New WOTT mix/POBAH/BFF update
September 9, 2009
Wow. Waaay too many abbrevs in that title.
Ok so there aren’t really any updates for BFF, I’m just shamelessly plugging it. And also pointing you over to Fan Fiction’s blog where he plugged it as well. Be sure to check out the mix he did for Justin Kase’s blog Blogging Is Serious Business. That’s just a taste of the goodness he has to offer for your dancing pleasure this Friday night. Also check out my (DJ Burgers) latest mix SUMMERMIXXXX09. It starts off a little more pop/rock-oriented than anything I’ll spin Friday, but the latter 1/2 should give you a good idea of what I have to offer. Remember- it’s totally FREE, 18+ and at Mad Donna’s (1313 Woodland St.) upstairs lounge. We promise to love you long time.
We Own This Town has just posted a new mix for your downloading/listening pleasure. Go grab it now. It features some great new tracks from the likes of Turbo Fruits, Kindergarten Circus, and The Nobility, plus many more.
Speaking of great local bands, The Protomen officially released their long-awaited new album Act II: The Father of Death on Amazon MP3 and iTunes yesterday. It’s been doing AMAZINGLY well on both. But it peaked at fucking #8 on the Amazon download charts, competing with the likes of Phish, Kings of Leon, etc… Mind. Blown. Be sure to come out to their official album release party on Sept. 25th at Mercy Lounge. It will likely be the most epic thing ever to happen at Mercy Lounge. We’re talking the band plus a full string section and choir, playing both their first album and Act II: The Father of Death, in their entirety. Not to be missed. Then head over to Little Hamilton afterwards to this other party I’m DJing with Kid Chicago. More on that when it gets closer.
They Might Be Giants have released DVD children’s album called Here Comes the Science. Naturally I’m quite happy about this since it involves the two things this very blog is about. i09 posted several videos of songs from the album and it’s absolutely delightful. These guys have a long-proven record of being absolutely masterful songwriters, and to combine that kind of skill with the mission of educating our children about reality just makes me ecstatic. If I ever have kids, their first gift will be a boxed-set of all the TMBG children’s albums. John and John, you are my HEROES!!!! Check out Science is Real below, and check out the i09 post for even more.
Yellowstone photos/creepy apple video
September 1, 2009
Grand Geyser
After way too long, I’ve finally gotten the photos from our trip to Yellowstone National Park on my flickr. We had a great time and I will never, ever tire of seeing that place. It is literally one of the most fascinating places on earth and everyone should go see it. It had been 9 years since I last saw it, and while reading some of the information plaques I realized that some major geologic changes had taken place just since the last time I was there. The place is just teeming with hydrothermal activity and is always changing. Not to mention that the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. So please go take a look at the photos. We also visited Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Grand Teton Park, and came back by driving through Colorado and New Mexico, making a quick stop at Philmont. Not only was the land beautiful, but we also got to see a pretty nice light show in the sky almost every night we were in Yellowstone. The Perseid meteor shower peaked while we were there, and with the absence of light pollution from cities, we could see them quite well. (That is, until the gibbous Moon rose around 11pm…) Literally, we could look up at any given time between sunset and Moonrise and see a meteor within a minute.
Some other random scientific tidbits:
A team of Swedish scientists, with the help of some other Chinese researchers, have discovered a very exact location and date for the birthplace of dogs. Apparently dogs originated from a group of tamed wolves about 16,000 years ago in an area of China south of the Yangtze River. Sadly, it’s also thought that those dogs met their fate in the stomachs of humans. (Via EurekAlert)
By now I’m sure you’ve heard of Apple’s new OS Snow Leopard. It’s not a total upgrade, since the last major update was called Leopard, but it is a significant advance in how the computer utilizes those multiple-core processors that have become standard over the past few years. It all boils down to the OS providing a way for applications to run multiple processes in parallel, or at the same time. Gizmodo has an article that explains it quite well, and I suggest reading it. I’ll probably be upgrading to Snow Leopard pretty soon.
And now I’m simply going to leave you with this incredibly creepy video using time-lapse footage of a rotting apple. No pun on the previous paragraph intended. (Via Kottke)
Chicxulub challenges/rocket fuel made of ice/eclectic astronauts
August 24, 2009
The theory that the dinosaurs were wiped out from an asteroid impact near the modern-day Yucatan Peninsula is beginning to face major challenges. There’s no doubt that a huge impact caused the Chicxculub Crater, but some recent findings suggest that the impact may have occurred some 300,000 years earlier than originally thought. This comes as a second blow to the impact theory, with the first being the discovery/dating of the Deccan Traps in India. This gigantic volcanic feature is the result of a huge eruption that is believed to have lasted around 30,000 years. Can you imagine a massive volcano erupting for 30,000 years and covering an area equivalent to 1/2 of modern India with lava? Trust me, something on that scale is hard for the human mind to comprehend, but that much volcanic ash and gas in the atmosphere would’ve had a devastating effect on the ecosystem, and almost certainly played a major role in the extinction of the dinosaurs. Get ready for science textbooks to be re-written, because the asteroid impact theory is about to see the same fate as the dinosaurs themselves. (Via Daily Galaxy)
NASA recently teamed up with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to test a new, Earth-friendly type of solid rocket fuel. I’m not exactly sure of the details, but somehow they’ve managed to make rocket fuel out of aluminum powder and ice. Yes ice… as in frozen water. The secret apparently is that the aluminum powder is so finely ground that it’s considered “nanoscale.” The nanoscale aluminum has so much surface area in contact with the water ice that the exothermic reaction when it burns is more efficient than normal solid rocket fuel, which is usually powdered aluminum (not nanoscale) mixed with an oxidizer such as ammonium perchlorate and a binding agent. Seriously though, who would’ve ever thought you could make rocket fuel out of ice and aluminum? It just sounds crazy, but it’s true. (Via EurekAlert)
When you think of the type of person who becomes an astronaut, you don’t typically think of race car drivers or musicians, but two of the astronauts about to launch on Space Shuttle Discovery tomorrow morning are just that- a former off-road truck racer and a drummer. Check out this Space.com article to find out more about Commander Rick Struckrow, formerly a Baja off-road race driver, Pilot Kevin Ford who is also a drummer, and several other astronauts who come from surprising backgrounds.
NASA’s options/Zooey Deschanel dances/vacation
August 6, 2009
This will be my last post for about a week or more. Tomorrow right after work Megan and I are heading westward to spend some time at Yellowstone and the surrounding areas, and possibly Portland as well. Having to make the 34 hour drive back from Portland is looking less and less appealing, however. That being said, posting will be virtually non-existent for a while.
Photo via USA Today
As I mentioned a few days ago, we saw 500 Days of Summer last weekend. Most people would agree that there’s no such thing as too much Zooey Deschanel, and thus I highly recommend watching this cute music video put together as a promotional piece for the movie. It’s for She & Him’s “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here” and features ZD dancing with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I have no idea how to embed USA Today videos on WordPress, so just go watch it here. (Via Stereogum)
I know I flooded you with science nerdiness yesterday, but I have to post this. I read an article this morning on Space.com containing details on the options for the future direction of NASA that Obama’s Augustine Commission are reviewing. Basically they’ve narrowed it down to 7 generalized options. They’ve been holding public hearings to get input from citizens (which is awesome) and plan to convene to make their final decisions and present them to President Obama at the end of this month. I’ve mentioned this many times on here before, but this is the first time I’ve seen the actual options that are under review. Personally, I’m torn between the “Directly Shuttle-Derived System” and relying on commercial spaceflight. It’s obvious that the current Ares I is having issues. It’s also obvious that many companies, the leader of them being Virgin Galactic, are really close to making commercial spaceflight a simple and easy solution. NASA could just buy flights from a private company to get astronauts to and from the ISS. I definitely think the US has invested way too much time and money into the ISS to end our involvement in 2015, just 4 years after it will be completed. It will still be useful and there’s no sense in abandoning it. Then NASA could possibly use the shuttle-derived plan, along with Ares V (which hasn’t had as many setbacks as Ares I because it’s not intended to carry humans; only cargo) to get to the moon and eventually Mars. Just my two cents.
See y’all in a week!
Ares I-X/Man-made Auroras
August 5, 2009
Image Via Universe Today
NASA is assembling the Ares I-X rocket currently in the the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kenndey Space Center. This rocket is a test version for the Ares I which, under the current plan, will eventually take astronauts to the ISS and moon. They plan to do the test flight on Oct. 31st of this year. However, Obama’s Augustine Commission is currently reviewing the direction of NASA and could come out with a report that recommends scrapping the Ares rockets in favor of retro-fitting the space shuttle’s external fuel tank/SRB assembly to work with the new Orion Crew Vehicle. (I’ve posted about this before.) I’d say the test will happen regardless of the Augustine Commission’s recommendations, and furthermore I’d speculate that their findings will be somewhat dependent on the results of this test flight. Either way, it’ll be cool to see what happens. (Via Universe Today)
It’s unfortunate that most really big advances and breakthroughs in science are the result of military initiatives. (See: THE INTERNET) A scientist can ask the government for money to research a technology that could greatly improve the lives of everyone, but as soon as he/she mentions that the technology could have military applications, their chance of getting said money goes up exponentially. Such is the case with one of the most mysterious facilities ever to be built. No, I’m not talking about Area 51, I’m talking about HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) in Alaska. This thing is literally capable of creating its own miniature aurora in the sky. It’s a 3.6 megawatt antenna array aimed directly into the sky, and its purpose is to turn the ionosphere (a layer at the top of the atmosphere full of charged particles) into a giant low frequency antenna. I think the intent of the scientists behind this project is good, but the facility has fueled tons of conspiracy theories. Some even say it is responsible for Hurricane Katrina. I’m not knowledgeable enough to know exactly how ultra low frequency radio waves can affect the weather, but I do know that something powerful enough to blast the ionosphere and create a mini-aurora is pretty awesome, and the scientific knowledge that can be gained from such experiments is well-worth the evils of military application. The main military application in this case is the penetrating power of those ultra-low frequency radio waves generated by the ionosphere. Those waves could be used to detect underground bunkers and communicate with submarines deep in the ocean. Other radio waves are quickly absorbed by just a few feet of water or land, but these high-powered, low frequency waves have much more penetrating ability. I suggest reading this well written article on Wired about HAARP for more info if you’re interested. Here’s what the antenna array looks like:
Space Underwear/new state of matter
July 29, 2009
Remember Star Trek IV? That was the movie where they ended up time traveling back to the 20th Century and got stuck there, needing some transparent Aluminum to create a holding tank for a humpback whale. Some scientists have now created just that, if only for about 40 femtoseconds. They say it’s an entirely new state of matter, because they used a high-powered laser to remove one of the core electrons from each atom in a tiny area of Aluminum. This allowed X-ray and ultraviolet radiation to pass through uninhibited, effectively making the Aluminum transparent. (Via LiveScience)
Astronaut Koichi Wakata
There are many common luxuries that we take for granted on Earth, such as being able to wash our clothes. Unfortunately, in space you don’t have that luxury. Just going to the bathroom requires a highly sophisticated and technologically advanced toilet system. When astronauts wash their bodies they use special soap and shampoo that doesn’t require water. But in a microgravity environment where droplets of water can float around and destroy sensitive equipment, washing their clothes just isn’t an option. Unfortunately dirty clothes must be simply discarded. But apparently some Japanese scientists are working to fix that by inventing clothes that clean themselves… or don’t get dirty in the first place, depending on how you look at it. Astronaut Koichi Wakata, who just left the ISS on Endeavour, tested these new clothes during his 4 1/2 moth stay. It sounds utterly disgusting, but he never changed his underwear while he was there. The high-tech material actually kills odor-causing bacteria and absorbs moisture. He says that even after 4 1/2 moths of wear, they didn’t smell at all. This is yet another great example of how manned space exploration drives innovation and ultimately leads to technologies that are very applicable here on the ground. This could one day lead to clothes that literally clean themselves, eliminating the need for washing machines and dryers, which are energy and water hogs. (Via Universe Today)
In a related note, Universe Today also posted a set of great photos from Endeavour’s mission. Check it out.
That’s all I have time for today!
Shuttle Mission update/new Apple tablet/Life on Venus?
July 28, 2009
I agree with Yewknee- Day. Made.
Ok, now that you’ve been properly entertained by that photograph thanks to Yewknee’d, let’s get on with the good stuff.
Rumors have been spreading like wildfire for months that Apple will be releasing a new tablet device that could revolutionize mobile entertainment. According to this article on Financial Times, (via Kottke) it’s looking like the device will be released this fall, just in time for the Holiday shopping season. If this thing is as good as it sounds, Apple’s REALLY gonna cash in, and if it flops, their public image will be severely tarnished. But I have no doubt they will succeed with this in the same way they succeeded with the iPhone, save for that minor pricing debacle when it first came out. It seems to me that this thing will be an iPod Touch on steroids. Having just bought a new Macbook Pro, I sure as hell won’t be able to cough up the cash for one of these, but I can’t wait to go play with them at the Apple Store!
Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the ISS today after successfully installing the newest Japanese component. The shuttle is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center this Friday at 10:47am EDT, weather permitting. (Via Space.com)
There’s been a lot of speculation about the possibility of life on Mars and more recently, life on Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus, and Jupiter’s moon Europa. But not since the 50’s have we ever thought that life could exist on Venus. People used to think Venus might have a climate somewhat like a tropical paradise, but that notion came to a screeching halt when scientists discovered that its surface is basically a good approximation of hell. Its surface temperature is over 860 degrees Fahrenheit, the atmospheric pressure is 92 times greater than Earth’s and made of mostly CO2 and laden with sulfuric acid clouds. But recent research has shown that it’s possible that microbial life could thrive in conditions found in the upper atmosphere of Venus. We continually discover life in places on Earth once thought to be utterly inhospitable, so it’s no longer such a stretch to imagine life surviving in such extreme environments as are found in Venus’ upper atmosphere. Scientists think that Venus was once much more Earth-like, and even had oceans. But what’s commonly referred to as a “runaway greenhouse effect” took over and caused the planet to heat up enough to boil away all water on the surface and create the hellish environment we see today. It’s possible that primitive life may have emerged during the planet’s more hospitable past and had time to evolve, adapt, and escape to the planet’s outer atmosphere where it could survive. (Via Daily Galaxy)
NASA’s new administrator/Solar Eclipse
July 22, 2009
An historic solar eclipse occurred today over parts of Asia, including India, Nepal, and China. CNN.com has a great slideshow of images from the event. I’ve been patiently awaiting the next solar eclipse that will be seen in the U.S., and there’s a lot more waiting to be done. It won’t happen till 2017. But, when it finally does hit the U.S., Nashville is in for a real treat. Check out this map (be patient, it seems that website is a bit slow) of the Aug. 21st, 2017 total eclipse. You can easily see that the main shadow, or umbra, goes right smack over Nashville. I have no idea if I’ll still be in Nashville in 2017, but you can bet I’ll be traveling back for it if I’m not still living here. A total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The May 20th, 2012 annular eclipse barely extends into northern California, but the 2017 one will be much better. For more info and a complete list of solar eclipses for the next several hundred years, check out the NASA eclipse website.
Charles Bolden was confirmed as NASA’s new administrator, along with Lori Garver as his Deputy Administrator. The two laid out some fresh policies at a videoconference with all the NASA centers. Of particular interest is their view toward feelings in the NASA workplace. Garver said “Feelings are not something that were popular in the last few years at NASA, but they’re back. Feelings are back!” I like it. If bringing feelings back to NASA equates to more passion for broadening mankind’s reach into space, then I’m all for it. Hopefully Garver can be successful in keeping Congress interested in what NASA’s up to, and keep them a top priority when it comes to funding. (Via Universe Today)
Speaking of NASA’s budget and direction, a new article on Space.com sheds some more light on details of what our first manned Mars mission would look like. The Ares V rocket under current development would do all the heavy lifting and get the cargo/equipment there, but they’d probably have to develop something a bit roomier than the Orion capsule to get the crew there, as Orion is only big enough to fit 3 people and at least 6 will be needed for a mission to Mars. Check it out here.
As I mentioned in the music post above, I’m splitting up the categories somewhat, so comment and let me know what you think!
Image via nasa.gov
Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, on its way to what is arguably mankind’s greatest achievement thus far- putting a man on the moon. As part of the celebration, NASA has posted mp3’s of recorded conversations inside the module. They’re certainly not the highlights of the mission, but it is interesting to hear the casual conversations between Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. They have also posted newly restored footage from the mission here. Also of interest- notice the main logo in the upper-left corner of the website. They replaced the blue sphere with an image of the moon. (Via Universe Today)
Unsurprisingly, the Boston Globe’s Big Picture blog put together a collection of 40 hi-res images from the Apollo 11 mission. Check out the eyegasm here.
Endeavour FINALLY lifted off yesterday after 6 delays. Watch the video here. This is a minor milestone in space exploration, as there are now a total of 13 humans in space at the same time, the most in history. There are 6 on the ISS and 7 on Endeavour. Some debris was clearly seen falling off the external fuel tank during yesterday’s launch, and the shuttle will perform a flip maneuver to allow the ISS astronauts to take hi-res photos of the heat tiles to look for damage. We’ll know in a couple of days if the damage was significant.
The New York Times did a nice article on the future of NASA, focusing on missions to the moon, Mars and the budget constraints that may force changes in those plans.
Today I found a smattering of random links worth posting.
Google announced that they’re going to be developing a “Google Chrome OS”… basically a whole new open-source operating system for notebooks. As a Mac user I’ve yet to experience the Google Chrome web browser (it’s not available for Mac), so I don’t really know what to expect here. (Via Yewknee)
Nashville brewers Yazoo are going to be re-locating to the Gulch neighborhood next year. The new facility will allow the company to produce 4 times as much beer, which means they’ll be able to expand distribution to several neighboring states. They’ll also have a taproom at the new location, with the same hours they have now plus the possibility of opening a full-on pub if the demand is there. I must say I’ll miss the charm of the current taproom in the old Marathon Motor Works building, but it’s good to see a local brewery doing so well. (Via Bites/Nashville Scene)
In other local news, Nashvillest has a sexy new look to their website. Go check it out. I also found some disturbing news while exploring said new look- even though GM rid itself of Hummer, the brand still exists and it was bought by a Chinese machinery manufacturing company, and thus the Hummer executives need a new HQ. Unfortunately it looks like Franklin could be it. Honestly though, they’d fit right in, what with Nissan HQ there and the GM plant just down the road in Spring Hill. Why won’t these things just die? More at the Tennessean article.
Science is getting closer and closer to making invisibility possible. A new breakthrough in metamaterial technology may soon allow one to see through solid steel, or even become invisible. Furthermore, one could make one object look like another. The example they use is making a cup look like a spoon. The cup is sitting there, but when you look at it through a layer of the special metamaterial, you would see a spoon. One of the biggest applications that I can see with this technology would be in spaceships. The scientists behind this research say that it would be possible to make an otherwise opaque material transparent. This would eliminate the need for traditional windows on a spaceship- you could just install one of these devices made of metamaterials on a solid aluminum (or other metal) hull, which is much safer than cutting a hole in the hull to install a glass window, which is much more susceptible to the inevitable impacts from micro-meteors and other space junk. (Via NewScientist)
It’s pretty obvious that hydrogen is fuel of the future. It’s the most abundant element in the universe, and when it’s burned the only byproduct is pure water. Even though it’s abundant, it’s still hard to make here on earth. Up until now the best way was through electrolysis of water, but that’s very expensive, so unfortunately most of it today is made from fossil fuels, which kind of defeats the whole purpose (to get away from fossil fuels!). But that may be changing. Researchers at Ohio University found a way to make it from urea, which is the main compound in urine. Crazy eh? It’s not the most practical idea, but it could be made practical eventually… (Via EcoGeek)
steve cross loves music and science 