Clipmarks | carrerinyes's clips

[Astronomy Ireland] U2, Talking Live With ISS Astronauts

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:06:44 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: From Astronomy Ireland: At the opening concert of their world tour on June 30, U2 had a very special surprise for concert goers in Barcelona. After the 4th song of the show, a live satellite link with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), appeared on the screens in the stadium, with one of the astronauts telling the audience "right now the most beautiful sight in our cosmos is the blue planet Earth". ISS will be visible in Irish skies again from July 6 - 23.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

u2 talking with the ISS

[Video]

Spelling Lesson Please

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:01:16 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: "Supporters of official English might also think it would be good to follow another Kyrgyzstan example and make all future American presidents pass an English test. After all, the English-speaking ability of some presidents – Andrew Jackson, Calvin Coolidge, George W. Bush – has been called into question."

Clip Source: illinois.edu

A major theme at Pat Buchanan's American Cause conference on "Building the New Majority" this week was making English official. Speaking under a banner reading "2009 National Conferenece," white nationalist Peter Brimelow (editor of Vdare.com) charged that Democrats don't respect English: "You're going to find that the Obama administration is going to gradually institute institutional bilingualism in the country. It's going to be required to speak Spanish in key positions, the police force and so on." But it was Republicans who were unable to spell fairly simple English words.

Pat Buchanan and Peter Brimelow think that English should be the official language of the United States. Buchanan, a former presidential candidate, apparently didn't notice the misspelled "conferenece" on his conference's banner.

Note to English-only group that can't spell "conference": Presidential candidates in Kyrgyzstan have to pass a test in Kyrgyz, their official language. Could you pass a test in English?

Comte De St Germain (Saint Germain)

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:47:28 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: Their Masonic symbols can be seen on the dollar bill.

He spent eighty five years with the Trans-Himalayan Brotherhood which was made up of El Moyra, Kuthumi, Djwhal Khul, and others.

He lived for over 350 years, staging his death between lifetimes. As a writer he used the names Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Montaigne, Robert Burton, Cervantes, Valentine Andraes, and Comte de Gabalis.

It is from his ascended state that he brings the ultimate gift of freedom - The Violet Flame.

From The Ascended Masters

Ruler of an Ancient Civilization

More than fifty thousand years ago, a golden civilization thrived in a fertile country with a semitropical climate where the Sahara Desert now is. It was filled with great peace, happiness and prosperity and ruled with supreme justice and wisdom by this very Saint Germain.

Clip Source: www.crystalinks.com

It is believed that Saint Germain was born in 1561. As he grew into adulthood he mastered all of the European languages. He was one of the best swordsmen of his day. He was a master violinist.

He was a personal friend of Voltaire, Rousseau, and a great many other distinguished philosophers. He knew many European heads of state. He was known as "the man who never dies and knows everything".

He was a great painter and musical conductor. He had an extensive knowledge of herbalism. Some feel that this attributed to his long life. He was a master alchemist.

He founded Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry in England. He did this under the name Francis Bacon. It was his dream to create in America a new country free of corruption, greed, and dictatorial monarchies. He was instrumental in formulating the Declaration of Independence and the constitution of the United States as they were being written by his Masonic followers who founded this nation. Their Masonic symbols can be seen on the dollar bill.

People May be Able to Taste Words

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:07:02 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: He and his co-author, Cesare Parise, tested 12 volunteers in trials during which an image flashed up on a screen at a slightly different time to one of two tones - one low-pitched and one high-pitched - being played.

There were two sets of image: a large and a small black dot, or an angular and a very rounded shape,
Dots of a certain size match tones of a certain pitch. People associate the low-pitched sound with the larger dot

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

People may be able to taste words

We are all capable of "hearing" shapes and sizes and perhaps even "tasting" sounds, according to researchers.

This blending of sensory experiences, or synaesthesia, they say, influences our perception and helps us make sense of a jumble of simultaneous sensations.

Oxford University scientists found that people associate lower-pitched sounds with larger and more rounded shapes.

One of the team is now working with chef Heston Blumenthal to incorporate words into a new dining experience.

Synaesthesia itself is a rare and unusual condition thought to affect less than 1% of the population.

It can takes many different forms - some people may "see sounds", in that certain sounds trigger them to see particular colours. Others might experience colours while reading those words in simple black text.

But according to Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, we are all "synaesthetes" up to a point.

The EvolutionOf A Man & A Woman....

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:29:30 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes

Clip Source: walter.no.sapo.pt

Decoding Antiquity: Eight Scripts...

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:49:30 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: in 1823, they extended the span of recorded history by around 2000 years and allowed us to read the words of Ramses the Great. The decipherment of the Mayan glyphs revealed that the New World had a sophisticated, literate civilisation at the time of the Roman empire.

So how do you decipher an unknown script? There are two minimum requirements. First, there has to be enough material to work with. Secondly, there must be some link to a known language. It helps enormously if there is a bilingual inscription or identifiable proper names - the Rosetta Stone (see image), for example, is written in both ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek, and also contains the name of the Ptolemy dynasty. If there is no clear link, an attempt must be made to relate the concealed language to a known one.

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Decoding antiquity: Eight scripts that still can't be read

WRITING is one of the greatest inventions in human history. Perhaps the greatest, since it made history possible. Without writing, there could be no accumulation of knowledge, no historical record, no science - and of course no books, newspapers or internet.

The first true writing we know of is Sumerian cuneiform - consisting mainly of wedge-shaped impressions on clay tablets - which was used more than 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Soon afterwards writing appeared in Egypt, and much later in Europe, China and Central America. Civilisations have invented hundreds of different writing systems. Some, such as the one you are reading now, have remained in use, but most have fallen into disuse.

These dead scripts tantalise us. We can see that they are writing, but what do they say?

That is the great challenge of decipherment: to reach deep into the past and hear the voices of the dead. When the Egyptian hieroglyphs were deciphered

Clip Source: www.britishmuseum.org

The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran

Sat, 23 May 2009 21:10:51 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: It was such a treat to find this site. You can read a chapter from the book set to music. He is my favourite poet by far

Clip Source: www.geocities.com

SPIRITUAL AND REINCARNATION INSIGHTS IN POEM FORM

ahlil Gibran, born in Lebanon, was a poet, philosopher, and artist. His poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages and his drawings and paintings have been exhibited in the great capitals of the world. He lived in the United States, which he made his home during the last twenty years of his life.

1. The Coming of the Ship

6. Eating and Drinking

11. Buying and Selling

15. Reason and Passion

12. Crime and Punishment

Doodle for Google: 6th-Grader Wins

Sat, 23 May 2009 15:18:08 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: In addition to her 24-hour exhibit on Google.com, Engelberth also earned a $15,000 scholarship, a laptop, a trip to Google's New York office, and a $25,000 technology grant for her school. After the jump, check out our pics of the winner and other contestants, a few more designs, and the awards ceremony. (Here's last year's Doodle 4 Google winner.)

Clip Source: www.appscout.com

6th-Grader from San Antonio Wins 2009 Doodle 4 Google Competition

Amazing prizes, worldwide exposure, and the Google empire at your beck and call, if only for 24 hours--not a bad day for a sixth grader. Top honors in the second annual Doodle 4 Google competition went to budding artist Christin Engelberth, 12, who attends Bernard Harris Middle School in San Antonio, TX. Her logo doodle, "A New Beginning" (shown above), will top the Google homepage all day Thursday, May 21.

Engelberth's creation, which is based on her hope that "out of current crisis, discoveries will be found to help Earth prosper once more," bested a pool of 28,000 entrants. A 10-member panel of judges pared that pool down to 40 regional finalists on May 8, and the public was invited to elect its favorite doodle from May 11-18. Six million online votes later, "A New Beginning" emerged as one of the four national finalists, after which Google's Dennis Hwang and Marissa Mayer selected it as the dandiest doodle of them all.

Long exposure shows Roomba’s path around your living room

Wed, 20 May 2009 20:17:16 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes

Clip Source: www.crunchgear.com

Long exposure shows Roomba’s path around your living room

This is very interesting as well as being just a cool picture. By working out how long it took for a Roomba to go through a room, turning the lights out and figuring out the exposure settings, this photographer managed to catch the path of the sucker throughout the whole process.

That’s pretty cool, but now all I can think of are other ways of tracking the little bot. Webcam on its “head”? Merge multiple normal exposures? Attach a sharpie to its “tail”? So many experiments to do, and I don’t even own a Roomba! I guess when I move to my new hardwood floor apartment, I can track my Fukitorimushi.

Handy Latin Phrases

Wed, 20 May 2009 20:05:24 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes

Clip Source: philbrodieband.com

HANDY LATIN PHRASES

II. Veritas Vos Liberabit

The truth shall set you free

Liar, liar, pants on fire (handy at business meetings, the spelling might be wonky)

Canto ergo sum
I sing, therefore I am

In vino veritas
In wine there is truth.

Magister Mundi sum!
I am the Master of the Universe!

Noli illegitimi carborundum
Don't let the bastards wear you down.

Stercus accidit
Shit happens

Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes
If you can read this, you're too educated

Potentia vobiscum
May the force be with you.

Laboris gloria Ludi
Work hard, Play hard

Magnus frater est vigilo vos
Big Brother is watching you

Volo comparare nonnulla tegumembra.

I'd like to buy some condoms.

Cogito, ergo doleo.

I think, therefore I am depressed.

Braccae tuae aperiuntur.

Your fly is open.

Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur.

Oh! Was I speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips out.

Ventis secundis, tene cursum.

Go with the flow.

Fac ut vivas.

Get a life

A Degree in English

Sun, 17 May 2009 11:47:49 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: Roman writers composed some of the world’s most thrilling verse and were masters of historiography, oratory and philosophy. But diploma Latin is some of the most depressing and long-winded legalese you can find. Hiding behind the lovely calligraphy are maddening syntax and appalling neologisms. How do you say the name of every college town in Latin? You shouldn’t have to.

(Nor should you have to struggle to read the text in the illustration that accompanies this piece, so let me help you out. It says: “I can’t understand this either.”)

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

A Degree in English

CONGRATULATIONS. You are graduating this month with a Baccalaureatus Scientiae in Compertis ad Salutem Pertinentibus Administrandis. It sounds impressive, but what does it have to do with your degree in health information management? Almost no one knows, and that’s why the Latin diploma needs to go.

Latin is a beautiful language and a relief from the incessant novelty and informality of the modern age. But when it’s used on diplomas, the effect is to obfuscate, not edify; its function is to overawe, not delight. The goal of education is the creation and transmission of knowledge — not the creation and transmission of prestige. Why, then, celebrate that education with a document that prizes grandiosity over communication?

A disclosure: Diploma Latin has caused me some personal pain and humiliation. I am in charge of adjusting the complicated Latin dates on the diplomas at the college where I teach, a project I’ve always taken pride in.

Judging Honesty by Words, Not Fidgets

Sun, 17 May 2009 11:44:51 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: In part, the work grows out of a frustration with other methods. Liars do not avert their eyes in an interview on average any more than people telling the truth do, researchers report; they do not fidget, sweat or slump in a chair any more often. They may produce distinct, fleeting changes in expression, experts say, but it is not clear yet how useful it is to analyze those.

Nor have technological advances proved very helpful. No brain-imaging machine can reliably distinguish a doctored story from the truthful one, for instance; ditto for polygraphs, which track changes in physiology as an indirect measure of lying.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Judging Honesty by Words, Not Fidgets

Before any interrogation, before the two-way mirrors or bargaining or good-cop, bad-cop routines, police officers investigating a crime have to make a very tricky determination: Is the person I’m interviewing being honest, or spinning fairy tales?

The answer is crucial, not only for identifying potential suspects and credible witnesses but also for the fate of the person being questioned. Those who come across poorly may become potential suspects and spend hours on the business end of a confrontational, life-changing interrogation — whether or not they are guilty.

Until recently, police departments have had little solid research to guide their instincts. But now forensic scientists have begun testing techniques they hope will give officers, interrogators and others a kind of honesty screen, an improved method of sorting doctored stories from truthful ones.

The new work focuses on what people say, not how they act

How I Met My Wife: A Whelming Sory

Sat, 09 May 2009 20:17:54 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: the embarrassment that my maculate appearance might cause was evitable. There were two ways about it, but the chances that someone as flappable as I would be ept enough to become persona grata or sung hero were slim. I was, after all, something to sneeze at, someone you could easily hold a candle to, someone who usually aroused bridled passion. So I decided not to rush it. But then, all at once, for some apparent reason, she looked in my direction and smiled in a way that I could make heads or tails of. So, after a terminable delay, I acted with mitigated gall and made my way through the ruly crowd with strong givings. Nevertheless, since this was all new hat to me and I had no time to prepare a promptu speech, I was petuous. She responded well, and I was mayed that she considered me a savory char- acter who was up to some good. She told me who she was. "What a perfect nomer," I said, advertently. The conversation became more and more choate, and we spoke at length to much avail. But I

Clip Source: www.newyorker.com

Jack Winter, Shouts & Murmurs, “How I Met My Wife,” The New Yorker, July 25, 1994, p. 82

ABSTRACT: SHOUTS AND MURMURS about man who describes meeting his wife at a party. In his description, he drops many prefixes. It had been a rough day, so when I walked into the party I was very chalant, despite my efforts to appear gruntled and consolate. I was furling my wieldy umbrella for the coat check when I saw her standing alone in a corner. She was a descript person, a woman in a state of total array. Her hair was kempt, her clothing shevelled, and she moved in a gainly way. I wanted desperately to meet her, but I knew I'd have to make bones about it, since I was travelling cognito. Beknownst to me, the hostess, whom I could see both hide and hair of, was very proper, so it would be skin off my nose if anything bad happened. And even though I had only swerving loyalty to her, my manners couldn't be peccable. Only toward and heard-of behavior would do. Fortunately,

There's No Klingon Word for Hello

Sat, 09 May 2009 19:55:53 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: Most languages created for fictional worlds involve simple vocabulary substitutions, such as moodge for man in A Clockwork Orange, or meaningless streams of noise, like the high-pitched jabbering of the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. Klingon is something altogether different. There is a logic behind it; a linguist doing field research among Klingon speakers would be able to work out the system and describe it as he would an exotic indigenous tongue. This is not surprising, considering that Klingon was created by Marc Okrand, a linguist whose dissertation was a grammar of a now-extinct Native American language.

Clip Source: www.slate.com

There's No Klingon Word for HelloA history of the gruff but surprisingly sophisticated invented language and the people who speak it.

There's something missing from J.J. Abrams' reboot of the moribund Star Trek franchise, and that something is Klingon. I mean Klingon the language. If that sounds like a minor omission, consider this: The very first lines of the first Star Trek movie in 1979 were in Klingon: wIy cha'! HaSta! cha yIghuS! And those few words—which were subtitled as "Tactical … Visual … Tactical, stand by on torpedoes!"—have since blossomed into, if not a full-fledged language, one at least fledged enough to have a dictionary, a translation of Hamlet, and a small but dedicated community of (nonfictional) speakers, who'll feel miffed by Abrams' oversight.

They know that Klingon is a sophisticated, extremely complex language that very few can master. I first came to Klingon as a linguist doing research for a book on artificial languages.

The Code Even the CIA Can't Crack

Mon, 04 May 2009 20:22:16 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: and the elusiveness of truth, its message written entirely in code.

Almost 20 years after its dedication, the text has yet to be fully deciphered. A bleary-eyed global community of self-styled cryptanalysts—along with some of the agency's own staffers—has seen three of its four sections solved, revealing evocative prose that only makes the puzzle more confusing. Still uncracked are the 97 characters of the fourth part (known as K4 in Kryptos-speak). And the longer the deadlock continues, the crazier people get.

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Mission Impossible: The Code Even the CIA Can't Crack

The most celebrated inscription at the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, used to be the biblical phrase chiseled into marble in the main lobby: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." But in recent years, another text has been the subject of intense scrutiny inside the Company and out: 865 characters of seeming gibberish, punched out of half-inch-thick copper in a courtyard.

It's part of a sculpture called Kryptos, created by DC artist James Sanborn. He got the commission in 1988, when the CIA was constructing a new building behind its original headquarters. The agency wanted an outdoor installation for the area between the two buildings, so a solicitation went out for a piece of public art that the general public would never see. Sanborn named his proposal after the Greek word for hidden. The work is a meditation on the nature of secrecy