Clipmarks |

5000 years old "Mini Stonehenge" discovered in Manchester

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:32:08 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Archaeologists have unearthed a "mini-Stonehenge" in Greater Manchester, England, which dates back to about 5,000 years.

Archaeologist Stuart Mendelsohn spotted two sites near the moors of Rochdale, believed to be ancient burial sites, during a walk on the hills in December.

English Heritage claimed that both sites were "possible of Bronze age date", suggesting that they could date back to 3,000 BC.

However, unlike the famous monument at Stonehenge, local materials are believed to have been used at the newly discovered sites.

The first site, made up of fallen stones, is 10.2m in overall diameter. The second, which includes the circle, is on the western slope.

The entire site covers an acre, according to an English Heritage report.

Tags: archaeology, england, megaliths, stonehenge, manchester, bronze age, science

I Wish I Could Read Japanese...

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:01:16 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: ...because I thought these were so beautiful! It would be cool to credit the photographer/artist in the title...

Clip Source: www.geocities.jp

建物のある風景３へ続く

てんこもり。に戻る　　　　　　　　写真保管庫に戻る

What is an American?

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:12:55 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: pl read the whole article: very nice..

Clip Source: www.opey.com

A while back there was a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper that offered a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American!

So an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone know what an American is, so they would know when they found one:

An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek.

An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American is generous.

Digital Sound Separator

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:39:47 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: The new tool promises to give musicians and producers powerful new ways to manipulate recordings both old and new.It might let studio engineers peer inside a chord-heavy rhythm-guitar part and nudge individual notes into tune. Or it could let them salvage unheard takes by classic musicians like Duke Ellington or Jimi Hendrix, left unreleased due to out-of-tune instruments or misplayed notes. It will certainly give musicians new ability to sculpt sound, such as prerecorded samples or loops, as if they were modeling clay.

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

Digital Sound Separator

New software can modify the individual notes of a recorded chord.

Peter Neubäcker, a former German guitar maker turned programmer, has done what many in the computer-music business believed impossible.

A new piece of software called Direct Note Access

will for the first time allow computers to analyze the digitized sounds of guitar or piano chords, or even multi-instrument recordings, and then extract and modify individual notes.

Computers have revolutionized the recording process, giving sound engineers wide latitude to manipulate notes recorded singly--to change their pitch, their tempo, or where they fall. But teasing apart notes recorded simultaneously, as in a six-string guitar chord, has never before been practical.

"In terms of sound processing, this is kind of the holy grail," says Michael Bierylo, a guitarist and professor of computer music at Boston's Berklee College of Music. "It's something everyone more or less thought we couldn't do."

1st time Darwin's Papers Online 4 Free

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:48:48 GMT

clipped by: syncopath

Clip Source: darwin-online.org.uk

Charles Darwin's Papers Online

For decades available only to scholars at Cambridge University Library, the private papers of Charles Darwin, one of the most influential scientists in history, can now be seen by anyone online and free of charge. This is the largest ever publication of Darwin papers and manuscripts, totalling about 20,000 items in nearly 90,000 electronic images.

This vast and varied collection of papers includes the first draft of his theory of evolution, notes from the voyage of the Beagle and Emma Darwin's recipe book.

These online images are scans from copies of early black and white microfilms produced by the Cambridge University Library Imaging Service, mostly in the 1990s. For online publication now a slight colour tint has been added to many and the brightness and contrast have been digitally enhanced.

First sketch of the theory of evolution, 1842

Theoretical notebooks

Drafts of Descent of Man

Review of Origin of Species, 1859

beautiful simplicity

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:10:21 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: He doesn’t find the need to try and make things look cool. “Whenever I try to make something “cool” it tends to just look like crap.” He lets the beauty take care of itself.<<

Clip Source: blog.adpharm.net

The work of Bryan Christie

From Scientific American to Newsweek it seemed like Bryan Christie’s crisp, clear, and aesthetically pleasing visuals dominated medical editorial illustration.

Bryan likes to refer to himself as a 3D illustrator who just happens to do medical illustration. And he happens to do it extremely well. “My studio isn’t strictly a medical studio; we take on a variety of work. It’s more of an informational design/illustration studio.”

I can only describe Bryan’s work as beautiful simplicity. He is a master at taking out all of the extraneous information, all of the distracting details, and focusing solely on the pertinent information. He strips everything away without ever making his visuals boring or static.

So what makes Bryan’s work so strong and compelling?

Clip Source: streetanatomy.com

some recent medical works

Tags: medical illustrators, art, 3d, illustrations

Guitar - oddities

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:05:32 GMT

clipped by: michellezm

Clip Source: www.otheroom.com

Keytar V-1

Think "autoharp meets guitar"

Clip Source: www.otheroom.com

Gold Fish Guitar

Helping Hands Guitar

McSwain Guitars

metal-faced guitars

Kellett Guitars

Santa and Friends

Spider Guitars

Stone Tone Guitars

H. R. Giger Guitars

Ron Wood Model Guitar

Scala Dreamcatcher Guitar

Light It Up

Luna Guitars

6-String Ecosystem

Warrior

Creation Guitars

Schecter Custom Shop

Jersey Girl Guitars

Moser Custom Shop

Versoul Reso Sun Resonator

Italia Guitars

Clip Source: www.otheroom.com

Eyeland Straps

the creepiest straps

Rock Strap

And speaking of straps, now vocalists can share in the gunslinger personna that guitar players have been monopolizing.

Muncy Guitars

Muncy makes guitars with fretboards made of hardened aluminum that look kind of like washboards.

iCoustic built-in amplification

Guitar-Shaped Computer Desk

Miniature Oddities

Guitar Stereo Speaker

The power of forgiveness..

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:22:58 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: well written..

Clip Source: charleshamel.com

Overcoming adversity through force is only half way winning the battle, but by overcoming adversity through love, is a complete victory. Let go of anger and resentment by writing a letter of forgiveness to a person who has hurt or wronged you. Inability to forgive is associated with persistent rumination or dwelling on revenge, while forgiving allows us to move on.

Forgiveness is a benefit to ourselves and not necessarily to the participant of the wrong doing. It allows us to let go of bad feelings, reclaiming our personal power and teaches us to look for positive opportunities in all situations. Practicing forgiveness takes time and effort, and does not happen overnight, as with anything of a self improvement nature. Learning to forgive can reduce stress, anger, depression, and lower blood pressure. Forgiveness is linked with higher self-esteem, better moods and happier relationships.

Tags: inspirational, inspiration.

Why we may overlook extra-terrestrial life

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:59:58 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: Ammonia, for example, has many of the same properties as water. An ammonia or ammonia-water mixture, stays liquid at much colder temperatures than plain water.Hydrogen fluoride methanol, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, and formamide have all been suggested as suitable solvents that could theoretically support alternative biochemistry. All of these “water replacements” have pros and cons when considered in our terrestrial environment. What needs to be considered is that with a radically different environment, comes radically different reactions. Water and carbon might be the very last things capable of supporting life in some extreme planetary conditions. In any case, it is not beyond the realm of feasibility that our first encounter with extra-terrestrial life will not be a solely carbon-based occasion.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Non-Carbon Lifeforms -Why We May Overlook Extra-terrestrial Life

Carbon is great molecular glue—there’s not doubt about it. Just add water and you’ve got life. Well, maybe it’s not quite that simple, but carbon and water do seem to be a winning combo, at least on planet Earth. That may be why we’ve been limiting ourselves in our search for . The carbon/water combo has worked so well for our own conditions, that we simply can’t imagine anything else supporting life.

other options do exist besides water and carbon

there are several atoms and solvents that could potentially spawn life

Various elements become more stable and capable of forming complex molecules when under strange (from a human perspective) thermal and atmospheric conditions.

silicone-based chemicals would be more stable than equivalent hydrocarbons in a sulphuric-acid-rich setting

counter-intuitive elements such as arsenic

Chlorine and sulfur

Nitrogen and phosphorus

Isn’t at least water essential to life? Not necessarily.

Tags: science, chemistry, biochemistry

Sperm From Skin Becoming a Reality?

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:19:34 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: sciencenow.sciencemag.org

In as little as 5 years, scientists may be able to grow eggs and sperm from ordinary body cells, an international consortium of scientists and ethicists announced in a consensus statement yesterday. The technological advance could be a boon for infertile couples as well as for research on reproduction, providing policymakers don't ban the tools, the group says.

Both supporters and critics of stem cell research are already talking about the possibility that gay and lesbian couples might be able to become biological parents with these techniques.

The consortium, known as the Hinxton Group, warns that "oversight structures" need to be in place before anyone attempts to deploy such gametes in human reproduction. Such a development raises a host of concerns that include safety issues and the specter of the "ultimate incest"--the same person supplying both egg and sperm.

At the same time, the group urges policymakers to be "flexible" in regulating the new technologies

Tags: reproduction, stem cells, biology, ethics, bioethics

Intelligence and rhythmic accuracy go hand in hand

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:34:39 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: “All in all, this suggests that a factor of what we call intelligence has a biological basis in the number of nerve fibres in the prefrontal lobe and the stability of neuronal activity that this provides,” says Fredrik Ullén.

Clip Source: physorg.com

People who score high on intelligence tests are also good at keeping time, new Swedish research shows. The team that carried out the study also suspect that accuracy in timing is important to the brain processes responsible for problem solving and reasoning.

Researchers at the medical university Karolinska Institutet and Umeå University have now demonstrated a correlation between general intelligence and the ability to tap out a simple regular rhythm. They stress that the task subjects performed had nothing to do with any musical rhythmic sense but simply measured the capacity for rhythmic accuracy. Those who scored highest on intelligence tests also had least variation in the regular rhythm they tapped out in the experiment.

“It’s interesting as the task didn’t involve any kind of problem solving,”

“Irregularity of timing probably arises at a more fundamental biological level owing to a kind of noise in brain activity.”

Tags: intelligence, accuracy, rythmic, brain

Shocker: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has Boobs!

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:59:30 GMT

clipped by: dulios

Clip Source: www.salon.com

Shocker: Angela Merkel has boobs!

In a discovery that has shaken us to our very core, we received word that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ranked as the No. 1 most powerful woman in the world, has two mysterious orb-like objects on either side of her chest. This has created quite a furor. Merkel wore this outfit to the opera house Saturday in Olso, and as Spiegel reports:

"Photos of Merkel's cleavage provided fodder for headlines around the world. The Daily Mail British tabloid, for example, ran the title 'Merkel's Weapons of Mass Distraction.'"

Granted, that's quite a plunging neckline she's got there. This is no "hint" of cleavage. It's more like a dead giveaway. Yowzah. But you know what? She looks great. Let's put the furor back on the shelf, people, next to the Honey Nut Cheerios. Save it for more important things.

Tags: eek! boobs!