February 7, 2016
Oliver Morton on The Wonder of Quasars
In the far reaches of the sky there are sun-bright discs as wide as solar systems, their hearts run through by spears of radiation that outshine galaxies. The energies that feed these quasars beggar all metaphor, and their quantification seems all but meaningless. What does it serve to know that they are converting matter to energy at a rate that equates to the complete annihilation of a planet the size of the Earth ten times a second? Or that all the fires of the sun, from its birth to its death, would be a few weeks' worth of work to one of them? No human sense can be made from so inhuman a scale. Boggle, and move on. [via 3quarksdaily] [more inside]
afrofuturism from the past
Smiley happiness caused: -9
JET SET RADIOOOOOOOOOOOO
HTML V = IR
Paul Falstad's stable of science and engineering visualizations has been MeFi-celebrated as recently as 2005 and 2006. Sadly, with Java applets on death's door, they're largely inaccessible today. What remains? A lovingly HTML-Fived and expanded electronic circuit simulator, a gleaming key to understanding hundreds of different circuits and components. [more inside]
The House That Built Cam
This is where Cam Newton comes from: an institution where being African-American and excellent, African-American and respected, African-American and optimistic are normal conditions. A visit to the church Cam grew up in.
The unlikely and awesome rise of punk, anarchist, and hacker
Birgitta Jónsdóttir May Be Iceland's Next Prime Minister - "Poetry told Birgitta that she is alive. The internet taught her that she belongs in this world. The crisis showed her that she has a role to play, and politics showed her that everything needs to change." (Jónsdóttir, WikiLeaks & Iceland, previously) [more inside]
triplets+toddler
triplets+toddler -- multitasking
Haiti Elections 2015/2016
Haitian President Michel Martelly will leave office today and hand control over to a provisional government (warning: very graphic image in the link). In the face of massive protests against widespread fraud and irregularities in the election process, the January runoff election was cancelled after second place candidate Jude Celestin refused to participate in an election which he believed was rigged in favor of Martelly's chosen successor, Jovenel Moise. This leaves Haiti without a president. Martelly leaves office 30 years to the day since the end of former dictator Baby Doc's rule.
Team Ruff or Team Fluff?
Mozart: the early years
Enjoy this animated webcomic about Mozart's early exploits... up to age nine, along with those of his sister Nannerl.
How in the world can she go to the Super Bowl?
"Demaryius Thomas has just sent his mother a picture of the most unlikely Super Bowl ticket of all, the one intended for her, and now Katina Smith has a few days to decide whether she's prepared to take it."
"I want actual change, not whack-a-mole with a grandiose troll."
Feminist Lindy West writes in The Guardian about how she's experienced years of extreme online harassment from a misogynist blogger and his minions, and about why she's not particularly happy to see them receive the same treatment.
We'll find out if we'll miss him
Dan Hicks, Bay Area music icon, dies at age 74. Last night Clare Wasserman announced that her husband, musician Dan Hicks, had succumbed to liver cancer. [more inside]
Aw Nuts!
Classic Era Warner Bros outakes, 1936-46. The breakdowns of 1941 part 1, part 2 The breakdowns of 1946. 1944
OUT: bunnies in dresses IN: piglets in dresses with kittens
But where one empire crumbles, another rises
The 101 Slow Jam
Most construction projects are bumpy....but this one, starts out smooth.
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