STARBASE-CT

Wii Music

2012-01-26T12:40:00.000-08:00

Ok I have a Wii and I really playing on it. It amazes me how far video games have come over the years. Now WE control what is going on the screen with our actions. I used to lean really far to one side in hopes of making that last jump. It never helped back then :(. But now it does have an impact a REALLY big one.

Now check out what some students in Virginia are doing with the Wii. I wish I could had a music class that did that.

Robot construction

2012-01-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

I ran across this article a little while back and I was AMAZED! Swiss architects Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler designed and built a 20-ft. tall tower using robots to do all the work. It is incredible what we can have machines do. This could have long reaching effects. Today a tower, tomorrow an elevator to the moon! Check it out here.

"And here it is., your moment of Zen."

2012-01-26T12:26:00.000-08:00

Here is a breath-taking video of the Earth. We live in an amazing world and all too often we take for granted just how delicate it can be. Watch this video and think about that and how very alive our world is and how we can work to keep it that way.

Bob the Bunny is calling all artists!

2012-01-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

Sparkles found this GREAT competition for students who are concerned about the environment. This competition is aimed at students between the ages of 10 and 12 years old (at the competition opening - July 1st 2011)

The website states:
"To enter, you form a team of 1 to 3 members, identify a local environmental issue and create an A4 cartoon strip illustrating the issue and actions that you might take to solve it. The submissions should be sent to us before the competition deadline of 24:00 (midnight) CET on February 29th 2012."

If you are interested check out the website and enter! Look for the part of the page about Bob the Bunny

How Much the Internet Weigh?

2011-11-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

This was interesting. I never thought about how much the Internet weighs but when I think of how much information is out there, I immediately get some ideas. I started thinking of how many books could be made out of that amount of information. So my first guess is A LOT... somewhere in the millions of tons. But researchers actually considered that the Internet stores information in the form of electrons. Then from there they think about how many electrons it takes to make a bit of information. A lot of math later they calculate that the weight of the Internet is about the same as a STRAWBERRY! That's all?!?! That is crazy! But remember all matter has mass and electrons have such a incredibly small amount of mass (we cannot even weigh on the best scales in the world!) Check out this video.

Some of it is a bit hard to understand but listen carefully and watch it a couple of times if you need to. It explains how they figured it all out!

What the Future Holds for Us...

2011-10-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

It is always neat to go back and see what people thought the future would be like. The promise of flying cars, personal jetpacks (I am still waiting on mine!), etc. Often when we think of the future we think of things like Star Trek. Beam me up Scotty! But here's a realistic view into our future and the future of technology over the next ten years. The potential is overwhelming! Solar-powered flight around the world! E-Paper! Your own 3-D printer at home! I mean come on how cool is that! Where do you see technology going in the next ten years? I will keep hoping for my own jetpack or teleportation like on Star Trek but an ultrabook would really cool too!

Robots in Space...

2011-08-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

NASA has done it now. There's a robot up on the ISS and its tweeting its "thoughts"! Well, maybe no full thoughts but status updates on its progress in space. You can read more about it here. So this is either a great thing, the start of Skynet or HAL 9000's great-grandfather! Pick you sides now!

* If you don't get me my movie references, look in to the Terminator and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Cars that Drive Themselves

2011-08-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

Have you seen I, Robot, with Will Smith? If not, fix that, but in it the cars drive themselves. You can override the artificial intelligence that controls the cars but I remember seeing it and thinking that would be wicked cool. Well, Google is working toward that. They recently sponsored a contest for automated cars. A team from Stanford University won. Then I found this video online recently. It looks to be a wild ride to say the least. Granted it has many bugs to work out but WOW! It seems they are getting closer and closer to making it happen, Let's face it there are cars already out there that you can buy that park themselves! It is mind-blowing! What could we do if the cars drive themselves?

The Future of Flying?

2011-06-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

I have always loved the idea of flying. When I was a kid I wanted nothing more than to become a fighter pilot in the Air Force. I had started making my way fro teh Air Force Academy by the end of Middle School. Planes, jets, helicopters, were the best thing ever.

Since becoming an adult and traveling on plane a couple of times a year, I still love flying but not the process or commercial planes. They are cramped and tight, uncomfortable, etc. It is amazing how they are envisioning the future of commercial flying. Airbus, a major aircraft maker, has their vision set on the future!

I love the forward thinking, like capturing body heat to proper some features, being able to see out regardless of where your seat is.

This makes me wonder what else will change about transportation in the near future. What changes do you see coming in the future for when we travel?

Periodic Table

2011-06-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

The elements have always been an area of interest for me. Where did the names come from? What elements make up the things around me? After I learned some of them explode when introduced to water... I really wanted to know more. Here's a site that gives you the opportunity to look closely at each one with a short video. I think it is cool to know the back story on how a name was devised or some of the properties of elements we can't find in our everyday lives. How about you?

Units of Measurement

2011-05-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

So at Starbase we use the Metric System. What else can we measure things in? This article shows a few alternative measurement units. Do you think you can create your own?

New Beach Lifeforms....

2011-03-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

I always enjoy walking down a beach and looking for shells, crabs, etc. I am constantly hoping to catch a peek at wildlife in general but the beach is so different for me. I find it to be a rare experience I suppose. Anyway, I think it is neat to see wild animals in their natural habitat and try to figure out what life is like for them. That must be what Theo Janson thinks about as well. He is a sculptor from Holland who has taken to building strandbeests. That's right strandbeests. These wind-powered beasts are creations of his that he has spent the past decades designing and building. He says his hopes is to have them "live" naturally on the beaches in Holland. I can only imagine waking up from a nap on the beach to one of these things tromping over me on its way down the beach. For being some thing made only of PVC pipe (water pipe) they are amazing and wonderful!

Future computers

2011-02-14T06:11:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that the trend in technology is to make things smaller and smaller. Think about it. Early computers, like ENIAC, were big enough to fill a room and today we have hand-held calculators with more computing power. We also carry around cell phones that take better pictures than digital cameras from 10 years ago. So imagine where computers are going in the future. Laptops are amazing in their portability and computing prowess. One possible future for personal computing is the model being developed by Sony. The idea of wearing a full computer on our wrists is AWESOME! I think of Leela on Futurama but this looks cooler! I imagine if they are looking to actually market this it will be in place before 2020, or at least I hope!

Another cool option is using our body and the computer interface! Skinput allows you to be the interface with your computer. How long will it be before you are wearing the whole computer on your wrist and you interact with the palm of your hand and don't need to unfold the computer? How cool would it be to get Facebook updates and to order things from Amazon on the palm of your hand!

Cool Stove

2011-02-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

So have you ever thought it would be nice to be able to cook multiple things at once? I know I have. It seems there is never enough space on my stove top. The William solves that! When I get around to redoing my kitchen I want to put one of these in. Now I need to find a place that actually sells them!

Clear Roads From Here On Out?

2011-01-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

After missing a few days already this winter it comes to mind that there has to be a better way of dealing with the snow and ice. Atlanta and NYC have been ground to a halt in recent weeks due to the citys' inability to handle the foul winter weather. It appears I am not the only one who thought about a better way to keep the roads clear.

The concept of a self-cleaning road is fantastic and would cause a lot of winter worries to subside. However, the initial cost is a bit overwhelming and bothersome. Hopefully we can figure a more reasonably cost-effective way of doing something like this in the future.

But to be honest I (along with almost every student and teacher in the world) would miss the snow days!

Wind Chill

2010-12-28T06:42:00.000-08:00

Well, we have weathered our first major snow of the winter here in New England. various reports have between 15-5 inches in most areas near Hartford. Not too bad for starters. :) So obviously along with the snow comes the COLD. Today for example has a forecasted high of 32 degrees Fahrenheit but a wind chill of -6 degrees! I grew in the Midwest where the wind chill is taken as near gospel. I can't recall all the times my playing out in the snow was either prevented or cut short by the dreaded wind chill index. So when I read today's forecast I got wondering what the wind chill was exactly and how it was determined. So I went out on the net and found this article. It is pretty neat how the concept was first developed. That is research I am fairly certain I am not cut out for doing. Then the further work that has been done on it is equally impressive. Regardless of your feelings on the wind chill index and its validity, stay warm!

How far we have come...

2010-12-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

The other day, I was talking with Raven, my boss/co-worker, about computer technology and how it is everchanging and evolving. As part of the conversation, we reminisced about the early days of the Internet. It was a classic "In My Day..." story we have all heard from the generation before ours. We were recalling how in the days before the World Wide Web and HTTP (the early 1990's), that the Internet was all text-based and you used GOPHERS to access documents. We had to chuckle at the thought of a modern Internet user being introduced to this now archaic version of what we have in the palm of our hands (i.e., smartphones, iPads, etc.).

This conversation has spurred some interesting thoughts in my head in the time since. Just think how far we have come technologically. I was impressed that by the later 1990's into the early 2000's we were quadrupling our computer technological capabilities every few months! Imagine the rate of growth today!

In terms of video game technology systems and acesssories such as the Wii and XBOX Kinect have taken video game playing to a level that was only dreamed of when I was young playing 8-bit Atari and Colecovision. (The control of the Wii via motion was how I tried to play back in the day, with the leaning and pulling, etc. It generally got me yelled at by friends and classmates while playing games like Jordan vs. Bird on a Commodore 64 (we thought that was HIGHEND computer tech in the late 1980's. I found that when I first got a Wii myself, I found I had trained myself to not to move and bob and weave over the years and had to really work at figuring out how my motion influenced the game's progress on the screen.)

These are only a couple of minor areas, I could explore how computers have changed the way we work, study, read, gather info, conduct business, etc. It is staggering when you try and take it all in and examine it. Regardless, we should make the best use of the technology we have. In my opinion, we should use technology to improve our quality of life and the ease in which we work. So enjoy the next time you sit down at school or work to write a report, or call up that show you DVRed because you were not home one night. We have things that people that came before us would consider magical and we need it remember that we are the ones to push ti forward to the next level. So what's your big idea?

Pew-Pew

2010-12-15T05:43:00.000-08:00

I am a HUGE science-fiction fan. As any good sci-fi fan, I am a BIG Star Wars fan. I can remember playing as stormtroopers and Jedis growing up. It is a truly epic tale and one that I truly feel is a lasting cinematic treasure. There is a new book out that tells how they researched and developed the numerous sound effects for the movies and cartoon series. Including the famous "pew-pew" of the laser rifles. It looks pretty cool. I wish I had known about it sooner or it would have been on my Christmas list!

White House Science Fair

2010-11-04T10:55:00.001-07:00

All I can say wow! What a treat that would be!

I wish I could calculate like a bee!

2010-10-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

Researchers in England have been working with bees to see what is going with the way bees solve problems. Using a age-old computer test model called the "traveling salesman problem", they found that the bees solve the dilemma in a fraction of the time it takes some of the most sophisticated computers. Now if only I thought and solve complex problems that quickly!

President Obama to Appear on Mythbusters!

2010-10-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

Ok so Mythbusters is a GREAT show to begin with but having the President on there challenging them to test a myth is awesome! IN an effort to further the STEM education push that the Obama administration is championing, the President will appear on the show Dec. 8 to challenge Adam and Jamie to test the Archimedes myth of the Archimedes super weapon that harnesses the power of the sun.

New Thinking in the School Cafeteria to Lead to Healthier Students?

2010-10-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

The USDA is launching a new initiative that it feels should help combat poor eating habits in young people. This use of psychology could lead to promoting healthier eating. Hopefully this is a positive step in promoting good eating habits in the youth of America! AS I am sure you know, childhood obesity is a major health issue and concern facing many young people. If this is successful in promoting better eating I am all for it!

Man those bees are amazing!

2010-10-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Bees are incredibly important to our survival. Their pollination of crops ensures we get to eat. Yet so often we flinch and swat when we see one.

Well, if getting to eat isn't reason enough to respect and revere the honeybee maybe this will help!

Coolest Optical Illusion You'll See Today

2010-10-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

Optical illusions can be so fun. This one really takes the cake! Generally optical illusions are caused by our brains trying to interpret signals from the eyes and because of a pattern, or color combination it does incorrectly. I suppose that is what is happening here too.; Ideas?

Funny.... Maybe... Worthwhile... Only Time Will Tell

2010-10-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

I know we have all heard of some random and what appears to be silly research being done by scientists... BUT sometimes the silly research leads us to bigger and better things. The Ig Nobel Award somewhat mocks those researchers who are willing to look into what seems to be silly and pointless research but often times that research leads to breakthroughs in a scientific field later on. Take Andre Geim for example, He won the Ig Nobel for Physics in 2000 along with Sir Michael Berry for their research using magnets to levitate a frog. While it seems utterly inane to attempt levitating a frog using a magnet, their research went on to help further our understanding that certain materials like water are actually effected by high power magnets. Since a frog is mostly water, they were able to make it levitate over a magnet that was able to produce a powerful enough magnetic field. This understanding potentially could lead to new developments in transportation, and computing among other fields of research.

I bring this up because Dr. Geim was just announced as being this year's recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics for his MacGuyver-esque work in discovering graphene, an atom-thick graphite material that could revolutionize the world as we know it. Dr. Geim and his colleagues took Scotch tape and applied to a large block of graphite in hopes of pulling off thin layers of the graphite. They succeeded in pulling off incredibly thin layers (graphene) and found the behavior of the graphene on an atomic level was incredibly different and has what appears to be limitless possibilities! Graphene is stronger than steel, incredibly electro-conductive, and could lead to worldwide change in production and computing!

So next time you feel a little unsophisticated in your scientific attempts remember, your work could lead to worldwide change for the better! So go ahead and be creative and think outside the box.

From trash mass to fuel... LET'S HOPE SO!

2010-09-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Due to human consumption and careless disposal of non-biodegradable waste, we have an area in the Pacific Ocean larger than Texas that is nasty soup of plastic, trash, and sea water. Researchers have been trying to figure out what to do with this mass of trash that has collected in the Central Pacific thanks to current streams.

A partnership of organizations is piloting new technology to take this mess and convert it a fuel source! Let's hope for the planet's sake and ours that they are successful!

Israeli scientists develop new nano-Star of David

2010-09-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

Researchers in Israel have developed a new nanoparticle that resembles the Star of David. This new nanoparticle is believed to have strong applications in the early diagnosis of diabetes and the converstion of water in hydrogen for fuel! This development is just one TINY (Pun intended!) example of the future of nanotechnology.

As science is able to break things down to the nanoscale, we are finding amazing uses and applications that will reshape our world!

There's an app for that...

2010-09-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

Ok I find this interesting. I for one wish that there was a larger push for clean/green energy in the form of affordable solutions. I know if I could afford it would gladly put a windmill turbine in my backyard. But this app for the iPhone apparently helps you calculate your savings if you were to have one.

If you are not into spiders, this may not be for you!

2010-09-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

It seems I am regularly walking into or dodging spider webs but NONE OF THEM compare to the Darwin Bark Spider! This is made from the toughest biological substance around! I am glad I don't have to worry about dodging these on a regular basis!

Just because it's Friday...

2010-09-10T12:23:00.001-07:00

Science is great because from an accident can come a wonderful new invention or discovery that reshapes how we view the world. Take a look at this list of 10 accidental discoveries.

Hi-tech Prism

2010-09-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

Newton may have determined that white light is a composite of the visible range of light waves but he NEVER saw it generated by an F-22 taking multiple Gs.

OMG! That's a ROCKET!

2010-09-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

NASA is in the testing phase of its new solid rocket which will be the power source for the new space vehicle, which go into service in 2015. Good grief! That thing is powerful. A Mars mission really could be possible with that thing launching our space missions!

How we see what we see

2010-09-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting article recounting the way the brain interprets the images we see. I know that the working of the eye is part of the curriculum that our teachers are responsible for. I was thinking that this article could provide some background and an up-to-date factual accounting for you. Enjoy!

The way we are able to see has always fascinated me. Truly incredible!