Neural Dump: A Science Wasteland

BigDog Goes Biped:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:59:00 +0000

Amazing Mars:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:47:00 +0000

Believe it or not, Mars doesn't look like Death Valley. It also doesn't have marauding balls of fire blowing across the landscape like tumbleweeds. Wanna know what it really looks like?

Go here to view all the incredible images.

Visit the Steampunk Museum:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:47:00 +0000

The steampunk exhibit at the Museum of the History of Science.

Ferrofluid is the Most Amazing Thing I've Ever Seen:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:23:00 +0000

This is how my physics teacher liked to visualize magnetic fields. You know, those lines of force you've probably (hopefully) seen before? Below is how Jesus Christ himself would show you lines of force.

How does it work, you ask?

Avatar Trailer:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Is it just me, or does this look like it's going to be slightly less than everything I'd hoped? Since the first teasers with actual footage came out, I've been consistently disappointed. I'm not really sure why, exactly, but ask yourself this: if this movie trailer came out and had McG's name attached to it instead of James Cameron, would you be interested? I wouldn't. If it weren't for all the bells and whistles and new technology (e.g. the 3D cameras) that are supposed to adorn the movie when it comes out, would the story alone get you out of the house? I doubt it.

I hate CG. It ruins movies. Don't get me wrong, it can be used to do things practically impossible otherwise, but that's not how it's typically used. And it's certainly no substitute for live people. Nowadays, blockbuster movies have CG used and mixed with live action to about the subtlety of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I like cartoons too, but not the way George Lucas does.

Will I see Avatar when it comes out? Undoubtedly. Will I be disappointed when it's over? I hope not. But considering that blockbuster cinema as of late has consistently been one long, overpriced anecdote about the death of film as a legitimate medium, I'm worried. They don't make 'em like they used to.

The 'Dump Recommends: Kensington Power Adapter

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:31:00 +0000

I have an old Dell laptop (Inspiron B130) that has been sitting in the top of a closet for a while. Either my wife or my cat had chewed the tip off the AC power adapter, so I didn't have a way of charging the battery. I thought about ordering a new one or getting a substitute off eBay, but didn't really want to wait for it (or have to ship it back when it didn't work). The solution: a generic power adapter from Kensington that claims to work for any notebook.

I was skeptical and a little hesitant considering it cost me fifty-some-odd bucks, but I bought it knowing that I could just return it to the local Frys where I bought it if things didn't work out. Fortunately, the little green light came on as soon as I hooked it up. The way this thing works is that the actual adapter unit is switchable between a low and high voltage range depending on the laptop you're using it with. Also included are a large number of tips to plug into your specific power port, all of which connect back to the adapter cord with a generic double prong that fits snugly into the tip itself.

If you're ever in need of a new AC adapter, this is definitely a good one. It looks nicer than the original one did, doesn't get overly hot (I have a HP adapter that gets VERY warm), and does what it's supposed to. The price is a little high, I think, but you probably get what you pay for with these things.

All-in-all, this is a recommended product that will cost you less than an OEM replacement from Dell or whatever company you got your laptop from.

(Note: the actual model referenced here is #K33404US.)

Halloween Project: Spirit Radio

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:08:00 +0000

This might be the most fun you'll ever have with a radio. The so-called "spirit" radio is actually a kind of crystal radio, which, if you're familiar, is powered by the same radio waves that you hear through the headphone. Same principles here, only much, much more fun.

More on this here with instructions for how to make your own!

Graphing Functions in Matlab:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:36:00 +0000

One of the problems I've always had with Matlab was that I could never seem to get it to easily do what, in my mind, was the simplest little thing: graph a function. Since the availability of Wolfram|Alpha, also known as the single most useful computational tool on the internet, I've been going there to basically have Mathematica do my plotting for me whenever I need a quick glance at a function. (I've been informed there's also a site called FooPlot that can do some easy graphing, but haven't really tried it myself.)

Finally, however, I've managed to get Matlab to cooperate. In hindsight, my problem was probably being too lazy/impatient to take advantage of what most people agree is an exceptional help menu, but there were a couple of things I didn't know that made the difference for me. Here goes:

There's something called a "function handle" that can be used in a .m file (or just at the command line, if you like) to identify a function you want to plot. An example might be f(x)=e^(-x^2). You can create a function handle by typing "function=@(x) e^(-x^2)" where "function" is the name of the thing, "@" creates your handle and says that this thing ("x") is variable, and whatever equation you want goes after.
This is followed by the command "fplot". The full command would be something like "fplot(function, [0, 3])" with "function" being whatever name you called it and the bracketed values indicating the interval over which your function is plotted. In this example, the function would plot between "zero" and "three".

Easy enough, I suppose. I should mention that there are more ways than one to skin a cat, and how precisely you should get a good, simple graphical output depends on a lot of factors. This methods just seems more intuitive to me than anything else I've tried.

Creating GUIs in Matlab:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:45:00 +0000

LHC: Back from the Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:57:00 +0000

Apparently, the LHC is back up and running according to this news blurb thingy. Hoo-rah!

A Century of Brain Imaging:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:09:00 +0000

From Ramon y Cajal to modern fMRI, brain imaging hasn't so much left behind the methods of old that to this day are still used and loved, but rather has added some impressive and fantastic tools to it's repertoire. The images produced are amazing, in all cases.

Click here to view a gallery of some of the best.

Missions to Mars:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:19:00 +0000

Click to read.

Hitler Hates Balloon-Boy:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:59:00 +0000

We're back. Looks like we missed the opportunity to comment on the balloon-boy thing, which hindsight says only an idiot would have believed anyway considering that one look at the balloon pretty conclusively told you there was no weight to speak of in the box underneath. Anyway, Hitler is angry about this, much like Avatar and Michael Jackson.

The 'Dump Goes to Chicago:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:14:00 +0000

Rumor has it that the Windy City might be so named not for it's weather, but rather for the political windbags of yesteryear. Regardless, the wind will be blowing in Chicago for the next week with SFN 2009, which, if you don't know, is a scientific conference where people in the brain science field come together to give each other swine flu and bullshit each other.

We'll be there. Maybe you'll be there. Point is we won't be here. See you in a week.

50 Years in Space:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:29:00 +0000

Click it to see it slightly larger. If you want to actually read what it says (and you do), click here.

The Stars are Out in Washington:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Most of us in the scientific community, if asked about the state of science under the Bush administration, would probably start a rant about how anti-science Bush was and how terrible we were treated while he was in office. But is that really true? Consider this:

Neil deGrasse Tyson seems to disagree with that sentiment. I happen to love this guy and his views on a variety of topics, so I'm inclined to re-evaluate my position on the subject of science under Republican rule. But, as we all know, when presented with two polarizing views of a topic, the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. Need evidence? Can you imagine something like this coming from fmr. President Bush?

Now the question becomes where in the middle of the spectrum the truth really is. Stay tooned.

The Prize in Chemistry:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:10:00 +0000

For their work in understanding the chemical nature of ribosomes, three scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year. Click here to read more.

High Performance Liquid Chromatography:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:23:00 +0000

Nobel Prize in Physics:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:32:00 +0000

This year's Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to researchers who revolutionized how we use light, namely with fiber optic technology and digital photography (CCDs). Read about it here.

These Men Have Wernicke's Aphasia:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:02:00 +0000

First of all, what the hell is Wernicke's aphasia? Huh. Interesting. Basically, damage to this particular region of the brain results in a relatively preserved ability to produce fluent speech, but an inability to speak meaningfully. What does that sound like?

Any other examples?

New Nobel Prize in Medicine:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:52:00 +0000

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to see that Jack Szostak was amongst the three co-recipients of this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology. He, along with Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider, won the prize for work done on telomeres and telomerase.

Some of Szostak's work regarding the early origins of life has been featured on this website in the past. Click here to refresh your memory.

Read more on the Prize here via CNN. I'd just like to point out that, while the headline reads "3 Americans win...", Blackburn is Australian and was educated outside the states, Greider is American, and Szostak is English by birth and grew up in Canada. I suspect that the headliner meant that the work that won the prize was done here in the 'States, which is true.

Street Fighting Mathematics:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:42:00 +0000

Whoever came up with the idea of making academic courses open to the public, be it MIT, Berkeley, or wherever, is assured of a place in heaven. Here's another great freebie for you: Street Fighting Mathematics. There doesn't seem to be any recorded lectures or anything to view or hear, sadly, but you can download the entire course text (.pdf) on the website (direct link at the bottom of this post).

Also, check out Dr. Mahajan's website.

Download the Book:
Street Fighting Mathematics

Oliver Sacks on Visual Hallucination:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:31:00 +0000

A Brief Guide to DNA Sequencing:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Here's a pretty good article on DNA sequencing via Ars Technica: A brief guide to DNA sequencing.

A Glorious Dawn:

noreply@blogger.com (Location:) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:11:00 +0000

This has been circulating for a bit. Here it is if you haven't seen it already.