Watch the video below and marvel about how everything we know is a small part of the larger universe. For more info, check out the animation studio ORDER and read Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan.
An Animated Tribute To Our Planet
Ada Lovelace Day: Programming Is About More Than Computers
Programming is important to me because it provides way to break down and solve a problem - any problem - in a methodical way. We've used computer programs to help defeat disease, put classes online, and enjoy digital entertainment. And it's all thanks to pioneers such as Ada Lovelace, widely regarded as the first computer programmer.
Ada worked with the famous inventor Charles Babbage on the theory behind his not-yet mechanical computer. She wrote an algorithm for a numerical computation technique. She was also the first person that we know of to see computers as tools to be used beyond number crunching - namely, music. She mentioned that the math behind music notes made it apt for a computer to handle.
You don't need to be a techie to learn the basics of programming, since it provides a great approach to problem solving. Many schools, offline and online, offer the basics. Check out codeacademy.com for starters.
Forbidden Tech #3: Ninja Stars
Some kids build nice things. Other kids build dangerous things. But they're still building - same skills that can be used for good! Join my dog Leia and I as we take another stroll down Forbidden Drive in the Germantown area of Philly and talk about tech that we were forbidden to use.
The Science of The Eye: The Damn Eye Puff Exam
The above pic is me, showing off my effortless swag that caused me to shatter my glasses on the pavement. While I wait a week or so for my new pair to arrive, I'll be rocking the ugly tape that decides to peel off at least once a day. Yeah, I'm awesome.
For those of you that have never had an eye exam, there's more involved than the eye chart reading that you've probably seen in the movies. The most notable part is the one that used to scare me as a kid - the glaucoma "eye puff" test. Otherwise known as The Puffy.
The test involves putting your head in front of a machine and resting your chain on an always dirty chin strap (seriously, they never clean them). You hold your eye wide open for as long as possible, without blinking, until they put a strong puff of air into your eye to measure fluid pressure.
That little puff, (and it has become smaller and more gentle as technology has evolved) is measuring the fluid pressure inside the eye. There is fluid constantly being produced in your eye and a drainage system that ferries it back into the bloodstream. When the drainage system malfunctions, the pressure inside the eye starts to rise. We know from large-scale studies that keeping the eye pressure low enough helps prevent loss of sight. High pressure acts to dampen the circulation to the optic nerve and cause a slow, painless loss of vision. Over 50% of the nerve may be dead before you become aware of the loss of vision, so annual eye pressure checks are good, preventative medicine.
Sounds horrible, and it is definitely uncomfortable. But it could be worse! In the 19th century, a similar machine known as a tonometer measured eye pressure by pressing small weights onto the eye. Yeah ... I'll pass on that.
Stay puffy my friends!
Are We Ready to Pay For Electronic News?
i do a lot of reading on my tablet - from newspapers to novels to comic books. For a while, The Daily was also in the mix - a completely digital newspaper backed with the resources of Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. Well, that's come to an official end, as News corp is shutting down the Daily. Does this mean that we're not ready to pay for electronic news?
The Daily was built off of a subscription model, which needs to be justified by interesting content. Unfortunately, The Daily's content was a mix of interesting op-eds and tabloidish material. There were often one or two gems, but never enough to keep me going back to the app. I pay to subscribe to the New York Times electronic edition because it is the source of record for enough original content that I can't get anywhere else. Not so with The Daily.
As I mentioned in a March 2011 post, the app is not impressive from a technical perspective - it's slow and not intuitive. It had a seemingly great option - the ability to download the current issue via WiFi so that you can read it on the go while offline - but this feature strangely left certain parts of the newspaper inaccessible and did not improve load times. It shouldn't take me a long time to flip through a digital newspaper that is supposedly downloaded onto my device.
With that said, someone had to be the trailblazer and put a lot of money and resources into a new technology. Even though News Corp has to bite the bullet on this, they did push the idea forward. Let's hope that other media players, old and new, take this idea and do it right. People will pay for good content. The Daily didn't nail it, but someone else will.