Eye: New Corneal Transplant Procedure

Keeping my eye on this one. My good eye that is. A procedure to replace corneal transplants without surgery. They use the patients own stem cells from their good eye to grow inside a contact lens.

Alphabet: Star Wars and Alien Caterpillars

XYZ is for Xam, Yaddle, and Zutton. Learn ABC's with Star Wars pictures.

Also check out the 15 most alien looking caterpillars. Reminds me we need to go hiking soon to find more caterpillars and spiders.

Armstrong: Lance Before Climbing Vesuvius

Interesting picture from Lance's Twitter this morning before he climbs Mount Vesuvius.

We've seen this guy, or others dressed just like him on the Tour de France coverage as well.

Hurricane: NOAA Hurricane Tracking

Those with a new aggregator may be interested in this feed for NOAA hurricane tracking. Just noticed the first tropical depression of the season, "Tropical Depression ONE".

Here's the feed for the Atlantic Basin.

Twitter: Lance Armstrong's Favorite Tex-Mex

I've been following the excellent Twitter feed of Lance as he races through Italy. Among many interesting behind the scenes videos was this tid-bit on his favorite Tex-Mex. Isn't Chuy's awesome!

Genealogy: Marchant Pictures

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
We've had a fantastic time discovering our family genealogy lately. Here are pictures from the Marchant side of the family.

Music: 5th Graders Sing Fleetwood Mac

Great stuff from NY fifth graders. Here's the link to more of their performances.

Beaches: Top 10 Beaches for 2009

A professor from Florida compiles this list of top beaches. Oddly enough, we were discussing with Isaac last night that we would rather go hiking or to the beach instead of Disney.

This sounds like a challenging road trip!

1. Hanalei Bay, Kauai, HI
2. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, FL
3. Coopers Beach, Southampton, NY
4. Coronado Beach, San Diego, CA
5. Hamoa Beach, Maui, HI
6. Main Beach, East Hampton, NY
7. Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, NC
8. Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, FL
9. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, MS
10. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, SC

DIY: Soft Circuit Merit Badge

Use conductive thread to create a wearable circuit. Interesting to consider wearable computer designs.

This is from our favorite maker Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.

Commentary: The Compromise Theory

Interesting comic regarding another hot button debate topic, published on the day the President spoke at commencement ceremonies at Notre Dame University. Here's further commentary from the Washington Post from a Catholic journalist.

The article points out that Notre Dame has a tradition of inviting newly elected presidents to speak at their commencement ceremonies. In fact, George Bush accepted the invitation despite his views and practices as Governor of Texas on the other side of the right for life debate, the Death Penalty.

In my own biased opinion, the President does a masterful job framing the debate during his his address. Let's spend more time trying to limit unwanted pregnancy and less time arguing over the debilitating, endless, polarizing debate of woman's rights. As the author of the discussion points out, "Outlawing the death penalty will stop the death penalty. Outlawing abortion (to whatever extent that means) will not stop abortions."

Music: Play.FM DJ Music

I often find subtle repetitive music helps the creative work process, and usually will opt for some Grateful Dead. However, this new beta site provides DJ mixes, some of which go on for hours. Give it a try.

Ukulele: Take Your Love With Me

Interesting tune for the ukulele. Perfect song for my lover and son. Here are the chords from ukulele hunt.

Video: Cats and Pumpkins

TIGERS LEOPARDS Vs Pumpkins! - The best video clips are hereHere's one for all the cat lovers. Look at how much these big cats like playing with the pumpkins. Amazed at how much the tiger likes playing in the water.

Games: Star Wars Soundboard

Pretty cool Star Wars soundboard game. Check out the X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter sounds by pressing the drop down list. Looks like there's other games and maybe even some videos of Clone Wars.

Space: Atlantis Shuttle Launch

After watching this launch on NASA TV, I'm amazed at how common place it has become for NASA to launch a space shuttle. The current mission is to make repairs to the Hubble telescope. This will be the final mission to repair the Hubble, and should keep it operational until at least 2014.

Comics: Educational Responsibility

Interesting comment on test driven educational standards.

Pictures: Isaac's Birthday

Some great pictures of Isaac's birthday. What a truly fantastic time we had with bands, and skateboards, and waterslides. Take a look at this one of Michael and Isaac. Great stuff, thank you all who were able to make the trip to Houston.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Music - Film: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Classic standoff scene, and an interesting adaptation with ukuleles.

In this world, there are two types of people. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig.

Music: Turn, Turn, Turn Biblical Reference

Just learned this on a podcast. Bonus points if you know what the biblical reference used by this famous song, performed by the Byrds. Here's the wikipedia entry if you must look.

Twitter: Queen Rania Al Abdullah

I began following Lance Armstrong's twitter account recently through my RSS Reader (the twitter accounts produce an RSS feed you can subscribe to).

However, just noticed the Queen of Jordan, Rania Al Abdullah just recently began to use the service. After hearing her and her husband speak on NPR several weeks ago, I was very impressed with both of their ideas and thoughts.

Here are two amazing comments on her Twitter account which show her

Reminder of how special this land is- where our 3 beloved Prophets carried the message of moderation, tolerance, and peace

Just listened to Pope's speech. Our region so needs a message of Peace

Picture: Eyes Wide Open

After a trying week with dispersions being cast here and there, I'm afraid I had lost a bit of sunshine. Never worry, Isaac comes to the rescue with his love, hugs and snuggles.

He continues to try and teach me a lesson about a child's motives for the actions they take. I try and teach him, and remind myself, that motives and agendas can have unintended consequences even when they are generated altruistically. Certainly a complex lesson that I still cannot always wrap my hands around.

He also shows us unconditional love, and that is a special thing. Thank you family for helping teach this lesson to me and my child, you are the finest experts, and it is appreciated continuously.

Finally, Happy Mother's Day to all the unconditional lovers in my life. You fill us up with sunshine, and help us keep a smile.

Science Fair Experiment: Pseudoscope

Pretty simple set designed to demonstrate an optical illusion used even by artists such as M.C. Escher. Interesting stuff from Make magazine.

Tech: Online Media Player

Take a look at this online media player. Looks like it is returning YouTube videos right now, which you can search for in the top pane. Very simple and intuitive design.

Music: A cappella Simpsons

The Simpsons theme song a cappella.

Development: Twitter With .Net

This article describes interacting with the Twitter API through .NET code. Could be an interesting interface moving forward.

Edible House Plants

Looks like an interesting article about sprouts and micro-greens, edible house plants. Our first step towards self sustainability.

Also good quote of the day for creative workers. A group I try desperately; however, not always successfully to be a part of.

If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play. John Cleese