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For anyone interested in various fundamentals of electrical engineering without too much detail on the gritty math (and more focus on the concepts), check out the US Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series (NEETS).
posted by Evernix at 8:26 PM PST - 36 comments

One of the founders and pioneers of electroacoustic music is gone. Parmegiani was a prolific and distinctive electronic musician. His works are currently being played on sfsound.org radio. [more inside]
posted by idiopath at 7:57 PM PST - 11 comments

A Mysterious Death at the South Pole
posted by the man of twists and turns at 5:30 PM PST - 57 comments

In 1988, Nicholas Winton appeared on the BBC program "That's Life." [more inside]
posted by zarq at 5:03 PM PST - 12 comments

Alan makes helpful Youtube tutorials for his Youtube channel, alantutorial. His latest is "disk tutorial." [more inside]
posted by koeselitz at 3:10 PM PST - 34 comments

Matt Damon reads from Howard Zinn's 1970 speech "The Problem is Civil Obedience" (via) [more inside]
posted by jeffburdges at 2:59 PM PST - 42 comments

Virgil Ortiz is Cochiti Pueblo Native artist and fashion designer who makes pottery by traditional means, but with a range of inspirations, including futuristic design. As he discussed in this short interview clip, Ortiz is also interested in portraying the history of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. These inspirations blend in series such as Blind Archer: Tahu's Journey and Evolution, featuring 19 characters inspired by the 19 pueblos, in an effort to "use these characters to get the kids attention and it all comes back to teaching the youth and the world about the 1680 Pueblo Revolt." [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 1:40 PM PST - 9 comments

These demos represent the final writings and music of Gene Ween, before he departed and the inner FREEMAN emerged. On that note, we have received a two word personal statement from Aaron: "stay tuned." [more inside]
posted by mannequito at 12:19 PM PST - 20 comments

"This White Male Aged 18-49 Had An Idea. The Best Part? People Listened" and more incredible stories on Upworthy: Springfield.
posted by griphus at 12:17 PM PST - 52 comments

Ticket Wars: Why the Ticket Industry Is So Hated and How That's All About to Change "A couple of economists at Northwestern University have developed a scheme to change everything. It's surprisingly simple, and, if it spreads throughout the industry, it could control the very thing that makes the industry so frustrating. Ticket prices will finally make sense." [more inside]
posted by Room 641-A at 11:09 AM PST - 42 comments

The animated [and largely forgotten] life of A. R. Wallace (single-link NYTimes video)
posted by beagle at 10:51 AM PST - 2 comments

TV is dying, and here are the stats that prove it.
posted by yeoz at 10:50 AM PST - 123 comments

The Douglas Fir Plywood Association presents Second Homes for Leisure Living . . . here are 18 new leisure-time homes, built with fir plywood for comfort and economy. [via]
posted by Think_Long at 10:15 AM PST - 31 comments

On Graduate School and 'Love' is yet another commentary on the economics of academic work. A younger student chimes in on the role of education in life: "much of education is oriented, for better or worse, toward making a living, rather than making a life." [more inside]
posted by eviemath at 8:34 AM PST - 53 comments

In a six-month agreement, Iran will cap uranium enrichment at the 5% level, reduce its stockpile of already enriched uranium, and allow for more robust international inspections. In return, it will receive no new nuclear sanctions and "sanction relief" in the amount of $7 billion. [more inside]
posted by pjenks at 6:11 AM PST - 210 comments

Life Times Six: How Travion Blount got 118 years and six life sentences for a robbery. In 2006, 15 year old Travion Blount, along with two 18 year olds, robbed a group of teenagers at a party at gunpoint. No shots were fired. The two older boys accepted sentences of 10 and 13 years in exchange for a guilty plea. Blount plead guilty but refused to accept a sentence of 18 years. He went to trial, was found guilty, and received a mandatory 118 years in prison, without parole. On top of that, he received six life sentences. His only chance to exit prison alive is through geriatric release at age 60. He will most likely die behind bars. [more inside]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:01 AM PST - 151 comments

Spider webs are incredibly strong and flexible. It’s no surprise, then, that spider silk proteins may someday form durable artificial ligaments for people who have injured their knees or shoulders. Six different kinds of silk are produced by orb-web weaving spiders. These silk fibers have very different mechanical properties that are so effective they have changed very little over millions of years. How to synthetically develop these silks is one focus of Lewis’ research. The secret to producing large quantities of spider silk is to use “factories” designed to manufacture spider silk proteins that are easily scale-able and efficient. Lewis uses transgenic goats, E.coli bacteria, transgenic alfalfa and transgenic silk worms to produce the spider silk proteins used to create spider silk. Spider silk is 100 times stronger than natural ligaments and 10 times stronger than natural tendons; it is stronger than Kevlar and more elastic than nylon.

A 6min brief on the work being done in Laramie, WY whereby spider silk is being spun from goat milk. SPIDERGOATS

[more inside]
posted by Blasdelb at 1:55 AM PST - 25 comments