Could the Universe be a Gigantic Brain Cell?

Found on the web:

"One is only micrometers wide. The other is billions of light years across. One shows neurons in a mouse brain. The other is a simulated image of the universe. Together they suggest the surprisingly similar patterns found in vastly different phenomena."

Picture

Singapore Airlines

Here is a video of the really spacious lounges and private beds in the A380 of Singapore Airlines. I wonder if Singapore Airlines does Austin <=> Paris :-)

Take your gun to work

...in case there is another robbery, from the latest Onion edition:

Infographic

April 16, 2008 | Issue 44•16

Florida Legalizes Taking Guns To Work

Florida legislators passed a bill allowing citizens to bring their guns to work. Here are some of the other pro-gun laws enacted recently.

Alaska—Members of endangered species now permitted to carry concealed firearms for self-protection

Louisiana—Now legal for residents to shoot at hurricanes

Minnesota—Any resident may fire a single shot every five years, or when Vikings win

Idaho—You can have a gun, or a grenade, but not both

Virginia—Non-gun-owning residents must apply for a permit to not own and operate a firearm

New York—Guest stars on Law & Order may bring their own guns to the set

Kansas—Children as young as 8 can bring guns to school on the condition that there's no funny business

Texas—That huge cattle gun used by Javier Bardem's character in No Country For Old Men now legally available at Fiesta Mart grocery stores

The Adventures of Gordon Killemal

My friend Dylan is a writer (Daily Texan for example). He just put up the first installment of "The Adventures of Gordon Killemal" in response to the armed robbery at RLM last week and the discussion about carrying concealed guns that ensued on our gradlist. Enjoy!!

Crazy Traffic in Shanghai

Surfer-Physicist's Unified Theory Leads to Fame, Backlash

Everyone's probably already seen this, but I thought it was appropriate for the blog.

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/02/ted_lisi

GFZ

Hey Andreas, this is for you!

Down and dirty

Mar 6th 2008
From The Economist print edition

Energy: If geothermal energy, which exploits underground heat reserves, is to become widespread, it will have to work outside volcanic areas

IN THE world of environmental activism there is a good rule of thumb. If an energy source comes out of the ground, it is probably bad (think coal, oil, natural gas and, in the view of many, uranium). If it does not, then it is probably good (think wind, wave and solar power). But there is an exception. Even the most hair-shirted environmentalist finds it hard to argue against geothermal energy. When what comes out of the ground is merely hot water or steam there is, as it were, little to get steamed up about.

The problem is that traditional geothermal power relies on volcanism. That is fine if you live in Iceland or New Zealand. But it is not so good in a geologically passive place such as Germany. Which is why Wulf Brandt, of the National Research Centre of Geosciences in Potsdam, has dug a deep hole in the ground at Gross Schönebeck, near Berlin .... (read more)

see what happens when you work at night...

"To all IFS and FRC staff, students, and scientists:

About 9 p.m. last night, a physics grad student on the 12th floor of the RLM building was robbed by a man wearing a mask and carrying a gun, who entered his unlocked office. UT police came and investigated afterwards..."

What can you accomplish in one week of web 2.0 ?

Obvious thought about Social media on Read Write Web:

"Let's be honest here: we're all a bunch of social media addicts. We're junkies. Whether it's a new Twitter app, a new Facebook feature, or a new social anything service, we're all over it. But we may not be the norm. The truth is, being involved in social media takes time, something that most people don't have a lot of. So how can regular folk get involved with social media? And how much time does it really take?"