So – I had seen the Brokeback to the Future video, but this site has 8 cool videos to watch. There is an article that goes with it.
I’m all about alternative power – something that gets us more in touch with the natural rhythms of the earth. They are now looking at harnessing the ocean’s energy. One company is working on producing Pelamis. Though, I also wonder about the impact that this will have on the earth’s systems…
How do you define a planet? I don’t know but here is EL61 who seems to be doing some pretty strange and remarkable things.
Stock Market or Housing Market going to crash? Didier Sornette makes predictions…
And if you like looking at the night sky – check out Sky and Telescope’s observing page.
Stanley Milgram has some things to say about why people behave nicely – and why social scientists should be looking more for the good in people and not always how they ‘mess up’ during experiments.
Still confused about string theory? So is everyone else...but this might help.
Also in the July/August 2005 Utne, there was an interesting article called “Hell is Other iPods” by Caspar Melville. There was the comment: “There is no zeal like the zeal of an Apple Mac user; just try asking one innocently, as I once did, if there really is any substantial difference between a Mac and a PC.” Well – yeah…
However, then there’s a paragraph that talks about iPods adding to social fagmentation. It takes away from “community” and any sort of interactions that might happen between people in public places.
Being a person who is always about community, I’ve wondered about how the iPod will change life for us – in negative ways. I do not own an iPod, but not because I’m opposed to them. I think that they are very cool and always was jealous of Phil listening to books on his.
Other thoughts? What are the bonuses to the technology? How can we work on community? Or, is it already too late?
So – you can check out a cool new ant farm by Fascinations. Entertaining, but…hmmm…
But maybe gives you an idea for a Christmas present...
Join onto this vision and you just might make it.
Discover – September 2005
Some more geeky stuff.
You can take a look at Saturn’s Rings.
Though I wouldn’t so admit that I hoard things, but some other people might suggest such a thing. There was a really interesting article on Hoarding and how the mind works.
THEN – there was this new idea that I had never thought of. “Maybe [life] is no something that you can detect with the naked eye. Maybe it exists on a different wavelength…maybe there’s somebody waling around right now that we can’t see,” Kasthuri Venkateswaran (Discover, October 2004, 60). WHAT? I spent some time with this. So, just to bounce this idea around…what if this is true? Could this explain all of my “ghost” experiences? Like, when doors or open or shut or the lights got turned off. Or, when a bowl is taken out of the cabinet and put on my kitchen counter. Thoughts on this? Where do they life? Wouldn’t we run into their stuff if they have buildings? Or do they live in our buildings (like at camp)?
As we look for life on other planets, we take our own life there. How do we protect other planets from Earth contamination?
For those who would like to tour space, take a look at Celestia. Someone took some time off their job at Microsoft to develop the software. And if you have too much time on your hands, you can register your Celestia expansion pack.
The Hayden Library in Idaho is sponsoring “Yesterday’s Tomorrows”. It looks like a great display. Funny to look back and think about where we thought we could be by now. So much for the fast development of technology!
So – how many moons are there in our solar system?
Did you know that there is a North American Stone Skipping Association? I had NO idea…
Take a look at how the earth breathes. This is very cool. You may have to go to here and then click on “npp_20012002_lrg.mpg”
Of course, everyone wants to go to Mars. And once you get there, you need a calendar and a clock. And make sure to do some research on the ice caps – water or carbon dioxide?
And if you want to travel further, how will you get there?
And is there entirely too much information in the world? These people think so!
So, in the Feb. 2004 issue of Discover, I found some fun stuff. (Yes, I’m behind on the magazines – school has been overwhelming with other reading.)
Check out The Weather Project page.
Are you confused about when things have happened? How many years ago did the dinosaurs die? Check out this timeline.
I have a new appreciation for tarantulas. The article was really cool and tarantulas have some great skills that I don’t know about – like throwing hair to ward off attackers.
There are cool puzzles at the end of every issue.
