Science is Hella-cool

It seems the proposal has been put forward to make the SI prefix for 10 to the 27th power “hella-”

I’m a little surprised that this wasn’t named already, I had just assumed that these prefixes were already named up to and far beyond what we would ever need to use. Granted, we haven’t found much use for 10^27 yet; it’s been almost twenty years since the previous (yotta-) was named.

There’s a facebook petition to convince the overlords (Système International – you know they’re the real Illuminati, right?) to add this to their vocabulary. With the force of thousands of high-schoolers and college students, they might just have to concede to the masses.

I can already envision bait-and-switch manoeuvres to lure in unsuspecting young recruits to science.

“Hella-big ridic all-ages edutainment nite! Off the rails, yo!”

It’ll so work.

MakeHellaOfficial Headquarters: http://www.makehellaofficial.blogspot.com/

Discover: Hella…yes!

Sign the petition here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Official-Petition-to-Establish-Hella-as-the-SI-Prefix-for-1027/277479937276

The 5 Second Rule - Expanded

For every rule, there are exceptions. Even something like the 5 second rule, which has saved many a spilled college student's dinner. Check it out:

Source:Audrey Fukman and Andy Wright

I like to advocate a realistic approach to bacteria in the world around us; while it’s probably not the best idea to eat a pound of soil (for several reasons), contact with non-pristine surfaces doesn’t necessarily make food irreversibly spoiled. In fact, researchers have shown that food may be okay after being left as long as 30 seconds on a cafeteria floor.

There’s lots of places you wouldn’t want to eat food off the ground (hospitals, barnyards, and daycares come to mind) but its possible that we’ve become so accustomed to clean environments, and grown so afraid of all bacteria that we’ve lost perspective on the world around us. Not that long ago the closest thing to a table available was a tree stump or rock. And no one wiped those down with Lysol first.

Cool Lipdub Video from UQÀM

I might be late to the game with this, as I got the tip-off from CBC, which in turn saw it from CNN, but it’s still cool. As part of the orientation at my neighbouring school, Université de Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), students put together a gigantic, 172-cast single-take uncut lipdub to the Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling. And now I have the song stuck in my head. Mazel tov.

The CBC National story said that it had 50 000 views. Now, an hour later, I look and it has 124 000 views – refresh the browser – 139 000 views*. Seems it’s not done gathering popularity.

This all reminded me of one I saw earlier this year, that no doubt had influence in inspiring the UQÀM students.

This one was from a school in Germany (Hochschule Furtwangen) and as far as I can tell, pioneered the idea. Their video and accompanying site solicited a whole string of responses at the time - http://universitylipdub.com/response-videos/. Check them out.

*I’ve preposted this – it’s bound to be even more by the time you read this
Update 02.10.09 – the view count is now 687,000. They seem poised to enter the internet Pantheon of viral videos, up there with “Charlie bit my finger” and the star wars kid. Give it time.

Arrr, ye salty dogs!

Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

So all ye buccaneers, scallywags, and marauders, let loose the inner scurvy-rattled plunderer on the world today.

Arrrrrrrrrrr.

His Noodly Likeness Graces Us

The Telegraph posted an image in mid-August of a crop circle, which it claims is supposed to be the likeness of Harry Potter’s owl, Hedwig.

I disagree. It is clearly a manifestation of His image, in geometric perfection, there to remind us that He is with us and that He loves us all.

On The Telegraph: Owl crop circle appears in Wiltshire field
Rogues Gallery: Crop Art

The Truth

In an awesome bit of Google-engineering, the truth is now the second-highest hit on Google (perhaps just in Canada?), topped only by Wikipedia.

 

I now have a new goal in life. To become the number one Google hit for Awesome.

I can do it. Because I’m awesome.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, see the Science Creative Quarterly’s Truth at :http://www.scq.ubc.ca/this-is-the-truth/

I don’t think Asimov’s Three Laws covered war crimes…

Given recent reports that robots may have sinister motivations behind their actions, it comes as little surprise that people have been a little bit nervous lately about anything mechanical that could potentially become one of the first round of Skynet-controlled killing machines.

  I’d prefer to avoid this if possible.

Thus, things hit the fan a while ago when it was revealed that a DARPA-funded program has built robots capable of generating energy from forage (read: leaf litter, twigs). Seems innocuous, right? Not if you’re FOX News. It seems someone caught on to the actual plan behind this to fuel the robots on casualties of war, because, you know, warfare hasn’t changed since the First World War, and there are all sorts of human casualties left lying around these days. Astonishingly, all through the development process, no one seemed to think this might be a problem, or violate international law. It’s a good thing FOX caught on to this all: Biomass-Eating Robot Is a vegetarian, Company Says

Hmm… well it seems FOX has changed their story. Strange, because FOX never gets things wrong….

Anyway. The initial reports prompted a (fantastic!) press release from the company going so far as to cite the Geneva conventions when it comes to desecration of the dead. The best line therein:

“We completely understand the public’s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that is not our mission,” stated Harry Schoell, Cyclone’s CEO.

Its good to know that someone is taking our entirely realistic concerns seriously.

 

Credit to Steve for mentioning this first. I’ve had this backburnered for a while now, and finally wrapped it up.

Stranger Than Eviction

If you’re bored and have a half hour to kill (you’re here, aren’t you? you must have some time to spare), read Gary, Landlord of the Flies (start at the end and read till the present, as the top post says. I haven’t laughed so hard in ages). The whole thing makes any housing-related issue I’ve dealt with in the past utterly insignificant. I don’t know how much can really be believed, but even if it is all fake, it’s hilarious.

Stranger Than Eviction: http://strangerthaneviction.tumblr.com/page/1

Email forwards and the art of panicking the masses

I had a chain email sent to me some time back now, not as a forward, but to check the facts. It was supposedly from Johns Hopkins University, spouted all sorts of medical nonsense about how our diets are killing us, and briefly shook my faith in humanity. I sent an email back explaining how some of what was written there just didn’t make sense from the scientific standpoint, provided a link to the Snopes.com article on the subject, and left it there, frustrated at the world.

The other day I saw an article that comments on this spam, and it goes through and breaks it down better than I ever could. Check out the smackdown, eloquently titled ZOMGCancer!!!!1111!!! at skepchick.org.

Random internet find for the day: Car-Baked Cookies

Car-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rationally, I know there’s really nothing wrong with it, but it just seems weird. I’m sure they’re fine to eat, but it seems that you would only do this once, to say your car gets hot enough to literally bake in.

Amusing? Yes.

Tasty? Very possibly.

Practical? Maybe if you don’t own an oven. And it’s the summer. And you have a potluck to go to that evening. And you have lots of spare cookie dough lying around…