The right v. the ACLU

Conor Friedersdorf has a great post at True/Slant on one example of how the right (wrongly) vilifies the ACLU. That’s one thing I’ve always found very, very strange. The ACLU and the Cato Institute walk in virtual lockstep on practically every civil liberties issue. Since civil liberties are the sole focus of the ACLU and [...]

Seagate’s hybrid hard drive

Combines a standard spinning platter drive (HDD) in 250, 350 or 500 gigabyte versions with four gigs of single-level cell (read: robust) Flash memory. Right now these are just about doubling the cost of standard drives with similar capacity. The result is a combined drive that approaches the performance of solid state drives, but at [...]

Open source robotics

A great idea and ought to really help out robotics hobbyists. From the link: Robotics company Willow Garage has started a two-year project to work with institutions from around the world on new applications for its robot: the PR2. Each of 11 teams will work on their own projects, but will share their code with each other and [...]

Nanotech and optics

Very cool findings about light-activated nanoshells. The release: Optical Legos: Building nanoshell structures Self-assembly method yields materials with unique optical properties IMAGE: Heptamers containing seven nanoshells have unique optical properties. Click here for more information. HOUSTON — (May 27, 2010) — Scientists from four U.S. universities have created a way to use Rice University’s light-activated [...]

More nanotech medical treatment

Both via KurzweilAI.net, and both as a follow-up to my previous post on killing tumors with gold nanoparticles. First up is using carbon nanotubes as a radiotherapy delivery system: Nanocapsule delivers radiotherapy PhysOrg.com, May 26, 2010 Oxford University chemists have encapsulated radionuclides within carbon nanotubes and set new records for highly concentrated in vivo radiodosage, while demonstrating [...]

Killing tumors with gold nanoparticles

Via KurzweilAI.net — The latest in fighting cancer with nanotechnology. Self-Assembling Gold Nanoparticles Use Light to Kill Tumor Cells PhysOrg.com, May 26, 2010 Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have developed a method for creating supramolecular assemblies of gold nanoparticles that function as highly efficient photothermal agents for delivery to tumors, using a laser beam [...]

Fallout from the financial meltdown and bailout

Lehman Brothers Holdings is suing JP Morgan Chase. From the link: Lehman claims JP Morgan “siphoned off” billions of dollars of assets in the days leading up to its bankruptcy. JP Morgan was Lehman’s main short-term lender before its September 2008 collapse. It is accused of contributing to the failure by demanding $8.6bn of collateral [...]

Apple’s market cap passes Microsoft

Interesting. Probably not all that meaningful, but interesting. From the link: On Wednesday, Apple’s market capitalization edged past its longtime rival’s as investors made official what consumers have long suggested: Microsoft is no longer the industry’s alpha dog. Just last month, Microsoft’s market cap exceeded Apple’s by about $25 billion, but now Apple is in [...]

Sestak-Gate

This is some real inside baseball, but the issue is beginning to really percolate amongst some of the more fact-challenged areas on the right. The “issue” is did the White House offer Joe Sestak a White House position in exchange for quitting the Pennsylvania US Senate Democratic primary against Arlen Specter (a primary Sestak ended up winning), [...]

Renewable power and the US electric grid

Seems like a bit more compatible than once thought. At least for the western power grid. From the link: More than a third of the electricity in the western United States could come from wind and solar power without installing significant amounts of backup power. And most of this expansion of renewable energy could be done [...]

Deepwater Horizon clearinghouse

If you’re looking for information on what is an absolute Gulf of Mexico ecological disaster from BP’s Deepwater Horizon offshore oil well, hit this link for very thorough coverage from a news source with something of a dog in this fight — the Houston Chronicle.

Romanesque monuments …

… in virtual 3D. Very cool use of 3D modeling and visualization. The release: Virtual Romanesque monuments being created IMAGE: Taking laser scanner data with the Church of Valberzoso (Palencia, Spain). Click here for more information. “With this methodology an exact model of the monuments or places of interest can be obtained in a virtual [...]

Graphene as quantum dots

Nanoelectronics is a major — and important — field right now, and graphene and its cousin graphane are very important materials research components. Both of the nanomaterials are getting a lot of  hype, particularly graphene, but there’s far too much smoke for there not to be at least a little fire. It’s exciting to keep [...]

This does not help …

… everyone out there still dealing with a rough economic situation. From the link: Led by increases in prices for meat and dairy products, the overall cost of items in the FOX Business shopping cart rose sharply in April — the sixth time food basket prices have increased in the last seven months. The April [...]

A seven atom transistor

Via KurzweilAI.net — We are heading toward the terminus of physical computing components. Can’t get a whole lot smaller than seven atoms. Quantum leap: World’s smallest transistor built with just 7 atoms PhysOrg.com, May 24, 2010 The world’s smallest precision-built transistor — aquantum dot of just seven phosphorus atoms in a single silicon crystal — has been [...]

A seven atom transistor

Via KurzweilAI.net — We are heading toward the terminus of physical computing components. Can’t get a whole lot smaller than seven atoms. Quantum leap: World’s smallest transistor built with just 7 atoms PhysOrg.com, May 24, 2010 The world’s smallest precision-built transistor — aquantum dot of just seven phosphorus atoms in a single silicon crystal — has been [...]

Even more on social media and privacy

And this one isn’t just limited to Facebook. Social networking sites may be sharing a lot more of your identifying data with their advertisers than you realize. From the link: A report in the Wall Street Journal indicates that a number of social networking sites (including Facebook, MySpace, and Digg) may be sharing users’ personal information [...]

Third party Facebook privacy fix

If you use Facebook, running this tool is a pretty good idea. It’ll at least let you find out exactly what parts of your profile are exposed where and to whom. With the steady diet of privacy setting changes that require opting-out instead of opting-in, you might be surprised where your Facebook information stands in [...]

Phoenix Mars Lander, RIP

Like this release hot from the inbox explains, the Phoenix Mars Lander exceeded its planned useful life by a gigantic margin. The release: Phoenix Mars Lander Does Not Phone Home, New Image Shows Damage PASADENA, Calif., May 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has ended operations after repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft were [...]

Synthetic biology and ethics

Any regular readers of this blog know where I stand on this issue. (Hint: I’m a pretty big fan of synthetic biology.) From the first link, the release: Press Release: Moral Issues Raised by Synthetic Biology Subject of Hastings Center Project Project completes third workshop as news of first synthetic bacterial genome announced (Garrison NY) [...]

Quantum information sent over 16 kilometers

A major distance breakthrough in “teleporting” quantum entanglement. From the link: Scientists in China have succeeded in teleporting information between photons further than ever before. They transported quantum information over a free space distance of 16 km (10 miles), much further than the few hundred meters previously achieved, which brings us closer to transmitting information [...]

Tesla Motors gets big boost from Toyota

Try a $50 million investment on for size. From the link: The heads of Tesla Motors Inc. and Toyota Motors Corp. surprised the auto world Thursday by announcing a partnership to develop and build electric cars at a recently shuttered auto plant in the San Francisco Bay area. Akio Toyoda, CEO of the world’s largest automaker, said [...]

SculptCAD Rapid Artist — Shane Pennington

This post is the fifth in an ongoing series highlighting the artists behind the SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project. (Hit this link for all posts related to the project.) Shane is a contemporary artist in Dallas, Texas.  He has exhibited his work internationally in Sydney, Australia at the Paddington Contemporary Gallery and domestically at Gallery Works in Aspen, [...]

OK Go and Earl Greyhound

Caught OK Go and Earl Greyhound last night at the Granada Theater in Dallas (sorry, but I completely missed the opening third act) and the show was great. OK Go had some recent issues with their previous label — EMI — and the current state of the recording industry, and are (at least for) now one [...]

Wednesday video fun — er, just wow

This might possibly be the most dangerous thing you’ll see a human being do that doesn’t involve any explosive devices. Just wow. (Hat tip: Deadspin)

$713 million

That’s how much Microsoft lost in Q3 with its the Online Services Division. (Read: Bing) From the link: During Microsoft’s fiscal third quarter, which ended March 31, the Online Services Division, or OSD, reported a 12 percent increase in revenue, which rose to US$566 million on the back of higher advertising revenue. That wasn’t enough [...]

Saturday video fun — H.R. Pufnstuf

Get some microdot and enjoy …

New negative-index metamaterial for invisibility cloaks and more

Here’s news on a new artificial optical material with applications for invisibility cloaking tech and more. From the first link: Caltech-led team designs novel negative-index metamaterial that responds to visible light Uniquely versatile material could be used for more efficient light collection in solar cells IMAGE: Arrays of coupled plasmonic coaxial waveguides offer a new [...]

The party of “no” pulls gun …

… shoots foot. Here’s a bad procedural move by the GOP today: Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked an effort by Democrats to start debate on legislation to tighten regulation of the nation’s financial system, and the two sides traded bitter accusations about who was standing in the way of a bipartisan agreement. There is some political jujitsu [...]

The new $100 bill

Here’s the latest in dead president fashion: And more detail from the link: The Treasury Department unveiled what it calls “the next generation one hundred,” a redesigned $100 bank note to stay ahead of counterfeiters. The new $100 notes will be available on Feb.10, 2011. The old bills will continue to be accepted until they [...]

Nanotech improving computer memory

Through magnetic nanodots. As the article covers, this advancement is in RAM. From the link: Using magnetic nanodots in the vortex state, researchers have designed a new kind of non-volatile memory that could offer increased speed and density for next-generation non-volatile random access memories (RAM). The new design takes advantage of magnetic vortices’ ability to [...]

Quantum computing improvement

This is the first quantum computing post in a couple of months. This is a promising finding. The release: Bizarre matter could find use in quantum computers Rice physicists: Odd electron mix has fault-tolerant quantum registry IMAGE: From left, Rice physicist Rui-Rui Du, graduate students Chi Zhang and Yanhua Dai, and former postdoctoral researcher Tauno [...]

Is graphene pliable?

Looks like more so than carbon nanotubes. This attribute is key to using the material in electronic devices such as actuators, valves in labs-on-a-chip and electronic paper. From the link: Physicists at UC San Diego and Boston University think so. In a paper published in the journal Physical Review B, the scientists say the propensity of graphene—a [...]

Earth Day turns forty

And Avatar comes out on DVD. (BTW — don’t shy away from the DVD or Blu -ray just because it’s not in IMAX 3D. I caught a pre-street of the DVD over the weekend and it was great.) Here’s a link more appropriate for Earth Day. The release: Expert commentary on Earth Day’s 40th anniversary [...]

The downside of Google’s Chrome OS?

Privacy issues. I consider privacy the big bugaboo of cloud computing in general, and the simple nature of Google’s Chrome operating system and the company’s penchant for (really its corporate raison d’etre) data mining the potential for serious abuse of user data is there. I don’t have a problem with all data mining and I certainly [...]

Lowering the cost of thin-film solar

Yesterday I blogged about an efficiency breakthrough in thin-film solar cells, and now here’s more news on a cost breakthrough. I’m going to quote myself from the earlier post, “I keep hammering on the same point, but cost and efficiency in combination are the key to making solar a commercially viable option.” Be sure to [...]

More cancer-fighting nanotech

Research has found carbon nanotubes can help the body’s immune system fight cancer. Hit this link for all my cancer-related nanotechnology blogging. From the first link: Carbon nanotubes boost cancer-fighting cells New Haven, Conn.—Yale University engineers have found that the defects in carbon nanotubes cause T cell antigens to cluster in the blood and stimulate [...]

Latest NASA satellite image of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano

Here you go: Caption: The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite captured a visible image of the ash plume (brown) drifting south and east from Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland at 11:55 UTC (7:55 a.m. EDT). Credit: NASA’s MODIS Rapid Response Team For more information, here’s the full release accompanying this image.

Controlling the electronic properties of graphene

News from Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt on plasmonics in graphene. The release: Graphene: What projections and humps can be good for Investigators from Hanover and Braunschweig measure how the electronic properties of graphene can be controlled with purposefully used roughnesses This release is available in German. IMAGE: A residual interaction with the SiC substrate causes the formation of [...]

Now here’s a plan we can all get behind …

… a self-piloting flying car. Via KurzweilAI.net: DARPA announces plans for self-piloted flying car Physorg.com, Apr. 19, 2010 DARPA announced that it is inviting proposals to tackle its latest project: Transformer X, a “vertical takeoff and landing roadable air vehicle” ready for testing by 2015. It would have a maximum payload capacity of 1,000 pounds so [...]

Nanophotonic technology and solar cell efficiency

Fascinating research on the upper limit of light absorption by solar cells. Utilizing nanophotonic technology and thin-film solar cells, the efficiency is given an impressive boost. I keep hammering on the same point, but cost and efficiency in combination are the key to making solar a commercially viable option. Throw in some short-term government subsidies (I know, [...]

Twitter and advertising

Yep, they’re going there. I may not completely enjoy the experience, but it’s an overdue move. From the link: Twitter is finally taking off the training wheels and moving into the world where real businesses tread with the launch today of its first advertising model . The microblogging phenomenon has long avoided coming up with a business [...]

NASA’s Terra spacecraft image of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano

Here’s the latest from NASA on Eyjafjallajökull: On Monday, April 19, 2010, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument onboard NASA’s Terra spacecraft obtained this image of the continuing eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team Hit the link for more information, a larger version of the [...]

One massive 3D printer

I”ve been doing a lot of blogging about the SculptCAD Rapid Artist Project lately, and that involves artists creating digital sculpture using 3D modeling software and then printing the artwork with a 3D printer. These works were limited in size to something you could wrap your arms around. This 3D printer is many orders of magnitude larger [...]

SETI to release radio data on search for extraterrestrial life

Hot from today’s inbox, news from SETI that tremendously expands the brainpower brought to bear on its massive collection of radio telescope data. The release: SETI Institute Announces Public Availability of Radio Telescope Signal Data in Latest Milestone for Director Dr. Jill Tarter’s 2009 TED Prize Wish to Enlist all Earthlings in Search for Extra-terrestrial [...]

An invisibility cloak flaw

To date all the invisibility cloak tech blogging I’ve done has covered the rapid development of this branch of science. Here’s some virtual ink on the other side of the cloaking coin. From the second link: Since then, Baile Zhang and buddies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, have been busy looking for [...]

Google Replay charts popularity of tweets

Very interesting idea and useful from a number of perspectives — as a snapshot of public interest at  set point in time, marketing, historical archive … well, you get the idea. From the link: Realizing the historic value of these commentaries and first-hand accounts, Google has begun archiving every tweet in what it calls “Replay”—a [...]

Anti-tobacco forces remain overwrought

Those opposing tobacco use would be very happy to see the plant somehow disappear from the planet. Failing that a global ban on smoking would suffice, I’m sure. And then there’s that pesky nicotine that addicted smokers and ex smokers crave. Hmm, what to do about that? Let’s attack the efforts that offer nicotine to people in a form [...]

Virtual 3D display case

This tech called pCubee is just amazing. If you have any experience in working with 3D scanned objects, the utility is obvious and possibilities are very exciting. This is the first generation of a brand new world in display. From the link (and hit the link for video): Researchers have developed a five-paneled LCD cube [...]

The latest on the SculptCAD Rapid Artist Project

Here’s the official announcement of the project: SculptCAD Rapid Artists to Debut at Society of Manufacturing Engineers Rapid 2010 Conference and Exposition Inaugural Sculpture Exhibit Will Showcase the Convergence of Art and Technology DALLAS, TX–(Marketwire – April 12, 2010) –  SculptCAD Rapid Artists, an experimental project launched by SculptCAD, a provider of sculptural/CAD design and reverse [...]

Carbon nanotubes and new states of matter

Now this is some fascinating research on carbon nanotube properties. From the link: “For the first time, fields of study relating both to cold atoms and to the nanoscale have intersected,” Lene Vestergaard Hau tells PhysOrg.com. “Even though both have been active areas of research, cold atoms have not been brought together with nanoscale structures at [...]

“iSpecs” patent application from Apple …

… is already giving me a headache. The conceit behind the patent app is a pair of glasses you attach an iPhone, iPod or similar Apple device to watch video in high-def equivalent 3D. Just imagine the neck strain of having the weight of an iPhone resting on the bridge of your nose for an extended period of time, [...]

NASA image of Eyjafjallajökull volcano ash cloud

I do space images fairly often, here’s an image from space of the ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in Iceland: Caption: NASA’s Terra satellite flew over the volcano on April 16 10:45 UTC (6:45 a.m. EDT) and the MODIS instrument captured a visible image of Eyjafjallajökull’s ash plume (brown cloud) stretching from the UK [...]

Saturday video fun — Radiskull & Devil Doll

I can’t remember when this Joe Sparks creation was a big thing on the web, but I do know it was an entire epoch or two back from the net of today. I can also tell how far back it was by the state of my Radiskull and Devil Doll, “Now it’s time to kick [...]

Recovery still hasn’t reached Main Street

I’m sure this is not news to all of us Main Streeters out there. The stories I’ve been hearing from small business owners are just incredible. People with impeccable credit histories having credit lines slashed to almost nothing, companies offering payment plans never before considered only to find the customers still unable to meet the soft terms [...]

SEC hits Goldman Sachs with fraud

I blogged on this very topic back in late December, and now the SEC is cracking down hard. As one  financial industry insider quoted in the second link says, “This is big.” From the second link: Goldman Sachs Group Inc was charged with fraud on Friday by U.S. securities regulators in the structuring and marketing [...]

Jerome Weeks covers SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project

I’ve run a number of posts on the SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project, and there’s some interesting news from this week — this past Monday Jerome Weeks covered the project for his National Public Radio/KERA show Art&Seek. From the second link: Each year, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers presents RAPID, a trade show for all kinds of 3D [...]

Tax day is here

Hope you’ve already taken care of the unpleasant chore of federal income taxes. If you want to see some frazzled people, head to the largest post office branch in your city or town between around 10 p.m. and midnight to see all those very last minute filers. Of course with electronic filing that little bit [...]

Maybe the economy is getting better

I’ve been pretty gloomy on the economy for a while, but I agree with this quote: “We’ve had a phenomenal run in asset classes across the board,” says Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist for Miller Tabak + Co., an institutional trading firm in New York. “If Obama was a Republican, we would hear a never-ending [...]

Beautiful space image — M 66 of the Leo Triplet

A gorgeous galaxy: Hubble has snapped a spectacular view of M 66, the largest “player” of the Leo Triplet, and a galaxy with an unusual anatomy: it displays asymmetric spiral arms and an apparently displaced core. The peculiar anatomy is most likely caused by the gravitational pull of the other two members of the trio. [...]

Graphene plus substrate still great thermal conductor

A graphene two-fer this evening. This news is another important finding toward commercializing graphene. The release: With support, graphene still a superior thermal conductor Super-thin material advances toward next generation applications IMAGE: A one-atom thick sheet of graphene (highlighted in the circular window) on top of a silicon dioxide support proves to be an excellent [...]

Direct chemical vapor deposition used to create graphene

This development from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is a major breakthrough toward commercializing graphene. The link goes to a news release on this development, but it also serves as a very nice quick-hit primer on graphene as a material. The release: Graphene Films Clear Major Fabrication Hurdle APRIL 08, 2010 Lynn Yarris Graphene, the [...]

All nanotech isn’t sexy

Sometimes it’s just about making an existing process a little better. Of course it’s a lot more fun to blog about game-changers and the medical breakthroughs. The release: Scientists develop environmentally friendly way to produce propylene oxide using silver nanoclusters Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have identified a new class [...]

Economy may be improving, but unemployment still a drag

There may be some economic pollyannas starting to make appearances, but don’t count Fed chief Ben Bernanke among them. His exact quote the current state of things? “Far from being out of the woods.” Those aren’t the words of someone who’s feeling real good about the economy right now. From the second link: Bernanke said [...]

Cyberwar food for thought

The CIO.com daily newsletter had a lot of cyberwar coverage today, and there’s plenty to think about when contemplating the future of national security. Here’s highlights from three articles. First up, is the U.S. the most at-risk nation in the world vis-a-vis cyber attack? Facts on the ground ought to give a little pause. From [...]

King Khan and the Shrines …

… are a great live act. If you don’t know anything about King Khan, this album — Supreme Genius of King Khan — is a great place to start. I featured King Khan and the Shrines in a “video fun” post early last year. The King Khan and BBQ show is a lot of fun [...]

The bailout ROI

I dissed the entire bailout move and have now been proven beyond wrong. Who knows how we got to this point, but the return-on-investment has been dramatic. From the link: U.S. taxpayers earned an annualized 8.5 percent return from the government’s bailout of 49 financial firms, underscoring efforts by the industry to speed up repayments [...]

Tuesday video fun — forbidden film

Here’s a little context: Neatorama explains: In the 1920s and 1930s, censorship of movies was often governed by local boards, and achieved by snipping the scenes from the film reels.  It won’t surprise anyone that those clipped film segments were sometimes saved.  Here a number of them have been assembled into a montage, which was submitted [...]

IT and acid

Something of a match made in heaven. Get psychedelic and start grooving on a motherboard’s layout. Here’s some music to help the journey.

The internet is a bit less free …

… and a bit more corporate (at least for now) after this appeals court ruling. From the link: A federal appeals court on Tuesday dealt a sharp blow to the efforts of the Federal Communications Commission to set the rules of the road for the Internet, ruling that the agency lacks the authority to require broadband [...]

SculptCAD Rapid Artist — Brad Ford Smith

This post is the fourth in an ongoing series highlighting the artists behind the SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project. (Hit this link for all posts related to the project.) Brad Ford Smith is a Dallas-based artist and a third generation Texan. His abstract organic forms focus on how the eye and mind translate information, and how that visual [...]

“The Singularity is Near” to debut at Sonoma Film Festival

News from KurzweilAI.net: ‘The Singularity is Near’ film debuts at Sonoma Film Festival KurzweilAI.net, Apr. 5, 2010 “The Singularity Is Near: a True Story About the Future” makes its festival debut at the 13th Annual Sonoma Film Festival (April 15-18, 2010) with a special screening on Friday, April 16, 2010. The feature-length film, directed by Anthony Waller [...]

Nanotech and medicine

New research on how carbon nanotubes may be used in medical applications. The release: [PRESS RELEASE, 5 April 2010] A team of Swedish and American scientists has shown for the first time that carbon nanotubes can be broken down by an enzyme – myeloperoxidase (MPO) – found in white blood cells. Their discoveries are presented [...]

When David Frum …

… isn’t “conservative” enough for the GOP, the term has lost all meaning. I guest-blogged at FrumForum (then New Majority) at the launch of the site and quickly figured out as a fiercely independent little “l” libertarian, I had essentially nothing to offer the conversation the GOP was getting into. Now it seems the same [...]

DVD recommendation — “Cowboy Bebop”

I’ve loved Cowboy Bebop for years. Watched the series here when Adult Swim began running it on Cartoon Network, and I eagerly caught the movie in the theater when it was released. If you’ve never seen it, or just don’t like anime, you should take the time to check out Bebop. It’s a just awesome [...]

Roadblock to effective transparent, current-carrying nanocoating

This is something of a setback in an exciting area of solar panel improvement. The release: NIST scientists address ‘wrinkles’ in transparent film development IMAGE: This atomic-force microscopy image shows wrinkling in a single-wall carbon nanotube membrane; the inset shows an optical reflection micrograph of the membrane without any strain. The random arrangement of the… [...]

Just in time for Easter …

… research has determined a bacterial byproduct that was found in the soil of Easter Island provides longevity in mice, and two separate studies showed reversal of Alzheimer’s symptoms. Pretty amazing discovery. From the link: A study published yesterday in the Journal of Biological Chemistry confirmed that mice with Altzheimers showed marked improvement in memory and cognition after [...]

Plastic electronics may lower solar costs

Seems like a lot of news in solar cost reduction of late. In a related note, I’ve added a new link group to the sidebar — “Interesting blog topics” — and each link goes to a search for all my posts in that category. If you’re interested in solar news, that link is a great [...]

Reaching out to ET …

… here’s one idea. From the link: Or perhaps people shouldn’t bother composing a message at all. AnotherSETI scientist, astronomer Seth Shostak, has proposed that we just broadcast everything on the Google servers out to aliens. “Instead of trying to think of what’s fundamental, just send them a lot of data and let them sort through [...]

Growing and testing graphene

Doing some science on the once and future miracle material. I’m not holding my breath, but if graphene manages to reach fifty percent of its hype, it’s going to change the world. It’s that hyped, and it truly has that much promise. From the link: “We found that if a single graphene sheet is grown on a metal like [...]

Lithium-air batteries

Lithium-air batteries may be the short-term solution to lightweight and relatively efficient battery power. Major implications in terms of electric vehicles and handheld electronics. From the link: Yang Shao-Horn, an MIT associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering, says that many groups have been pursuing work on lithium-air batteries, a technology that [...]

Saturday video fun — “God Save the Queen”

… on a Renault F1 V10 engine. Crazy.

Invisibility cloak-plus

An interesting spin on the burgeoning invisibility cloak tech. From the link: In a twist on the concept of an invisibility cloak, researchers have designed a material that not only makes an object invisible, but also generates one or more virtual images in its place. Because it doesn’t simply display the background environment to a [...]

Black silicon bringing down the cost of efficient solar

The latest news in one of the two areas — cost in this case — solar needs to continue to see improvement for widespread use. From the link: A simple chemical treatment could replace expensive antireflective solar cell coatings, bringing down the cost of crystalline silicon panels. The treatment, a one-step dip in a chemical [...]

Google’s Chrome will auto-update Flash

I’m never really a fan of auto-updates of any sort, but the majority of computer users really need the convenience and out-of-sight/out-of-mind safety of auto-updates. Chrome is the first browser to automatically push updates for Adobe Flash to users. Probably a good thing in the long run, and doesn’t change my thought that Chrome is [...]

SculptCAD Rapid Artist — David W Van Ness

This post is the third in an ongoing series highlighting the artists behind the SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project. (Hit this link for all posts related to the project.) David W Van Ness is a Richardson, Texas-based artist and is a sculptor/educator whose work deals primarily with a surreal world developing after the fall of a civilization. David’s [...]

The latest on Google and China

The whole story is full of twists, turns and more than a little Kabuki theater (yeah, I know Kabuki isn’t Chinese). Here’s the latest: The Chinese government apparently slowed access to Google (GOOG) Web sites earlier this week, as the search giant last night backed off earlier statements that access to the site was blocked [...]

(chirp, chirp)

Is anyone there? Hello … No April Fool joke with the blogging blackout this week. Just more outside projects than usual coupled with an electrical problem (now fixed) at the home office. Should be rolling as usual soon.

Believe it or not, Volvo is now a Chinese company

Sands of time, twists of the wheel, etc. etc. … From the link: China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. bought Volvo cars from Ford Motor Co. on Sunday for $1.8 billion, a landmark agreement designed to elevate the Chinese company’s profile onto the global automotive stage. Geely’s acquisition of Volvo offers the latest illustration of how [...]

Nanotech and safer nuclear power

A very interesting release: Safer nuclear reactors could result from Los Alamos research ‘Loading-unloading’ effect of grain boundaries key to repair of irradiated metal Self-repairing materials within nuclear reactors may one day become a reality as a result of research by Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists. In a paper appearing today in the journal Science, Los [...]

Is psychology bunk …

… as a scientific discipline? Couldn’t say, but studies like this don’t help the argument. The release: Is it really bipolar disorder? New study finds widely used screening scale misidentifies borderline personality disorder as bipolar disorder PROVIDENCE, RI – A study from Rhode Island Hospital has shown that a widely-used screening tool for bipolar disorder [...]

How’s the weather in DC?

Jon Chait nails it. From the link: The psychology of victory and defeat is a remarkable thing. A week ago, the Democrats were perceived to have an enormous political problem. Their agenda was stalled in Congress. There was a mass groundswell of public anger they had to contend with. Suddenly those problems have been flipped [...]

Congress working on small business and construction aid

With health care over and done Congress is already looking to boost an ailing Main Street. From the link: The House approved 246-178 a bill designed to boost investment in small businesses, which have been reluctant to take on new workers as the economy recovers from the worst recession in 70 years. The bill would [...]

Corporate belt tightening led to cash reserves

Of course all this liquidity was wrung out of Main Street and the lifeblood of the economy — the workforce. From the link: The brutal recession has left many American families, small businesses and state and local governments in financial ruin or teetering on the brink. But it’s a much different story for the nation’s [...]

IRS “open house” for tax help this Saturday

News straight from the source: More than 180 Local IRS Offices Open this Saturday to Help Taxpayers IR-2010-36, March 24, 2010 WASHINGTON — The IRS announced today that Internal Revenue Service offices will be open, nationwide, on Saturday, March 27 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., local time to help taxpayers. The location of participating [...]

White House foreclosure plan under watchdog fire

And seems to be for very good reason — the program just didn’t even come close to delivering on alleviating Main Street pain, and to make matters worse for homeowners in need of relief the Treasury Department still claims offering to help with a troubled mortgage counts as a success. Yes, the government is trying [...]

Google and China …

… a good move? Looks like at least some analysts think it’ll help Google’s image. From the link: People using Google.cn are now redirected to Google.com.hk, where they are given uncensored search results in simplified Chinese. Google is running Google.com.hk off of servers located in Hong Kong. “Google made a smart move,” said Augie Ray, [...]

GE getting into thin-film solar field

This can only mean advances in production and manufacturing coupled with a likely cost reduction. A win for the field since GE is going to bring to bear its corporate might on process improvements. From the link: GE has confirmed long-standing speculation that it plans to make thin-film solar panels that use a cadmium- and tellurium-based [...]

Big Bucks Burnett and the Wall Street Journal

I actually caught the original gallery show at Barry Whistler last fall and it was pretty cool. Of course I have a decent eight-track collection including Kiss, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Wild Cherry (of “Play that funky music white boy” fame) and more. Sadly, I do not own a working eight track player right now. Congrats, Bucks, on [...]

The NFL changed its playoff overtime rule

I’m honestly shocked, particularly that the vote was so one-sided — 28-4. From the link: The NFL owners voted to change an element in the overtime rule, giving the team that loses the coin toss at the start of overtime to get a possession if the coin-toss winning team scores a field goal with the [...]