Friday Links!
I'm doing this on Thursday night, just waiting for the snow to start falling.First off, a note from Michael M. about the "train laying its own track" link last week:
That's not really a "train." It's just a track-laying machine. Part of the process being seen is the replacement of track ties. A train wouldn't be able to lay its own tracks. The ballast (all the rocks that the ties are sunk into) needs to be laid down first.
Here's a link that gives a small overview of some of the equipment out there:
How To Build Modern Railroad Track.
Michael had a middle paragraph where he said some very funny things about working for a railroad company, but I'm not sure he wanted them used, so I'm leaving them out. Hopefully, he'll let me know that it's okay and I'll use them next week.
Next, from Jonathan Arnold, and this is completely stunning: Google Art Project.
From Josh Eaves, and this helps you see how crazy the weather has been: NASA Satellites Capture Data on Monster Winter Storm Affecting 30 States.
Here's one more weather map, this one from Robert Bruce, and it gives you a thorough look at current temperatues all across the U.S. and Canada.
From Jeremy Fischer, and this is fascinating, the discovery of the "mechanism that controls the internal 24-hour clock of all forms of life", and it's not where you'd expect. Also, and this is short but very interesting, it's Scale (in a planetary sense).
From Francis Cermak, China builds a jet-propelled water cannon. I don't really want to think about what it might be used for.
From Sirius, and this is entirely awesome, it's Night Of The Living Dead--in 1080P. There's also an informative commentary about its legendary status and how shocking it was for its time. Next, a hilarious "documentary" akin to "Reefer Madness", only this time, it's "Sex Madness" (from 1938). Then it's Meet Titanoceratops, the Hornier Ancestor of Triceratops.
From George Paci, and this is beautiful, it's Swirly Nautilus Shell House.
Next, from Sebastian Morgan-Lynch, an amazing link to an artist who drew an illustration for every single page of "Moby Dick". And the illustrations are absolutely terrific, too.
From Kevin W, and this made me laugh out loud from it's sheer outrageousness, it's Hunting hydrogen balloons with a weaponized tricopter.
From Shane Courtrille, a very informative article about color and how it's perceived: How Color Vision Actually Works.
Wait, that's not snow I'm hearing: it's ICE.
From Dib O, and this is fascinating, it's Cracking the Scratch Lottery Code.
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