HBO Imagine

Here is something new in the world of entertainment. HBO Imagine. This new format tells a story through interconnecting short clips as opposed to a linear format. It also uses different angles. The more clips you watch, the more you unlock clips and clues.

Be sure to "spin" the first clip, titled 'The Affair' to see whats behind the door.

Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine

Something right out of Dr. Strangelove: A Soviet Doomsday machine. This is a Cold Ware relic from the mid-1980s and is still operational. Let's hope that some rogue nuclear power doesn't do something to set this thing off.

New Music

Here are a couple of new albums that I got last week and want to share. The first is the latest from Mark Knopfler called Get Lucky. Knopfler is the founder of Dire Straits and is a superb guitarist and song writer and story teller.

The second is the latest from Allen Toussaint, one of the finest musicians out of New Orleans. The Bright Mississippi has contributions from Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau. Nothing but class and craftsmanship here.

Solar Power With Aesthetics - But Still Expensive

Companies are offering solar energy without the use of panels. The trend is going to integrating solar photovoltaic cells integrated into various building materials. This is still a relatively expensive proposition and experts say the industry still needs government incentives. The goal is to have systems that pay for themselves (by selling generated excess power) in five to seven years.

I guess the question is whether this is a more productive way of spending 'stimulus money' and taking the pressure off having to build scores of new power generating plants over the next 20 or so years.

Asteroid Attack: It's a Dangerous Universe

Asteroid defense strategies are being tested. The question is not if, but when? Asteroids have hit this planet countless numbers of times. Most of the larger forms of life have been wiped out at least six times according to the fossil records. Many asteroids are being tracked but there are some that show up with little warning. This article covers some of our contingency plans.

Focus Now on Nuclear Fuel Recycling

Looks like the Yucca Mt. spent nuclear fuel repository is dead in the water and now the focus seems to be shifting to spent fuel recycling. There are a couple of problem issues: 1) there is an abundance of uranium in the world and 2) spent nuclear fuel typically contains a significant quantity of radioactive Tc-99 (half-life of 211,000 years) and a few others in lesser amounts such as Np-237 (half-life of 2.14 million years).

Recycling unburned U-235 is not too difficult. It was done in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of this recycled fuel was re-enriched a the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (K-25) in the 1960s and created a lot of 'new' radioactive contamination from these residual radioisotopes. This has become problematic today as Bechtel-Jacobs LLC attempts to demolish this facility and deal with tons of radioactive debris with significant levels of Tc-99.

There are technical solutions to these problems, but political issues typically rule the day.

Big Year for New Oil Discoveries

It appears for now that the supply side of oil is up and the demand side is down. There have been more than 200 discoveries so far in dozens of countries to the tune of about 10 billion barrels. Low prices could bring about a supply shortage by around 2015.

In the mean time, while this oil cushion is here, we should be working full speed on developing our alternative fuel options instead of waiting for a new crisis to develop.

Holy Grail of the Unconscious

What the revelations of Carl Jung's Red Book is doing to the Jungs and the Jungians.

Amazon.com Keeps Plugging Away in the Retail Market

Amazon.com's growth is shaking up the retail market. They are becoming the world's on-line general store. Their profit is up 36% in 2009 compared to 5% for Wal-Mart. Wall St. loves Amazon.

Auto Crash Test

Click here to view a video of an auto crash test. This involves a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. Many assume that the older autos made with steel were safer. Doesn't appear to be the case here. It would be interesting to see how a full front crash might differ.

The Davy Crocket Test

Time for Mr. Peabody to crank up the 'Way Back' machine to Cold War of the early 1960s.

In 1962 the Pentagon tested a tactical nuclear weapon, the Davy Crocket. This was a 0.01 kiloton nuclear tipped shell that was to be used on the battlefield by the U.S. Army. This declassified film shows Robert F. Kennedy in attendance of the demonstration exercise representing the POTUS.

Note the decontamination process for soldiers and jeeps at the end of the film. They used brooms. That's comforting.

Electromagnetic Pulse Threat

EMPs may present one of the biggest threats to our nation's infrastructure and economy. If you are living like a caveman, this would not apply.

Facebook Etiquette

Click here for a short movie on Facebook etiquette.

Nitrous Oxide Threat To Atomspheric Ozone

Ok, here is something else to worry about when it comes to our environment. Nitrous oxide is the newest 'bad boy' when it comes to ozone depletion in the Earth's atmosphere. The irony is that the removal of the chlorinated compounds (freon) may actually accelerate the ozone-depletion effects of nitrous oxide.

Large Radiation Dose for Mars Astronauts

There are a whole list of risks involved in a manned trip to Mars and back, but I've always considered that prolonged exposure to cosmic radiation could be the proverbial 'show stopper.' This article from NewScientist gives a good overview.

There are potential work-arounds to this issue. Instead of taking 375 days to get from Earth to Mars, engineers at Ad Astra are working on the VASIMR ion engine that could get you there in 39 days. Testing will be done in the next year or so in earth orbit.

So if the VASIMR ion engine pans out, the radiation exposure issue may be manageable. There are still lots of other hurtles though.

Classic Feynman Physics Lectures

For all you physics nerds, Microsoft has made available on-line some classic physics lectures by Richard Feynman in 1964. They are intended for a general audience and were later published as a book.

Later, other science presentations will be offered and the great thing is that its all free.

Star Trek 2009

We went to the local IMax theater last night to view the new Star Trek movie that was released earlier this year. This was a special two week re-release for IMax theaters across the country. This was well worth the trip. Modern myth telling at its best.

There is also no better venue today than seeing a movie at an IMax. Back in the day in November 1968 I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey at the Cinema 150 in Little Rock. MGM used it's relatively new Super Panavision 70 process that projected a screen aspect ratio of 2.20:1. This theater had 70-mm projectors that used special Dimension-150 lenses and had 4-track surround sound at 4,000 watts. The screen was curved (150 deg. arc) and almost seemed to wrap around the viewers. It was jaw-dropping and mind-blowing. Science fiction was never the same for me from that day forward. As good as home theater is today, nothing can quite compare to the really big screen.

All that being said, if you are a Trek fan, I'm sure you've seen this new 'prequel' to the Star Trek series. If you've not seen it, I give it 4 out of 5 stars and a big thumbs up.

$200/barrel Oil Coming Soon??

Jeff Rubin thinks that just as the economic recovery gets underway, the price for a barrel of oil will move to $200. He correctly forecast $50 oil for 2005 and $100 oil for 2007. Well, he is selling a book so I guess we have to take all this with a grain of sand, but he could be right too.

Nanosolar Has $4 Billion in Contracts

Nanosolar has announced that they now have $4 billion on in contracts and can make a profit selling its products for $1 per watt of a pane's capacity. That is competitive with power sold from fossil fuels world wide.

They expect to build (in a 6-month time frame) municipal solar power plants that will generate from 2 to 20-megawatts for peak power consumption.

It will be interesting to see how they do competing with First Solar.

Dropping Solar Costs May Cause Industry Problems

This sounds crazy, but the dropping cost per watt for solar energy production may kill off 50% of the 200 solar manufacturers in 2011.

I wish that I had paid more attention to economics instead of pure science when I was in school. The two studies go hand in hand and if we lack this understanding, we will have a very bumpy road on the way to energy utopia.

Mixing Solar with Coal to Cut Costs

A Colorado electrical utility and a solar energy company are proposing to integrate solar energy production with a coal burning power plant to dramatically cut the cost of electricity.

They plan to use parabolic mirrors to pre-heat water before it is fed into the boilers where coal is burned to turn water into steam.

This sounds interesting, but I would assume that only plants with adequate space and sunlight can take advantage of this concept.

Jupiter and The Milkyway Galaxy Over the Mediterranean

Here is an awesome photo of the night sky taken in Turkey last month.

For a larger view, click here for the Astronomy Picture of the Day website.

DNA Nanostructures By Design

A breakthrough in the chemistry of DNA was announced today which involved the creation of self-assembled crystalline DNA structures in 3-D. This is considered as "landmark progress" in the quest for designed DNA. There are implications for building structures of biomolecules and components for circuits and electronic devices.

L.A. Times Peeks Into The Future

Will these prognostications turn out to be as wacky as those of the 1950's (for those of us old enough to remember)? I think the space elevator is probably the least likely prediction.

The Future of Electronic Display Screens Looks Bright

Technologies such as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and E-Ink are about to change the way we watch our videos and read our books, signs, and documents. How does a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio sound? The downturn in the economy will cause some delay in large screen production since expensive fabrication facilities will need to be built. What we have now will soon be obsolete, but we may not mind having an upgrade.

Eat More Broccoli

A natural substance in broccoli called sulforaphane appears to be an important in protecting arteries from inflammation. Again, here we have another example of the damage caused by inflammation in the human body.

Broccoli has been found to taste bitter only to people with a certain genetic disposition.

A couple of years ago there was an article circulating which recommended that broccoli be steamed on the stove top, not in the microwave. I'll have to see if I can find the name of the substance that was diminished by microwave cooking. Steaming on the stove top actually increases the concentration of this helpful compound.

Looks Great, Less Nutritious?

It is not a great surprise to know that the nutritional content of your fruits and vegetables are much less than they were decades ago. Here is some information on just how much things have changed.

It appears to me that nutritional supplementation is essential for optimum health and wellness. Of course the fly in the ointment is which supplements and how much? We all need some schooling on this issue. There is much to sort out and learn.

3D TV is on it's way to the USA

SONY will lead the charge to produce 3D television for consumers in the USA. But it not only TVs, it also includes compatibility with Vaio laptop PCs, PlayStation3 game consoles and Blu-ray DVD players. The one question everyone will be asking is "will there be another format war like there was with VHS and Betamax or Blu-ray and HD-DVD."

Some Notes on Magnesium and Calcium in Your Diet

Click here for some information on magnesium and calcium in your diet from Gayle Eversole, "the Leaf Lady."

The Mystery of Chernobyl

Two scientific studies on the biosphere around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant lead to different conclusions. Be aware, there are some errors in this article. The author has given the radioactive half-lives of cesium-137 and strontium-90 as 30,000 and 29,000 years, respectively, instead of 30 and 29 years.

The rule of thumb is that after 7 to 10 half-lives, a radioactive species is essentially gone, depending on the amount of initial activity, which in this case, could be significant. In any case, radioisotopes of plutonium will be a concern for many thousands of years.

I found it interesting that one of the studies talks about the importance of antioxidants as a defense from radiation exposure. That certainly makes sense to me.