When Fiction Becomes Truth - Big Bang Theory Strikes

I guess Wolowitz from Big Bang Theory did really design and fabricate the toilet on the International Space Station (ISS). It is reported that the waste disposal system has flooded the orbiting base.

Ethanol On The Way Out?

Let's just say I am not the biggest fan of Global Warming or the effects to regulate industry to deal with it. This decision though by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to begin attempts to lessen the greenhouse gases is good because it has a valuable side effect -- the removal of ethanol from the nation's gasoline system.

Ethanol it turns out creates more "greenhouse gases" then regular gasoline based on some science. Ethanol is expensive to make and transport and raises the price of food across the country. There have to be better sources of organic matter for fuel and some technology has been promising.

Much more to come on this.

Terrorist Could Use Insects,or Bats, or Even Balloons

Yes the gist of this article in The Telegraph is true, terrorists could use insects to spread disease. Unfortunately for them the logistics of this kind of attack are horrible and there are much easier ways to do this. In WWII the U.S. was going to use "bat bombs" against Japan and then realized it was a lot more effective to use B-29. The Japanese launched paper balloons carrying incendiary warheads and managed to kill an Oregon family. These kind of things look good on paper but are in the end ineffective.

Geek Humor of the 21st Century

Combine Jonathan Coulton and IT Crowd and what do you get?

Physics Geek

My brother is a physicist, but not this bad.



Although a time machine would be cool.

For All You Physic Geeks Out There

The Large Hadron Collider Rap.

Earth Will Now Be Destroyed When Sun Dies

According to some recent research on Red Giant stars it looks like the Earth will be absorbed by our sun when it does that. See this for more. Not that I will care 7.2 Billion years from now, but it is something to think about.

Neat Stuff from NASA

NASA has sent back some of the first pictures from the MESSENGER Probe. See this article here. Some of them are a part of Mercury never before seen.

Isaac Newton Meet Terra

According to this report by Sandia National Laboratory, the Tunguska Explosion was caused by a small meteorite. The report suggests that in the future we need to pay attention to this kind of possible strike, instead of concentrating on the big ones. I guess M=V2 applies, but the meteorite would have to be of a very dense matter to survive entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Maybe if it was a chunk of Larry Niven's Neutron Star. See this report Sandia supercomputers offer new explanation of Tunguska disaster

Reversing Zombies

According to this article scientists have found a way to reverse the zombie state. Of course, it is in cockroaches and not humans. I guess they can still keep making those movies.

See,

New Scientist - Zombie Cockroaches Revived