sagas of icelanders

Astronomy Picture of the Day: Pictured above is single exposure image spectacular near, far, and in between. Diving into the Earth far in the distance is part of the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, taken with a long duration exposure. Much closer, the planet Jupiter is visible as the bright point just to band’s left. Closer still are picturesque buttes and mesas of the Canyonlands National Park in Utah, USA, lit by a crescent moon. In the foreground is a cave housing a stone circle of unknown origin named False Kiva. The cave was briefly lit by flashlight during the long exposure. Astrophotographer Wally Pacholka repo”

ModernMechanix:

Light bulbs and spinning wires which glow with weird effects, cigarettes which light mysteriously— these are a few of the stunts you can do with this vacuum tube Tesla coil.

Deltoid: Charles Montgomery has a detailed expose in the Globe and Mail on the activities of Tim Ball and the Friends of Science. It turns out that the University of Calgary has been used to launder oil company money to fund the Friends of Science.

Charles Montgomery, journalist: “Former geography professor Tim Ball is Canada’s most vocal climate change skeptic. Supporting him is a coalition of oil patch retirees, skeptical scientists, anonymous donors and public relations experts intent on quashing the Kyoto Accord.”

BibliOdyssey

MROB: 1394 — The number of ways to pick 5 numbers from 1 to 25 (with no two the same) and have them add up to 65.

MathWorld: A phenomenological law also called the first digit law, first digit phenomenon, or leading digit phenomenon. Benford’s law states that in listings, tables of statistics, etc., the digit 1 tends to occur with about .3 probability , much greater than the expected .11 (i.e., one digit out of 9). Benford’s law can be observed, for instance, by examining tables of logarithms and noting that the first pages are much more. Also see the flash-based Significant Figure Distributor Generator.

Science Blog: “Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have found massive amounts of lead in bone fragments belonging to Ludwig von Beethoven, confirming the cause of his years of chronic debilitating illness. Beethoven experienced a change of personality and abdominal illness in his late teens and early 20s that persisted throughout his adult life. His abdominal symptoms and autopsy findings are both consistent with lead poisoning, Walsh said. There have been documented cases of deafness resulting from lead poisoning, but this has been a relatively rare occurrence. There is no solid evidence that lead poisoning was a cause of Beethoven’s deafness, Walsh said.”

drdoc on-line: “With ideal therapy, advanced disease and progression is reduced, through modification of the disease process and prevention of advanced spinal deformity, through education, regarding exercises and posture.”

SpaceRef: After some 400 years of relative stability, Earth’s North Magnetic Pole has moved nearly 1,100 kilometers out into the Arctic Ocean during the last century and at its present rate could move from northern Canada to Siberia within the next half-century.

Matt Keveney: Animated GIFs of internal combustion, steam, and Stirling engines.

Cyber-Geography: Various representations of cyberspace; last updated in early 2004.

Intuitor: “In the name of physics decency, to protect the minds of children everywhere, so that they may grow up in a world where they know the difference between speed and velocity, we have taken the responsibility to rate movies for their portrayal of excessively bad physics.” Worst move ever: The Core.

Duke University: This website explores the complex relationships between modern medicine and modern advertising, or “Madison Avenue.” The Medicine and Madison Avenue Project presents images and database information for approximately 600 health-related advertisements printed in newspapers and magazines.

Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics: Presents some of today’s most powerful new artwork reflecting recent developments in genomics. This exhibition also demonstrates the impact of genetics on artistic practice and on notions of the artist-subject. (Flash intro might not work in Safari, try going straight to an artist.)

Olduvai George: “Self-portraiture may be a pretentious beginning (I’m the one on the left), but then I’ve chosen this garish color scheme and put myself in the header. Hopefully, it won’t blind too many of you. I should mention that I don’t condone underage drinking, but Australopithecines probably matured faster than we do today and there was no danger of him driving.

Guardian Unlimited Technology: According to a scientific report, planet Earth’s computers are wide open to a virus attack from Little Green Men. The concern is raised in the next issue of the journal Acta Astronautica by Richard Carrigan, a particle physicist at the US Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois. He believes scientists searching the heavens for signals from extra-terrestrial civilisations are putting Earth’s security at risk, by distributing the jumble of signals they receive to computers all over the world. The search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (Seti) project, based at the University of California in Berkeley, uses land-based telescopes to scour the universe for electromagnetic waves.

Is god an accident?Is sex necessary?

Science Now: Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) is widespread in the woods of northeastern North America and Asia. Skunk cabbage shares more than a healthy stink with its warm-blooded namesake: like skunks, people, and other animals, the plant produces body heat. Now, a clever mathematical analysis has shown that this rancid relative of the lily may have a beautifully simple thermostat.

Media Laboratory, MIT A study using a network analyzer reveals that rather than protecting the brain from invasive radio signals used for mind control, tinfoil beanies actually amplify the signals. “Statistical evidence suggests the use of helmets may in fact enhance the government’s invasive abilities. We speculate that the government may in fact have started the helmet craze for this reason.”