This is one show that I had somehow missed. The "Aaagh! It’s the Mr. Hell Show"(wiki) was shown on BBC2 back in 2001. I took a look for it on Amazon but turned up nothing, I did however see that you can buy it on Anime-On-Line. In this exciting episode Mr. Hell talks all about the virtues of science and how it’s made burning the neighboring village down all that much easier. Go science!
(Thanks to brother Steve for sharing this with all of us)
Author: John
Solar Hot Air Balloons, Not Just For Kids Anymore
Everyone knows about hot air balloons. A great big sack filled with hot air that floats as if by magic in the sky. Ok, not by magic, they float because the hot air takes up less space than cold air so it weighs less and thus floats. I’m sure most people think that the air needs to be heated by great honking propane torches to obtain positive buoyancy but that just isn’t the case. With a thin enough envelope (ballooning lingo for the thing that holds the hot air) you can use the mighty power of the sun to do this job on the cheap and clean. This site is loaded with useful info (some may be in French however) and data for your own personal exploration of the atmosphere. Did I say personal? Yep, you bet. Some people have actualy build solar balloons large enough to lift a person. There are even instructions on how you can build and use a 1.9 meter diameter mini solar balloon. I’m surprised that this hasn’t graced the pages of MAKE magazine yet.
Pizzaky, Free Space Electric Pizza Oven
Humm… A spinning open air pizza oven. I don’t know, from what my friend over at Pizza Locust tells me this just isn’t going to get anywhere near the optimal temperature to properly cook pizza. It may, however, make a mean cheese crisp. Someone send me one and I’ll give that a try.
[via Boingboing and Tokyomango]
80’s Commercials Japanese Style
Great examples of TV ads from Japan in the 1980’s. Ah, the bubble years…
3DWorld Medium Format Stereo Camera
Oh. Wow. A medium format stereo camera, now that is just f-ing cool!
The specs:
Camera Type: Medium Format Tri-lens Stereo Camera (Reflex Viewing Lens)
Lenses: Anti-reflection coated glass optics, seven elements in six groups. f/2.8, 80mm focal length
Lens Separation: 63.5mm
Focusing: manual adjustment, 0.8 m – infinity
Shutter Type: metal focal plane shutter
Aperture: F2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22 and six half stops
Shutter Speeds: B – 1/500Sec.
Light Metering: consists of two of SPD’s (silicon photo diodes) for light measurement; aperture and shutter speeds are matched according to the LED display.
Viewfinder: consists of a viewfinder hood and lens, Eye-level pentaprism type with .0.7 X magnification
Focusing Screen: Split-image microprism type surrounded by a Fresnel screen. 3 LEDs in 5 exposure graduations display overexposure (+), correct exposure (O) & underexposure (-)
Flash Synchronization: X-contact only, sync speed 1/30 sec. or slower
Film Advance: Lever provided; 16° standoff angle and 128° winding angle, aligning film numbers through window on camera back
Film: One roll of 120 reversal film for a pair of 58mm x 56mm stereo images. 6 pairs per roll.
Dimensions: Approx. 207mm x 205mm x 134mm (8.15″ x 8.07″ x 5.28”), camera body only
Weight: 1960g or 69oz (camera body only)
If the price wasn’t so high I’d buy one in a hearbeat.
3DWorld Medium Format Stereo Camera: ViewMaster, 3D Glasses, 3D Stereo Photography
(Thank you Brother Steve of the Church of the Holy Exposure for this one)
Things Creationists Hate
This is a handy list of topics that you may or may not want to bring up the next time you meet someone that is a firm believer in the ‘good book (no, not ‘Godel, Escher, Bach‘ although that is a fine read, I’m talking about The Holy Bible)
The following is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, nor is it meant to characterize the views of all creationists. But there are certainly some, if not most, who can be so characterized. The main objects of my satire, for so it is intended, are the young-Earth, biblical-literalist types, although other generations of creationists may detect some of their views skewered here also.
I particularly enjoyed this bit:
Ribs…human ribs, that is, present a real problem. I’ve been told, on good authority (by creationists, whose scientific authority is the Bible, and what could be more authoritative?), that men have one less rib than women, because one of Adam’s ribs was removed to mold into Eve. My creationist informant has generally become confused upon being asked if that means one less pair of ribs, or just one rib missing from one side. Then my instructor in human origins becomes red in the face and defensive, if not to say hostile, when asked if he has ever actually counted ribs on male and female human skeletons, living or deceased. None that I’ve met have ever actually tried this simplest of scientific experiments, which could go a long way toward proving a testable prediction of creationism. (For members of the Republic of Texas Militia: men have exactly the same number of ribs as women.)