney used the deck of an American aircraft carrier just 150 miles off Iran’s coast as the backdrop today to warn the country that the United States was prepared to use its naval power to keep Tehran from disrupting off oil routes or “gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region.”
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Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Vice President Dick Cheney on board the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf today.
Audio Back Story With The Times's David Sanger (mp3)

Little of what Mr. Cheney said in the cavernous hangar bay of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. John C. Stennis, one of two carriers whose strike groups are now in the Persian Gulf, was new. Each individual line had, in some form, been said before, at various points in the four-year-long nuclear standoff with Iran, and during the increasingly tense arguments over whether Iran is aiding the insurgents in Iraq.

But Mr. Cheney stitched all of those warnings together, and the symbolism of sending the administration’s most famous hawk to deliver the speech so close to Iran’s coast was unmistakable.




Romney's Estimated Wealth in Millions

Republican Mitt Romney is expected to report financial assets between $190 million and $250 million, an amount that would likely make him the wealthiest of the 2008 presidential candidates.




[AP]
Knoxville Zoo Displays Albino Alligator

This white alligator has it made in the shade. Without an alligator's normal dark camouflaging color, the new inhabitant at the Knoxville Zoo would not live long while exposed to predators or the sun.

In an exhibit made to look like the Louisiana bayou with tree stumps and hanging moss, the 12-year-old American alligator spent one recent afternoon basking under a heat lamp beside a warm pool with one claw lazily dipped in the water. If outside, her skin would burn in the sun.





[From AP]
Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life
Hostage Negotiations in China

Photographs show Asian law enforcement officials negotiating with (and shooting) a suspect who is holding children hostage.
Controversial Kit Tests the Sex of Unborn Baby at Just 6 Weeks
Finally: Hollywood set to filter on-screen smoking
Forget The Elevators, Take The Slider















[Source]
The video on war profiteering Republicans don’t want you to see

[Via PoliticsTV.com] Progressive film director Robert Greenwald is scheduled to testify at a hearing on Thursday, May 10 about war profiteering. He requested to show a few minutes of one of his films, but Republicans blocked his request. Here’s what Congress won’t see:



10 smart hacks for Google Reader
Cobra with a human baby, what the..?


Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Can you explain what this is? Strange object photographed

click pictures for larger image















[Source]
Cranes gone bad


Google's EyeBox counts eyes in public



Solid light discovery excites scientists
Google preparing to police web

Increasingly worried by the use of conventional web sites to distribute the viruses that turn innocent PCs into botnet "zombies," Google appears to be readying a plan to police the web. If the plan goes forward, Google will use new software to automatically identify compromised web pages in its database and label them as "potentially harmful" in its search results.
A 13 year-old boy used as a human shield by israeli army
Spectacular Lightning Strikes



George Lucas announces he is making two new Star War movies
The Windscale Disaster

In the wake of World War 2 the United States government enacted legislation which prohibited any other nations from receiving the scientific bounty derived from the Manhattan Project. This meant that despite the participation of British scientists in the project, Britain received none of the benefits of the research. The year after the United States' first successful nuclear bomb test in July of 1945, the British government decided that they too must develop a nuclear program in order to maintain their position as a world power. This pilot project eventually developed into the Windscale Nuclear plant.


Armless driver who only has one leg escapes police

For about eight minutes on Tuesday, through the streets near downtown, police chased a driver who had no arms and one good leg.

He got away.

Bush accidentally implies Queen is 200 years old

Hilarious commercial


Hi, I'm a Marvel...and I'm Batman. (Marvel/DC Parody) Part 2



Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Funny safe sex ads
Darth Vader: “Don’t be a Galactic Nuisance”

NASA Methane Engine Demo

[From Techeblog.com]:

Designed by XCOR Aerospace, the 5M15 engine develops 7,500 pounds of thrust by combusting liquid oxygen with methane. By contrast one of the engines on the space shuttle has nearly 400,000 pounds of thrust (the solid rocket boosters approach 3,000,000 a piece), but hey, it’s only a test engine. The big deal is that it runs on methane as opposed to hydrogen or something more exotic







Top 5 Geek Watches
Unofficial MacTablet

Mactab is the complement to MacBook. The incredibly thin wireless keyboard is used as a protection cover for transportation. It stays in place with a combination of magnets and notches. On the back of the computer, a hinge allows it to be put in a vertical position so you can use Mactab comfortably on your desk.






Internet encyclopedia to list all 1.8 mln species of plants and animals
Bear kills moose in Alaska driveway

Odd sounds outside their home woke Gary and Terri Lyon early Sunday morning, so Gary got up to check it out. He looked outside and saw a 500-pound grizzly bear killing an adult moose in their driveway.

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Visa's "Game of Life" encourages credit-card debt
Condoloeeza Rice photoshopped



Arctic Ice Melts Create New Land Rush

Nations are racing to plant flags and claim the "new world" of islands and sea routes that are emerging as Arctic ice melts.
Let Her Love You

It’s the old romance story.

The guy fights through all these obstacles, does superhuman heroic things.

And then he meets the girl.

And he decides to make himself vulnerable to her because he sees something special in her.

But what does it mean to actually make yourself vulnerable to another person?