Dithyramb

The impact NASA has had on different fields

William Shatner gives a fascinating small presentation of the impact NASA has had on different fields and on how that improves life here on earth.

I, Pencil

The Competitive Enterprise Institute has made a short film version of Leonard Reads classic I, Pencil essay.

 

Support a free and open internet

Google has launched a campaign in support of a free and open internet against those who would hand over control to the United Nations and corrupt and oppressive governments.

I've just signed. Hope you will too!

All roads lead to...

...ROME!!!

ORBIS - The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World. Using modern technology to understand premodern history.

A Capella version of Rammsteins Du Hast

Via Izismile

 

Delightful and ingenius

Of interest...

In the world of science...

Explenation of the Aurora Borealis phenomenon

 

Via

The Aurora Borealis from Per Byhring on Vimeo.

 

In the world of politics...

Christopher Hitchens asks some much needed questions to the "activists"(or the life-hating terrorist supporters in a normal persons vocabulary) on the Gaza Flotilla.

The little boats cannot make much difference to the welfare of Gaza either way, since the materials being shipped are in such negligible quantity. The chief significance of the enterprise is therefore symbolic. And the symbolism, when examined even cursorily, doesn't seem too adorable. The intended beneficiary of the stunt is a ruling group with close ties to two of the most retrograde dictatorships in the Middle East, each of which has recently been up to its elbows in the blood of its own civilians. The same group also manages to maintain warm relations with, or at the very least to make cordial remarks about, both Hezbollah and al-Qaida. Meanwhile, a document that was once accurately described as a "warrant for genocide" forms part of the declared political platform of the aforesaid group. There is something about this that fails to pass a smell test. I wonder whether any reporter on the scene will now take me up on this

I somehow doubt that he will get much of a rational answer.

 

In the world of entertainment...

The world will forever be changed for air guitar players!

Better lead off on a happy note, so...

Glympse

I'm currently testing out Glympse

...apparently Gowalla and Foursquare are sooooo 2010

Kringla Heimsins

So which is it?  Amazon tablet ships later this year or no improved displays this year? I'm quite satified with my Kindle 3. It has excellent battery life and has a nice readable display even outdoors in bright sunlight. I don't really care that much that it's not in colour...what is really needed is better note-taking capability.

Some more happy news...when they killed Bin Laden they also got hold of his computer files. Now...killing one man, doesn't kill the terrorists' ideology... The battle rages on...

Christopher Hitchens has some thoughts on the death of Bin Laden....a fitting eulogy :-)

What "really" went down at Osama's compound!!! :-)

 

Ohhh! Catharsis...

Claim your peaks

Via The Adventure blog

Peakery is a site where you can log the peaks you climb. At present there are 150, 339 peaks (At present only 351 peaks in Norway are listed).

 

I've just joined!

Kringla Heimsins

The secrets of how many combinations of lego-brick combinations are possible is finally revealed by a Danish mathematician (story in Norwegian). Good to know!

And apparently dogs are passe as Marijuana farms in Canada start using bears for protection

Also, Odysseus Palace in Ithaca has been found! So Homer's epic hero might be real after all... Great news indeed for all ancient history and archeology buffs.

For the aesthetically inclined, ever wonder how it would look if Darth Vader did Tai Chi?

Quiz time again...the Steampunk style test...

Your result for The Steampunk Style Test...

The Aristocrat

46% Elegant, 45% Technological, 17% Historical, 36% Adventurous and 43% Playful!

You are the Aristocrat, the embodiment of steampunk elegance and poise. For you, dressing steampunk is first and foremost about simply looking good, with accessories and details to follow. However, this does not mean that you ignore the demands of creating a “steampunk look.” Your outfits weave together a balance between technology and style, and between period accuracy and beautiful anachronism. While your fashion inspiration may come from anywhere across the Victorian social spectrum, you always find a way to make your outfit beautiful. You will probably be found in the clothes of the steam age elite simply because of the greater elegance available to them. Chances are you dress this way because you like it, and you would still dress in this manner even if steampunk was not a popular interest.

Try our other Steampunk test here.

Take The Steampunk Style Test at HelloQuizzy

Bulletproof corsets...? Anyone...

via Boing Boing

...fancy a bulletproof corset?

Financial crisis: causes and possible cures

John Allisons talk Financial crisis: causes and possible cures is now available online by courtesy of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights.

Wow! A Luxury armoured car!

  Conquest Knight XV

Wow! If only I could afford one.

A car with night vision, playstation 3 and a rear op camera-system.

The Ayn Rand Center is now on Twitter.

Leonard Peikoffs second podcast ...

...is now available for listening at his site.

A delightfull look at the future

Myrhaf has written an excellent piece which I enjoyed quite alot entitled The Museum of Western Civilization.