The picture is not Photoshopped and is dead serious.

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.

Chirac reveals that Bush pleaded with him about invading Iraq on the basis of faith:

Incredibly, President George W. Bush told French President Jacques Chirac in early 2003 that Iraq must be invaded to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible’s satanic agents of the Apocalypse.

Honest. This isn’t a joke. The president of the United States, in a top-secret phone call to a major European ally, asked for French troops to join American soldiers in attacking Iraq as a mission from God.

Now out of office, Chirac recounts that the American leader appealed to their “common faith” (Christianity) and told him: “Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East…. The biblical prophecies are being fulfilled…. This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people’s enemies before a New Age begins.”

Read the rest of this article.

In the spirit of boy scout badges, check out the Science Scout badges. Some which I may claim:

The “Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah, I’ve got a radio gig” badge.


The “quantum mechanics… I soooo get it” badge.

The “science deprives me of my bed” badge (LEVEL II).


The “non-explainer” badge (LEVEL I)- Where the recipient can no longer explain what they do to their parents.


The “I will crush you with my math prowess” badge.

The “has frozen stuff just to see what happens” badge (LEVEL III).


The “destroyer of quackery” badge. (In which the recipient never ever backs down from an argument that pits sound science over quackery.)

An interesting essay in The Edge about necessary changes in the model of university teaching.

Fold-it @ home is a game that lets players try to find lower-energy configurations for folded proteins. This may have applications in drug design among other things. The game has already revealed a 13-year-old protein folding prodigy, and has resulted in results that beat what PhD-holding biochemists have achieved.

A funk song video made out of many different youtube videos, very funky!

A report on a fire in an underground coal mine that has been raging for half a century. Such fires are common, very hard to extinguish, and produce enormous amounts of CO2.

Just last night there were raised fears of a pandemic of swine fever in Mexico city - universities, schools and kindergartens were closed for the day, and bosses were asked to be tolerant of absences today. There are an estimated 1000 cases and 45 deaths reportedly caused by the virus.

On a solar cooker that can be put together for US$5.