"Page One" Story of the Century? NASA May Announce Thursday to Have Found Life on Saturn's Moon Titan NASA has called a 2 p.m. news conference for Thursday "to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life." The group includes Pamela Conrad, author of a paper on geology and life on Mars; and James Elser, an Arizona State University professor involved in a NASA-funded program that emphasizes looking at the chemistry of environments where life evolves (and not just looking at water or carbon or oxygen); Felisa Wolfe-Simon (an oceanographer) has written extensively on photosynthesis using arsenic recently (she worked on the team mentioned in this article); Steven Benner (a biologist) is on the "Titan Team" at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; they're looking at Titan (Saturn's largest moon) as an early-Earth-like chemical environment. This is likely related to the Cassini mission. The space agency did not release more details, but the list of news conference participants is telling, according to blogger Jason Kottke. Casey Kazan via Kotte.org
Vortex Cannon Demolishes House « Wonderment Blog Jem Stansfield from BBC's Bang Goes the Theory has "put scientific theory to the test" with his Vortex Cannon. Filmed at 1300-fps, you can see the cannon knock down three different houses made of straw, stick, and brick with an explosive vortex ring. The vortex ring that comes out is not smoke, however. After detonating the explosive gas mixture of acetylene and oxygen, "one of the most dangerous gas mixes in the world," the ring forms from the pressure drop inside the vortex. It condenses the lake's damp air and shoots a cloud out at 200-mph, knocking down anything in its path. Stansfield's cannon is probably too big for the average do-it-yourselfer, but Edwin Wise from Make Magazine has a few garage-friendly vortex cannons - the Tub Thumper, Barking Tube, and Big Bad Boom Cannon. Get the full PDF instructions or see Kipkay in action below, building Wise's first two vortex cannons.
How To Turn Google Translate Into Google Beatbox For reasons inexplicable, a “Today I Learned” thread on Reddit has turned into a treatise on how to make Google Translate beatbox for you, among other things. It must have taken some intense experimentation for Redditor Harrichr to get here but he somehow stumbled upon the following combination of steps. 1) Go to Google Translate 2) Set the translator to translate German to German 3) Copy + paste the following into the translate box: pv zk pv pv zk pv zk kz zk pv pv pv zk pv zk zk pzk pzk pvzkpkzvpvzk kkkkkk bsch 4) Click “listen” 5) Be amazed :) Since the original post both the thread and meme have expanded into slight tweaks and variations, including Technocopter, Helicopter and Dubstep. YCombinator user iamdave actually posted a guide to making your own beats: zk = suspended cymbal bschk = snare pv = brush bk = bass tk = flam1 vk = roll tap kt = flam2 kttp = flam tap krp = hi hat tap pv = short roll th = better hi hat thp, ds = instant rimshot. Image: Datz.ro
Eye Candy: Mesmerizing Swinging Balls Video Not mine -- mine are hypnotizing. This is a video of one of those swinging ball desk toys (aka Newton's Cradle) but with different length droopers (mine drag on the floor), creating all sorts of crazy-ass designs. I just watched it twice back to back (the second time with my eyes unfocused) and I'm pretty sure I spotted the secret to the universe at one point. SPOILER: It was a pop-up porn ad. "A gay one?" Four hunks in a bubble bath! Hit the jump for the worthwhile video but, WARNING: may cause dizziness. Youtube viaThe most beautiful video ever? Thanks to Church, who once mesmerized an entire living room full of bachelorette party attendees with his own swinging balls trick.
Defensible Space: Secret ‘Safe House’ in Bunker-Style Shell « Dornob Like a diamond forged in the heart of a chunk of coal, the harsh concrete exterior of this house contains a sparkling floor-to-ceiling glass secret hidden from view – a secret place with space-filled rooms and surprisingly open-plan layouts. The solid skin features is not just industrial camouflage, but also a weather-protecting shell complete with the ultimate in modern castle design: a drawbridge! Layers of dark gray perimeter fencing (likewise made of prefab concrete-surface panels) gives way to foreboding facades of likewise lackluster materiality – a dull, decoration-free set of undifferentiated surfaces that looms like a warehouse and looks even more sinister at night. Yet on the interior, luxury design is everywhere to be seen and accommodations include an expansive indoor swimming pool.
Zelda in Minecraft! Video Log in Video Games: Raw Cynthia Yildirim Zelda in Minecraft! Minecraft modder Gary520 has released a trailer to show off what is perhaps the blocky game’s most ambitious creation yet: an epic, 10-hour adventure based on The Legend of Zelda. posted 3 years ago jkconrad7 liked this csgrenke liked this adoormouse liked this greengoblin liked this Westley Cornwell liked this tylercorporation liked this Pol Gatsby liked this © 2014 Redux, Inc. about redux | contact us | copyright | legal Secret Weapon Style: Umbrella Grip with Wooden Knuckles « Dornob Personalized handle but … potentially fatal in the wrong hands? It is hard not to spot visual references in this work to both classic brass (or steel) ?knuckles as well as wooden gun grips. Whatever it is, this is no dainty outdoor parasol. Dissatisfied with mass-production wood or metal umbrella handles, Tobiah Adam wanted to carve something a bit more suited to his specific grip (and easy to hold tight during even the worst wind and rain storm), using a stock aluminum-and-black body above. Cut from rich dark Rosewood, the knuckle-duster design was made to fit with a conventional umbrella stem – no sense in reinventing the portion that was already well-built (not to mention: difficult to engineer). Perhaps the weapons association would, in fact, be deflated by this kind of mundane use.
Footage of Japanese teenager scoring 128 consecutive 2-pointers on arcade game By Daily Mail Reporter Updated: 17:29 GMT, 20 November 2010 Most of us would be happy with landing a handful of two-pointers on an arcade basketball game. But this Japanese trick shot would clearly put most of us to shame after landing an astonishing 256 points in just 60 seconds. With a speed of shot that would embarrass most NBA players, the teenager rattles off 128 consecutive baskets without a single miss. Trick shot: A Japanese teenager lands 128 consecutive baskets in just 60 seconds at a game arcade Sign her up: Despite a member of staff emerging from the door on the right in her eye line, the teenager is undeterred before getting the record score And she is even unruffled after another gamer wanders past and a members of staff emerges from a doorway right in her line of vision. It is unclear whether the impressive feat is genuine, but the girl does appear to tire as she continues her prodigious scoring run. Beat that!