40 Noises That Built Pop

Some of the most distinctive and, in no particular order, the records that best showcase them.

Not a bad list, but there could be so many more...

I would have called "29) Gated Reverb Drums, Phil Collins"
Steam drums, first heard ona Peter Gabriel record, but used alot by Collins and his producer on Phil's solo records.

Climate models need revision: The Cosmic Ray cloud formation efffect proven

This is big, cosmic rays and cloud formation and volcanoes are major factors in determining our climate trends. People do factor into it, but people cannot account for half of the effects.

The Earth has been hotter and much colder than it is now so some natural process was likely to be a cause.

Climate models have always been know to be flawed, for example they failed at back predicting known historic climates, so this will help remove some of the pointless speculation based upon obviously flawed climate models.

CERN's 8,000 scientists have made an important contribution to climate physics, prompting climate models to be revised.

Svensmark, who is no longer involved with the CERN experiment, says he believes the solar-cosmic ray factor is just one of four factors in climate. The other three are: volcanoes, a "regime shift" that took place in 1977, and residual anthropogenic components.

When Dr Kirkby first described the theory in 1998, he suggested cosmic rays "will probably be able to account for somewhere between a half and the whole of the increase in the Earth's temperature that we have seen in the last century."

13 year old creates design to bbost solar output 20-50% over flat panels

Boosts 20% in Summer and amazingly enough 50% in Winter.

Mimicking how trees do it, which is a very clever idea, re-using the information developed over millions of years of tree design...

The tree design takes up less room than flat-panel arrays and works in spots that don't have a full southern view. It collects more sunlight in winter. Shade and bad weather like snow don't hurt it because the panels are not flat. It even looks nicer because it looks like a tree. A design like this may work better in urban areas where space and direct sunlight can be hard to find.

processing.org - Open Source images, animations, and interactions

Initially developed to serve as a software sketchbook and to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context, Processing also has evolved into a tool for generating finished professional work. Today, there are tens of thousands of students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists who use Processing for learning, prototyping, and production.

Have not downloaded it yet, but it looks fascinating. See examples of what people have done.

» Free to download and open source
» Interactive programs using 2D, 3D or PDF output
» OpenGL integration for accelerated 3D
» For GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows
» Projects run online or as double-clickable applications
» Over 100 libraries extend the software into sound, video, computer vision, and more...
» Well documented, with many books available

Suppressing climate research

The cosmic ray cloud formation correlation has been suspected for sometime, if these reports of trying to suppress confirmation of parts of the experiments looking into this are true that will be big news. Not surprising in that obviously CO2 has risen over the past decade and temperatures have not. And the revelation that scientists used only part of tree ring data to manufacture the "hockeystick" graph shows we are well past science and into the realms of religion with some climate research.

Weird request here to not interpret experiment results.

CERN Director General Rolf-Dieter Heuer told Welt Online that the scientists should refrain from drawing conclusions from the latest experiment.

“I have asked the colleagues to present the results clearly, but not to interpret them,” reports veteran science editor Nigel Calder on his blog. Why?

Consensus, forbidden, hidden data, destroyed data source information, plenty of words to start to fear the warmist propagandists.

The CERN experiment is supposed to be the big test of the Svensmark theory. It’s a tipoff, then, that CERN’s boss, Rolf-Dieter Heuer, has just told the German magazine Die Welt that he has forbidden his researchers to “interpret” the forthcoming test results. In other words, the CERN report will be a stark “just the facts” listing of the findings. Those findings must support Svensmark, or Heuer would never have issued such a stifling order on a major experiment.

See here for more information.

One of six widows on the cloud mystery, about an hour long and well worth watching.

The world has sen many ice ages, so we better understand the real natural effects on climate as well as how much we influence climate before we attempt to do anything about it.

And one other link that has an interesting graph on it. which looks like there is a correlation with cosmic rays and global temperatures.

Emerging Epicenters of High Tech

Cluster Mapping Project at Harvard Business School for the top 20 job-creating areas for the following fields: Plastics, Chemicals, Automotive, Aerospace vehicles, Information technology, Biopharma, Metal manufacturing, Communication technology, Medical technology, Analytical instruments, and Electrical equipment.

Looks like some geographical diversity.

Small Cities Feed the Knowledge Economy

Livable cities draw creative people, and creative people spawn jobs. Some places you’d never expect—small cities not dominated by a university—are learning how to lure knowledge workers, entrepreneurs, and other imaginative types at levels that track or even exceed the US average (30 percent of workers).

Case Study: Omaha, Nebraska

It’s only the 42nd-largest city in the US, but over the past two decades, Omaha has been transformed into one of the Midwest’s most vibrant cultural hubs. Here’s how the rebirth happened, starting in the ’90s.

Gear Fab: BMW Powered Twin-Rotor Hoverbike

A fabulous Gear site feature a hover bike.


Estimated at $40,000, if it is ever built.

I would like to see a ballistic parachute, airbags, landing legs/wheels/skids, a lower center of gravity for the center of mass, but for an initial design it looks pretty cool.

Besides recreation uses, would be great for military, police, security, deliveries, and maybe even commuting. Imagine all the tickets revenue sources coming from licensing and improper vehicle use for state and local governments...

‘Dear Mr. Fantasy, London Calling

play us a tune, something to make us all happy

For the mix of the track "London Calling," Strummer described an image of the London fog swirling off the river Thames, with seagulls circling overhead.

and more

Night panoramas

Some nice night photos.

Almost inspires one to go camping.

Independent confirmations that dark energy is driving our universe apart

I find Dark Energy repulsive as well.

NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer Finds Dark Energy Repulsive

It looks like it is now better understood and these results back up Einstein.

New and more economical version of the jumbo jet, the 747-8

New jumbo jet performs ultimate aborted takeoff

The Boeing 747-4 is longer, has new engines, a new wing, aerodynamics, 16% better fuel economy, 30% less noise foot print, new cabin. More people, cargo, further, faster, and more economically.

453-year-old wooden "tally stick" used to keep track of debts

Ancient credit system found.

The antiquated debt counter measures 30 centimetres in length and displays 23 notches, with both a name and the date 1558 visible.

More scientists want real science

UK Professor Emeritus of Biogeography Philip Stott of the University of London decried the notion that CO2 is the main climate driver. "As I have said, over and over again, the fundamental point has always been this: climate change is governed by hundreds of factors, or variables, and the very idea that we can manage climate change predictably by understanding and manipulating at the margins one politically-selected factor is as misguided as it gets," Stott wrote in 2008.

More than 1,000 scientists “have now challenged man-made global warming claims

“Global warming is the central tenet of this new belief system in much the same way that the Resurrection is the central tenet of Christianity. Al Gore has taken a role corresponding to that of St Paul in proselytizing the new faith...My skepticism about AGW arises from the fact that as a physicist who has worked in closely related areas, I know how poor the underlying science is. In effect the scientific method has been abandoned in this field.”

Wow 52 scientists supported global warming?

The 52 scientists who participated in the 2007 IPCC Summary for Policymakers had to adhere to the wishes of the UN political leaders and delegates in a process described as more closely resembling a political party's convention platform battle, not a scientific process

And now these 1,000 skeptical scientists?

While the scientists contained in this report hold a diverse range of views, they generally rally around several key points. 1) The Earth is currently well within natural climate variability. 2) Almost all climate fear is generated by unproven computer model predictions. 3) An abundance of peer-reviewed studies continue to debunk rising CO2 fears and, 4) "Consensus" has been manufactured for political, not scientific purposes.

Cosmic rays affect the Earth's climate

Some very interesting historical data matches very well with past climates.
As the Sun's activity varies so does it's magnetic field allowing more or less cosmic rays to interact with the Earth's atmosphere.

India's leading space physicist,U R Rao, has analysed 45 years of data and declared that the forcing from charged particles is higher than previously thought, at 1.1Wm-2, and human-forcing lower than the IPCC "consensus" of 1.6Wm-2.

The influence of charged particles on climate is controversial, not least because it's based on observation and physics experiments, rather than trick cycling computer modelling.

Very funny, when actual data become controversial in science and a model, however flawed has more consensus then a fact. I say society is to blame.

History Never Repeats? The 1980's video time machine

Every wonder back to the 1980's and music videos?
What was that song? who was that band? How did I lose an entire decade?

An 80s MTV video channel on YouTube may help you answer those questions and more. Many people spent hours if not days waiting and watching MTV just to see a particular video. Video tape recorders were rare and it was a very cheep form of entertainment. In the 80s not every city had cable television or even the same channels. In the great video war people fought for truth, justice, and their MTV.

Make sure you check out the 59 videos from the first day of MTV:
Split Enz - History Never Repeats Isn't it ironic?
Split Enz - One Step Ahead A young Neil Finn showcases his writing ability
Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime One of the most iconic 80s music videos and songs
Kate Bush - The man with the Child in his Eyes A song she wrote years before that landed her a recording contract even as a demo
Rupert Hine - Surface Tension also featured on USA's Night Flight a weekend show for those of us deprived of our MTV

Some very interesting stuff, Hine is a well known producer, Spit Enz morphed into Crowded House, and Kate Bush was just starting her career.

Watch learn and marvel. Remember those that do not learn from the lessons of history are condemned to repeat it, or at least get a bad grade in it.

And I did not see the first video ever played on MTV, "Video Killed the radio Star" by The Buggles, with two of the women in that band later forming Elastica. Careers were made, fortunes were won and lost, it was a time of mimes, street performers and for those days fasts cuts.

A key innovation with solar panels

Up to 60% more power per rooftop

increase the amount of solar power generated on rooftops by 25 to 50 percent, and also reduce the overall cost of solar power by changing the way solar cells are wired together and adding inexpensive reflectors to gather more light.

Found out about this at Futurepundit, a great technology blog.

Pictures with movement

The ‘cinemagraphs’ look like still photos but actually feature a subtle area of movement designed to grab your eye and keep you looking.

The effect is slightly eerie - but utterly captivating.

The final example with the taxi cab reflection is my favorite.

And here are more examples.

I like it.

single prehistoric African mother tongue

Write up on last weeks study with some data and a nice graphic.

* 500 languages traced back to Stone Age dialect
* The further away from Africa a language is spoken, the fewer distinct sounds it has
* English has around 46 sounds, while the San bushmen of South Africa use a staggering 200
* Study finds speech evolved 'at least 100,000 years ago'

Great Expectations on Vacation

Might as well visit a place with class or history when you travel.

Grim's Dyke Country Hotel, once the home of W.S. Gilbert aka half of Gilbert and Sullivan.

It looks marvelous.

Flying quadrocopters - meet your future overlords

SKynet here we come...
Flying quadrocopters herald rise of the machines

Aussies are already using similar technologies to film surfing competitions, while a German company has developed quadrocopters for traffic surveillance and crowd monitoring.

Aggressive Maneuvers for Autonomous Quadrotor Flight shows there might be
applications in urban environments.

the generator is 3.5 times more fuel efficient than typical combustion engines

New Car Engine Sends Shock Waves Through Auto Industry

This looks pretty big...cheaper, lighter, more efficient, less pollution.

However, researchers at Michigan State University have built a prototype gasoline engine that requires no transmission, crankshaft, pistons, valves, fuel compression, cooling systems or fluids. Their so-called Wave Disk Generator could greatly improve the efficiency of gas-electric hybrid automobiles and potentially decrease auto emissions up to 90 percent when compared with conventional combustion engines.

The Golden Age performed by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

Hear music on a commercial and wonder who the artist is?
TV Commercial Songs
For TV commercials with great songs is a nice place to look for new music or answer audio mysteries..

One example is
The Golden Age performed by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are a soulful psychedelic pop band based in Copenhagen/ Denmark. Formed in the summer of 2007 by Mette Lindberg (Vocal) and Lars Iversen(Bass) the band released their debut album 'Fruit' in September 2009 through their own label Small Giants Records and BMG Rights. The album was written, recorded and produced in Lars' small home studio and received great critical acclaim.

The Asteroids reached instant global exposure when their song Around The Bend was featured in an Apple iPod Touch advert in late 2008. Their music also appeared in US hit TV series Gossip Girl, CSI Miami as well as Chucky.

Flintknapping: Making Primative tools

Have you ever wanted to know how early man and prehistoric people made their survival tools?

Eight simple rules for happiness and money

Money Can Buy Happiness ... If You Spend It Right

Scientists have studied the relationship between money and happiness for decades and their conclusion is clear: Money buys happiness, but it buys less than most people think.

Oregon Trail: How three Minnesotans forged its path

It's one of the most popular educational games of all time

Some great links a well

FORTY YEARS AND TEN iterations later, the Oregon Trail has sold over 65 million copies worldwide, becoming the most widely distributed educational game of all time. Market research done in 2006 found that almost 45 percent of parents with young children knew Oregon Trail, despite the fact that it largely disappeared from the market in the late '90s.

The Middle East Crisis Has Just Begun

The struggle between the Saudis and Iran in the opening phases...

Despite the military drama unfolding in Libya, the Middle East is only beginning to unravel. American policy-makers have been spoiled by events in Tunisia and Egypt, both of which boast relatively sturdy institutions, civil society associations and middle classes, as well as being age-old clusters of civilization where states of one form or another have existed since antiquity. Darker terrain awaits us elsewhere in the region, where states will substantially weaken once the carapace of tyranny crumbles. The crucial tests lie ahead, beyond the distraction of Libya

Looks like some more "interesting times" for the region and the entire world.

Solid Fuel camping stove

Sierra Stove

Use local fuel, looks pretty interesting....

Hexayurt: Sturdy, affordable, easy-to-build temporary shelter

The design is public domain and build-it-yourself.

Hexayurt
Free, public domain plans
Hexayurt Instructions
Supply checklist
Model papercraft Hexayurts PDF

Hexayurts are public domain with no copyright or patent, meaning anybody can build as many as they like for free

Indy movie on Indy Games

Watch it form, learn, and help fund with a DVD pre-order this coming documentary.

Indie Game: The Movie is a feature documentary about video games, their creators and the craft. It examines independent game developers as a way to understand the medium and the theory behind video games.

Super Aerodynamic Electric Car

Infrequently do we find a homebuilt car that is well-designed, aesthetically appealing, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive.

Another thing I would like to clarify is that my goal was to build a vehicle that can go 200 miles on a single charge with a speed of 60-65 mph for 85% of the miles, for under $3,000.

Very impressive range and inexpensive reuse of existing equipment.

The Fine Art of Resurfacing

Maybe they will find a few records saying "I Don't Like Romans" as they investigate these ancient modern roads. More sophisticated roads implies more mobility and a more connected society.

The discovery that a Roman road may in fact have been made by Iron Age Britons offers a glimpse of a far more sophisticated society than previously thought and The discovery of a metalled and cambered road dated to the first century BC in Shropshire has raised the possibility that iron age Britons were the first to build 'proper' roads

So, while the cobbles rattled to the sound of carts and chariots generations before the Romans invaded Britain, the route itself was older than Rome.

The long-held belief that the Romans introduced "proper" roads to the UK has been thrown into doubt after the discovery of a thoroughfare engineered by iron age Britons.

A stunning new Chanel campaign

Bonus video

Keira Knightley has hearts racing

A teaser of the new video, to be released in full on Monday, shows Keira in a beige catsuit standing next to a vintage motorbike, while a voice-over from the actress talks about the campaign.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1365445/Keira-Knightley-new-Coco-Mademoiselle-teaser-released.html#ixzz1GVnQijBL

Lost city of Atlantis may be found, in Spain?

More than the rain in Spain , stays mainly on the plain..

To solve the age-old mystery, the team used a satellite photo of a suspected submerged city to find the site just north of Cadiz, Spain. There, buried in the vast marshlands of the Dona Ana Park, they believe that they pinpointed the ancient, multi-ringed dominion known as Atlantis.

Freund's discovery in central Spain of a strange series of "memorial cities," built in Atlantis' image by its refugees after the city's likely destruction by a tsunami, gave researchers added proof and confidence, he said.

Atlantis residents who did not perish in the tsunami fled inland and built new cities there, he added.

Stormtroopers Have Feelings Too

How 3D printing will transform society over the next 15 years

When fixed costs become insignificant, we’ll enter a new era in which economies of scale won’t matter, because a mass manufactured product might not be what’s in demand. Customization will play a key role in future manufacturing; why should you wear the same gloves as thousands of others when you could come up with your own glove design and print it at home?

Sounds like a pretty nice future less limitations more choice lower costs...
one wonders about everything that will change.

Higher vitamin D intake

Unless you work outdoors, 10% of us, you may want to take much more vitamin D.

"We found that daily intakes of vitamin D by adults in the range of 4000-8000 IU are needed to maintain blood levels of vitamin D metabolites in the range needed to reduce by about half the risk of several diseases - breast cancer, colon cancer, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes," said Cedric Garland, DrPH, professor of family and preventive medicine at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. "I was surprised to find that the intakes required to maintain vitamin D status for disease prevention were so high – much higher than the minimal intake of vitamin D of 400 IU/day that was needed to defeat rickets in the 20th century.

Lack of bitterness is the key

For good coffee? No for forgiveness,
turns out women rule at it.

New smaller fuel cell

Looks like these will be used in vehicle competitions.

So which global warming alarmists are we to believe?

Is more snow "proof" of dangerous global warming?

Apparently not based on past published predictions.

Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have predicted warmer, less snowy winters.

Storms are not getting more extreme

Could global warming hysteria be hurting, even killing people, with mis-allocation of resources, spending money on useless carbon credits?

The Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project is the latest attempt to find out, using super-computers to generate a dataset of global atmospheric circulation from 1871 to the present.

In other words, researchers have yet to find evidence of more-extreme weather patterns over the period, contrary to what the models predict.

Global-warming alarmists insist that economic activity is the problem, when the available evidence show it to be part of the solution. We may not be able to do anything about the weather, extreme or otherwise. But we can make sure we have the resources to deal with it when it comes.

Yes, Virginia, A Climate Cover-Up

It's not the crime, it's the cover-up, as the saying goes.

Took 12 tree ring cores and ignoring 240 others to juice the data enough to try to hide the medieval warming period, where the Earth heated up without any modern industry. Warmists have long desired a way to hide or eliminate the tree ring data that showed there was this warm period.

Mann et al. had to make the Medieval Warm Period (about A.D. 800 to 1400) and the Little Ice Age (A.D. 1600 to 1850) statistically disappear.

The graph relied on data from trees on the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia. Here, too, the results were carefully selected. Just 12 trees from the 252 cores in the CRU's Yamal data set were used. A larger data set of 34 tree cores from the vicinity showed no dramatic recent warming, and warmer temperatures in the middle ages. They were not included.