Albert Einstein’s letter to a little girl who wanted be a scientist

From the delightful Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein’s Letters to and from Children comes the following exchange between Einstein and a bright, witty South African girl named Tyfanny, who reminded Einstein of his own granddaughter and with whom he exchanged several letters despite being at the height of his career and cultural prominence.

In a letter dated September 19, 1946, Tyfanny writes:

I forgot to tell you, in my last letter, that I was a girl. I mean I am a girl. I have always regretted this a great deal, but by now I have become more or less resigned to the fact. Anyway, I hate dresses and dances and all the kind of rot girls usually like. I much prefer horses and riding. Long ago, before I wanted to become a scientist, I wanted to be a jockey and ride horses in races. But that was ages ago, now. I hope you will not think any the less of me for being a girl!

Sometime between September and October 1946 — a snappy response time by the day’s standards — Einstein replies:

I do not mind that you are a girl, but the main thing is that you yourself do not mind. There is no reason for it.

 

Source: Brain Pickings – Women in Science: Einstein’s Advice to a Little Girl Who Wants to Be a Scientist

 

 

Continue reading “Albert Einstein’s letter to a little girl who wanted be a scientist”

In the United Kingdom texting is now more popular than making phone calls

People in the UK are now more likely to text than to make a phone call, according to new research from Ofcom.

While 58% of people communicated via texts on a daily basis in 2011, only 47% made a daily mobile call, said the country’s communications industry regulator.

It said the shift away from traditional ways of keeping in touch was being led by young people aged 16-24.

The average UK consumer now sends 50 texts per week while fewer calls are being made on both fixed and mobile phones.

For the first time, there was a fall in the volume of mobile calls – by just over 1% – in 2011, while landline calls were down by 10%.

 

Source: BBC – Texting overtakes talking in UK, says Ofcom study

 

 

Continue reading “In the United Kingdom texting is now more popular than making phone calls”

Adventure playground is open! – mud slide, rafting, fort building, rope bridge

The kids will get dirty.

At this Central Park adventure, kids will hammer, saw wood, make forts, push themselves around in the shallow water on a raft and do all sorts of climbing, jumping and whatever they choose. Kids can raft on a small pond, navigate a rope bridge, use a cable slide, go down a mud slide and more. Bring a spare change of clothing, a plastic bag to put the wet clothes in and close-toed shoes for safety.

Parents will not be allowed to tell the kids, “Don’t get dirty.” Sorry mom or dad. The dirt is what this is about and you must just butt out!

This summer-fun event is held annually. Adventure Playground runs mid-June through mid-August. This experience is suitable for kids six to twelve years old. It is only open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday. Adult supervision is provided and a small fee is charged. For information and group reservations, phone (714) 842-7442.

Location: Huntington Central Park, 7111 Talbert Avenue , Huntington Beach, California.

 

A google user: “I loved going here when I was younger. Tons of fun!! The rafts and the mudslide were cool and the tree house building area was my favorite! I recommend it.”

 

Source: Beach California, City of Huntington Beach

 

 

Continue reading “Adventure playground is open! – mud slide, rafting, fort building, rope bridge”

Astronomers discover a close new planet – covered in oceans of magma

In a surprise find, astronomers have discovered a planet possibly covered with oceans of magma “right around the corner.”

Thirty-three light years away, “we have a sub-Earth-sized planet that’s slightly larger than Mars and essentially right around the corner, at least on a cosmic scale,” said Kevin Stevenson, a planetary scientist now at the University of Chicago

UCF-1.01 is about 5,200 miles (8,400 kilometers) wide, making about a quarter the volume of Earth. And with a year that lasts only 1.4 Earth days, the new planet’s orbit takes UCF-1.01 searingly close to its star.

“It could be a thousand degrees Fahrenheit [540 degrees Celsius]. That may be hot enough to make an ocean of molten rock.”

Researchers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope essentially stumbled upon the new planet while studying a hot, Neptune-size planet called GJ 436b.

 

Learn more: National Geographic – New Planet Found: Molten “Mars” Is “Right Around the Corner”

 

 

Continue reading “Astronomers discover a close new planet – covered in oceans of magma”

Retro Star Wars Art

 

Continue reading “Retro Star Wars Art”

Ikea adds smartphone apps and augmented reality to its newest catalog

Ikea prints 211 million copies of its product catalog every year. That’s more than 20 times the population of Sweden, the home of the build-it-yourself furniture empire. These are impressive numbers for a print catalog in a digital world, but Ikea is now changing with the times with a head-first dive into augmented reality.

“A lot digital stuff becomes very interesting when you mash it up with the tangible items of the real world,” said Andreas Dahlqvist, Global Deputy Chief Creative Officer of McCann, the creative agency behind the catalog.

Augmented reality features will roll out in the 2013 edition of the print catalog, which will arrive in customers’ mailboxes later this month. Amid pictures of Expedit bookshelves and Boksel tables, Ikea fans will see special printed symbols, each an invite to launch new iPhone and Android smartphone apps for an augmented reality experience.

When you wave your smartphone over pages with digital content, a variety of features appear.

 

Source: Wired Gadget Lab – Ikea’s Augmented Reality Catalog Will Let You Peek Inside Furniture

 

 

Continue reading “Ikea adds smartphone apps and augmented reality to its newest catalog”

Apple Campus II – 3,600 jobs and the big push into Austin, Texas

Pushing ahead with plans to invest $304 million in Austin, Texas, Apple has secured a deal for three large patches of land adjacent to its existing campus, which — when developed — will expand its presence in the area and result in the creation of more than 3,600 jobs.

The State of Texas offered Apple an investment of $21 million over ten years via its Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF), followed by an $8.6 million grant investment from the City of Austin.

As part of its City deal, Apple would need to invest $56.5 million in new facilities and equipment by the end of 2015, with an additional $226 million investment coming by the end of 2021.

 

Source: The Next Web – Apple closes deal to expand Austin campus, moves ahead with $304 million Texas investment

 

 

Continue reading “Apple Campus II – 3,600 jobs and the big push into Austin, Texas”

What do old men really do at night?

Nike Commercial – Magic Soccer Night

 

 

What do old men really do at night?

Written, Directed, Produced by Paul Wie (vimeo.com/paulwie)
Produced and Edited by Peter Yun
Co-Produced by Jason Lee
Music by Robert Litton
Director of Photography: Chris Saul

 

 

I think I saw this the other day, very early morning where 4 guys were playing doubles tennis. They could barely hit the ball but were acting like it was the Wimbledon finals. It was so mesmerizing I secretly watched for 15 minutes.

High-tech archaeologist uses radar, thermal-imagery, & UAV’s to explore sacred sites

Many Mongolians consider the tomb (of Genghis Khan) an extremely sacred place and believe any desecration of it could trigger a curse that would end the world.

“Using traditional archeological methods would be disrespectful to believers,” Albert Yu-Min Lin says. “The ability to explore in a noninvasive way lets us try to solve this ancient secret without overstepping cultural barriers.

Lin investigates sites with a high-tech tool kit that leverages photographs taken firsthand on the ground, images gathered from satellites and unmanned aircraft, GPS tracks from expeditions, and geophysical instruments. “There are many ways to look under the ground without having to touch it,” he observes. Thermal-imaging systems show what lies below by detecting heat signals and patterns emitted from the Earth. Magnetometry uses the Earth’s magnetic field to pinpoint subterranean clues as microscopic as bacteria in decaying wood. Ground-penetrating radar bounces back images revealing subsurface objects or disturbances. Tiny remote wireless sensors collect data from places no human can go.

“These new approaches could benefit all kinds of projects, from gaining a whole new view of regions like Mongolia to tracking animal migrations to mapping the brain,” notes Lin. “The real trick is synthesizing the vast amounts of information we collect into something that can be understood. My colleagues and I use visualization techniques to sort, relate, and cross-link billions of individual data bits. We program it all into a file that allows us to re-render it into a digital 3-D world.”

 

Keep reading to learn how they cast that data into a 3-D room that you can move around in and explore the archaeology site – National Geographic – Albert Yu-Min Lin

 

 

Continue reading “High-tech archaeologist uses radar, thermal-imagery, & UAV’s to explore sacred sites”

The end of ownership for DVDs – say goodbye to your DVD collection

I feel like this is one of those big moments that sputters into life – the end of ownership. At least, when it comes to DVDs.

This happened to music a few years back…I mean, who still thinks of owning music with CDs?

With Blu-ray sales slotted to decline in the next few years, the future is owning digital copies of movies not DVDs.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the ownership economy. So many people love their DVD collections, just as people loved their VHS collection and CD collections.

But, storing 20-30 digital movies can take up all your hard drive space, especially for high definition flicks. Whereas, keeping a few thousand songs on your computer didn’t hurt that much.

I bet there will be a race to super-size hard drives (especially on laptops) and build a business around movies in the cloud.

Like Apple is currently doing:

 

Apple adds 20th Century Fox movies to iTunes in the Cloud, all major studios now on board

Apple and Twentieth Century Fox have reportedly come to an agreement that will finally make the studio’s films available via iTunes in the Cloud. When Apple made movies a cornerstone of the cloud-based initiative (which lets customers redownload previous purchases) earlier this year, the company only had deals in place with four of the “big six” studios — Universal and Fox were the holdouts. It didn’t take long for Universal to sign on and add its films to iTunes in the Cloud, but apparently Apple needed more time to hammer out a viable solution with Fox.

Now we’re able to confirm that Twentieth Century Fox titles no longer carry a warning that they won’t be available from iTunes in the Cloud following purchase. You’re free to delete them from your PC/Mac or iOS device and redownload at will, and the same movies can also be streamed from an Apple TV.

 

Source: The Verge

 

Continue reading “The end of ownership for DVDs – say goodbye to your DVD collection”