Interesting Stuff Thread

Hotblack Desiato · 27-09-2012 1:52am

It's a sign! The end times :eek:

Kivaro · 27-09-2012 2:38am

ninja900 wrote: »

It's a sign! The end times :eek:

Let's all hail "C/2012 S1".

pauldla · 27-09-2012 3:27am

Gbear wrote: »

http://www.astronomynow.com/news/n1209/25comet/#.UGMQXQyVuJI.facebook

That's going to be ****ing awesome!

Just bought the young fella a new telescope for his birthday. He's going to be excited by this, and I can hardly wait myself!!!

Calibos · 27-09-2012 9:08am

pauldla wrote: »

Just bought the young fella a new telescope for his birthday. He's going to be excited by this, and I can hardly wait myself!!!

There is a comet next March called Panstars that might be good too.

Dave! · 27-09-2012 9:27am

Jernal wrote: »

So lads and ladies, let's face it, the self portrait of our own workspaces is never going to be as awesome as this.
(Bet the fecker is pulling a duckface pose too.)

Desktop background image sorted...

Delirium · 28-09-2012 8:50am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPBDlpbzC1A

magicbastarder · 28-09-2012 9:42am

pauldla wrote: »

Just bought the young fella a new telescope for his birthday. He's going to be excited by this, and I can hardly wait myself!!!

he won't want to look at it through his telescope, though!

magicbastarder · 28-09-2012 9:44am

www.lettersofnote.com/2012/09/a-degenerate-sort-of-cult.html

pauldla · 28-09-2012 10:49am

magicbastarder wrote: »

he won't want to look at it through his telescope, though!

Why not...?

kylith · 28-09-2012 11:56am

pauldla wrote: »

Why not...?

I'm guessing because if it's brighter than the moon it's bright enough to cause serious eye injury?

magicbastarder · 28-09-2012 12:00pm

yep, i've a fairly reasonable telescope (sadly underused), an 8 inch dobsonian, and the full moon is *painful* to look at through it.

pauldla · 28-09-2012 12:13pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

yep, i've a fairly reasonable telescope (sadly underused), an 8 inch dobsonian, and the full moon is *painful* to look at through it.

He'll look through it and like it, dammit! And I'll have no patience for all this "Daddy my eyes hurt, I can't see, where are you Daddy" nonsense again. Youngsters these days, I ask you.

Turtwig · 28-09-2012 12:18pm

pauldla wrote: »

He'll look through it and like it, dammit! And I'll have no patience for all this "Daddy my eyes hurt, I can't see, where are you Daddy" nonsense again. Youngsters these days, I ask you.

I can't quite recall correctly but I think he should count himself lucky that his eyes hurt. Lots of things you look at through a telescope can blind you via intense invisible light acting on the cells inside your eye, particularly the fovea.
Not trying to play the scaremonger, but make sure he's aware of proper safety when using it. (This applies more to lasers than anything else, but whatever, safety groucho got spoil your day.)

pauldla · 28-09-2012 12:30pm

Jernal wrote: »

I can't quite recall correctly but I think he should count himself lucky that his eyes hurt. Lots of things you look at through a telescope can blind you via intense invisible light acting on the cells inside your eye, particularly the fovea.
Not trying to play the scaremonger, but make sure he's aware of proper safety when using it. (This applies more to lasers than anything else, but whatever, safety groucho got spoil your day.)

Ah now, I was kidding. We're not Christians at Knock, you know.

He's probably a wee bit young for it (he's seven) so I keep himself and his sister well supervised when they use it (rottweilers are great). I was a bit worried they wouldn't like it (Daddy this is boooring) but the first time they looked at the half-moon they were jumping up and down shouting 'look at the circles! It's covered in circles!' Then they were asking me what they were, how they got there, etc. It was fun. Alas, the light pollution here is awful, and we get a lot of cloud, especially at this time of the year.

Turtwig · 28-09-2012 12:38pm

pauldla wrote: »

Ah now, I was kidding. We're not Christians at Knock, you know.

He's probably a wee bit young for it (he's seven) so I keep himself and his sister well supervised when they use it (rottweilers are great). I was a bit worried they wouldn't like it (Daddy this is boooring) but the first time they looked at the half-moon they were jumping up and down shouting 'look at the circles! It's covered in circles!' Then they were asking me what they were, how they got there, etc. It was fun. Alas, the light pollution here is awful, and we get a lot of cloud, especially at this time of the year.

Aww, that's adorable. If possible don't tell them straight off tell them the answers let them try to reason their own causes for the circles, no matter how bizarre those causes or reasons get.

magicbastarder · 28-09-2012 1:02pm

Jernal wrote: »

let them try to reason their own causes for the circles, no matter how bizarre those causes or reasons get.

jesus put them there.

pauldla · 28-09-2012 2:45pm

If possible don't tell them straight off tell them the answers let them try to reason their own causes for the circles, no matter how bizarre those causes or reasons get.

What an excellent idea! I must remember to do that next time.

jesus put them there.

and it's all your fault.

Obliq · 28-09-2012 4:28pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

jesus put them there.

Ha! Reminds me of the time I had my youngest (who has ASD) and his friend (also ASD) in the back of the car. My boy says "Look at all the smoke" - me "looks like smoke doesn't it? What else could that be?" - friend "It's clouds!" - my boy "How did clouds get made?" - friend "God made them" - my boy "Why?"
That's my boy

vibe666 · 30-09-2012 9:26am

here's a bishop talking about how the church invented hell to keep people in line.

a refreshing bit of honesty that would make religion a lot more palatable to me if it were more widespread.

Gbear · 01-10-2012 5:12am

I just finished watching an interview with Adam Savage (from Mythbusters) by Kevin Pollak (from The Usual Suspects).

Pollak has a weekly interview available on iTunes. I saw another good one of Seth MacFarlane.
There's about 150 in total.

Anyway, it was a brilliant interview and Savage is utterly amazing.
I think he's one of the best exponents of critical thought and rationality in the world.
I'd seriously recommend it.

Edit: Here's the youtube version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K8TSzXl7t8

The Mad Hatter · 01-10-2012 12:47pm

Gbear wrote: »

I just finished watching an interview with Adam Savage (from Mythbusters) by Kevin Pollak (from The Usual Suspects).

Pollak has a weekly interview available on iTunes. I saw another good one of Seth MacFarlane.
There's about 150 in total.

Anyway, it was a brilliant interview and Savage is utterly amazing.
I think he's one of the best exponents of critical thought and rationality in the world.
I'd seriously recommend it.

Edit: Here's the youtube version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K8TSzXl7t8

You couldn't post a link to the episode on iTunes, could you? I can't find it. The latest interview I see is Mark Valley, preceded by Tom Everett Scott, Bob Odenkirk and Phil Rosenthal. I don't know who any of those people are =/

robindch · 01-10-2012 12:51pm

Hard to say whether this is legit or not -- doesn't seem so -- but the point is valid all the same:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7pYHN9iC9I

Gbear · 01-10-2012 10:39pm

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

You couldn't post a link to the episode on iTunes, could you? I can't find it. The latest interview I see is Mark Valley, preceded by Tom Everett Scott, Bob Odenkirk and Phil Rosenthal. I don't know who any of those people are =/

If you subscribe to the podcast you'll get a list of all of the shows.
You should have a "Podcasts" folder in Itunes, next to Music, Video, Radio on the top left (you might need to go in to preferences and check the "Podcasts" option so it appears in iTunes).

It's episode #99.
There's a few other good episodes (probably lots but there's a good few actors that I'm not interested in or haven't heard of). There's one with Billy West (Buggs Bunny, Popeye, Fry, Zapp Brannigan etc. from Futurama) and John DiMaggio (Bender from Futurama), Seth MacFarlane, Paul Rudd, Eddie Izzard. 150 or so in total.

The Mad Hatter · 02-10-2012 12:18am

Gbear wrote: »

If you subscribe to the podcast you'll get a list of all of the shows.
You should have a "Podcasts" folder in Itunes, next to Music, Video, Radio on the top left (you might need to go in to preferences and check the "Podcasts" option so it appears in iTunes).

It's episode #99.
There's a few other good episodes (probably lots but there's a good few actors that I'm not interested in or haven't heard of). There's one with Billy West (Buggs Bunny, Popeye, Fry, Zapp Brannigan etc. from Futurama) and John DiMaggio (Bender from Futurama), Seth MacFarlane, Paul Rudd, Eddie Izzard. 150 or so in total.

Thanks! I'd looked through the last twenty or so episodes and hadn't seen any sign of it. Did you know that you can click the arrow next to the "price" of the podcast in the episode list and it'll give you the option to copy the link directly to your clipboard?

robindch · 02-10-2012 3:17pm

NASA catches an effing enormous CME. On camera. In HD.

Words, etc, fail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrnGi-q6iWc

Why is nobody rioting about this?

Hotblack Desiato · 02-10-2012 9:06pm

robindch wrote: »

Hard to say whether this is legit or not -- doesn't seem so -- but the point is valid all the same:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7pYHN9iC9I

More info on this:

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/09/26/how-to-read-the-minds-of-strangers-just-by-using-facebook-video/

eoin5 · 02-10-2012 9:22pm

robindch wrote: »

NASA catches an effing enormous CME. On camera. In HD.

Words, etc, fail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrnGi-q6iWc

Why is nobody rioting about this?

Someones been messing with the summon materia?

Gbear · 02-10-2012 10:06pm

robindch wrote: »

NASA catches an effing enormous CME. On camera. In HD.

Words, etc, fail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrnGi-q6iWc

Why is nobody rioting about this?

Anyone know how much matter is actually ejected?

It must be like the mass of Jupiter or something.

robindch · 02-10-2012 11:17pm

Gbear wrote: »

Anyone know how much matter is actually ejected?

A lot, but in astronomical terms, almost nothing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection#Physical_properties

A quick back of the envelope calculation shows that this is has about the same mass as a rock a little over 1km in diameter. Jupiter is about 10^15 times heavier.

muppeteer · 02-10-2012 11:29pm

http://io9.com/5948202/new-project-aims-to-upload-a-honey-bees-brain-into-a-flying-insectobot-by-2015

Every once in a while, there's news which reminds us that we're living in the age of accelerating change. This is one of those times: A new project has been announced in which scientists at the Universities of Sheffield and Sussex are hoping to create the first accurate computer simulation of a honey bee brain — and then upload it into an autonomous flying robot.

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