Techie Scientists

Brightest Supernova North Earthlings Have Seen in 40 Years

2011-09-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

Visible using ordinary binoculars or amateur telescopes, this supernova experiences peak brightness tonight and tomorrow. Look for it in the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) off the handle of the "Big Dipper" aka Ursa Major in the northwest sky in a clear evening just after sunset from the Northern Hemisphere of Earth. This exploding star is a Type 1a, the type used a "standard candle" for measuring galactic distances and the size and age of the Universe, and is only 21 million light-years away and was first captured on August 22. The last time a supernova of its kind was seen this close to Earth was 1972. It's a terrific opportunity for both scientists and the public to see one of the biggest booms in nature.

Numerous reports have been made including those by The Bad Astronomer, the PBS NewsHour, the International Business Times, the BBC, and Global Rent a Scope. Although it's expected to peak at 10th magnitude in the next couple days, SN 2011fe might be bright enough to see with small telescopes on Earth for a couple weeks.

Painting the Infinity of Time

2011-09-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

One thing we know about time in the universe is that it continues, far longer than any human can experience directly, into a great length, if not infinity. But how would you draw this concept and see an experience of the infinity of time, both in its size and detail?

Roman Opalka drew the concept of time's infinity by painting numbers, starting at 1, for the remainder of his life. He started in 1965. His obituary in the Economist describes this project well, defining the series of "Chronomes" as he completed them over the years. One might "see" time stretched out in detail before the viewer. In 1972 he passed one million. Before he died he passed five and a half million.

Growing Need for Parallel Programming in the Mainstream

2011-08-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

The Economist article "Parallel bars" points out the need for parallel computing and how the computer industry as a whole is failing to fulfill its potential. They also discuss it in their Babbage podcast. An excerpt of their podcast discusses it beautifully.

"There has been so little progress in parallel programming, even though multicore chips have been widespread for five years."

"What used to be quite an obscure programming problem for supercomputers and academics, which is 'how to you reliably and efficiently take advantage of massively parallel computers', is starting to become a real problem on the desktop."

"If software doesn't take advantage of these cores, then chip makers can go on pushing out chips that have more and more processing cores inside them but the software won't be getting any faster, and we'll have this growing gap between what my computer is theoretically capable of and what it actually does."

Welcome to the Anthropocene!

2011-06-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

We are in an age where humanity, whether by accident or by (human) design, has the power to change the world, particularly the flow of Earth's chemistry, according to this cover article by the Economist. It is significant because, formerly, it took tectonic action or major biological developments to achieve a comparable effect. Now we can create effects just as large, perhaps larger.

Sun burps, big!

2011-06-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the Sun is quiet, sometimes it's belchs. Yesterday it was caught on video letting out a big burp!

Call your interstellar friends using Neutrinos!

2011-04-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

John Learned of the University of Hawaii and Anthony Zee of the University of California, Santa Barbara, propose that we should look for signals from space in the neutrino and other astrophysical data already acquired in this Economist article.

HMC Livestream about Japan Earthquake, Tsunami

2011-03-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

Harvey Mudd College Professors Greg Lyzenga '75 and Peter N. Saeta discuss the Japan earthquake and tsunami in a live stream today at 5 pm PST.

Lyzenga will describe the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami and will explain why earthquakes of magnitude nine cannot happen in Southern California. Saeta will discuss the basics of nuclear power and the challenges facing the Japanese as they seek to regain control of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. They will also take questions from the audience.

To view the lecture online, please go to www.hmc.edu/japan-tsunami.

Should be very interesting. Professor Lyzenga was my advisor and is an excellent professor and a great guy.

Last 50 years of Space Missions on 1 Map

2009-10-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

I came across a great picture on digg.com that originally appeared on the National Geographic site. It is a map of the solar system with individual lines representing a past space mission.

View the photo at either:

http://books.nationalgeographic.com/map/map-day/index

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamcrowe/4002050596/sizes/o/

Body Worlds

2008-07-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity this past weekend to visit the California ScienCenter Body Worlds exhibit. It is hard to put into words our thoughts and emotions about the exhibit. All we can is that it was:

fascinating
creepy
surreal
detailed

We wonder if medical doctors see their patients this way?

If you can stomach it, this is an amazing and enlightening exhibit. Visit Body Worlds for more information.

Junk Raft

2008-06-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

To bring awareness to the staggering amount of plastic in our oceans, members of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation spent the last few months making a sailboat out of plastic bottles and other "junk". Today they set sail from Long Beach, CA harbor with the goal to sail to Hawaii in about 6 weeks. We were fortunate enough to watch them get under way today at their launch party. It was quite exciting!

Visit the junk raft blog to see updates on the voyage, learn more about the junk raft, and find out how plastics are hurting our oceans.

2008 World Science Festival

2008-06-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

As I write, the festival is over this year but, it still interesting to see what events transpired over the past week. The World Science Festival is held in New York City. This year it was from May 28- June 1, 2o08.

From what I gather about the World Science Festival, the sessions and talks contain a unique blend of scientists and celebrities discussing a wide range of science topics. The NY Times TierneyLab Blog offers some interesting commentary and discussion about the festival. Of course you can still visit the World Science Festival website to see the past weeks activities as well as sign up for info on the 2009 festival.

If anyone actually attended any of the events I would be curious to hear your thoughts!

Human Footprint

2008-04-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

The National Geographic Channel is airing the Human Footprint. It focuses on human consumption - finding out what we consume, what goes into it, and then finally what happens to it. What makes this show unique is the visual representation of what we consume. It originally aired on April 13th but check your local tv listings for repeat showings.

Avalanches on Mars

2008-03-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took the first ever image of an active avalanche near the north pole of Mars. The image is quite spectacular and worth a look.

Read more at Science@NASA - Avalanches on Mars.

Track Santa

2007-12-20T23:14:00.000-08:00

A fun thing to do with kids and adults. On Christmas Eve head over to Norad Santa Tracker and track Santa live on Christmas Eve. They even have a tie into Google Earth so you can track Santa in 3d. A very clever site that is definitely work a visit.

Dolphin mothers carrying their young

2007-12-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

Do you get tired carrying your child? Imagine carrying one underwater. Results of a two-year study by Shawn Noren of UC Santa Cruz show how mothers "carry" their newborn young by assisting their swimming in an "eschelon" formation. Much like how bicycle racers can draft off pack leaders, the young calf benefits from staying in their mother's slipstream. They can move faster than the could alone, say to stay with the dolphin pod, and even take a break to save energy for growing up. The study analyzed underwater video measured the speeds of mother and calf alone and together. The paper is published in Functional Ecology but has also been highlighted in The Economist and on the Quirks & Quarks CBC Podcast.

Comet 17P/Holmes

2007-11-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Another interesting and exciting comet has appeared in our night skies. On October 24, 2007, Comet Holmes had a spectacular eruption. It is now a 3rd magnitude object and can be seen by the naked sky in the constellation of Perseus after sunset.

Visit a great collection of photos at the SpaceWeather.com photo gallery.

Watch out for the sun!

2007-10-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Science@NASA had a great article yesterday about a comet's tail being ripped off by a solar eruption. NASA's STEREO-A probe was at the right place at the right time and caught footage of Comet Encke's demise.

To see the video visit The Sun Rips Off a Comet's Tail.

Girls into Math

2007-09-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

A recent NPR Science Friday podcast interviews mathematician/actress Danica McKellar, Harvey Mudd College President Maria Klawe, and the US Girls Math Team to share the latest developments, like McKellar's new book "Math Doesn't Suck", and speak on overcoming outdated stereotypes.

Lunar Eclipse

2007-08-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

If you missed the beautiful lunar eclipse last night, head over to Wired Science Blog . They have a great round up of images from Flickr.

Hydrogen-powered car - toy size

2007-07-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

Dubbed the "best selling fuel cell car", the H-Racer comes with a solar-powered hydrogen station that uses the sun to break ordinary water into Hydrogen and Oxygen to power this fuel-cell car. I'd buy for my son, but I'll have to wait: Ages 12 and up.

Plant a Tree, but Where?

2007-04-22T22:11:00.000-07:00

A new article by LLNL climate scientist Govindasamy Bala presents results of simulations suggesting the location of new trees could actually warm the planet, or cool it, depending on where in the world it's planted. Discussed recently in both the Economist article "A new tree line" and on an NPR Science Friday Podcast on carbon emissions, the article prompts a double-take on an seemingly good-sounding idea.

B-flat's in the Universe

2007-04-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Are there B-flat notes all over? Robert Krulwitch describes in story and podcast in song from crocodiles to black holes where B-flat notes can be found. I'm just surprised he didn't mention the biggest note in the universe resonating in the cosmic background radiation flat of B.

Track US Flight Traffic

2007-03-01T08:27:00.000-08:00

Flight Aware has a neat visualization of where all traffic of flights in the US is. They've assembled a movie of a day of flight data showing the ebb and flow of planes over 24 hours. See how the East coast wakes up a few hours earlier and flows as the West coast awakes.

Fat or Thin? Check the Gut Microbes

2007-02-21T11:09:00.000-08:00

The top of the recent Quirks and Quarks podcast describes how obesity is not simply a balance of calories but is strongly determined by the performance of microbes in the stomach. Swapping these microbes between mice stomachs demonstrates the effect. Listen here.

Total Lunar Eclipse, March 3rd

2007-02-13T13:53:00.001-08:00

View a total lunar eclipse of the Moon, Saturday March 3, 2007. Visible from parts of all seven continents, including the eastern half of the United States.

Read more about the lunar eclipse and find the best time to view where you live at NASA Science News.

Birthday Calendar

2007-01-29T15:46:00.000-08:00

Fun site if you have some downtime...enter your birth date in the birthday calendar and fun statistics and astrological data will be presented.

Free Physics Textbook

2007-01-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

The 20th edition of The Free Physics Textbook was just released from Galilean motion to general relativity, and classical mechanics to quantum mechanics. This downloadable 1380-page tome, 10 years in the making, is meant to share modern physics to students and teachers in emerging economies.

Listen to Podcasts for free on any phone

2007-01-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

A great way to listen to your favorite podcasts while away from a computer. Enter the rss feed url on the website and a unique phone number is created which you can then call from any phone. They also have an ever expanding directory of podcasts you can browse.

Check it out at Podlinez.net

What Does 200 Calories Look Like?

2007-01-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

A series of photographs representing 200 calories of different types of food. This will definitely make me think about what I eat next.

Read more at wisegeek.com.

Endangered Species Ringtones

2007-01-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

Ringtones of endangered species available from Biological Diversity for environmental awareness of species. Featured on NPR, these sound samples of a Blue-throated Macaw, Beluga Whale, and others can help your phone sound unique.

Physics - The best of 2006

2006-12-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

It was the year that water flowed on Mars and the first cloak of invisibility was unveiled. Physicists also made important advances in the manipulation of materials at the quantum level in 2006, furthering our knowledge of the fundamental properties of matter and bringing futuristic technologies like quantum computers closer to reality.

Read the top 12 advances in 2006 discussed at Physicsweb.org.

Astronomers Await a Nova

2006-12-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

The Star of Bethlehem might have been a nova, like T Pyxidis, which by the way could light up the night sky any time now.

Read more about T Pyxidis at Space.com.

FAA Sets Guidelines for Space Travel

2006-12-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

Before you strap into any U.S.-operated private spaceship, you’ll be told about the risk as well as rewards of flying the friendly space skies.

Read more about the guidelines at Space.com.

"An Inconvenient Truth" DVD available to Teachers

2006-12-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

50,000 copies of the acclaimed documentary will be donated on a first come, first serve basis to teachers across the country interested in using the film as a teaching tool in classrooms via Participate.net. This generous donation was made possible with the cooperation of Paramount Vantage, Participant Productions, The Environmental Media Association, and private funders.

The DVD's will be given away starting Monday, December 18, 2006 thru Thursday, January 18, 2007. Teachers are encouraged to log on to Participate.net to request the DVD, which will be delivered within 6-8 weeks. A free curriculum guide is also available for download.

http://participate.net/educators/DVD/giveaway

Postcards from Mars

2006-12-18T15:29:00.000-08:00

Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift? Postcards from Mars, featured on a Quirks and Quarks podcast, looks like a great one to display on a coffee table.

Great White Shark Clip

2006-12-13T08:45:00.000-08:00

A clip from BBC Planet Earth. Incredible footage of great white sharks.

read more | digg story

New York City Bans Trans Fats from Restaurants

2006-12-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

In an effort to help Americans eat healthier, NYC health officials have implemented new requirements including a ban from using artificial trans fats, and requiring many restaurants to post food calorie counts right on their menus.

Read more details from these news articles:

LiveScience.com - "NYC Bans Trans Fats From Eateries"

The New York Times - "New York Bans Most Trans Fats in Restaurants" (log-in required)

"Sugar Plum Fairy" on Bike Parts

2006-12-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

Tchaikovsky on bicycle? This site plays a short clip of a challenge by bike part manufacturer Specialized to play holiday music using bicycle components. A very nice effect. The page describes how it was done, plus even more pictures. I hope they arrange more!

Legendary Violins Were Chemically Treated?

2006-11-29T16:29:00.000-08:00

Texas A & M researcher, Joseph Nagyvary, hypothesizes that the beautiful sound of the famous Stradivarius and Guarneri instruments could be from the wood being chemically treated.

Read more about the mysteries behind these legendary violins at LiveScience.

Furrier Transform

2006-11-13T17:48:00.000-08:00

Short story: The Shoulders of Giants

2006-11-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Escape Pod has another great sci-fi podcast. This one's a "what if" about what could happen if humanity sends a sleeper colony ship to another solar system. What do they do if they find someone's there? This one's PG.

AbbyMath.com

2006-11-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

A great educational site led by Abby Brown, an enthusiastic math teacher at Torrey Pines High School, AbbyMath.com introduces fascination of math and science to young students and encourages their enthusiasm. The site is updated as her classes evolve, producing examples of how other students can learn about math, including some that are interactive on the web. She and her students presented their work at the recent Wolfram Technology Conference. See also her MathRules.org site.

Note the new permanent link on the right!

Spooky Astronomy!

2006-10-31T09:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

Did you know that Halloween or October 31st is a "cross quarter date," meaning approximately midway between an equinox and a solistice? There are four cross quarter dates in a year. Lots of folklore and legends related to these dates.

Read more by visiting Spooky Astronomy at SpaceWeather.com.

How To Make a Great Cup of Coffee

2006-10-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

I love coffee and always on the lookout for tips to make the "perfect cup". This LA Times story has some great tips.

read more | digg story

2006-10-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

Sweet Tired Cat

I could not resist sharing this cute little video. Enjoy!

Imagine Earth without people

2006-10-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

Imagine that all the people on Earth - all 6.5 billion of us and counting - could be spirited away tomorrow, transported to a re-education camp in a far-off galaxy. (Let's not invoke the mother of all plagues to wipe us out, if only to avoid complications from all the corpses). Left once more to its own devices, Nature would reclaim the planet.

read more | digg story

Jupiter's Little Red Spot Changing...

2006-10-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

A NASA press release today reveals that Jupiter's Little Red Spot is growing stronger and has changed color from white to red.

Read more from the NASA press release.

Comet Swan

2006-10-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

A newly discovered comet is visible this week with binoculars. It is in the northeastern sky not far from the Big Dipper. It is visible before dawn these next few days.

Read more about the comet at Astronomy Picture of the Day.

New Discoveries from Saturn

2006-09-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Saturn sports a new ring in an image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Sunday, Sept. 17, during a one-of-a-kind observation. Other spectacular sights captured by Cassini's cameras include wispy fingers of icy material stretching out tens of thousands of kilometers from the active moon, Enceladus, and a cameo color appearance by planet Earth.

read more | digg story

After 40 Years, Star Trek 'Won't Die'

2006-09-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

It seems like the TV show that never dies. Forty years ago a science fiction show debuted on television with a paltry budget and a bold mission to go where no one had gone before.

read more | digg story

SMART-1 crash landing on the moon

2006-09-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

No this was not by accident but planned. The European Space Agency's SMART-1 spacecraft impacted the moon on September 2 at 10:42 PM PDT (5:42 UT, September 3).

Detailed images of before impact and after can be seen at the ESA SMART-1 website.

Learn more about the SMART-1 mission and its accomplishments.

A Smoke Angel from Airplane Flares

2006-08-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a great picture of a smoke angel formed from a flare released from a jet.

Read more about the picture from the APOD website.

Male Sympathetic Pregnancy

2006-08-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

A Quirks and Quarks podcast on male monkeys who gain weight after their partners are pregnant, even before the female shows significantly. They propose that the fathers are helping to prepare to care for the infants.

Star Trek Inspirational Posters

2006-08-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

Amusing posters to inspire! Available for download to your computer.

See them all here: Star Trek Inspirational Posters

Cat parasite affects human culture

2006-08-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

A cat parasite affects human personalities, according to a story in LiveScience. Makes one wonder about households with lots of cats....

Death by Caffeine?

2006-07-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

Pick your favorite caffeinated drink, enter your weight and this amusing calculator will tell you how much of the drink you must consume to kill you!

It would take 361.32 cans of Diet Coke with Splenda to put be down!

Check out Death by Caffeine.

Autism Reveals Social Roots of Language

2006-07-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

An NPR story discusses how we're learning that words and their rules are not the end-all in language, and how some had to learn its connection to social behavior and empathy while others take it for granted.

Jack FM

2006-07-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

I came across an article on Wired News about a new concept radio station format called Jack FM . I am fortunate enough to have a station where I live and it is a great radio station. With a "play whatever we want" type attitude you are always bound to come across an oldy put good song you long forgot.

Read more in the article 'Imitation iPod' Invades Radio .

Two Second Tent

2006-07-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Would you believe a tent that deploys in about 2 seconds? Yet another link.

I didn't believe it at first, but it looks like a real product, even an ad on YouTube.

Be patient with the links; It might be getting a digg effect.

Short story: Clockwork Atom Bomb

2006-07-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

A strikingly good, yet R-rated, fictional short story read in an Escape Pod podcast, The Clockwork Atom Bomb explores a "what if" scenario when world politics collide with astrophysical phenomena.

Podcast: Those who have ears

2006-07-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

An Ockham's Razor podcast titled "Those who have ears" discusses different kinds of learning behavior, particularly those exhibited in children. I'd add that such learning patterns extend throughout life.

Mount an iSight to a Telescope

2006-07-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Very nice instructions with pictures on how to attach an Apple iSight to a telescope. Looks like he has a very nice setup from the pictures.

Read more about the iSight telescope mount.

Fire Rainbow

2006-07-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

Beautiful picture of a rare type of rainbow.

read more | digg story

Update: Actually this phenomenon is called a circumhorizontal arc and it is not as rare as the above article states.

Wasting time on the internet?!

2006-07-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, it happens to the best of us. About.com has a round up of their Top Ten Time Wasters on the Web.

30 seconds Bunny Theater is my current favorite.

If the Earth was a sandwich

2006-07-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what would happen if you digged a hole to the other side of the earth? Well now you can find out (without getting dirty) by visiting If the Earth was a Sandwich.

I found this great site from the Bad Astronomy Blog.

Three New Lemurs Discovered

2006-06-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

Three new species of lemur in the African island nation of Madagascar have been discovered. All three are mouse lemurs and are as tiny as their name implies. The palm-size creatures are primates-the group that includes apes and humans.

read more | digg story

Cat in a Bottle

2006-06-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

What will they think of next?!

Check out the video on YouTube of a Cat in a Bottle.

Naming Pluto's Moons

2006-06-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has officially named Pluto's two newly discovered small moons Nix and Hydra.

Read more at Sky and Telescope.

Robot Bias?

2006-06-19T21:45:00.000-07:00

Check out the Brewster Rockit comic for June 17, 2006.

Which would you choose?

Cat chases bear up a tree...

2006-06-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

Don't mess with a cat's territory. Even if it is a bear!

Read more about "Jack the cat chases black bear up tree"

Juggling

2006-06-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

A great juggling video showcasing the creative and artistic side of the sport.

TWINKIE Experiments

2006-06-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Scientific experiments on the famous Twinkie.

The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project.

Stephen Hawking to write children's book

2006-06-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Physicist Stephen Hawking is to write a science book for children which will be "a bit like Harry Potter", but without the magic and with significantly more quantum mechanics.

read more | digg story

Video of Meteoroid Hitting the Moon

2006-06-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

Astronomers at Marshall Space Flight Center were able to catch video of a meteoroid impact using a 10-inch telescope. The impact occured May 2, 2006.

View the Meteoroid Video.

Trunk Monkey

2006-06-13T02:32:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, another set of funny videos. These are actually commericals for the Suburban Auto Group. They are absolutely hysterical.

Visit Trunkmonkey for fun and laughs.

Top 10 Emerging Environmental Technologies

2006-06-13T02:20:00.000-07:00

Ideas that could help us achieve sustainable living on this planet.

read more | digg story

Squirrel in a Sweater?!

2006-06-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

Okay so its Friday afternoon and I am ready for the weekend. I came across this picture on Cute Overload and could not resist posting.

Oh yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, someone really KNITTED a sweater for a squirrel!

Astronomers Find Nearby Galactic Highway

2006-06-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

Astronomers have discovered a long, slender stream of ancient stars racing across the northern sky. The stream is about 30,000 light-years from Earth and flowing high over the Milky Way at some 230 kilometers per second, or more than half a million miles per hour.

read more | digg story

Corkscrew Asteroid

2006-06-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

"...Asteroid 2003 YN107 is looping around our planet once a year. Measuring only 20 meters across, the asteroid is too small to see with the unaided eye—but it is there. "

Read more about the Corkscrew Asteroid.

Fun with bubble wrap...

2006-06-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Okay so not the most productive thing to do on the internet, but it sure is fun!

Check out Bubble Wrap.

Historic Yerkes Observatory Sold to become a Luxury Spa

2006-06-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

Historic Yerkes Observatory, home of the largest refracting telescope, where hundreds of important astronomical discoveries were made in the 20th century, has been sold by the U. of Chicago to a NY developer to build luxury homes and a spa...

read more | digg story

TiVo Launches TiVoCast - Download Your TV Shows

2006-06-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

TiVo unveiled on Wednesday broadband video downloads, marking the latest move by the digital video recorder company to expand its Internet-related services.

read more | digg story

Mysterious carbon excess found in infant solar system

2006-06-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

Astronomers detected unusually high quantities of carbon, the basis of all terrestrial life, in an infant solar system around nearby star Beta Pictoris, 63 light-years away.

read more | digg story

How to eat healthy on a low budget

2006-06-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Change the way you eat.

If you are looking for healthy food on a small budget, then fruits and vegetables and other whole foods are the way to go. They are the basic building blocks of a nutritious diet, and they are much cheaper than processed foods.

read more | digg story

Amazing Pictures of Storms!

2006-06-05T17:56:00.000-07:00

Enjoy some stunning pictures of storms :)

read more | digg story

Amusing Monday Videos

2006-06-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some funny videos that friends sent me today:

The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments

Bjork Street Fighter

Enjoy!

Doughnut Day June 2, 2006

2006-05-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

Didn't know that there is a National Doughnut Day?! Well there is! Krispy Kreme is celebrating by giving away a free doughnut of your choice.

Make sure you stop on by your local store to get one. Yummy!

The Evolution of Honda's Asimo Robot

2006-05-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

A look at the history and evolution of Honda's Asimo Robot.

If you can, check out the Asimo show at Disneyland in Anahiem, CA.

read more | digg story

An Alignment of the Stars and Planets

2006-05-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

The month of June is going to be filled with some great night sky observing.

Read more about An Alignment of Stars and Planets at Science@NASA.

Striking photo of land erosion in New Mexico

2006-05-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

An amazing view of land erosion from 30,000 feet above New Mexico.

read more | digg story

HIPerWall: New Vistas in Scientific Visualization

2006-05-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Innovative ways of envisioning scientific phenomena are on the rise in data-rich research environments. Case in point is the HIPerWall. The HIPerWall, funded by the National Science Foundation, is a massively tiled, grid-based display built using fifty 30-inch Apple Cinema Displays and twenty-five Power Mac G5 computers at the UC Irvine campus.

read more | digg story

Earth's ozone layer appears to be on the road to recovery.

2006-05-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

Current trends might actually be helping. The global ozone layer could be restored to 1980 levels sometime between 2030 and 2070.

read more | digg story

Towel Day, May 25th

2006-05-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

In remembrance of Douglas Adams, author of the book, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, carry your towel with you throughout the day on Thursday, May 25th.

Read more about Towel Day.

Things to do with a MacBook...

2006-05-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

The things you can find on YouTube.

The latest find I read about on The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Check out the application MacSaber and then watch the video.

Very amusing...

Voyager 2 Detects Odd Shape of Solar System's Edge

2006-05-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

Voyager 2 could pass beyond the outermost layer of our solar system, called the \"termination shock,\" sometime within the next year, NASA scientists announced at a media teleconference today.

read more | digg story

New Nike + iPod Sports Kit

2006-05-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Nike and Apple have teamed up for the Nike iPod Sports Kit. A sensor is located in the Nike shoes and, with a wireless adaptor connected to your iPod Nano, the sensor data is transmitted to your iPod while you work out. Now your Nano is a fancy pedometer!

Read more about the Nike iPod Sports Kit.

Shopping for a Hubble Telescope?

2006-05-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

A friend forwarded this along to me...

Just in case you are thinking of owning your own Hubble Telescope. Read more by visiting Telescope.com. Amusing indeed!

Real Time Satellite Tracking using Google Maps

2006-05-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

I read about this site at the Bad Astronomy Blog. It is a very cool website overlaying satellite tracking data with Google Maps. It has an array of satellites from Hubble to GPS and Weather satellites. It even shows you the latitude and longitude for the closest land location that one could see the satellite all in real time.

Play here at the Real Time Satellite Tracking site.

Why do girls lose interest in math and science?

2006-05-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

Government data show that girls fall behind boys in math and science as they progress through school. In the fourth grade, 68 percent of boys and 66 percent of girls say they like science, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

read more | digg story

Discovery of Triple-Neptune System

2006-05-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

Astronomers have discovered 3 Neptune-sized planets circling star HD 69830 in the constellation Puppis. The planets were discovered using the 3.6 meter telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Read Extrasolar-planet hunters find triple-Neptune system from New Scientist.