The start of the Chinese calendar: Spring, dawn, March 5, 1953 BC

It is Chinese New Year!

The Chinese calendar starts on March 5, 1953 BC when the Sun (visible right below the transparent horizon), the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were all grouped closely together in the dawn sky at the beginning of spring. All of the hands of the celestial clockwork set to zero!

Click on the image above to make it bigger. I made this view using Starry Night.

Why are cell phones outside the US so advanced?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17154970/

Valentine's Day in Japan

In Japan, women give men chocolates on Valentine's Day...

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1589631,00.html

How Skype works

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_44/b3906089_mz063.htm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer-to-peer

An asteroid occults a star on video!

This is amazing video of an asteroid passing over a star and blocking the light from the star for a few seconds.

http://media.skytonight.com/video/Derek_Palma_2.mpeg


http://skytonight.com/observing/home/The_Best_Asteroid_Occultation_in_Decades_A_First_Report.html

Sapporo Snow Festival

http://abcnews.go.com/International/popup?id=2853201

The National Science Museum of Japan

The National Science Museum in Ueno has had a makeover and is really quite good now. Not anything like the American Museum of Natural History, but there are true gems in The National Science Museum that I have seen nowhere else (like the cloud chamber that makes visible all the radiation passing through everything all the time... my cousin gasped when she saw it).

Entrance to the permanent exhibits is only a few hundred yen. If you want to go to the special exhibit, that will be about 1,000 yen more. If you think you might go to several special exhibits in the course of a year, getting a membership will probably be cheaper.

The first time you go, I suggest doing a quick walk through the whole complex. The access to floors is very confusing, so be sure to get a map when you enter. Some elevators do not stop on some floors, etc. This will take about 3 hours.

The next time you go, be sure to rent one of the audio guides. It has extensive explanations of the exhibits, and all you do is stand in front of an exhibit and it will begin the correct playback. To go through the entire Museum with the audio explanation will take at least one full day, if not two. You will be surprised at what is there. Some exhibits at first appear to be uninteresting but are absolutely fascinating when you hear the explanation.

http://www.kahaku.go.jp/english/

All of TV is coming to the internet maybe sooner than I thought

Joost http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhas its Windows version in preliminary testing now, and although they said it would be ready for general distribution in July, they are hinting that it might be much sooner.

See this page for the story.

Click on Video: Joost Demonstration. There are three stories about Joost, each preceded by a short commercial. Once the video starts playing, just let it go and it will proceed automatically to the next commercial and video.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/06/eveningnews/eyeontech/main2440808.shtml

Global Dimming

Over the last few decades, the amount of sunlight falling on the Earth in many places has dropped by 10 or even 20 percent. The implications of this are stunning. Global dimming may have already caused the deaths of millions.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1027879546389218797&q=label%3A%22bbc%22

The Story of 1

It is difficult for us to imagine what it was like in a world without numbers. This entertaining BBC production describes the history of numbers, and how and why we write them the way we do... all the way from bones with notches to digital computers.

http://www.pbs.org/previews/storyof1/

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7226516301910438112&hl=en

Most paper copies of books are about to become trash and will become rare

All out of copyright books will one day be available on sites such as Project Gutenberg, which already has 20,000 books for free

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

so it will no longer be necessary to buy literature as a paperback, unless you want to scribble in the margins.

Books still in copyright are being scanned by Google at an amazing rate. They hope eventually to scan all books in English. The search will allow you to see parts of text around the terms you search for, but not the entire text. You can then go and buy the full text either in paper form, or as is more likely soon, in electronic form. (As long as the Earth is not hit by a huge electromagnetic storm from the Sun, this is a good thing.)

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8209-2557728,00.html

Therefore, over the next few decades, you can expect to see the numbers of books dwindle... and you will be able to pick up used books for a song if you really want paper copies...

World map replay of Storm Worm spreading

New email trick: Make the subject line something topical like the "recent severe storms in Europe", "A killer at 11, he's free at 21", etc. When you open the email and click the attachment, a program is installed on your computer which will later allow the cybercriminals to steal information from your computer or use your computer to churn out huge numbers of spam emails.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH8cS1AkqiI

Here comes internet TV

Big screen TVs have their place. But if you are thinking of getting a set for the bedroom, you may want to wait just a little while more to see what Joost has to offer later in the year... you may decide you want a computer instead. They promise nearly HiDef quality of any TV channel that allows its content to be broadcast... and since these are the people who brought you Skype, it will all be free! And more or less on demand rather than waiting for specific broadcast times. Imagine watching various stations around the country (and maybe even in other countries if there are no rights problems). By the way, I think this will revolutionize education...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16725531/site/newsweek/

Kiwi!

Very cute animation about flightless New Zealand bird.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs

Stunning animation of the molecular machines in cells

This is a great animation of the molecular machines in your cells and the movement of cells in your body. The animation is simplified because if everything were really shown, you wouldn't be able to see what is going on. Cells are not little masses of goo with things sloshing about inside; they are highly organized with protein guideways and little robots to produce, package, and transport materials around the cell. In a few years, it will be much easier to learn cell biology and biochemistry because you will be able to envision what is happening through 3D simulations like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H1S9d5h-Ps

Carbohydrates and cholesterol

There have long been suggestions that at least some cholesterol problems are due not to eating cholesterol, but are due to eating large amounts of sugar and starch. Here is further evidence.

http://sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=2950B6AFD1A54045C0659AE2368893C8

Cheap, long-tested drug kills most cancers

The catch? Companies don't think they can make money on it.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn10971-cheap-safe-drug-kills-most-cancers.html

You will note that one of the effects is to increase the activity of mitochondria, and that this effect is similar to one of the main effects of resveratrol!

How resveratrol works. Click on the arrows in the diagram at the bottom right.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/18/magazines/fortune/Live_forever.fortune/index.htm

Vitamin B9, folic acid, improves brain function

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10989-folic-acid-supplements-rejuvenate-older-brains.html

Superferry to begin Oahu-Kauai, Oahu-Maui service in July

http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/news/10796853/detail.html

http://www.hawaiisuperferry.com/

Kadomatsu

Kadomatsu ("gate pine") are New Year decorations, temporary abodes for the gods that come to visit. They are always placed in pairs at the main entrance to a residence or business establishment, and they may be simple pine branches tied to a gate or may be much more elaborate and expensive arrangements containing pine, bamboo, and plum blossoms in front of a business.

Mars 2020: Springtime

The more you know about Mars landers, the funnier this is...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjiGH9QNiU0

Daylight Saving Time will start a MONTH earlier than last year!

Daylight Saving Time is scheduled to start March 11 in 2007... a whole month earlier than ever before!

Totally cool clouds

http://pic1.funtigo.com/valuca/?g=25544746&cr=1

JAXA plans largest lunar mission since Apollo

JAXA (Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency) plans to launch the SELENE lunar mission in 2007. See the site... and send your name and a message to the Moon in the "Wish Upon the Moon Campaign"!

http://www.jaxa.jp/missions/projects/sat/exploration/selene/index_e.html

JAXA Vision 2025

JAXA (Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency) vision for 2025, including Asia-Pacificwide instant earthquake and tsunami warnings.

http://www.jaxa.jp/2025/img/mov/JAXA2025e.mpg

JAXA deploys giant satellite allowing point-to-point communication

After the 2004 Niigata quake, communications were disrupted for quite some time because the mountains blocked wireless signals and the wired systems were damaged. It was very difficult to determine where the damage was most severe and the kind and amounts of aid necessary. http://www.hinet.bosai.go.jp/topics/niigata041023/index_e.html

JAXA (Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency) has successfully deployed and is in the final stages of testing the 120-foot KIKU No. 8 satellite. This satellite will allow direct point-to-point communication throughout Japan using small handsets, vastly improving search and rescue operations and disaster management.

http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f11/index_e.html

What the net might be like in a few years

Many webpages will go from looking like a 2D sheet of paper to a 3D interactive world. Here are some examples.

http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key=action.display.views&language_id=1

It is still clunky and slow, but you can image how it will be in a very short time. Tutankhamun's tomb is spectacular.


Other possible developments can be found here.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/12/28/23418.aspx

Global Warming + El Nino = A Hot 2007?

2006 was the hottest year in the UK since 1659. We are in a moderate El Nino now, but should it intensify as it did in 1997, the five-year drought in Australia would become much worse, Indonesia would see drought and huge forest fires, and California would have extremely heavy rains.

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2116873.ece

New vaccine for all strains of Influenza A

A new flu vaccine is being tested and may be on the market in about five years. It would be effective against all strains of influenza A, would produce immunity for years, and is produced by cultured bacteria instead of using chicken eggs, so it will be fast and cheap to make!

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20987519-2,00.html

Where the gods dwell

http://www.photoglobe.info/earth_from_space/spc_mount_olympus.html

A hundred useful sites on the net

A few of these sites are specific to the UK, but the rest you should at least know about. Bookmark this page and click on a few links from time to time. Some of the sites, like Snopes, are just plain fun!

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1975939,00.htmlhttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve 2006 in Tokyo

Many shops put up shimekazari and posters saying "Kin ga shin nen" or "Gassho" (Happy New Year).

Kadomatsu (gate pines) are put near entrances to houses and businesses.

Light fades across the town.

The Moon at sunset.

The Sun sets behind Mount Fuji on the last day of the year.

The Sun sets and 2006 draws to a close.

"For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."

Middlemarch
Geroge Eliot

The Sun sets behind Mount Fuji, December 31, 2006

The Woman of the Island of the Blue Dolphin

San Nicholas Island is just 70 miles off the coast of Los Angeles.

The island had been inhabited for 8,000 years by native Americans, but by 1835, only one remained. She lived there alone, dressed only in cormorant feathers, for 18 years. The irony of the events will make you weep.

Read the story first, then watch the video.

http://www.latimes.com/features/la-os-island15jun15,1,1046257.story?page=1

This is why I just throw away my pillow every new year and buy another one

http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=2092092005

If you wanna have a good laugh...

Go to iTunes and look for "one hit wonders". I warn you, this will consume days of your time once you get started...

Don't miss the 3D Cosmic Collisions show at the American Museum of Natural History in New York

Don't miss the renovated Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New Yorkhttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif. The current show is Cosmic Collisions. The simulation of the formation of the Moon is spectacular. When you project a movie onto a curved screen, like a planetarium dome, your brain automatically turns it into 3D without the need for special glasses. I went to see it twice! Here is a preview. You can save the video clip by clicking on the small black triangle at the bottom right of the trailer window, and then you can see it full screen.

http://amnh.com/rose/spaceshow/cosmic/trailer.php

Suppose you were a nice, tasty octopus walking along the sea floor...

You could walk on two legs and pretend you are a coconut.

http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/9999/rolling.mpeg

You could walk like an Egyptian walking in multiple directions and pretend you are seaweed.

http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/9999/walking.mpeg

On Christmas eve, a hundred years ago...

The first wireless broadcast of entertainment was received by radio operators across the North and South Atlantic. Reginald Fessenden played O Holy Night on the violin and read a passage from the Bible, broadcasting from Brant Rock Massachusettes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Fessenden

What if, for a dollar, you could raise the IQ of a child by 10 to 15 points?

“For 5 cents per person per year, you can make the whole population smarter than before” --Dr. Gerald N. Burrow, former dean of the Yale Medical School

For want of 5 cents of iodine per person per year, two billion people, mostly in Asia, Europe (including Spain, France, Germany, and Italy), Africa, and Australia suffer from goiter, dwarfism, and mental retardation.

This is a good example of how a very minor tweaking that costs almost nothing can have a huge effect on the growing good of the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/16/health/16iodine.html

If the link does not work, go to www.nytimes.com and search for
"On the Brink: In Raising the World’s I.Q., the Secret’s in the Salt"

If you have to register, I highly recommend it. You will not receive spam, and you really should be able to read the New York Times online anyway.

The Sun Dagger

In Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, on the south side of Fajada Butte, there is the most astounding astronomical device I have ever seen.

Three large slabs of stone were positioned on the south side of the upper part of the Butte by the Anasazi more than 1,000 years ago.



Below the three slabs are two spiral markings on the rock face: a large spiral and a small spiral to the upper left.

On the first day of winter at noon, sunlight passing between the slabs is projected as a pair of daggers that move from above on either side of the large spiral.
On the first day of spring at noon, a large dagger of light passes through the large spiral and a small dagger of light passes through the small spiral.
On the first day of summer at noon, a single dagger of light passes through the middle of the large spiral.
On the first day of autumn at noon, again as in spring, a large dagger of light passes through the large spiral and a small dagger of light passes through the small spiral.
The degree to which the slabs would have to be formed and positioned in order for this to happen, by people without writing, is simply astonishing.

But that is not all! The Moon goes through a complicated 19-year cycle as it moves across the sky. Sometimes it rises and sets far in the southern and northern sky (called the major standstill), and sometimes it rises and sets nearer due east and west (called the minor standstill). When the Moon rises at Chaco Canyon at the major standstill, the edge of the moonlight touches just the left edge of the large spiral; when the Moon is at the minor standstill, the edge of the moonlight passes through the center of the spiral; and when the Moon is between these two extremes, the edge of the moonlight touches the right side of the large spiral! And there are 19 turns of the spiral!



So there you have it. On a single space at the top of a butte with a spectacular view of Chaco Canyon is the perfect meeting of the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, and Time.

You can see Fajada Butte from space at this site. Click on the + sign in the box in the upper left and you will move in closer and closer.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.018889,-107.909722&spn=0.1,0.1&t=k&q=36.018889,-107.909722

For a full explanation, see http://www.solsticeproject.org/lunarmark.htm


For a fascinating explanation of the discovery and how the device works, look for the documentary narrated by Robert Redford called "The Sun Dagger". Available online for about 12 dollars used from major online bookstores.

If you think you know how to blow bubbles...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I4VKj4d0WI

Ever have to move a table by yourself?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR931mtC3l4

Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota is apparently suffering from an arteriovenous malformation.

http://neuro.wehealny.org/endo/cond_arteriovenous.asp