T.D. Tehuti Gentleman Time Traveler

First Demonstration of Time Cloaking - Technology Review

Invisibility cloaks are the result of physicists' newfound ability to distort electromagnetic fields in extreme ways. The idea is steer light around a volume of space so that anything inside this region is essentially invisible.

via www.technologyreview.com

Fahrenheit 2-15

 

Galileo Galilei Born 15 February 1564, Died 8 January 1642

Mikey as Galileo Presenting The Telescope

In honor of one of the founding fathers of modern science, a courageous crusader for reason over superstition.

Galileo Galilei from Wikipedia

 

The Galileo Project

 

NOVA: "Galileo, Battle For The Heavens"

When The Moon Hits Your Eye

Last night's Solstice lunar eclipse was spectacular, but then aren't they always? I think the one in 1638 was actually prettier, even though the hue was less ruddy-- less polution in the atmosphere, you know. It was hard to find anybody in 2010 to watch it with because everybody had to get up and go to work in the morning. But 1638 was a real hard sell. Portent of evil, my eye! Almost everyone hid in the house with the windows shuttered even though I explained that it was just shadows on the moon. The only person who would come out to see it with me was Galileo, and he had to get a permission slip from the Pope!

Another (Lego) Brick In The wall

 

And you thought Lego was just a toy! As this toy grew from just a bunch of colored plastic blocks with little variety when I was a kid to an amazing array of gears and wheels and all sorts of other components today, it has become the perfect tool for modular prototyping. Cheap, ubiquitous and designed to snap together in infinite combination, I wonder how much serious science and engineering started off as a pile of Legos and a spark of inspiration. IDIC indeed! (I bet somebody has made one of those out of Legos already!) THESE are the kind of toys that will help your children unleash their genius potential. Ole Kirk Christiansen, the guy who invented these things deserves a Nobel Prize for science!

 

Here's a behind the scenes timelapse video of how the video above was shot. How much gray matter do you suppose is invested in the three minute video we just watched? From the original inventor of the Antikythera Mechanism, to the invention of Legos, to the video equipment that shot it and the computers that controlled that equipment, all the way to Al Gore's invention of the internet, I imagine that some of the most creative minds in history have contributed directly or indirectly to this amazing project.

Perhaps Lego is the perfect metaphor for human existence. It just points up how interconnected we are, how our diverse lives and interests are bound up by the threads of history, each individual contributing a unique brick (life's work, philosophy, experience, being) to be snapped together in a massive four-dimensional kinetic sculpture called "Technology." The universe is made of Legos, and all we are is another brick in the wall...

 

Somebody even built a Lego version of the Babbage Difference Engine. I love the sound it makes-- all those gears going clickity-clack, as Allan Sherman would say. It kind of reminds me of the sounds Robby the Robot made when he was processing data.

 

Automation

 

Now Lego goes high-tech.

 

Legos Mindstorms NXT 2.0 puts a world of possibilities only dreamt of by Issac Asimov into the hands of your average ten-year-old. I'm simply amazed. Tabletop robotics, high tech sensing devices, computer control with internet connectivity, construction toys have come a long way since the days of Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys!

 

(A little something to listen to while you snap Legos together.)

 

 

Scientists glimpse universe before the Big Bang

The discovery doesn't suggest that there wasn't a Big Bang - rather, it supports the idea that there could have been many of them. The scientists explain that the CMB circles support the possibility that we live in a cyclic universe, in which the end of one “aeon” or universe triggers another Big Bang that starts another aeon, and the process repeats indefinitely. The black hole encounters that caused the circles likely occurred within the later stages of the aeon right before ours, according to the scientists.

via www.physorg.com

Steampunk Jolly Roger

May You Have A Very Steampunk Talk Like A Pirate Day

ARGH! Like A Pirate

Pirate

Dear family and friends, I have given in to the call of the sea and run away to become a pirate. I am headed to the hearty Caribbean to seek my fame and fortune, maties. I've got almost everything I need to complete my pirate kit. I've got a hat, a sword and a black flag with a skull on it. All I need now is to find someplace to get a used parrot on the cheap. I'm even prepared for emergencies since it seems pirates are susceptible to on the job injuries. I've got my eye patch (just in case) and a peg for my leg (just in case) and a hook (just in case).

Is it me or do Pirates have a really bad health care plan? I can see handing the pharmacist your AAAARGHFLAK card:

Cap'n Mikey: "What's this? The prescription says I need eye drops."

Pill Slinger Bill: "Drops aren't covered. This is an eye patch."

Cap'n Mikey: "What if I needed a splint for a broken finger?"

Pill Slinger Bill: "Not covered. We would have to fit you with a hook."

Cap'n Mikey: "Corrective shoes?"

Pill Slinger Bill: "Peg leg."

Cap'n Mikey: "I see. Asthma?"

Pill Slinger Bill: "Eye patch."

Cap'n Mikey: "Makes perfect sense. Rash?"

Pill Slinger Bill: "Look, on your coverage all you can get is an eye patch, hook or peg."

Cap'n Mikey: "So if I bring you a prescription for monkey knuckle ointment you are going fit me with a hook instead?"

Pill Slinger Bill: "Didn't you read the information in your pirate's handbook before you signed up for it? Patch, hook or peg-- Those are your only options."

Cap'n Mikey: "What do I get if I come in with a prescription for Viagra?

 

Bad health plan an all I plan to set sail for the balmy Carribean, so AVAST ye chuckleheads! Heave to and prepare to be boarded, for it's a pirates life for me!

Yoho

 

 Historical Pirate Duds   

Contemporary Pirate Duds

 

The Great War

There's no bigger fan of the Xbox Live Arcade game "Toy Soldiers" than I am. It is the most enjoyable video game I've ever played and find it a thoroughly immersive experience. I decided to find out what goes in to developing such a cool game and spoke with D. R. Albright, one of the principal players at Signal Studios, developers of "Toy Soldiers."

DR Albright pt 1

 

DR Albright pt 2

 

 

As of this post, there is still no official release date for the "Invasion" DLC module. Darn it!

Char-Latte Creations

 

What is Char-Latte Creations?

via www.charlattecreations.com

Charlotte Garrett Tucker spoke at the last Brownwood Art Association meeting. Check out tsome of her amazing work. Very popular among the Steampunk set, though she likes to desccribe her work as more Victorian. Whatever it is, it is certainly beautiful.