The original Choose Your Own Adventure books are now available as audio ebooks for your iPod. If you’d like to try a free download, turn to page 22.If you’d like to continue walking until you reach the end, turn to page 42. (Thanks to Janie for the link.)
Choose your own adventure books translated to iPod Read More »
From a SciAm article on the discovery of new magnetic organic molecules:
The discovery was partly accidental. The researchers were mixing organic nitrogen-rich compounds with nickel atoms and water. Normally during s uch reactions, multiple organic molecules will attach to each metal ion, so a relatively small amount of nickel should have been needed. But Hicks says his postdoc, Rajsapan Jain, noticed that the chemicals were not completely used up in the reaction, so they kept adding nickel to see what would happen. They ended up with a mudlike powder in their test tubes.
To quote Isaac Asimov: “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny …'”
Accidental discovery of magnetic organic molecules Read More »
After going through hundreds of nominations and reviews, Bora Coturnix has collected a list of the top 50 science blog posts of 2006 (also to be published in an ink-on-dead-trees anthology). Great summaries of the latest science translated for the layman — check it out! (And thanks to Janie for the link!)
Best science blog posts of 2006 Read More »
Wired reports that the James Randi Educational Foundation is changing the rules for its million-dollar cash prize to anyone who can perform a psychic or supernatural ability under controlled conditions, to better focus on high-profile charlatans and spend less time testing people with obvious schizophrenia or other delusions. As of April 1st, if you want to apply for the prize you need to have some sort of media profile about their power and a letter from an academic who has seen their ability. (Thanks to Janie for the link!)
Randi Foundation changing $1M challenge rules Read More »
One fashion faux pas I noticed in Apple’s iPhone presentation on Tuesday: the basic black bluetooth earpiece. Come on Steve — where’s the bright flashing LED? How am I supposed to assert my dominance over other geeks if I can’t blind them from across the room just by turning my head? Heck, I can find my carkeys in the dark with my year-old Plantronics headset — at least give me laser beams or something! (And if you can make it beep with an original Star Trek communicator sound when I get a call, now that would really show ’em who’s the king of fashion!)
Fashion and the bluetooth earpiece Read More »
It’ll be interesting to watch how Apple’s iTV + iTunes competes with Tivo in the long run. The big difference is that iTV is inherently narrowcast — play podcasts and downloads from the iTunes store — while Tivo’s main schtick is to provide the advantage of narrowcast on top of a legacy broadcast video distribution system (cable).
Long-term I always bet on narrowcast, but there’s still a big question of timing: when does enough content become available on the Internet that you no longer need your cable TV subscription? And how much can Apple do to make that day come a little sooner?
I’ve been yawning about the rumors of a phone that’s also an iPod — music is the least of the apps that I use on my phone, and I’m quite happy with my Treo 650. But a quad-mode phone that runs OS X, including dashboard widgets and Safari, with GSM, EDGE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth? Now that’s a big deal! (And just as the future of Palm OS was looking a little shaky — looks like now I can continue with my life-long dream of never having to use any form of Windows. 🙂
I’m especially looking forward to playing with is the two-fingered “pinch” interface for resizing, something that’s possible because their touchscreen can handle multiple touches at once — I’ve wanted something like that since I saw Sun’s Starfire concept video back in 1993…
So much more than an iPod Phone… Read More »
I just posted a few different methods for disarming the Under Glass trap over in my traps gallery:
There are several potential methods to disarm this kind of trap, though depending on the particular trap implementation some of them may be more or less effective. I’ve only actually used the first two methods, the others are suggestions I’ve heard that sound plausible but haven’t been field-tested. Note that there are various destructive methods you could use to open this trap without setting it off, such as drilling a hole from the underside, but that’s considered cheating: the idea is to get the “treasure” out of the box without setting off the trap and without damaging either the box or trap itself.
Strong Magnet: Depending on the strength and position of the popper, placing a strong magnet against the glass (or box bottom) can keep it in closed position while you remove the dome. My earlier prototype with the popper stuck to the glass could be disarmed by simply placing a very strong rare earth magnet against the glass, and then whacking the box, dome and magnet down on the arm of the couch so that the popper would snap shut from the inertia. Once the popper was closed, the magnet was strong enough to keep it closed such that the dome, magnet and popper could all be removed without setting off the cap. (Unfortunately for Jay, the version I gave him was simply too powerful even for the four large rare earth magnets I had brought with me.)
Rice: The second option is to fill the dome with a substance that can fit through the small crack between the box and glass but still interfere with the firing mechanism. I used grains of rice, which could be forced under the dome using a thin piece of spring steel. After I had a decent amount of rice inside the dome itself I was able to lift it out of the box without firing the cap. The hammer sprung down, but wound up with a single grain of rice between it and the unfired cap. Water would also probably work, though it might damage the box or contents. Note that evacuating the dome of oxygen (for example by using a wine preserver gas) does not seem to work — I’m guessing the caps provide their own oxygen source.
Wax / glue: We haven’t tried this, but it might be possible to carefully maneuver some sticky wax or glue through the crack in the side such that it holds the playing card to the underside of the glass dome, thus pulling the card up with the dome when it’s removed from the box.
Flexible shim: We haven’t tried this yet either, but there exist metal shims that are extremely flexible, and such a shim might be able to actually bend through a crack between the glass and box side and get inside enough to block a popper from firing. This was essentially Jay’s strategy using pipe cleaners, but they weren’t quite flexible enough, and one of the poppers got free and went off.
Disarming “Under Glass” Read More »
Via Mind Hacks, this quote from A Writer’s Notebook by W. Somerset Maugham sums up my wonder at the physical basis of the brain better than anything I’ve ever read:
“The highest activities of consciousness have their origins in physical occurrences of the brain, just as the loveliest melodies are not too sublime to be expressed by notes.”
Great analogy on consciousness and brain Read More »
