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Before I die I want to...

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:46:21 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: Before I die I want to see the world.
And,yes,skydiving of course.

What is the power of things we hold dear?

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:15:47 GMT

clipped by: syncopath
clipper's remarks: "In the interest of enriching these connections, Turkle pairs each autobiographical essay with a text from philosophy, history, literature, or theory, creating juxtapositions at once playful and profound."

Clip Source: mitpress.mit.edu

Evocative Objects

Things We Think With

For Sherry Turkle, "We think with the objects we love; we love the objects we think with." In Evocative Objects, Turkle collects writings by scientists, humanists, artists, and designers that trace the power of everyday things. These essays reveal objects as emotional and intellectual companions that anchor memory, sustain relationships, and provoke new ideas.

This volume's special contribution is its focus on everyday riches: the simplest of objects--an apple, a datebook, a laptop computer--are shown to bring philosophy down to earth. The poet contends, "No ideas but in things." The notion of evocative objects goes further: objects carry both ideas and passions. In our relations to things, thought and feeling are inseparable.

Can we harness energy from outer space?

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:36:41 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: While nuclear fusion has already been tested with the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium, those reactions give off the majority of their energy as radioactive neutrons, raising both safety and production concerns. Helium-3, on the other hand, is perfectly safe. It doesn't give off any pollution or radioactive waste and poses no danger to surrounding areas.
helium-3 has two protons but only one neutron. When it's heated to very high temperatures and combined with deuterium, the reaction releases incredible amounts of energy. Just 2.2 pounds (one kilogram) of helium-3 combined with 1.5 pounds (0.67 kilograms) of deuterium produces 19 megawatt-years of energy Roughly 25 tons of the stuff could power the United States for an entire year.

Clip Source: science.howstuffworks.com

People have been searching for clean alternative energy sources for decades to no avail. As soon as one source seems to pass the test, someone uncovers its fatal flaw. Nuclear, wind, solar and hydropower have all been dragged through the mud to some degree. Traditional nuclear fission is too risky, winds aren't consistent, the sun doesn't always penetrate the clouds and hydropower dams disrupt natural environments.

It seems like any workable solution is light-years away -- literally. Some researchers think the answer to our energy needs rests in the stars. From wind turbines on Mars to helium-3 fusion, people are increasingly looking to extraterrestrial sources for the Earth's energy needs.

One of the sources they're looking at is helium-3 to use in nuclear fusion reactions. As opposed to nuclear fission, which splits an atom's nucleus in half, nuclear fusion combines nuclei to produce energy.

Tags: energy, space

Selling snow to the Swiss

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:56:44 GMT

clipped by: syncopath

Clip Source: www.ynetnews.com

An Israeli company has managed to sell a locally made snow machine to Switzerland, a country whose middle names are winter and ski.

After last year's snow fall was delayed, and the ski slopes went without snow for most of the season, the Swiss began to worry about their successful tourist business.

Swiss media outlets reported that due to the severity of the problem, scientists were called in and were now looking into what is being described as a groundbreaking solution: A system that would allow the snow to last even into the hot summer months.

In a month's time, an Israeli made snow cannon will be put into use in

Zermatt

ski resort, and unlike regular snow cannons, this one works even if the temperatures are way above zero.

The Israeli snow cannon, named "IDE Snowmaker", was originally created for the purposes of desalinization of salt water.

The cost of this 30-ton, 11-meter (36-feet) machine is about NIS 7 million ($1.9 million).

Clip Source: www.daylife.com

Seeing in four dimensions

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:20:23 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The videos are all available free at www.dimensions-math.org. The videos go on to show how we can visualize imaginary numbers geometrically, how fractal patterns emerge in the Mandelbrot set and Julia sets, and how beautiful and complex shapes can be built up from circles.

Clip Source: www.sciencenews.org

Mathematicians create videos that help in visualizing four-dimensional objects

Three dimensions can be so limiting.

There is the minor difficulty that our nervous systems are only equipped to conjure images in three dimensions. But that doesn’t stop Étienne Ghys of the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, France, from visualizing the four-dimensional dynamical systems he studies: “I live in dimension four,” he says.

And you can too. Ghys has now created a series of videos teaching others to visualize four dimensions the way he does.

in four dimensions, there are six regular solids, including one with 600 faces! Each of those 600 faces is itself a three-dimensional tetrahedron, and 20 of them meet at each vertex.

How on earth can we visualize such a thing?

Still, they could try. We depict three-dimensional objects on a page all the time, essentially by drawing their outlines.

a third method called “stereographic projection,” which is less intuitive but much more helpful.

Tags: mathematics, visualization

This Is What A Police State Looks Like

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:52:08 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Dissent is patriotic.

Clip Source: www.lewrockwell.com

In Denver, we're so afraid of unarmed civilians, we send 2 cops for each protestor.

Clip Source: www.denverpost.com

Police in riot gear surround protesters on 15th Street near Civic Center park in downtown Denver on Monday night. This is not America. This is what a police state looks like. You re worried about Beijing? This is repression, one activist shouted. (Jason Halley, Special to The Denver Post)

What a Hillary supporter saw at Invesco

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:33:07 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Someone ready to fight for what matters, not just inspire

Clip Source: sage

When Obama emphatically said "ENOUGH!" and began to demand that the
Republicans own their failures, I grew hopeful. When he talked about
watching his mother argue with insurance companies while she was in bed
dying of cancer, I felt his quiet, appropriate and protective rage. When he
looked straight into the camera and committed to fighting for equal pay for
equal work "because I want my daughters to have the exact same opportunities
as your sons," I believed him. And when he called John McCain out to have a
debate about who has "the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next
Commander-in-Chief," I trusted him to be capable of holding his own in such
a debate. Through his demeanor, Barack Obama did what no other person,
including Bill or Hillary Clinton, could do for him: he proved he has what
it takes not just to inspire but to protect and defend all of our lives and

rights.

Tags: obama, speech, hillary

Sarah Palin: If My Daughter Were Raped, I Would Make Her Bear Her Rapist's Child

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 05:51:02 GMT

clipped by: dulios
clipper's remarks: No abortion for victims of rape or incest, not even her own daughter. She's a wingnut. Jerry Falwell in a skirt.

Clip Source: dwb.adn.com

The candidates were pressed on their stances on abortion and were even asked what they would do if their own daughters were raped and became pregnant.

Palin said she would support abortion only if the mother's life was in danger. When it came to her daughter, she said, "I would choose life."

Tags: palin, extremist, lightweight, stay home