In 1991, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenerry endorsed the triple-star system 40 Eridani as the sun of the planet Vulcan, home of Mr. Spock. Now, NASA is planning a mission called SIM PlanetQuest that will scan 40 Eridani for signs of planets that could sustain life. The primary star, 40 Eridani A, shows the possibility that a planet of mass similar to Earth’s could have formed there. The system is 16 light years from Earth. SIM Planet Quest is scheduled to launch in 2015. Link
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
Smoky the cat owes his life to the London Fire Department and Reynolds from Random Acts of Reality. The cat was rescued from a house on fire in London and given oxygen and an ambulance ride to the local vetrinary hospital. http://randomreality.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/5/16/2955025.html -via Cynical-C
Our link seems to be blocked, but you can access the story through Cynical-C. (Thanks, tinfoil!)
Update: Here's the LOLcat version.
The dog beats his owner playing Wii Tennis. Yes, its a setup, but still funny! Push play or go to YouTube. -via http://www.b3ta.com/
The Cannes Film Festival is going on now through May 27th. You can follow the action with the IFC Cannes Cam. The webcam will be on 24 hours a day. Link -via Ursi’s Blog
Donato Di Carlo made an animated cartoon of Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes as his final project at CFP Milano film school. Push play or go to YouTube. -via Fuzzytopia
Slovenian artist Vinko Bogataj painted Morning in Lesce (pictured above) among other surreal and beautiful landscapes. If the name sounds familiar, you might remember that Bogataj was immortalized by ABC’s Wide World of Sports when they used his ski jump as the illustration for “the agony of defeat†in the show intro. {YouTube} Since retiring from his factory job in 2005, Bogataj has dedicated himself to his childhood dream of creating artworks. Link -via Metafilter
Movie quotes that count themselves down! Alonzo Mosley of the La-La Land Library took on quite a challenge for his first video project. Push play or go to YouTube. http://dieselpowerednuns.blogspot.com/ to Mosley’s blog. -via Militant Platypus
The white marble of the Taj Mahal in Agra is looking yellow due to air pollution. India’s parlaiment suggests a mud pack treatment may be in order.
The treatment is expected to take two months and cost around $230,000. Link -via Arbroath
"To restore the pristine glory of the Taj Mahal, as a conservation measure, the clay pack treatment, which is non-corrosive and non-abrasive, should be carried out for the removal of the accretionary deposits," the report said.
The report recommends that the application of a mud pack should be a regular event to keep the marble's surface clean.
The treatment is expected to take two months and cost around $230,000. Link -via Arbroath
Marek Turowski rode a rear-engine couch sponsored by Sofa.com at 92 miles per hour to break the world’s fastest furniture record! Turowski won an eBay charity auction for the priviledge of “driving†the sofa. Push play or go to YouTube. Link to story. -via the Presurfer
The Earth Guide from the Japan Science and Technology Agency is a beautiful infographic that answers science and geography questions such as “Where does the sky become space?†and "How is the Earth different from other planets?†You’ll learn a lot more on the way to the answers! http://jvsc.jst.go.jp/earth/guide/english/data/top.html -via Dump Trumpet
You can have a wall clock or a desk clock made with your arms telling the time! I Got Clocked will make a clock with your picture and your choice of backgrounds. Link -via Ursi’s Blog
A collection of 111 different designs used for “Add to Cart†buttons on the top internet retailer’s sites. If you can’t guess who they belong to, a click on each button will take you to the online store. Link -via Metafilter
The Panda Chair was designed by Brazilians Fernando and Humberto Campana. My daughter would kill for this, but its a limited edition of 25 chairs. Link -via Dump Trumpet
If you want to set up a meeting with a friend somewhere between where you both are, you can consult A Place Between Us. Enter your location, your friend’s location, and the type of place you want to meet. For example, if I were in Charleston and wanted to meet a New York friend for lunch, Gaithersburg, Maryland is about halfway between. This Google Map-based application suggested four restaurants in the area. Link -via the Presurfer
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