Category Archive

A little over a week ago, adventurer Steve Fossett was reported missing in Nevada, after he failed to return from a solo flight.  Now you can now help search for Fossett using your personal computer.  Using new satellite images of the search area, you can browse through online images, searching for signs of the plane. You can also use Google … Read More

Duh: The brain neurons of liberals and conservatives fire differently when confronted with tough choices, suggesting that some political divides may be hard-wired, according a study released Sunday. *** Conservatives tend to crave order and structure in their lives, and are more consistent in the way they make decisions. Liberals, by contrast, show a higher tolerance for ambiguity and complexity, … Read More

On the heels of the no-duh-inducing scientific study that men are attracted to good-looking women comes another scientific study from the realms of the glaringly obvious: two year olds have better social learning skills than apes. Is there any doubt that this is true?  I mean, two year olds eventually learn to behave and be more socially skilled.  Apes, not … Read More

Okay, we all know LOL (laughing out loud) and BRB (be right back). David Pogue, the technology editor of the New York Times suggests that we develop the next generation of online abbreviations.  Some of them are actually kinds good: * GI — Google it * MOP — Mac or PC? * FCAO — five conversations at once * IIOYT … Read More

A new shirt — appropriately titled "The Hug Shirt" — has special sensors and pads that — literally — hug you when triggered. But that’s not the best part. The best part is that the "hugging" pads can be triggered from other Hug Shirts.  That means that your mom or friend halfway across the country can send you a hug … Read More

It reads: Astronomers find a hole in the universe

Useless information:  Tyrannosaurus rex would have been able to outrun a footballer (read: soccer player), according to computer models used to estimate running speeds of dinosaurs.

Heh: The space agency best known for crazy diaper-wearing vengeance-killing astronauts, crazy drunken astronauts and a fleet of crippled old space vehicles likely to explode upon takeoff or landing has beaten the odds today and actually brought a broken space shuttle home without being destroyed in the process. Miraculously, the crew of NASA’s Endeavour all survived the ordeal, although many … Read More

New York Times science section: In fact, if you accept a pretty reasonable assumption of Dr. Bostrom’s, it is almost a mathematical certainty that we are living in someone else’s computer simulation. This simulation would be similar to the one in “The Matrix,” in which most humans don’t realize that their lives and their world are just illusions created in … Read More

(1) Google search is a calculator Go to your standard google toolbar and type in: 2+2 It’s also a pretty smart calculator, able to handle variables, conversions, and understanding words. Try: (2+i)*(3+2i) Days in two fortnights Bushels in a pack Half a cup in teaspoons G 40 in hex 25.50USD in euros 96F in celsius (2)  Google makes drinks

I know that FCC regulations sounds like a boring topic for a post, but so I’ll make this short and sweet, and tell you why you should care. Some background first.  Come February 2009, all television transmissions must be digital.  What this means is that BROADCAST television (you know, the kind where you need antennae and "rabbit ears") will cease … Read More

It may be a few years though.

Using photos of oft-snapped subjects (like The Vatican) scraped from around the Web, Photosynth (based on Seadragon technology) creates breathtaking multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features that outstrip all expectation. You gotta see it to believe it:

Like the much easier game tic-tac-toe, scientists have mathematically proved that every game of checkers will end in a draw if both players never make a mistake.  This means, essentially, that computers can be programmed to win (or at least, sustain a draw) in checkers.  And that’s where we are now, technological-speaking. You can play checkers against this computer — … Read More

How many times have you been pouring through your email, thinking to yourself, "Gosh! I wish this email was in 3-D?" Well, now you can enjoy your e-mail in 3-D.  Yes, FINALLY! By the pool. Where other swimmers and sunbathers represent your emails. I guess. Where spam (represented by thong-wearing fat guys?) gets fed to the virtual sharks. I think. … Read More