Metousiosis

Another stunning launch from NASA; this morning saw one of the final two missions of the space shuttle Endeavor, which will deliver the Tranquility module to the International Space Station (STS-134, the final mission, is expected to launch in July).

From NASA:

Space shuttle Endeavour lights up the night sky as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station is the Tranquility node, a pressurized module that will provide additional room for crew members and many of the station’s life support and environmental control systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station’s exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. The module was built in Turin, Italy, by Thales Alenia Space for the European Space Agency.

Image Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

The following video from the New York Times helps to reveal the work that has been going on in Haiti to save lives in mist of the devastation.

From Vimeo:

The U.S. Navy struggles to get earthquake victims to the Comfort, a hospital ship, so they can be treated. Related Article: nyti.ms/d6ERzn

A new personal assistant application for the iPhone called Siri looks rather impressive. It appears as though it will combine several independent applications and could become an invaluable resource.

From Vimeo:

Siri is a virtual personal assistant on your phone. You ask Siri in your own voice, and it helps you get things done when you’re on the go. This video shows a demo of Siri helping plan a romantic evening, get tickets to a great movie, discover cool things to do on the weekend, and getting back home.

Enjoy and be safe!

FromYouTube:

This is the uncensored version, recorded live during the Super Bowl halftime show.

I love macro photography and the fact that it brings the miniscule aspects of life in our vision. The following is a perfect example of that; I love the tabs used to identify each element.

From Vimeo:

I recently bought me the MP-E 65mm and played with it a little bit. It’s a very special lens and you need a little bit of patience, but the results are breathtaking.

Judge away… (NSFW)

From YouTube:

Epic Super Mario Land Rap

This week, the Lancet retracted the originally published, now famous, paper by Andrew Wakefield that connected the MMR vaccine with Autism. Although there was been substantial skepticism over the decades, this presents a monumental discreditation to the vaccine-autism controversy that has been a major moment in the pseudo-science community. As stated by the BBC:

The medical journal which originally published the discredited research linking autism and MMR has now issued a full retraction of the paper.

The Lancet said it now accepted claims made by the researchers were “false”. It comes after Dr Andrew Wakefield, the lead researcher in the 1998 paper, was ruled last week to have broken research rules by the General Medical Council.

The publication caused vaccination rates to plummet, resulting in a rise in measles.

I came recently came across the following graffiti on the sidewalk in Cambridge, MA. Sorry it’s a little hard to read, but it says “Astronauts are Underrated”, which I think properly recognizes the monumental impact that the US space agency has had on our society. I can only hope that we continue to put people in space in order to better understand our solar system, universe, and our place within it.

I never understood the tradition of circumcision; it always struck me as the cruelest thing one could do to inflict such pain on an infant. Furthermore, it can cause serious and permanent bodily harm and mutilation. The following cartoon from Atheist Cartoons puts an provocative spin on the ritual.

Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality . Wake Up and Live!

- Robert Nesta Marley (a.k.a. Bob Marley; Happy Birthday!)

Not only do defense officials now support the right for LGBTs to serve openly in the military – lifting the don’t ask, don’t tell policy – but apparently the majority of Americans continue to support that right according to a recent Pew Poll as evident by the results given below. Although there is some significant opposition, the time appears to be ripe for this and will represent a substantial advance in civil rights towards equality.

Henry Rollins, from a 31Jan10 spoken word performance in Stockholm, on the value of curiosity and how thinking differently empowers the youth to manifest change. Just a small excerpt from his legendary 3 hour shows, which I will have the pleasure of seeing again in March in NYC, now for the sixth time.

From YouTube:

Here he’s talking about the Commencement address he gave at Sonoma State University in May of 2009.

These Polar Panoramas are really cool and appear to be a new meme in photoshop image manipulation. The method uses the Polar Coordinates filter and produces a panoramic image that resembles something like a planet as evident from the small collection given below. Here is the instructables tutorial; click through to enlarge or go to the Flickr gallery.

Manhattan Skyline polar Panorama 2 from . Athalfred .

Mt. Fairview – Polar Panorama from Jeff Howard

A river over the sky from ~jjjohn~

Le couvent des Ursulines from Mario Groleau Photographie

I recently went without the internet in my home for a little more than a week and was amazed at how much of its information and services I had taken for granted on a daily basis. For many of us in the United States, the internet is a critical aspect of our lives both at work and at home. However, many of us are unaware that even in the US there is a degree of censorship, which was recently highlighted by a Google search for Islam. Furthermore, some internet providers are seeking to restructure the internet-consumer relationship, which House bill HR3458 is intended on rebutting by calling for net neutrality; a petition to support that effort can be found at Save the Internet. The following video presents an informative overview of the current state of internet censorship around the world from Good Magazine. Do yourself a favor and discover what’s going on…

From YouTube:

Chances are, if youre reading this right now, you dont live in Yemen, Myanmar, or China. Internet censorship can take many forms, from restricting private internet access to blocking searches for politically volatile keywords. Exercise your internet freedom by taking a look at our latest Transparency.