Jobs: Best Graduate Assistant Job Ever?

Posting for Stephen Hawking's graduate assistant. The qualifications are steep, but especially love the "maintenance of 'black box' systems with non instruction manual or technical support."

The original purpose of this position was "to aid Professor Hawking in those areas which he has difficulty due to his disability." The job has since expanded and now includes:

• Managing national and international travel for Prof. Hawking and his care team. 
• Expect to spend around 3 months per year abroad! 
• Development and maintenance of Professor Hawking's communication and speech systems 
• Procurement and maintenance of his wheelchairs and accessible van 
• Preparation of lecture graphics and public speaking 
• Dealing with the media and press 
• Answering inquiries from the public and maintaining the website 

 The post requires a wide range of skills, most importantly:

• Ability to work under pressure 
• Maintenance of "black box" systems with no instruction manual or technical support 
• Computer literacy
• Electronics knowledge 
• Ability to speak to a large audience 
• Ability to show others how to use complex systems

Hughen Family Vacation 2011

Mom H & Mom V -

It is always awesome spending quality time together and trying something new!
We are having a great time enjoying the snow, the beautiful sites, and each other.

We love you and will check in soon!

Birthday: Happy Birthday Christian

Hope you're having a fantastic day on your birthday Christian. Try this flash Star Wars game when you get a chance (it's pretty big and may take a second to load).

Christmas: Sugar Plum Fairy Duel

Torn between the best version of Sugar Plum Fairy.

Tesla Coil

or Glass Harp

NASA: Dawn Spacecraft Orbits Vesta

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has been orbiting Vesta, the 2nd largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, since July. Today, they maneuvered to a lower orbit averaging 210 kilometers.

There are some awesome pictures and even some 3D videos on NASA's site.

Word Of The Day: Naches

Derived from Yiddish, this noun means pleasure or pride especially in one's children or grandchildren.

Luckily, the school district gives a parent detailed access to an online accounting of their child's school activities. While the site certainly provides visibility of opportunities for improvement, I mostly find an extreme sense of naches as I watch Isaac's progress.

Science: Double Helix Origami

Cool looking idea from Instructables.

Christmas: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Tauntaun

via Neatorama

Word Of The Day: Equable

Consider subscribing to the word of the day RSS feed if you use a feed reader. Great review. Today's word seems more like a meditation. Equable, equable, equable.

MEANING: adjective: 1. Not easily upset; tranquil. 2. Uniform; steady. 3. Free from extremes.

USAGE: Despite the ongoing barrage of advice from the visiting coach, the equable temperament of the referee created a fair and enjoyable game for the players.

Google: Turkey

Have you made your own Google Turkey?

Physics: NASA's Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics

Fantastically exhaustive web textbook of aeronautics from NASA. Specifically check out Parts Of An Airplane. Try going through each part and seeing how the pieces affect the forces acting on the plane.

Short: Address Is Approximate

Never considered Google Street view as a travel guide or a teleport device.

Address Is Approximate from The Theory on Vimeo.

via GeekDad

Money: How Much Does That Cost

Good chart comparing how much things cost up to a global scale. A huge amount of data here, zoom in to see the specifics. via xkcd

Science Fair: Light Theremin

Nothing more fun than making noise. Should go well with the schematic reading. via Make

Science: How To Read A Schematic

Isaac is studying circuits in science class. This video seems like a good extension of circuits, explaining how to read a schematic and the function of many common components in an electrical circuit. via BoingBoing

Veteran's Day: Thank You

I'm sure it's simplistic and terribly unrealistic, but I like this image from the NY Times.

Thank you and your families for your work. Thank you for telling us your stories. Thank you for being our brothers, fathers, and grandfathers.

Birds: Murmuration

"A collection of starlings is called a murmuration." via GeekDad

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Games: Misslebreak Outvaders

Whoa this is a good one. Great mash-up game via woot.

Work: Create Magic and Art

This article from Seth Godin seems to apply to many work and study environments. Are you doing math or arithmetic?

Far better to have a job where there are equal parts magic and art involved in processing the stuff in that basket. Seth Godin

Music: Moogfest

NPR's All Songs Considered recaps the Moogfest Festival. Isaac has been playing with a Moog simulator on the computer and might be interested the music is generated professionally.

Star Wars: On The Streets

Nice Mash-up.


via Neatorama

Quote: Be Humble

Have more than thou showest; Speak less than thou knowest.
William Shakespeare, 'King Lear,' Act I, Scene iv
Greatest English dramatist & poet (1564 - 1616)

Birthday: Happy Birthday Hannah

That's why we call it a Birthday Parade! Happy Birthday Hannah!

Have a look around in this fun arcade.

For Mark and Isaac

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (American poet 1850)

“Come, cuddle your head on my shoulder, dear, Your head like the golden-rod, And we will go sailing away from here To the beautiful land of Nod

OWS: Occupy Mordor

via Neatorama

Practice: Performance Is Magic

This Scrivle cartoon explores the relationship of practice to performance. Practice is necessary to allow the possibility of magic during the performance.

Math: Amicable Numbers

Isaac is currently studying factors in class, seems like a good to time to review amicable numbers. Interesting the site discussing is a sci-fy discussion site, i09.

Led Zepplin: Whole Lotta Love

You must check this out and prepare to be amazed.

Safety: Required Reading For Internet Users

If you use the internet please invest a few minutes and at least read the 'Stay Safe Online' portion of this Google public safety announcement. Discusses passwords, phishing, malware, and others.

Star Wars: Alphabet

Bonus points if you can name each character. via LaughingSquid

Birthday: Happy Birthday Uncle Michael

Thought you might appreciate a little Trombone Shorty to celebrate. Thanks for turning us on to him, we'll always remember the incredible concert at Austin City Limits Festival.

Programming: HTML Class

Html writing class at Gammie's house.

Feliz Cumpleanos

My Dearest Love,

Every day my heart sings, my eyes glow, and my blood flows when thinking of our beautiful love. Happy Birthday to the man of my dreams. Isaac and I are so thankful for your unconditional love and the continued adventures you give to us.

We love you "to infinity and beyond!"

Love,
Denise and Isaac
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Steve Jobs: Think Differently

gapingvoid reinvention of an Apple commercial and the original. "Here's to the crazy ones..."

Science: Berkley Anatomy Lessons Online

Professor Marian Diamond from Berkley has posted her human anatomy lectures online at YouTube.

In the first 10 minutes, she has this comment about the human brain, "this structure only weighs 3 lbs but has the capacity to conceive of a universe a billion light years across."

Here's her 2nd lesson on Skeletal System.

The Birthday Parade has started!!!!

Mark's new birthday present. His parade is in full swing! Let there be jazz bands in celebration! My music boys will be coming to a city near you... Nothing better than having the house filled with music. Join the fiesta!

Quantum Physics: Schrodinger's Cat In Comic

via Neatorama

Science: Sound Science

Amazing math, anatomy, physics and music lesson. Goes by very quickly, but you can always hit the pause button. from MAKE and Vi Hart.

Inspiration: Tina Turner Proud Mary

Tina Turner's version of Proud Mary. She notes in the introduction, you probably want something "nice and easy," but we don't do things nice and easy.

"The big wheel keeps on turning," Go earn your tomorrow!



via LifeHacker

Science: Slinky Physics

Wave propagation and application to sports science. via Neatorama.

Non Sequitur: Our Unquestioned Dogma Is Flexible

Autobiography: Isaac's Reading Project

Quote: A Shower Doesn't Just Fulfill A Physical Need

Love long showers, can't wait to make mine bigger. via Scrivle

Sing: Matrix A Capella

Lobby scene from Matrix a capella style.

Birthday: Happy Birthday Brian!

May the Force be with you!

TED: The Art Of Living Dangerously

Discussion by William Gurstelle at TED 2011. The trick is to be slightly more risky than the average person. Time to fix up the potato launcher.

Music: Another Mariachi Brick In The Wall

Missed Dieciséis De Septembre. Throw your grito.

Games: Strategy Versus Reality

Thought the Pokemon crowd would appreciate this comic strip.

Music: Trombone Shorty Solo On Conan 08/15/11

Learned how to link to a specific time on a YouTube video (use the 't' query string).

It doesn't seem to work with the video embed code, just a hyperlink.

Music: Ramones Live in London 1977

via BoingBoing

Science Fair: Light Theremin

Sounds like an awesome weekend project from Make Projects and Radio Shack.

Photos: Humans of New York

This is a great website. This story is about a homeless entrepreneur. Great Stuff!

Science: Apollo 15 Testing Galileo's Equivalence Principle

Further explanation from NASA regarding Galileo's hypothesis.

Pokemon: Online Pokemon Game

Flash game for Pokemon. You will have to create an account to play. Waiting from the testers for further review.

Via GeekDad.

Diversion: How To Roll a Six Sided Die in Your Head

via Boing Boing, from "MINDHACKER: 60 Tips, Tricks, and games to take your mind to the next level."

To emulate a 6 sided die, follow this procedure:

1. find a short word, such as “cat.”

2. Sum the numerical values of the letters in the word: C = 3, A = 1, T = 20, and then 3+1+20 = 24.

3. Calculate the number modulo 09 (see the section “How It Works” for the procedure).

If the remainder is a 0, 7, or 8, which will happen one third of the time, discard it and try a new word. Otherwise, the remainder will be a pseudo random number from 1 to 6. Congratulations! This is your 6 sided die roll. (The results for the word “cat” is 6.)

Space: The Moon's North Pole Via LROC

An image of the moon's north pole taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance orbiter Camera (LROC).

Cello: Teen Spirit

Trying to talk Isaac into considering playing cello. This seems like a pretty cool introduction.

Physics: Do We Live In A 3D World?

Can you prove it?

This site has one minute videos regarding various physics subjects.

School: Universal Public Education

This school year is the 93rd year of universal public education. An article from Seth Godin, describes a system originally designed to churn out factory workers.

This weekend Isaac was assigned a large homework project to help him understand literature genres. While we complied with the assignment of printing out the pictures and pasting them into a little book (not raging against the machine too much over here), we first created a website with similar information.

It gave us a good excuse to discuss writing HTML documents, and did not cost any additional time. Dear teacher, the online document is also searchable, linkable, OS independent, and does not require 28 pages of paper.

We'll let you know how it's received.

Rugby: Flash Mob Haka

The Rugby World Cup begins this week in New Zealand. This video shows a flash mob haka. Great stuff! (thanks Mike for the link)

Ukulele: Lesson Banana Pancakes

Ukulele Underground lesson for Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes.

Nerf: Homemade Nerf Darts

Isaac has created his own dart guns from 1/2 inch PVC pipe, here are homemade darts made from poly foam caulk saver and hot glue to accompany the guns.

Pyrotechnics: Surfing With Flares

Radical. pyrotechnics

Camping: Camp Fire Egg Inside an Orange Peel

We'll try this the next time we cook on the coals at home. Apparently you can add foil to the bottom of the orange peel for a softer egg.


via Lifehacker

Lightsabers: Kitten Play

Who doesn't like kittens? Although the first thing that comes to mind is that the kittens must be practicing not battling. The green and blue lightsabers both represent the Jedi, they would only battle the red saber of the Sith.

Science: Science Journal For Middle and High School Research

Wired magazine discusses the Journal or Emerging Investigators, a science journal for middle and high school students. This takes the science fair to a whole new level.

Cars: Green Slug Bug

via Neatorama

Tricks: :Parkour On Bikes

Neatorama calls this parkour for bikes. Watch at about 2:40 he rides a steel cable.

Music: Bach on Organ

Check out this guys feet! Playing J.S. Bach on an organ on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert.

Video: Dramatic Chihuahua

For the dramatic chicken fans.

Quote: Everyone is a Genius

via lifeHacker

Quotes: Winners Are Born

A few quotes inside of drawings for Monday morning. Should be kept in mind while wondering through the busy day.


via Scrivle


via gapingvoid

Politics: Explanation Of The Debt Ceiling

from ScriptingNews. Season 6 of the West Wing explains the politics of the debt ceiling. "Is it routine, or the end of the world?" "Both."

Music: They Might Be Giants

From NPR's Tiny Desk Concert.

Fire: Mini-Fireballs With Orange Peel

via io9.

Quote: No Cure For Curiosity

My suggestion is to always be a learner.

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. Dorothy Parker

Picture: Atlantis Coming Home

This picture of the Atlantis entering the Earth's atmosphere on July 21 was taken from the International Space Station.

Android: Android Controlled RC Car

I just funded this Android controlled RC car on KickStarter. $59 for a car that has touch or motion controls through the phone.

Cannon: New Idea For Potato Cannon

Great ideas from video on Make magazine for our potato cannon re-design.

1. They used a sprinkler valve to hook a switch to the launching mechanism.
2. Liked the folded air canister for easier moving.
3. Need a larger canister with a screw-off top so that repairs to the Schrader valve are easier.

Quote: There's Still Work To Be Done

Great quote in support of space exploration from gapingvoid.

Star Wars: Star Wars Meets Metal

via GeekDad

Roller Coaster: World's Steepest Roller Coaster

Takabisha roller coaster in Japan includes a 121 degree free fall. via TechCrunch



The free fall begins at about 1:45.

Star Wars: Dark Side of the Death Star

Star Wars puns via Neatorama.

Games: Cardboard Box Assembler

Routine sounding game, but the testers will give it a try. via Woot!

Kids: Make Your Kids Your Greatest Project

We are having great fun over the summer. Isaac found he enjoyed playing chess in the coffee shop. It seemed to encourage spontaneous and interesting conversation from total strangers.

via Scrivle.

Hiking: Guadalupe Mountains/Carlsbad Caverns

On the 4th of July weekend we went to the west edge of Texas to go hiking on the tallest mountain in Texas. We were going to go on a short route and it tuned out to be the hardest hike at the Guadalupe mountains. The next day we went to Carlsbad Caverns and looked at all the cool formations.

The hike was the hardest but funnest hike. Every turn we were all complaining about the ascent. It was the hardest thing in our hiking experiences.
--Isaac

Games: Solarmax

via Woot. Solarmax, conquer the Galaxy. I haven't attempted yet, but maybe reviews from my tester this evening.

Pictures: Last Year's Father's Day

Found these on an old camera.

Quote: The Road Less Traveled

There are no traffic jams along the extra mile. -Roger Staubach

Space: Next Gen Mars Rover Curiosity

Eight and a half months travel time, and huge complexities just to get to landing. Wonder if there's video of the tests. via Geekdad

Music: World's Fastest Guitar Player

Quote: As We Think, So We Become

The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;

So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings…
As the shadow follows the body,
As we think, so we become.
Buddah

Chart: Don't Worry

Great advice chart from Homegrown Evolution.

Picture: Mustache

Isaac and my mustache show down. Go super Mario!

Music: Isaac's New Guitar

New classical guitar

Movie: New Harry Potter Trailer

Very nice. Hope it's not too scary for the young wizard.

Comics: Medieval Justice League

Artist Ulises Farinas imagines a world of medieval Justice League.

My favorite one is the Legion of Doom.

Music: NPR Bluegrass

A little bluegrass for Tuesday from NPR Tiny Desk Concert. Hey Mike, one bluegrass tune from Austin Rewind please (you can do it)?

More Music: Bohemian Volkswagen

Spectacular video featuring the climatic guitar solo done on a melodica! Performed inside a rocking old Volkswagen.

Music: The Impossible Duet

Remarkable, also check out their more contemporary work; such as, "Welcome to the Jungle."

Math: Visiaul Multiplication

Another fun one from ViHart.

Engineering: Hard Drive Tear Down

The Engineer Guy explains hard drives. Includes discussion of magnetic binary data, Lorentz Force and Faraday's Law.

Quotes: Work and Luck

Two interesting images which have very little relevance to one another. Unless, you consider, it would be very hard work to build a space ray.


via lifeHacker


via io9