Tuesday13: Unlimited Heat, A Rat's Nightmare and Batman

Today I have a few quick things to highlight.

Scientists have been able to perform research on a particular substance (Graphene, I believe) that may break down some of the laws of thermodynamics - of which I know nothing of. Basically this substance can hold exponentially more heat the more of it there its. This contradicts that law that says that a substance should hold a set amount of heat regardless of the size. This could have applications for energy storage or protection.

Rat's are the go-to animal to use in tests of almost any kind. From psychology to drugs and neurology, rats are the creatures that get all the attention, and abuse. A test that was made years ago was talked about in an article today. Put a rat in a large empty box. It doesn't sound like much but the study is usually based around how the rat reacts to a new surrounding. Do they venture out quickly, looking for a way to escape? Or do their survival instincts tell them to stay put and wait for danger? Some horror movies play on similar concepts and it's interesting to think what I would do in a similar situation.

The internet has be a-buzz with a new image release by Zack Snyder, director of the upcoming Batman vs. Superman movie. By upcoming I mean in year's time. The image is of the batmobile and batman in his new uniform, supposedly Ben Afleck is the one in the picture. (He is the one that will be playing Batman but we don't know if the picture is him) I wasn't very impressed with the costumer of the car, but maybe I'm crazy. Nolan's Batman needed more time to age.

Microsoft will now be selling the Xbox One with out the Kinect for $100 less. Many people say this is a poor move, some say it was their only move to be able to compete with huge PS4 sales.

If you want to please a man don't get him a new car, get him the millennium falcon, duh. Disney has a fun showing a wife getting her husband the ultimate Star Wars gift for their anniversary. Though, I confess I don't know what it was advertising....

Friday9: Alternate Histories, Short Stories and Religious First Contact

It's the weekend, finally. As with most posts I have something to mention about Star Wars. I read an article from someone who watched the entire series back to back and did an honest review. He, like I, grew up on the prequels and there is a soft spot in our hearts for them-even if they are terrible. He was kind to the prequels but is quick to point out how superior and well crafted the sequels are.

I also read a post that talked about the best Expanded Universe stories of Star Wars. Three of them were stories I am very familiar with including, Clone Wars (both versions) and The Knights of the Old Republic. Without boring you with the details, I recommend looking it up.

io9.com does a cool series of posts asking users to come up with 6 word sci-fi stories. They highlighted some of the best so far and they really are brilliant. Unfortunately, I can't remember any off the top of my head, but look it up, it's fun.

Another great, more thought-provoking post was about if humanity is ready to encounter alien life. Psychological studies say no. We are not mentally ready for first contact due to religious beliefs. Most people, when asked how they would analyze a situation with aliens fall first on their religious beliefs before looking to scientific standards or logic. I agree with the psychologist conclusions however I do believe that instead of thinking of religion as a bad, brain-washing or blinding thing, that it can be a frame to the scientific glasses of perception. If we see things through logic and science but put them in context of our own religious beliefs I believe we can confront difficult questions such as E.T. I also feel strongly that the two, namely science and religion can be paired in such a way that is not only functional but also progressive and beneficial.

Remixes of the internet can offer some fun, and interesting entertainment. For example, using the sound board from the new Godzilla trailer and cutting it with clips from Jaws. It really is quite awesome and makes Jaws seem 10x more terrifying.

Another great one is recutting Frozen to appear like a horror movie. Or Dumb and Dumber to look like a romantic drama. It's amazing what you can do with some editing knowledge and context.

Finally, the international news. Brazilian police are threatening to go on strike during the world cup unless they receive higher wages. This could be a very dangerous situation considering the current crime rates in Brazil but also the influx of tourists during that time. Hopefully everyone comes to their senses and things run smoothly for the games.

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday: Map of the Universe, The End of History Illusion and Brain Damage

Today actually had some very interesting articles that I'm excited to talk about.

The first one is about a computer model astrophysicists have been creating that was just completed. The model maps all the galaxies in the universe. This in and of itself is not unique but the model also adds in dark matter and charts the formation and collection of all these particles 13 billion years in the past. The video is very cool to watch. The model maps an area 350 million light years across. It's very humbling to think how massive the universe is.

The end of history illusion. Sounds like a sci-fi movie title, or maybe just the illusion that time will go on forever. It's actually a psychology concept that demonstrates an interesting principle when it comes to thinking about ourselves. Our past selves are more prone to predict that we will not change, that 10 years down the road I will still like and do many of the same things. However the reality is that I will change quite a bit. On top of that, my current self will look back 10 years think how odd my likes were or how far I've come. In the end, we change more than we think we will, but maybe not as much as we see in retrospect.

Another very interesting story was about a very average man who got into a fight and suffered a concussion. I emphasize his normality because of what happened due to his injuries. After the fight he suffered from PTSD but he noticed something different about the way he saw the world. He could see everything in patterns and shapes. It was like the world was broken down into its individual frames and he could see the geometric pattern emerging from everything. This man had become a Savant. He didn't have any mathematical training but after pursing college, his abilities are progressing rapidly and he is able to make amazing calculations and observations. The part that I find most interesting is that after scanning his brain scientists believe that the abilities he is manifesting is something innate in all of our brains. He was not a born Savant, but was awakened to it. This hints at a massive potential for our minds and the future of unlocking them to do great things.

Some side topics include an article about the movies that have made a huge impact in visual effects. The very first on the list was Metropolis, which is amazingly ahead of it's time both in effects but also message and philosophy. Star Wars, ET and many others are also on the list.

The rumored title of the upcoming Star Wars movie is said to be "The Ancient Fear." We'll see if it's true. I personally don't mind the title. Other Star Wars rumors hint that characters in the soon to be released animated show "Rebels" will appear in Episode VII.

I hope today was a little more thought provoking. What are your thoughts on the mind and the universe?

Wednesday30: Fractals, Facebook and Time Travel

There's a great video (that you can see on my Google+ profile) of a noir style short video that explains the beauty and complexity of fractals in an entertaining way. It's a story of a private eye who's out to solve a mystery for a "dame" where he is met by a guru that asks him 3 riddles. I won't ruin the rest but it's worth a watch and you might actually learn something.

Facebook held a big developers conference today. The news wasn't terribly interesting but I'm sure we'll feel it's effects in months to come. Facebook will be changing the way we log in to external apps and the way apps communicate to each other. They're also shifting focus to fix bugs quicker and provide a better experience rather than rapid adaptability.

I watched a great sci-fi short video of 2 women on a space ship of some kind that is equipped with a 3 minute time traveling device - reminiscent of Galaxy's Quest's sphere that lets you reverse time for 13 seconds. Without spoiling the ending the two astronauts are in trouble and have to use the device to change the future. The future is certainly changed, but not in how they or we expect.

Another video, I guess I watched a lot today, is about the meaning of auto makers and their cars. I honestly don't remember many of them. Some of them were unique in their meaning or origin, many were simply the founder's name or a factory name.

I read a post about 10 more theories of why the dinosaurs went extinct. It could have been anything from mushrooms to thinning egg shells. Interesting stuff but it still all seemed to start with the meteorite that landed 28 million + years ago.

A cinema analyst has predicted that Star Wars Episode VII will be a very successful and high grossing movie, possibly breaking records. This would put it on par with movies like Titanic and Avatar (both James Cameron films) that made over $1 and $2 billion respectively.

Scientist have figured out how the Egyptians moved the giant stones that made up the pyramid. It was wet sand. It turns out that getting sand just wet enough allows you to slide things across it with half the energy it would usually take. So there you have it, so much for the alien theory and Stargate.

Apple is ridiculously rich. It could buy (I'm trying to remember most of these) Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora and a few others and still have $54 BILLION left over. Wow.

There was a lot from today, please look into these things and learn from them, or at least correct me. :)

Thursday24: Disease, Parkour and Movie Changes

In the Middle East there is a celebration which brings many people together for religious reasons. If that isn't a vague statement, I don't know what it is. The point of that statement is to frame some health news. There has been a recent outbreak of the MERS virus. The MERS virus begins with cold-like symptoms that can escalate to death. It is similar to the SARS virus but less contagious, however, more deadly. With the religious gathering coming, scientists are worried that the disease will spread further-already over 200 people have been infected.

I think the idea of a virus destroying the world is not a new one but this certainly makes you pause and think. I don't believe MERS will be a scourge upon humanity but it's interesting to think about how easily it could be to start a pandemic...

Angry Nerd from Wired magazine claims that parkour (aka free running) should become its own movie genre. I hadn't considered this, or it's feasibility but he made a good point. Martial arts become its own genre of film, one that's expanded and grown greatly over the years and produced some amazing films. The movie, District 13 is a great example of a parkour film and even though the plot is a "vehicle to show off parkour" it's still not half bad.

I read an interesting that highlighted original versions of movies before they came to the big screen. For example, Star Wars was going to be more Lawrence of Arabia style, or in other words kind of like Avatar. (Train the locals, in this case wookies, to fight back against the Empire). The Truman show as originally going to be more of a sci-fi thriller than the humorous drama it is. Ghostbusters were originally going to be called ghostsmashers and be much more serious.

The post made me reflect on the creative process and how much things change. The original ideas of these films could still be equal good and may deserve exploring. I guess will have to check it out in a parallel universe.

Monday7: Stocks, Dark Matter and Godzilla

I'll get the less exciting things out of the way. The stock market has apparently, been dropping and/or going wild. Some analysts are comparing graphs of today's situation with other "bubbles" that burst in the financial world. Admittedly it all goes over my head and admittedly I don't care.

Scientists have recently discovered an anomaly at the center of the galaxy that appears to be the first sighting or physical evidence of the theorized dark matter. The center of the galaxy is an extremely happening place. Scientist found a burst of gamma radiation coming from the center after "subtracting" or normalizing regular gamma radiation that can be accounted for by stars, etc. It's not definite as there are possibilities that it could be something else. Either way, it's exciting news.

There's a new Godzilla trailer that came out today. It's over two minutes long and gives us a better glimpse into our characters and the "birth" or "discovery" of Godzilla. I saw lots of radiation signs so that could be fun. The movie will be epic and from the looks of it, humanity does not stand a chance against the lizard from Japan.

A billionaire is selling his mansion somewhere in Utah (it looks like Park City) there are some pretty crazy photos of everything this mansion has to offer including; couch in the bathroom, kitchen and living room that are part of the master suite, 5 bedrooms, full theater room that comes stocked with popcorn and goodies. In short, awesome, it's selling for something around 14 million. Don't forget about me if you buy it.

Today is world health day. Every year the WHO has a theme for world health day. This year's focus is on a particular kind of virus (name escapes me). Basically, mosquitoes are bad, look out and get rid of standing water.

There is a powerful car ad that you will probably see circle around. The message, in short, is don't text and drive. The consequences are deadly.

I caught up on a video posted by the Vlog brothers on YouTube. He got together with some animators (from another fantastic channel whose name is in German so I can't tell you what it is) and put together a video criticing our current prison system. The united states houses 25% of the world's prisoners. We hold more prisoners per person that South Korea and Russia! Yikes! It's serious problem, I recommend looking up the video if you're interested.

We've got another week ahead of us, keep your mind sharp and your brain active.

Wednesday2: Government Biotech, Microsoft and English

It's hump day. Really, there's nothing unique about Wednesdays other that the way it's spelled and our infatuation with its camel association (see Geico). I digress.

DARPA, which stands for something about defense and other cool things, is a branch of the defense department dedicated to research into new technologies. (It does more than that I'm sure) The article I read talked about some of the projects its working on which include highly intelligent prosthetic limbs controlled with your mind. They are also researching artificial intelligence. The article claims that if anyone is going to develop progressive AI (an AI that can improve itself) it will be them. They also discussed the possibilities of genetic manipulation to create elite human soldiers that are organisms, but not truly human. If that didn't send chills up your spine then you need to go see a chiropractor.

Microsoft announced some updates to it's operating system "Windows 8." Basically people were lost without the start menu and they had to bring it back. It's probably a smart move but in my opinion people need to get over it. They also announced further developments of their voice assistance "Cortana." This is of course, a reference to the AI in the Xbox game Halo. It is apparently very proficient and functions on par with Siri and Google Now with some added bonus features.

Amazon also had an announcement of it's own. They now offer a $99 streaming box. Basically a Roku but from Amazon and a few additional features. Could be good, look it up if you want to learn more.

I saw a funny video that anyone can appreciate but bi-lingual people may appreciate more, especially ESL learners. It ran through, in a Dr. Suess style, some of the blaring idiosyncrasies of the English language. Like how "brought" rhymes with "lot" and "drought" rhymes with "doubt." Think about that for a minute....

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is looking more and more interesting.
In N Out, Forever 21 and many others are actually very religious companies. (in addition to the often publicized Hobby Lobby and Chik-fil-a).
NASA broke up with Russia.
The most popular job in Utah (and Idaho) is Forestry Technician. - It's odd, but just as odd as CA being farmers.

That's it for today. I've read and watched a lot more but that's all that's coming or worth mentioning. What did you see today?

TGIF: Virtual Reality, Typography and Reviews

Look a picture! I'll try add an something unique to each day.

Friday has arrived, finally. I'll try my best not to make excuses for not remembering things because it's now officially the weekend, but still, it is the weekend.

An article that caught my attention today about a clever discovery made by a middle school boy. Apparently he was looking for ways to save his school money (presumably for an assignment) and discovered that by changing the typeface, or font the school used in it's printed materials it could save 20%. He figured the same idea could be applied to the government. It turns out that the government uses Times New Roman font for it's THOUSANDS of publications that get printed EVERY DAY. By switching to a simpler font with thinner lines (the name of the font he suggest escapes me... maybe Garamount or something?) the government (including states) could save 400 million dollars! And that's just on the ink! You might need less paper as well. Why hasn't anyone thought of this before? Why are we changing this immediately? The world may never know, but at least we hope it can act on it.

I read a couple of reviews for the new movie "Noah" coming out this weekend (I think). I am very interested in seeing this movie and the critics seem to be confirming my interest. From the two articles I've read I've gathered that the movie is very liberal in applying the biblical tale of Noah. Yes, there's an ark, a family, lots of animals and a flood but much of the filler is very different, and apparently very unique. It was said that the effects combined with the filming style, story and unique approach to the characters makes the movie much deeper than anticipated. I won't go into much more detail. Even though this blog is intended to catalog my daily internet musings I may have to find time to add a few more comments on the movie once I see it.

I watched a Verge video on virtually reality. In case you hadn't heard, Facebook bought Oculus Rift, one of the most talked about and promising prospects for real virtual reality. The video seemed to be less enthusiastic about the experience of virtual reality - specifically from Rift. This is different from many articles I have read that have praised and adored everything about Oculus. Either way, the future will certainly hold some interesting surprises for virtually reality, and most of them won't be for gaming.

I also wanted to briefly mention some posts both today and tomorrow that going on at Gizmodo talking about the Singularity. Specifically the organization called Singularity University who's mission is to be at the forefront of new technology and development and prepare humanity for what's ahead. It's all very interesting stuff. I won't explain the Singularity because i technically didn't read an article about it today and for now, that's the rules I'm setting. Please look it up and tell me what you think.

A lesson I've always known all along but I'm rediscovering even as I write only the second post is that articles and posts from places like BuzzFeed, ViralNova, UpWorthy and even Business Insider are essentially, worthless. Surprise! But I also must admit they are often entertaining and the humor frequently rings true. They are still, nonetheless, of no real value to the intellect.