Or, could it be because of something more sinister. This event could be a useful seed to jumpstart a super-hero or SF game of some sort or another.
Nasa team sees explosion on Moon
"Nasa scientists have witnessed a rare explosion on the Moon, caused by a meteoroid slamming into it.
"The blast was equal in energy to about 70kg of TNT and was seen near the edge of Mare Imbrium (the Sea of Rains).
"The object that hit the Moon was probably part of a shower of 'taurids' which peppered Earth in late October and early November."
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
The Coolest Rooms on the Planet
Now we know where the money from the comics are going...
The Coolest Rooms on the Planet
"Fit for a superhero, Joe Quesada's Manhattan flat accommodates technology without sacrificing clean design. As editor in chief of Marvel Comics, Quesada can watch Spider-Man save the Big Apple from anywhere in his 4,800-square-foot loft. Six rooms, including the bath, feature flat-panel screens, but the real highlight is a theater that opens into a music room."
The Coolest Rooms on the Planet
"Fit for a superhero, Joe Quesada's Manhattan flat accommodates technology without sacrificing clean design. As editor in chief of Marvel Comics, Quesada can watch Spider-Man save the Big Apple from anywhere in his 4,800-square-foot loft. Six rooms, including the bath, feature flat-panel screens, but the real highlight is a theater that opens into a music room."
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Dick Clark Returns to TV to Mark New Year
It was a mixed bit of sorrow and happiness seeing him on TV last night. It really isn't New Year's Eve without Dick Clark, but I guess that he isn't immortal after all and one year he won't be there any more. Just as long as Ryan Seacrest doesn't take over. Blech.
Dick Clark Returns to TV to Mark New Year
"There was more to celebrate than the ball dropping in Times Square for Dick Clark — the personality who's been ringing in the New Year for decades made his first television appearance since a stroke in late 2004.
"Clark, sitting behind a desk with the street scene in the background, sounded hoarse and occasionally was hard to understand, but he said, 'I wouldn't have missed this for the world.'
"'Last year I had a stroke,' he explained. 'It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It's been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I'm getting there.'"
Dick Clark Returns to TV to Mark New Year
"There was more to celebrate than the ball dropping in Times Square for Dick Clark — the personality who's been ringing in the New Year for decades made his first television appearance since a stroke in late 2004.
"Clark, sitting behind a desk with the street scene in the background, sounded hoarse and occasionally was hard to understand, but he said, 'I wouldn't have missed this for the world.'
"'Last year I had a stroke,' he explained. 'It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It's been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I'm getting there.'"
The Lion, The Witch and The World Trade talks
The Lion, The Witch and The World Trade talks
"The fantasy land of Narnia, the subject of C. S. Lewis' stories and a just-released film, impinged on last week's World Trade Organisation talks.
"A story issued by financial news agency AFX on Sunday, picked up by several other outlets, has left a series of red faces by faithfully reporting a press release from 'the independent state of Narnia'. The story claimed Narnia had walked out of the World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong because it was fed up with being bullied by the US and Europe. It claimed the major powers were attempting to enforce liberalisation of its clothing sector.
"It quoted Narnia spokeswoman Susan Aslan (Aslan is the name of the Christ-like lion featured in the film, and book, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe). Narnia's delegates 'were tired of bullying by EU and US delegations and would be returning immediately to their state capital at Cair Parvel,' Ms Aslan was reported as saying. 'If this brings the Hong Kong talks to the knees we will be delighted,' it went on. The story was picked up by top business websites, including Forbes.com."
"The fantasy land of Narnia, the subject of C. S. Lewis' stories and a just-released film, impinged on last week's World Trade Organisation talks.
"A story issued by financial news agency AFX on Sunday, picked up by several other outlets, has left a series of red faces by faithfully reporting a press release from 'the independent state of Narnia'. The story claimed Narnia had walked out of the World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong because it was fed up with being bullied by the US and Europe. It claimed the major powers were attempting to enforce liberalisation of its clothing sector.
"It quoted Narnia spokeswoman Susan Aslan (Aslan is the name of the Christ-like lion featured in the film, and book, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe). Narnia's delegates 'were tired of bullying by EU and US delegations and would be returning immediately to their state capital at Cair Parvel,' Ms Aslan was reported as saying. 'If this brings the Hong Kong talks to the knees we will be delighted,' it went on. The story was picked up by top business websites, including Forbes.com."
Devo whips up classic tracks for kids
Here's one for Daiv:
Devo whips up classic tracks for kids
"A new generation of music fans will get hip to one of new wave's most iconic acts through Devo 2.0.
"For the project, all five members of Devo regrouped to re-record some of its best known songs, including the 1980 hit 'Whip It!' with vocals provided by a quintet of kids. Also included will be 'Cyclops' and 'The Winner,' the first new studio tracks from Devo in nearly two decades.
"The 'Devo 2.0' CD is due March 17 via Disney Sound, a family-oriented division of Walt Disney Records. A companion DVD will feature animated and live-action videos for each of the tracks directed by Devo bassist Gerry Casale.
"Disney Sound was inaugurated with the January release of Grammy-winning alt-rock duo They Might Be Giants' 'Here Come the ABCs' on CD and DVD, which have sold more than 100,000 combined in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan."
Devo whips up classic tracks for kids
"A new generation of music fans will get hip to one of new wave's most iconic acts through Devo 2.0.
"For the project, all five members of Devo regrouped to re-record some of its best known songs, including the 1980 hit 'Whip It!' with vocals provided by a quintet of kids. Also included will be 'Cyclops' and 'The Winner,' the first new studio tracks from Devo in nearly two decades.
"The 'Devo 2.0' CD is due March 17 via Disney Sound, a family-oriented division of Walt Disney Records. A companion DVD will feature animated and live-action videos for each of the tracks directed by Devo bassist Gerry Casale.
"Disney Sound was inaugurated with the January release of Grammy-winning alt-rock duo They Might Be Giants' 'Here Come the ABCs' on CD and DVD, which have sold more than 100,000 combined in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan."
Wil McCarthy's Hacking Matter
Download a PDF copy of Wil McCarthy's science book Hacking Matter. There is sure to be something of interest for those of you who want a little bleeding edge ultratech in your games.
Wil McCarthy's Hacking Matter
"The Flick of a switch: A wall becomes a window becomes a hologram generator. Any chair becomes a hypercomputer, any rooftop a power or waste treatment plant.
"Programmable matter is probably not the next technological revolution, nor even perhaps the one after that. But it's coming, and when it does, it will change our lives as much as any invention ever has. Imagine being able to program matter itself--to change it, with the click of a cursor, from hard to soft, from paper to stone, from fluorescent to super-reflective to invisible. Supported by companies ranging from Levi Strauss to IBM and the Defense Department, solid-state physicists in laboratories at MIT, Harvard, Sun Microsystems, and elsewhere are currently creating arrays of microscopic devices called "quantum dots" that are capable of acting like programmable atoms. They can be configured electronically to replicate the properties of any known atom and then can be changed, as fast as an electrical signal can travel, to have the properties of a different atom. Soon it will be possible not only to engineer into solid matter such unnatural properties as variable magnetism, programmable flavors, or exotic chemical bonds, but also to change these properties at will.
"Wil McCarthy visits the laboratories and talks with the researchers who are developing this extraordinary technology; describes how they are learning to control its electronic, optical, thermal, magnetic, and mechanical properties; and tells us where all this will lead. The possibilities are truly magical.
"Wil McCarthy is a novelist, the science columnist for the SciFi channel, and the Chief Technology Officer for Galileo Shipyards, an aerospace research corporation."
Wil McCarthy's Hacking Matter
"The Flick of a switch: A wall becomes a window becomes a hologram generator. Any chair becomes a hypercomputer, any rooftop a power or waste treatment plant.
"Programmable matter is probably not the next technological revolution, nor even perhaps the one after that. But it's coming, and when it does, it will change our lives as much as any invention ever has. Imagine being able to program matter itself--to change it, with the click of a cursor, from hard to soft, from paper to stone, from fluorescent to super-reflective to invisible. Supported by companies ranging from Levi Strauss to IBM and the Defense Department, solid-state physicists in laboratories at MIT, Harvard, Sun Microsystems, and elsewhere are currently creating arrays of microscopic devices called "quantum dots" that are capable of acting like programmable atoms. They can be configured electronically to replicate the properties of any known atom and then can be changed, as fast as an electrical signal can travel, to have the properties of a different atom. Soon it will be possible not only to engineer into solid matter such unnatural properties as variable magnetism, programmable flavors, or exotic chemical bonds, but also to change these properties at will.
"Wil McCarthy visits the laboratories and talks with the researchers who are developing this extraordinary technology; describes how they are learning to control its electronic, optical, thermal, magnetic, and mechanical properties; and tells us where all this will lead. The possibilities are truly magical.
"Wil McCarthy is a novelist, the science columnist for the SciFi channel, and the Chief Technology Officer for Galileo Shipyards, an aerospace research corporation."
Saturday, December 31, 2005
What Celebrity Do You Look Like?
Upload a picture of yourself and let their facial recognition software tell you what celebrity that you look like.
What Celebrity Do You Look Like?
Happy New Year, folks!
What Celebrity Do You Look Like?
Happy New Year, folks!
Top Scientists Validating the Supernatural Universe
Top Scientists Validating the Supernatural Universe
"The Field tells the story of a group of frontier scientists who discovered that the Zero Point Field - an ocean of subatomic vibrations in the space between things - connects everything in the universe, much like the Force in Star Wars."
"The Field tells the story of a group of frontier scientists who discovered that the Zero Point Field - an ocean of subatomic vibrations in the space between things - connects everything in the universe, much like the Force in Star Wars."
Monday, December 19, 2005
Author of Roswell 'flying saucer' news release dies - Dec 19, 2005
Author of Roswell 'flying saucer' news release dies - Dec 19, 2005
"Army Lt. Walter Haut, who issued a news release in 1947 that said a flying saucer landed in Roswell, died there Thursday, his daughter, Julie Shuster, said. He was 83.
"Haut, a former spokesman for the Roswell Army Air Field, took dictation on July 8, 1947, as base commander Col. William Blanchard dictated a news release about a recovered flying saucer and ordered Haut to issue it.
"The Roswell Daily Record newspaper ran a bold headline on July 9, 1947: 'RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region.'
"The same day, a statement was released saying it was only a weather balloon." [via Jonny] [CNN.com has popups]
"Army Lt. Walter Haut, who issued a news release in 1947 that said a flying saucer landed in Roswell, died there Thursday, his daughter, Julie Shuster, said. He was 83.
"Haut, a former spokesman for the Roswell Army Air Field, took dictation on July 8, 1947, as base commander Col. William Blanchard dictated a news release about a recovered flying saucer and ordered Haut to issue it.
"The Roswell Daily Record newspaper ran a bold headline on July 9, 1947: 'RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region.'
"The same day, a statement was released saying it was only a weather balloon." [via Jonny] [CNN.com has popups]
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Lifehack Your Books: Dogear, Writing In Books, and Apologizing to Librarians
I'm really not sure if I would be able to do this myself, but it is something that is interesting to pass along. Pristine books are something of a fault among geeks, I think.
Lifehack Your Books: Dogear, Writing In Books, and Apologizing to Librarians
"First, I want to apologize to librarians and to make clear that what I’m about to say applies only to books you’ve bought for yourself. See, since libraries and books that our parents bought for us are our primary mode of book access in childhood, we grow up with a set of norms for how we interact with books. Because all of those books are expected to remain in as pristine of shape as possible for as long as possible, we have a set of rules in our heads.
"1. Never write in books
"2. Never dogear pages (fold over the corner)
"3. Keep dustjackets on the books and add them via bookcovers if they don’t have them.
"And, for textbooks, books that your younger siblings need to use later, and library books, those rules are necessary to ensure that the books last long enough to be useful to as many people as possible. However, for books bought for individual use, these rules aren’t necessary. If you adhere to them religiously for your own books (most of which couldn’t possibly wear out via normal use), you’re missing out on some of the best methods for getting the most out of books.
"I personally believe that there is no greater respect that can be shown a book than by using it."
Lifehack Your Books: Dogear, Writing In Books, and Apologizing to Librarians
"First, I want to apologize to librarians and to make clear that what I’m about to say applies only to books you’ve bought for yourself. See, since libraries and books that our parents bought for us are our primary mode of book access in childhood, we grow up with a set of norms for how we interact with books. Because all of those books are expected to remain in as pristine of shape as possible for as long as possible, we have a set of rules in our heads.
"1. Never write in books
"2. Never dogear pages (fold over the corner)
"3. Keep dustjackets on the books and add them via bookcovers if they don’t have them.
"And, for textbooks, books that your younger siblings need to use later, and library books, those rules are necessary to ensure that the books last long enough to be useful to as many people as possible. However, for books bought for individual use, these rules aren’t necessary. If you adhere to them religiously for your own books (most of which couldn’t possibly wear out via normal use), you’re missing out on some of the best methods for getting the most out of books.
"I personally believe that there is no greater respect that can be shown a book than by using it."
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