The New Exhibit

On the first floor of my building we have an exhibit space for different pieces of art. Today was the opening of the latest exhibit and I joined my coworker Bob and his wife, Sharon, in checking out the new art. As usual, there was food and wine and the artists stopped by to give a deeper insight into their work. For this exhibit they brought up five artists from the Richmond area. What made these artists special is that they are also scientists and they have used their art as an extension of their science. My favorite piece was a the Möbius strip made from cherry wood. Unfortunately that wasn't for sale but the other Möbius strip with the stripes was selling for $500. I didn't think it was worth it, but what do I know. Bob and Sharon really seemed to enjoy themselves. I can't wait till the next exhibit, but in the meanwhile I'll have to stop by this one a few more times.

Ebert & Rohan

I really enjoy watching movies. I'll watch a good blockbuster but I prefer independent and foreign films. I like watching movies that very few people know about. Movies that transport you to another world. Here are a sampling of some of the decent films that I've come across. (Even if the trailer is in another language, the movies all have english subtitles)

Sun Yum Guy

Thanks to Youtube recommending some videos for me to watch, lately I've been totally fascinated by the idea of solar cooking. I remember a while back seeing a video about an Indian village that had a huge solar cooking facility. It seemed like a great idea but it didn't seem related to my life, that is until I started seeing these videos of smaller solar cookers. Not only were they a manageable and mobile size, the potential recipes were boundless. These meals could be prepared in the morning and be ready by lunch. Plus, there's no need for gas, wood, or charcoal...What could be better for the environment?

Thinking big...feeling small

The one thing about working for a scientific magazine is that every once in a while, you see an article that just blows my mind! (Does Our Universe Live Inside a Wormhole?) Just reading the headline alone was enough to make me say WOW! When you start to think about space, it makes you realize how small you are. If you traveled at the speed of light, which is a little over 186,000 miles per second, it would take you 8 minutes to get the sun. But, it would take you 100,000 years to go from one end of the milky way to the other. That's just one galaxy. The largest galaxy known would take 5 million years to cross! Scientist believe there are more than 170 billion galaxies in the universe. Its hard to picture 170 billion of anything...It's almost impossible to grasp! To put in perspective, that's about half the number of cells in our body. Many of these galaxies have stars that would make our sun look like invisible by comparison...I think my head is starting to hurt now.

A Chinese chupacabra?

Every once in a while you read an article that makes you say WTF?! Below is one such story.



A mystery beast that resembles a chupacabra ("goat-sucker"), a legendary, fearsome and possibly mythical beast said to inhabit parts of the Americas and Puerto Rico, is seen shortly after its capture in a village in Suining, Sichuan Province on March 24.

In this case, the gray colored animal wasn't attacking goats, but chickens and it was the fowls' cries that alerted village Ke Suying to find the mystery predator tearing into his birds. He tried to drive it away with a stick but failed, though later with the help of neighbors caught it in a steel net.

It resembles a large rat or a mutant mix of kangaroo and dog, with large claws. It is about 60 centimeters long, with a 30-centimeter tail. Villagers describe it as "quite fierce" and said it ravenously consumes both meat and vegetables fed to it.

Most of its brown fur has fallen out, with only a little left on its back and a front foot.
The creature has been given to the Sichuan Province forestry department for further examination.


Source: Suining Daily

Uptown Top Ranking

One of the great perks from being Jamaican is that there's a good chance you grew up with a healthy dose of music, whether its at home or one of the many parties Jamaicans like to throw. I heard this song in the background of one my new favorite shows. I had to spread the love.

How To Make it in America - Episode 5

This week's episode just seemed to fly by. I love this series....You gotta watch it in full screen mode. I guess beggars can't be choosers.