Monday, December 23, 2013

The Amazing Snow Art Of Simon Beck : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2013/12/16/251615317/the-amazing-snow-art-of-simon-beck?live=1&utm_content=socialflow&utm_campaign=nprfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook

The Amazing Snow Art Of Simon Beck

Culture

The artist stands above one of his creations. i i

hide captionThe artist stands above one of his creations.

Courtesy of Simon Beck

As a good portion of the country grapples with snow, here's a fresh way to think about those accumulating — and sometimes aggravating — inches of pure whiteness: as art canvas. That's how Simon Beck sees them.

High in the French Alps, this English artist walks on snowshoes for miles, sometimes for 10 hours at a time, to create huge, intricate patterns in the snow. As this five-minute video shows, the results are breath-taking.

YouTube

I love Beck's blending of art and landscape. "The mountains improve the artwork," he says. "And the artwork improves the mountains."

Barbara's most recent book is How Animals Grieve. You can keep up with what she is thinking on Twitter: @bjkingape


I bet he's in great shape....
~A.
Posted by at No comments:

open note to S.O. et al....

Hello, fearless leader (S.O.) and all who choose to roam here...

I offer this article and idea to support rapid awareness and collaborative activism using (your) recommended resources. The article I'm referring to may be familiar material, but it suggests ongoing, heavy research and corporate involvement that the public (especially your ever-expanding public) should be able and encouraged to weigh in on.

bill-gates-climate-scientists-geoengineering 
(this is from theguardian.com/environment/2012/feb/06)

Consider: Crowd-sourcing an investigation into the relationships; causal and otherwise, indicated between questionable geo-engineering projects (such as those mentioned in the article) to take advantage for instance, of the great new multi-level wind maps recently made publicly available in real time, Plus harnessing your encyclopedic trove of public data links. The lower atmosphere maps have been an amazing source of insight to me, but until I read this article after listening to your recent forum citing several areas of related criticality, I hadn’t put the two together. i.e.. correlating reports this way, on every active upper air dispersal. radar, quake, spot, flare, comet, shield, melt, uber-weather, melt-down, war, red-tide, el nino, sighting, contact, crop circle, navajo prediction, regime change, beaching, Volcano, the list goes on… you get it. However, the atmospheric data just came online.

reference: EyeWire (http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/blog/2012/coloring-book ) is designed to fill in the blanks for a huge medical research project involving neural mapping related to autism. Some Body made it into a game/coloring book and its a hot app, like doodling for science, saving wazoo funding and  involving a wide swath of otherwise clueless potential victims, including kids, to participate in real, useful, science.  Yes, there is now a network to map because they exploited the relationships: sample their research and beat them to a conclusion. This seems like a great way to get them to look up.

I’ll stay brief, you’re busy, thanks for catching this.  I know it could be structured. Up to now, I've just been observing, suspiciously. So, S.O., now what? over the top, been there-done that? I just wondered…and feel free to throw it out... there.

~Adrienne
from: adentex.blogspot.com/2013/12/glyphosate-testing-moms-across-america.html

sorry if this should have been a forum thing,
 ...and Thank You and all Observers* for paying attention.

*see  http://www.suspicious0bservers.org

Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Why You May Never Want to Eat Shrimp Again

http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/18/never-want-to-eat-shrimp-again/

Y. U. C. K.

~A.
Posted by at No comments:

ThunderboltsProject - YouTube

http://m.youtube.com/user/ThunderboltsProject
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, December 19, 2013

A Map of How Educated the United States Is by County

http://gizmodo.com/americas-educational-achievement-mapped-1486344148?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_facebook&utm_source=gizmodo_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

A Map of How Educated the United States Is by County

A Map of How Educated the United States Is by County

How does academic achievement vary across the US? While stereotypes and prejudices invariably exist, the only way to the answer that question is with some cold, hard data. Here it is.

Thanks to the Census Bureau's new interactive data-mapping tool, Atlantic has taken a look at how educational achievement varies across the country. Above is a map showing the percentage of adults over 25 who have either earned a high school diploma or finished an equivalency program across each county of each state. The darker the region, the higher the graduation rate. The pale streak stretching from the Mason Dixon line through to Texas is affectionately referred to as the "Southern dropout belt".

There's also a map, below, which maps the concentration of people with Bachelor's degrees. Obviously, there's a massive concentration on the east coast, in major urban centers, and in Colorado. Nationally, 31 percent of American adults have a bachelor's degree—but across many counties actually fewer than one in five graduated from college. Interesting.

A Map of How Educated the United States Is by County12

A Map of How Educated the United States Is by County

Also? Way to go, Colorado. You're a real beacon for the midwest.

[Census Explorer via Atlantic]



~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Shapeways Partners with the Museum of Arts & Design for a 3D Printing Experience - Shapeways Blog on 3D Printing News & Innovation

So close and yet so far.....

Shapeways Partners with the Museum of Arts & Design for a 3D Printing Experience

Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) is the first in-depth museum survey dedicated to exploring the impact of computer-assisted methods of production on contemporary art, architecture, and design. Shapeways is partnering with MAD for the exhibition and will host 'OUT OF HAND/HANDS ON,' an educational and interactive space on the Museum's second floor where visitors will be able to experience 3D design and printing firsthand.


Opening in conjunction with the exhibition curated by Ron Labaco on October 16th and running through April 2014, the 'OUT OF HAND/HANDS ON' space will include a series of interactive 3D apps for visitors to create their own 3D models, on site 3D scanning, and 3D printing in a range of materials. Shapeways' 'Designers in Residence' working in the gallery will also be available to demonstrate 3D modeling techniques and tools used to create objects like those in the exhibition.  

Interactive 3D apps will deepen audiences' understanding of the 3D design process and make it easy for those with limited 3D design skills to create or modify a 3D model. Applications will rotate over time including work by LIFT Architects, Nervous System, Rhinoceros, Uformia and more.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to be 3D scanned with help from Occiptal Labs and 3D printed into mini figurines by an in-house high resolution Formlabs 3D printer or in any of the 30+ materials currently available on Shapeways.

Shapeways 'Designers in Residence' creating designs for 3D printing in the 'OUT OF HAND/HANDS ON' interactive space will be available to discuss their use of digital fabrication with exhibition visitors. Designers in Residence reflect the range of creatives represented in the exhibition and include artists, architects, industrial designers and programmers who use 3D printing in their practice. 

Shapeways will also be collaborating with the Museum of Arts and Design on a series of lectures and master classes, ranging from basic overviews of 3D printing to targeted classes for artists, designers, and architects to gain a deeper understanding of how they can engage with 3D printing. For more information on classes and timing visit MAD's website. Additional classes will be added on a regular basis.

Shapeways MAD Out of Hand

The Museum of Arts and Design explores the value of making across all fields of contemporary creative practice. The Museum focuses on the ways in which artists and designers transform the world around us, through processes ranging from the artisanal to the digital. MAD's exhibition program is dedicated to creativity and craftsmanship, and demonstrates the limitless potential of materials and techniques when used by gifted and innovative artists. The Museum's permanent collection is global in scope and includes art, craft, and design from 1950 to the present day. At the center of the Museum's mission is education. The Museum houses classrooms and studios for master classes, seminars, and workshops for students, families, and adults. 



~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Shapeways Body Scans at the MAD in NYC - Shapeways Blog on 3D Printing News & Innovation

http://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/2322-Shapeways-Body-Scans-at-the-MAD-in-NYC.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sw-email-1&utm_campaign=121813&utm_content=b01&ca=email&ct=121813&cr=b01

Shapeways Body Scans at the MAD in NYC

Shapeways Scans is a gallery of visitors 3D Scanned at the Out of Hand/Hands On interactive space at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in NYC.

Come in and get 3D scanned at MAD then have a miniature figurine printed at 10cm high in Full Color, Nylon or Stainless Steel, or 5cm high in Bronze, Sterling Silver, Brass or Gold Plated Brass by Shapeways.

This Thursday we are hosting a Meetup at MAD where you can come in on their 'Pay what you wish' night so you can check out the AMAZING exhibition and maybe get yourself scanned like Colby Keller did? 

Check out the slideshow of some of the images from the exhibition.

The Out of Hand exhibition will run until June 1st 2014 at Columbus Circle in New York City.

Shapeways Thanks EOS, Occipital, Formlabs, Rhinoceros, LIFT Architects & RUSH Design for their support.



~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes: home style baked onion rings

http://sundaymorningbananapancakes.yummly.com/2011/08/home-style-baked-onion-rings.html

home style baked onion rings

DSC00147

cravings for me come out of no where - like driving down the road heading back from joseph & the technicolor dream coat play that your friend was in , dreaming about ice cold beer & onion rings.

i couldn't stop thinking about onion rings - crispy, chewy, crunchy.

yep. that would describe the perfect ring. 

DSC00064_edited-1

i am not a huge fan of frying

frying = messy stove + eminent danger of burning ones finger + fatty food

when you think about it, onion rings are pretty simple. you just need to figure out if you are a thick, medium or thin cut kinda girl (or boy!)

a few ingredients and you are on your way to a mighty tasty partner for a veggie burger

onion + flax eggs + seasoned flour + almond buttermilk + breadcrumbs = oniony bliss


DSC00085_edited-1DSC00095_edited-1
slice your onions
then give them a bath in the almond buttermilk
DSC00100_edited-1

set up your coating station & prepare for messy, gunky fingers

note to self: not the best time to be taking photos

DSC00117

line em' up on an olive oil drizzled pan - onions, they like to be orderly

spray them with olive oil or baking spray


bake them in a 400* preheated oven for 12 minutes

(you may need to check at the 10 minute mark to see if the undersides are golden brown)

flip em'

bake the other side - 2nd verse same as the first

DSC00135DSC00134
 
i prefer to serve my onion rings with my own special tasty sauce - for some reason
ketchup doesn't quite cut it
super simple, super easy. super tasty onion rings
that are actually good for you!

Home Style Baked Onion Rings

serves 2

you will need:

for the onion rings

  • 1/2 cup almond milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice

  • 1/2 cup flour + S & P

  • 1 cup bread crumbs

  • 2 flax eggs ( 1 "egg" = 1tbsp ground flax + 3tbsp warm water)

  • 1 medium to large onion

  • olive oil or baking spray

for the special sauce

  • 2tbsp veganaise

  • 2tsp ketchup

  • 6 dashes hot sauce

  • 1tsp garlic granules

assembly:

onion rings

  • combine almond milk & lemon juice in a medium bowl- allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the milk begins to curdle a bit

  • in another medium bowl combine flax & water to make your flax "eggs" (none vegans substitute 2 eggs)

  • set out 2 plates - using one of the plates make yourself a breadcrumb station. with the other plate, combine the flour, s & p

  • slice your onion to the desired thickness (if you like a thicker onion rings you may need 2 onions)

  • separate your slices into individual rings

  • add to the "buttermilk"

  • prepare your dipping stations: buttermilk, seasoned flour, flax eggs, breadcrumbs

  • working through each station: dip, dredge, dunk & coat- starting with milk & ending with breadcrumbs

  • on a olive oil drizzled baking sheet line your onion rings up

  • coat the top with olive oil or baking spray/spritz

  • bake in a 400* oven, turning over after 12 minutes (checking for golden goodness at 10), then baking for approximately another 10-12 minutes until both sides are golden

  • serve immediately

special sauce

  • combine all ingredients in a bowl

Enjoy!




~A.
Posted by at No comments:

21 December 2013 Issue Contents - New Scientist

http://www.newscientist.com/issue/current

21 December 2013 Issue Contents - New Scientist

New Scientist magazine - 21 December 2013


~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Glyphosate Testing - Moms Across America

http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/glyphosate_testing

Glyphosate Testing

Moms all across America have tried to take care for their children by requesting to have their children's urine tested for glyphosate and their doctors have said they cannot do the tests. They have asked labs directly to do the glyphosate tests on urine and they have said no. American Moms have not been able to test their own children or their own urine  for the most widely used chemical pesticide on the planet..until now.

We have found a USDA certified USA lab that is willing to test urine and water for glyphosate! Test will be offered to MAA supporters at a reduced rate from $145.00 each down to $90.00 each from now until Jan 31st 2014 due to the volumn expected. Moms Across America does not receive any financial gain from any transaction connected with this lab what so ever. We simply want Moms to be able to care for their families knowing all the infomation they can.

1. Please go to their website and scroll down to the last link on the left. "Request Quote". Click there, scroll down and fill out the form.

2. In " How did you hear about us?" write "Moms Across America" and you will get the discount

3. In "Comments" include your name, address and request for "1 water and 1 urine tests for glyphosate" or whatever quantity you would like.

4. They will call you to collect payment by credit card and send you a kit to fill out.

5. Please also fill out the form that will come with the kit and return it with your sample to allow Moms Across America to publish the test results without your personal identiy. This information will be useful to empower millions to better care for their children and families as well as your own.

You may also call the lab directly Microbe Inotech Laboratories, Inc.  (314) 645-2177 x104

 If you share this information, please share the link to this page and not just the lab website, as they will not know where to go or what to do on the lab website. Thank you.  http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/glyphosate_testing

If you get glyphosate testing done please add an X next to the town or neighboring town on this document.

Thank you for your partnership in health and freedom in America!

Moms Across America



~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Coloring book — SFARI.org - Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative


http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/blog/2012/coloring-book

Coloring book

Daniel Berger

Brain game: An online game called EyeWire allows players to help reconstruct neurons in the retina.

The quest to map the mind will be a long and rewarding journey. We are taking the first step with EyeWire — an online community of citizen scientists working together to revolutionize neuroscience by mapping connections between the brain's neurons.

Neuroscientists have long speculated that the properties of your mind, from memories to mental disorders, are encoded in your unique pattern of neural connections. Having access to connection maps, or connectomes, would finally reveal whether such speculations are correct.

EyeWire's first target is to map the retina, a compact and beautifully organized structure at the back of the eye. With this map, we will begin to discover how the retina helps us perceive the visual world. The results may have practical impacts as well, for example by aiding the development of treatments for blindness.

Mapping neural connections turns out to very time-consuming, so we've tried to make it fun. EyeWire is a relaxing yet challenging game in which players color three-dimensional (3D) images of the retina. (The coloring book itself is created from electron microscopy images of slices of retinal tissue, which are computationally stitched together into a 3D block.)

If we all play together, we will make the retina the first neural circuit mapped by an online community.

Today is a big day for EyeWire. 'J-Day' kicked off a campaign to map the connections of the J cell, a type of neuron in the retina. The story of the J cell began in 2008, when a Harvard University team of researchers genetically engineered a mouse in which one type of neuron in the retina fluoresces. (See this spectacular image of the result.) The neurons were named 'J cells' because they contain a molecule called JAM-B.  

J cells are easily recognizable by their distinctive shape: Their dendrites — long fingers that connect to other cells — point downward along the retina, rather than extending in all directions around the cell body. The researchers also found that J cells become active when presented with visual stimuli that move downward on the retina (upward in the world).

It's still not clear how that happens, and this question is part of a classic problem in neuroscience for the past 50 years: How do brains perceive visual motion?

The goal of the J campaign is to map a neural circuit that extends from the photoreceptors, which sense light, to the J cells, which detect motion. Once we map some J cells, EyeWire will focus on identifying the types of neurons that are directly connected to J cells. This will be important for understanding how the circuit functions.

If it is successful, the same approach could be used to study animal models of specific diseases. We could explore, for example, how knocking out autism-related genes affects neural circuits.

Many have speculated that autism is caused by a connectopathy, some abnormal pattern of neural connectivity. We would like to mobilize the public to search for a connectopathy in some mouse model of autism. At this early stage, we welcome suggestions from the autism community about our scientific plan.  

Please join us to revolutionize neuroscience. This is just the beginning of the most exciting adventure of our time: the quest to map the brain's connections.

Sebastian Seung is professor of computational neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are.


~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Forces for Good (book) - Bag The Web

Forces for Good (book)

Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant spent four years surveying thousands of nonprofit CEOs, conducting hundreds of interviews, and studying 12 high-impact nonprofits to uncover their secrets to success.

nine article list of key themes..
Posted by at No comments:

The Dragonfly Effect - Bag The Web

The Dragonfly Effect

Named for the only insect able to move in any direction when its four wings are working in concert, The Dragonfly Effect reveals how everyday people achieve unprecedented results through harnessing the incredible power of social media.

http://www.bagtheweb.com/b/xX3nZM

~A.
Posted by at No comments:

21st Century Learning Resource Guide - Bag The Web

...here's a fantastic 21st Century Learning Resource Guide including education thought leaders Tony Wagner, Sir Ken Robinson, Carol Dweck, Arthur Benjamin, Salman Khan, Dan Meyer, and others. Enjoy!!
http://www.bagtheweb.com/b/bo4ZIP

~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Fractal Software : FractalFoundation.org

http://fractalfoundation.org/resources/fractal-software/

Fractal Software

We believe that the best way to learn about fractals is to explore them yourself! Please download the fractal software below and begin to explore the infinite realm of fractals.

XaoS for Windows | XaoS for Mac OS X | Instructions for XaoS | XaoS Open Source Project
This is the dazzling Real-Time Zoomer featured in our presentations. Explore the Mandelbrot set and 23 other fractals. Used by children everywhere, it's even simple enough for adults. Free!

Mandelbulber | Mandelbulb3D
If you're ready to explore 3D fractals like the Mandelbulb and Mandelbox, here are two great free programs that will open up infinite worlds. The first one may be a little more powerful and possibly a bit faster, but the second one is a little easier to use. I love them both! And they're both Free!

Ultra Fractal
When you are ready for more power, Ultra Fractal is an awesome, professional package that supports animation, arbitrarily deep fractals, and extremely high resolution.

XenoDream
This is a complex and powerful 3D modeling program that makes fractals really well. A professional program, it supports animation as well as high resolution rendering.

Electric Sheep
This is an incredible evolving collaborative fractal screen saver project. Download the screensaver (for Mac, PC or linux) and let your computer help create some of the most beautiful fractal animations anywhere. Interact with it by voting on your favorite sheep, and help contribute to the fractal evolution! Free!

Videator
This incredible realtime video manipulation software allows the user to do all sorts of fun and beautiful live video effects, and best of all it is integrated with XaoS, the fractal zoomer, so you can blend yourself and your friends into the infinite fractal landscapes…

Fractal Grower
An interactive Java applet by UNM professor Joel Castellanos, that allows you to virtually grow 'plants' and other similar fractal shapes, by repeating a simple geometric operation. Lots of fun. Free!

Google Earth
The magnificent free program that allows you to explore anywhere on Earth. Zoom in to discover natural fractals such as mountains, rivers and coastlines. (Coming soon: custom KMZ layers showing a special collection of natural fractals on the Earth.) Free!



~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Baking With Splenda Releases Cancer-Causing Chemicals | EcoWatch

http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/11/baking-splenda-cancer-chemical/

Baking With Splenda Releases Cancer-Causing Chemicals

The synthetic sweetener sucralose, which is sold under the brand name Splenda, releases cancer-causing dioxins in food when baked or heated, says a in-depth study review recently published in the journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health.

Cooking with sucralose at high temperatures was reported to generate chloropropanols, a potentially toxic class of chemicals that may be linked to a higher risk of cancer, the review says.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Photo credit: Shutterstock

The study also disputes earlier studies cited by Splenda manufacturer McNeil Nutritionals that sucralose passes through the digestive tract unchanged. The study suggests instead that some of the ingested sweetener is metabolized. The health effects, if any, of the metabolization is unknown, the study says.

In rats, sucralose alters the microbial composition in the digestive tract, with a high reduction in beneficial bacteria necessary for digestion.

"Taken together, these findings indicate that sucralose is not a biologically inert compound," the study says.

Earlier this year, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) downgraded sucralose in its Chemical Cuisine guide to food additives. CSPI had long rated sucralose as safe, but demoted it to the "caution" category pending a review of an unpublished study by an independent Italian laboratory that found that the sweetener caused leukemia in mice. The only previous long-term feeding studies in animals were conducted by the McNeil Nutritionals.

Sucralose was approved in the U.S. in 1998. The sweetener is a synthetic chemical made by chemically reacting sugar (sucrose) with chlorine, according to CSPI. 

CSPI warns that artificial sweeteners are being used more frequently without disclosure on front labels and urges consumers to read ingredient lists carefully.

Visit EcoWatch's FOOD page for more related news on this topic.


~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Yippee!!!: GMO 'Suicide Seeds' On Edge of Approval in Brazil

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/breaking-news-gmo-suicide-seeds-edge-approval-brazil

BREAKING NEWS: GMO 'Suicide Seeds' On Edge of Approval in Brazil

BREAKING NEWS: GMO 'Suicide Seeds' On Edge of Approval in Brazil

News Release
10 December 2013
ETC Group 

After promising on World Food Day (October 16) to block legislation that would legalize the planting of Terminator seeds in Brazil, the country's Judicial Commission is set to approve suicide seeds as a Christmas gift to Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta.

Intense internal and external pressure in mid-October forced the Brazilian Congress to pull back from adopting pro-Terminator legislation, and the Judicial Commission's Chair pledged never to allow legislation while at his post. Now, the same chair will entertain a motion Wednesday to accept Terminator seeds, making Brazil the first country in the world to defy a 13-year-old UN moratorium on the use of the technology. "If the Commission passes the bill this week," says Centro Ecológico's Maria José Guazzelli, "the Congress could make it law after it reconvenes in February. While most of Brazil is celebrating a Christmas birth, the seed multinationals will be celebrating the death of the 10,000-year right of farmers to save seeds."

If the bill is passed this week (the Judicial Commission meets Wednesday and Thursday), ETC Group expects the Brazilian government to take a series of incremental steps that will orchestrate the collapse of the 193-country consensus moratorium when the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meets for its biennial conference in Korea in October 2014:

First, the government will announce that adoption by the Judicial Commission does not necessarily mean adoption by the Congress. Next, the government will announce that it will limit, through regulation, the application of Terminator technologies to special circumstances and repeat its long-standing support of the UN moratorium. Later, the government will agree that Terminator seeds can be used on GM trees to prevent widespread contamination in the Amazon. This will be described as an environmentally beneficial initiative, disguising the intent to allow the Amazon's biodiversity to be replaced with GM tree plantations.

Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta – all of whom have pledged to never sell Terminator seeds to farmers – will express their sympathy for the government's difficult situation regarding the spread of GM tree pollen and agree to act responsibly. Although the 3 companies that control 54% of global commercial seed sales all have a stable of Terminator patents, they will move cautiously to multiply Terminator seeds and prepare them for market over the next 2-3 years.

Continue to Page 2



~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Most Popular Windows Downloads and Posts of 2013

http://lifehacker.com/most-popular-windows-downloads-and-posts-of-2013-1478269903?utm_campaign=socialflow_lifehacker_facebook&utm_source=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Too much to include here...
~A.
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, December 09, 2013

Ison is doing fine, NASA not helping...

Posted by at No comments:

The BEST FULL 4 Hours Tai Chi Tutorial for Beginners

Posted by at No comments: