CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-08 11:54:11 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Tomorrow morning!!!

2013-06-05 13:15:28 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

A remote controlled quadcopter controlled by thought. [2 minutes]

A model helicopter can now be steered through an obstacle course by thought alone. The aircraft's pilot operates it remotely using a cap of electrodes to detect brainwaves that are translated into commands.

#brain   #brainwaves   #quadcopter   #science  

2013-05-25 15:07:46 (5 comments, 21 reshares, 20 +1s)

You're not listening, it's not about the nail...  [2 minutes]

#fun   #truestory  

2013-05-22 16:42:53 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

Here is an interactive map displaying the killer tornadoes in the US since 1950.

The recent Oklahoma tornado is highlighted in green, currently at a confirmed death toll of 24. 

The size of the circle indicates the number of people killed, and the line indicates the start and end point of the tornado. (not quite its trajectory)

2013-05-20 16:47:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Added photos to The Color Run™ Washington DC Spring 2013.

2013-05-15 11:36:26 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

Just a few hours away from #IO13 here are some potential Google Glass use cases for a later version of the tool.

+Project Glass 

2013-05-10 12:57:08 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Very impressive dynamic behavior by this 6 legged bug-like robot!

More info here: http://kodlab.seas.upenn.edu/Aaron/ICRA2013

#robotics   #ICRA2013

2013-05-04 17:06:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Experimenting with photosphere on panoramas from Yosemite

#panorama #panoramaphotography #photosphere #yosemite  

2013-04-29 02:52:42 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

Obama owning it up at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

2013-04-25 17:19:51 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

The science on climate change is clear, but too many members of Congress are in complete denial. It's time to call them out.

http://OFA.BO/1BggUG

#science   #climatechange   #congress  

2013-04-19 19:03:30 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Manhunt shuts down Boston

What a revealing real-time lesson we are living through right now in how humans respond to risk. More than a million people in Boston and several large surrounding cities have been told by authorities to stay indoors and not open the door to anyone but uniformed police. Businesses are closed. Mass transit is shut down. Rail service into and out of Boston is suspended. This, as one of the largest law enforcement and military manhunts in American history goes building to building in Watertown Massachusetts looking for one man, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who they believe was one of two brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon Monday, killing three and injuring more than 100.

Overreaction?
Read the full article on +Big Think: http://goo.gl/VLM6S

#boston   #watertown   #bostonmarathon   #terrorism  

2013-04-05 17:54:54 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

More awesomeness from Boston Dynamics, where PETMAN is getting more and more agile.

#science   #robotics   #bostondynamics  

2013-04-04 17:11:17 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 9 +1s)

Obama unveils the BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies).

It is a bold new research effort to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.

The Initiative promises to accelerate the invention of new technologies that will help researchers produce real-time pictures of complex neural circuits and visualize the rapid-fire interactions of cells that occur at the speed of thought. Such cutting-edge capabilities, applied to both simple and complex systems, will open new doors to understanding how brain function is linked to human behavior and learning, and the mechanisms of brain disease.

#science   #nih   #darpa   #neuroscience   #brain  

2013-04-04 15:04:14 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 16 +1s)

This kid has it all figured out

Except the real answer was obviously 42 ;)

#consciousness   #meaningoflife   #intelligence   #freewill   #universe  

2013-03-28 17:13:44 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Nice visualization of the Body Mass Index of males & females by countries

using kilograms and meters:
BMI= mass/height^2

or using pounds and inches:
BMI= 703*mass/height^2

2013-03-21 15:20:17 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 10 +1s)

#Planck reveals almost perfect Universe. Acquired by ESA’s Planck space telescope, the most detailed map ever created of the cosmic microwave background – the relic radiation from the Big Bang – was released today revealing the existence of features that challenge the foundations of our current understanding of the Universe.

The image is based on the initial 15.5 months of data from Planck and is the mission’s first all-sky picture of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when it was just 380 000 years old.

Read more: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Planck/Planck_reveals_an_almost_perfect_Universe

Update:
The Planck cosmology papers are available online here: http://www.sciops.esa.int/index.php?project=PLANCK&page=Planck_Published_Papers

2013-03-14 13:53:17 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Google Reader won't survive this spring cleaning.
The RSS service will be retired July 1st, time to look for an alternative!

All your data can be exported via an XML file to backup the following information:
* List of people that you follow
* List of people that follow you
* Items you have starred
* Items you have liked
* Items you have shared
* Items shared by people you follow
* Notes you have created
* Items with comments

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-second-spring-of-cleaning.html
#google   #googlereader   #technology   #springcleaning  

2013-03-12 21:42:00 (1 comments, 6 reshares, 9 +1s)

Awesome human-machine interface, so many possibilities!

It could interact nicely with +Project Glass too

2013-03-07 14:02:26 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 12 +1s)

Who doesn't need Google Glass? :P

+Project Glass

2013-03-05 14:17:30 (0 comments, 5 reshares, 11 +1s)

Wealth Inequality in America
The reality is often not what we think it is

This video has gone viral last week, really worth watching if you haven't yet.

#politics #economy   #onepercent   

2013-03-02 01:38:35 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 9 +1s)

Tonight's Finale: Two spaceships beautifully blocking the view of Canada's East coast at sunset.

2013-03-02 01:27:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Relive today’s launch in high-res: spacexlaunch.zenfolio.com

2013-03-01 14:23:04 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

BigDog handles heavy objects, ready for angry birds

This sort of dynamic approach is routinely used by human athletes and is now improving the performance of robots.
The goal is to develop techniques for using the strength of the legs and torso to help power motions of the arm.

#bostondynamics   #dynamicsystem   #darpa   #bigdog

2013-03-01 11:00:14 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Here we go again!...

#sequester #fiscalcliff

2013-02-24 02:39:48 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

ABS 14 National Championships Finals starting now!

Join for the ABS 14 Open National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the historic Colorado Springs City Auditorium. The best boulderers in the country will be competing for a spot on the US National Team.

=> http://lt11.com/tv/

#ABS14   #bouldering   #climbing  

2013-02-21 04:38:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

+Project Glass is showcasing some of its features, and should be available early 2014

http://www.google.com/glass/start/what-it-does/

2013-02-21 04:26:44 (7 comments, 9 reshares, 17 +1s)

For more info on the Farmer vs. Monsanto case that is in front of the SCOTUS (and Justice Thomas), click through.

How can Thomas NOT recuse himself? He gets paid for results.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/02/19/1607161/monsanto-supreme-court-hearing/

2013-02-20 23:06:30 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Take a close look at the image and you can see the connectivity organization of the human brain clearer than anything else I have ever seen. What's so cool about this is - you're not looking at a single person's brain, rather this is an "average" from a large group of people. So despite the individual differences we have in our brains that leads to all variety of behaviour across the world, this image emphasises that fact that we all have the same basic underlaying structural arrangement in our heads. 

I've shown this image to non neuroscientists before and it's gotten a negative reaction at times - I think this comes from an underlying idea we all have about ourselves that somehow our brain is fundimentaly different than everyone elses. However, this is not the case, our brains are tissue - the same as the body is tissue and structured similarly across the world no... more »

2013-02-17 14:46:30 (1 comments, 10 reshares, 22 +1s)

#humour   #joke  
A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised my friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The man below says, “Yes. You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees North latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees West longitude.”

“You must be an engineer,” says the balloonist.

“I am,” replies the man. “How did you know?”

“Well,” says the balloonist, “everything you have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost.”

The man below says, “You must be a manager.”

“I am,” repliesthe balloonist, “but how did you know?”... more »

2013-02-16 17:08:26 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This cyborg rat is now perceiving infra-red light.
Rats, as humans, are insensitive to infrared light
(Note that they can see ultraviolet light).
After implanting a chip in its brain, the rat was able to learn and use its new abilities.

Nature: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n2/full/ncomms2497.html

Can't wait to feel electromagnetic waves! (i mean... beside visible light)

#science   #cyborg   #singularity  

2013-02-07 13:56:12 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Science, the best tool ever divised

Lawrence Maxwell, theoretical physicist, about #science  on #bigthink   [2 mins]

2013-02-03 16:45:14 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

The average computer user is unaware there is a war for freedom going on that will determine the path of modern society.

Support the project at:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/software-wars?c=home

#opensource #freesoftware   #linux   #science   #sciencesunday   #everythingisaremix  

2013-02-01 17:17:54 (1 comments, 4 reshares, 7 +1s)

Scientists have witnessed a thought forming in a live brain. [7 seconds]
It is the though of a baby zebrafish, spotting some delicious food.

For more details on how this was achieved:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/science/what-do-fish-thoughts-look-like-video-342455.html

#neuroscience   #biology   #science   #brain   #consciousness   #dna  

2013-01-30 17:23:28 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 10 +1s)

The largest glacier calving ever filmed, by Chasing Ice [4 minutes]
A massive ice sheet of the size of Manhattan suddenly calves off the Jakobshavn Glacier (Greenland).

This glacier has been studied since the 1850's.
The ice retreated more in the last 10 years than it did in the previous 100 years.

Here is the evolution from 1851 to 2006:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jakobshavn_retreat-1851-2006.jpg

#climatechange  

2013-01-24 01:45:41 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Some say scientists can't agree on Earth's temperature changes. Here's what "disagreement" looks like. Read more:

http://climate365.tumblr.com/post/41276566160/each-year-four-international-science-institutions

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=80167&src=googleplus

2013-01-17 17:42:04 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

(Thu04) this is a pretty cool rover

think of the Planetary exploration possibilities. wheels are good, but sometimes legs can help navigate tricky terrain. This uses both, pretty ingeniously

(Shared using #DoShare)

2013-01-17 13:41:36 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

President Obama and Vice President Biden moving forward on preventing gun violence #nowisthetime

Some of the key points from the proposal:
> Require background checks for all gun sales
> Strengthen the background check system for gun sales
> Pass a new, stronger ban on assault weapons
> Limit ammunition magazines to 10 rounds
> Give law enforcement additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime
> End the freeze on gun violence research
> Ensure quality coverage of mental health treatment, particularly for young people

#politics   #guncontrol   #gunviolence  

2013-01-16 18:34:15 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 12 +1s)

R'ha, a short sci-fi film [6 minutes]

Very nicely done... All computer animations and design was created by a single person: Kaleb Lechowski.

Some more art on DeviantArt: http://kaleblechowski.deviantart.com

#CGI   #scifi   #shortfilm   #AI   #artificialintelligence   #riseofthemachines  

2013-01-16 02:46:18 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Trailer for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, a futuristic RPG!

More info on their website: http://www.cyberpunk.net/

If you like the song, its by Archive, available here: http://goo.gl/tSCTi

2013-01-06 15:13:30 (200 comments, 505 reshares, 1460 +1s)

Hybrid Terrestrial and Aerial Quadrotor

HyTAQ is a novel mobile robot capable of both aerial and terrestrial locomotion. Flight is achieved through a quadrotor configuration; four actuators provide the required thrust. Adding a rolling cage to the quadrotor makes terrestrial locomotion possible using the same actuator set and control system. Thus, neither the mass nor the system complexity is increased by inclusion of separate actuators for terrestrial and aerial locomotion.

During terrestrial locomotion, the robot only needs to overcome rolling resistance and consumes much less energy compared to the aerial mode. This solves one of the most vexing problems of quadrotors and rotorcraft in general — their short operation time. Experimental results show that the hybrid robot can travel a distance 4 times greater and operate almost 6 times longer than aa... more »

2013-01-02 17:08:54 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 14 +1s)

Why should we convert to using the Metric System? Because it's superior, less convoluted - everything is ordered in units of tens, while the chaotic arrangement of the Imperial System slows things down for us - not only in terms of education, but also businesses, science, foreign relations, and daily life.

=> Sign the petition

The United States is one of the few countries left in the world who still have not converted to using the Metric System as a standardized system of measurement. Instead of going along with what the rest of the world uses, we stubbornly still adhere to using the imprecise Imperial Unit - despite the fact that practically every other country that we interact with uses Metric.

#metricsystem   #petitiontowhitehouse  

2013-01-02 15:51:54 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Kolmogorov Directions :P

#xkcd   #navigation   #kolmogorov  

2013-01-02 04:54:10 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

US House passes Senate measure to avoid 'fiscal cliff'

 Legislation to block the 'fiscal cliff' was passed by the US House late on Jan. 1, 2013 and sent to the White House for President Obama's signature.
Late Tuesday night, the president hailed the bill, saying it was a "one step" toward strengthening the U.S. economy.
 The bill voided, for now, the major tax increases and government spending cuts that had been scheduled to take effect with the new year.

 Final approval came in the House near 11pm ET on on New Year's Night. The vote was 257 to 167.  The Senate passed the bill less than 24 hours earlier.

The bill raises tax rates on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples, a victory for Obama.

(Photo: NBC News)
More from NBC News here:htt... more »

2012-12-27 19:14:55 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

There is much to be discussed in the aftermath of a horrible tragedy.
But surprisingly, 4 out of 5 Americans agree on one thing: common sense gun laws.

2012-12-27 19:09:01 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)

A Christmas Message :P    [2 minutes]

#humor  

2012-12-26 02:32:51 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

http://youtu.be/TpRRyjdk1rg
via +Helen Greiner 

2012-12-21 22:11:52 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 6 +1s)

"LS3, Follow Tight!"

Working with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL), researchers from DARPA's LS3 program demonstrated new advances in the robot's control, stability and maneuverability, including "Leader Follow" decision making, enhanced roll recovery, exact foot placement over rough terrain, the ability to maneuver in an urban environment, and verbal command capability.

#darpa   #LS3  

2012-12-20 22:31:37 (1 comments, 4 reshares, 11 +1s)

Number of research papers published in 2012 by leading science nations and the proportion of that work within the top 1% of cited papers of the same age in their respective fields.

via +Richard Van Noorden 

2012-12-18 22:45:57 (0 comments, 7 reshares, 15 +1s)

An awesome prosthetic arm [3 minutes]

2012-12-06 17:51:31 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

More Earth at Night shots:  the US, Europe and North/South Korea
Orignial post: http://goo.gl/Wbnrd