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To follow up on yesterday’s Firefox post… Firefox Downloads in real time – Plus a Firefox 4 preview …almost exactly 10 million copies of Firefox 4 were downloaded between 8AM yesterday and 8AM today. The average right now is about 9,000 downloads per minute. More info on Firefox 4 – particularly interesting are the Panorama [...]
Hey there, folks. On Tuesday’s show we got to the matter at hand in terms of Japan’s current nuclear reactor scenario that continues to unfold. We’re not a news show, we do try and explain things in simple terms when a particular event has gripped the world. We can all thank Jeri in these cases for turning these shows around so quickly for release when the clock is ticking. Our goal with this episode was to do what we always try and do — explain what in the heck is going on with something without the mainstream media bells and whistles that some might refer to as sensationalism. Especially in a case like this, where fear is very real and not to be manipulated.
I don’t know about you, but when I think about a “scanning electron microscope” my brain tends to categorize it into a “not possible to build at home” bin. I’m not sure why – maybe because I have never seen an SEM in someone’s home. Every time I’ve ever seen or used an SEM, it [...]
A flashlight is normally a very simple device. You have a bulb, and battery and a switch. Flip the switch and the bulb turns on to produce light. What if you want a LOT of light from your flashlight? Here is a 50 watt, 500 LED flashlight that shows you the possibilities: What if you [...]
How many times per day does a transaction like this take place, between an expert who knows what he/she is talking about and someone who does not (and who has no interest in listening?) What is the best way to deal with someone who is misinformed, as seen here? Or even worse, someone who is [...]
2022 World Cup: High-Tech Way To Beat The Heat In Qatar – “Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup by promising that its nine new open-air soccer stadiums would be air-conditioned. Now the Qataris have announced another cool twist to their hospitality — an artificial cloud to hover above the stadium and [...]
Funny… and fascinating – the importance of the washing machine
by Marshall Brain | March 23, 2011
In this TED talk, Hans Rosling breaks down the population of the world by income and points out the one invention that every human being wants and needs – the washing machine. You might be thinking, “the washing machine???” Wait until he explains it: As I watch this video, there are so many thoughts that [...]
Invention – Digital cash for the Internet – How Bitcoins Work
by Marshall Brain | March 23, 2011
Think about the cash that we use today. If I want to, I can give you a one dollar bill. I don’t need to tell anyone I am doing it. It does not need to be recorded anywhere. You don’t have to tell anyone or record it either. You simply slip my one dollar bill [...]
Recently I spent a rainy afternoon tromping around PITTCON, the annual mega conference and exposition that’s unabashedly devoted to laboratory science. If you’ve spent a little time in a college chemistry class years ago, you might recognize some of the names for the equipment on display at PITTCON, but that’s it.
These aren’t your mama’s mass spectrometers or liquid chromatographs.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it takes to inspire people. This has been sitting with me for a few reasons. Initially, I think it had a lot to do with all the articles I’ve been reading about Japan and how people are being inspired to help. And then, sort of along the same lines as the domino effect in one of my favorite children’s books, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” thoughts of helping morphed into thoughts of volunteering …
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
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Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
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Stuff You Missed in History Class
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