Steampunk

"Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles or analog computers; these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or a presumption of functionality."

http://gogbot.nl.vedor.com/thema/

"Nowadays steampunk is not about historical pastiche with a sci-fi twist, because, although that's interesting, there's not a whole lot of room for literary maneuver there. Steampunk has become popular now because it is no longer just fiction. It is an international design and technology effort. Steampunk a counterculture arts and crafts movement in a 21st century guise.

If this idea makes your heart beat faster, I can save you a lot of trouble by recommending one brief essay called "On the Nature of the Gothic" by John Ruskin, the greatest design critic of the original steam era. Go read it. Read this manifesto with great care because it was the seed of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, William Morris wallpaper, Aubrey Beardsley Yellow Book decadence, romantic-nationalist architecture and about a thousand other things most steampunks would consider very cool. ... "

"The hero of the funeral is already dead. He has no idea what is happening. A funeral is theater for the living. "

"The past is a kind of future that has already happened. "



Victorian All-in-One PC


http://www.steampunkworkshop.com/victorian-all-one-pc

LHC Webcam

http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html

Bosons ...

One day, all of the world's famous physicists decided to get together for a tea luncheon. Fortunately, the doorman was a grad student, and able to observe some of the guests...

* Everyone gravitated toward Newton, but he just kept moving around at a constant velocity and showed no reaction.
* Einstein thought it was a relatively good time.
* Coulomb got a real charge out of the whole thing.
* Cavendish wasn't invited, but he had the balls to show up anyway.
* Cauchy, being the only mathematician there, still managed to integrate well with everyone.
* Thompson enjoyed the plum pudding.
* Pauli came late, but was mostly excluded from things, so he split.
* Pascal was under too much pressure to enjoy himself.
* Ohm spent most of the time resisting Ampere's opinions on current events.
* Hamilton went to the buffet tables exactly once.
* Volt thought the social had a lot of potential.
* Hilbert was pretty spaced out for most of it.
* Heisenberg may or may not have been there.
* The Curies were there and just glowed the whole time.
* van der Waals forced himeself to mingle.
* Wien radiated a colourful personality.
* Millikan dropped his Italian oil dressing.
* de Broglie mostly just stood in the corner and waved.
* Hollerith liked the hole idea.
* Stefan and Boltzman got into some hot debates.
* Everyone was attracted to Tesla's magnetic personality.
* Compton was a little scatter-brained at times.
* Bohr ate too much and got atomic ache.
* Watt turned out to be a powerful speaker.
* Hertz went back to the buffet table several times a minute.
* Faraday had quite a capacity for food.
* Oppenheimer got bombed. 

http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=3864759

Dig pinpoints Stonehenge origins

"Archaeologists have pinpointed the construction of Stonehenge to 2300BC - a key step to discovering how and why the mysterious edifice was built.

The radiocarbon date is said to be the most accurate yet and means the ring's original bluestones were put up 300 years later than previously thought.

The dating is the major finding from an excavation inside the henge by Profs Tim Darvill and Geoff Wainwright.

The duo found evidence suggesting Stonehenge was a centre of healing.

Others have argued that the monument was a shrine to worship ancestors, or a calendar to mark the solstices. "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7625145.stm

JTrack 3D From NASA Makes Satellite Tracking Easy

"Because of work done by Johannes Kepler in the 17th Century we are able to track and follow the 2,500 or so satellites (working and dead) plus nearly 6,000 other objects orbiting the Earth. NASA says that includes "orbital debris: parts such as nosecone shrouds, lens, hatch covers, rocket bodies, payloads that have disintegrated or exploded, and even objects that "escape" from manned spacecraft during operations. "

Eight thousand five hundred objects would be quite a burden for your PC and its display, but you can easily see and track 900 satellites with "JTrack 3D." This is a Java applet which needs no installation to run on your computer using data from NASA. Using Java, JTrack 3D is operating system agnostic! With your mouse you can move your view in 3D allowing a better understanding how certain areas are more likely to contain satellites.

The first thing you'll notice is how crowded things really are! There's a well populated ring around the Earth's equator with geostationary satellites. Closer to home the satellites mostly follow inclined orbits including many polar orbiters. "

http://www.appscout.com/2008/09/jtrack_3d_from_nasa_makes_sate.php

http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime/jtrack/3d/JTrack3D.html

10 Overused Words in Writing

"All words are good words. Some, however, are overused without adding value to what you write. As a result, they reduce the readers’ interest, make text seem redundant, and cause the writer to appear amateurish.

We have created a list of 10 overused words, based on the documents we have edited over the last 5 years. We don’t recommend that you remove these words from your writing. Instead, we recommend that you become aware of how often you use them and that you revise your documents to limit their use."

http://preciseedit.com/Article10OverusedWords/tabid/215/Default.aspx



About the author: David Bowman is the Owner and Chief Editor of Precise Edit, a comprehensive editing, proofreading, and document analysis service for authors, students, and businesses. Precise Edit also offers a variety of other services, such as translation, transcription, and website development.

A (True) Modern Fable: Ants and Cricket

"A re-evaluation of a traditional fable that valued the work ethic at the expense of the arts, the joy of self-expression, and creativity."

http://www.authspot.com/Tales/A-True-Modern-Fable-Ants-and-Cricket.203663

"If you enjoy entertaining others, dance, sing, and be happy yourself, since we all die sooner or later anyway."

10 Ways to Become a Better Writer

"Becoming a good writer takes time and practice, but that doesn't mean you can't speed up the process. Here are 10 ways that you can become a better writer today."

http://degreedirectory.org/articles/10_Ways_to_Become_a_Better_Writer.html

"1. Read as Much as You Can

You've probably heard it before, but the reason everyone says it is because it is true. You can't be a good writer without being a good reader first. So, try to read as much as you can--pick up books that you like, books you don't like and books you never pictured yourself reading. You never know what you might get out of them. ..."

George Orwell diaries to be published as blog

"The first entry will be posted on August 9, exactly 70 years to the day since the author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four wrote it.

Running until 1942 the diaries cover the start of the Second World War as well as Orwell's own travels to Morocco following the illness and injuries he sustained while fighting in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War. "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2469672/George-Orwell-diaries-to-be-published-as-blog.html


http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/

LitMob: Book Reviews with Passion

"The world of book reviews can be stuffy and uninteresting, with lengthy and long-winded reviews written by authors and critics who may understand their source material but may not relate terribly well with the reading public, or people who would love to get into books but find reviews more difficult to digest than the books themselves.

Enter LitMob, a new kind of book review blog. Rather than focus on lengthy descriptions of the author's background, influences, and similarities to other works, LitMob cuts to the core of the text, giving you a synopsis of the plot, enough tantalizing information to get you interested in the book, and enough background information to make you want to pick it up..."

http://www.appscout.com/2008/08/litmob_book_reviews_with_passi_1.php


http://litmob.com/

Kurt Vonnegut on Writing Better

"I myself find that I trust my own writing most, and others seem to trust it most, too, when I sound most like a person from Indianapolis, which is what I am. What alternatives do I have? The one most vehemently recommended by teachers has no doubt been pressed on you, as well: to write like cultivated Englishmen of a century or more ago."

http://www.43folders.com/2008/07/14/vonnegut-better-writing

Rally opposes new motorway plans

"Campaigners against a new motorway south of Newport have held a rally at the Senedd, claiming the plans would harm wildlife and increase pollution.

The Campaign Against Levels Motorway (Calm) want proposals for the 15 mile (24km) toll road dropped.

Julian Branscombe, the group's chair, said the road would be "a major step backwards in terms of protecting sites for wildlife". "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7629616.stm

Sky-high cinema for student film - Two Men and their Ponies

"A film about Welsh mountain ponies made by school students is being watched by air travellers around the world on board Virgin Atlantic planes.

The film, Two Men and Their Ponies, is being shown by the airline as part of a series of short films. "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7628837.stm


"Two Men and their Ponies
Flycatcher Films, Abergavenny
This is the story of the Welsh mountain ponies, told from the point of view of a local recluse, Paul, who is a leading ecologist and former ballet-dancer. Having hung-up his ballet-shoes, Paul now spends his time in the mountains riding mountain bikes which he says is “the best way to see the ponies”. Two Men and their Ponies is a creative documentary, made by a group of eight 16 to 18-year-olds, which aims to explore the ancient bond between man and pony and acknowledge the special place the mountain pony has in the heritage and landscape of Wales."

http://www.firstlightmovies.com/news/news_full.php?id=42

Cardiff University hopes to stop rare book sale

"A university has said it hopes to find funding so that it can house and look after some of Wales' oldest and rarest books which a council plans to sell.

Up to 18,000 items dating from the 15th Century could be sold at auction by Cardiff council to raise money for improvements in library services.

Cardiff University said it believed the collection, currently held at the central library, should remain intact. "


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7631303.stm

Cardiff Council selling irreplaceable heritage

"A Council report recommending the sale of 18,000 unreplaceable rare and ancient books from its Cardiff Library to fund the building of the new Cardiff library has shocked welsh scholars and heritage organisations."

http://forums.walesonline.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=6016&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

"The report recommending the sale of the historical book collections is published on the Council’s website: http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/objview.asp?object_id=7331. The report is outrageously entitled: ‘Disposal of Surplus [sic] Library Stock’ (11/01/2007). "

Survey turns hill into a mountain

"A Welsh hill has been upgraded to a mountain after three walkers found its official measurement was just too low. Mynydd Graig Goch in Snowdonia was originally put at 1,998ft (609m), just short of the magic 2,000ft (609.6m) that qualifies as a mountain.

But the walkers found its true height is six inches over 2,000ft (609.75m).

Their efforts have echoes of the 1995 film set in Wales which starred Hugh Grant as The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7623904.stm