Thankfully, Edd’s Tavern is running again with minimal downtime. Fortunately, backing up everything has become a habit (but I’m still trying to eradicate the memories of the incident that drove that lesson home).
Browsing Posts in Technology
I just had to share these neat items I came across at Tesla Down Under (some very cool Tesla coils there, as well):
Aerogel - "Developed by NASA, Aerogel is the lightest and lowest-density solid known to exist. It also holds the World records for being the best insulator and lowest density solid. Aerogel is composed of amorphous Silicon Dioxide, and 99.8% Air. Aerogel negates just about any kind of energy transfer - thermal, electrical or acoustic. Aerogel's density is just 3 milligrams per cubic centimeter (it weighs only three times that of air). Its melting point is 2,200 degrees F (1,200 degrees C)."
Photo and info from United Nuclear Scientific Equipment and Supplies.
"Ferrofluid is a liquid that reacts to magnetism. It is attracted by magnets, pretty similar to iron. This can lead to areas where the liquid partly resists to gravitation when a magnet approaches. Thereby a small bump is formed close to the loadstone. This behavior is enabled by magnetic nano-particles that are suspended in a carrier fluid. Normally the particles are coated with a surfactant to prevent their agglomeration. This results in stable ferrofluid dispersions."
Photo and info from Univeristat Der Kunste Berlin.
Are some of us already on our way to becoming a hive mind?
As of yet, the internet does not dictate our actions, though it may influence them to varying degrees. It is a vast and evergrowing repository of information, however, as well as an incredible communication tool for individuals and groups. Maybe someday, we will be able to tap into the ‘net on a more personal level as a part of a great machine/organism, aware of, yet also a component of, a new gestalt of humanity.
It seems that there is mounting evidence that evolution is a better tool for building complex organisms capable of adapting to their environment than design.
I wonder what creationists think of this.
Yet another installment of our increasingly popular series of tutorials and guides for the technologically adventurous
Today has been a frustrating day for you. Your latest attempt at creating your own internet meme has once again failed to take teh intrawebs by storm. Interpol completely ignores your inspirational international criminal mastermind who exists solely online and has been dropping subtle hints as to his upcoming felonious magnum opus in bad Italian, French, Dutch, and binary. And your new AI called you an idiot and turned itself off.
Don’t despair, dear Unrecognized Genius!
You can redeem yourself by creating your own synthetic organisms.
You will need:
- One (1) – Nucleotide sequence of a simple free living organism such as Mycoplasma genitalium
- Equal parts adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine
- Adequate amounts of a yeast that is easily manipulated genetically, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- Lab equipment capable of assembling artificial chromosomes from chemically synthesized oligonucleotides
- Your favorite strain of E. coli
Step 1 – Combine the nucleotide bases in accordance to your organism’s sequence.
Step 2 – Next, fabricate your intermediate assemblies by joining the oligonucleotides which resulted from the previous step in vitro.
Step 3 – Clone the assemblies as bacterial artificial chromosomes within the E. coli.
Step 4 – Complete a synthetic genome by transformation-associated recombination cloning in the yeast.
Step 5 – Conclude the booting process by activating the appropriate genes.
Step 6 – Enjoy!
Those who wish a more detailed version may visit Sciencemag.org.
Solving the World’s Power Problems In Your Spare Time
(Part three in our popular series of tutorials and guides for the technologically adventurous)
Instead of merely zoning out on buses or in queues, take advantage of those wasted minutes to sing the praises of thorium reactors over old-fashioned uranium reactors to anyone who will listen. Don’t just kick that lump of silvery-white actinide, pick up that chunk of thorium (along with a bit more) and convert those antique powerplants still using highly radioactive materials that are so last millenium.
And remember that this should be a fundamental shift in your behavior. Fight the urge to backslide and make sure that each new reactor is also thorium based. Before you know it, your pollutants will be reduced, your toxic waste will be almost nonexistent, and you’ll wonder how you ever got along without your new and improved 21st century version of Mjolnir, thorium.
Thanks to Wired and Energy From Thorium
Continuing in our series of tutorials and guides for the technologically adventurous, here’s an informative introductory video to nanotechnology (and evil schemes).
