CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-24 02:56:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Via +KIRO 7 Eyewitness News I-5 Skagit River Bridge collapses; people, vehicles in water - http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/i-5-skagit-river-bridge-collapses-people-vehicles-/nX2d5/

2013-05-23 23:43:12 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —Magnetars – the dense remains of dead stars that erupt sporadically with bursts of high-energy radiation - are some of the most extreme objects known in the Universe. A major campaign using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other satellites shows magnetars may be more diverse - and common - than previously thought."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-hidden-population-exotic-neutron-stars.html#jCp

2013-05-23 23:42:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —Researchers and physicians in the field could soon run on-the-spot tests for environmental toxins, medical diagnostics, food safety and more with their smartphones.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers have developed a cradle and app for the iPhone that uses the phone's built-in camera and processing power as a biosensor to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other molecules."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-cradle-smartphone-handheld-biosensor.html#jCp

2013-05-23 23:31:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

ESO celebrates 15 years of the VLT with a new look into a stellar nursery: http://www.universetoday.com/102367/an-amazing-anniversary-image-from-the-vlt/

2013-05-23 23:31:07 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

King Richard III found in 'untidy lozenge-shaped grave'

"An academic paper on the archaeology of the Search for Richard III reveals for the first time specific details of the grave dug for King Richard III and discovered under a car park in Leicester.

University of Leicester archaeologists have published the first peer-reviewed paper on the University-led archaeological Search for Richard III in the prestigious journal Antiquity.

The paper reveals:

Richard III was casually placed in a badly prepared grave – suggesting gravediggers were in a hurry to bury him

He was placed in an 'odd position' and the torso crammed in

The grave was 'too short' at the bottom to receive the body conventionally

Someone is likely to have stood in the grave to receive the body – suggested by the fact the body is onone... more »

2013-05-23 22:08:59 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —A company called Contemporary Energy has unveiled a new device it calls the Solar Kettle. It looks very much like a normal coffee thermos, but has flaps on one side that open to allow for collecting solar energy, thus heating whatever is held inside. The company will be marketing the device to campers and others that need a way to boil water when electricity is not available."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-solar-kettle-grid.html#jCp

2013-05-23 22:07:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

The new Google Drive!

http://googledrive.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-smoother-drive-app-for-android.html

2013-05-23 20:36:20 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

Actually, this was more of a Terms of Service violation than a "data cap".  But it's still awesome.

2013-05-23 20:28:50 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

In case you haven't watched or perused the slides from my I/O presentation (inconceivable!) -- you'd  have missed this gem I used to illustrate my relative age. Yes, that's me c1997 playing Doom 2 over a LAN with the largest set of headphones in the free world.  #GeekSwagger  

2013-05-23 18:11:42 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —Sometimes astronomy is like real estate—what's important is location, location, and location. Astronomers have resolved a major problem in their understanding of a class of stars that undergo regular outbursts by accurately measuring the distance to a famous example of the type.

The researchers used the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the European VLBI Network (EVN) to precisely locate one of the most-observed variable-star systems in the sky—a double-star system called SS Cygni—at 370 light-years from Earth. This new distance measurement meant that an explanation for the system's regular outbursts that applies to similar pairs also applies to SS Cygni."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-accurate-distance-major-astronomical-mystery.html#jCp

2013-05-23 17:44:52 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Just heard incredibly depressing talk on the future on NASA education and public outreach efforts under the new White House rule eliminating them from NASA.  Speaker concluded with this slide of future for NASA education:

2013-05-23 17:39:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Bad Astronomy on the front page of Wikipedia right now!

The entry for my book "Bad Astronomy" is listed on the front page of Wikipedia right now! Wow.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/05/23/bad_astronomy_book_featured_on_the_front_page_of_wikipedia.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

2013-05-23 17:37:13 (5 comments, 4 reshares, 26 +1s)

2013-05-23 17:31:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

If you're along Florida's Space Coast, find the best spots to view tonight's launch here!

2013-05-23 17:31:10 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

2013-05-23 17:30:54 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

"Earlier Today [May 22, 2013], Twitter announced its Lead Generation product, making it easy for anyone to post offers to Twitter and have people claim them without having to leave Twitter.com."

2013-05-23 17:28:48 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

2013-05-23 17:27:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —From the high-resolution glow of flat screen televisions to light bulbs that last for years, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) continue to transform technology. The celebrated efficiency and versatility of LEDs—and other solid-state technologies including laser diodes and solar photovoltaics—make them increasingly popular. Their full potential, however, remains untapped, in part because the semiconductor alloys that make these devices work continue to puzzle scientists."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-atomic-scale-key-puzzle-efficiency.html#jCp

2013-05-23 17:26:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

"Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised a powerful new technique for finding antibodies that have a desired biological effect. Antibodies, which can bind to billions of distinct targets, are already used in many of the world's best-selling medicines, diagnostics and laboratory reagents. The newly reported technique should greatly speed the process of discovering such products."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-scientists-powerful-method-therapeutic-antibodies.html#jCp

2013-05-23 17:25:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

"Online retail titan Amazon announced Thursday it is expanding sales of its Kindle tablet computers to "over 170 countries and territories around the world," and its Appstore in nearly 200 countries.

"Kindle Fire HD is the number one best-selling item in the world for Amazon since its launch, and we're thrilled to make it available to even more customers around the globe today," said Dave Limp, vice president at Amazon Kindle."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-amazon-kindle-tablet-sale-countries.html#jCp

2013-05-23 17:07:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

This could actually have all kind of implications in a wide array of field of Optics.  Imagine all the innovative applications in Astronomy, Photography, etc that could come out of this.  Scientists develop spray-on to generate flat lens

"A University of British Columbia engineer and a team of U.S. researchers have made a breakthrough utilizing spray-on technology that could revolutionize the way optical lenses are made and used.

Kenneth Chau, an assistant professor in the School of Engineering at UBC's Okanagan campus, is a key investigator among colleagues at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland. Their work – the development of a flat lens – is published in the May 23 issue of the journal Nature."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-flat-spray-on-optical-lens.html#jCp

Image: "Kenneth Chau,Unive... more »

2013-05-23 17:03:23 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —Fergus Ewing, Scotland's energy minister, has announced plans for the deployment of 40 to 50 Oyster hydro-electric wave devices off the country's northwestern shore. The new facility will be capable of producing 40MW of electricity, which should be enough to power approximately 30,000 homes—making it the largest such facility in the world."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-scotland-deploy-largest-hydro-electric-energy.html#jCp

2013-05-23 16:49:48 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

A blessing and a curse. Can you respond in verse?

2013-05-23 16:26:53 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Why 381,654,729 is awesome - Numberphile

2013-05-23 16:00:08 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

The mystery of the submerged city in the Sea of Galilee

"The massive circular structure appears to be an archaeologists dream: a recently discovered antiquity that could reveal secrets of ancient life in the Middle East and is just waiting to be excavated.

It's thousands of years old—a conical, manmade behemoth weighing hundreds of tons, practically begging to be explored.

The problem is—it's at the bottom of the biblical Sea of Galilee. For now, at least, Israeli researchers are left stranded on dry land, wondering what finds lurk below."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-submerged-stumps-israeli-archaeologists.html#jCp

2013-05-23 06:11:24 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

I have just found out that a good friend and long time social media participant, and member of our Google Plus family, was hit pretty hard by the Moore, Ok tornado.

Her house and property sustained considerable damage and some friends of her were casualties.

I cannot disclose her name to respect her privacy, but know that Google Plus community is close to the people of Moore, Oklahoma that got affected by this horrible natural calamity...

2013-05-23 05:06:14 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Well, its all coming apart for Apple, isn't it? The Samsung hate must be chewy in Sunnyvale. As if Samsung was somehow responsible for Google Now. What a bunch of rubes. 

2013-05-23 02:58:25 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Researchers at the University of Michigan have used a 3-D printer to create a custom-made, life-saving implant for baby boy, they report in a letter in 'The New England Journal of Medicine.'

2013-05-23 02:39:03 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

http://youtu.be/k5Yyc-G5eS8

2013-05-22 22:15:41 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating high-quality semiconductor thin films at the atomic scale – meaning the films are only one atom thick. The technique can be used to create these thin films on a large scale, sufficient to coat wafers that are two inches wide, or larger."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-technique-era-atomic-scale-semiconductor-devices.html#jCp

2013-05-22 22:08:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Scientists refine models for difficult to forecast wild weather changes on Saturn's moon Titan

"(Phys.org) —Saturn's moon Titan might be in for some wild weather as it heads into its spring and summer, if two new models are correct. Scientists think that as the seasons change in Titan's northern hemisphere, waves could ripple across the moon's hydrocarbon seas, and hurricanes could begin to swirl over these areas, too. The model predicting waves tries to explain data from the moon obtained so far by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Both models help mission team members plan when and where to look for unusual atmospheric disturbances as Titan summer approaches.

"If you think being a weather forecaster on Earth is difficult, it can be even more challenging at Titan," said Scott Edgington, Cassini's deputy project scientist at NASA's JetP... more »

2013-05-22 20:55:55 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —Life as we know it may not have existed if the Earth wasn't repeatedly bombarded by massive planetary bodies more than 4 billion years ago according to new research conducted by scientists at the University of New Mexico and NASA Johnson Space Center. The results of the massive collisions indicate that much of Earth's supply of chlorine was blown away creating a habitable environment suitable for the existence of complex forms of life – including humans.

In a paper titled, "The chlorine abundance of Earth: Implications for a habitable planet," published recently in an issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters, UNM Regents' Professor Zach Sharp, UNM Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and David Draper of the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas (formerly of UNM's Institute of Meteoritics), research suggests the removal of thechl... more »

2013-05-22 20:52:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Excellent article about Ed Stone and the Voyager spacecraft by Alexandra Witze

2013-05-22 20:50:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Darth Vader Stress Head

What does the Dark Lord of the Sith do when he finds himself a little stressed out by those Rebel scum?

Why he squeezes his head of course. What else would you do?

Amazon.com: Darth Vader Stress Head - http://amzn.to/14ShmQG

2013-05-22 20:48:29 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

How To Learn Anything

I saw +Liz Krane  share this nugget of pure awesomeness about learning. [http://goo.gl/HePQ1]

Learning is a skill. It's easy to master. For example, I start differently when I'd want to learn something new in web development. Yes, I do break it down, and I start with deployment. Not the Hello World; deployment! That works for me. Just figure out what works for you.

To demonstrate learning faster, I also use this method to remember what I'm picking up. Deconstructed the video from the share into this visual. It's much easier to remember. #HowToLearnAnything  

2013-05-22 20:21:20 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

Scientists uncover what they believe were the Neanderthal weaning habits

"Neanderthals may have started weaning their young from seven months of age and transferred them to solid food by just over a year, a fossil tooth study said Wednesday.

This is within the range for modern humans and chimpanzees, a research team wrote in the journal Nature, but may have been later compared to Stone Age Homo sapiens."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-science-teeth-neanderthal-weaning-habits.html#jCp

Image: Homo neanderthalensis, adult male. Image Credit: John Gurche, artist / Chip Clark, photographer

2013-05-22 20:16:22 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

"Two hungry young galaxies that collided 11 billion years ago are rapidly forming a massive galaxy about 10 times the size of the Milky Way, according to UC Irvine-led research published Wednesday in the journal Nature."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-fragile-mega-galaxy-link-history-cosmos.html#jCp

2013-05-22 20:10:45 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Ladies and Gentlemen, soon we'll be able to print our own food!

"(Phys.org) —The idea of living with 3-D printed food is neither unthinkable nor new; designers and futurists have been looking to 3-D printing as food's next frontier. In 2012, there was news that the Thiel Foundation made a $350,000 donation to Modern Meadow. Co-founded by Gabor and Andras Forgacs, two tech-entrepreneurs, the company focus was on commercialized bioprinting and they were exploring bioprinted meat —applying the basic idea of layering cells using print technology. Now, NASA similarly made a next-frontier move in bestowing a $125,000 grant on Systems & Materials Research Corporation (SMRC) in Austin, Texas. The company has been given the nod from NASA to create a prototype of a food synthesizer. The prototype will follow the company's-proof of concept a chocolate printer, applying alay... more »

2013-05-22 19:03:59 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —In order to study many complex phenomena, physicists seek to isolate them in potential wells or boxes with easily described forms and boundary conditions. These features in turn dictate various behaviors of the system under study like, for example, equilibrium states or resonances. In recent times it has emerged that constraining particles on extremely small scales can result in interesting new behaviors. Artificial atom systems, like quantum dots, can be fine-tuned in this way to specific color or conductivity according to their dimension. In some cases, even the phase of a material can be manipulated. A group of researchers has recently demonstrated the ability to precisely control the phase structure of superfluid helium-3 by manipulating the geometry of the container that holds it, and applying an appropriate magnetic field. Their new paper, recently published in Science, describesh... more »

2013-05-22 19:03:31 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —Highview Power Storage, a British company that develops energy storage systems for utility companies has received $18 million in funding from several backers to investigate the use of "liquid air" as a means of storing electricity for backup purposes. Liquid air is air that has been chilled to the point of liquefying—when warmed it expands, allowing for the possibility of driving turbines to create electricity."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-energy-companies-liquid-air-backup.html#jCp

2013-05-22 16:19:35 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —Now that it looks like the hunt for the Higgs boson is over, particles of dark matter are at the top of the physics "Most Wanted" list. Dozens of experiments have been searching for them, but often come up with contradictory results.

Theorists from the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), a joint SLAC-Stanford institute, believe they've come up with an algorithm – a mathematical description of how the individual particles behave – that could help narrow the search for these elusive particles, which are thought to make up more than 25 percent of the matter and energy in the universe.

It starts with assumptions, said Yao-Yuan Mao, lead author of a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal that outlines their new search tool. Assumptions are a good starting point when you don't know where to look. A popularassum... more »

2013-05-22 15:58:36 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Active Region 1745 produced a M7-class solar flare, peaking around 13:32 UT on May 22, 2013, sending solar plasma into Space. 

Since this region has already traveled across the Earth facing side of the Sun, and is about to rotate over the western limb of the Sun - the coronal mass ejection is not going to impact Earth. 

Credit: NASA SDO
#NASA   #SDO   #Sun   #SpaceWeather  

2013-05-22 15:57:41 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

"Research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source promises four-bit magnetic cells instead of the two-bit magnetic domains of standard magnetic memories. Magnetic vortices are whirlpools of magnetic field, in which electron spins point either clockwise or counterclockwise. In the crowded center of the whirlpool the spins point either down or up. These four orientations could represent separate bits of information in a new kind of memory, if controlled independently and simultaneously."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-whirlpools-nanoscale-magnetic-memory.html#jCp

2013-05-22 15:57:08 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

"An unusual wave that does not spread out as it travels could become a key component in speedy computer chips that use beams of light to carry and process data. Jiao Lin, a physicist at the A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, helped to develop the electromagnetic wave, which can travel some 80 micrometers in a straight line without diffracting."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-optical-benefit-electromagnetic.html#jCp

2013-05-22 15:56:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"The first-ever manned airplane that can fly by day or night on solar power alone was set to soar early Wednesday on the second leg of its journey across the United States."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-solar-plane-leg-cross-country.html#jCp

2013-05-21 21:28:21 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Creepy Kirk!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Captain-Kirk-vintage-Halloween-mask-replica-Star-Trek-myer-post-rare-collectible-/140979192847?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

2013-05-21 21:18:43 (0 comments, 5 reshares, 5 +1s)

"CNN's Nick Glass meets Hugh Herr, a double amputee and creator of the world's most advanced bionic leg."

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/05/13/ctw-art-of-movement-bionic-leg.cnn.html

2013-05-21 20:43:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

2013-05-21 20:35:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

2013-05-21 20:34:52 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)