Thursday, June 28, 2012

USA! USA! USA!

I love Olympic years!

London 2012 is going to be a VERY exciting games.

Michael Phelps may not feel like he has anything to prove anymore, but 3 more medals and he is the winningest (spelling?) Olympian (medalwise) of all time. Including relays, he's already made that many events... One star to watch is Ryan Lochte. While he definitely had a very successful Olympics 4 years ago, I think its his time to shine for the American team.

Another fierce race is going to be the Men's 100M breastroke. Brendan Hansen, who came out of retirement for 1 last Olympics, has his sights set on his rival, Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima (who trains in the US). Kitajima's controversial use of a dolphin kick (see video below) is a point of contention in the swimming community.



On the Women's side there seems to be a lot of new faces. From Breeja Larson and Rebecca Soni in breaststroke to Elaine Breeden and Kathleen Hersey in butterfly. Missy Franklin took the lead on the Women's 100 back which sadly uncrowns Natalie Coughlin as the top American backstroker. She was one of my favorite swimmers of the Beijing games. 


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As far as coverage NBC and YouTube will be streaming the games online! Click here for more -> http://gizmodo.com/5891565/youtube-and-nbc-will-livestream-the-entire-summer-2012-olympics-for-free

Can a black hole be used as a particle detector?

Scientists at the Vienna University of Technology think it may be possible.

One of the reasons for this idea is the sheer cost and time required for the financing and building of particle accelerators. The Large Hadron Collider for instance took approx 30 years to build "at a cost of around £3.7billion".

From the Daily Mail:
The team believe that axions can circle a black hole, in a similar way to how electrons circle the nucleus of an atom, except that this time, it is gravity rather than electromagnetic force that binds the two together.
Delving briefly into the world of quantum physics, every particle is described as a wave.
The wavelength corresponds to the particle's energy. Heavy particles have small wavelengths, but the low-energy axions can have wavelengths of many kilometers.
The results of Grumiller and Mocanu show that axions can circle a black hole, similar to electrons circling the nucleus of an atom.


Source -> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2161581/Cant-afford-particle-detector-Use-black-hole-say-scientists-believe-harness-destructive-giants-science.html

Earlier related links: http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/07/god-particle-close-to-being-discovered.html & http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2012/01/this-guy-might-not-be-100-right.html

"Pizza" tracking in NYC

Note the quotes, being that its Dominos and in NYC...


 
Clickable links -> http://youtu.be/OlIelAWikWQ

Despite it not being John's (on Bleecker), Lombardi's or even Patsy's this is still a pretty cool video.

Source -> http://gizmodo.com/5919712/watch-the-fascinating-pizza-circulatory-system-of-new-york-city

Want to keep learning while asleep?

Yes I've seen that episode of Dexter's laboratory too.


(I do not own the video clip above)


From Smithsonian Mag:

The average American sleeps some 7.6 hours a night—maybe not as much as one would like, but a number that still amounts to more 200,000 hours total over the course of a lifetime. What if there were some way to use all these hours to do something we don’t have the time to do while awake, like learn to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language?
The idea that you can learn new things through some sort of magical mental osmosis while you sleep has long been wishful thinking. But a new study by Northwestern University researchers indicates that, depending on what we hear during the night, it is indeed possible to reinforce existing memories and enhance our recall after we wake up.

Click the source links below for more.


Sources -> http://gizmodo.com/5921668/how-to-keep-learning-even-when-youre-asleep via http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.3152.html#/author-information & http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2012/06/experiments-show-we-really-can-learn-while-we-sleep/

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

I love stuff like this!

During the recent digging for a new subway line in Greece workers discovered an ancient road beneath the surface. Click the source link below for more.

From Yahoo news:

Archaeologists and employees of Metro's construction company present to the media and public the ancient ruins in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Monday, June 25, 2012. Archaeologists in Greece’s second largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago. The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for the city’s new subway system that is due to be completed in four years, and will be raised to be put on permanent display for passengers when the metro opens.



Source -> http://yhoo.it/MRMXbO

You've got to admit...

...one feels bad for the kid watching this, but its pretty damn funny.


Clickable link: http://youtu.be/KPgpRw9tiuM

Thursday, June 21, 2012

"I made it all up"

That's the explanation by the 21 year old Dutch kid formerly referred to as the "German Forest Boy". They say "Fantasist" I say "Kid who doesn't understand consequences".

From the Telegraph:
Officials have concluded that the young man who walked into a town hall in the east of the city and addressed them in accented English has "mental health issues", according to sources in Berlin. One said: "There was no wood, no grave, no mother who died in a car crash. He is now just regarded as something of an unfortunate." 

From the Daily Mail:

20-year-old Robin van Helsum aka 'Forest Boy' may have to pay back as much as £16,000 in expenses that police racked up accommodating him for nine months.
Berlin social services paid for bed and board, clothing and German lessons for the English-speaking Dutchman. They also gave him a staggering £200 a month in pocket money.
Ed Koch, spokesman for the district youth welfare office, told The Telegraph: 'We will file a suit for fraudulent appropriation of youth benefits during the course of the week.
'We're going to demand this money back. Whether we ever see it again, we don't know.'
Van Helsum enjoyed Berlin's hospitality while maintaining the illusion he was a 17-year-old boy called Ray who had spent years living in the forest.
His rouse was exposed when friends from his old school in his hometown of Hengelo recognised him on the news. His stepmother then positively identified him to police.


Is it just me or in that picture he doesn't seem "all there"?

Thoughts?

Sources-> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2162602/Germany-sue-Forest-Boy-16-000-expenses-police-spent-upkeep--including-200-month-POCKET-MONEY.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/9090755/German-forest-boy-is-fantasist-who-made-up-tragic-tale.html

Earlier related links -> http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/09/german-forest-boy-emerges-in-berlin.html
http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/10/forest-boy-update.html

Lil Vader's Heart Surgery was a success

Remember that kid from the VW Commercial dressed as Little Vader? He has had a heart defect that has now been remedied. Awesome to see that all went well.


From Automotive News:
Max Page, the young actor behind the wildly popular Volkswagen "Little Vader" character, has undergone successful surgery to correct a heart issue. Page was born with a defect called Tetralogoy of Fallot, which can cause low oxygen levels in the blood. Surgeons replaced Page's pulmonary valve in an operation that took around two hours without any complications or incidents. Tetralogy of Fallot is only treatable with surgery, and while doctors had worked to preserve Page's pulmonary valve, it deteriorated over the course of the actor's young life to the point of needing replacement.

























Source -> http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/17/successful-heart-surgery-for-vws-little-vader-w-video/

Earlier related links -> http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/02/meet-max-page-aka-vader-from-vw-ad.html & http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/02/they-didnt-have-remote-start-in-1988.html

Monsters University Trailer

I already like this. Clickable link -> http://youtu.be/o6h-GisKUNA

Thursday, June 14, 2012

"The last Cub to throw a no hitter was your pitching machine"

I'm not taking a side... but this is pretty funny.
I will however take the position of: NY Pizza > ALL OTHER PIZZA


 Round 1:
Round 2:

Source -> http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/fdcae34e76/chicago-vs-chicago-round-1 & http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/23a7cb416e/chicago-vs-chicago-round-2

 Earlier related Wrigley link -> http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/02/which-cubs-game-did-ferris-sloan-and.html

Cells do math? Thats umpossible




















Pasted from Gizmodo:


The biological cell is an extremely advanced microscopic entity that can look after itself, but it's not exactly what you'd call smart. That's all about to change, though, because scientists are now making cells that can perform arithmetic—and the next stop stop is a living implant that can act as a computer.
Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have created biological versions of digital circuits inside two sets of embryonic kidney cells. One is a half adder, the other a half subtractor—in other words, they're circuits capable of adding or subtracting binary numbers.
In fact, they're the most complex biological circuits yet created, and the idea is that they could be put to use in computational devices for the body to diagnose diseases, administer drugs or even interface with other electronic devices. The development is published in Nature.



Source -> http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11149.html via http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428683.000-bionic-cells-can-do-basic-arithmetic.html via http://gizmodo.com/5916248/biological-cells-can-now-do-arithmetic

A collection of great under 30 second car videos

Source -> http://jalopnik.com/5917375/the-ten-greatest-under-30+second-car-videos/

I cut some out, and changed the order...
  Clickable Link -> http://youtu.be/ewxrNSOKFow Clickable Link -> http://youtu.be/XyOVqaJzyMI Clickable Link -> http://youtu.be/90xHkhtQXxQ

Friday, June 8, 2012

Friday, June 1, 2012

The Bourne Legacy (trailer released)

I just found out that this movie takes place during the events of The Bourne Ultimatum. I've got to say, that is a pretty cool twist. Also from the trailer below, the viewer learns that not only was Bourne not the only trained operative of operation Treadstone, but the program itself wasn't limited to physical and psychological enhancement/training/modification...

I've always liked the Bourne movies, sort of a grittier Bond without the polish (in a good way).

I can't wait to see this.


Clickable link -> http://youtu.be/euV3w-PIvAY