the-star-stuff:

Why does this blue stone have yellow light coming out of it?

You’d expect this cloudy blue glass to throw a blue light onto its surroundings. The light it throws, though, is clearly a bright orange-yellow. Can you guess why?

How can a light change from blue to orange? The Tyndall Effect shines through.

Top Image: Optick

Breakthroughs in Science: ‘Whale Barf’ Is No Longer Needed to Make High-End Perfume

Leave it to the beauty industry to take hunks of regurgitated squid and shellfish and make it an ingredient in the world’s “finest” perfumes. However, it’s not the substances’ marine-fecal-turned-earthly-sweet odor that makes it so valuable. Rather, it is amebergris’ chemical composition. As described in a 2007 Scientific American article, ambergris molecules are perfect for perfumes because they are both heavy and lipophilic, meaning they bind to fatty molecules like fragrances. The weight ensures the perfume stays on the skin; the lipophilic property ensures the perfume “sticks” together.

Photo credit: Gourmet.com 

the-star-stuff:

What Space Looks Like to Kids

It’s great to see how the kids pictured out the “Space.” Don’t forget to view the whole gallery here. 

Images: Space Foundation

teamepiphany:

New from iconic camera manufacturer Hasselblad comes this historic collaboration with Ferrari. The H4D-40 Limited Edition Ferrari Camera boasts all the bells and whistles you’d expect from such a well-known technology brand as well as some of the sleekest package design around, with inspiration borrowed from none other than the camera’s Italian speed demon collaborator. 

-Jeff Weber 

I’ve never used a Hasselblad, but having a read of the specs, this seems like a really  fancy camera even before the Ferrari decorations. All the software you’d need to look spectacular out of the box. 

At $28,100,  I’m not sure this something I’d buy, and as a Ferrari fan, I’m not even sure I’d want this as I drove around in a new f430. But would I whip this out at Monaco? Oh yeah.

hypna:

Riusuke Fukahori Paints Three-Dimensional Goldfish Embedded in Layers of Resin

Japanese artist Riusuke Fukahori paints three-dimensional goldfish using a complex process of poured resin. The fish are painted meticulously, layer by layer, the sandwiched slices revealing slightly more about each creature.

A must-watch video!:

So…we’re just gonna act like Kit Kats don’t deserve Girl Scout endorsement? I see how it is. I see.

today:

Is the Nestle Crunch Girls Scout candy bar real?

TODAY exclusive: We just got confirmation that yes, it is! 

YOU’RE WELCOME, INTERNET.

skepttv:

Measure the Speed of Light – With Chocolate!

‘C’ is for chocolate! ‘c’ is also the symbol used for the speed of light. Defined as being 299,792,458 meters per second in vacuum, you can take a crack at measuring the ultimate speed using your microwave, a ruler and a bar of chocolate! Yum!

skyfall007:

OMEGA celebrated Bond’s fiftieth anniversary with the launch of two commemorative limited edition watches and a selection of iconic props from every 007 film at its new store in London’s Stratford Westfield today.

I’m not totally in love with the face of the 50th Anniversary watch, but the back (and, of course, the box) is great!

slamthatstem:

@larsenroed has scientific PROOF that slamming is better than not slamming.

Please note that Mr. Diagram Man is rocking a sweet tuck.

He also appears to have no chain, no brakes (though he has brake levers), but is still also sporting some sweet shades.

jtotheizzoe:

Computational Origami

Erik and Martin Demaine are a father-son team exploring the mathematical mysteries in folded paper. When circular sheets are crinkled along concentric circumferences, it results in exotic projections like the ones seen above. 

This is a form of paper art that has been explored since the 1920’s, but the Demaines are using modern computation to unravel the complex algorithms behind the shapes. Starting with different curvatures and rotations in flat paper, they don’t always know what will come out the other end.

More of their curved-crease sculpture here, and their book.

(via Brain Pickings)

thenextweb:

This super slick Phone Size tool that compares the hottest smartphones against one another in as close to “meatspace” size as possible. You just plug in a few phones that you would like to compare, set the size and ratio of your screen and you’re off. (via A Slick Web Tool to Compare Real-Life Sizes of Smartphones)

Their names have been plastered on iconic toys for decades, but who exactly were…

izmia:

Gorgeous “brain” ads for Mercedes – Mercedes için muhte?em bir “beyin” reklamlar?

sciencecenter:

Fluorescent nerves allow for exploration of the most mysterious sense: touch

A new technique for color-coding nerves involved in touch gives neuroscientists a much-needed tool for studying that mysterious sense.

For nearly 250 years, the intricate detail and complexity of skin’s nervous-system wiring has thwarted attempts at understanding it. But if researchers studying skin could be imagined as technicians reverse-engineering a supercomputer’s peripherals, they’d have just traced about four lines back to the motherboard.

“Of all five major senses, the skin sense is the least understood. It’s an enormous frontier, and this is a huge leap forward,” said Jeff Woodbury of the University of Wyoming, a sensory biologist who co-authored a study of nerve endings Dec. 23 in Cell. “With this technique we hope to unravel all of the different circuits of skin sensation.”

agentmlovestacos:

INCREDIBLE HULK #378 is a classic! We also need more “Santa with a crowbar” covers.

You know this issue is old. That crowbar is $9.99.

mothernaturenetwork:

Scents sweeten the smell of commerce
Retailers are increasingly using scents to induce shoppers to stay longer and spend more, but to some people the smells are more like pollution.

hatethefuture:

Heat Death Of The Universe

PRO: Never have to pay that five dollars back.

CON: Didn’t even break in these new jeans.

b-rrrito:

decently-d0pe:

this looks cool but i’ll never wear it in public

never

^

Gotta be honest. I’d wear these to work on Fridays.

pia-artezine:

Gallery Director Michelle Joan Papillion took this photo of a book she was reading about Jean Michel Basquiat, there were nearly no images of his work, just photos of notes and writings he made about his thoughts and his art.

- limited edition book In Word Only

scinerds:

Why dull, brown corals light up like Christmas when you shine blue light on them

Louise Murray has spent a decade photographing corals – most of which appear dull and brown to the naked eye.

But when the photographer shines a blue torch on them, ‘It’s like the difference between walking down Oxford Street at midnight in June, and walking down when all the Christmas lights are on.’

‘It blows you away completely the first time.’ Murray works with scientists who believe the weird effect could be a sort of ‘sunscreen’ to help protect the animals from being bleached.

joelaz:

Save The Date Decoder Glasses

The Save The Date card for our wedding included a pair of red shades that you needed to put on to decode the invite like the one pictured above. It also included a request for invitees to email a picture of themselves wearing the glasses to a special email address that posted them on our wedding website. These are just a few of the photo responses we received. Interactive & fun! Thanks to Ming Thompson at Pounding Mill Press for working with us on the design.

unknownskywalker:

Bulled Light Bulbs by Ledo LED Technologie

A series retrofitted LED light bulbs which match the brightness of incandescents while only using 85% of the energy. 11 dimmable LED modules combine in a single frame to create as much illumination as a 60 watt incandescent while only being 11 watts. While fluorescent alternatives are also energy efficient, they have a cool color temperature, giving off a white light. By contrast the color temperature of ‘Bulled’ is 2800k, allowing the light to look very warm and natural. Because of the shape, the light disperses at 330 degrees.

good:

newsweek:

A survey of this year’s most popular Halloween costumes. Again, the witches win. The witches always win. Design by Part + Parcel.

How much do we spend on Halloween? Billions. Especially on princesses and witches.

Jedi and clone trooper costumes are on the rise. WAY on the rise. It looked like Episode 3 outside my house last night. I saw a LOT of Doctor Who outfits online. The Wonder woman outifits were the lamest all around this year,  and the Autobot costumes have definitely improved. For the first time in years, I bailed on my Starfleet uniform. Couldn’t resist the Green Lantern temptation. Had to try it once. I already have a collection of rings, and the mask (it’s a long story), but I did indeed buy candy, so I guess I spent some money on Halloween as well. $72.31 average seems a bit much. That said, I have friends who are in the 501st so when you consider that a good Stormtrooper suit will run you a grand…yeah, Halloween is getting out of control.

I love costume parties. LOVE them. Like, I wouldn’t go to 5 in a row, but it’s one of the things about the 31st that’s the most fun! Throwing a great costume party with great music and food and kids…LOVE it.

collegehumor:

Halloween: Then and Now (Click for more)

THE. BEST!!!

newsweek:

Forget planking. Go ahead and forget horsemanning too. And owling? Please. Ladies and gentlemen: Waldobombing!

milkstudios:

Evolve Motorcycles

Guests at Evolve Motorcycle’s launch party got a sneak peek at Evolve’s concept bike inspired by Tron. Yes, you can really drive it. Yes, it’s 100% electric.

starportone:

INFOGRAPHIC – NPR’s Top 100 in Sci Fi and Fantasy

QR Code Island by C.A.N. – The 1:87 scale-model in the style of a Hornby model railway can be read by a smartphone when viewed from above

(via jaymug)

Just had the strange desire to be up on the 2nd floor of Tower Records, perusing the Jazz section.
Comparing their prices with Virgin.
Getting the call your special order is in.
Reading credits, looking for familiar names.
Playing music history trivia with the staff.
Holding the product, hoping the rest of the album is as good as the era/personnel/song you know.

Wow. Yeah.

physicsphysics:

Love famous physicists? (of course you do!)

Love classic rock?

Love T-shirts?

If you answered yes to any or all of these, you might want to check out where these designs are for sale at Monsters of Grok. 

Today a new web series makes its debut on SyFy Channel’s website. The series is called “The Mercury Men”, and it’s a great looking retro sci-fi action series. I LOVE the promo videos they’ve made almost as much as I love the first episode. Looking forward to seeing more.

Retro TV promo:

8-bit video game promo:

and, it can’t be a proper retro sci-fi campaign without merchandise!

Sufficiently pre-marketed to? Okay then…here’s Episode 1!

nprfreshair:

Are any of you sci-fi geeks? There’s a movement afoot over on NPR.org to pull together the best science fiction and fantasy books based on your recommendations.

The last book I read in that genre is “Soon I Will Be Invincible.” It’s about a supervillain, Dr. Impossible, who keeps escaping from prison and is on this quest for world domination and to become, well, invincible. It’s written memoir-style and you feel a bit sorry for Dr. Impossible at the end.

The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy Books? You Tell Us : NPR

HeroesCon 2011!

(Photo – Isiah Bradley as Cap, via pkdmedia)

This weekend I’m all about HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC. Today I’m doing the Green Lantern Panel for lunch, and a host of other great things. I owned a comic book store here for 2 years, and closed it when I realized I was reading more than I was selling. I liked working with Diamond, but not enough to keep buying $500 a month worth of books for me and 10 of my friends to collect. My wife is focused on getting us to  re-open the store, because it was a lot of fun, and because we “do enough for money, we should do some things because we want to have fun.”

So, I am under strict orders to have fun. 

Going to HeroesCon on Father’s Day weekend (it’s since been moved up) was a great tradition between my son (who revealed on FCBD that he likes indie books more than the major super hero titles) and I.

I’m looking forward to this weekend!

This year I’m also working at the Con a bit, helping to promote a certain movie my friends are involved in.  

The misplacing of stuff is a bigger problem for me when I travel outside the country. I have almost NEVER lost a phone in the US, but have lost three mobiles and two organizers in Asia and the UK.

Phone Halo suggests a solution for people like me. And, so long as I don’t mind that whole “privacy” thing…it could be really convenient!

Phone Halo aims to solve the age old problem of losing your belongings, especially your wallet, mobile phone or keys. Phone Halo is actually a small device that you can attach onto your things that will allow you to track them down when they are lost. The small dongle has bluetooth and GPS built-in so that it can contact your phone or computer to give you details on where to find your things. To find a missing item, users simply open up the phone halo application on the phone or computer. a signal is sent to the dongle and at first an alarm will go off, allowing you to find something if it is within earshot. If it isn’t there, the device will give users a map that will lead them directly to the item. the device even warns you as you move further away from your item, hopefully reminding you to get it before it is even lost.

This is what the actual device looks like.

And that’s what it looks like on your mobile.

So, whaddaya think? Pre-ordering?

I’m one of those guys who needs it to be tested a bit more before I jump in. I’m all about early adopting, but this just looks dorky. History tells me that a slimmer, cooler looking version will come out not too soon afterwards.

Until then I’ll just have to remember to put my keys on my desk.

If you’re interested, learn more at phonehalo.com

But sometimes, it works. The Ferrari Puma stuff, for example. Love it. They’re mostly the only red items of clothing I own, actually. I also love the Ecko Star Wars stuff, and when I thought about it, I’m totally waiting on the Ecko/Timex watches (Boba Fett Indiglo. Yeah.) so I wondered…could Adidas do something I’d actually wear (with the Ecko stuff, preferably?)

And if not, is it something cool enough for my Clone Wars-loving son to rock?

Yep. This is Star Wars gear even a Trekker can love.

credits for the video ad:

Agency: Sid Lee
Director: Nima Nourizadeh
Production House: Partizan
Editing: Daniel Sherwin
Special Effects: The Mill – London
Sound Design: Mathieu Lafontaine
Mix: Boogie Studio
Production: Jimmy Lee

Plus, their online campaign is wonderful. It’s one of the few campaigns that is truly geeky, in that the time and budget it must have taken to A) line up David Beckham and Snoop for these ads and B) code the facebook connect functionality for the landing page — is to much for a niche segment of the brand. No, someone at Adidas loves them some Star Wars. And God bless ‘em for it!