Here’s some fairly spectacular footage of a mysterious and brilliant object in the sky taken at approximately 5:17pm on November 20, 2008. Apparently the phenomena was visible as far East as Saskatchewan. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6CgWkChPjI[/youtube] So far this report from CTV Edmonton is the only “mainstream” confirmation of the incident I can find so far. Predictably while […]

It may not have the colorful aliens and rampant corruption of Mos Eisley, but it will be a SPACEPORT nonetheless. Scheduled for completion in 2010, Spaceport America, the world’s first commercial spaceport will open in New Mexico with Virgin Galactic as its primary tenant. Virgin Galactic has already collected $35 million from customers, and is […]

National Geographic has an article on the surprising evolution of lizards on an island off the coast of Croatia. Lizards Rapidly Evolve After Introduction to Island “In just a few decades the 5-inch-long (13-centimeter-long) lizards have developed a completely new gut structure, larger heads, and a harder bite, researchers say. In 1971, scientists transplanted five […]

The science fiction blog io9 often delves into real science. They have a nice summary of the state of replacements for various organs. I was holding out for lungs, but since the scientists were dragging their feet I quit smoking instead. Timing is everything. io9: Forget the Jetpack – Where Are My Replacement Organs? “Knowing […]

Here’s a great series of audio broadcasts done by CBC radio this winter on the matter of science and how we ought to think about it. Really interesting stuff. Ninjaman recommends episode 5 with Ulrich Beck and Bruno Latour especially.  http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/features/science/  

Navy destroyers with laser guns? Its still science fiction, but we’re one step closer to sailing the seas with laser beams. From the Wired Danger Room Blog: Navy Pushing Laser ‘Holy Grail’ to Weapons Grade There are lots of good links to other laser-related news. I didn’t realize the Danger Room had an entire sub-category […]

Scientists have been doing some experiments involving sewer gas and mice. Mice are generally a given, but the sewer gas is interesting. A useful application of this is to protect workers who are exposed to the gas. I am wondering now if there are a lot of instances of sewer cleaners passing out? Seems probable. […]

Inhabitat has an ineresting article on methane power as a renewable energy source. Apparently, a California utilities company is trying this out. Some of the comments are worth reading as theyu highligh some other places where this has been tried out. I can’t imagine the what the smell would be like… well, I can kind […]

There was an interesting article in the NY Times a couple of days ago about environmental problems in China due to Solar Panel production. One of the components, polysilicon, has an extremely toxic byproduct that is damaging to the environment if not properly handled. This situation of robbing Peter to pay Paul is definitely not […]

Steps Magazine has an article discussing animal-vegetable hybrids, genetic engineering, and a suggested psychological aversion to mixing the two. I’m not sure I buy into the aversion part, but its a good read. The paragraphs dealing with Cleve Backster were particularly interesting. Also, there are lots of pictures of caterpillars with mushrooms growing out of […]