Friday Links!
Leading off, here's a fantastic link from Dave Alpern: famous buskers. Buskers are basically street performers/musicians, and you'd be astonished by the names on the list, including Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and Neil Young.Here's a wonderful link from Skip Key about a DARPA projectto help amputees, and here's an excerpt:
The latest addition to the Wii-hab phenomenon is perhaps its coolest—Air Guitar Hero. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have made the popular Guitar Hero game into a tool for amputees who are being fitted with the next generation of artificial arms. With a few electrodes and some very powerful algorithms, amputees can hit all the notes of Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” using only the electrical signals from their residual muscles.
That is awesome in about a hundred different ways.
Here's a link from Sean that you could (literally) spend a month on: the museum of online museums. And another excellent link, to an article about enforced method acting (situations where the actor isn't told what's about to happen, or is deceived in some way).
Chuck Klosterman wrote one of the most interesting reviews I've ever read. The album is Chinese Democracy, but that's almost incidental to the quality of the writing. Read it here.
John D'Angelo sent in a link to a stunning series of photos of the International Space Station. John also sent in a link to the Heavens Above website, and here's his description of what it does:
If anyone is interested in finding out when they can see the ISS or any other satellite as it passes over where they live, here is a great site. I highly recommend using the "Select from Map" feature to pinpoint your viewing location. Since the brightness of the Iridium flares (one of the most amazing satellites to see besides the ISS) can vary wildly by a few miles, the more accurate you set your viewing location the more accurate the sky map you get from the website. No telescope/binoculars required.
It's the latest YouTube craze: shrimp on a treadmill.
I think I'll just call this link why you should reconsider that career as a professional drag boat racer. Go down about ten pictures to get to one of the most amazing sequences of photographs that I've ever seen.
From Mike Martin, a story about an automotive classic, if by "classic" you mean the worst car ever made: it's the end of the road for the Yugo.
From Cliff Eyler, a link to an absolutely epic short film about the Hatfield Hot Dog Launcher. Also from Cliff, a link to a fascinating NY Times article titled Looking for Bombs Buried in Germany? Start Your Search in Alabama.
From Sirius, a link to an article about a new tool in the fight against crime: a shoe print database. Also, a link to a gallery of photographs from an exhibition of photography in the years 1840-1900. Then there's a link about a new product called the WaterMill that provides "fresh, potable water" from an unusual source: air.
From Don Barree, a link to an article about something I desperately hope I see before I die: a cloned mammoth.
From the Edwin Garcia Links Machine, a link to a hoopde auction--with a winning bid of $226,521. As is often the case, though, things weren't exactly what they seemed. Also, a link to a test of a vehicle defense system, and here's a description of the video:
The Raytheon system uses an electronically-scanned radar array to detect an incoming anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade, then vertically launches a countermeasure missile that blows the round to smithereens in mid-flight, saving the RPG's intended target.
Wait, there's more from the EGLM. If you're eating something, stop now, because this is a link to the world's worst cookbook. Why is it the worst? Just don't say I didn't warn you. Oh, and one last link, and this is an absolute terrific article: repairing an aquifer. Why is it so terrific? Well, the workers doing the repairs live 700 feet under the surface--for a month at a time (don't forget to click through to the New York Times article).
From David Yellope, a link to Bruce Lee playing ping pong with nunchuks. Yes, it's not real, but that reduces its basic awesomeness by very little.
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