Christopher A Carr › Likes

"Betelgeuse really is a big star. If placed at the center of our Solar System it would extend to the orbit of Jupiter. But like all stars except the Sun, Betelgeuse is so distant it usually appears as a single point of light, even in large telescopes. Still, astronomers using interferometry at infrared wavelengths can resolve the surface of Betelgeuse and reconstructed this image of the red supergiant. The intriguing picture shows two, large, bright, star spots. The spots potentially represent enormous convective cells rising from below the supergiant's surface. They are bright because they're hotter than the rest of the surface, but both spots and surface are cooler than the Sun. Also known as Alpha Orionis, Betelgeuse is about 600 light-years away." - Alexander Kruel from Bookmarklet

"That they processed aboard the enormous floating wildlife collection two-by-two is well known. Less familiar, however, is the possibility that the animals Noah shepherded on to his ark then went round and round inside. According to newly translated instructions inscribed in ancient Babylonian on a clay tablet telling the story of the ark, the vessel that saved one virtuous man, his family and the animals from god's watery wrath was not the pointy-prowed craft of popular imagination but rather a giant circular reed raft. The now battered tablet, aged about 3,700 years, was found somewhere in the Middle East by Leonard Simmons, a largely self-educated Londoner who indulged his passion for history while serving in the RAF from 1945 to 1948." - Eivind from Bookmarklet

"Finkel's research throws light on the familiar Mesopotamian story, which became the account in Genesis, in the Old Testament, of Noah and the ark that saved his menagerie from the waters which drowned every other living thing on earth. In his translation, the god who has decided to spare one just man speaks to Atram-Hasis, a Sumerian king who lived before the flood and who is the Noah... more... - Eivind

"Marvell has a new smartbook design on display here with its Armada 510 processor under the hood, and it's one of the skinniest we've seen yet. What's more surprising, however, is that the device is actually built pretty well, and we even enjoyed the classic-style keyboard spread across its 12.1-inch expanse. The unit was built by an unnamed ODM who is currently shopping it around to manufacturers (or perhaps someone's bitten already, who knows), and we're getting a ballpark $200 pricepoint and a promise of about 4 hours of battery life with regular use. Apparently the big trend with these low-power ARM processor-based laptops is to trim down on battery size and therefore cost, and so we'll have to see where the market settles on preferred batter life: 4 hours might be too few, but at $200 it's surely tempting. The machine runs full Ubuntu plenty well, including 720p movies, and we were even digging the screen brightness and color -- basically, if Marvell's partners can get this on... more... - chaz2b from Bookmarklet

"The hot and humid weather in Cebu had me craving for this cold and spicy concoction---Jellyfish Salad. I had this salad as an appetizer at Big Mao, a Chinese restaurant at Ayala Center. I loved the combination of textures in this cold salad---crunchy jellyfish and creamy century egg, with an added crunch of sesame seeds sprinkled on top." - imabonehead from Bookmarklet

I'm down for most flavours of Chinese cuisine, and am gradually appreciating more textures, but the preserved eggs? No way. - Andrew C

The jellyfish itself has no taste and it has a rubbery texture. What gives it a nice flavor is the dressing on it. - imabonehead

"A comet has been captured by NASA being 'eaten' as it flies too close to the sun. The space agency's solar-focused agency - Solar and Helioscopic Observatory (SOHO) - captured footage of the Kreutz Sungrazer as it made its fateful approach." - Kurt Starnes from Bookmarklet

Thanks to friend Tim Elwell for the heads-up on this comet's death! - Kurt Starnes

Haha. That's my primary destination. - Rochelle

Ain't nothing wrong with being from California. :-P - Spidra Webster

This is not just a commercial anouncement. TV is desperatly seeking for changes. Past year was for questions. Next is: adaptability. - Véronique Rabuteau

Please say that animates by changing the focus depth. - Andy Bakun

Very nice! - Rene Wirtz

Avatar brain cell - Josh Haley

"The Kepler Space Telescope, a designated planet-hunting satellite, has found its first five planets, among them an odd, massive world only as dense as Styrofoam. The number of planets now known outside the solar system has risen to more than 400, but none is yet Earth-like enough to harbor life. Right now, Kepler can only detect large planets orbiting close to their stars, which means that these first planets are too hot to hold liquid water, a requirement for life as we know it. But over the next year, the mission’s scientists will be homing in on ever more life-friendly places. “We expected Jupiter-size planets in short orbits to be the first planets Kepler could detect,” said Jon Morse, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA in a release. “It’s only a matter of time before more Kepler observations lead to smaller planets with longer period orbits, coming closer and closer to the discovery of the first Earth analog.”" - Jeffrey Marsh from Bookmarklet

Chinese startup to show e-book entry at CES http://www.eetimes.com/news... - chaz2b

How do you know this? - Derrick

Oh snap! - Derrick

My soapbox Http://www.victusspiritus.com/ - Mark Essel from email

"...such simple niceties as artificially grown teeth..." - Liz Y-S

"Why is there something rather than nothing? What was the origin of the universe? What is the future of the universe? Is the universe finite or infinite? Is our universe the only logically possible universe? Are there other universes? What is the relationship between life and the universe?" - Alexander Kruel from Bookmarklet

I'M AWESOME. - Mo Kargas

Real opinion: I agree... good radiates like warmth and sunshine. - SAM

Japanese people eat buckwheat noodles on New Year's Eve. This custom dates back to around the Edo period (17-19th century). - Keiko Yamada

Ho mangiato ora! oishikattaaaa ;) - Keiko Yamada

iyoiyo kotoshi mo nokori wazuka desuyo! Tokio...at 11:16 pm. - Keiko Yamada

"Saleem Sinai, the first person narrator of Midnight’s Children (Random House), was born in the very moment of India’s independence in 1947. The conceit of the book is that he, and other children born in that first hour, have astonishing magical superheroic powers. The story is bound up with Indian independence, not just after 1947 but before—the story of how Saleem’s parents meet is one of the best bits—and how Saleem’s telepathic powers are at first a blessing and later a curse. What makes it great is the immense enthusiasm of the story and the language in which it is written. It isn’t Rushdie’s first novel, that would be the odd and openly science fictional Grimus. But it has the kind of energy and vitality that a lot of first novels have. Rushdie’s later novels are more technically accomplished but they’re also much drier. Midnight’s Children is a book it’s easy to sink into. And the prose is astonishing..." - Derrick from Bookmarklet

Jason: Midnight's Children is consider by most people a much easier read than Satanic Verses. - Christopher A Carr

I like having a bajillion things and a game open at once, if you couldn't tell. - Jon, the Beartato of '10

This is why the Android modding community rocks. #N1rootedbitches - Adrian from Bookmarklet

Or maybe they will just stop bothering to lock users out in the first place and make sudo support the default ... (*thinks wishfully*) - Andrew Perry

:( - Rodfather

*big hugs* - Michelle Martinez from iPod

YES. - cysko

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: This song is going to get bumped daily (probably more than once per 24 hour period) for the next 10 days. Sweet Baby Jesus thanks you for your cooperation and understanding. - Adrian

Here's a bump. - Christopher A Carr

"Diabetics may soon be able to wear contact lenses that continuously alert them to variations in their glucose levels by changing colours - replacing the need to routinely draw blood throughout the day. The non-invasive technology uses extremely small nanoparticles embedded into the hydrogel lenses." - groovylife from Bookmarklet

The non-invasive technology, developed by Chemical and Biochemical Engineering professor Jin Zhang at The University of Western Ontario, uses extremely small nanoparticles embedded into the hydrogel lenses. These engineered nanoparticles react with glucose molecules found in tears, causing a chemical reaction that changes their colour. - groovylife

"Forget the fruitcake and nix the nog. In Texas, it wouldn't be Christmas without tamales. While shoppers from Washington to Maine swarmed the malls the day after Thanksgiving, many Texans were lining up to order — or make — Christmas Eve tamales. The corn masa-and-meat bundles — individually wrapped in corn husks and then steamed — are part of the traditional Mexican celebration of las posadas, which commemorates Mary and Joseph's search for shelter before the birth of Jesus. Rhett Rushing, folklorist at San Antonio's Institute of Texan Cultures, said tamales have been traditional Christmas Eve fare for centuries because they're portable, easy to store and inexpensive to make for large gatherings." - Michelle Martinez from Bookmarklet

I just picked up 2 dozen tamales. - Greg Guitarbuster