Boot these mother fuckers out.
“ pretty much every critic of Keynes, completely misreads his famous quote. “In the long run we are all dead” was definitely not an argument that we should ignore the long run because YOLO. He was arguing that economic models that ignore recessions and only attempt to explain long-run conditions are useless”
Jonathan sez,
Apparently the Conservative government has decided that government research labs should be concentrating on science in the public interest … oops, I mean, science in *industry’s* interest. A major overhaul of national science policy requires these labs to begin “Conducting collaborative R&D projects with private industry, sharing the costs and the risks.”
Notice, that’s research in the service of *existing* industries. So government labs can help the current rich get richer, but may not create whole new industries. An applied mathematician might describe this as: you are allowed to climb toward the top of the hill you are on now, but not allowed to jump to other hills which may reach much higher. …And your applied mathematician consultant would tell you that this is not a way likely to find a global maximum, merely a local one. Maybe the Conservative government should listen to some scientists before ruining science policy.
Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a series of Conservative government attacks on science in Canada, which has included muzzling scientists and shutting down the Experimental Lakes Area — “Canada’s LHC,” the world’s leading site for critical research on freshwater systems.
Research council’s makeover leaves Canadian industry setting the agenda (Thanks, Jonathan!)
Space Oddity (by Chris Hadfield)
Amazing.
Ryan Gosling memes are a dime a dozen. Which is why it takes some serious skill to make the best one.
Comedian Will Sasso, previously known as the best thing about MADtv, is quickly conquering yet… Read…And on Vine no less.
Unseating MADtv’s Will Sasso as King of all Micromedia, the aptly named Ryan McHenry has unleashed upon a meme-hungry world what is now commonly known as the best vine: “Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat His Cereal.”
No, seriously — it’s been featured on the Best Vine twitter feed (along with pretty much everywhere else).
And seeing that spoonful of cereal make its final descent into Gosling International only to be rerouted at the last minute time and time again, the Internet finally makes sense.
Gas pump prank turns couple into Internet sensation
19 hrs agoWe’ve all gotten used to those ubiquitous pump-topping TV screens that scream inane chatter at us while we wait for our hilariously overpriced gas to top up. But what if one of them started talking directly at you? Such is the nature of this “Tonight Show” prank, in which a talking head on a gas pump screen charmingly bantered with Will Sims. Sims took the prank in-stride (we would have screamed “Big Brother is watching!” and fled the scene) and then, with the help of his wife, Monifa, the couple dipped into some impromptu karaoke with more charisma and musical talent than an episode of “American Idol.” Well played, guys! People — the best thing about the world.
If you’ve ever spent much time in American farm country, then you’ve probably noticed that there’s a strong tradition there of coating barns and outbuildings with red paint. Why?
Because nuclear fusion.
Okay, the actual answer is simply because red paint has long been a cheap color to buy. But, explains Google engineer Yonatan Zunger, there is some really interesting physics lurking in the background of that price point.
What makes a cheap pigment? Obviously, that it’s plentiful. The red pigment that makes cheap paint is red ochre, which is just iron and oxygen. These are incredibly plentiful: the Earth’s crust is 6% iron and 30% oxygen. Oxygen is plentiful and affects the color of compounds it’s in by shaping them, but the real color is determined by the d-electrons of whatever attaches to it: red from iron, blues and greens from copper, a beautiful deep blue from cobalt, and so on. So if we know that good pigments will all come from elements in that big d-block in the middle, the real question is, why is one of these elements, iron, so much more common than all of the others? Why isn’t our world made mostly of, say, copper, or vanadium?
The answer, again, is nuclear fusion.
You can read the full story on Zunger’s Google+ page. In my experience, white is another really common barn color, due to the fact that whitewash — a paint made from calcium hydroxide and chalk (which is also calcium) — is way cheap, as well. Calcium is also one of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust … clocking in at number 5, right under iron in the top 10. I’m sure there’s some different science that accounts for the high concentrations of calcium on our planet, but the same principal applies. Cheap paint is paint made with abundant (and easily accessible) elements. And abundant elements happen because of physics.
Image: Red Nebraska Barn, a Creative Commons Attribution No-Derivative-Works (2.0) image from 50779843@N03’s photostream
WHAT
Starting May 17, Disney World is running a “D-Tech” event at Disney Hollywood Studios wherein you can get your head scanned and 3D printed on a Stormtrooper figurine, or trapped in carbonite:The 10-minute experience uses the world’s highest-resolution, single-shot 3D face scanner created by our Imagineering scientists with Disney Research labs. That captured image is later sent to a high resolution 3D printer to create the figurine. The completed figurine will arrive within 7-8 weeks after the experience if shipping domestically (it takes a little longer if shipping internationally). Guests will also receive either a Carbon-Freeze Me light-up band or a collector button depending upon which option they choose. The Star Wars – D-Tech Me experience is $99.95, plus shipping and applicable sales tax.
Star Wars – D-Tech Me Experience Returns to Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Starting May 17, 2013 (via CNet)
Zachary Quinto vs. Leonard Nimoy: “The Challenge” (by AudiofAmerica)
You can buy the movie Vicky and I are in!
Driving by Braille [DVD]
$19.98
List Price: $24.98
You Save: $5.00 (20%)
Inventory: Instock, Ships in 24 HoursQty:Product Notes
Contented young couple Sarah (Tammin Sursok) and Xander (Ryan Eggold) find their relationship in jeopardy when Sarah begins to fear that she will end up like her unstable mother - who was a perfect homemaker before suffering a nervous breakdown and abandoning her family. With the prospect of marriage on the horizon, Sarah must first let go of her troubled past in order to build the foundation of a happy future. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Details
Title:Driving by BrailleGenre:DramaRelease Date:7 May 2013Rated:Not RatedProduct Type:DVDCatalog #:233UPC:818768010328Item #:537981XTechnical Information
Street Date:7 May 2013Studio:GREEN APPLE ENTERTAINMENT ( GAPP )Region:1: USA, CanadaDisplay:Color, Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TVAudio:Dolby Digital StereoDisc Info:Discs:1 ~ Format:Ntsc ~ Region:1Extras:Ws Nr Clr Dvd-Standard
I do not understand why I am playing this, so here’s a kitten with a steamed bun on its head.
Bread Kittens is one of those free games I don’t remember downloading but suddenly find myself playing more than I probably should. Set in the world of Catlandia, an evil pet food corporation is brainwashing the planet’s cats, robbing them of their free will. Seeing as free will is the most annoying portion of cat anatomy, one would think that is a good thing, but apparently there’s charm and grace to be found in scratching up the furniture and vomiting colors unlike anything you’ve eaten on the beige rug, so we’ve got to catch them all.
The only way to protect the felines of the world from mind control is baked goods, and you just happen to be a baker. You travel the world, battling your cats against the wild variety, earning the experience points, cash and flour needed to bake capture bread (for growing your crew) and armor (for protecting them).
It’s one of the silliest things I’ve played on iTunes. The animation is simplistic. The combat is a timed button press. The baking is just a vehicle for a timer, which can be sped up using currency. The music is repetitive. There is a lot not to like about Bread Kittens.
But I can collect 116 cats, name them, and bread them.
That’s how it’s been with Bread Kittens over the past couple of weeks. I play for 30 minutes, promise myself I’ll never play again, and then…
That’s a bagel. And a pancake. With butter.
Until my actual cats allow me the pleasure of crafting fresh-baked bread product that fits around their tiny, annoying skulls, Bread Kittens will stay on my iPad. It’s such a guilty pleasure for me I was forced to turn myself in to soothe my conscience. That’s what separates us from the cats.
Bread Kittens
- Genre: Baking, Pet Battles
- Developer: Bake450
- Platform: iOS
- Price: Free
