viewmaster

A time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet at night. This movie begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Fransisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and the Amazon. Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line) and the stars of our galaxy.

Time-lapse video taken from International Space Station orbiting Earth at night (Via Laughing Squid)

from Boing Boing http://bit.ly/oaaOXc

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-9-11)

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:45:50 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-9-11)

MIT research on “printing” buildings

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:19:55 -0400

MIT research on “printing” buildings: MIT News Office posted a survey of the fascinating research at the university, and by alum, on an array of 3D printing technologies and applications.

Another variant underway now is a system being developed by Neri Oxman PhD ’10, the Media Lab’s Sony Corporation Career Development Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, and her graduate student Steven Keating for “printing” concrete. Their ultimate aim: printing a complete structure, even a whole building.
Why do that, instead of the tried-and-true method of casting concrete in wooden forms that dates from the heyday of the Roman Empire? In part, Oxman explains, because it opens up new possibilities in both form and function. Not only would it be possible to create fanciful, organic-looking shapes that would be difficult or impossible using molds, but the technique could also allow the properties of the concrete itself to vary continuously, producing structures that are both lighter and stronger than conventional concrete.

To illustrate this, Keating uses the example of a palm tree compared to a typical structural column. In a concrete column, the properties of the material are constant, resulting in a very heavy structure. But a palm tree’s trunk varies: denser at the outside and lighter toward the center. As part of his thesis research, he has already made sections of concrete with the same kind of variations of density.

“Nature always uses graded materials,” Keating says. Bone, for example, consists of “a hard, dense outer shell, and an interior of spongy material. It gives you a high strength-to-weight ratio. You don’t see that in man-made materials.” Not yet, at least.

“Printing off the paper”

from Boing Boing http://bit.ly/oaaOXc

Geeky Lunch Bag Art From An Awesome Dad

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:01:21 -0400

Geeky Lunch Bag Art From An Awesome Dad:

What you see above (and in the huge gallery on the next page) is the awesome Lunch Bag Art made by a dad in San Diego, California. Since at least 2008, he’s been drawing these during his lunch break to use for his kids’ pack lunches. Not since the “Wave at the Bus” dad have we seen a dad’s geeky artistic project as awesome as this. These are way cooler than all those drawings my dad used to put in my lunchbox of him frowning and holding a positive pregnancy test.

Below is a collection of our favorite geek-related bags out of the almost 500 pictures at the Lunch Bag Art tumblr.

[Hat tip and the mystery bag from the back of the fridge to GorillaMask.]

Awww, poor teacher. Did the classic comic strip hurt your pwecious feelings?

Quick, somebody hand me some diamond ammo.

from Gamma Squad http://bit.ly/qwowyA

Кошка доигралась (by MrSkyFan)

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:47:51 -0400

Кошка доигралась (by MrSkyFan)

Funny, Sexy, And Awesome Cosplay Of The Week

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:45:55 -0400

Funny, Sexy, And Awesome Cosplay Of The Week:

Louis Tully (Ghostbusters) at Dragon*Con 2011. [via]

It’s that time of the week where we post a mixed bag of intriguing costumes we spotted recently. Some of it’s new; some of it isn’t; all of it is worth highlighting.

Are you a cosplayer or cosplay photographer who would like to be featured on Gamma Squad? Upload your photos to our Flickr group to be considered.

Onward to the gallery:

(Click pictures to enlarge.)

Yes, Breaking Bad cosplay exists. [via]

EnjiNight as Supergirl [via]

Yip Yips being awesome (and asking a girl for her number) at Dragon*Con. [via]

There’s an awesome way to save money on armor. [via]

Oh man, what could be cooler than Daft Steampunk? [via]

Answer: Daft Steampunk Professor X [via]

If everyone cosplayed as Ellen Page in Super that would be cool with us. [via]

[via]

from Gamma Squad http://bit.ly/qwowyA

Star Trek Vertical Comics: Wesley Crusher Gets What’s Coming To Him

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:46:31 -0400

Star Trek Vertical Comics: Wesley Crusher Gets What’s Coming To Him:

Crude, hilarious comics starting our favorite Star Trek characters? I want this like a Klingon craves combat! Creating vertical comics gives us a chance to push outside the confines of the sometimes stuffy Star Trek universe, so it should come as no surprise that the fanboys that made these things add a healthy dose of NSFW. Check out our favorites of these Internet created comics.

Via Reddit

Via Reddit

Via Reddit

Via Look and Smile

Via Justcapshunz

Via Reddit

Via Comixed

Via Memebase

Via Reddit

Via Reddit

Via Reddit

Via Reddit

Via Reddit

Via Reddit

from Gamma Squad http://bit.ly/qwowyA

If This Then That of the Day

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:16:06 -0400

If This Then That of the Day:

If This Then That of the Day: Useful new web service ifttt, which stands for “If This Then That,” has just left private beta and opened to the public.

Ifttt lets users tell web services to do things when certain actions are triggered, like “If I star an item on Google Reader, save the link to Instapaper” or “If someone mentions my name on Twitter, email me.” It doesn’t require any actual coding, just clicking on icons for the services you use and telling them what to do in natural language.

Even better, ifttt features lots of pre-defined “recipes” for time-saving actions that you might not even have thought of. If that sounds useful to you, then check it out.

[popsci]

Tagged: if this then that, ifttt, web tools

Submitted by: Unknown

from TDW Geeks http://chzb.gr/n4UEvz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-9-4)

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:48:15 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-9-4)

“No” is right. Darth Vader’s...

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:50:14 -0400

“No” is right.

Darth Vader’s ‘Nooo!’ in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (ACTUAL Blu-Ray Clip) (by WideAsleepFilm)