Blog Club

Beware the Buckyball

I am a science junky, if there is something new and interesting going on I want to know. One of the rapidly emerging new fields of science is called nanotechnology. Nanotechnology refers to efforts to operate and create chemicals and devices on the nanometer level (roughly a millionth of a millimeter). Wikpedia has a decent overview of the concept and related issues.

Nano-engineering holds the promise of creating compounds or even devices that operate at the atomic level. From self-repairing fabrics to tiny machines that might be able to repair dangerous holes in the ozone the science is one where the fine line between fact and fiction is often unclear. It is not an overstatement to say that what just three years ago would have been science fiction in regards to nanotechnology is increasingly becoming scientific reality.

One of the early writers in this space was Eric Drexler whose MIT doctoral dissertation in the early 1980s coined the term. Drexler hypothesized about the incredible benefits of these technologies while also painting a picture of the apocalypse brought about by nanotechnology run amok. His darkest scenario involved a mutation in tiny nano-machines that were initially intended to repair the earth’s atmosphere but then instead began to consume it, leaving Earth without a shield from the Sun dooming everyone to death.

For the most part, the potential downside of nanotechnology has been portrayed as being almost a luddite reaction. However, there is an interesting new study out that argues that one type of nanomaterial (the buckyball) might have serious health and environmental impacts.

The Indecency of the Bush Comedy Hour

A great deal has been made recently of America’s moral decline. Fueled by the outrage of a titillating superbowl half time show opinion leaders have decried our loss of civility, culture, and perspective. I’ll disagree that we are inches away from Sodam and Gomarah but the recent Bush comedy hour shows how indecent and obscene we have become.

Early this week during the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington President Bush put on a tongue in cheek slide show. While a number of the things he said were just not funny the one causing the most controversy is his monologue while a few photos showed of him looking under furniture saying “Those weapons of mass destruction have to be here somewhere.”

My Final Four Picks

March Madness if finally underway as a snowstorm blasts into the Midwest and my team is no where to be seen but the NIT. While this makes filling out brackets a little less interesting I feel compelled to continue the tradition.

For those of you who don't know me the tradition is I make my picks and then everyone beats me and these picks. Anyone is likely to beat me including children, women who choose teams on the basis of which mascots they like more, or a ouija board expert.

I used the ESPN brackets to create my choices. Their system is great and quick to use. Register and let me know your name and I'll add you to my list.

The Lamborghini of Vacuum Cleaners

Yes, it has come to this I'm going to blog about a vacuum cleaner. The sad reality is I am actually very excited about my new vacuum and as pathetic as that may seem want to tell others why.

About two months ago I started seeing advertisements for a new vacuum made by the company Dyson. I decided to check out their web site because my old Hoover™ was just about to give up the ghost after about three years of fighting with cat hair. The Dyson Web Site blew me away. It was one of the best designed commercial product web sites (after all this is a vacuum) that I've seen in quiet a while.

The only thing that stopped me from rushing out and buying one was the steep entry price ($399). That's a brand new X-Box and at least two games (my equation of value) and enough to give me a little pause.

I decide on Tuesday to make the plunge and after a visit to Sears rushed home to see if I had just become the latest vacuum cleaner sucker born.

Cross Posting: Cow Tipping on the Plains

I keep two weblogs: blogranger (personal) and blogclub (group). No real great distinction between the two althought I've posted my deeper thougths on blogclub and kept blogranger a bit light.

Today I stumbled across a giant tipped over fiberglass cow.

The State of Hockey

The State of Hockey is strong.

The main reason for my return trip to the state of Minnesota, the State of Hockey is to get the dissertation monkey off my back. However, in this frigid, snowy part of the globe I have found myself going "native." No, I'm not wearing shorts when it pokes just above freezing. Yes, I own more than one stocking cap. No, I haven't developed a fetish for kippered snacks or lutefisk. Yes, I think 6 inches of snow is no big deal. By native, however, I mean that I have developed an even stronger affection for high school hockey than I had on my first trip up here and made my first ever solo trip to watch two section finals that, along with the other 6, determine the teams in the annual state tournament that, while not shutting down the state, seems to grab everyone's attention for three days in March.

Just How Weird Am I, Or You?

The Pew Internet and American Life Project released their most recent survey of internet users, "Content Creation Online", this week. The study conducted between March 12th and May 20, 2003 found that fifty- three million Americans have published on the Web.

My goal is simple...just how strange am I, or you compared to the average internet user?

Forty-four percent of internet users have done at least one of the following (see graph below)

I'm feeling pretty normal at this point, I've done most of these things...and a few more. I must admit blogging according to this data makes me feel a little AB normal but perhaps that is just a sign of things to come.