Link Round-up November 2011
News & Events:
How people get lost on cruises. An eye-opening feature about how dangerous cruises can be.
Occupy data applet. I don't normally post political stuff here, but the data comes out fairly stark.
Science Links:
Cyclops shark is real! Looks like it's the result of a birth defect, and the fetus probably wouldn't have survived in the real world, but its still mind-blowing to see.
New self-replicating materials from DNA. An interesting application of DNA that's off the beaten track. It's interesting to see the advent of such materials that can "grow" or "heal" by design.
Darwin's emotion experiments. One of Darwin's lesser known, yet still way before its time, experiments, which tried to determine whether there was a core set of facial expressions that could be universally identified by people independent of culture. The method was somewhat bizarre, but Darwin was able to show that we humans do seem to be connected by a common emotional vocabulary.
Single-molecule "electric car". Because going for a ride on the nanometer scale is awesome.
Let there be light in a vacuum. This just blows my mind. Spontaneous generation of photons just seems to go against all common sense, but quantum and the universe just seems to fly that way.
Interview with the "Mars 500" crew. On how they survived the pretend trip to Mars lasting a year and a half with their sanity intact, among other things.
And finally, a Feynman video, espousing on the beauty of the universe:
Click to viewFluffy Hum:
Evolution of the word "disgust."
Evolution of the word "cool."
How swearing got less taboo.
It's interesting how much language changes over the course of centuries or even decades.
Potential things to do:
Written Kitten. An adorable applet that spits out cute photos of kittens (and occasionally puppies) after 100 words are written. An excellent incentive to write :).
Barefoot running. An interesting take on running and how to run without injury.
"Conceptual Knitting" Project: Sky Scarf. An interesting pattern, designed to match each row of the scarf with the color of the sky during each day over the course of a year.
Neighborgoods. An online community that promotes sharing among local members.
Food & Recipes:
Using restaurant grease as biofuel. An interesting way to recycle spent restaurant oil.
Quintessential local desserts. Local treats from all over the world that are worth tracking down.
Pumpkin muffins with streusel topping. Looks highly yummy.
Weird and Wonderful:
Armchair ballooning becomes an international sport. Not quite, but it still conjures nostalgic images of Up.
From Sticky Comics:
Google eyes Bletchley Park. Because code-breaking is as important now as it was decades ago.
A real-life Spanish super-spy. Sometimes the stuff that happens in real life are even more extraordinary than the spy novels.
Library Phantom returns. From Robert Krulwich again, the conclusion of a heartwarming mystery of hand-carved book sculptures being left as gifts at local libraries in Edinburgh.