I heard an NPR segment this morning (I was listening to the Shuffle in the kitchen, so the segment is likely no where near recent) about some scientists who are seriously looking into ways to create a man-made universe. Something about creating a mini black hole and then introducing something to that black hole which triggers the repulsive aspect of gravity. Yes, we normally think of gravity as The Great Attractor, but apparently it can also be The Great Repulser. Given the “equal and opposite force” thing I remember from sixth grade and the more or less dual nature of …
A Frenchman is making “green walls“. Which are exactly what they sound like. Rather than a wall being made of wood or concrete, he’s making them out of living plants. Well, the wood and concrete are still there, you just can’t see them any more because the wall is entirely covered with plants. Think dense jungle on the side of your office building. Or in the lobby. Check out his site, Vertical Garden, because the pictures are cool and the final products are currently stumping my powers of description. These walls are probably too “designer” for practical, wide-spread application. Watering …
Caitlyn wasn’t ready for sleep, I guess, when I finished her lullabies and left her room last night. Instead of in bed, under blankets, she was across the room, with her books. After she’d quieted down and fallen asleep, I went in to check on her. She’d made it to her bed and was lying on her tummy, with her head off her mat and on the carpet. Her stuffed black and white “Tinker” cat was tucked under one arm; her other was splayed across If I Ran the Circus, which she had brought to bed. It’s quite possible we …
Ah, climate change and automobile dependency… I haven’t tried this out myself, but I know if I sit in my running car in a closed garage, I’m pretty sure I will be dead long before the fuel runs out. My car holds two. We would both be dead. Did I mention that I drive a hybrid? My car could kill many more. Taking the conservative estimate of five carbon-monoxide deaths per car, I started estimating how many cars there are in one mile of traffic. I reset my odometer and checked the clock. In rush hour, it took me an …
Caitlyn seems to have discovered buttons, the kind you push and get some sort of response from. She has a small collection of such toys, from a dancing bear with excerpts of five classical works to a key chain with sounds for a doorbell, a car horn, and a UFO launching (although it’s just as common for her to hold the keys to her ear and say “Ahlo?”). Thinking that maybe more buttons might be interesting, we went looking for our ideal buttoned toy. Only to find that it apparently doesn’t exist. There are lots of toys with buttons and …
A recent conversation on our family mailing list brought 911 Mysteries to my attention. (Watch part 1, part 2, and part 3 of the first installment, Demolitions.) The producers make a pretty compelling argument, although I could just be too willing to believe people in positions of power are capable of shocking feats of corruption. The movie doesn’t make accusations, perhaps one of its strongest aspects. It just presents lots of evidence, about buildings and steel and fire and explosions and demolitions and insurance and investments and permits and planes and volcanoes and thermite and basements and the weekend before …