ideonexus

interweaving ideas

  • NY Hall of Science: Mathematica

    NY Hall of Science: Mathematica Great Big Mobius Strip (An Object that has only one side) One of my biggest academic regrets was not taking Calculus. Mathematics, as it was taught in my high school, was a dull, sterile subject with little bearing on reality. It wasn’t until I got into computer programming that I…

  • The Telectroscope

    Visiting the Telectroscope art installation in DUMBO was fortunately a convenient excursion, located a block down the street from Grimaldi’s Pizzaria (best pizza in New York). Seeing Londoners Through the Telectroscope What’s a telectroscope? Here’s a description from the installation’s website: Hardly anyone knows that a secret tunnel runs deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. In…

  • NY Sun Works: The Science Barge

    After sleeping in late recovering from an all-night Chinatown-Express bus ride into NY, I hopped over to Hudson River Park to check out the Science Barge, first project of the NY Sun Works for sustainable engineering. The Science Barge Sarah Hanna, Educational Coordinator for the barge, gave us a tour of the facility, which is…

  • 2008 World Science Fair

    I and my sister spent the whole day last Saturday hanging around New York University taking in the 2008 World Science Festival. It was the first. It was a hit. I plan to attend again next year. Disney Imagineering Dr. Anne Savage Shows a GPS Collar for Elephants We started off the morning with a…

  • Gontran De Poncins’ Kabloona

    “It came to me suddenly– and this discovery preoccupied me entirely– that here was unity, here was the eternal and primitive family, the family of the Bible: father, mother, child, beasts of burden, all composing one body with multiple heads.” – Gontran De Poncin describing the Inuit Tribes people Inuit Woman with Children Photo by…

  • Show Your Global Warming Skepticism on “Carbon Belch Day”

    Mark your calendars! June 12 is Carbon Belch Day, brainchild brainfart of the GrassFire lobby, a day to flaunt your skepticism of Anthropogenic Global Warming theory by producing as much CO2 as possible. It’s like “I’m With Stupid” multiplied by several thousand!!! I am begging all AGW skeptics to PLEASE DO THIS! Please go ahead…

  • NY Hall of Science: The Nature of Networks

    My favorite, and the most thought-provoking, of the exhibits at NYHS. These quotes seen around The Nature of Networks exhibit say it all: “Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry.” – Richard Feynman Internet Arm Wrestling “We cannot…

  • A 1945 Steampunk Vision of the Internet: As We May Think

    53 years ago this Sunday, Dr. Vannevar Bush composed this incredible bit of futurism, where he describes an Information Technology tool called the “Memex,” a device that can instantaneously serve up any article or book in its user’s possession and navigate to any spot within the text. He describes scientists working in the field, their…

  • Microsoft’s World Wide Telescope

    Finally installed the World Wide Telescope (WWT) after downloading it to sit on my desktop (aka “The Place of No Return”) for a few weeks. It’s very impressive, but less impressive when you run it side-by-side with Google Earth (GE). Still, there are a few features that are going to make me keep both softwares…

  • EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson’s Contempt for Americans

    Awhile back I linked to this video of EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson refusing to explain to Congress why he will not do his job despite the Supreme Court mandating he take action on CO2 pollution, and his refusal to allow Californians the right to take action on greenhouse emissions for themselves. Three hearings later and…

  • Peak Water

    “We’ll never know the worth of water until the well goes dry.” – Scottish proverb. In November 2007 Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue prayed for rain to alleviate the state’s worst drought in history. Before this last-ditch effort, he had sued the Army Corps of Engineers to cut off Florida’s water supply. Georgia legislator even made…

  • The Thrill of Loosing a Pint of Blood

    My father teaches phlebotomy at ODU, but is a total wuss when it comes to donating blood. He used to fall back on the excuse that his type I diabetes excluded him from donation, but had to find another excuse when that prohibition was lifted. I’ve been prohibited from donating blood for a year every…