Category: Science, Engineering & Technology
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Here is another one of those science/art stories which will raise my co-blogger Dean’s hackles. "A starter violin costs about $200. A finely crafted modern instrument can run as much as $20,000. But even that’s loose change when compared with a violin made three centuries ago by Antonio Stradivari. His 600 or so surviving violins can…
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Stupid? So far into the season, the New Orleans Saints are 5-1 and the Houston Texans are 1-4. Perhaps you remember that the Texans passed over Reggie Bush and Vince Young as their first draft pick and went for Mario Williams. The Saints picked Bush. (Young is the rookie Q.B. for the Tennessee Titans) Not…
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Growing up in New Delhi, I remember that electricity and water were dependable commodities in the early part of my childhood. Around age ten, after my parents had moved to a house in a newer part of Delhi, trouble with water and electricity (mostly water) first made itself felt in our lives. Uninterrupted and dependable…
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So, it seems that Neil Armstrong did use correct grammar when he uttered one of the most famous phrases in human history. For decades since Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon, we have heard the exuberant message Armstrong sent out to us earthlings worded as: "…One small step for man, one giant…
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Before genetic fingerprinting became a common forensic tool, our real "fingerprints" were about as close as we came to establishing a unique identity. In the past hundred years or so since this peculiar individual trait was discovered, fingerprints have played a vital role in criminal investigation and in establishing identity. Up until now, the fingerprints…
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How safe is our e-voting system now? This report makes me want to go back to pen and paper days again. More details on the actual paper here . From the MSNBC report: Felten and graduate students Ariel Feldman and Alex Halderman found that malicious programs could be placed on the Diebold by accessing the…
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Bush and his Homeland Security chief remind us constantly that they are doing all they can to protect Americans from the perils of terrorism. As the November elections draw near, we will hear a steady rise in the drumbeat of this claim. They justify wars, suspension of civil liberties and draconian measures at airports by…
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(Click for enlargement) The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has redefined what constitutes a planet. Based on that definition, a panel of astronomers, writers and historians has suggested adding three more to the current number of planets in our solar system, bringin up the total from 9 to 12. It is possible that more may be…
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Here are two stories about a couple of pioneers of astronomy, physics and space exploration – Clyde Tombaugh and James Van Allen, and their amazing journeys through life and death. Clyde Tombaugh WASHINGTON – In articles about his life, they always called Clyde Tombaugh "a Kansas farm boy," as if to draw sharp contrast with…
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Following two previous posts about art perception (The Eye of The Beholder and The Brain of the Beholder) and my own virtual art exhibitions, this story seems to be a logical progression in the sequence – with a twist. While the previous two posts dealt with the personal perceptions of art by the viewer, this…
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