Chasing comets with Rosetta

Rosetta, from the European Space Agency, is incredible. If you don’t know about the mission, the Rosetta craft was launched in 2004. It’s mission is to rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, in 2014. That kind of stuff always amazes me. They threw a dart at a target that was billions of kilometers, and ten years, away. And as of now, it looks like things are on target. Rosetta is in deep sleep for the coldest part of its journey, near Jupiter, but set to wake up in January.

To really appreciate it, you need to watch the video at the ESA website. It shows the path Rosetta has taken to get to where it is, complete with multiple gravity assists from Earth and Mars. They also detail some of the plans for what happens once the rendezvous is made. The idea of a craft traveling with, and on, a comet as it makes its closest pass of the Sun is the stuff of sci-fi. Apparently, the future is now. Or, at least in 2014.

Lost episodes of Doctor Who found in Nigeria

More Doctor Who is always a good thing. But that’s getting the cart ahead of the horse. The really interesting bit of this story is that it shows the crazy march of technology and entertainment. Can you imagine, for example, MGM just tossing out the old copies of Stargate SG-1, losing them forever? With today’s DVD, Blu-ray, Streaming, and Syndication of old television shows, that is just unthinkable. But that’s exactly what happened with Doctor Who at the BBC.

In the late 60s and early 70s a large amount of archived recordings were destroyed or wiped at the BBC tape and film libraries. Among those were over 100 episodes of Doctor Who. Slowly but surely, those missing episodes are being recovered as copies are found tucked away at remote stations in all parts of the world. Most recently, 11 episodes were recovered at a television relay station in Nigeria, bringing the total of missing episodes down to 97.

The latest discovery has allowed them to release two six episode stories, The Enemy Of The World and The Web of Fear, from the second Doctor’s run. Both are now available on iTunes. It’s great timing as the series is just over a month away from the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast. Here’s the trailer for The Enemy Of The World.

More fun with Google Maps

Let’s go to the Lamborghini museum! The Google Maps easter egg in London that let you walk inside the TARDIS was fun. But this completely blows it out of the water. It’s a similar exercise, but the execution is leaps and bounds beyond what we saw in that earlier example. Click here to go to the Lamborghini museum in Bologna. Rather, to go inside the musuem. This street view drops you inside the museum that is filled with classic and modern Lamorghinis. They even have the Estoque (pictured above), which was the four door Lamborghini concept. And, I would argue, the best looking car they have ever made. But that’s not all. Keep an eye out for cars with open doors. You can climb inside and get a 360° view of the interior.

HP and Google team up for Chromebook 11

The latest Chromebook looks like a winner. HP and Google worked together and came up with a super-bright IPS display, an ultra-portable weight of just 2.3 lbs, and a price point under $300. That last bit is especially interesting given that this new unit was based off of the very expensive Pixel. The rest of the specs, while not groundbreaking, look solid. You can see all the details at the official sites from HP and Google.

Oddly enough, the thing I am most excited about is the charger. Finally… someone did the most logical of things. The Chromebook used the same Micros USB charger as the majority of Android phones. Chances are, unless you are an iPhone user, you already have these scattered around your world. One at home, one at work, one in the car… One less dongle to wrangle is always a plus.

The Campagna T-Rex

Here’s a car that you don’t see every day. In fact, I’d never even heard of the Campagna T-Rex. It comes out of Quebec, and is a three wheeled bit of crazy based around the drivetrain from a BMW motorcycle. The fun comes from the fact that the 1.6 liter motor makes 160 HP and the T-Rex only weighs 1100 pounds. That’s not motorcycle level power-to-weight, but it’s a far sight better than you’ll find in most cars. Unfortunately, as you’ll see in this T-Rex review on Jalopnik,  it sounds like the fun never gives way to any sort of practicality, making the T-Rex kind of hard to live with. And given the price, something in the Atom or Caterham vein is probably going to be a better choice. Still, it’s always good to see someone trying something new.

Wildcat is coming to get you

Beware the rise of the machines! Do you ever have the experience where you look at something in our technology and you remember back to flashes of that in fiction, long before it became a reality? Gibson writing about cyberspace… Stephenson’s metaverse… the self driving cars of Total Recall… 2001’s video phone… There are loads of examples where fiction gets the future right. And that can be a horribly frightening thought.

Case in point, meet Wildcat. Surely you have run across a story (or a dozen) about computers/machines taking over the world and wiping out/enslaving humans. Wildcat is the foot soldier of our evil, mechanical, AI overlords. Look at that thing. And then imagine the self-driving technology/GPS/face recognition/NSA data mine/wirelessly networked possibilities. You can’t hide from Wildcat. Now would also be a good time to recall rat-thing from Snowcrash…

Admittedly, it’s totally possible that the machines don’t ever take over the world. A swing and a miss is a pretty regular thing in fiction. After all, we still don’t have those flying cars, there is no path to immortality, and our cities are still 100% zombie free. That being said, this is something to consider the next time you marvel at how powerful Siri or the Google voice search is. And if you still aren’t frightened by the possibilities of Wildcat, have a look at this video.

Is that a Huayra in your pocket?

The Pagani Huayra is an amazing car. 720 HP… active aerodynamics… a top speed of 231 mph… 0-60 in 3.3 seconds… quickest ever around the Top Gear test track. The numbers and details are just astounding. Then there is the key. The entire idea just boggles me. This is one of the most advanced vehicles in the world, and the key is this giant lump of aluminum that only gets worse when you actually use it. Given the technology of the modern supercar, I’d more likely expect it to be able to sense the unique chemical signature of the methane in your own personal exhaust to enable ignition than this pocket bulging monstrosity. Or, more realistically, perhaps NFC with your phone or some sort of biometrics. But this? Here is what it looks like in practice.

And here is a video with a look at the whole thing.

Dancers Among Us

Dancers. Dancing. In the everyday world. That is what we find at the heart of  Jordan Matter’s book of photography, Dancers Among Us. The project drops dancers, in mid-performance, into everyday situations. It’s a very simple idea, executed exceptionally well. And some of the results are amazing. I’ve picked four of my favorite images here. You can click them to see the full size versions. And if you like that, head over to the Dancers Among Us website for more. And while you are there, be sure to read the Artist’s Statement to learn how the project was inspired by Jordan’s son.

 

The magnificent multitude of beer

Do you like the beer? Then have a look at this. Even if you are not a beer aficionado, you likely have some idea of the craft brew industry. And you would probably reason that there are a lot of beers out there. But seeing a collection like this puts it in a whole new perspective. To get that perspective, click here to see the full-tilt-boogie version of the image. Unless you are a part of the barley literati or a hardcore labeorphile, there will be hundreds of names that are new to you. This amazing chart comes from the folks at Pop Chart Lab. It’s available as a 60×40 print, printed on 100lb archival recycled stock.

Al Gore was right!

Tornadoes in the northwest?! Either these are the end times, or there really is something to that idea of climate change. Personally, I’ve always operated under the idea that those of us in the pacific northwest had struck a deal with mother nature. We agree to live under the constant threat of destruction from volcanoes and earthquakes. And in return, we don’t get tornadoes! I like it that way. I’ve already had one volcano blow up on me (I was 20 miles north of Mt. St. Helens when it blew), which makes my odds of not doing that again pretty solid. But once you get the tornadoes… they just keep coming back. Tornadoes are the herpes of natural disasters.

Bonus! This page at boston.com has a nice collection of Mt St Helens photos.