Tired of spending $2.85 on gas every other day? Perhaps, you should invest in a Toyota Prius hybrid and a soldering iron.
Ron Gremban, an electrical engineer and committed environmentalist, modified the electrical system in his Prius to achieve an incredible efficiency of 250 miles per gallon. With $3,000 and a few months of tinkering, he added a ‘plug-in’ feature to his car that allows him to store energy while it is parked in his garage.
Last Tuesday, August 16th, Russian Commander Sergei Krikalev became the human with the most cumulative time in space. Since 1988, Krikalev has spent more than 752 days floating around the globe. Currently aboard the International Space Station, he will continue to rack up zero-g points for the Guinness Book of World Records.
It makes one wonder what would be missed most from a gravity-saturated environment. Drinking straight out of the carton? Water balloon fights? Not using a suction pump to do one’s royal duty? Having a side of the bed to wake up on? Being able to ask the question ‘What’s up?’
While research scientists around the globe are trying to find the cure for HIV, the answer might be right in the biodiversity at our local zoo. Scientists in northern Australia have discovered that a crocodile’s immune systems kills the destructive virus. Not only deadly to HIV, crocodile serum destroys a wide range of bacteria including those resistant to penicillin, such as golden staph. The animal’s immune system might actually be too strong for a human body and may need to be synthesized for our consumption. The scientists say it could take years, however, before anything is ready for market.
What do get when you combine a mob of over 1,000 people and a sale for $50 Apple iBooks? An iStampede!
Last Tuesday, a rush to purchase cheap laptops from the school system in Richmond, VA, turned into a violent stampede. CNN states:
People threw themselves forward, screaming and pushing each other. A little girl’s stroller was crushed in the stampede. Witnesses said an elderly man was thrown to the pavement, and someone in a car tried to drive his way through the crowd.
Next time anyone says Apple users are more sensible or intelligent than PC users…
Check out the video here.
As if it was not hard enough looking out for deer crossings, what about an elephant crossing?
A group of prominent ecologists suggests relocating endangered African species to North America. Since protection is inconsistent at best within the African countries, the idea proposes creating a large wildlife preserve in the plains of the United States. While none of the species will be native to the area, scientists argue that it will help restore biodiversity closer to what it was 10,000 year ago before humans came to this continent.
Scot Buzza sent this to me.
A South Korean man died last week due to a video game addiction. Apparently, the 28-year old man collapsed at an Internet Café after playing Starcraft for 49 hours. Identified only by his last name, Lee collapsed Friday after barely eating and not sleeping at all during his video game extravaganza. He passed away a few hours after being moved to a hospital. Doctors presume he had a heart attack from the extensive exhaustion. Lee had been fired the month before because he kept ditching work to play video games.
Next time someone invites you over for a weekend Quakefest, you better think twice!
Grab your blankets and caffeine! Tomorrow’s night sky is going to be ablaze with an impressive display of fiery meteors!
Thursday, August 11th, marks the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. At a rate of about 160 meteors per hour, the Perseids are annually one of the most spectacular night shows of the year. Entering our atmosphere at speeds around 60 km/sec, they quite often produce Bonides, which leave fiery streaks that cross the sky.
For best viewing, you will want to find a place far away from any city lights. I have found that the best places by Cincinnati are actually in Indiana. Just take I-74 to highway 52 and drive until it is dark. Then turn some random side road until you find a good farm with no trees. You will want to go after moonset which occurs at 11:40pm tomorrow night. Settle down facing northeast and enjoy the show!
If you have ever wanted a star to wish upon, tomorrow will be the night!
Update (08/09/05): Discovery rolled safely onto the runway at Edwards Airforce Base at 8:12 a.m! Here’s the video.
Due to poor weather conditions, Discovery will not be landing today at Kennedy Space Center as planned. For those of us who have stayed up with them until now, 5:07 a.m., this is a pretty big bummer. Low clouds hindering visibility and rain clouds creating atmospheric instability have convinced NASA specialists to wave off Discovery’s reentry. They are going to wait 24 hours before reattempting a decent.
Since June 30th, 2004, NASA’s spacecraft, Cassini, has been orbiting Saturn, imaging everything it finds. Cassini has sent to us myriads of stunning images of its subject, the ‘Jewel of the Solar System.’ But perhaps its images have raised more questions than they have answered.
The most notable of these findings are the images of Mimas. Well, that is if it really is Mimas. Moon… or Death Star?
Is our government really telling us everything there is to know about these discoveries?
For example, are these really auroras on Saturn’s southern pole or is there something else occurring?
Have you ever wished you had a remote control to guide your boyfriend or girlfriend? Well, now you can. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone labs have created a headpiece and remote control that can be used to control the movement of another person. The video is hilarious! I wonder where I can get one of these for Christmas?