Happy Birthday Sesame Street.

I’m sure everyone has seen the wonderful Google tributes the past week. Sesame Street premiered on November 10th, 1969. Today, it turns 40. While I am not necesarrily a big Sesame Street fan, I am a huge Jim Henson fan. So, in the spirit of 40 years of Jim Henson’s Sesame Street, here are some related links that are worth looking at:

• The 101 Muppets of Sesame Street.
• 8 Memorable Sesame Street Celebrity Cameos.
• Today’s anniversary episode features guest star Michelle Obama.
• The Cookie Monster Interview.
• Big Bird Sings at Jim Henson’s Funeral.
• Google Sesame Street logos.
• Sesame Street Wikipedia (for all the background information you never knew).

…

source: Black and WTF

How to Use An Apostrophe

Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal has just released a new web project called How to Use An Apostrophe. It’s one of those surprisingly basic grammar concepts that so many people screw up. It’s a 2 minute read, so go freshen up!

http://apostrophe.me/

China’s Weather Modification Office

Sometimes Asian science and engineering really just frightens me. Remember the old saying that everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it? Well, not anymore! China has a Weather Modification Office that aims to control the weather:

Chinese meteorologists say they brought about Beijing’s earliest snowfall in a decade, after seeding rain clouds with silver iodide to ease a drought.

The Weather Modification Office sprayed clouds with 186 doses of the chemical to bring rain for the wheat crop, the Beijing Evening News said.

But the arrival of a cold front caused heavy snow to fall, disrupting road, rail and air travel.

Read the full article: link

Mars

Going to Mars is costly.  The conventional thinking of round-trip missions is losing more and more ground to an idea made public last year.  Theoretical physicist/cosmologist Paul Davies addressed the NASA Astrobiology Science Conference, and laid out a solid (and sometimes humorous) case for the One Way Ticket plan.

He points out the commercial angle, saying that not only would a patent trade emerge from discoveries, but televised coverage of the pioneers would be lucrative as well.  And those pioneers?  He says our planet is full of risk-takers seeking adventure that would fill the role nicely.

“By comparison, a one-way trip to Mars would not be so risky. But it does need a spirit of adventure of the sort that the early explorers had, in particular the people who opened up Antarctica. These people often went knowing that there was a high probability that they would not come back, and that if they didn’t come back, they were going to their deaths. I’m not suggesting that going to Mars necessarily means an instant death, but it may mean a premature death, it may mean your life expectancy is shortened by a little bit. But as I said, people attempt that risk in all sorts of other walks of life.

And what I have in mind is not just four miserable people sitting around on the martian surface waiting to die, (laughter) but that they would actually be doing useful job work.

You wouldn’t be going there as tourists, you wouldn’t be going there for fun. You’d be going there to do science, and emailing all this stuff back. Your publication record would be sensational. (laughter) You would no doubt have all sort of honors heaped on you.

But you wouldn’t be coming home.”

View the whole article: link

Related, Illustrator Bryan Christie specializes in transforming “complex ideas into compelling images”, especially scientific or technological ideas. One of his recent works is this chart of the human exploration of Mars, organized by country, date, type, and success.

For larger image: link

Happy Halloween!

Do chimps grieve?

Look at this photograph and just try to tell me the answer is no.

This incredible image was shot for National Geographic by Monica Szczupider, and shows chimpanzees at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon. They’re observing as the body of an elder troop member named Dorothy is taken to burial. She died at 40 years of age, which is pretty old for a chimpanzee.

The photo appears in the November issue of National Geographic Magazine, in the “Visions of Earth” section.

Bloody Brain Shooters

Apparently the key to creating “brain tissue” is to mix acidic lime juice with the vodka.  Then when you add the Bailey’s Irish Cream via a straw, it curdles into cortical gyri.  A splash of grenadine provides the blood.  The ingredient list and instructions are at: http://findlilyhere.tumblr.com/post/223358635/

Mummified Fairy

This fall, for Halloween, I was inspired to take on the project of creating my own mummified fairy. With the help of some online tips and a couple of weeks work, I got it finished tonight and feel pretty good about the results. After setting it up in a display case I snapped a few quick photos. I hope to have some better photos soon, but for now, enjoy! Click on the thumbnails for larger image.

Jeffrey Katzenberg

I really just need to take a minute out of my day to express my disgust for this man. What a “Grade-A” moron. How do people like this succeed?