Many organizations have been making predictions for a peak in world oil production between 2010 and 2015, followed by a decline. This could bring profound changes in global markets, the balance of power and political upheaval. Check out this article in Der Spiegel, this article based on a seminar by the president of Petrobras, and this article in The Guardian.

Interesting article in The Guardian on China's new drive to guarantee access to raw materials in Brazil.

Two curious inventions: Roper's steam-powered motorcycle (1869- bottom) and Daimler's gasoline motorcycle (1885- top).

An interesting, personal review of Douglas Hoftadter's book, fittingly titled "Gödel Escher Bach: An Endless Geek Bible". This book is one of the only three "Further Reading" suggestions I gave at the end of my popular science book on quantum computing.

There is actually a clock called QuantumGravity.

A big, scary step for science: the first synthetic life form.

China is suffering a wave of attacks of deranged men on kindergartens - reminds me of the high-school shootings in the U.S., minus the guns.

I've just learned about commonplacing - the act of taking down quotes, poems, pieces of news in a commonplace book, a kind of personal scrapbook. This was common in England and the U.K. in the 17th century, but somehow died off since. The first thing I thought when I read about these was: these are just like blogs! Wikipedia tells me this analogy has (of course) been pointed out before.

Watch experimental short videos by Cyriak on Youtube.

A new chapter of the story of the man of Flores: apparently they may have arrived there over a million years ago! They'd be something like preserved australopithecus (ci?), having lived in Flores as late as about 17000 year ago.

I'm in Zurich.
On a curious form of film cult, in this case of The Big Lebowski.