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Paul Otlet {wiki} was a visionary who specialized in documentation and information organization. The ideas he laid out in 1934 eventually became what we call the internet. -via reddit
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
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Paul Otlet {wiki} was a visionary who specialized in documentation and information organization. The ideas he laid out in 1934 eventually became what we call the internet. -via reddit
A major helium leak has shut down work at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.
The $9 billion machine was only in operation for ten days before the leak shut it down. Link -Thanks, Carrie!
In order to fix the problem, the machine will have to be warmed up from its operating temperature of minus 271.3 degrees Celsius (minus 456.3 degrees Fahrenheit), spokesman James Gillies said.
"Because the LHC is a superconducting machine that works at very low temperatures, in order to get in and fix it we've got to warm it up, then we go and fix it, and then we cool it down again, and that's a process that's likely to take two months," he said.
The $9 billion machine was only in operation for ten days before the leak shut it down. Link -Thanks, Carrie!
A spot of green in a desert is always beautiful to see, even when you aren't desperate for a cool, refreshing break. Environmental Graffiti has a collection of pictures and information about 18 such oases all over the world. Pictured is the Umm Al-Maa, one of the Ubari Lakes in Libya. Link -via the Presurfer
Plant Me Pets are biodegradable latex figurines with seeds for eyes. When you are through playing with them, you can bury them head first in potting soil and grow your own pumpkins, melons, and tomatoes! This is one of a list of "Herb-n Art Toys" (toys that will grow plants in a small space) featured at ToyCyte. http://www.toycyte.com/herb-n-art-toys -Thanks, Jason!
Astronomer Mike Davis bought some land in a remote part of Arizona where he can observe the skies far away from light pollution. He is also far away from the electrical grid. Solar panels are expensive, so Mike made his own! How he did it is interesting, but you still must have some electrical know-how before you try it yourself. Link -Thanks, chris tackett!
Don Hertzfeldt created Ah, L'Amour in 1995 as an 18-year-old student at the University of California Santa Barabara. It was his first film. Ah, L'Amour has been posted here a couple of times, but the embedded video was always pulled do to licensing rights. Now Atom Films has obtained those rights, so you can enjoy it! http://www.bitterfilms.com/index2.html to Hertzfeld's site. -Thanks, Katherine!
Arrr! Every September 19th is Talk Like A Pirate Day! You can get up to speed by visiting the official site for holiday resources. See the pictures at Flickr. Read up on the history of the holiday. See how they celebrate in Australia, Britain, and around the world. Join the pirate discussion at Fark. See some music videos on piracy. Or look at pirate kittens. If you don't know how to talk like a pirate, try this handy translator. Arrrr! Uodate: There's even a commemoration on Mars!
Some of the big airplanes flying today have wingspans that are longer than the entire path the Wright Brothers took on the first powered flight! Dark Roasted Blend has a rundown on the biggest ever. Pictured is the Ka-7, a Russian plane from the 1930s. Link
The passing of a cat has spawned a neighborhood memorial. The cat was known as Ginger, Dave, Atkinson, or Fonzworthy III. A shrine of flowers and notes have gathered at Holloway Street in Bath, England as the many who fed the ginger tom mourn his death. The cat was put down by a vet after a diagnosis or organ failure. The neighbors have even started a Facebook Group to remember him.
Link -via Arbroath
One tribute addressed to Dave read: 'We've enjoyed your company immensely over the years and will miss and remember you.' Tony Brown, 66, knew the cat as Atkinson. 'When he died, we thought we ought to put a notice up because he was so well known,' he said.
'Suddenly, there was an extraordinary outpouring of grief and this Diana-like shrine began to grow. It was only then we discovered just how many people were looking after him.
'You couldn't own Atkinson, he was his own cat. My epitaph for him is he was owned by no one but belonged to everyone.'
Link -via Arbroath
(YouTube link)
Concert pianist Wibi Soerjadi dressed as an amputee pirate to showcase a one-handed technique. He plays the theme from The Pirates of the Caribbean with his left hand only! This clip is part of a collection of 15 movie and video game theme songs performed on odd instruments such as bottles, accordion, pipe organ, theremin, and pennywhistle. You've seen some of them here, but you haven't seen all of them! Don't miss the pipe organ medley. Link -Thanks, Andy!
A south London junk shop displays life-size movie characters outside to draw attention. Recently, a metal sculpture of the Predator has joined their ranks.
A junk yard is probably far too harsh a word for it. However, each morning the proprietors of a – dang – junk yard in Lewisham, London, drag to the forefront a massive eight foot replica of one of our favorite scary movie beasts, the Predator. They are vague about the origins of the structure, but not so much about the price attached to it. Although they are more than willing to haggle, your starting gambit had better start at five thousand (British) pounds. Otherwise, leave it out!
I'd love to know who built this! http://readmore-webphemera.blogspot.com/2008/09/predator-lands-in-london.html -Thanks, RJ Evans!
(YouTube link)
Stephen Hawking will return from the CERN collider today to unveil the new clock at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, England. The unusual clock was designed by inventor John Taylor.
For all its apparent eccentricity, the clock is based on solidly traditional clockwork - unusual in these days of digital electronic clocks. It has taken seven years' research and construction, incorporates six patented inventions, and is predicted to run for at least 250 years assuming the world lasts that long.
Engineer Stewart Huxley refuses to reveal the secret of its tricks, which include the pendulum occasionally apparently catching and stopping for a heartbeat, and then swinging faster to catch up.
Link -Thanks, Jayne Howley!
Psychologist John B. Watson had a theory that humans are not afraid of anything until something causes us to fear. To test that theory, in 1920 he went through the process of teaching an infant (known as "Little Albert") to be afraid.
Of course, the poor child began to show high anxiety when the objects were presented. Dr. Watson had intended to "undo" the phobias by giving Little Albert a pleasant stimulus in the presence of those objects. But he dropped that part of the experiment due to lack of time! No one knows what happened to Albert afterward. Dr. Watson's research was received with fascination by other psychologists, and no one at the time questioned the ethics of the experiment. Read the whole story at Damn Interesting. http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=970
The researchers' first order of business was to establish a psychological baseline. They tried exposing the infant to a white rat, a rabbit, a dog, and a monkey, and Albert reached for each animal with cheerful curiosity. The researchers brought him items such as masks and clumps of cotton, and he manipulated the objects with interest. They placed a long steel rod behind Albert's head and struck the metal sharply with a claw hammer, and he flinched with evident distress. The infant's baseline reactions to these stimuli were duly noted, and two months later the peculiar series of "joint stimulation" experiments was underway.
Of course, the poor child began to show high anxiety when the objects were presented. Dr. Watson had intended to "undo" the phobias by giving Little Albert a pleasant stimulus in the presence of those objects. But he dropped that part of the experiment due to lack of time! No one knows what happened to Albert afterward. Dr. Watson's research was received with fascination by other psychologists, and no one at the time questioned the ethics of the experiment. Read the whole story at Damn Interesting. http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=970
How many miles do you do at the office? While you're making deals or crunching numbers, you may as well be using a treadmill at the same time. Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic started the trend toward treadmills at work by constructing the first treadmill desk. He put a hospital tray overtop a treadmill and added a laptop and a phone headset. He used this to work at walk at the same time.
Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!
Enthusiasts began following Dr. Levine’s example, constructing treadmill desks that range from sleekly robotic set-ups to rickety mash-ups that could be Wall-E’s long-lost kin. But the recent introduction of an all-in-one treadmill desk from Details may inch work-walking into the mainstream, as dozens of businesses invest in the hardware to let their employees walk (and, ideally, lose a little weight) at work.
Since last November, about 335 Walkstations, have been sold nationwide to companies including Humana, Mutual of Omaha, GlaxoSmithKline and Best Buy.
The Walkstation, which Dr. Levine helped develop, costs about $4,000 and comes in 36 laminate finishes with an ergonomically curved desktop. Its quiet motor is designed for slow speeds, said David Kagan, director of marketing communications at Details, a division of Steelcase.
Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!
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