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2013-05-24 01:07:51 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

Time for the latest buzz about the cicadas. What are you hearing?

2013-05-23 07:23:12 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 2 +1s)

Tips and Tricks for Google+ Hangouts on Air - The Book

Today I decided to write a 6000-word book. Phew. 

Based on my Tips and Tricks for Hangouts on Air and Marketing Guide for Hangouts on Air, I wrote up a big ebook on how to run and market your Hangouts on Air. It's completely revised, expanded and improved based on what I've learned after running literally hundreds of Hangouts on Air.

This is a rough draft of the book, but I've made it open to the public, and anyone can make comments. Please let me know if there are any ideas you'd like me to include. At some point I'll actually get it designed, with picture examples and then release it as a free PDF.

2013-05-23 07:22:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Solar power is on the rise ... literally. Do you agree? 

2013-05-22 19:55:00 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

Do you think 3-D-printed food will be out of this world, or will the idea go stale even before liftoff?

2013-05-22 13:10:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Stay tuned ... I'll be talking with pilot Andre Borschberg a couple of hours from now:

2013-05-21 23:07:46 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Get ready for the second leg of Solar Impulse's "Across America" odyssey: 

2013-05-21 04:48:34 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Godspeed, Sally Ride:

2013-05-21 04:47:11 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Our hearts go out to the folks in Tornado Alley: 

2013-05-20 23:07:53 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

The funny thing is that the humans didn't believe the dolphins at first. Good thing those marine mammals are on our side...

2013-05-19 17:16:08 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Who wants to go on a one-way trip to Mars, and why? Renowned science-fiction writer David Brin, teenage college student Kayli McArthur and septuagenarian psychiatrist Sanford Pomerantz explain themselves: 

2013-05-18 23:41:58 (1 comments, 4 reshares, 16 +1s)

Beautiful northern lights, and beautiful videos! What a mood-lightener for the weekend: 

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/18/18344103-storming-sun-sets-the-skies-aglow?lite

Photo: Laurent Silvani

2013-05-18 04:27:52 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Is it time to think about repairs ... or reading the rites? 

2013-05-18 00:47:44 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

"Swarmageddon" is creeping up toward the Mason-Dixon line: What are you seeing (and hearing)?

2013-05-17 21:13:42 (0 comments, 6 reshares, 6 +1s)

I learned a lot about anteater sex in the course of a morning. They are sly little devils!

2013-05-16 20:59:28 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

The "Star Trek" actors sounded like fanboys (+ a fangirl) when they hung out with real astronauts. But notice how the astronauts dodged the question about their favorite "Trek" captain.

2013-05-16 01:37:26 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

Nothing like a Mesoamerican lost city to get the juices flowing, even if it isn't glittering with gold like the "White City" of legend:

2013-05-15 22:35:06 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

It doesn't look good for the world's most successful planet-hunting probe, but in any case, there's no reason for despair. Right?

2013-05-14 23:55:21 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

If only the skies where I live now (in the Seattle area) were as clear as the skies where I grew up (Eastern Iowa). How's the night sky looking in your neck of the woods? Whether they're deliciously dark or light-polluted, you'll love this slideshow:

2013-05-14 21:02:33 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

If AR1478 erupts again in a few days, the storm could be headed our way.

2013-05-14 20:06:48 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

It looks as if Dantean numerology, super-plagues and transhumanism are in for a turn in the pop-culture spotlight:

2013-05-14 20:03:29 (4 comments, 6 reshares, 6 +1s)

I can hardly wait to see what space station astronaut Karen Nyberg will come up with:

2013-05-14 01:03:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

Wow! 3 million video views in a day. Watch out, PSY ... Can you feel the heat of +Chris Hadfield's social-media thrusters?

2013-05-11 13:37:19 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 7 +1s)

Keep tabs on NASA's quickly planned spacewalk to troubleshoot a worrisome leak of ammonia coolant at the International Space Station:

2013-05-11 01:07:05 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Are you seeing any evidence of cicadas revving up their jet engine? Would love to hear stories or be pointed to pictures. But I'm not just looking for those namby-pamby nymphs ... I wanna see legions of red-eyed monsters! 

2013-05-11 00:52:50 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

Lovely pictures, with a lovely story behind the worms. Congratulations to all those artistic scientists! Which picture is your favorite?

2013-05-09 20:27:36 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

Here's a new map you can spend a long, long time playing with:

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/09/18150228-time-lapse-map-chronicles-decades-of-global-change-as-seen-from-space?lite

Photo: Google Earth

2013-05-09 00:31:20 (1 comments, 6 reshares, 8 +1s)

Wish I were in Australia to watch Thursday's (or is that Friday's?) annular solar eclipse. But watching it online is the next best thing. Here's how:

2013-05-08 20:30:59 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

+Astronaut Abby  is making a splash on the space scene, starting with her coverage of this month's launch to the space station. But that's just the start: "Mars or Bust in 2030." 

2013-05-08 03:04:23 (0 comments, 8 reshares, 4 +1s)

Calling all citizen scientists ...

2013-05-08 00:39:30 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

Is this just one bad winter, or is it a bad sign for the long-term health of honeybees?

2013-05-07 22:26:24 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

This study focuses on Europeans, but you don't have to go back much further to link up the family trees of everyone who's alive today. So why can't we all just get along? 

2013-05-07 02:01:07 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

Do plants really cheer each other on, or give each other catcalls? It's hard for me to believe that they can sense positive or negative vibes from other plants, but what do you think?

2013-05-06 22:47:42 (8 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)

Think we'll ever get to the point where humans meet up with Curiosity? When? Feel free to venture a guess, and we'll find out who was right when the time comes ;-) Thanks to Ken Kremer and Marco Di Lorenzo for the picture:

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/06/18089249-curiositys-hand-outstretched-on-mars-will-humans-ever-shake-it?lite

2013-05-05 23:47:50 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

Got any stories to share about this year's cicada sightings, or past outbreaks? I'd love to hear 'em! 

2013-05-03 23:10:58 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

So many space stories, so little time ... actually, an hour was enough time to cover quite a bit:

2013-05-03 23:07:16 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 4 +1s)

In the past, the EPA has come in for a lot of heat over its response to the honeybee colony crisis. What do you think of their action plan?

2013-05-03 16:30:52 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

One small step for hypersonic air travel ... but the super-fast cruise missiles will come long before we have 1-hour flightgs between New York and London:

2013-05-03 13:48:25 (1 comments, 5 reshares, 8 +1s)

Solar Impulse is on its way! You can have the live stream of the slow, solar-powered flight playing in the background for the next 19 hours or so: 

2013-05-03 00:44:54 (1 comments, 5 reshares, 15 +1s)

Nice to see +CuriosityOn Mars is on the job after being out of contact for a few weeks. She's due for a little reprogramming, and then it's back to drilling rock:

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/02/18024079-nasas-mars-curiosity-rover-sends-pictures-after-communications-gap?lite

Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech

2013-05-02 20:47:47 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Some critics say this report isn't in step with what other countries are doing about pesticides. But it's correct in contending that the causes of colony collapse disorder are complex. What do you think?

2013-05-02 02:36:10 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

How to make eye contact on Hangouts. My setup for Hangouts. I use a Logitech C920 and place the camera in front of the eyes of the speaker so that I am looking right into the camera all the time. 

2013-05-02 02:33:06 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

I love haiku, and I love Mars exploration. Getting the public involved is also cool. So what's not to love about this? 

2013-05-01 21:18:27 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

Really looking forward to chatting with +Brian Switek and +Tom Holtz about dinosaurs on "Virtually Speaking Science" at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET tonight. Follow the links from the story to tune in the show, or join the live virtual studio audience in Second Life:

2013-05-01 19:11:22 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

The story of "Jane" humanizes Jamestown's horror:

2013-05-01 03:06:15 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 9 +1s)

Should he stay or should he go?

2013-04-30 22:17:07 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

+Chris Hadfield helps unveil the world's spaciest currency:

2013-04-30 22:14:10 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Check out April's Month in Space Pictures slideshow, featuring a few of +Chris Hadfield's masterpieces:

2013-04-30 01:55:06 (1 comments, 5 reshares, 23 +1s)

Cassini wows us again!

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/29/17975392-who-knew-a-monstrous-saturnian-hurricane-could-look-so-lovely?lite

Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute

2013-04-30 00:02:22 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

Had a nice chat with Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson, he joked that SpaceShipTwo's pilots might have been tempted to go all the way up to space but knew they would have been fired. Do you think Sir Richard will get his spaceflight wish granted next year? 

2013-04-29 15:30:32 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

Hooeee! SpaceShipTwo blasts off and goes supersonic. Wish I were there ... this time I had to watch it from afar: