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I walked back into my office and was surprised to see sunlight glaring off of…

I walked back into my office and was surprised to see sunlight glaring off of my monitor…coming from the *northwest* — wait, what? I looked out and there's a car on top of the parking structure across the way that's at exactly the right spot to reflect the sun into my office window. At least it'll only be a few minutes.

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Are PCs Dying? Of Course Not, Here’s Why

The desktop/laptop PC isn’t dying so much as the market is saturated and the upgrade cycle has slowed, while smart phones and tablets continue to demand regular replacements. Plus of course the lines are blurring.

Are PCs Dying? Of Course Not, Here’s Why

Reports of the PC’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. We’ve all heard that everyone’s just buying tablets and throwing out their keyboards and mice. But if you live in the real world, you see…

The audacious rescue plan that might have saved space shuttle Columbia

The audacious rescue plan that might have saved space shuttle Columbia

I was reading this last night. Obviously it was developed in hindsight, but it’s fascinating to see everything they would have had to do, and everything that would have had to go *exactly* right to reach Columbia before the crew succumbed to CO2 poisoning after a month in a craft that had been prepped for a mission less than half that time. Error margins are slim to nonexistent, and the time crunch would have put the rescue crew at risk as well. (via Slashdot)

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these “my weather is better than yours” sharepics going around bug me

As a lifelong Californian, these “my weather is better than yours” sharepics going around bug me. Not because it’s thumbing your nose, that’s just normal regional rivalry — but because we’re getting that “better weather” at the expense of the rain we normally get in winter, rain that we desperately need if we’re going to do things like grow food, fight seasonal wildfires, and, oh, I don’t know, drink. It’s like bragging about how warm you are while surrounded by fire.

The Great Lakes are freezing over to an extent not seen since 1994. Ironically,…

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/02/22/great_lakes_cold_weather_produces_deep_freeze.html

The Great Lakes are freezing over to an extent not seen since 1994. Ironically, other parts of the world are dealing with record heat, and worldwide the January of the Wandering Polar Vortex is the fourth-warmest on record.

Distributed technology vs. state abuses of such

Can We Avoid a Surveillance State Dystopia?

Distributed technology vs. state abuses of such. Cameras are everywhere — including in the hands of witnesses. Photos can be manipulated — by anyone, and the masses can spot and report a fake quickly. States or corporations can amass huge amounts of data — but a single whistleblower can smuggle out evidence of it in his pocket. (via Slashdot)

The polar vortex is a normal weather feature that usually circles within the arctic…

A Brief Meandering About the Polar Vortex (Bad Astronomy)

The polar vortex is a normal weather feature that usually circles within the arctic area. This year it dipped southward over North America, bringing extreme cold and snow to most of the continent…while Alaska experienced much milder temperatures than normal, California continued its drought, and the southern hemisphere experienced record summer heat.

Phil Plait analyzes the footage of that falling camera video, and explains the weirdness…

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/02/15/falling_camera_spinning_camera_strobes_and_falls_into_a_pigpen.html

Phil Plait analyzes the footage of that falling camera video, and explains the weirdness of the double-vision that starts up partway through. It has to do with refresh rates and spin.

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