Pictures: LIFE Phot Library

Google has acquired the LIFE magazine photo library, and provided a search index application to see them. I though you might find this picture of Elvis an interesting example.

Recognize this movie star?

Pictures: Ukulele Cowboy

It's Go Texan day in Houston. Our city is getting ready for the Livestock show and rodeo.

Here's our cowboy playing his ukulele. You never heard a cowboy singing "Tiny Bubbles" to his doggies on the lonesome prairie?

President's Budget

Found this website which shows the president's budget proposal. A New Era of Responsibility. While it is over 140 pages long, and seems to contain quite a bit of rhetoric that we've heard in the president's speeches, it is nice that they have it available and online.

NYTimes article notes the same sense of a political statement in the budget proposal.

DIY: Drawbot on Make

Another vibrating robot experiment. We could probably reuse our brushbot motors.

DIY: Sharpie Rocket

Office Supplies Rocket - video powered by Metacafe
A rocket built from office supplies. Watch your eyes!

Math: Non Sequitur

This is one of my favorite new cartoon strips. Christian and I were reading it the other day at Gammy's house.

Michael nailed the formal Latin translation for non sequitur, "it does not follow." However, it is also a literary device, commonly used for comedic purposes. Here's wikipedia's definition.

In other literature, a non sequitur can denote an abrupt, illogical, unexpected or absurd turn of plot or dialogue not normally associated with or appropriate to that preceding it.

In formal logic arguments, non sequitur is an argument where the conclusion does not follow its premises.

Video: Robin Hood

Check out the opening song from the cartoon of Robin Hood, "Oo De Lally", in Spanish. On this website, they even have the Chinese version.

Ukulele: Video Lessons

After a fun weekend where everybody played the guitars and ukulele, here's a link to further ukulele lessons.

Here's another, Hippie Guy (sweet), who also has an RSS feed.

Credit Crisis Explained

Here's a good series of videos, which attempt to explain the credit crisis.

Song: Forever Young

This song reminded me of a spectacular weekend with the family.

A Bob Dylan tune sung by Neil Young and Grateful Dead. I love this line, "May you build a ladder to the stars, and climb on every rung." I find that the experience is often as gratifying as the eventual success.

Other links to follow up on:

• A possible method to back up Flickr photos
• Make video for simple robots (including a vibra-bot)
• US map of UFO hotspots, and how to report a UFO sighting

Music: New U2 Album

I've never paid much attention to MySpace, but here's the new U2 song posted before the album is released. Pretty cool stuff.

How about the lyrics, very important with a U2 song.

U2 - Get On Your Boots Lyrics

The future needs a big kiss
Winds blows with a twist
Never seen a moon like this
Can you see it too?

Night is falling everywhere
Rockets at the fun fair
Satan loves a bomb scare
But he won’t scare you

Hey, sexy boots
Get on your boots, yeah

You free me from the dark dream
Candy floss ice cream
All our kids are screaming
But the ghosts aren’t real

Here’s where we gotta be
Love and community
Laughter is eternity
If joy is real

You don’t know how beautiful
You don’t know how beautiful you are
You don’t know, and you don’t get it, do you?
You don’t know how beautiful you are

That’s someone’s stuff they’re blowing up

We’re into growing up
Women of the future
Hold the big revelations

I got a submarine

You got gasoline
I don’t want to talk about wars between nations

Not right now

Hey sexy boots
Get on your boots, yeah
Not right now
Bossy boots

You don’t know how beautiful
You don’t know how beautiful you are
You don’t know, and you don’t get it, do you?
You don’t know how beautiful you are

Hey sexy boots
I don’t want to talk about the wars between the nations
Sexy boots, yeah

Let me in the sound
Let me in the sound, now
God, I’m going down
I don’t wanna drown now
Meet me in the sound

Space: Austin Marathon Meteorite

Denise had told us about the Austin meteorite, here's the video from CNN.

Apparently some UNT astronomy professors found part of the debris, which was caught on tape, in West, Texas. The pieces, which were suspected to be remnants of the satellite collision earlier in the week, were the size of pecans.

Google: Google Maps of Prado Museum

Check out this amazing Google Map implementation by the Prado Museum in Spain. Try zooming in on the pictures, you can see extremely detailed views.

Devices: GPS For The Traveler

Consider this deal for the traveler in the family. A GPS unit for only $60 seems reasonable.

Binary: Learn To Count in Binary on Your Fingers

What a great skill to have, count to 1023 in binary using both hands.

This can be used to quickly figure out the binary calendar discussed earlier.

Fossils: LA Fossil Cache

Apparently, they found an almost intact mammoth.

For all of you budding comparative anatomists out there, what does the joint in the picture look like?

I see a nice ball and socket joint, maybe a hip.

DIY: Snap Circuits

We've done some work with a breadboard, but these guys look much easier to put together. I understand their coming out with a green version which uses hand cranks, solar panels, and wind for the energy sources.

Guitar: When Should Lesson Begin

I've wondered when guitar lessons might begin for a child. Check out this kid on YouTube. He began taking lessons at 9 and is now 12.

Isaac has been asking about learning chords, which makes me very happy. Maybe he's asking to make me happy, who knows?

Football: Great Game For Isaac

Isaac had two touchdown catches in 3 total receptions this Saturday in his flag football league. Two of catches were long, over the shoulder catches which were quite spectacular. In this league, any catches are rare, but the combination of a long throw and catch was cheered by the surprised crowd.

Obviously the picture isn't of Isaac; his hair isn't that long, but it sort of looked like that.

Golden Gloves 2009

Abuelo's Golden Gloves competition. Take a look at the entire picture set.

Disney XD

Disney has a new site with games and some TV shows available. Isaac enjoyed these when he was younger, and it seems like the new site is designed for a little older kids. You can't go very wrong with Iron Man and Spiderman.

Amazing Animation

Check this out. Amazing work. Looks like there's more at this site.

Natural Selection: Neanderthal Genome Project

We completed the "Teddy Graham" natural selection experiment last night with rave reviews from the predator. While the bitter tasting "Teddy" was evolutionarily selected; in our experiment, he eventually met the same fate as the sweet tasting, extinct "Teddy". That is, consumed for dessert.

Along the same lines, there was a story this morning on NPR about a project deciphering the genome of a Neanderthal. While the Neanderthal our humans closest evolutionary relative, and the two species co-existed, the humans were naturally selected and the Neanderthals became extinct about 30,000 years ago.

Happy 200th Birthday Darwin: Natural Selection Experiment

Today is the celebration of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday. While there are many articles discussing his contribution to science, this page discusses an experiment to teach young kids the concepts of natural selection. The experiment is conducted using "Teddy Grahams" cookies, and also seems like a good excuse to eat some cookies.

Pictured is Google's image to celebrate Darwin's birthday.

For further reading, here's the NY Times article. It reminds me how revolutionary Darwin's observations and writings were. They occurred before Mendel's genetic experiments, the discovery of DNA, and genome mapping. All of this from the observations of a 22 year old naturalist on board the ship called the Beagle.

Quote of the Day: Spelling and Reading

Interesting the things you take for granted after reading the English language for so long. While helping Isaac to read and spell, we are finding that it is not always as easy as it seems.

If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur. Doug Larson

Valentine's Day Song: City Love

A pre-valentine's day song for my lover. I never care to catch a cab, or fall asleep to the sound of sirens; but, I don't remember life before her name.

I never liked this apple much
It always seemed too big to touch
I can't remember how I found
My way before she came around

I tell everyone
I smile just because
I've got a city love
I found it in Denisia
And I can't remember life before her name

She keeps a toothbrush at my place
As if I had the extra space
She steals my clothes to wear to work
I know - her hairs are on my shirts

I tell everyone
I smile just because
I've got a city love
I found it in Denisia
And I can't remember life before
The day
She called up and came to me
Covered in rain
And dinnertime shadowing
And as her clothes spun, we spooned
And I knew I was through
When I said "I love you"

Friday evening, we've been drinking
2 AM, I swear that I might propose
but we close the tab
split a cab
and call each other up when we get home
falling asleep to the sound
of sirens

I got a city love
I found it in Denisia

From the battery
To the gallery
It's the kind of thing you only see
In scented, glossy magazines

And I can't remember life before her name

Bathroom Humor: Use the Fart Luke

Sorry, I had to put this one on for the boys.

Music: Toto Africa Cover

Here's another very good "solo multi-track" recording, similar to the John Williams theme played several months ago. Besides, we're suckers for a good Toto cover!

There's a few more here at Coverville, one of the very best podcasts around.

DIY: Paper Circuit Board

From the Evil Mad Scientist, a paper circuit board using electrical conducting pens. Perhaps a cool science fair/birthday idea?

Music: I'm Feeling Good

We definitely need to add this to our daily playlist. Nina Simone's, "I'm Feeling Good". "It's a new dawn; It's a new day; Oh, I'm feeling good!"

Ubuntu: Community Philosophy

I found myself considering the notion of a "normal" childhood this morning. My thinking was that there are so many varieties of family and community, that "normal" is almost impossible to accurately define.

I found this interesting subject on a friends blog, relating to the subject of community and, oddly enough, operating systems. The word ubuntu comes from the Zulu word meaning "humanity to others," it is also a popular Linux operating system. The ubuntu philosophy describes self in terms of community.

I am who I am because of those around me

Who really wants to be "normal" anyway, I choose to surround myself and my family with diversity, positive energy, and sometimes a bit of chaos.