Party Tricks ~ Ridiculously Great Openings!

Gotta quench thirst;-)

I Love Rock! ~ Well-Appreciated Glorious Genre;-)

I love Rock!

I Love Disco! ~ Celebrating a Lovely-Great Genre!

Disco is totally underappreciated! Check out these lovely compilations of top hits, almost every one a personal favorite...

Stanford Innovation Survey ~ Eesley @ MIT-West

Nice to see MIT alumnus now Stanford Professor Chuck Eesley conducting the Stanford Innovation Survey! Curiously enough, back in the 1990's I went out to Stanford when I was running the MIT Founders Project, results of which were published by BankBoston in the MIT: Impact of Innovation report. I met with then Dean of Engineering Gibbons and also the resource development folks at Stanford. No interest then in doing a parallel project to what MIT was up to! And that's despite Stanford having been architected by MIT's then-President Walker! And MIT alumnus Fred Terman having been so instrumental in the creation of Silicon Valley! Better late than never, so please tell your Stanford compatriots to participate in Professor Eesley's Survey.

Taming Leviathan ~ Shrinking the Bloated State...

The latest Economist special report on Taming Leviathan spotlights the future of the bloated, ineffective state...

"The state almost everywhere is big, inefficient and broke. It needn’t be. [...] The disruptive reforms that have so changed the private sector should now be let loose on the public sector. The relationship between government and civil society has been that between master and servant; instead, it should be a partnership, with the state creating the right environment for companies and charities to do more of its work. The conclusion: “We are in a transition from a big state to a small state, and from a small society to a big society.” [...] the financial crisis has merely brought forward a fiscal reckoning. In most of the rich world ageing populations have been driving up the cost of public health care and state pensions. Emerging countries that are becoming richer, such as China and India, are now wondering what sort of state they need to meet their citizens’ demands for better schools, health care and infrastructure. Indeed, the fiery argument about capitalism prompted by the credit crunch has obscured a nascent, and much broader, debate about the nature of government. The future of the state is likely to dominate politics for the next decade at least. How can government be made more efficient? What should it do and not do? To whom should it answer? [...] This special report’s central argument is that Leviathan can be made far more efficient. The state has woefully lagged behind the private sector. Catching up is not just a case of nuts-and-bolts productivity improvements but of liberal principle: too often an institution that, at least in a democracy, was supposed to be the people’s servant has become their master. But nobody should expect that to be easy."

Word. Look at this evidence, it's just awful. From a reasonable 10% taxation a century ago to swallowing half or more of human value creation today. It's immoral and unconscionable...

Honoring Hibakusha ~ Beyond the Unfathomable

David McNeill and Miguel Quintana write in the Independent that Atom-bomb survivors fear new generation face familiar discrimination about the Hibakusha -- survivors of A-Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- one of man's most inhumane actions in recorded history...

"Like millions of other Japanese, Hiroko Tanaka has been glued to television footage of workers frantically trying to prevent disaster at a crippled nuclear plant. She has more reason to be worried than most: as an atom-bomb survivor, or hibakusha, Mrs Tanaka knows the impact of radiation first hand, and she has faced discrimination all her life in a country where little is still known about its effects. She waited 50 years before applying for the government certificate that proves she is a surviving victim of the 1945 US atomic bombing of Hiroshima. "Radioactivity is so scary because it's invisible" [...] Japan's roughly 227,000 hibakusha have suffered higher cancer rates as a result of the fallout from the twin bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The drama unfolding at the Fukushima nuclear complex fills many with growing alarm. [...] "The hibakusha faced an extreme degree of discrimination based on unfounded ideas," he said. "If the public was given a clear explanation of the effects of radiation, this problem would no longer exist."

Man's Best Friends ~ Animals and the Tsunami...

Everyone's seen these heartwarming images of canine companions spotted (and later rescued) from post-quake, tsunami-ravaged Japan... Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support are among the organizations saving hundreds of similarly lost animals. Another key element, though, is the role of specialty animal assistants. In a CNN piece, Rescue in Japan as 2 pulled from rubble, they spotlight the role of rescue dogs...

"Along with emergency workers searching the worst stricken areas, specially trained dogs are taking part in the effort. "There's a lot of technical gear, obviously: the listening devices, the cameras, all of them help to locate people. But at the end of the day you can't beat a dog for hitting the scent of a human being," Rob Furniss, a British canine search specialist who is in Japan, told CNN. The dogs are so highly trained, they're able to block out the scent of a dead body and pick up only on someone who's alive. They pounce onto rubble, working their way along jagged, uneven piles as they search. When they get minor wounds in the effort, they get stitched up without a whimper, and soon get right back to work."

And anyone interested in Japan and dogs must necessarily discover the remarkable story of Hachikō, the ultra-loyal Akita who faithfully waited at the train station each evening for a decade following his owner's passing.

Space Heroes ~ Inspiring Pioneering Explorers!

Yuri's Night and Association of Space Explorers salute our heroes!

Radiation Dose Chart ~ XKCD Delivers Infobits

Richard Barbalace spots XKCD's Radiation Dose Chart...

Monirobo ~ Finally, Monitor Bots at Fukushima

Thanks to Cristina Caldas for spotting this New Scientist piece Japan sends robots into Fukushima nuclear plant...

"Monirobo is designed to operate at radiation levels too high for humans. The 1.5-metre robot runs on a pair of caterpillar tracks and has a manipulator arm for removing obstacles and collecting samples. Sensors include a radiation detector, 3D camera system and temperature and humidity sensors. It can be operated remotely from a distance of about a kilometre. Monirobo weighs some 600 kilos and is limited to a speed of 2.4 kilometres per hour. It has to carry heavy shielding because many electronics, especially cameras, are highly vulnerable to the effects of radiation. The robot was developed by Japan's Nuclear Safety Technology Centre in association with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry after the Tokaimura nuclear accident in 1999 in which two workers died. The machine now in use is Red Monirobo; a Yellow Monirobo, which has tools for collecting dust samples and sensors for flammable gas, is expected to be deployed within the next day or so."

Finally. This doesn't excuse the unfathomable stupidity of the original flawed design, but at least the Japanese are now bringing in the power tools made by Mitsui.

Mapping Africa ~ Royal Geo Society Slideshow

Check out the BBC audio slideshow on Mapping Africa...

"From one of the earliest depictions of the continent -- to the colonial scramble for land -- the maps of Africa reveal a great deal about the people who have lived there through the centuries."

Online Science Fair ~ Cool Rube Goldberg Promo!

Cool, an all-online Science Fair...

"Introducing the world's first online global science competition, the Google Science Fair! Google has partnered with CERN, LEGO, National Geographic and Scientific American to create a new kind of online science competition that is more global, open and inclusive than ever before. Students aged 13-18 from around the world are invited to enter and compete for awesome once-in-a-lifetime experiences, scholarships and real-life work opportunities."

And here's Making Of footage...

Happy ~ What Really Influences & Impacts Us...

Kimberly Torrence Rowan spots the Happy movie...

Criminal Incompetents ~ Seppuku for Fukushima...

The criminally negligent and grossly incompetent designer-authorities who placed emergency backup diesel generators and fuel storage pools at Fukushima in positions so blindingly obviously exposed to tsunami in the very country that named this historically inexorable risk-factor should instantly commit seppuku. Their unbelievable stupidity in the face of crystal-clear evidence and repeated warnings has led to death and injury, loss and disruption, burden and pain, and threatens to set back the nuclear energy cause for another generation. This is so dishonorable and categorically evil that I wonder how could any of the perpetrators live with themselves going forward?

P.S. Truth now emerges as CNN reveals in Expert: Japan nuclear plant owner warned of tsunami threat.

Rural Innovators ~ India's Honeybee Pollenators!

Thanks to Professor Anil Gupta for pointing to this excellent slideshow in Rediff on 24 amazing innovations from rural India...

"India's rural innovators have proved that ordinary people are indeed capable of extraordinary inventions. Despite many constraints -- lack of education and severe cash crunch -- most of them have succeeded in using technology cost-effectively to build ingenious products. [...] The exhibition is organised by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), a grant-in-aid institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The mission of NIF is to make India a global leader in sustainable technologies by building upon genius of grassroots technological innovators and traditional knowledge holders."

Some of my favorites include low-loss floating soap...Labor-saving bamboo processor...
Off-grid LPG-powered iron...
The Solar Mosquito Destroyer!
The clean and effective smokeless cooking stove...

Fukushima 50 ~ Strength to Frontline Operators

The Guardian's Tania Branigan and Justin McCurry write how the Fukushima 50 battle radiation risks as Japan nuclear crisis deepens...

"Between 50 and 70 employees -- now known in English as the Fukushima 50 -- all in protective gear, were left at the plant to battle myriad problems. Some are assessing the damage and radiation levels caused by the explosions, while others cool stricken reactors with seawater to try to avert a potentially catastrophic release of radiation. The workers are the nuclear power industry's equivalent of frontline soldiers, exposing themselves to considerable risks..."

And Keith Bradsher and Hiroko Tabuchi of the NYTimes write Last Defense at Troubled Reactors: 50 Japanese Workers...

"They are the faceless 50, the unnamed operators who stayed behind. They have volunteered, or been assigned, to pump seawater on dangerously exposed nuclear fuel, already thought to be partly melting and spewing radioactive material, to prevent full meltdowns that could throw thousands of tons of radioactive dust high into the air and imperil millions of their compatriots. [...] Nuclear reactor operators say that their profession is typified by the same kind of esprit de corps found among firefighters and elite military units. Lunchroom conversations at reactors frequently turn to what operators would do in a severe emergency. The consensus is always that they would warn their families to flee before staying at their posts to the end."

Let's hope it doesn't come to that. P.S. It hasn't. Just announced: they were ordered to quit early... This is ridiculous. Why is there no backup control room facility offsite? Where the hell are the teleoperated hazmat robots, including aerial camerabots, repairbots, and more? Come on!

Wireless Power ~ Key Transmission Innovations...

Amara Angelica writes on KurzweilAI about A radical alternative to nuclear reactors...

"The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has in fact already been developing one possible solution: space solar power (SSP) -- beaming energy to Earth from a satellite in orbit. With its Space Solar Power Systems project, JAXA researchers “have started preparation for the world’s first demonstration of 1kW-class wireless power transmission technology, and are aiming for practical use in the 2030s."

The article goes on to cite prior art, including 1975 NASA JPL Goldstone Demo of Wireless Power Transmission... Also very interesting are shorter-range MIT spinoff efforts at WiTricity... Even simple wireless power transfer via inductive pad is interesting.

Converging World ~ Living Healthy & Wealthy...

Hans Rosling of Gapminder fame shows CNN's Fareed Zakaria the rest of the world converging on US. Says Rosling...

"I'm not an optimist because that's an emotional state. I'm a possiblist. It is possible, if we keep peace, and keep free trade, and protect human rights, we can all live up in the healthy, wealthy corner because in the end, that's where people want to go."

Thorium Reactors ~ Clean, Green Nuclear Fuel?

Richard Martin writes in WIRED, Uranium Is So Last Century -- Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke...

"...thorium could solve the nuclear power industry’s most intractable problems. After it has been used as fuel for power plants, the element leaves behind minuscule amounts of waste. And that waste needs to be stored for only a few hundred years, not a few hundred thousand like other nuclear byproducts. Because it’s so plentiful in nature, it’s virtually inexhaustible. It’s also one of only a few substances that acts as a thermal breeder, in theory creating enough new fuel as it breaks down to sustain a high-temperature chain reaction indefinitely. And it would be virtually impossible for the byproducts of a thorium reactor to be used by terrorists or anyone else to make nuclear weapons. [Oak Ridge National Lab director and Fluid Fuel Reactors book author Alvin] Weinberg and his men proved the efficacy of thorium reactors in hundreds of tests at Oak Ridge from the ’50s through the early ’70s. But thorium hit a dead end. Locked in a struggle with a nuclear- armed Soviet Union, the US government in the ’60s chose to build uranium-fueled reactors -- in part because they produce plutonium that can be refined into weapons-grade material. The course of the nuclear industry was set for the next four decades, and thorium power became one of the great what-if technologies of the 20th century."

Powerful reading.

Ocean Mapping ~ Visualizing Earth's 71% Cover...

The recent Japanese quake -- and especially tsunami -- reinforce that Earth's Ocean is quite important and powerful. Therefore, understanding and mapping is key. For starters, here's NOAA's map of large underwater features... This ocean floor is fundamentally composed of tectonic plates, which sometimes make sudden moves... The water's not uniform, of course, and has different temperatures and flows. Here's the summary path of Thermohaline Circulation -- a.k.a. the Great Ocean Conveyor -- with blue representing deep-water currents, red representing surface currents... Surface Oceanic Circulation Patterns influence trade and weather alike, with East Coasts tending towards warm ocean currents and West Coasts dominated by cold ocean currents... Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) in normal years shows cold water upwelling in the boxed areas, a source of nutrients which enables rich coastal fisheries... But this February 2010 image shows an El Niño year where coastal upwelling slows considerably -- note here off Peru -- meaning nutrient flux drops, plankton plummet, and thus fishing yields collapse... These surface patterns combine with atmospheric dynamics to source powerful cyclonic Typhoons worldwide... Marine species are widely but unevenly distributed around the world’s coastlines... The contest over these riches continues, with the Law of the Sea enabling nation-states to claim Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) reaching 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) out from coastline... So it should be no surprise there's growing deep-sea fishing on seamounts and ridges including in the high seas... And, last but not least, the Ocean's a prime mover of goods for us all!