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Watching Venus today, there’s an app for that
You might have heard that today’s a pretty special day, astronomically speaking. Venus is in transit between Earth and the Sun today, which is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Today only, right before sunset in the United States, if you look up at the sun, you’ll be able to see the silhouette Venus passing between us and our life-giving star. And due to the differences between Venus’s solar year and its orbit around the Sun, you’ll have to wait a hundred years until this event happens again.
–John Brownlee
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Venus Transit, free app on the App Store, shows based on your location when the transit will start and finish.
Watch Venus Transit Across the Sun.North Korea must be stopped
Headline: North Korean officials executed in staged traffic accidents. Someone needs to put an end to this BS. I don’t care if they are allied with China, this is ridiculous.
The country used firing squads or staged traffic accidents to execute 30 officials involved in talks to unite North and South Korea, according to the 2012 Amnesty International report released Thursday. It also notes that the country had been questioned about another 37 reported executions between 2007 and 2010 for "financial crimes."
–Yahoo News
Report: N. Korean officials executed in staged traffic accidents
+ Read more…MIT Create Ketchup Bottle That Pours Like Milk
MIT creates a ketchup bottle that pours like milk.
Mayonnaise version:
+ Read more…Minority Report is here
Called the Leap, available for pre order for the Mac platform, makes the Kinect look like a child’s play.
+ Read more…Man becomes genius after head injury
After being mugged and beaten, Jason Padgett becomes a genius. I wish it was that simple.
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ABC News:Man Becomes Genius After Head InjuryCreepy iPhone Hand Case
This has to be the creepiest iphone case ever. Hand iPhone Case
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Midgar Minecraft’d
My favorite video game gets minecraft’d. Pretty cool but these people have too much time on their hands.
+ Read more…Jet Blasts at St. Maarten Airport
I want to go here for my next vacation.
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Teen Blown Away by Jet Engine: Caught on TapeReal life Akira iconic bike
This fan built the real iconic Akira bike. Took over 7 years to build and roughly 10 million yen ($121,000 USD). This bike is being used to raise money for charities like childhood autism and relief and rebuilding efforts stemming from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Hands on with the official Akira Bike
+ Read more…Facebook buys Instagram
Wow! Facebook just announced that they will be buying Instagram for $1 billion. I have a love and hate relationship with Facebook but I love Instagram. I hope Facebook doesn’t screw this up.
+ Read more…Taxi of Tomorrow
They had me at USB ports for charging iPhones.
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Nissan unveils prototype ‘Taxi of Tomorrow’ to NYCTragic Efforts to Save a Friend
An event such as this is a beautiful reminder of change and renewed determination in a person’s life through a tragic event. It’s sad what happened but its a beautiful story.
Boat sinks, Texas man survives 30 hours in Gulf
+ Read more…Eric Clapton’s 1 off Ferrari
A one off custom built Ferrari dubbed SPC-12 EPC for Eric Clapton. A whopping $4.75 million dollars!
+ Read more…Mass Effects 3: New Ending?
I am a proponent for artistic expression and the integrity of the artist’s eye so when I heard the uproar by a small minority group who expressed displeasure in the ending to the video game “Mass Effects 3″, I was like “Come on people, let it be what it is.” Let me first preface by saying that I have not played ME3 yet. I still haven’t played the 2nd one so I can’t comment on the ending. But it got me thinking, is it not the purpose of games in general to have the player become the piece that is being played? And if so the total immersion of the experience requires a full conclusion whether happy or sad but satisfying none the less. Could it be that the team at Bioware somehow ignored this fact and created an ending that they felt was better. And maybe it was but the thing that they have that the players don’t have is the luxury of story creation. We as the player only know what is presented to us whereas the creator has all knowledge, before after and every little nuances and details that are not presented to the player. The sometimes ambiguity for the artistic expression from a creator’s point may be valid and I will stand by it but maybe in this case it isn’t really justified. They lost the engagement that the players have gone through and not provided a satisfactory conclusion.
This reminds me of the conclusion that I felt playing Halo 2. But the only difference was that I knew it was part of a trilogy and that Halo 3 would be coming out. Mass Effects 3 is suppose to be the finish, the conclusion to this trilogy. Hopefully when I get around to playing and finishing it that I will be satisfied.
+ Read more…Longest Word
I remember having to learn how to spell this word when I was in grade school. I still remember how I butchered the pronunciation so that I can spell it – “P-neu-mono-ultra-microscopic-silico-volcano-coniosis”
+ Read more…NYC Park Avenue Optical Illusion
Till June 30, nine stainless-steel optical illusion sculptures designed by Barrios are being publicly displayed along a stretch of New York City’s Park Avenue, between 51st and 67th streets.
+ Read more…Coolest Staircases
Not a roller coaster but an actual staircase. This ones from Duisburg, Germany. Photo by Uwe Schmid.
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Dog Adopts Abandoned Kittens
I’m a sucker for pet videos, especially dogs. This one is very touching.
+ Read more…Clean our space debri
Puts a whole new perspective when you see the amount of junk floating in our space.
+ Read more…Dreamliner jet draws Boeing logo
A Boeing 787 jet, the Dreamliner, took its 19 hour test flight by drawing the letters 787 followed by the company’s logo across several thousand miles of North American skies. It wasn’t visible from the ground but can be seen in the flight path. Wow.
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Mad Men advertisement inspire Graffiti
I love the show Mad Men and this NYC subway advertisement is genius. Advertisement company by Stark. Here are a few of my favorites. You can see more at gothamist.
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Swarm of Nano Quadrotors
My jaw dropped. I want these. Now only if I can control them with my iPhone and without the need of motion capture rig and white sheets.
+ Read more…Digital Amputee
Mr. Berry was a struggling actor. One day he did a gig where he got paid to do a simple photo shoot. That photo got sold to stock photo library service. Later it was licensed by New York Citys health department for ad campaigns to bring awareness to diabetes. So they altered the image and that went live. Now Mr. Berry is very upset that this will negatively impact his career.
What do you think?
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Vanishing Head Illusion
I’m a huge fan of optical illusions and this one is pretty cool. It’s called the “Vanishing Head Illusion” and it is by Richard Wiseman who runs the Quirkology Channel on Youtube. For more of his other videos and blogs, check out his site.
+ Read more…Sun Show
Here’s an amazing video of our Sun putting on an amazing looping light show.
“A close-up view of the Sun’s edge shows vast loop structures made of superheated plasma, just one of which is the size of several Earths. These loops can have a wide range of temperatures, many reaching several million degrees Kelvin.
The upper one of a pair of new, solar active regions that just rotated into view offered a beautiful profile view of those cascading loops spiraling above it (Jan. 15-16, 2012) following a solar flare eruption. With its ability to capture the Sun in amazing detail, SDO observed it all in extreme ultraviolet light. This particular video clip used an image every minutes to present the motion.
Credit: NASA SDO”+ Read more…Negus
This one is from the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee. I love the surprise, the agony, and the relief all expressed on this young boy’s face. I’m pretty sure he was going through some internal conflict – should I or shouldn’t I or can it be but that doesn’t make sense. Anyway check it out.
+ Read more…Happy MLK Day
I was fortunate enough to go to the Dr. Martin Luther King JR Memorial in Washington DC last year. To remember him and pay my respect in celebrating his day, I’m sharing some of the photos that I took of his memorial.
Happy Martin Luther King JR Day
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
–Dr. Martin Luther King JR
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Manhattanhenge
Sorry, 5 days past but thought this was a cool “Who Knew” video talking about the semiannual occurence. This one I believed occurred approximately on January 8th where the sun rose in alignment with the east-west streets of the main street grid in Manhattan.
+ Read more…Soar like a bird
I might actually be interested in this if it ever is open to the public. Paraglide along with a falcon.
+ Read more…Steve Jobs the BadAss
This photo just describe what a badass Steve Jobs was. Only if more and more people were this passionate. Much respect.
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6 Mayan Apocalypse debunked
Here’s an interesting article on 6 Mayan apocalypse predictions, based on the interpretation of the calendar, that have been “debunked”. I only use quotation marks on debunked because I for one believe that no one knows and will never know. The world is just unpredictable and whatever happens happens. We’re also basing case for the apocalypse based on an interpretation of a calendar. Sounds far fetched but is very fascinating. I for one am very curious to see what happens 12/12/2012.
+ Read more…Preview 2011 New Year’s Eve
Here’s a video of preview for this year’s New Year’s eve celebration.
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2011 New Year’s Eve PreviewFriday
I hate to do this but I can’t conclude this look back week of viral videos of 2011 without including this music video. I see it fit since today being Friday and the song is entitled “Friday”. It’s a terrible song with terrible lyrics but enjoy. This little ditty is by Rebecca Black.
+ Read more…Boy and Dog Sleepy Time
Here’s another look back at viral videos that made 2011 special.
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Dog Baby Race Crawl
Here’s a cute and funny one where a baby and a dog crawl race. I’m just awed at how a dog knows how to crawl.
+ Read more…Puppy to Dog
Continuing on this week’s celebration of viral videos, today I look back at a time lapse video of a puppy growing up to a dog – a span of 1 year.
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2011 Top Viral Video…
The top viral video of 2011 goes to none other than the “Ultimate Dog Tease”. It’s a fresh and brilliant way of incorporating the dog’s facial expressions and changing the story around through the use of VO to create a hilarious and uncanny realism of what it would be if dogs can communicate with us. Check it out:
+ Read more…I am Batman – Left Arm Only
Batman is my favorite super hero growing up and I’ve always wanted to be him. Now with a new company called Armstar I can at least come 10% closer with this amazing Kevlar Gauntlet. It looks awesome, has self defense purposes but most importantly it is an iPhone dock. Santa, can I please have one for Christmas?
+ Read more…2011 the year of Reform, Revenge, Revolution
Christiane Amanpour takes us through the political stories that made up the year 2011.
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2012 EotW Countdown Starts Now
December 21, 2012 – According to one interpretation of the Mayan Calendar, that is the date that the world will end. So today marks the exact 1 year countdown.
The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy. Advanced mathematics and primitive astronomy flourished, creating what many have called the most accurate calendar in the world.
The Mayans predicted a final event that included a solar shift, a Venus transit and violent earthquakes.
Their Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and they wrote that the 13th Baktun ends on Dec. 21, 2012.
–Susan Clarke – ABC NEWS Blogs
So let the countdown begin.
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ABC News BlogsKim Jong Il Dead
It’s another day and another dictator falls. This time it’s the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. As a Korean American, I am relieved and feel excitement for my fellow country men and women in South Korea. Maybe this will start the process of unification between the two Koreas. But I’m also cautious because I don’t know what to expect out of this heir/son Kim Jong Un. He is a mystery. If being young, he makes brash decisions than I’m afraid we are in for a long turmoil. Another part of me wants to say that maybe he is an idealist and sees what his country has become. But maybe that’s just my idealism that is clouding. The photos that I’ve seen of him is he is fat while his fellow people are thin and starving.
Praying for a change…+ Read more…Daytime Fireworks
This has to be the most incredible fireworks show I have ever seen. Wow!
This is the work of a Chinese artist named Cai Guo-Giang. Using microchip-controlled explosives, he forms these incredible plumes of design and patterns.+ Read more…Siri the gansta rapper
SIRI is one talented gender neutral AI. Is there anything it can’t do?
+ Read more…Utopian World
I just saw this YouTube video where they took Charlie Chaplin’s final speech from the film “The Great” and set it to various montages and background music. It tugs at your heart and is inspiring – the human idea of life, freedom, love and democracy. Chaplin’s speech is poetic and delivered with conviction. But I do have one point that we as society fail to understand. Tragedy, war, famine, disasters, all of the bad things that we don’t want in our lives is what brings out the best in us. Without these we don’t see love manifest as action through the volunteers and workers of aid. When one group of people hate you beat you and leave you to die on the streets, a stranger will come to your side to love on you and take care of you.
Maybe the Utopian world is not about the elimination of bad things in this world but maybe it’s the edification of individual’s love for one another to shine.
+ Read more…Another iPad 2 bites the bullet
Here we go again. This time it’s the iPad 2 versus hot volcanic lava. This video, courtesy of ZooGue, follows CEO Tim Angel as he goes to Hawaii and wonders what would happen if an iPad 2 touches lava. What do you think would happen? It doesn’t take a genius to know that anything that touches lava would be toast. I guess anything for publicity. I so did not want to see it but here I am blogging about it and sharing it with you all. ZooGue you got me but I still don’t know what you do.
+ Read more…Ad meant to warn gets pulled
The ad reads in bold letters “02:19am She didn’t want to do it, but she couldn’t say no.” It’s suppose to be a stark reminder of how alcohol abuse can lead to impaired judgement and vulnerabilities to dangerous situations. I for one get it and understand what they were trying to do but can see why people would interpret it the wrong way. It gives a sense of bottom line summation that all rape victims are to be blamed and that is absolutely wrong but the context of this ad is not bold enough to represent otherwise. The worst fear of any women, young and old, is being raped and feeling helpless. I hope one day that us civil people will be able to respect and honor one another but I know that it is a pipe dream.
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Preys will feed and are looking for helpless and impaired people. The best advice that parents and friends should give would be to control our drinking – keep our friend accountable. Maybe by not putting ourselves in these situations, we can at least avoid being caught in this trap.
www.controltonight.com2012 Color of the Year
Tangerine Tango or specifically PANTONE® 17-1463 has been named the 2012 color of the year. According to their site, Tangerine Tango is a spirited reddish orange and continues to provide the energy boost that we need to recharge and move forward.
+ Read more…Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it… Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.
–Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®
Aftermath of Pearl Harbor
Today marks the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. In the words of President Franklin Roosevelt, a “date which will live in infamy.” On the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, LIFE.com presents rare and unpublished photos from Hawaii and the mainland. Check them out here LIFE.com
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Flexible, transparent display
Samsung released a concept video for their flexible display technology. More and more it looks like we’re headed towards the “Minority Report” world. Just don’t take my eyes.
+ Read more…Black Friday!
Never been a fan of Black Friday but for some reason I have the urge to get sucked in it this year. Some of the deals are crazy. Do I dare?
+ Read more…Occupy… Flash?
Oh boy here we go again.
+ Read more…Flash Player is dead. Its time has passed. It's buggy. It crashes a lot. It requires constant security updates… It's a fossil, left over from the era of closed standards and unilateral corporate control of Web technology."
–Occupy Flash site
Ballazer
Here’s a new way to burn your retina and have some psychedelic fun while doing it.
+ Read more…MW3 versus BF3
So I’m probably one of the few people that have not taken the plunge yet on getting one of these new games. Honestly haven’t really had much time to play anything these days but have been itching lately. Now the real question is which one to get. Some of my friends have mentioned getting Battlefield 3 while others play Modern Warfare 3. So which one to get. Let me first preface by saying that I’m on the PS3.
After my brief and non-actual first hand experience, I’ve concluded this:
Battlefield looks gorgeous and is bigger but the single player campaign is not really good.
MW3 controls are tighter and intimate but the multiplayer is smaller in scale and doesn’t bring major additions to the already great but getting old multiplayer games.So what do you think, BF3 or MW3?
+ Read more…Murray Verdict
So its 1:16pm PST. I sit here on my couch in the living room, glued to the television… Guilty
Wow, my heart is beating pretty fast. Im still mixed about my feelings towards this case. A man is convicted for assisting another man in taking dangerous drugs.
+ Read more…Day ZERO
This officially marks my first entry into this forum known as “Blogosphere”.
As a young boy I never really got into the whole diary craze, as us men would like to say “journal”, but I can’t help and feel compelled to at least try. It’s funny the entire time I’m thinking and writing this I faintly hear the theme music to Doogie Howser. He was so poetic and straight to the point.
My blog goals… Commentate. Share. Enjoy life. Every day.
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