tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56558702024-03-07T09:54:11.730+01:00Neues aus aller WeltInformationen, Gerüchte und Aufgeschnapptes...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comBlogger552125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-79312754368939884262013-09-02T16:38:00.001+02:002013-09-02T16:38:28.897+02:00Planes – Filmkritik für Eltern<b>Übersicht</b><div>Trickfilm, USA 2013</div><div>Disneytoons Studios</div><div>Spielzeit 92 min</div><div><br></div><div><b>Kurzwertung</b></div><div><i>Pro</i></div><div>Tolle Flugszenen</div><div>Liebenswerte Charaktere</div><div>Flugphysik ernstgenommen</div><div><br></div><div><i>Contra</i></div><div>Schlechte Inszenierung</div><div>Oberflächlich</div><div>Kein Humor</div><div><br></div><div><i>Note</i></div><div><b>3 </b>/ 10</div><div><br></div><div><b>Kritik</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Warum so schlecht? Das habe ich mich<i> </i>gefragt. Es ist eigentlich alles da, was man für eine schöne Geschichte für die "Welt über Cars" bräuchte: Dusty, der Sprühflieger vom Lande, als liebenswerter Underdog, El Chu als singender Latino-Kumpan, Ishani, die hübsche Inderin und ein Rennen um die Welt. Dazu noch ein treues Team (Tanklaster und Gabelstaplerin, bewährt aus Cars), einen erfahrenen Mentor und den obligatorischen Bösewicht, der den Emporkömmling am Durchmarsch hindern und den Sieg für sich will. </div><div>Alles ist da, alles ist niedlich, und auch die weiteren Nebenrollen machen Lust auf mehr. </div><div><br></div><div>Und genau das kommt nicht. Der Film dümpelt dahin, man lernt die interessanten Typen alle gar nicht kennen. Die dramatische Vergangenheit Skippers (Dustys Mentor), der im zweiten Weltkrieg seine ganze Staffel verlor, wird in knapp fünf Minuten abgehandelt und bleibt ein Fremdkörper im Film – unvermittelt eingeführt und später kaum in Bezug genommen. Genauso kurz wird über die anderen Nebengeschichten hinweggegangen, der Film findet keine Linie.</div><div><br></div><div>Die Handlung hat hingegen eine, nämlich besagte Rennen um die Welt. Hier hat der Film seine Stärken, den er zeigt hier und im Training vorher schöne Flugmanöver, und lässt der Aufholjagd freien Lauf. </div><div><br></div><div>Unterteilt wird das Rennen von den verschiedenen Etappen, wo man was zu gucken hat und die Geschichte sich entwickeln kann. Hier herrscht dann wieder die gleiche Oberflächlichkeit vor, die dann dazu führt, das dem Film der Charme und Witz fehlt, den man von Pixar-Filmen kennt. Hier ist eine gute Vorlage schlecht umgesetzt worden. Am sympathischsten ist noch das animierte Storyboard, das im Stil eines klassischen Comics den Abspann einleitet. </div><div><br></div><div><b>Fazit</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Für flugzeugverliebte Kinder sehenswert, als Film zu holprig und letztlich zu langweilig. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-35024667974062272742013-05-23T16:36:00.001+02:002013-05-23T16:36:41.749+02:00Schwache Goldbach-Vermutung: Lösung für legendäres Zahlenrätsel vorgelegt<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Schwache Goldbach-Vermutung: Lösung für legendäres Zahlenrätsel vorgelegt<br/><br />http://www.spiegel.de/images/image-351677-thumbsmall-phvm.jpg<br/><br /><img align='left' hspace='5' src='http://www.spiegel.de/images/image-351677-thumbsmall-phvm.jpg'/>Darüber rätseln Mathematiker seit 270 Jahren: Lässt sich jede ungerade Zahl größer als fünf als Summe von drei Primzahlen darstellen? Nun will ein Peruaner die legendäre Vermutung von Goldbach bewiesen haben. Eine Überprüfung durch Kollegen steht noch aus.<br/><br /><br/><br />via SPIEGEL ONLINE - Schlagzeilen http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/beweis-fuer-schwache-goldbachsche-vermutung-a-901111.html</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-53997555127842530992013-05-21T14:21:00.001+02:002013-05-21T14:21:33.720+02:00Space dogs and Dragons: A brief history of reentry tech • The Register<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Space dogs and Dragons: A brief history of reentry tech • The Register<br/><br />http://regmedia.co.uk/2013/05/15/apollo_14_splashdown.jpg<br/><br /><div><br /><h3>We're going to need a bigger 'chute</h3><br /><p>Having honed its oceanic recovery skills, the US was ready to pitch for the Moon with <a href='http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/index.html'>Apollo</a>. Work on the Apollo command module actually began in 1961 - before Gemini - but its "Earth landing system" (ELS) required some extra parachute power to support the capsule's greater weight.</p><br /><div><img title='The Apollo 14 command module with astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart A. Roosa and Edgar Mitchel aboard approaches touchdown in the South Pacific Ocean, bringing to successful end a 10-day lunar landing mission. The splashdown occurred at 3:04 CST, Feb. 9, 1971, approximately 765 nautical miles south of American Samoa. The crew was flown by helicopter to the U.S.S. New Orleans prime recovery ship.' alt='Apollo 14 capsule just before splashdown in the Pacific in 1971. Pic: NASA' src='http://regmedia.co.uk/2013/05/15/apollo_14_splashdown.jpg'/><br /><p>The <a href='http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo14.html'>Apollo 14</a> command module splashes down on 9 February, 1971</p><br /></div><br /><p>Following reentry, the command module's forward heat shield was jettisoned at an altitude of 7,000m. Drogue 'chutes then slowed it to around 200km/h, until at 3,300m they too were jettisoned and three pilot parachutes pulled out the mains, before splashdown at 35km/h.</p><br /><p>Crushable ribs at the first point of capsule contact with the water absorbed some of the impact energy, after which the presumably largely unrattled crew awaited recovery.</p><br /><div><img title='The Apollo 11 crew await pickup by a helicopter from the USS Hornet, prime recovery ship for the historic lunar landing mission. The fourth man in the life raft is a United States Navy underwater demolition team swimmer.' alt='The Apollo 11 capsule in the Pacific in July 1969. Pic: NASA' src='http://regmedia.co.uk/2013/05/15/apollo_capsule_ocean.jpg'/><br /><p>The <a href='http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html'>Apollo 11</a> command module after splashdown in 1969. Pic: NASA</p><br /></div><br /><p>The USSR, meanwhile, had it own lunar ambitions, which ultimately resulted in the highly successful <a href='http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz.html'>Soyuz spacecraft</a>. Before Soyuz rose from the drawing board, the <a href='http://www.astronautix.com/project/voskhod.htm'>Voskhod</a> programme deployed a Vostok descent module with the added luxury of solid-fuel braking rocket strapped to the capsule's parachute lines.</p><br /><p>Having ditched the Vostok's original cosmonaut ejector seat, this cushioning was essential for ground landings. The <a href='http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz_sa.html'>Soyuz capsule</a> - a hemisphere atop a barely-angled conical body sitting on a convex heat shield - uses three solid-fuel braking engines which fire just above the ground to do the same job.</p><br /><div><img title='The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergie Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Pic: NASA/Carla Cioffi' alt='The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergie Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Pic: NASA/Carla Cioffi' src='http://regmedia.co.uk/2013/05/15/soyuz_landing.jpg'/><br /><p>Soyuz <a href='http://www.russianspaceweb.com/iss_soyuz_tma04m.html'>TMA-04M</a> touches down on 17 September, 2012. Pic: NASA/Carla Cioffi</p><br /></div><br /><div><img title='Russian support personnel work to help get crew members out of the Soyuz TMA-02M spacecraft shortly after the capsule landed with Expedition 29 Commander Mike Fossum and flight engineers Sergei Volkov and Satoshi Furukawa in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, at 9:26 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Pic: NASA/Bill Ingalls' alt='Russian support personnel work to help get crew members out of the Soyuz TMA-02M spacecraft shortly after the capsule landed with Expedition 29 Commander Mike Fossum and flight engineers Sergei Volkov and Satoshi Furukawa in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, at 9:26 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Pic: NASA/Bill Ingalls' src='http://regmedia.co.uk/2013/05/15/soyuz_capsule_landed.jpg'/><br /><p>Soyuz <a href='http://www.russianspaceweb.com/iss_soyuz_tma02m.html'>TMA-02M</a> after touchdown in Kazakhstan in 2011. Pic: NASA/Bill Ingalls</p><br /></div><br /><p>The capsule has shown itself to be highly robust, and the basic form is unchanged to this day, but Soyuz's first mission in 1967 <a href='http://www.astronautix.com/flights/soyuz1.htm'>ended in disaster</a> with the death of cosmonaut <a href='http://www.astronautix.com/astros/komarov.htm'>Vladimir Komarov</a>.</p><br /><p>Shortly after launch, thing began to go seriously wrong. One of the spacecraft's solar panels failed to unfold, starving the vehicle of power. Breakdown of the automatic stabilisation system and other glitches prompted a mission abort.</p><br /><p>Although the spacecraft reentered the atmosphere intact, the main parachute didn't deploy, and Komarov crashed to Earth, becoming the first space flight fatality.<sup><small>3</small> </sup> </p><br /><p>In 1971, cosmonauts Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolski and Viktor Patsayev were killed when their <a href='http://www.astronautix.com/flights/soyuz11.htm'>Soyuz 11</a> capsule depressurised prior to reentry, although recovery crews weren't aware of the fatal accident until the vehicle landed normally in Kazakhstan.</p><br /><p>Soyuz has since, however, provided years of reliable service, including servicing the <a href='http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html'>International Space Station</a>.</p><br /><div><img title='Soyuz TMA-7 as seen from the International Space Station in October 2005. Pic: NASA' alt='Soyuz TMA-7 as seen from the International Space Station in October 2005. Pic: NASA' src='http://regmedia.co.uk/2013/05/15/soyuz_tma_7.jpg'/><br /><p><a href='http://www.russianspaceweb.com/iss_soyuztma7.html'>Soyuz TMA-7</a> as seen from the International Space Station in October 2005. Pic: NASA</p><br /></div><br /><p>China too has benefited from Soyuz tech, with the capsule for its <a href='http://www.astronautix.com/craft/shenzhou.htm'>Shenzhou</a> manned missions reportedly an upscaled version of the Russian design, complete with a trio of braking engines to soften the blow.</p><br /><div><img title='The Shenzou 9 capsule lands in Inner Mongolia on 29 June 2012' alt='The Shenzou 9 capsule lands in Inner Mongolia on 29 June 2012' src='http://regmedia.co.uk/2013/05/16/shenzhou_9_landing.jpg'/><br /><p>The <a href='http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/special/shenzhou9/'>Shenzou 9</a> capsule lands in Inner Mongolia on 29 June 2012</p><br /></div><br /><p>Next page: <a href='http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/21/reentry_tech/page3.html'>Floating Dragons</a> </p><br /></div><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />via www.theregister.co.uk http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/21/reentry_tech/page2.html</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-61720330045664877672013-05-20T23:51:00.001+02:002013-05-20T23:51:39.230+02:00150 Jahre SPD: Keine Linken, nirgends!<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>150 Jahre SPD: Keine Linken, nirgends!<br/><br />http://www.spiegel.de/images/image-490290-thumbsmall-vxkr.jpg<br/><br /><img align='left' hspace='5' src='http://www.spiegel.de/images/image-490290-thumbsmall-vxkr.jpg'/>Im Jahr der Jubiläen sollte sich die SPD endlich eingestehen: Neben Merkels CDU-light finden die Sozialdemokraten keinen politischen Platz. Es gibt aber eine Lösung. Sie wäre ganz im Sinne August Bebels. Aber bislang fehlt der Partei dafür der Mut.<br/><br /><br/><br />via SPIEGEL ONLINE - Schlagzeilen http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/jakob-augstein-ueber-150-jahre-spd-keine-linken-nirgends-a-900785.html</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-81080668749065772342013-05-18T13:51:00.001+02:002013-05-18T13:51:23.820+02:00Gorgeous Black-and-White Photos of Vintage NASA Facilities<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Gorgeous Black-and-White Photos of Vintage NASA Facilities<br/><br />http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/nasa.gif<br/><br /><p><em>From the wind tunnels the made commercial aviation possible to the analog machines that preceded the computer, a visual history of the spirit of innovation presently unworthy of the government’s dollar.</em> </p><br /><p><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/'><img width='160' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/nasa.gif' style='margin:9px 0 3px 15px' align='right'/> </a>Among the great joys of spending countless hours rummaging through archives is the occasional serendipitous discovery of something absolutely wonderful: Case in point, these gorgeous black-and-white photographs of vintage NASA (and NASA predecessor NACA) facilities, which I found semi-accidentally in <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/'>NASA’s public domain image archive</a>. Taken between the 1920s and 1950s, when the golden age of space travel was <a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/04/18/the-first-book-of-space-travel-jeanne-bendick/'>still a beautiful dream</a>, decades before the peak of the <a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/01/30/space-age-nobrow/'>Space Race</a>, and more than half a century before the future of space exploration had <a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/03/06/neil-degrasse-tyson-space-chronicles-universe/'>sunk to the bottom of the governmental priorities barrel</a>, these images exude the <a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/03/berenice-abbott-documenting-science/'>stark poeticism of Berenice Abbott’s science photographs</a> and remind us, <a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/04/04/isaac-asimov-muppets-magazine-1983/'>as Isaac Asimov did</a>, of NASA’s enormous value right here on Earth.</p><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA6.jpg'/><br /><p><em>NACA's first wind tunnel, located at Langley Field in Hampton, VA, was an open-circuit wind tunnel completed in 1920. Essentially a replica of the ten-year-old tunnel at the British National Physical Laboratory, it was a low-speed facility which involved the one-twentieth-scale models. Because tests showed that the models compared poorly with the actual aircraft by a factor of 20, a suggestion was made to construct a sealed airtight chamber in which air could be compressed to the same extent as the model being tested. The new tunnel, the Variable Density Tunnel was the first of its kind and has become a National Historic Landmark. (April 1, 1921)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA17.jpg'/><br /><p><em>The Variable Density Tunnel arrives by rail from the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. The Tunnel was installed at Langley. (February 3, 1922)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA2.jpg'/><br /><p><em>Workmen in the patternmakers' shop manufacture a wing skeleton for a Thomas-Morse MB-3 airplane for pressure distribution studies in flight. (June 1, 1922)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA12.jpg'/><br /><p><em>A Langley researcher ponders the future, in mid-1927, of the Sperry M-1 Messenger, the first full-scale airplane tested in the Propeller Research Tunnel. Standing in the exit cone is Elton W. Miller, Max M. Munk's successor as chief of aerodynamics. (1927)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA1.jpg'/><br /><p><em>16-foot-high speed wind tunnel downstream view through cooling tower section. (February 8, 1942)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA15.jpg'/><br /><p><em>Free-flight investigation of 1/4-scale dynamic model of XFV-1 in NACA Ames 40x80ft wind tunnel. (August 18, 1942)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA16.jpg'/><br /><p><em>Engine on Torque Stand at the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio, now known as the John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. Torque is the twisting motion produced by a spinning object. (April 15, 1944)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA5.jpg'/><br /><p><em>Detail view of Schlieren setup in the 1 x 3 Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. (October 26, 1945)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA14.jpg'/><br /><p><em>Boeing B-29 long range bomber model was tested for ditching characteristics in the Langley Tank No. 2 (Early 1946)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA7.jpg'/><br /><p><em>Looking down the throat of the world's largest tunnel, 40 by 80 feet, located at Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California. The camera is stationed in the tunnel's largest section, 173 feet wide by 132 feet high. Here at top speed the air, driven by six 40-foot fans, is moving about 35 to 40 miles per hour. The rapid contraction of the throat (or nozzle) speeds up this air flow to more than 250 miles per hour in the oval test section, which is 80 feet wide and 40 feet high. The tunnel encloses 900 tons of air, 40 tons of which rush through the throat per second at maximum speed. (1947)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA9.jpg'/><br /><p><em>Analog Computing Machine in the Fuel Systems Building. This is an early version of the modern computer. The device is located in the Engine Research Building at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory, now John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland Ohio. (September 28, 1949)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA8.jpg'/><br /><p><em>Guide vanes in the 19-foot Pressure Wind Tunnel at Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, form an ellipse 33 feet high and 47 feet wide. The 23 vanes force the air to turn corners smoothly as it rushes through the giant passages. If vanes were omitted, the air would pile up in dense masses along the outside curves, like water rounding a bend in a fast brook. Turbulent eddies would interfere with the wind tunnel tests, which require a steady flow of fast, smooth air. (March 15, 1950</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA3.jpg'/><br /><p><em>24-foot-diameter swinging valve at various stages of opening and closing in the 10ft x 10ft Supersonic Wind Tunnel. (May 17, 1956)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA10.jpg'/><br /><p><em>A television camera is focused by NACA technician on a ramjet engine model through the schlieren optical windows of the 10 x 10 Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel's test section. Closed-circuit television enables aeronautical research scientists to view the ramjet, used for propelling missiles, while the wind tunnel is operating at speeds from 1500 to 2500 mph. (8.570) The tests were performed at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory, now John H. Glenn Research Center. (April 21, 1957)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA11.jpg'/><br /><p><em>8ft x 6ft Supersonic Wind Tunnel Test-Section showing changes made in Stainless Steel walls with 17 inch inlet model installation. The model is the ACN Nozzle model used for aircraft engines. The Supersonic Wind Tunnel is located in the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory, now John H. Glenn Research Center. (August 31, 1957)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA4.jpg'/><br /><p><em>The Gimbal Rig, formally known as the MASTIF of Multiple Axis Space Test Inertia Facility, was engineered to simulate the tumbling and rolling motions of a space capsule and train the Mercury astronauts to control roll, pitch and yaw by activating nitrogen jets, used as brakes and bring the vehicle back into control. This facility was built at the Lewis Research Center, now John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. (October 29, 1957)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><div style='width:510px'><img width='480' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/vintageNASA13.jpg'/><br /><p><em>Lockheed C-141 model in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT). By the late 1940s, with the advent of relatively thin, flexible aircraft wings, the need was recognized for testing dynamically and elastically scaled models of aircraft. In 1954, NASA's predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA), began converting the Langley 19-foot Pressure Tunnel for dynamic testing of aircraft structures. The old circular test section was reduced to 16 x 16 feet, and slotted walls were added for transonic operation. The TDT was provided with special oscillator vanes upstream of the test section to create controlled gusty air to simulate aircraft response to gusts. A model support system was devised that freed the model to pitch and plunge as the wings started oscillating in response to the fluctuating airstream. The TDT was completed in 1959. It was the world's first aeroelastic testing tunnel. (November 16, 1962)</em> </p><br /></div><br /><p>Alas, the names of the photographers — as is often the case with creators working on the government dollar — were not preserved. If you recognize any, <a href='mailto:brainpicker@brainpickings.org'>get in touch</a> and help credit them.</p><br /><div style='font-style:italic;padding:10px 15px;color:#000;background:#f8f8f8;border:1px dotted #d7d7d7;margin:15px 0 0 0;text-align:center'><br /><p><strong>Donating = Loving</strong> </p><br /><p>Bringing you (ad-free) Brain Pickings takes hundreds of hours each month. If you find any joy and stimulation here, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly <a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/donate/'>donation</a> of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner:</p><br /><br/><br />♥ $7 / month♥ $3 / month♥ $10 / month♥ $25 / month<br /><table style='margin-left:160px' width='160px;'><br /><tr><br /><td> </td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td> </td><br /></tr><br /></table><br /><p><br/><br /><br/><br /><img height='1' width='1' src='https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif' border='0' alt=''/><br/> </p><br /><p style='margin:20px 0 0 0'>You can also become a one-time patron with a single donation in any amount:</p><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><img height='1' width='1' src='https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif' border='0' alt=''/><br/> </div><br /><p style='background:#f8f8f8;margin:15px 0;padding:10px 15px;color:#000'><a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/newsletter/'><img width='50' alt='' src='http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/themes/BrainPickings/images/email.png' style='margin:3px 7px 3px 0' align='left'/> </a>Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s <a href='http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=13eb080d8a315477042e0d5b1&id=31d8f67847&e=52e4da8d03'>what to expect</a>. Like? <a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/newsletter/'>Sign up.</a> </p><br /><p><em><strong>Brain Pickings takes 450+ hours a month to curate and edit across the different platforms, and remains banner-free. If it brings you any joy and inspiration, please consider a modest <a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/donate/'>donation</a> – it lets me know I'm doing something right.</strong> </em> <a href='http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/donate/'><img src='http://www.brainpickings.org/donate.png' style='margin-left:50px'/> </a> <a href='http://www.share.holstee.com/l/6/2669'><img border='0' alt='Holstee' height='90' width='728' src='http://www.share.holstee.com/m/6'/> </a> </p><br /><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brainpickings/rss/~4/IHNkoliu6oI'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Brain Pickings http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/05/17/vintage-nasa-facilities/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+brainpickings%2Frss+%28Brain+Pickings%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-45728109075899557472013-05-15T14:21:00.001+02:002013-05-15T14:21:11.435+02:00Shut up, Spock! – how Battlestar Galactica beat Trek babble • The Register<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Shut up, Spock! – how Battlestar Galactica beat Trek babble • The Register<br/><br />http://regmedia.co.uk/2010/11/03/nasa_kt_impact.jpg<br/><br /><div><br /><h3>Fanbois versus PHDs: the science community votes</h3><br /><p>"A lot of people get frustrated," Grazier said of <i>BSG</i>'s following. "You have to have a good sense of when the science can be stretched and not be absolute. I found it's people with a little science education who will give us grief online. People with a lot of science education are more forgiving. They'd say: 'You did this here. If you did this, it might work.' The people with PHDs in physics are more willing to give us leeway. That's counter-intuitive!"</p><br /><p>A clear sci-fi fan, Grazier gets frustrated with films that try to artificially ramp up the dramatic content when the science itself would have been dramatic enough. Just "getting it right" can create the impact - something he aimed for in <i>BSG</i>.</p><br /><p>Grazier cites 1998's blockbuster <i>Armageddon</i>, when a "planet-killing" asteroid the size of Texas - Texas is the US' second largest state with 261,797 square miles of land FYI - is bearing down on Earth, and roughnecks led by Bruce Willis swing into action. Grazier claims it lost him less than a minute from the start of the film.</p><br /><p>"In the first 39 seconds, we see the <a href='http://www.psi.edu/projects/ktimpact/ktimpact.html'>K-T Impact</a> of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. Had they had a science adviser, it would have been more dramatic," he reckons.</p><br /><p>"Charlton Heston said in his best Moses voice [over]: 'It hit with the force of 10,000 nuclear weapons.' It was more like 41 million. It was only four to six miles across, maybe 10, but that was a lot of energy, and had they checked on the science they could have made it much more dramatic. They didn't and they just picked some number out of a hat."</p><br /><div><img title='NASA's Impression of the K-T Impact' alt='NASA's Impression of the K-T Impact' src='http://regmedia.co.uk/2010/11/03/nasa_kt_impact.jpg'/><br /><p>Smaller than Texas, but just as bad: how the K-T Impact might have looked according to NASA</p><br /></div><br /><p>Details for Grazier clearly lend credibility and sell a story. He's a huge fan of <i>2010: The Year We Make Contact</i> over the more widely acclaimed <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>, also by Arthur C. Clarke. Why? Details.</p><br /><p>"When they approach <i>Discovery</i> [the ship that's home to the murderous Hall 9000] in orbit around Jupiter's moon Io and it's covered in sulphur, which it would be because it's a volcanic moon, I thought: 'How cool is that?' That's a level of detail they didn't have to do but they thought about it."</p><br /><p>"That movie is influential for me in terms of how much the science is right. There are a few places where they say: 'Come take a leap with me,' such as adding mass to Jupiter to turn it into a star and the fact the moons didn't vaporize, but that was one that was real influential for me because of the level of detail and how well they got the science right."</p><br /><p>It was details that got him hooked on <i>BSG</i> too, when Moore was touting his idea. Grazier was attending Galacticon, celebrating the anniversary of the original <i>Battlestar Galactica</i> series, where Moore showed clips from the then up-coming miniseries.</p><br /><p>"The moment I realized I wanted to work on the show was [when] they were lining up a Viper in a launch tube, and you see the wind swirling down and the water condensing as it swirls down the launch tube. That was the moment when I said: 'I so want to work on that.'"</p><br /><p>He asked a film industry contact for an interview with Moore and got it. Grazier got five minutes, and Moore asked about Grazier's military background, which turned up the fact Moore was also ex-RTC. A recommendation helped nail it.</p><br /><p>How did Grazier end up as a science adviser before that? Studying as a UCLA grad student, he pitched an unsolicited manuscript to Paramount for an episode of <i>Voyager</i> with a writing partner. The studio got 3,000 such manuscripts a year with the vast majority rejected, but Grazier's was read. He was asked to pitch more and one of the people he pitched was <i>Voyager</i>'s Michael Taylor, who went on to join the <i>BSG</i> crew.</p><br /><h3>To infinity and beyond</h3><br /><p>Since then, Grazier's worked on Syfy's <i>Eureka</i> - set in an Oregon town populated by boffins working for the Global Dynamics corporation - and consulted on Warner Bros.' planned space thriller <i>Gravity</i>, and the pilot of NBC's political and science thriller <i>The Event</i>. When <i>The Reg</i> last spoke to Grazier, he'd been filming a series for National Geographic on - yes - space. It covers stars, things you can mine in space, and the effects of travel in space on the body.</p><br /><p>Despite his TV and film commitments, Grazier says he's not a full-time science consultant or adviser. His job remains with NASA and Cassini. But sci-fi does leak into his daily life: Grazier describes his office as "nirvana" with its life-size poster of a Cylon Centurion, a 4x6 poster from Eureka and models of the <i>USS Enterprise</i> and a Klingon Bird of Prey.</p><br /><p>He has, he says, a dream job. Two dream jobs, in fact: science and science fiction. For someone who was a kid when man landed on the Moon and the first episodes of <i>Star Trek</i> hit US TV, that's hard to beat. ®</p><br /><p><small>You can find out more about <i>The Science of Battlestar Galactica</i>, including where to buy it, <a href='http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470399090,descCd-buy.html'>here</a>.</small> </p><br /></div><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />via www.theregister.co.uk http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/03/the_science_of_battlestar_galactica/page4.html</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-34643389295972128362013-05-15T14:06:00.001+02:002013-05-15T14:06:08.848+02:00Interstellar Memes<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Interstellar Memes<br/><br />http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/interstellar_memes.png<br/><br /><img alt='The strongest incentive we have to develop faster-than-light travel is that it would let us apologize in advance.' title='The strongest incentive we have to develop faster-than-light travel is that it would let us apologize in advance.' src='http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/interstellar_memes.png'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via xkcd.com http://xkcd.com/1212/</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-17691360566859466712013-05-13T06:51:00.001+02:002013-05-13T06:51:24.078+02:00Birds and Dinosaurs<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Birds and Dinosaurs<br/><br />http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/birds_and_dinosaurs.png<br/><br /><img alt='Sure, T. rex is closer in height to Stegosaurus than a sparrow. But that doesn't tell you much; 'Dinosaur Comics' author Ryan North is closer in height to certain dinosaurs than to the average human.' title='Sure, T. rex is closer in height to Stegosaurus than a sparrow. But that doesn't tell you much; 'Dinosaur Comics' author Ryan North is closer in height to certain dinosaurs than to the average human.' src='http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/birds_and_dinosaurs.png'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via xkcd.com http://xkcd.com/1211/</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-83149482197329501582013-05-09T18:36:00.001+02:002013-05-09T18:36:12.121+02:00The NSA's Own Guide To Google Hacking and Other Internet Research<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The NSA's Own Guide To Google Hacking and Other Internet Research<br/><br />http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png<br/><br />Wired has published a book review of sorts of a freely downloadable book called Untangling the Web: A Guide to Internet Research. If that title came from O'Reilly, Apress, or other big name in tech-publishing, it might be perfectly nice but less interesting. Instead, it was prepared as an internal guide for the NSA, and came to public attention through a FOIA request by MuckRock. (See this video interview with MuckRock's Michael Morisy at this year's SXSW.) The version that's been released is several years old. From Wired's report: "Although the author's name is redacted in the version released by the NSA, Muckrock's FOIA indicates it was written by Robyn Winder and Charlie Speight. A note the NSA added to the book before releasing it under FOIA says that the opinions expressed in it are the authors', and not the agency's. ... Lest you think that none of this is new, that Johnny Long has been talking about this for years at hacker conferences and in his book Google Hacking, you’d be right. In fact, the authors of the NSA book give a shoutout to Johnny, but with the caveat that Johnny’s tips are designed for cracking — breaking into websites and servers. 'That is not something I encourage or advocate,' the author writes." (Hat tip to ThinkGeek's Jacob Rose.)<br /><div><a href='http://twitter.com/home?status=The+NSA's+Own+Guide+To+Google+Hacking+and+Other+Internet+Research%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F10kQYu1'><img src='http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png'/> </a> <a href='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F13%2F05%2F09%2F1434237%2Fthe-nsas-own-guide-to-google-hacking-and-other-internet-research%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook'><img src='http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png'/> </a> <a href='http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://search.slashdot.org/story/13/05/09/1434237/the-nsas-own-guide-to-google-hacking-and-other-internet-research?utm_source=slashdot&utm_medium=googleplus'><img alt='Share on Google+' src='http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png'/> </a> </div><br /><p><a href='http://search.slashdot.org/story/13/05/09/1434237/the-nsas-own-guide-to-google-hacking-and-other-internet-research?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed'>Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><br /><iframe style='height:300px;width:100%;border:none' src='http://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&id=3733487&smallembed=1'> </iframe><img border='0' src='http://slashdot.feedsportal.com/c/35028/f/647410/s/2bb6785d/mf.gif' height='1' width='1'/><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href='http://da.feedsportal.com/r/165663793856/u/49/f/647410/c/35028/s/2bb6785d/a2.htm'><img border='0' src='http://da.feedsportal.com/r/165663793856/u/49/f/647410/c/35028/s/2bb6785d/a2.img'/> </a><img border='0' src='http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/165663793856/u/49/f/647410/c/35028/s/2bb6785d/a2t.img' height='1' width='1'/><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/gGzg3OlhyNI'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Slashdot http://search.slashdot.org/story/13/05/09/1434237/the-nsas-own-guide-to-google-hacking-and-other-internet-research?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-79276344984792832762013-05-09T00:06:00.001+02:002013-05-09T00:06:08.028+02:00Erziehungstipps: Mama, Papa, iPad<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Erziehungstipps: Mama, Papa, iPad<br/><br />http://www.spiegel.de/images/image-389476-thumbsmall-krxu.jpg<br/><br /><img align='left' hspace='5' src='http://www.spiegel.de/images/image-389476-thumbsmall-krxu.jpg'/>Haben die Alten zu viel Angst, machen sie den Kindern das Internet-Abenteuer kaputt: Auf der Netzkonferenz re:publica in Berlin diskutierten Eltern über den richtigen Umgang mit neuen Medien. Mit sturen Verboten ist dem Nachwuchs nicht geholfen - doch wie dann? Die besten Tipps.<br/><br /><br/><br />via SPIEGEL ONLINE - Schlagzeilen http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/erziehungstipps-fuer-den-netz-nachwuchs-mama-papa-ipad-a-898810.html</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-47825052125595445772013-03-26T07:06:00.001+01:002013-03-26T07:06:19.880+01:00Venn Diagram of Irrational Nonsense: chart of woo<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Venn Diagram of Irrational Nonsense: chart of woo<br/><br />http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/VDOIN0.D.png1.jpg<br/><br /><p><img src='http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/VDOIN0.D.png1.jpg'/><br/><br />Sometimes, when confronted with woo, it is hard to know exactly what sort of woo you're dealing with. To simplify this challenge while sparing you the agony of enduring any more explanations of ear-candling or aromatherapy than is strictly necessary, Crispian Jago has compiled a handy Venn Diagram of Irrational Nonsense.</p><br /><blockquote><br /><p><img align='right' src='http://craphound.com/images/VDOIN01.D.png.jpg'/> The curiously revered world of irrational nonsense has seeped into almost every aspect of modern society and is both complex and multifarious. Therefore rather than attempt a comprehensive taxonomy, I have opted instead for a gross oversimplification and a rather pretty Venn Diagram.</p><br /><p>In my gross over simplification the vast majority of the multitude of evidenced-free beliefs at large in the world can be crudely classified into four basic sets or bollocks. Namely, Religion, Quackery, Pseudoscience and the Paranormal.</p><br /><p>However as such nonsensical beliefs continue to evolve they become more and more fanciful and eventually creep across the bollock borders. Although all the items depicted on the diagram are completely bereft of any form of scientific credibility, those that successfully intersect the sets achieve new heights of implausibility and ridiculousness. And there is one belief so completely ludicrous it successfully flirts with all forms of bollocks.</p><br /><p>Religious Bollocks ∩ Quackery Bollocks ∩ Pseudoscientific Bollocks ∩ Paranormal Bollocks = Scientology</p><br /></blockquote><br /><p><a href='http://crispian-jago.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-venn-diagram-of-irrational-nonsense.html'>The Venn Diagram of Irrational Nonsense</a> (<i>Thanks, Fipi Lele!</i>) <img border='0' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/35208/f/653965/s/29fa4ce1/mf.gif' height='1' width='1'/> </p><br /><div><br /><table border='0'><br /><tr><br /><td valign='middle'><a href='http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Venn+Diagram+of+Irrational+Nonsense%3A+chart+of+woo&link=http%3A%2F%2Fboingboing.net%2F2013%2F03%2F25%2Fvenn-diagram-of-irrational-non.html'><img border='0' src='http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif'/> </a> </td><br /><td valign='middle'><a href='http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Venn+Diagram+of+Irrational+Nonsense%3A+chart+of+woo&link=http%3A%2F%2Fboingboing.net%2F2013%2F03%2F25%2Fvenn-diagram-of-irrational-non.html'><img border='0' src='http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif'/> </a> </td><br /></tr><br /></table><br /></div><br /><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/zpEPPpNjw9I'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/03/25/venn-diagram-of-irrational-non.html</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-89982290937059297952013-03-21T09:36:00.001+01:002013-03-21T09:36:49.611+01:00Amazing photos of 1946 nuclear weapons test<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Amazing photos of 1946 nuclear weapons test<br/><br />http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/operationcrossroadsbaker2-600x479.jpeg<br/><br /><p><a href='http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/operationcrossroadsbaker2.jpeg'><img height='479' width='600' title='operationcrossroadsbaker2' alt='' src='http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/operationcrossroadsbaker2-600x479.jpeg'/> </a> </p><br /><p><em>Baker</em> was a 23-kiloton nuclear weapon that was detonated underwater at Bikini Atoll in 1946. The goal was to see what would happen to Navy boats if they were in the region where a nuclear bomb went off. The boats you see in this photo were unmanned, but there were sailors relatively close by, taking these shots. <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads'>There's evidence that they weren't properly protected against fallout</a>, and later used contaminated water to drink and bathe in. (Also, as a fictional side effect, Bikini Atoll nuclear tests like <em>Baker</em> might have been responsible for <a href='http://www.cracked.com/article_19882_6-insane-but-convincing-fan-theories-about-kids-cartoons.html'>the creation of Spongebob Squarepants</a>.)</p><br /><p>My Modern Met has compiled <a href='http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/operation-crossroads-baker-photography'>several photographs and video that give you an up-close, mind-boggling view of the explosion</a> — including the massive column of water that shot into the mushroom cloud and the 2-mile-high tidal wave that followed.</p><br /><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/TNdEIC72lBE'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/03/20/amazing-photos-of-1946-nuclear.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-31851364375673638662013-03-21T08:36:00.001+01:002013-03-21T08:36:38.975+01:00Mickey Mouse Moleskine<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Mickey Mouse Moleskine<br/><br />http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IMG_4525.jpg<br/><br /><p><img src='http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IMG_4525.jpg'/><br/><br />Last year I ordered a few <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/8866130109/boingboing'>Lego limited-edition Moleskines</a>. The "limit" must be very high, as they are still available on Amazon. I don't care, because I never intended to keep them as collector's items anyway. This month, Moleskin published a limited edition <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/886613791X/boingboing'>Mickey Mouse Moleskine</a>. It has an embossed Mickey on the cover, and includes a pull-out guide to drawing the famous rodent.</p><br /><p><img src='http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/drawing-guide.jpg'/> </p><br /><p><a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/886613791X/boingboing'>Moleskine Mickey Notebook Plain Large</a> $16.32</p><br /><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/grZ4EROXTdc'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/03/19/mickey-mouse-moleskine.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-83235385551879538942013-03-20T09:51:00.001+01:002013-03-20T09:51:16.026+01:00Bonding<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Bonding<br/><br />http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/bonding.png<br/><br /><img alt='I'm trying to build character but Eclipse is really confusing.' title='I'm trying to build character but Eclipse is really confusing.' src='http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/bonding.png'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via xkcd.com http://xkcd.com/1188/</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-64056267455360875372013-03-19T09:51:00.001+01:002013-03-19T09:51:22.045+01:00The sky was the color of a birthday cake tuned to a dead channel<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The sky was the color of a birthday cake tuned to a dead channel<br/><br />http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png<br/><br />Hey, yesterday was <a href='http://dangerousdays.tumblr.com/post/45619440258/happy-birthday-to-william-gibson-images-courtesy'>William Gibson's birthday</a>. Happy birthday, Bill! Here's some <a href='http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jmeMsVRO-goC&pg=PT87&lpg=PT87&dq=You+can%27t+let+the+little+pricks+generation+gap+you+neuromancer&source=bl&ots=KPhhLWLPyQ&sig=wB-lJuWvyelKjm68VsTldu20KUg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=byBHUZugEeaN0AXpwoGQBA&redir_esc=y'>sage advice</a> I always try to keep in mind on my own birthdays. <img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/SoI-yBlvQk8'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/03/18/the-sky-was-the-color-of-a-bir.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-45412988287277210602013-03-18T10:51:00.003+01:002013-03-18T10:51:23.387+01:00Comic for March 17, 2013<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Comic for March 17, 2013<br/><br />http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/100000/70000/7000/700/177766/177766.strip.print.gif<br/><br /><img border='0' src='http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/100000/70000/7000/700/177766/177766.strip.print.gif'/><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dilbert/daily_strip/~4/YHNYGgBO31M'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Dilbert Daily Strip http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2013-03-17/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dilbert%2Fdaily_strip+%28Dilbert+Daily+Strip+-+UU%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-74955662638947817122013-03-18T10:51:00.001+01:002013-03-18T10:51:21.573+01:00Poplocks and Paper Pose-Ables: papercraft joints for pose-able robots<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Poplocks and Paper Pose-Ables: papercraft joints for pose-able robots<br/><br />http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/gupp-e_green1.jpg<br/><br /><p><img src='http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/gupp-e_green1.jpg'/><br/><br />Poplocks are a very clever system for making movable papercraft fastenings with die-cutting and folding. The Paper Pose-Ables site has a bunch of downloadable papercraft toys you can print out and make, as well as pre-cut/scored kits you can <a href='http://paperposeables.bigcartel.com/'>buy</a>, for making fabulous poseable robots and other cool figures.</p><br /><p>The Pose-Ables people came out to one of my signings last month and gave me a couple of GUPP-E robots, which I've put together this week, with help from my five-year-old daughter Poesy. The robots were fun to put together -- just intricate enough to be challenging without being frustrating -- and the Poplocks system really makes for a great, semi-rigid joint for the toys.</p><br /><p>The Poplocks themselves are CC licensed for use in your own models.</p><br /><blockquote><br /><p><img align='right' src='http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/poplock_rocks.jpg'/> The Poplock pushes the two pieces of paper tightly together, creating lots of friction! It can also stay put, and won't pop out on it's own, unless a good amount of force is used to bend it out of place.</p><br /><p>Combine the Poplock Wedge with the special Locking Flaps hole, and you will create a nigh-invincible connection. Seriously, you won't be able to get the connection apart with torsion or pulling forces unless you rip or crumple the parts. Even then, the Poplock will probably stay put... holding two mangled pieces of paper together!</p><br /></blockquote><br /><p><a href='http://www.paperposeables.com/p/poplocks.html'>Poplocks</a> <img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/cIHaOU-6IpY'/> </p><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/03/16/poplocks-and-paper-pose-ables.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-14947530883463949832013-03-18T09:51:00.001+01:002013-03-18T09:51:30.149+01:00Aspect Ratio<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Aspect Ratio<br/><br />http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/aspect_ratio.png<br/><br /><img alt='I'm always disappointed when 'Anamorphic Widescreen' doesn't refer to a widescreen Animorphs movie.' title='I'm always disappointed when 'Anamorphic Widescreen' doesn't refer to a widescreen Animorphs movie.' src='http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/aspect_ratio.png'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via xkcd.com http://xkcd.com/1187/</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-58513579946617834292013-03-16T10:36:00.001+01:002013-03-16T10:36:31.588+01:00History of "Tree Swing" drawings about business communication<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>History of "Tree Swing" drawings about business communication<br/><br />http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/tree_swing_70s-1.jpg<br/><br /><p><img src='http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/tree_swing_70s-1.jpg'/><br/><br />When I was a young naive engineer, I saw this tacked to the beige fabric cubicle wall of an old embittered engineer. It made me like him. Here's a history of this great cartoon.</p><br /><p><a href='http://www.businessballs.com/treeswing.htm'>The tree swing or tire swing funny diagrams - for training, presentations, etc</a> </p><br /><p><em>(Via <a href='http://bitsandpieces.us/2013/03/14/the-classic-tree-swing/'>Bits & Pieces</a>)</em> </p><br /><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/uwd93m5lTj8'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/03/14/history-of-tree-swing-draw.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-22415955038236056282013-03-13T11:06:00.001+01:002013-03-13T11:06:28.695+01:00A Salute to Bradley Manning, Whistleblower, As We Hear His Words For The First Time<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>A Salute to Bradley Manning, Whistleblower, As We Hear His Words For The First Time<br/><br />http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png<br/><br /><p>L: A young Daniel Ellsberg, whistleblower and former U.S. military analyst. R: PFC Bradley Manning, 24; former Army intelligence analyst.</p><br /><p>Today, the <a href='https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/'>Freedom of the Press Foundation</a>, an organization that I co-founded and for which <a href='https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/about/staff'>I serve on the board</a>, has published <a href='http://boingboing.net/2013/03/12/leaked-audio-of-bradley-mannin.html'>an audio recording of Bradley Manning’s speech to a military court from two weeks ago</a>, in which he gives his reasons and motivations for leaking over 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks.</p><br /><p>Whoever <a href='http://boingboing.net/2013/03/12/leaked-audio-of-bradley-mannin.html'>made this recording</a>, and I don’t know who the person is, has done the American public a great service. This marks the first time the American public can hear Bradley Manning, in his own voice, explain what he did and how he did it.</p><br /><p>After listening to this recording and reading his testimony, I believe Bradley Manning is the personification of the word whistleblower.</p><br /><p>SECRECY SURROUNDING TRIAL</p><br /><p>Manning faces some of exact same charges I faced forty two years ago when I leaked the Pentagon Papers to the <em>New York Times</em> and eighteen other papers. The only difference is that I was a civilian, so I could stay out of jail on bond while the trial was going on, and was able to talk to the media throughout. I took responsibility for what I had done on the day of my arrest, and I was able to explain why I did it.</p><br /><p>But thanks to the judge’s rulings in Manning’s case, the public has barely heard anything from Manning at all. No official transcripts of the proceeding are released to the public, and when documents like the judge’s court orders are released, they are released weeks after the fact—and only <a href='http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/constitutional-rights-attorneys%2C-media-challenge-secrecy-of-manning-court-martial'>in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit</a>.</p><br /><p>Now I hope the American people can see Manning in a different light. In 1971, I was able to give the media my side of the story, and it is long overdue that Manning be able to do the same. As Manning has now done, I stipulated as to all the facts for which I was accused. And I did that for several reasons, and I suspect that Manning had the same motives.</p><br /><p>First, it was to exonerate a number of people who were suspected of helping me, like former Defense Department colleagues Mort Halperin, Leslie Gelb and others. I was able to state flatly they did not know about the release in the midst of President Nixon’s anxious desire to indict several of them.</p><br /><p>And Manning, in saying he took responsibility for the leaks and describing in great detail how he did it, was able to say Julian Assange and Wikileaks had nothing to do with his decision to leak. WikiLeaks had not giving him any special means beyond what a normal newspaper would do.</p><br /><p>Now, there’s really now excuse for the <a href='https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/07/why-wikileaks-grand-jury-important-some-members-congress-want-prosecute-new-york'>grand jury chasing Julian Assange</a> for conspiracy to commit espionage to continue. If they’re not going to indict the New York Times—and there is no constitutional basis for them to do so—there’s no reason for them to investigate or indict Assange or WikiLeaks.</p><br /><p>As the former general counsel of the <em>New York Times</em> James Goodale <a href='http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/06/13/wikileaks-probe-spoils-pentagon-papers-anniversary.html'>once said</a>, “Charging Julian Assange with ‘conspiracy to commit espionage’ would effectively be setting a precedent with a charge that more accurately could be characterized as ‘conspiracy to commit journalism.’”</p><br /><p>The second thing Manning did with his statement—which <a href='https://pressfreedomfoundation.org'>you can finally hear today</a>—was to explain his motives (he could not do that while he was still putting the responsibility on the government—by pleading not guilty—to prove what he had done beyond a reasonable doubt).</p><br /><p>They were the same motives I felt 42 years ago. We both felt the horror of reading about deceptive, and even criminal, activity. We both felt the public needed this information and should have had it years ago. So we both released classified documents about a bloody, hopeless war.</p><br /><p>Such criminal, dangerous, and deceptive behavior by the government can only be changed if Congress and the public are informed of them. And when official secrecy allows the government to cover these facts up, the only way to bring them to the public is to break secrecy regulations.</p><br /><p>TORTURE</p><br /><p>Some of <a href='http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/22/iraq-detainee-abuse-torture-saddam'>the most critical documents leaked by Manning</a> revealed torture by the Iraqi government, which the US knew about. According to the international treaty on torture, the US should have required investigations.</p><br /><p>In fact, the Iraq war logs show hundreds of instances of cases of torture, and in every case, the soldiers were given the illegal order not to investigate.</p><br /><p>In his statement to the court, Manning talks about an incident where he thought men who were apprehended shouldn’t have been, and that they were being handed over to the Iraqis to possibly be tortured. He went to his superior and was told to forget about it.</p><br /><p>Bradley Manning, by releasing this information, is the only solider who actually obeyed this law, the international treaty, and by extension, the Constitution.</p><br /><p>MANNING WAS DISCRIMINATING</p><br /><p>Critics have alleged that a major difference between my case and Manning’s is that I was discriminating in what I leaked, while Manning wasn’t. He just dumped some material that doesn’t need to be out, they say. This is simply false.</p><br /><p>First, it’s important to point out most of the material he put out was unclassified. The rest was classified ‘secret,’ which is relatively low level. All of the Pentagon Papers was classified top secret.</p><br /><p>But in a fact no one seems to observe from his statement, Manning was working within a “SCIF,” which stands for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. To get into a SCIF, a soldier needs a clearance higher than top secret. This means he had access to the highest classified material, such as communications and signals intelligence. This means he could’ve put out information top secret and higher, and purposely chose not to do so.</p><br /><p>AIDING THE ENEMY</p><br /><p>It’s important to remember through all this that Manning has already pled guilty to ten charges of violating military regulations (few of which, if any would be civilian crimes) and faces twenty years in jail. Yet the prosecutors are still going ahead with the absurd charge of “aiding the enemy,” a capital offense, for which the prosecutors are asking life in prison.</p><br /><p>Nixon could have brought that charge against me too. I was revealing wrongdoing by our government in a public way, and that information could have been read by our enemies in Vietnam. Of course, I never had that intent and Manning didn’t either. We both leaked information to provoke a domestic debate about military force and government secrecy. And to say we did so to aid the enemy is absurd.</p><br /><p>This charge could have huge effects on the free speech of anyone in the military and journalists across the country. Any op-ed that is critical of military tactics or any news story that exposes misdeeds of the government can potentially lead to a capital offense.</p><br /><p>Worse, the charge purports to apply to anyone, not just the military. It’s blatantly unconstitutional.</p><br /><p>PEACE PRIZE</p><br /><p>For the third straight year, Manning has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by, among others, Tunisian parliamentarians. Given the role the WikiLeaks cables played in the Arab Spring, and their role in speeding up the end of the Iraq War, I can think of no one more deserving who is deserving of the peace prize.</p><br /><p>He’s also deserving of the Medal of Honor. This medal, awarded by Congress—and not the executive branch—is given to military personnel, who during wartime, do what they should do for their country and their comrades, at the greatest risk to themselves.</p><br /><p>Of course, there have been many who shown great courage on the battlefield in Afghanistan and Iraq. But some have noted that we don’t have the named heroes of the kind we did during World War I and World War II, such as Sergeant York or Audie Murphy.</p><br /><p>I see a hero in these wars whose example should inspire others. His name Bradley Manning.</p><br /><p><strong>Previously: "<a href='http://boingboing.net/2013/03/12/leaked-audio-of-bradley-mannin.html'>Leaked Audio of Bradley Manning’s statement released by Freedom of the Press Foundation</a>"</strong><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/A-5ZLEo3BgE'/> </p><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/03/12/a-salute-to-bradley-manning-w.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-6494441518682687132013-03-12T10:21:00.001+01:002013-03-12T10:21:13.568+01:00Principles for 21st century living<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Principles for 21st century living<br/><br />http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/tumblr_mji09v7ORg1s2jikwo1_500.jpg<br/><br /><p><img src='http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/tumblr_mji09v7ORg1s2jikwo1_500.jpg'/><br/> </p><br /><p>A list of principles for the 21st century, from Joi Ito, presently running the MIT Media Lab:</p><br /><blockquote><br /><p>Ito: There are nine or so principles to work in a world like this:</p><br /><p>1. Resilience instead of strength, which means you want to yield and allow failure and you bounce back instead of trying to resist failure.</p><br /><p>2. You pull instead of push. That means you pull the resources from the network as you need them, as opposed to centrally stocking them and controlling them.</p><br /><p>3. You want to take risk instead of focusing on safety.</p><br /><p>4. You want to focus on the system instead of objects.</p><br /><p>5. You want to have good compasses not maps.</p><br /><p>6. You want to work on practice instead of theory. Because sometimes you don’t why it works, but what is important is that it is working, not that you have some theory around it.</p><br /><p>7. It disobedience instead of compliance. You don’t get a Nobel Prize for doing what you are told. Too much of school is about obedience, we should really be celebrating disobedience.</p><br /><p>8. It’s the crowd instead of experts.</p><br /><p>9. It’s a focus on learning instead of education.</p><br /><p>We’re still working on it, but that is where our thinking is headed.</p><br /></blockquote><br /><p><a href='http://brucesterling.tumblr.com/post/45107871992/joi-ito-of-mit-media-lab-ito-there-are-nine-or'>Joi Ito of MIT Media Lab</a> <img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/nVbQc1PsECg'/> </p><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/03/11/principles-for-21st-century-li.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-59488480083473223982013-03-10T13:06:00.001+01:002013-03-10T13:06:20.636+01:00Comic for March 10, 2013<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Comic for March 10, 2013<br/><br />http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/100000/70000/7000/300/177342/177342.strip.print.gif<br/><br /><img border='0' src='http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/100000/70000/7000/300/177342/177342.strip.print.gif'/><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dilbert/daily_strip/~4/s_6YLgdrfJs'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Dilbert Daily Strip http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2013-03-10/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dilbert%2Fdaily_strip+%28Dilbert+Daily+Strip+-+UU%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-14079950675529929372013-03-04T15:21:00.001+01:002013-03-04T15:21:33.157+01:00In eigener Sache: Der Heise Zeitschriften Verlag und das Leistungsschutzrecht<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>In eigener Sache: Der Heise Zeitschriften Verlag und das Leistungsschutzrecht<br/><br />http://www.heise.de/imgs/18/9/9/1/4/9/0/fd70ed7891d584b0.png<br/><br /><div><a title='In eigener Sache: Der Heise Zeitschriften Verlag und das Leistungsschutzrecht' href='http://www.heise.de/mac-and-i/meldung/In-eigener-Sache-Der-Heise-Zeitschriften-Verlag-und-das-Leistungsschutzrecht-1815715.html/from/atom10'><img style='float:left;margin-right:15px;margin-top:3px' title='' alt='' height='100' width='100' src='http://www.heise.de/imgs/18/9/9/1/4/9/0/fd70ed7891d584b0.png'/> </a><br /><p>Wie angesichts des unklar gehaltenen Gesetzestextes kaum anders zu erwarten, führt das jüngst verabschiedete Leitungsschutzrecht bereits jetzt zu erheblicher Rechtsunsicherheit bei Nutzern von sozialen Netzwerken, Bloggern und Website-Betreibern.</p><br /></div><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />via Mac & i http://www.heise.de/mac-and-i/meldung/In-eigener-Sache-Der-Heise-Zeitschriften-Verlag-und-das-Leistungsschutzrecht-1815715.html</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-66480132367305797042013-02-28T08:48:00.005+01:002013-02-28T08:48:31.104+01:00The Engadget Show 41: 'Space' with NASA, SETI, Liftport and Mary Roach<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The Engadget Show 41: 'Space' with NASA, SETI, Liftport and Mary Roach<br/><br />http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png<br/><br /><div style='text-align:center'><br/> </div><br /><br/><br /><p>The latest episode of the Engadget Show is about space, and it's terrific. It's co-hosted by Brian Heater, senior editor at Engadget and our own <a href='http://boingboing.net/author/dailycrosshatch_1'>Comics Rack</a> reviewer!</p><br /><blockquote>We kick things off with a profile of LiftPort, a commercial space endeavor operating out of a small garage in rural Washington State that has been funding its dreams of space elevators through crowdfunded Kickstarter campaigns. Next, we head out to Cape Canaveral in Florida, where Swamp Works has set up shop in an old Apollo training facility. NASA scientists will tell us about some of the organization's far-out plans for getting to Mars and back and 3D printing structures on lunar and planetary surfaces once we arrive.</blockquote><br /><p><a href='http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/27/engadget-show-space/'>The Engadget Show 41: 'Space' with NASA, SETI, Liftport and Mary Roach</a> </p><br /><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/Zx1gnn1cQrs'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/02/27/the-engadget-show-41-space.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655870.post-14456690605281150472013-02-28T08:48:00.003+01:002013-02-28T08:48:30.712+01:00The men who designed space colonies<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The men who designed space colonies<br/><br />http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png<br/><br />If your mental image of futuristic human colonies in space involves tubular ships, rolling hills, and a population seemingly plucked from a cocktail party in Sausalito in 1972, chances are good that you've been influenced by the art of Rick Guidice and Don Davis — illustrators commissioned by NASA to envision human homes among the stars. At Discover.com, <a href='http://discovermagazine.com/2013/jan-feb/0-space-colonies'>Veronique Greenwood writes about these artists and the lasting impact they've had on science and science fiction</a>. <img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/GQzO9bkPiok'/><br/><br /><br/><br />via Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/02/27/the-men-who-designed-space-col.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03493879220109788206noreply@blogger.com