After YEARS of agonizing wait, George R.R Martin’s A Dance with Dragon will finally be released on July 12, 2011. If I remember correctly, when Mr. Martin released A Feast for Crows, 4 years after A Storm of Swords, he mentioned that readers wouldn’t have to wait as long for the next book in the series. Not as long? It’s already been 6 years Mr. Martin! Now I’ll have to start the series all over again before reading this one… not that I actually mind, mind you, but 6 years is indeed a very long time.
Hey math geeks! Check out these awesome clocks, on which each hour is marked by a either a math problem or a symbol representing a certain value.
Math Pop Quiz Clock
Get the conversation going the next time the MENSA meeting is at your place. Made of lightweight black metal with a matte finish Measures 11.5″ diameter Requires 1 AA Battery (not included) Easy-to-hang with “keyhole” opening on the back of the clock Work out the equations to determine the hour Fun and challenging Makes a great gift for your favorite Brainiac !
On our charmingly quirky wall clock, irrational numbers–those that can’t be represented by simple fractions–replace the usual markings of a traditional clock face. The numbers, though admittedly “irrational,” are logically arranged. For example, pi (3.14159…) is just a few degrees past where a three would normally be. Mathematicians and other numerical whizzes (engineers, accountants…anyone with a fancy calculator) will derive a virtual eternity of laughs from this clever home or office accessory. Black with white details, the 12″-diameter metal clock runs on one AA battery.
Coming March 29, 2011: Possibly the geekiest craft book of all time. The Star Wars Craft Book by Bonnie Burton is currently available for preorder ($12.02 at Amazon)
The book’s official description:
Chewbacca Sock Puppets. Ewok Flower Vases. AT-AT Herb Gardens. With The Star Wars Craft Book, fans of all ages and skill levels can bring the best of the galaxy far, far away right into their own homes. Fully illustrated, this guidefeatures a variety of fun and original projects.
• Playtime: Make and play with finger puppets of your favorite cantina characters, Cuddly Banthas, and Rotta the Huttlet Squeaky Toys for your pets • Home Decor: Spruce up your space with Chewbacca Tissue Box Covers, a Mounted Acklay Head, and a Jabba the Hutt Body Pillow • Holiday Crafts: Celebrate festive occasions with Wookiee Pumpkins, Hanukkah Droidels, and a Star Wars Action Figure Wreath • Nature and Science Crafts: Get down to earth with Emperor Appletine Dolls and a Wookiee Bird House • Star Wars Style: Give your wardrobe a dose of intergalactic chic with Ewok Fleece Hats and an R2-D2 Crocheted Beanie
With easy step-by-step instructions, The Star Wars Craft Book is a joyful and entertaining way for you and your friends to bring many beloved elements of Star Wars to life! (No midi-chlorians required!)
After reading that, I’m not certain my life will ever be complete without an AT-AT herb garden and Jabba Body Pillow. I wish I were joking, geeks.
If USB drives had been invented yet, my eight-year-old self would have battled a classmate at noon recess for this thing. Now, my five-year-old will probably find out this exists and beg me to buy one.
The first licensed Voltron USB drive comes from Incubot Productions loaded with a remastered, full episode of the show. At 3.5-inches tall, the PVC drive also features a light-up chest shield and BLAZING SWORD!! My only lament is that at 2GB (minus the Voltron episode), the drive is rather expensive for the limited storage. If 2 gigs is enough for you, however, you can purchase the Voltron Lionforce Defender USB Drive for $36.99.
Earth could be on the verge — on a big picture timescale at least — of only the sixth mass extinction in its history, according to research led by the University of California at Berkeley.
For the terms of the research, a mass extinction is defined as 75% of the different species on the planet becoming extinct within a short period. That’s a short period in historical terms, though, meaning a couple of million years at most.
The last of five such known events is thought to have been when an asteroid hit Earth around 65 million years ago in what’s now Mexico and led to the wipeout of the dinosaurs (pictured above in artist rendition).
The researchers attempted to compare findings from fossils that tell us about when previous species were lost during mass extinction events, and records of species in comparatively recent times. It’s an inherently limited operation as humans are only actively tracking the status of around 2.7% of all current known species.
The findings were that in the past 200 years, only a couple of percent of species have gone extinct. The problem is the overall rate of extinction (that is, how quickly species are dying out compared with how quickly new ones are developing): it’s thought to be somewhere between three to 12 times higher than in historically “ordinary” circumstances.
Clearly there’s a significant margin of error with such extrapolation. The key to the various numbers seems to be (to put it in extremely simple terms) that extinction is on the rise but isn’t yet critical. However it could be as little as a few hundred years before the momentum becomes irreversible.
The other significant note from the research is that, unlike previous mass extinctions caused by natural events, the causes this time are largely man-made such as pollution, overfishing, driving creatures from their habitat, and climate change (to whatever extent man has contributed.)
Sure, the iPad has enviable touchscreen real estate, but Apple can’t compete with this 33-foot behemoth. The University of Groningen in the Netherlands has converted a 3D theater into a 10-meter by 2.8-meter touchscreen using only free and open-source technology. The Reality Touchscreen, which curves 135 degrees along the stage wall of the theater, accepts 100 multi-touch inputs simultaneously, allowing for collaborative work. The University of Groningen uses the screen to teach students interactivity.
YouTube user TheParadigmShift edited footage from NatGeo’s “Journey to the Edge of the Universe” to create this beautiful video, which makes me feel both infinitesimally small and hopeful at the same time.
Check out these absolutely amazing, confusing, trippy, crazy, incredibly cool Hungarian posters for the original Star Wars trilogy and see if you can figure out just what the heck is going on in each one.
So, I guess that green guy with the sword must have been one of those peripheral characters that was juuuust off-screen in the Cantina. He’ll have an incredibly hard-to-find action figure someday, I’m sure. And I hear R2-D2 shoulder pads were all the rage in 1977.
That AT-AT looks like it’s been inspired by Salvador Dali’s elephants. Still, though, this is probably my favorite one of the three.
And, last but not least, is that supposed to be a Gamorrean Guard at the bottom or what? I’m so confused, yet I can’t look away.
