Clipmarks |

Clipmarks for Firefox 3.5

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:46:49 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Anyone who is having problems using Clipmarks in Firefox 3.5, please uninstall the version you currently have and then go to the source of this clip and reinstall it - after doing that it will work properly.

I'm very sorry to anyone who is inconvenienced by this. Please POP so others will be made aware.

Thank you!

Clip Source: addons.mozilla.org

Tags: clipmarks, firefox 3.5

As Seen On Earth: The Infinite Photograph - Amazing

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:39:00 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "There’s no question National Geographic is a photographic force to be reckoned with. And now they’re on a mission to inspire people to care about the planet through a gigantic collaborative photo-mosaic of the Earth.

Clip Source: www.brainpickings.org

As Seen On Earth: The Infinite Photograph

Clip Source: www.brainpickings.org

There’s no question National Geographic is a photographic force to be reckoned with. And now they’re on a mission to inspire people to care about the planet through a gigantic collaborative photo-mosaic of the Earth.

Earth.

Infinite Photograph is a global project building a portrait of Earth seen through the eyes of ordinary people, a promotional effort for NG’s MyShot initiative

Currently, the mosaic is composed of over 300,000 photos of the natural world, pulled from archived images by MyShot users. But the project is also an ongoing invitation for new submissions — the more images are indexed, the richer the the color sampling will be and the closer to infinity the mosaic can get.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Clip Source: www.brainpickings.org

The team at National Geographic envisions various future extensions of the project as the image catalog grows, breaking it down into mosaic representations of sub-categories like water, trees, and animals.

r Infinite Photograph are absolutely stunning

go ahead and

Scientists Make Radio Waves Travel Faster Than Light

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:23:34 GMT

clipped by: chestnut501
clipper's remarks: A Los Alamos National Laboratory gadget, called a polarization synchrotron, combines radio waves and a rapidly spinning magnetic field, which forces radio waves to travel faster than the speed of light. The resulting phenomenon could lead to new technologies in health and communications.

Clip Source: www.santafenewmexican.com

Scientist John Singleton insists that Albert Einstein wouldn't be mad at him, even though at first blush Singleton appears to have twisted the famous physicist's theories about light into a pretzel.

Most people think Einstein said that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, but that's not really the case, Singleton said.

Einstein predicted that particles and information can't travel faster than the speed of light — but phenomenon like radio waves? That's a different story, said Singleton, a Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow.

Singleton has created a gadget that abuses radio waves so severely that they finally give in and travel faster than light.

Singleton's discovery could have wide-ranging technological impacts in areas such as medicine and communications, he said.

"Because nobody's really thought about things that travel faster than light before, this is a wide-open technological field," Singleton said.

Mind-Controlled Wheelchair

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:41:55 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: Impressive.
Another example to the ever increasing in availability that technology enables.

Clip Source: www.informationweek.com

Toyota Develops Mind-Controlled Wheelchair

researchers in Japan have built a brain/machine interface (BMI) that has been demonstrated to control a wheelchair using a person's thoughts

The system enables a person to make a wheelchair turn left or right to move forward simply by thinking the commands. The response time is in 125 milliseconds

The BTCC's system uses several sensors placed over the areas of the brain that control motion to measure electrical activity in the region. The electical impulses triggered by the rider thinking of turning or moving the wheelchair are picked up and analyzed by an onboard laptop that passes the commands on to the wheelchair.

The system has an emergency stop that can be activated by the user puffing his cheeks.

The BMI adjusts itself over time to the characteristics of each driver's brainwaves. If a person dedicates three hours a day to using the system, the BMI can reach 95% accuracy in a week, researchers said.

to be applied to other types of brain waves

Tags: technology, brain, computer

Britain's queen orders count of swans

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:00:32 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Isn't it comforting to know they are dealing with the important issues?

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Buckingham Palace has announced that the annual Swan Upping, a tradition dating back to the 12th century which involves a census of the swan population on the River Thames, will be conducted by the queen's official Swan Marker from July 20-24.

"With the assistance of the Queen's Swan Warden, Professor Christopher Perrins of the University of Oxford, the swans and young cygnets are also assessed for any signs of injury or disease," Buckingham Palace said in announcing the count.

The process involves the Swan Marker, David Barber, rowing up the Thames for five days with the Swan Warden in traditional skiffs while wearing special scarlet uniforms and counting, weighing and measuring swans and cygnets.

It may seem eccentric, but it is very important to the queen.

It is also an important year because Queen Elizabeth has decided to join her team of Swan Uppers for part of the census.

Tags: swans, uk

"When Tulip Fields Transform into Modern Art"

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:15:07 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly

Clip Source: www.environmentalgraffiti.com

Red, yellow, orange, purple, blue, white, pink – we’re not talking about rainbows here but tulip colours that look like they’ve sprung from a painter’s palette. No wonder then that rows and rows of tulips and tulip fields look like impressionist paintings up close or like modern or abstract art from above. Beautiful for sure and a great way to celebrate summer.

Red tulip rows with poplars in the background, most likely in Japan:

Image: Nao

Today, tulips are grown all over the world; here tulip fields at Table Cape, Tasmania:

Like a carpet of tulips - tulip gardens at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in northwestern Washington:

Image: Ramanathan Kathiresan

A rainbow on the ground - another impression from the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival:

talk about bad timing!

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:09:49 GMT

clipped by: mona

Clip Source: www.smh.com.au

BRITAIN'S royal family is to demand a pay rise from the taxpayer to fill a looming £40 million ($82 million) hole in its finances.

The Queen wants an extra £4 million a year to pay for repairs and improvements to her homes, including Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and St James's Palace. Courtiers may also request an increase in civil list payments to cover rising costs of running the royal family, which hit £41.5 million during the 2008-09 financial year - an increase of £1.5 million.

"Now is not a good time to be asking for more money," said Richard Bacon, an MP who sits on the House of Commons public accounts committee, which reviewed palace finances last month.

Republic, the campaign for an elected head of state, said the real cost of the monarchy worked out at more than four times the amount quoted in Monday's accounts, once the hidden cost of security, which some estimates put at £100 million a year, and other costs are included.

Migaloo the albino whale

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:09:48 GMT

clipped by: mona

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Whale watching season has begun in Australia and the star attraction of the annual migration – Migaloo, a rare albino humpback – made his first appearance off the eastern coast this week.

The white Eastern Australian humpback celebrity, who was spotted off the coast of northern NSW, causes so much interest during his annual swim up to northern Queensland that the local environment authorities this week declared him a ‘special interest whale’ and threatened to issue hefty fines for anyone who gets too close.

There is now a 500m (1,600ft) exclusion zone around Migaloo for boats and jet skis, and aircraft must not venture closer than 2,000ft above.

“Migaloo has been declared a special-interest whale, granting him more space to swim up the Queensland coast,” Ms Jones said.

“The whale-watching regulations are there to protect the whales, but also to protect people from these huge, unpredictable mammals.

bamboo bikes

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:00:46 GMT

clipped by: mona

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

On the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia, next year's crop of bicycles is being watered by Benjamin Banda.

"We planted this bamboo last year," he says, "and now the stems are taller than me. When it's ready we'll cut it, cure it and then turn it into frames."

Mr Banda, is the caretaker for Zambikes, a company set up by two Californians and two Zambians which aimed to build bikes tough enough to handle the local terrain.

Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world

There are many reasons why it's so unusual: capital is difficult to raise in Zambia; tools and raw materials - if available - are expensive; skilled labour is in short supply; and bureaucracy isn't.

In this context having a low-cost raw material on the doorstep is a godsend.

"And of course there's very little impact on the environment," says Dustin McBride, the other American on the Zambikes management team.

The bicycles are being targeted at the American market

It looks low-tech, but that's intentional.

Dr. Karl Paulnack: Why Does Music Affect Us?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:24:18 GMT

clipped by: clip-on-tie
clipper's remarks: Great article: http://greenroom.fromthetop.org/2009/03/11/karl-paulnack-to-the-boston-conservatory-freshman-class/

Clip Source: greenroom.fromthetop.org

Karl Paulnack

I was playing with a very dear friend of mine who is a violinist. We began, as we often do, with Aaron Copland’s Sonata, which was written during World War II and dedicated to a young friend of Copland’s, a young pilot who was shot down during the war.

Midway through the piece, an elderly man seated in a wheelchair near the front of the concert hall began to weep. This man, whom I later met, was clearly a soldier-even in his 70’s, it was clear from his buzz-cut hair, square jaw and general demeanor that he had spent a good deal of his life in the military. I thought it a little bit odd that someone would be moved to tears by that particular movement of that particular piece, but it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard crying in a concert and we went on with the concert and finished the piece.

The concert in the nursing home was the most important work I have ever done.

to play for this old soldier and help him connect,

to connect their memories of their lost friends

Tags: music

Photographic Time Machine

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:25:57 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: How to tear the space-time continuum with your bare hands and a camera lens

Clip Source: www.brainpickings.org

Photographic Time Machine

Clip Source: www.brainpickings.org

How to tear the space-time continuum with your bare hands and a camera lens.

The transformative power of photography is unquestionable — powerful images can move us emotionally, intellectually and morally. Now, it can also move us across space and time — here are three fascinating photographic projects that do just that.

SIEGE OF LENINGRAD COMPOSITES

The images are a stride-stopping revelation of the scars WWII left, both physical and cultural, reminding us just how much more than architectural restoration it has taken for a healing process to begin.

LOOKING INTO THE PAST

Looking Into The Past project, inspi(red) by something you may remember from issues past: Michael Hughes’ Souvenirs.

Powell takes historical photographs from The Library of Congress digital archive (another innovative effort we love), prints them out, and holds them up against their respective modern-day location.

NYC GRID 1961 VS. 2009

Explore the full collection over at NYC Grid.

A Robot that Navigates Like a Person

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:16:15 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: The machine is controlled by algorithms designed to mimic different parts of the human visual system. Rather than capturing and mapping its surroundings over and over in order to plan its route--the way most robots do--the European machine uses a simulated neural network to update its position relative to the environment, continually adjusting to each new input. This mimics human visual processing and movement planning.

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

A new robot navigates using humanlike visual processing and object detection.

European researchers have developed a robot capable of moving autonomously using humanlike visual processing. The robot is helping the researchers explore how the brain responds to its environment while the body is in motion. What they discover could lead to machines that are better able to navigate through cluttered environments.

The robot consists of a wheeled platform with a robotic "head" that uses two cameras to capture stereoscopic vision. The robot can turn its head and shift its gaze up and down or sideways to gauge its surroundings, and can quickly measure its own speed relative to its environment.

Tags: robots, robotics

The "What The Hell Is This Shit Helmet Award" goes to... Tanyamm!

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:48:01 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: As the current holder of the much coveted Helmet Award, I think the time has come to pass it on. I'd like to give it to Tanyamm, who every day makes us all smile with her fabulous LOLcat clips and is always so polite, sweet, funny and just an all 'round great gal, who I am proud to call a fellow clipper. It was also she, who suggested we should honour each other, so no one could be more deserving of this very, very, very prestigious award.

*drumroll*

"THE HELMET AWARD"

*applause applause applause*

Congratulations, Tanyamm!!

The Helmet Award is now yours and you're free to pass it on to whomever you choose. Wear it with pride.

Clip Source: content2.clipmarks.com

Clip Source: clipmarks.com

What The Hell Is This Shit Helmet Award!!

YAY!!!!

Congratulations!

Helmet Award!! Wow!!

'LOL' and "LOL" again!

Pop for the future!

Clip Source: content1.clipmarks.com

Clip Source: clipmarks.com

What do the rest of think ? Can we do this? Are we breaking a rule? I like it .

Do any of you have a special clipper?

for whatever reason, they picked me for a special clip with my name in it.

Clip Source: content4.clipmarks.com

Glastonbury 2009

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:24:01 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: www.boston.com

Over the weekend, approximately 190,000 people made their way to Worthy Farm in western England to attend the 2009 Glastonbury Festival. Attendees came to see performances at what is billed as "Europe's largest open-air music festival" on many stages over four days - headliners included Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and a reunited Blur. Rainy weather did little to dampen the mood, as attendees enjoyed themselves in tent cities, concert performances, dance tents, and the surrounding countryside of Somerset, England. Collected here are a handful of images from this year's festival.

Canadian rock musician Neil Young

American singer Lady Gaga

Tags: glastonbury, photos

Allotments: Grow Your Own

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:46:01 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly
clipper's remarks: "Allotment gardens are characterised by a concentration in one place of a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families. In allotment gardens, the parcels are cultivated individually, contrary to other community garden types where the entire area is tended collectively by a group of people.[1] The individual size of a parcel ranges between 200 and 400 square meters, and often the plots include a shed for tools and shelter. The individual gardeners are organised in an allotment association which leases the land from the owner who may be a public, private or ecclesiastical entity, provided that it is only used for gardening (i.e. growing vegetables, fruits and flowers), but not for residential purposes. The gardeners have to pay a small membership fee to the association, and have to abide by the corresponding constitution and by-laws. However, the membership entitles them to certain democratic rights.[2][3]"

Clip Source: dearcomputer.nl