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the longest burning lightbulb is now 107 years old

Sat, 17 May 2008 10:21:10 GMT

clipped by: syncopath

"Centennial Bulb" still burning after 107 years

Hanging about 18 feet high in the engine bay of a Livermore, California firehouse, a humble, low-watt light bulb has been burning almost continuously since 1901.

The bulb has become something of a lucky charm for Livermore firefighters, who (according to the LA Times story) won't even dust off the bulb for fear of damaging it.

What's the secret to the Centennial Bulb's longevity?

Check out the LA Times Web site for the full story, including many more details on the bulb's storied history.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Tom Bramell, a former Livermore fire chief, gazes reverently at the longest burning lightbulb in the world. The bulb uses four watts of power, and its carbon filament is protected by an airtight seal.

Tags: light, on, forever

Madrid's 'Air Tree' Will “Climatically Transform” Urban Architecture

Sat, 17 May 2008 11:19:32 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

The city of Madrid soon plans to add a striking new structure -Air Tree pavilion- that will “climatically transform” its urban architecture. It also produces oxygen like a tree, hence the name. The Air Tree pavilion is to be built from recycled materials and will be 100% energy self-sufficient. Using photovoltaic cells, the Air Tree produces a substantial amount of energy, which is then sold back to the local electric companies, and, of course oxygen - hence the name Air Tree. It's a completely unique idea and one that, unlike most out-of-the-box ideas, is actually being made a reality.

The surrounding environment near the air tree will be naturally conditioned, reducing the heat island effect found in most city centers. The air trees will be implemented city wide in the coming years.

Tags: air tree, climate, design, nature, urban, architecture

Birth of a turtle

Fri, 16 May 2008 11:23:53 GMT

clipped by: Charolastra

Clip Source: www.zuzafun.com

Tags: birth, turtle

For a Sharp Brain, Stimulation

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:21:58 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: I think Clipmarks helps....

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Researchers, however, are more optimistic than ever about the potential of the aging brain, because recent evidence has challenged long-held beliefs by demonstrating that the brain can grow new nerve cells.

The birth of new nerve cells, she said, “has been shown to occur in the adult — not only in adult rats and monkeys, but also in older adult humans.” Most of the areas that show neurogenesis and that have been investigated so far are important for learning and memory, particularly the hippocampus, she added.

So how does one stimulate neurogenesis?

Scientists do not have all the answers, but studies of older people who have maintained their mental acuity provide some clues. They tend to be socially connected, with strong ties to relatives, friends and community. They are often both physically healthy and physically active. And they tend to be engaged in stimulating or intellectually challenging activities.

Tags: brain science, aging, neurogenesis

Puzzling pagan burials at the famous Christian catacomb

Sat, 17 May 2008 15:47:16 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: A very interesting article on the new discoveries at one of Rome's biggest catacomb complex, which was thought to be a Christian site for years. The latest foundings revealed the skeletons of more than 100 humans which predate Christianity and possibly "pagan burials". Puzzled scientists are working at the site for further details and clues. From the Archaeology Magazine.

Clip Source: www.archaeology.org

When a sinkhole opened up after a pipe broke underneath the convent and school of the Instituto Sacra Famiglia on Rome's Via Casilina, the sisters there received a surprise--about 1,200 surprises, in fact. The partial collapse of the building's foundation revealed five large chambers in which the remains of more than a thousand individuals had been interred almost simultaneously sometime at the beginning of the third century A.D.

Perhaps equally surprising is the location in which they were found. The convent under which the burial chambers are located sits atop the vast catacomb complex of San Pietro and Marcellinus. With three distinct gallery levels, the deepest of which is 36 feet (11m) below the surface, it is one of the largest such burial complexes in the city.

"there is at the moment no conclusive proof that can exclude the possibility that these may in fact be pagan burials." Which begs the question: What would pagan burials be doing in the middle of a Christian catacomb?

Tags: archaeology, ancient rome, christianity, via casilina, san pietro, marcellinus, pre-christian, pagan, roman empire, science

Instant messaging 'a linguistic renaissance' for teens

Sat, 17 May 2008 09:14:09 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: technology.newscientist.com

LOL, OMG and TTYL: parents and teachers worry that teenagers' use of these and other forms of online shorthand is harming their language skills. Perhaps they will take comfort from a study suggesting that instant messaging (IM) actually represents "an expansive new linguistic renaissance".

Sali Tagliamonte and Derek Denis at the University of Toronto, Canada, say teenagers risk the disapproval of their elders if they use slang, and the scorn of their friends if they sound too buttoned-up. But instant messaging allows them to deploy a "robust mix" of colloquial and formal language. In a paper to be published in the spring 2008 issue of American Speech, the researchers argue that far from ruining teenagers' ability to communicate, IM lets teenagers show off what they can do with language.

"IM is interactive discourse among friends that is conducive to informal language," says Denis, "but at the same time, it is a written interface which tends to be more formal than speech."

Tags: language, renaissance, teens, im

Ghetto prom pictures

Fri, 16 May 2008 16:16:13 GMT

clipped by: dakotayii

Clip Source: www.byroncrawford.com

Tags: funny

cute young ass!

Sat, 17 May 2008 02:06:55 GMT

clipped by: boozich

Clip Source: i306.photobucket.com

Genocide's children

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:18:26 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Genocide's children

The new Hutu generation raised to kill

Hundred of thousands of people were massacred during the genocide of 1994 in Rwanda. Now, in Congo, the fugitive killers are training their children

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

'We have to kill Tutsis'

Hundreds of thousands were massacred in Rwanda in 1994. Now, in Congo, fugitive killers are training their children to carry on the Hutu mission of extermination

The roots of war

Chris McGreal explains why Congo's borderlands with Rwanda have become one of the continent's deadliest conflict zones

Conflict in Congo

In pictures: How the ongoing war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has affected its people

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tags: war, congo, hutu, tutsi, genocide, africa

Sinkholes

Fri, 16 May 2008 15:15:31 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: flickr.com

Viagra for the brain?

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:48:10 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: It’s not an amphetamine or stimulant, the article explained: it doesn’t make you high, or wired. It seems to work by restricting the parts of your brain that make you sluggish or sleepy. No significant negative effects have been discovered. Now students are using it in the run-up to exams as a “smart drug” – a steroid for the mind.

Clip Source: www.johannhari.com

It was in March, in the drizzle, that I realized my brain was burned out. Like a rusty engine, I could hear it chug-chug and splutter – but it would never quite start running at top speed. I had just come back from a rough month-long work-trip to Bangladesh, and I had an Everest of work in front of me. It was all fascinating, and all urgent – but I was plodding though it at half my normal speed. I needed to be performing at my best; instead I was at my worst. I stared at the London rain from my window, and slogged on.

It said there was a spiky debate across America’s universities about the increasing use by students of a drug called Provigil. It was, they said, Viagra for the brain. It was originally designed for narcoleptics in the seventies, but clinical trials had stumbled across something odd: if you give it to non-narcoleptics, they just become smarter. Their memory and concentration improves considerably, and so does their IQ.

Tags: brain, mind, concentration, clarity, drugs

Solar Blimp Could Bring Power To Disaster Areas

Sat, 17 May 2008 05:03:15 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: At least so long as there is helium to keep it afloat.

Clip Source: www.switched.com

Getting power to disaster-affected areas is always a tough task, but Andrew Leinonen's undergrad industrial design thesis (and recent first place entry in the 2008 ACIDO Rocket Show) might be able to solve the problem in an efficient and clever way.

Dubbed Solarial, the idea is to use small unmanned airships made out of materials embedded with CIGS solar cells to autonomously deliver clean power to disaster sites by deploying anchored "power boxes" that have 12 total 120V outlets and 2 240V sockets.

Mass Photography

Fri, 16 May 2008 17:21:31 GMT

clipped by: Lubaska
clipper's remarks: With an 11x14-inch view camera and little more, Arthur Mole staged some incredible mass photography. His subjects were iconic national symbols around the time of WWI. Mole utilized thousands of military troops and other groups to form these bird's-eye view spectacles. You can view his entire collection online at the Library of Congress website. Follow link:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/p?pp/app,grabill,lomax,pan,wtc,ils,vv,gottscho,detr,bbcards,prok,nclc,fsa:@FILREJ(@FIELD(CALL+@od1(LOT%205357))+@FIELD(COLLID+coll))::SortBy=DOCID

Clip Source: www.oddee.com

Clip Source: snaps.lumra.com

Russian Soldiers c. 1896

Clip Source: snaps.lumra.com

Russian Soldiers 1903

Clip Source: snaps.lumra.com

Russian Soldiers 1914

Tags: photography, soldiers, mass

Angkor - Temple vs. Tree

Sat, 17 May 2008 03:36:16 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: flickr.com

Roots crack the ruins of Ta Prohm, one of the temples of the Angkor complex near Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Stitched pamorama of two rows à 6 images. Rather difficult to process; this courtyard is very narrow. I also had one more row at the top, but it didn't look right. Probably one of those scenes you have to see in reality. All photos of this place, even those that bring more of the scene into one image with stitching technique, can't match the look and feel of this courtyard.

Clip Source: flickr.com

This huge tree rests on one of the many temple of Angkor, Cambodia. Unlike most buildings which were cleared of the jungle that preserved the stone buildings for 1000 years, a few temples were left as they have been found. Some trees became an essential support to the building's statics.

Clip Source: flickr.com

This is a temple off the main tourist track. Three trees add to the design of the building and make it a picturesque place few people come to see.

Clip Source: flickr.com

NRA Finds Huckabee's Obama Joke Not Funny

Sat, 17 May 2008 01:11:46 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: blog.washingtonpost.com

Mike Huckabee's joke at the National Rifle Association convention Friday was a dud

Appearing in front of about 6,000 gun rights activists, Huckabee's speech was interrupted by a loud noise. The former Arkansas governor said, "That was Barack Obama. He just tripped off a chair. He's getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he -- he dove for the floor."

The comment was immediately noted on news websites and by bloggers who found the crack about Obama getting shot at inappropriate. Obama's campaign had no comment, as it was engaged in a heated back-and-forth with both President Bush and Sen. John McCain -- the presumptive Republican nominee -- over Obama's fitness to be commander

in chief

Huckabee provided most of the humor in the 2008 Republican primaries, cracking jokes during several of the debates. He won the Iowa caucuses but failed to reach far beyond the evangelical community in states after that.