A nice & heated snake shaped rug

“A handknotted snake shaped rug, hides a cable that heats up, warming a cold floor. Buttons on the side make it possible to fix the snake in different positions.”

5 Insane space travel ideas that just might work

This whole space travel thing has gotten pretty boring ever since we landed on the moon. We can't make it to another planet and none of our ships have lasers. What the hell is the point?

But there were some incredibly awesome technologies that never made it off the drawing board. All because we didn't have the foresight, there wasn't enough funding, and they sounded like they were made up by a kindergartner.

CONTINUED AT -CRACKED- .

Also see our poll results on:

-WILL HUMANITY EVER MIGRATE ACROSS THE GALAXY?-

What Legacy Will Humans Leave In The Rocks?

What will be the lasting impression made by mankind - 100 million years hence? Jan Zalasiewicz, a lecturer in geology at the University of Leicester, has published a new book looking at the lasting impression likely to be made by mankind.

-FULL ARTICLE-

Do We Live in a Giant Cosmic Bubble?

If the notion of dark energy sounds improbable, get ready for an even more outlandish suggestion.

Earth may be trapped in an abnormal bubble of space-time that is particularly void of matter. Scientists say this condition could account for the apparent acceleration of the universe's expansion, for which dark energy currently is the leading explanation.

-FULL ARTICLE CONTINUED-

Dark Energy: Is It Merely An Illusion?

The problem facing astrophysicists is that they have to explain why the universe appears to be expanding at an ever increasing rate. The most popular explanation is that some sort of force is pushing the accelerating the universe's expansion. That force is generally attributed to a mysterious dark energy.

-FULL ARTICLE-

Crystal Cave of Wonders

Located in Chihuahua, Mexico is the largest known crystal cave in the world. Known as the Giant Cave of Crystals, this mystical place of wonder contains crystals of selenite (gypsum) that have grown to nearly 50 feet tall, and weighing nearly 55 tons. Within the Naica mountains nearly 1,000 feet down, are these pockets of giant crystals.

-GALLERY CONTINUED-

I Am Beautiful Too: Slime Mold Rehabilitated

Slime and mold are two words guaranteed to send a shiver down many a spine. However, plasmodial slime molds, fungus - like organisms with about eight hundred and fifty species worldwide - possess a strange beauty that you might not expect. Come and take a look at a few, thanks to some exquisite macro photography. You may never look at slime mold in the same light again.

Full gallery at -SCIENCERAY- .

Bat would gather data from sights, sounds, smells

A six-inch robotic spy plane modeled after a bat would gather data from sights, sounds and smells in urban combat zones and transmit information back to a soldier in real time.

That's the US Army's concept, and it has awarded the University of Michigan College of Engineering a five-year, $10-million grant to help make it happen.

Ride the (sound) wave

Melted records on wooden armature

5.2 ft h x 9 ft w x 10.25 ft d

Installation at Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York

Records were melted and sculpted to form a cascading wave, dotted with bursts of colorful labels. The resulting structure speaks to the inevitable waves of technology that render each successive generation of recordable media obsolete. The piece also aims to physically manifest the ephemerality of music as well as one man’s musical tastes, as represented by his personal record collection.

-LINK SOURCE-

The more things change...

...the more they stay the same. JVC's pyramidal Video Capsule TV (1974) displayed alongside Jonathan Ive's iconic iMac G4 (2002).

-LINK-

Behold the Dead Star...

Dead Star is made from residual battery at the end of their duty. Left to itself, the sculpture will slowly cool down since there is no longer electronic activity taking place in it. The hundreds of batteries were once used to power appliances before they finish their cycle in a recycle facility. Retrieve from death, they were assembled again in this whole structure.

-LINK-

The Art of Cowboys and Killer Robots

In 2003, artist Sunny Buick conceived and curated SCI-FI Western, an exhibition of art inspired by both science fiction and the American frontier. Taking the analogy of space as the new Old West to the next level, the participating artists juxtaposed B-movie imagery from westerns and science fiction with bizarre and surprisingly poignant results.

See more at -i09- .

The Bittersweet Art Of Cutting Up Books

-COMPLETE GALLERY-

See also: -AMAZING THINGS TO CREATE W/ PAPER- .

High-Tech Earth Houses

Here we have Earth House Estate Lättenstrasse located in Dietikon, Switzerland designed by Swiss architect Vetsch Architektur. The main intention of building an earth house is not as a comparison to traditional residential houses built on the ground but: 'Not to live under or in the ground, but with it.' Though these look like a modern design of hobbit house, but these incorporate the latest interior furnishings, such as contemporary kitchens, bathrooms and house-control systems. These modern earth-houses are quite flexible constructions which can be built according to the wishes of its owners, fulfilling the requirement for individuality, environmentally friendly construction and energy saving. 'Earth houses by Vetsch are based on the interpretation of an environmentally conscious, ecological and progressive architecture.'

-SEE MORE HERE-

Interesting bookshelf designs

Continued at -CROOKED BRAINS- .

Stunning visualizations of science

It's a feast for the eyes: the winners of the 2008 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge have been announced.

-SEE FULL GALLERY OF WINNING IMAGES-

Inspirational message of the day...

Mysterious New 'Dark Flow' Discovered in Space

As if the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy weren't vexing enough, another baffling cosmic puzzle has been discovered. Patches of matter in the universe seem to be moving at very high speeds and in a uniform direction that can't be explained by any of the known gravitational forces in the observable universe. Astronomers are calling the phenomenon "dark flow."

Continued at -SPACE.COM- .

45 million year old yeast orders another round

Trapped inside a Lebanese weevil covered in ancient Burmese amber, a tiny colony of bacteria and yeast has lain dormant for up to 45 million years. A decade ago Raul Cano, now a scientist at the California Polytechnic State University, drilled a tiny hole into the amber and extracted more than 2,000 different kinds of microscopic creatures.

-ARTICLE CONTINUED-

SEE ALSO:
-AMBER: ANCIENT TREASURE THAT GREW ON TREES-

A 100 Tesla magnet for space launches

Why would anyone need a magnet that strong? Greg Boebinger, director of the Magnet Lab, says that this magnetic field strength is the only way to test the properties of newly discovered high-temperature superconductors like iron oxyarsenide, which may improve the performance of MRI machines and high-voltage power lines while lowering their cost. A 100‑T magnet would also let you conduct certain zero-gravity experiments without traveling into space and let you develop magnetic propulsion systems that could eventually replace those that burn rocket fuel.

-THE STRONGEST MAGNET EVER CREATED-

40 years yet....

.... This is still one of the coolest designs for an electric car!

Keith Chapman writes, "Electric cars are a subject of increasing interest lately. But, of course, they aren't all that new - work was going on long ago to try to get a modern electric car into consumers' hands.

Way back in 1968, the long-defunct American Motors company showed an interesting prototype called the Amitron. Besides being, in my ever-humble opinion, one of the cooler-looking electric prototypes I have seen, it also had some interesting claims and features."

Continued at: -RETROTHING- .

Together again for the last time...

How's this for a truly awesome photo? Shown in the foreground is Space Shuttle Atlantis on Launch Pad A. The shuttle in the background is Endeavour, on Launch Pad B. Currently, both shuttles are locked and loaded for launch, should something go wrong up in space with the October 11 Atlantis mission.

As Tom explains over at his Astronomy Blog, having two shuttles on the pad at the same time is rare, but it is not a cause for concern. When the ISS is not available for rescue purposes, as it might not be for this mission, a second shuttle is made ready for a quick launch. What is sobering, however, is this image is potentially the last of its kind. The space shuttle program is scheduled for retirement in 2010, leaving little chance for similar shuttle family photos in the future.

-SOURCE-

Companies joining to push music on memory cards

Just as vinyl once gave way to compact discs as the main physical medium for music, could CDs be replaced now by a fingernail-sized memory card?

-FULL ARTICLE-

----------

(Better hope there isn't a strong breeze, or there goes your 'Misfits' and Iggy Pop collection right out the window! People will be losing these things like contact lenses, unless of course they have an RFID reader, in which case you can always find them if they get lost in the shag carpet.)

To survive, tiger moths are bright for birds, click for bats

THE VIRGIN TIGER MOTH, Grammia virgo, has evolved warning signals to remind predators of its noxious taste. It is conspicuously colored to deter birds during the day and sound producing to deter bats at night.

-SOURCE-

SEE ALSO: -THE 10 DEADLIEST INSECTS-

Scientists create world's thinnest balloon, just 1 atom thick

Scientists have developed the world's thinnest balloon that is impermeable to even the smallest gas molecules. Above is a multi-layer graphene membrane that could be used in various applications, including filters and sensors. And unlike your average party balloon -- or even a thick, sturdy glass container -- the membrane is ultra-strong, leak-proof and impermeable to even nimble helium atoms.

Continued at -PHYSORG-

Stephen King's epic 'The Stand' comes to comics

Marvel Comics is swimming in adaptations these days, and it's not being stingy with the graphics, either. Underwire landed a few panels of eye candy from its latest revision, The Stand: Captain Trips, for your viewing pleasure.

Full Article with more Sneak Peaks at -WIRED- .

Following the success of the beautifully illustrated
-THE GUNSLINGER BORN- .

Be the life of the party w/ the Evolution Mobile Bar

Just because you're heading out into the wilderness, or to a party at the local teetotaller's house, doesn't mean you have to limit your adult beverage selection to sucking down a six-pack of Bud. The Evolution Mobile Bar looks like it could have been a left over prop from Transformers, folding open to become a fully equipped bar. When it's folded, there's still plenty of room for everything from glasses, napkins, ice, and olives, to the booze itself. Just don't try folding it up without help after the party, especially if you've been imbibing a bit too much yourself.

-SOURCE-

Smart Desks Make Sci-fi A Reality In The Classroom

Schools are set for a Star Trek make-over thanks to the development of the world's first interactive classroom by experts at Durham University.

Researchers at the Technology-Enhanced Learning Research Group (TEL) are designing new learning environments using interactive multi-touch desks that look and act like a large version of an Apple iPhone.

Full Article at -SCIENCE DAILY- .

The Last House Standing

Supposedly not photo-shopped. The only house left standing after Hurricane Ike hit. Warren and Pam Adams lost a house to Hurricane Rita in 2005, so it seems they'd be relieved to learn their new home withstood Hurricane Ike. But not when their house is the only one still standing in their section of Gilchrist, Texas.

More images -CONTINUED HERE-

A -CNN ARTICLE- on the house that defies nature.

StarCAVE Is a Real "Danger Room"

The room—the third and by far best generation of the "Cave Automated Virtual Environment" pioneered in Chicago in the early 1990s—is pentagon shaped. Each wall has three panels, the top and bottom of which are angled 15 degrees inward for an immersive (and slightly Roddenberry-esque) experience. Each individual panel gets two of its own 2K-resolution (2048 x 1536) projectors, providing a discrete experience for each eye when viewing in 3D. Even the floor gets a pair of projectors. The effect is a better-than-HD view—the equivalent of 20/40 vision—anywhere you turn.

Article Continued at -GIZMODO-

Barcode, by Vitruvius

For the city of St. Petersburg the Russian office Vitruvius & Sons - I am not joking - designed a building called ‘Shtrikh Kod’: Barcode. As the iconography suggests the building houses… shops, shops and shops.

-BARCODE BUILDINGS FOR THE FUTURE-

10 Incredible Mud Structures and Citadels

Dijinguere Ber Mosque, in Timbuktu, was built to resemble a pyramid as its creator Mansa Musa had not long returned from Egypt and wanted to build something to remind him of the country. It was constructed bewteen the years 1324 and 1327.

See all 10 -AT LINK-

Hubble Snaps Rare Aligned Galaxies

A distant blob in space long thought to be a single object is actually two galaxies in rare alignment, a newly released image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals. The larger background galaxy seen above is 780 million light-years away and roughly the size of the Milky Way. The foreground galaxy, seen with a core of bright white, is about ten times smaller. Together they have been named 2MASX J00482185-2507365.

Continued at -NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC-

Only $21,862.50!!!

Scare Factory's DINO200 Animated T-Rex Skeleton stands 13 feet high and 25 feet long. This over-the-top Halloween prop will set you back $21,862.50 when bundled with its 4 foot high museum stand. In return, you'll receive an anatomically correct T-Rex skeleton that roars and moves... just like the original did back when it wasn't dead and fossilized.

-BUY YOURS TODAY!- and be the envy of your fellow homeless friends!

Obligatory Muppet Joke

Could inner zombie be controlling your brain?

If you had to sum up the past 40 years of research on the mind, you could do worse than to call it the Rise of the Zombies.

We like to see ourselves as being completely conscious of our thought processes, of how we feel, of the decisions we make and our reasons for making them. When we act, it is our conscious selves doing the acting. But starting in the late 1960s, psychologists and neurologists began to find evidence that our self-aware part is not always in charge. Researchers discovered that we are deeply influenced by perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and desires about which we have no awareness.

Their research raised the disturbing possibility that much of what we think and do is thought and done by an unconscious part of the brain — an inner zombie.

-ARTICLE CONTINUED-

Scientists Find Black Hole 'Missing Link'

Scientists at Durham University have found the "missing link" between small and super-massive black holes. "Scientists have been looking for such behaviour for the past 20 years and our discovery helps us begin to understand more about the activity around such black holes as they grow." -FULL ARTICLE CONTINUED-

And be sure to check out the massive -BLACK HOLE ARCHIVE- from Upsidebackwards.info.

Life and Decay simply explained...

-FISH & FLUSH-

(another) 5 extremely cool research facilities

Solar Furnace, Odeillo, France

Built in 1969, this brilliantly shiny oddity is the 8-storey high odeillo solar furnace in france: at present the largest on the planet. The 63 smaller mirrors on the hillside reflect the sun onto the huge parabolic reflector you see in the photos, this in turn reflecting the solar radiation very precisely onto a point just 18 metres in front of the parabola. Using this method, temperatures can reach an unbelievably hot 3400°C. The incredible amount of heat generated by the furnace is used for research in many areas including high temperature solar engineering (advanced solar power systems, solar chemistry, etc.), photo-physics and chemistry applied physics.

Be sure to check out -PART I- and -PART II- in this series.

'Ant from Mars' discovered in Amazon rainforest

New species of blind, subterranean, predatory ant, Martialis heureka, was discovered in the Amazon.

They call it the "ant from Mars", a living member of the earliest representatives of the ants.

-ARTICLE CONTINUED HERE-

Cars in Space

Lunar Worm roving vehicle concept... seriously.

Obviously the design criteria for four wheeled vehicles are somewhat different on other planets. This has yielded some of the most bizarre and fascinating vehicles ever proposed, from the giant Mobility Test Article test driven by Wernher von Braun to today’s rovers which have ditched the most expensive component of all, the driver.

Here are a variety of some of both classic and unusual space rovers from prototype to flown.

See all 21 Space Cars -AT LINK- .

Snapshot of a Planet Beyond the Solar System

The image is possibly the first of an extrasolar planet orbiting a normal star, but some of its features counter current thinking.

-FULL ARTICLE-

Another recent article of semi-related news...
-IMMIGRANT SUN: OUR STAR COULD BE FAR FROM WHERE IT STARTED IN THE MILKY WAY-

Ancient vomit and other record-breaking wonders

Tucked away in the corner of the bustling third-floor offices of Guinness World Records, you will find a fossilized sampling of the world's oldest vomit.

Dating back some 160 million years, it shares a modest glass case with other record-breaking curiosities of the Guinness universe. For example, the size 29 running shoes, which were once the property of actor Matthew McGrory who had the largest feet of any living person. There's also a model of Toronto's CN Tower which, the last time Guinness's zealous researchers checked, was still the tallest of its kind in the world. And, of course, there's a copy of the biggest selling copyright book in history, which just happens to be the Guinness Book of World Records.

In the age of the Internet, this fact-packed compilation of the curious, the awesome and the incredible continues to make publishing history.

-ARTICLE CONTINUED-

The Roots of Science Fiction goes back Centuries

Science Fiction came of age in the 19th Century under the talents of writers like Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells. But before these authors stands a long history of proto-science fiction tales, replete with voyages to the moon, socially and technologically advanced civilizations, and visions of the future. We've delved into our scifi roots and found some of the surprisingly forward-looking works from poets, mathematicians, politicians, and philosophers that predate the year 1800.

-ARTICLE CONTINUED-

Scientists claim they will grow tree-homes in a decade

Humans may one day be returning to the forests to live in ecological homes grown from tree roots.

Scientists from the U.S and Israel have proposed building the ingenious 'tree-homes' in cities and towns as a way of saving the planet.

Using the advanced techniques of airoponics, where plants are grown without soil, the green-fingered researchers are confident the first prototype home could be ready in just ten years.

-ARTICLE CONTINUED-

Visit the official company website at -PLANTWARE-

The Astonishing Eggs of Alien Nations

We are not alone. There are alien nations among us and they are breeding, numbering in their billions. However, don’t be too alarmed as they are generally tiny and evolved on our little blue planet. They have not after all, arrived from some galaxy far far away. Their eggs come in a variety of shapes and sizes and reflect the diversity of their countless species. Here, thanks to some wonderful macrophotography, are the eggs of some of the insects with which we share the planet earth.

-FULL ARTICLE-

Internet is fostering disinformation, says web's creator

The internet risks becoming a platform for cults, rumour and disinformation, according to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with creating the web.

He said that a new system needed to be put in place that would differentiate between reliable websites that use trusted sources and those that do not.

"On the web, the thinking of cults can spread very rapidly and suddenly a cult which was 12 people who had some deep personal issues suddenly find a formula which is very believable," he told the BBC.

"A sort of conspiracy theory of sorts and which you can imagine spreading to thousands of people and being deeply damaging."

-SOURCE-

========

Because of course, you can only be considered "reliable" and "trustworthy" if you're a mainstream corporate news agency, right?

Pink Floyd founder & keyboardist Richard Wright dead at 65

Pink Floyd founder and keyboard player Richard Wright has died from cancer aged 65.
-FULL ARTICLE-

-RICHARD WRIGHT IN PICTURES-

Feels like old times...

I once was -HERE- a long time ago, then I moved -HERE- and now I'm back... What am I going to do with you little monkey?