What an inspiring woman!
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Monday, July 06, 2009
Friday, July 03, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
The lost NASA tapes: Restoring lunar images after 40 years in the vault
The lost NASA tapes: Restoring lunar images after 40 years in the vault
"Liquid nitrogen, vegetable steamers, Macintosh workstations and old, refrigerator-size tape drives. These are just some of the tools a new breed of Space Age archeologists is using to sift through the digital debris from the early days of NASA, mining the information in ways unimaginable when it was first gathered four decades ago."
Orbiter image from 1966, and, below, after modern processing of the original data.
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"Liquid nitrogen, vegetable steamers, Macintosh workstations and old, refrigerator-size tape drives. These are just some of the tools a new breed of Space Age archeologists is using to sift through the digital debris from the early days of NASA, mining the information in ways unimaginable when it was first gathered four decades ago."
Orbiter image from 1966, and, below, after modern processing of the original data.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sun leaves Earth wide open to cosmic rays - space - 27 June 2009 - New Scientist
Sun leaves Earth wide open to cosmic rays - space - 27 June 2009 - New Scientist
"The sun protects us from cosmic rays and dust from beyond the solar system by enveloping us in the heliosphere - a bubble of solar wind that extends past Pluto. These cosmic rays would damage the ozone layer, and interstellar dust could dim sunlight and trigger an ice age. However, when the solar system passes through very dense gas and dust clouds, the heliosphere can shrink until its edge is inside Earth's orbit."
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"The sun protects us from cosmic rays and dust from beyond the solar system by enveloping us in the heliosphere - a bubble of solar wind that extends past Pluto. These cosmic rays would damage the ozone layer, and interstellar dust could dim sunlight and trigger an ice age. However, when the solar system passes through very dense gas and dust clouds, the heliosphere can shrink until its edge is inside Earth's orbit."
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Girl who doesn't age
There's a 30-second ABC commercial preceding the video unfortunately, but a very interesting video.
Girl Who Doesn't Age 'Infant' of... - ABC News
Posted using ShareThis
Girl Who Doesn't Age 'Infant' of... - ABC News
Posted using ShareThis
Friday, June 26, 2009
Britain came close to dropping poisoned darts on German troops - Times Online
"Britain considered dropping millions of poisoned darts on German troops in the final stages of the Second World War, secret files made public have revealed.
...Designs show three different types of dart. One looks like a fountain pen, the others like a flat penknife."
Read the full article here.
...Designs show three different types of dart. One looks like a fountain pen, the others like a flat penknife."
Read the full article here.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
NPR: Boeing Delays Dreamliner's 1st Flight After Test Shows Bad Surprise
"Boeing announced another delay in getting its 787 Dreamliner into commercial service. A structural weakness found where the wings join the fuselage which sounds like as good a reason as any for a delay."
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Those Medieval Monks Could Draw!
“Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, features 50 rarely-seen works on view.
Roberta Smith writes:
The works span nearly five centuries and reveal medieval drawing to be vital, evolving, remarkably diverse and essential to the medium’s Renaissance blossoming.
Read the full NY Times article here.
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Roberta Smith writes:
The works span nearly five centuries and reveal medieval drawing to be vital, evolving, remarkably diverse and essential to the medium’s Renaissance blossoming.
Read the full NY Times article here.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wedding dance
June is the month for weddings. Here's a couple's slightly different take on the traditional first dance...
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Planet 'spotted' in Andromeda galaxy
Astronomers believe they may have discovered the first planet ever detected in another galaxy. The new world was apparently glimpsed in the closest giant spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, Messier 31 in the constellation of Andromeda. It lies an incredible 2.5 million light-years away - too far normally to be seen. But it revealed itself thanks to a phenomenon called microlensing where the gravitational field of an object closer to Earth acts like a magnifying glass.
Read the article here.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
...and then we have...
Air Writing: Next Big Thing in Cell Phones?
"Forget fumbling with tiny cell phone keys. A prototype of a new application allows cell phone users to write short notes in the air and send them automatically to an e-mail address.
This represents just one possible step toward allowing people to naturally merge the real world with the information power of the Internet. Travelers and other mobile users could air-write notes to themselves rather than have to text on the run.
"By holding the phone like a pen, you can write short messages or draw simple diagrams in the air," said Sandip Agrawal, an electrical and computer engineering student at Duke University in North Carolina."
Full article here.
"Forget fumbling with tiny cell phone keys. A prototype of a new application allows cell phone users to write short notes in the air and send them automatically to an e-mail address.
This represents just one possible step toward allowing people to naturally merge the real world with the information power of the Internet. Travelers and other mobile users could air-write notes to themselves rather than have to text on the run.
"By holding the phone like a pen, you can write short messages or draw simple diagrams in the air," said Sandip Agrawal, an electrical and computer engineering student at Duke University in North Carolina."
Full article here.
...and something of a counterbalance to the post below...
iPhone Cursive Writing App Hits the App Store
"Deep Pocket Series has unveiled ABC Cursive Writing 1.0, a handwriting improvement app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The app was designed to help children learn the basics of cursive writing for the first time, as well as help adults improve their handwriting skills."
Read the full article here.
"Deep Pocket Series has unveiled ABC Cursive Writing 1.0, a handwriting improvement app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The app was designed to help children learn the basics of cursive writing for the first time, as well as help adults improve their handwriting skills."
Read the full article here.
E-mail, texting push penmanship aside | CITIZEN-TIMES.com | Asheville Citizen-Times
"Have you heard that some people believe it would be a good thing if cursive writing — or script, if you will — went the way of the horse and buggy? All those years of learning and struggling for a beautiful “hand” will be for naught.
But think of it: When was the last time you wrote cursive except to sign a check or legal document or pen a note to your grandmother? And when is the last time you got an actual hand-written letter?
Most of us write on keyboards, or we Twitter or send phone messages now. It's all very legible, and the recipient can read it with no trouble. Word processing creates a level playing field for those of us whose writing isn't so great."
Read the full article here.
But think of it: When was the last time you wrote cursive except to sign a check or legal document or pen a note to your grandmother? And when is the last time you got an actual hand-written letter?
Most of us write on keyboards, or we Twitter or send phone messages now. It's all very legible, and the recipient can read it with no trouble. Word processing creates a level playing field for those of us whose writing isn't so great."
Read the full article here.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Filming the Flight of a Winged Maple Seed
An aerospace engineer has figured out why the seed’s whirling gives it extra lift, allowing the wind to carry it a mile or more.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Last Survivor of the Titanic Dies at 97
From the NY Times:
"LONDON (AP) -- Millvina Dean, who as a baby was wrapped in a sack and lowered into a lifeboat in the frigid North Atlantic, died Sunday, having been the last survivor of 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic.
She was 97 years old, and she died where she had lived -- in Southampton, England, the city her family had tried to leave behind when it took the ship's ill-fated maiden voyage, bound for America.
She died in her sleep early Sunday, her friend Gunter Babler told the Associated Press. It was the 98th anniversary of the launch of the ship that was billed as ''practically unsinkable.''"
Read the entire article by clicking on the article title
"LONDON (AP) -- Millvina Dean, who as a baby was wrapped in a sack and lowered into a lifeboat in the frigid North Atlantic, died Sunday, having been the last survivor of 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic.
She was 97 years old, and she died where she had lived -- in Southampton, England, the city her family had tried to leave behind when it took the ship's ill-fated maiden voyage, bound for America.
She died in her sleep early Sunday, her friend Gunter Babler told the Associated Press. It was the 98th anniversary of the launch of the ship that was billed as ''practically unsinkable.''"
Read the entire article by clicking on the article title
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Woman Hypnotized to Believe She Had Weight-Loss Surgery Loses 55 Pounds - Nutrition | Physical - FOXNews.com
Decoding antiquity: Eight scripts that still can't be read
"WRITING is one of the greatest inventions in human history. Perhaps the greatest, since it made history possible. Without writing, there could be no accumulation of knowledge, no historical record, no science - and of course no books, newspapers or internet.
The first true writing we know of is Sumerian cuneiform - consisting mainly of wedge-shaped impressions on clay tablets - which was used more than 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Soon afterwards writing appeared in Egypt, and much later in Europe, China and Central America. Civilisations have invented hundreds of different writing systems. Some, such as the one you are reading now, have remained in use, but most have fallen into disuse.
These dead scripts tantalise us. We can see that they are writing, but what do they say?"
Read the full article here
The first true writing we know of is Sumerian cuneiform - consisting mainly of wedge-shaped impressions on clay tablets - which was used more than 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Soon afterwards writing appeared in Egypt, and much later in Europe, China and Central America. Civilisations have invented hundreds of different writing systems. Some, such as the one you are reading now, have remained in use, but most have fallen into disuse.
These dead scripts tantalise us. We can see that they are writing, but what do they say?"
Read the full article here
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
10 Most Fascinating Castles and Palaces
Well, let's make that 12, shall we?
From the Potala Palace in Tibet...
...to Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavarian Alps, these are 10 fabulous entries.
I'd like to offer two others though as well.
One is the glorious Fonthill Castle, nearby to me in Doylestown, PA. Built by Historian and archaeologist Henry Mercer almost 100 years ago, it's a true work of art.
Her Nibs unwittingly used for purposes of scale
Even more stunning, and surprising in being left off of this list, is the magnificent palace of His Nibs.
See the other eight by clicking on the title to this blog entry.
From the Potala Palace in Tibet...
...to Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavarian Alps, these are 10 fabulous entries.
I'd like to offer two others though as well.
One is the glorious Fonthill Castle, nearby to me in Doylestown, PA. Built by Historian and archaeologist Henry Mercer almost 100 years ago, it's a true work of art.
Her Nibs unwittingly used for purposes of scale
Even more stunning, and surprising in being left off of this list, is the magnificent palace of His Nibs.
See the other eight by clicking on the title to this blog entry.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Author Neil Gaiman still writes his novels with a fountain pen
From the interview in the Guardian about his use of technology:
"Do you consider yourself to be a luddite or a nerd?
A nerdy luddite. Or luddy nerdite. I am writing this to you on a plane on an Android G1 with cupcake, and I write my novels in fountain pen."
Monday, May 04, 2009
Bob Dylan sets record to become oldest musician to have No 1 album
The following is from the London Times Online (click the title to read the entire article). My ticket arrived today for his visit here in Allentown on July 17th. This will be the fourth time he's visited me here in the Lehigh Valley since we moved here in 2000.
"Bob Dylan rewrote the record books yesterday to become the oldest musician to have a No 1 album, nearly 40 years after he last topped the charts.
The veteran singer-songwriter claimed his seventh British No 1 with Together Through Life, narrowly edging out the claim of his fellow sexagenarian Neil Diamond to be the oldest artist to scale to the summit of the chart.
Dylan, 67, last reached the top of the charts in 1970, when he had two No 1 albums, Self Portrait and New Morning. His last two attempts, Love and Theft and Modern Times, reached No 3 in 2001 and 2006 respectively.
A year ago Diamond, at 67 years and four months, became the oldest person to top the album charts with a new release, when Home After Dark, became his second British No 1. Dylan, who will turn 68 on May 24, now holds the distinction.
Together Through Life beat last week’s No 1, Lady Gaga’s The Fame, into third position, and also outsold second-placed Music for the People, the Enemy’s second album.
It is 45 years since Dylan first topped the charts, with the album that made his name, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Pete Paphides, the Times critic, described Dylan’s new record, which is virtually guaranteed to top the US charts, as “his warmest, most unforced, set of songs in recent memory”.
Dylan has performed about a hundred shows each year since 1988, in what has come to be known as the Never Ending Tour. His ability to draw the crowds was reflected in the release of his 33rd studio album being accompanied by a series of sell-out British dates.
Mike Smith, managing director of Columbia, Dylan’s record label, said: “What’s really delightful is going round and seeing him perform live around the country and seeing so many teenagers at the shows.
“A lot of people talk about the Arctic Monkeys effect, where you see fathers and their kids at the gigs, but with Bob you get grandfathers, fathers and their sons.
“He is the greatest artist of the 20th century. His words and his artistry speak to people in a timeless way. The stuff he made in the 1960s still seems absolutely current. There are very few artists who can extend their appeal over such a long period. Unlike his contemporaries, Dylan is still out making music that is still very strong.”
Although apparently less politicised these days than he appeared to many in his early releases, the singer held forth recently on the prospects of Barack Obama.
Despite saying last year that Mr Obama was “redefining the nature of politics”, Dylan said last month that he had no idea whether Mr Obama would make a good president.
“Most of those guys come into office with the best of intentions and leave as beaten men,” he added. “You know, it’s like they all fly too close to the Sun and get burnt.”
Dylan has sold more than 100 million records but has never had a No 1 single in Britain. His highest-charting song is Like a Rolling Stone, which made it to No 4 in 1965."
"Bob Dylan rewrote the record books yesterday to become the oldest musician to have a No 1 album, nearly 40 years after he last topped the charts.
The veteran singer-songwriter claimed his seventh British No 1 with Together Through Life, narrowly edging out the claim of his fellow sexagenarian Neil Diamond to be the oldest artist to scale to the summit of the chart.
Dylan, 67, last reached the top of the charts in 1970, when he had two No 1 albums, Self Portrait and New Morning. His last two attempts, Love and Theft and Modern Times, reached No 3 in 2001 and 2006 respectively.
A year ago Diamond, at 67 years and four months, became the oldest person to top the album charts with a new release, when Home After Dark, became his second British No 1. Dylan, who will turn 68 on May 24, now holds the distinction.
Together Through Life beat last week’s No 1, Lady Gaga’s The Fame, into third position, and also outsold second-placed Music for the People, the Enemy’s second album.
It is 45 years since Dylan first topped the charts, with the album that made his name, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Pete Paphides, the Times critic, described Dylan’s new record, which is virtually guaranteed to top the US charts, as “his warmest, most unforced, set of songs in recent memory”.
Dylan has performed about a hundred shows each year since 1988, in what has come to be known as the Never Ending Tour. His ability to draw the crowds was reflected in the release of his 33rd studio album being accompanied by a series of sell-out British dates.
Mike Smith, managing director of Columbia, Dylan’s record label, said: “What’s really delightful is going round and seeing him perform live around the country and seeing so many teenagers at the shows.
“A lot of people talk about the Arctic Monkeys effect, where you see fathers and their kids at the gigs, but with Bob you get grandfathers, fathers and their sons.
“He is the greatest artist of the 20th century. His words and his artistry speak to people in a timeless way. The stuff he made in the 1960s still seems absolutely current. There are very few artists who can extend their appeal over such a long period. Unlike his contemporaries, Dylan is still out making music that is still very strong.”
Although apparently less politicised these days than he appeared to many in his early releases, the singer held forth recently on the prospects of Barack Obama.
Despite saying last year that Mr Obama was “redefining the nature of politics”, Dylan said last month that he had no idea whether Mr Obama would make a good president.
“Most of those guys come into office with the best of intentions and leave as beaten men,” he added. “You know, it’s like they all fly too close to the Sun and get burnt.”
Dylan has sold more than 100 million records but has never had a No 1 single in Britain. His highest-charting song is Like a Rolling Stone, which made it to No 4 in 1965."
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
New Yorker cartoon
One of my customers had her first cartoon published in The New Yorker this month. She uses a Hero '329' fountain pen for her cartoons, and shared her success with me while ordering another.
Click on the New Yorker link above to see some other terrific cartoons from this month's issue.
Click on the New Yorker link above to see some other terrific cartoons from this month's issue.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
‘The pen business is not dead’
Karl Heinz Handke, President (Western Hemisphere), Montblanc International
"Montblanc’s Karl-Heinz Handke is very touchy about pens. He believes the love letter must not be written with anything other than the good old fountain pen. Some things may just be wishful thinking, but wishing never did anyone any harm, did it?
With technology taking over, is the pen still relevant in today’s day and age, forget the future? Yes, it is, says Handke, President – Western Hemisphere and Member of the Executive Board, Montblanc International. “The fountain pen is still special. Especially to express personal feelings … to write a love letter … hopefully,” he chuckles, before adding: “But the pen market today is not a huge market. So we have to come out with special edition pens and rare pieces to keep that market alive. But pens are still contributing a little less than 50 per cent to our sales – in absolute terms, as one product category. The rest is from watches, jewellery, and so on. So, it’s not that pens are dying or decreasing in sales, it’s just that other product categories are growing faster than pens. But the pen business is not dead.”"
Glad to hear it! Click on the title bar to read the full article from 'The Hindu'
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Humanity's earliest written works go online
"National libraries and the U.N. education agency put some of humanity's earliest written works online Tuesday, from ancient Chinese oracle bones to the first European map of the New World.
Winds of the Four Directions
oracle bone 1200 B.C.
U.S. Librarian of Congress James Billington said the idea behind the World Digital Library is not to compete with Google or Wikipedia but to pique young readers' interest - and get them reading books.
"You have to go back to books," Billington said in an interview in Paris, where the project was launched at UNESCO's headquarters. "These are primary documents of a culture."
Read the rest of the AP article by clicking on the post title above.
To go directly to the library, click here.
Winds of the Four Directions
oracle bone 1200 B.C.
U.S. Librarian of Congress James Billington said the idea behind the World Digital Library is not to compete with Google or Wikipedia but to pique young readers' interest - and get them reading books.
"You have to go back to books," Billington said in an interview in Paris, where the project was launched at UNESCO's headquarters. "These are primary documents of a culture."
Read the rest of the AP article by clicking on the post title above.
To go directly to the library, click here.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A First Look at the Bones of a ‘Hobbit’
"A cast of the skull and bones of the hominid Homo floresiensis will be displayed for the first time at a public symposium titled “Hobbits in the Haystack.”
Click the entry title to go to the NY Times article.
Click the entry title to go to the NY Times article.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Belgium anyone? The Sound of Music
Should you ever find yourself walking through the train station in Antwerp, and suddenly Julie Andrews starts singing through the loudspeakers...don't worry if you miss your train!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thousands of dolphins block Somali pirates
Although there are other explanations, it's interesting to contemplate that dolphin pods coordinated in such a fashion for the suggested purpose.
"BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.
Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.(Photo: Cri.cn)
The Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China's fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the China's.
The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness befor the vast number of dolphins. The spectacular scene continued for a while.
China initiated its three-ship escort task force on Dec. 26 last year after the United Nations Security Council called on countries to patrol gulf and waters off Somalia, one of the world's busiest marine routes, where surging piracy endangered intercontinental shipping.
China's first fleet has escorted 206 vessels, including 29 foreign merchant vessels, and successfully rescued three foreign merchant ships from pirate attacks.
About 20 percent of Chinese merchant ships passing through the waters off Somalia were attacked by pirates from January to November in 2008, before the task force was deployed.
A total of seven ships, either owned by China or carrying Chinese cargo and crew, were hijacked.
Tianyu No. 8, a Chinese fishing vessel with 16 Chinese and eight foreign sailors aboard, was captured by Somali pirates on Nov. 14 and released in early February.
The second fleet of Chinese escort ships arrived at the Gulf of Aden on Monday to replace the first fleet.
(Xinhua and Cri contributed to the story"
"BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.
Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.(Photo: Cri.cn)
The Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China's fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the China's.
The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness befor the vast number of dolphins. The spectacular scene continued for a while.
China initiated its three-ship escort task force on Dec. 26 last year after the United Nations Security Council called on countries to patrol gulf and waters off Somalia, one of the world's busiest marine routes, where surging piracy endangered intercontinental shipping.
China's first fleet has escorted 206 vessels, including 29 foreign merchant vessels, and successfully rescued three foreign merchant ships from pirate attacks.
About 20 percent of Chinese merchant ships passing through the waters off Somalia were attacked by pirates from January to November in 2008, before the task force was deployed.
A total of seven ships, either owned by China or carrying Chinese cargo and crew, were hijacked.
Tianyu No. 8, a Chinese fishing vessel with 16 Chinese and eight foreign sailors aboard, was captured by Somali pirates on Nov. 14 and released in early February.
The second fleet of Chinese escort ships arrived at the Gulf of Aden on Monday to replace the first fleet.
(Xinhua and Cri contributed to the story"
Monday, April 13, 2009
15 Creative Motorcycle Helmets
This one belongs to Seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi. See the other 14 by clicking on the title.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Jay Leno's Garage -- 1937 Cord 812 Westchester
Jay Leno produces some really terrific videos about his ever-enlarging car collection.
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