Archive for September 24th, 2009
You Asked:
Does filling a plastic bag with water and dropping a penny in the bottom keep flies away? — Melinda, Joshua, Texas
Marshall Brain answers:
You can find lots of Web pages describing this idea. Basically you take a one-gallon Ziploc bag, fill it with water and either hang it or set it on the table. It [...]
I finally figured out the way to get people to comment on the blog — post something on Jimmy Carter. Lately, the former president has been stirring up more controversy than usual in the news due to his comments about racism and President Obama. But what usually gets people talking are his views on the Middle East, because he is vocal in his criticism of Israel and advocacy for Palestine.
President Carter wrote a piece for the Washington Post earlier this month in which he discusses a visit to Gaza and his backing of the two-state solution. He also says that a one-state solution is more likely, according to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, before saying that the two-state is preferable and has been embraced by the people.
You Asked:
How is beef jerky made? — David, Long Beach, Calif.
Marshall Brain answers:
Before the age of refrigeration, beef jerky was one popular way to preserve meat. The advantage of beef jerky is that it only takes a day to make it. The other way to preserve meat was to salt it, but that takes several [...]
Good question – what is it like to have the swine flu?
by Marshall Brain | September 24, 2009
What is it like to have the swine flu? Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN fame got the H1N1 strain and talks about his experience:
H1N1 comes close to home
His symptoms included a fever, an incredible cough, light headedness and chills. Here Dr. Joe Bresee of the CDC talks about the symptoms:
[[[Jump to [...]
First public demonstration of Intel’s Larrabee chip
by Marshall Brain | September 24, 2009
Intel gave its first public demonstration of the Larrabee chip this week. Larrabee is intended to provide a new way to develop graphics cards. Instead of custom processors, Intel’s approach is to use many cores running an industry-standard instruction set. Here is the demo:
How to program the Larrabee chip:
[...]
Senator Al Franken of Minnesota called on his dramatic roots recently when he stepped into the halls of the Senate Judiciary Committee and read the 4th amendment to David Kris, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. Seems that counsel was there to testify to the committee that certain provisions of the controversial Patriot Act be renewed — like wedding vows, but with wiretaps.
Win $1,000 from the Department of Education
by Marshall Brain | September 24, 2009
Students, Secretary Arne Duncan invites you to create a video about why education is important to fulfilling your dreams. Submit your video to the I Am What I Learn contest. You could win $1000.
Max time is two minutes long. Deadline is November 2, 2009. You need to be an active student [...]
Earlier this week, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced its 2009 fellows. The 24 “genius grant” beneficiaries will receive $500,000 over five years — no strings attached.
Aside from the cash, the annual MacArthur fellowships are exciting because of the diversity of studies and professions they fund. For instance, this year’s fellows range in disciplines from a papermaker to a poet to an evolutionary biologist, and their ages span from 32 to 69. In addition, the fellows have free reign over what they pursue with their grants, and MacArthur Foundation doesn’t require any sort of reports or updates on fellows’ research progress.
The suit that Batman wore in The Dark Knight was one of the best, as explained in this image:
Batman’s new suit
See also:
What if you would like to walk down the street wearing a Batman suit like that? Now is your chance. It is pricey, but looks pretty authentic, and you only [...]
Lots of stuff going on today, so here are some highlights:
Nintendo dropped the price of the Wii to $199 in the United States. John P. Falcone wrote in CNET’s Crave blog about the change, which comes hot on the heels of Sony’s cut in the Playstation 3’s price to $299, and a little farther back, Microsoft’s cut in the 120GB hard drive version of the Xbox 360. I’m guessing that will help push the three consoles through the holiday season, but I’m also thinking sales will remain slow, based on what I’ve heard.
Andrew Nusca wrote at ZDNet that Microsoft’s acquisition of Danger has yielded two Sharp-manufactured phones, the Turtle and the Pure. These are part of the so-called Pink Project. The pictures look a little like Danger’s Sidekick devices. A few days ago, Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet said Pink Project phones will use a version of Windows Mobile 7 and will be able to use the Zune music store.
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Interesting Reading #414 – The tiniest computer, hearts really can break, family pays $5,000 per year for connections, New font saves ink and much more…
- Public Service Announcement – Soft drinks nearly double your chances of pancreatic cancer
- Amazing – Going inside the Giant Crystal Cave
FanStuff
- What’s art — and what’s groundbreaking — in video games?
- Ursula K. Le Guin vs. Google Books: Round Two
- “Lost,” “Fringe” and That Whole Alternate Universe Thing
How-to Stuff
- How to Take a Road Trip, Abraham Lincoln-Style
- How to Explain Love in the Least Romantic Way Possible
- How to Quiet a Barking Dog
ScienceStuff
- Space Music Vol. 8: Sun Ra and Afrofuturism
- Stuff from the Science Lab Roundup: Space Eats and Grow Houses
- Why does time fly as you get older?
Stuff You Should Know
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
High Speed Stuff
- The Toyota Recall: Where can you get the latest information?
- What is Toyota doing to fix its gas pedal problem?
- High Speed Stuff Wrap-up: Automotive Pet Peeves and Polar Vehicles
Keep Asking
- How does an airbrush work?
- Is the Internet free? If you want to make a website, will it cost you to put it online?
- If you look at a piece of glass from an angle, why does it have a bluish or green tint?
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Last Week in History Podcasts: Battle Horses and Black Moses
- The Wonderful Adventures of the Nurse We Forgot
- Black History Month on HowStuffWorks
