Beauty of people

This too shall pass

That’s the title of a lovely music video bij OK Go:

Synnlabs made the Ruby Goldberg machine used in the video.

State of the internet

Jesse Thomas (‘Jess3′) made this video about the current size of internet:

There’s some amazing numbers in there. One I don’t like: 81% of email is spam. One I like: you are currently reading one of the 126 million blogs available worldwide.

Rocket launch blows away the sky

I referenced the Bad Astronomy Blog earlier.

The enthousiasm of Phil Plait is contagious
He pointed to this movie of the launch of an Atlas V rocket last 11. February. Watch what happens at 1:50…

You can find an explanation in his blog post.

DariusGoesWest on Oprah?

From my previous posts you know I am a big fan of the work Darius Weems is doing to raise money for research to beat Duchenne Muscula Dystropy.

The www.dariusgoestwest.org crew is now trying to get Darius on the last season of Oprah Winfrey’s show. Think what a difference that would make to all the people having DMD.

Here’s how you can write a letter to the Oprah showwww.dariusgoeswest.org/tips-cue-questions-for-writing-your-oprah-letter/, but do it before 7. March, otherwise it’s too late!

Deworm the world

Deworm the world is an initiative to spread deworming tablets through schools wherever it is needed. That does not sound very sexy, but is very necessary and relatively ‘easy’ to do. Not only does a prevent deaths but also a lot of debilitating illnesses like blindness or elephantiasis.

The recent January 2010 issue of Scientific American magazine also featured an article "(A plan to defeat) Neglected topical diseases" by Peter Jay Hotez in which he describes 7 parasitic or bacterial infections that are common in impoverished areas. There he points to the 50 Cents Campaign.

Quoting the key concepts from that article:

"A group of seven tropical diseases, mostly caused by parasitic worms. afflict a billion impoverished people worldwide. They seldom kill directly but cause life-long misery that stunts children’s growth, leaves adults unable to function to their fullest, and heighthens the risk of other diseases."
"Fortunately, they can be easily treated, often with a single pill. Various agencies and foundations are collaborating to deliver these drugs, although they have only about 10% of the population so far."

Charlie raises over 200000 pounds for Haiti

Cheese advert

No spoiler, just watch…

The impossible hamster

From The Impossible Hamster Club

A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything

A flipbook animation, from the Big Bang to… well, I’m not giving that away.

Jamie Oliver wins TED Prize 2010

At the recent TED conference, Jamie Oliver was awarded the TED Prize for furthering his work of teaching our kids about food:

Seeing the part where he asks kids at school "What vegetable is this", I felt my body cringe. This hurts. How can we raise kids this way, not being able to take care of themselves and their kids?

I think he is being gentle with his audience.
I don’t want to point fingers, specifically, and I don’t consider myself an expert on food in the US, but I have seen some things that really amaze me:

• Building houses that don’t even have a kitchen?
• Serving a stack of pancakes with butter and with syrup with every (fried) breakfast?

And he’s right about the labeling: Claiming "0% fat" when the product is full of sugar. Ridiculous!

It is really time to get our priorities right and give him the support he wants.