Clipmarks | pokkets's clips

Pulsar puzzle stumps astronomers.

Fri, 16 May 2008 05:27:48 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Scientist are surprised again, however surprises are one of the greatest motives to become a scientist. A surprise generally means we are going to learn something new. Very often something we could never have imagined. When the phrase 'I would never have believed it until I saw it with my own eyes' Literally applies.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

An odd fast-spinning pulsar, which is locked in an elongated orbit around another star much like our Sun has left astronomers puzzled how such a system could have formed.

Dr David Champion of CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility and colleagues report on pulsar J1903+0327, located about 21,000 light years from Earth, online today in Science Express.

Typical pulsars spin once a second to about 10 or 20 times a second but J1903+0327 is a "millisecond pulsar" and spins much faster.

J1903+0327

spins 465 times a second and is the fifth fastest-spinning pulsar known in our Galaxy, say Champion and colleagues, who found the star using the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico

it has a very elongated orbit around a star similar in size and composition to our Sun

"What we have found is a millisecond pulsar that is in the wrong kind of orbit around what appears to be the wrong kind of star," says Champion. "Now we have to figure out how this strange system was produced."

Herbicide review 'fails' the environment

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:26:25 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: The review recommends changes on labels to reduce the risk of the herbicide contaminating waterways. I'm sure that's physically impossible.
Unless we can work out how to grow dry plants.
There is also a cop out, saying that it is the responsibility of the States to ensure this happens. The don't mention how, apart from the warning on the label.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Anna Salleh

A review of the widely-used herbicide atrazine fails to recommend studies on its effects on the Australian environment, says one expert.

The impact of herbicides like atrazine on Australian frogs should be investigated, says one researcher, who says the amphibians are environmental 'canaries in the mine'

The response follows an Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) review, which approves continued use of the herbicide, despite international debate over its health and environmental effects.

Atrazine is used in Australia to control grass and weeds in crops like sorghum, maize, sugar cane, lupins, pine, eucalypt plantations and triazine-tolerant canola.

an expert on the impact of herbicides on frogs, Associate Professor Mike Tyler of the University of Adelaide, says the review gives "superficial treatment" to the question of atrazine's environmental effects, specifically evidence that it causes abnormalities in frogs

"Atrazine should not be in waterways,"

Dogs just want to have fun

Thu, 15 May 2008 09:50:26 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Dogs have personalities if you watch them. We have Izzy. When he gets a chewy bone, he likes to throw it in the air like a toy, smiling. Sometimes he loses it, or gets ripped off. He has more fun playing with it than eating it. Izzy come up with that one. Pokemon is serious most of the time, and barks at anyone she hasn't seen in a week when they walk in the door. She's been doing it since she was born. She's 9 now. We have a picture of her in the litter a few weeks old, and you can tell it is her by the look on her face. But she does the 'wiggle' Like rolling on the grass with a smile on her face, (It's usually on someones bed, she feels important then. on 'Prime real estate').
Duke is always barking. If you know him you know why. He wants you to go outside to play with the ball.He asks everybody. Most of the dogs would play with the ball-if Duke gave them the chance. Duke has 4 balls. If you kick all of them around he can't be happier. Lani bows when she knows it's time for a walk

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Jennifer Viegas

Pampered pooches are so driven to play and please that these urges can overtake other instincts, such as being wary of strangers, a new study shows.

Socialised dogs don't even seem to care who they play with, the study says, as long as the person plays by the same rules and general manner established by the dog's owner during earlier play sessions.

"It could mean that if, over time, the dog and its owner develop a routine of games, the dog could generalise these behaviour routines to other play situations with another unfamiliar person," researcher Lilla Toth says.

she adds, the dog is less prone to misunderstanding human intentions.

During the play sessions the researchers took note of each dog's tendency for possession, willingness to retrieve, behaviours related to fear, avoidance and aggression, and the occurrence of play bows, when a dog crouches down on its front legs with its head held high and its tail wagging.

This bow is a visual cue that the dog would like to play.

Top 10 Pre-Death Monologues in Film

Thu, 15 May 2008 08:47:16 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: The clip has the links to videos of the 10 monologues
The greatest challenge an actor can face, is the memorable death scene. The best can provoke deep reflection on mortality, and existence on a personal level. There's one thing that I've thought was 'in character' In a Star Trek Movie Generations. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) died twice. We 'knew' he was dead twice. He only got one monologue. (It's not on the list. ) I don't know if 10 videos links in a clip is too many, but I thought 'You only live once' Sometimes Death is just a setback.
A 'speed hump' in the smooth flow of eternity.
Perhaps God's way of telling us we should slow down a bit.

Clip Source: www.alwayswatching.org

be warned: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD for all movies mentioned]

The following pre-death monologues are (mostly) given by characters who know that it's all about to come to an end. Perhaps it's during those tense moments, before someone's life is extinguished, that you can truly get a window into someone's soul.

American Beauty: Kevin Spacey Gets Philosophical About Life

[Video]

Deep Blue Sea: Samuel L. Jackson Gets Consumed By The Moment

[Video]

Se7en: Kevin Spacey Gets Philosophical About Death

[Video]

The Shawshank Redemption: James Whitmore Gets Busy Dying

[Video]

True Romance: Dennis Hopper Teaches Genealogy

[Video]

Blade Runner: Rutger Hauer Breaks Your Heart

[Video]

Star Trek - The Wrath of Khan: Leonard Nimoy Propsers

[Video]

Apocalypse Now - This is The End for Kurtz

[Video]

2001 - The HAL Serenade

[Video]

Kill Bill - David Carradine Gets Owned By The Ghost of Pai Mei

[Video]

In any given U.S. film, death can come at any time

But the fear and anticipation that come from knowing your death is fast approaching can also engender meaningful reflections

Birds and bees acting up with climate change

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:09:07 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Due to space, I have only included a few examples, but there are more details of changes throughout the world on the page. It seems ironic that we can be prepared to cast blame, while ignoring the problem. Nature will not be ignored. I remember an old Japanese saying "Do not look for blame. Look for solution." Then of course there was King Canute. Despite his authority over people the tide continued to rise. The worst thing we can do is give up. We can't argue with the elements, much less change them. We have to change our behavior. Reminds me of dieting. It is not a short term thing. For dieting to be successful, it has to be a permanent change in eating habits. Very soon, with the correct diet, the improvement in health can make us wonder why we ever ate incorrectly in the first place. Also similar to things like stopping smoking, or drinking Alcohol. They only seem hard until you become determined to stop. Then it's not long before the benefits become clear.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Deborah Zabarenko

Human-generated climate change made flowers bloom sooner and autumn leaves fall later, turned some polar bears into cannibals and some birds into early breeders, a vast global study reports.

In Australia for instance, migratory birds including flycatchers and fantails are arriving early and water levels in Western Victoria have declined.

Building on research done to support findings reported in 2007 by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rosenzweig and her co-authors brought together nearly 30,000 sets of data about biological and physical changes around the world.

Seen so far

Here are some observed changes in the natural world attributable to climate change, according to the study:

North America: earlier plant flowering of 89 species from American holly to sassafras

earlier breeding and arrival dates of birds

Europe: glacier melting in the Alps; changes in 19 countries of leaf-unfolding and flowering of such plants as hazel, lilac, apple, linden and birch

A Grain of Sand: Nature's Secret Wonder

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:11:05 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Gary Greenberg photographs the world, one grain of sand at a time, in A Grain of Sand: Nature's Secret Wonder

(magnification 40X)

Maui Sand:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Star Sand:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Namibia:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Minnesota:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Six Sand Grains:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Ireland:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Lahaina Maui:

Tags: nature, sand, photography

Multidimensional space through art

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:18:12 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Generally for the sake of the illusion of 3 Dimensions and perspective. There are plenty of artists beside Escher that represent multidimensional space, but he does a particularly good job of it. The last stereogram at the bottom is the thinker. I ran out of characters. (you can always go to the site.) Stereograms can be annoying sometimes when you can't see what it is, and everyone else can. It can be like that, then suddenly one day a picture can jump out. It can help if you know what you're looking for. One problem with these may be looking too hard, when the eyes are probably better off relaxing.

Clip Source: physicaplus.org.il

The artistic demonstration of the multidimensional space is possible by applying Escher’s astounding artworks

Perception of perspective in the brain

Lines by artworks

Planes by artworks

Azrieli Towers: from 2D on the left to 3D on the right

The effect of shadow on the transition from 2D to 3D spaces

2D and 3D spaces

The transition from 2D to 3D according to Escher

Figs.9-1 to 9-4 demonstrates stereograms in which a transition from 2D to 3D takes place. A stereogram is a picture comprised of a repeating pattern with very small differences between them. The combined image of the 2D patterns is more than the sum of its patterns. It is a 3D stereo picture created in the brain.

Place your nose on the center of the picture.

Imagine you are looking through the picture towards a point far in the distance.

Move the picture

a way

slowly and continue to look through the picture

Keep

peripheral awareness of the four corners of the picture

the 3D stereogram you see two animals in the center

3D space

a butterfly

Extreme Photography Equipment

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:54:09 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.crestock.com

Sigma APO 200-500 F/2.8

While the zoom range of 200-500mm is nothing new or exciting, it's the maximum aperture of an incredible f/2.8 throughout the focal range that makes this such a special lens

Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 1700 mm F4

a 1700mm f/4 lens designed for medium format

Polaroid 20x24'' Camera

Seitz 6x17'' digital panoramic camera

160 megapixel

$42 000

Hasselblad H3DII

Priced at around $40 000, a Hasselblad H3DII with a 39 megapixel backpiece is one of the most expensive photo kits available in ordinairy retail sale

Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM

The suggested price of the lens upon unveiling in 1993, converted to present day money puts it at apx. $120 000

Cameratruck

Pretty much any container can be made into a pinhole camera

"The Great Picture"

But why stop at a truck, when you could convert an entire airplane hangar into a pinhole camera?

Tags: photography, camera, lens

Picasso's Guernica in 3D

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:44:06 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: incredible (thanks, Mr. B)

Clip Source: youtube.com

[Video]

Clip Source: flickriver.com

Three Musicians by Picasso in the Museum of Modern Art, August 2007 / ElissaSCA

Clip Source: flickriver.com

3D Musicians by Picasso (detail) / Bradehorst

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Tags: picasso, arts, animation, 3d

The Handy Uses of a Home Computer (Jan, 1970)

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:34:08 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: * Planning a dinner menu
* Balancing bank accounts
* Doing school homework
* Figuring out income tax
* Printing invitations
* Keeping the budget

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

pioneer families who have one

have discovered their obedient machine can perform a large variety of useful functions

originally brought it home for medical research, but then his family found it could also plan mortgage payments, help out with homework, even play with the children. Although the cost is still high, computers like theirs have come within possible reach of a two-car family budget. A small, self-contained model is available for $8,000, complete. The Rodmans’ computer system, called time-sharing, uses a Teletype terminal connected to a big central unit via telephone. It costs $110 a month to rent, plus $7.50 per hour of use

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

a sophisticated mental appendage with a capacity for problem-solving that is limited only by the family’s imagination

Dr. Rodman nor his family had ever operated, much less programmed, a computer before

A real mass home market for computers awaits stored programs of broad practical use to homeowners

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

New York 1930 and 1880

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:54:11 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Hi-res available at source

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Nearly half a century lies between the two views of New York City’s skyline shown in the pictures above. The two photographs were taken from the same point—a tower of the famous Brooklyn Bridge. The upper one was made only the other day and the lower one is over forty-seven years old.

Architects, engineers, and modern machinery seem literally to have raised Manhattan Island out of the waters surrounding it. In the lower view, Brooklyn Bridge, opened in 1883, was just being built. Note how the buildings at that time seemed to crouch low on the island, only here and there an occasional church, spire throwing itself defiantly skyward.

In the upper view the buildings have fairly freed themselves from the land and apparently have become decidedly air-minded. In the immediate foreground is the office building at 120 Wall Street. Looming gigantic behind it is the Bank of Manhattan Company building, and far to the right of it appears the famous Woolworth Tower.

The Best of ‘Feel Art Again’

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:54:03 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: Wonderful works - revisited; the links will take you to a detailed discussion for each piece.

I actually learned a lot from this - enjoy.

Mental Floss has an ongoing series of 'Feel Art Again' - Tues. & Thurs. - http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

To celebrate the end of the (school) year, I’ve rounded up the 11 most popular “Feel Art Again” posts. Take a break out of your day to check out these great works of art, the best of “Feel Art Again”:

11. “Judith Beheading Holofernes,” Artemisia Gentileschi

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

10. “Joan of Arc at Coronation of Charles VII,” Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

09. “Two Men Contemplating the Moon,” Caspar David Friedrich

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

08. “The Champion Single Sculls,” Thomas Eakins

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

07. “Amor Vincit Omnia,” Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

06. “A Young Girl Defending Herself Against Eros,” Adolphe William Bouguereau

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

05. “First Communion,” Pablo Picasso

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

04. “Mona Lisa,” Leonardo da Vinci

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

03. “Iris Flowers,” Hokusai; “Irises,” Vincent van Gogh

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

02. “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” Georges-Pierre Seurat

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

01. “Pietà,” Michelangelo (di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni)

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

Check out your art smarts with our ‘Feel Art Again’ quiz, too!

‘Feel Art Again’ appears every Tuesday and Thursday.

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Tags: arts, art history

Earth in 250 Million Years?

Wed, 14 May 2008 06:41:15 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: Don't miss the links!!!

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Earth in 250 Million Years?

Is this what will become of the Earth's surface? The surface of the Earth is broken up into several large plates that are slowly shifting. About 250 million years ago, the plates on which the present-day continents rest were positioned quite differently, so that all the landmasses were clustered together in one supercontinent now dubbed Pangea. About 250 million years from now, the plates are again projected to reposition themselves so that a single landmass dominates. The above simulation from the PALEAOMAP Project shows this giant landmass: Pangea Ultima. At that time, the Atlantic Ocean will be just a distant memory, and whatever beings inhabit Earth will be able to walk from North America to Africa.

Low tech best in China, Burma disasters

Wed, 14 May 2008 05:24:10 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Sometimes the only way rescuers can dig someone out of the rubble, without making the situation more dangerous, is with their bare hands, after the Human ears of the searchers recognize cries for help. People who are drowning, or buried don't have the time to wait for technology to arrive, particularly in remote areas, where the survivors in an immediate area,who can start looking straight away, may be the only chance they have. In China, many hands seem to be on the job, While the regime in Burma are trying to wash their hands. Not as Pilate, but as Lady Macbeth. The Damned spot will not disappear.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

News analysis We can send probes to the fringes of the solar system. Swap instant messages with friends on the other side of the world. So surely we have some hi-tech help for the hundreds of thousands of people in Burma and China. Right?

The short, sad answer is 'no'. In the early 21st century, disaster relief bears a remarkable similarity to that of the mid-20th century, and even before.

"I used to be an aid worker in Mozambique, back in the 80s," says Oxfam's Ian Bray.

"I had to travel all the way from Mozambique to Harare, all day in a Land Rover, just to send a telex back to my operations here in Oxford. Now I can quickly phone our people.

"But the basics remain the same. People still need food, they need clean water and sanitation, they need something as mundane as soap and buckets to wash their hands after defecation to break the cycle of disease. You can't email that to them."

Trucks or boats

remain the method of choice for getting help to

cyclone-ravaged Burma and quake-hit Sichuan

Top telescopes share images online

Wed, 14 May 2008 03:41:40 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: 'Close up' pictures of Eta Carina are still stunning, and there is a sky out there full of the same or better.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Amateur astronomers now have internet access to imagery from the best telescopes on earth and in space with a new online service.

Eta Cerina nebula, as viewed on the new site

Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope merges cosmic images from some of the world's most advanced telescopes into an online version of the universe available for anyone to explore.

Images of the crab nebula are also available

Messier 81 galaxy

"Users can see the x-ray view of the sky, zoom into bright radiation clouds, and then cross-fade into the visible light view and discover the cloud remnants of a supernova explosion from a thousand years ago," says Dr Roy Gould, a researcher from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Online visitors can pick telescopes they want to view through, with choices including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center and the Spitzer Space Telescope.

The site competes with a star-gazing Sky feature added to Google Earth's mapping service last year.