Awesome project using mirrors, cameras and programming. The mirrors "chat amongst themselves" until something catches their eye, then as an audience they all track that thing until they become disinterested and either track something else or go back to talking to each other. Make sure to check out the videos. I would love to be involved with something like this.

Okay, this is just nuts. This guy was having trouble with a hand tremor caused by a brain problem. While they have his head cut open, he plays the banjo so they can make sure they have the right spot on the brain. Like a weird episode of House or something. Make sure to watch the video. Just crazy.

They somehow remove the head of a dog and keep the dog alive for a while by pumping blood through it. No telling how much pain the dog is in (if any) but it still responds to external stimulus like noise and touch. I don't think it could bark though. Sad, but still interesting.

Just a quick followup to a previous post.

This is not the Two Envelopes Problem that I am familiar with, but still a good one overall. Say you have an adversary. The adversary has two envelopes and in each envelop writes a number. It can be any kind of number as long as its real. You get to open on of the envelopes and see the number that is written, and then you must guess if the other envelope contains a number larger or smaller than the one you opened. Is there any strategy that you can employ to raise your probability of winning to better than half? Think about the answer for a while and then click the link above to see his solution.

For all of your uber-geeky graph paper needs, PDF Paper allows you to get a PDF that you can print out to make just about any kind of graph paper, calendar, flag, whatever you need. It may not be the most economical way but where else can you get 5mm Isometric graph paper?

Nifty little service that will let you put in your cell phone number, a date and time and message and it will send you that message when you scheduled it for. A lot easier than tying a string around your finger to forget what the string was for.

Disclaimer: I have not yet used this service and cannot vouch for it. I am only listing it here because of the idea not the service itself. If you do use it though, let us know how it went in the comments.

The French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand is bringing his work to NYC in May 2009. Beautiful photography from the air, some of these views are unlike any other. Some of his website is in French but it is still worth checking out just for the pictures. There are many books of his work out there and he also had a TV Show apparently. (Video here). The first link is probably the best place to start with large views of his work. Via Kottke

From the site:

A tiny asteroid discovered just hours ago at an Arizona observatory will enter Earth's atmosphere harmlessly at approximately 10:46 p.m. Eastern time tonight (2:46 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time). There is no danger to people or property since the asteroid will not reach the ground. It is between 3 and 15 feet (1-5 m) in diameter and will burn up in the upper atmosphere, well above aircraft heights. A brilliant fireball will be visible as a result.

Apparently, it did happen last night. This marks the first time that we have recognized that an asteroid this small was going to hit the earth before it did, which is quite an achievement. Although it was only about 12 hours notice, its something to build on.

UPDATE: Looks like its been picked up by a few other places: Slashdot, CNN and NASA

I am sure this is written in flex; It is a very compelling layered photo editor. Lots of brushes, lots of options. And it seems pretty snappy considering what it all it does. Its not going to replace photoshop for any serious users, but for the casual user, yeah, I think it would.

I haven't had a chance to see the video of this yet but basically think about a flinstone's car only using your hands in a rowing motion instead of the callous inducing running. Pretty neat stuff.

Brought to you from the ministry of the obvious, Wired does a piece telling you what you already know. Sci-Fi has a healthy dose of the "Fi". I watched the movie for the first time last night and was really impressed. It seemed remarkably well done. If you haven't seen it, skip the Wired article till you do, but its worth your couple of hours.

On a side note, the software and tech (not related to the suit directly except for that awesome HUD) featured a very prominent role in the film as well. Some scenes heavy on the "minority report" type effects, but all well done. If anyone knows of any discussions about the software around the internets please let me know.

Using software to show proportions of countries based on things other than land size. I have seen this somewhere else before but still quite interesting. If anyone has any other links related to this please let me know. The housing prices map is particularly interesting in today's economy.

An article about a girl with what seems to be some sort of platelet issue keeping her blood from clotting.

Twinkle Dwivedi, 13, has a strange disorder which means she loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched.

She has even undergone transfusions after pints of it seeped through her eyes, nose, hairline, neck and the soles of her feet.

Sometimes her condition is so bad she wakes up with her entire body covered in dried blood.

The picture with the article is quite striking. Especially since it gets the point across without being completely disgusting.