Blimpin’ Ain’t Easy
We’re hovering 1,500 feet above Baltimore in a 200-foot blimp with Ron Paul’s name on it, and I’ve lost feeling in my hands. Elijah Lynn, vice president of the Ron Paul Blimp, passes around heat packets, the kind made for skiers. “Shake it,” he says. Over the past week, temperatures in the blimp have dropped to as low as 28 degrees. As the crew has learned, it’s hard out here for a blimp.
The Ron Paul Blimp launched last week in Elizabeth City, N.C,. and has since moved through Columbia, S.C., Richmond, Va., and now Baltimore, taking days off for bad weather. (You can track the blimp’s path via GPS here.) Anyone craning their neck blimpward sees one of two messages: “Who Is Ron Paul?” (an homage to Ayn Rand’s “Who is John Galt?”) or “Ron Paul Revolution,” with the “evol” highlighted as a backwards “love.” The guys behind the blimp now spend every day inside it, giving interviews by phone, taking turns flying (“It’s like driving a boat”), blogging the voyage using the blimp’s wireless connection, and planning the blimp’s schedule.
UK soldiers celebrate Christmas
UK soldiers celebrate Christmas
British soldiers spending Christmas in Afghanistan and Iraq have been sending home messages to loved ones and celebrating the festivities.
Military duties are being carried out as normal in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, with many personnel able only to make a quick call home.
At the UK’s Basra Airport base, soldiers got a cup of tea in bed as part of a festive Army tradition.
Skating traced back 4,000 years
Skating traced back 4,000 years
The world’s first skaters are likely to have taken to the ice about 4,000 years ago on the frozen lakes of Finland, according to a UK-based research team.
They seem to have used skates made out of horse bones, Dr Federico Formenti of Oxford University, co-author of a paper on the subject, told the BBC.
His team tested replicas of bone-skates from the British Museum over several years at an Alpine location.
Toshiba Builds 100x Smaller Micro Nuclear Reactor
Toshiba Builds 100x Smaller Micro Nuclear Reactor
Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual apartment buildings or city blocks. The new reactor, which is only 20 feet by 6 feet, could change everything for small remote communities, small businesses or even a group of neighbors who are fed up with the power companies and want more control over their energy needs.
Very Short Stories
We’ll be brief: Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”) and is said to have called it his best work. So we asked sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves.
Dozens of our favorite auteurs put their words to paper, and five master graphic designers took them to the drawing board. Sure, Arthur C. Clarke refused to trim his (“God said, ‘Cancel Program GENESIS.’ The universe ceased to exist.”), but the rest are concise masterpieces.
Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.
- William ShatnerGown removed carelessly. Head, less so.
- Joss WhedonAutomobile warranty expires. So does engine.
- Stan LeeLonged for him. Got him. Shit.
- Margaret AtwoodTo save humankind he died again.
- Ben Bova
The History of Can Making
This is the story of the metal can from the days when it was laboriously made by hand in crude workrooms at the rate of 10 cans per day to the present, when high-speed machinery produces 2,500 cans or more per minute on a single production line. The story of this valuable container encompasses explorations, discoveries, wars, peacetime progress, world health improvements and technological advances. Dating back nearly two centuries, the can has evolved to meet everchanging market demands around the world.
The metal can is a simple package that protects its contents against the ravages of time and nature. It requires no special handling precautions since it is rigid and unbreakable. It has proven so successful because of these characteristics that it is impossible to imagine modern society without it. Today, cans are used most commonly to package carbonated beverages and freshly harvested fruits and vegetables. Beer and soft drink cans keep beverages flavorful, fresh and carbonated for long periods of time. Cans ensure uniformity of product quality. Your favorite beverage will taste the same whether you buy it in Oregon or Florida, Maine or California. Cans are also used to store fruits, vegetables, meats, fish and ready-to-eat meals, giving us access to nutritious foods year round.
Shock at $85k mobile phone bill
Shock at $85k mobile phone bill
A Canadian man has been shocked to receive a mobile phone bill for nearly $85,000 (£41,000).
Piotr Staniaszek thought he could use his new phone as a modem for his computer under his $10 unlimited mobile browser plan from Bell Mobility.
He downloaded high-definition movies and other large files unaware that this incurred massive extra charges.
Bell Mobility has since lowered the bill to $3,243, but Mr Staniaszek says he intends to fight the charges anyway.