Phoenix Lands on Mars.

NASA has successfully landed the first controlled descent craft on Mars since the 1976 Viking landers more than 30 years ago. This is a huge relief to NASA because the last time they tried this method they lost the craft during its descent. That was the Mars Polar Lander. After that disappointment the Phoenix spacecraft emerged from the ashes of Polar Lander and this time everything is going to plan, so far.

NASA received a signal from Phoenix at 2353 GMT that suggests that the craft has successfully made the tricky entry through the Martian atmosphere. The next step for NASA is to open the solar arrays and then take some pictures of the craft itself to ensure that the arrays have deployed correctly.

The primary mission for Phoenix is to test the Martian soil for the signs of water. A tool on board the craft will dig a sample of dirt and do various test on the dirt. This is not to dissimilar to the actions that the Viking probes did in the 70’s, the big difference of course the technology. Now we are better equipped to detect and analyse results should they be found.

Images should be sent soon after all post landing checks are done, hopefully some of those will be released to the public. When they are they we will put some up.

Crystal Skull hits nearly all the marks.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opened yesterday to much hype and anticipation. I really wanted this film to be as good as Raiders and The Last Crusade, and for the most part it is. There are some spectacular set pieces throughout the film as is the same with the previous Indy instalments. There are some great character moments also, what bugs me slightly are that there are some really absurd elements to the film. I will get to those soon. I have to say that it was great to see Harrison Ford back in the role that would have been shit had Tom Selleck actually been Indiana. Ford takes the character to the next stage considering that he is now in his sixties.

Minor Spoiler alert.
So as I said Indy is back in full swing, bullwhipping his way from stunt to bad guy to supernatural McGuffin. I was unsure when I walked out of the theatre if this was as good as the other Indy films, not that I have had a few days to think about it I have to say, ‘yes it is’. It has all the hallmarks of what makes Indy, Indy. We have the Paramount mountain logo dissolve to a real representation of the logo, we have an adventure sequence to start with. We have an interesting bad guy and Cate Blanchette does a good job as Indy’s nemesis. She is complex, focused and like her predecessors a little bit insane. We have a big huge henchman that Indy has to go toe to toe with and boy does he ever. We have two fights that Indy has to endure. Finally we have an ending that is a bit fantastical, just like Raiders, Doom and Crusade. I have to keep telling myself that the other three movies all had supernatural artefacts as the main quest and this is no different.

The Good Stuff.
Harrison Ford is back as Indiana, this is great.

Harrison Ford is more than capable of handling the stresses of Indiana Jones.
Acknowledgement of Indy’s father and Marcus Brody were a welcome sight.
John Williams score was right in line with the themes of the other films and hit the mark everytime. Queues were right on, we heard Last Crusade Themes and Raiders Themes.
Getting to see the Ark Of the Covenant in the Warehouse was a welcome sight.
The whole first 25 minutes was great fun. Loved it.

The Bad Stuff
Mutt’s jungle escapades were a bit over the top. That includes the bit with the monkey’s and the sword fight. It was a bit to fantastical for my liking, not really real enough for Indiana Jones .
Ray Winstone’s character was a bit wasted, he’s a good actor but he wasn’t really given a lot to work with.
The bit with the snake was a bit silly, we all know that Indy does not like snakes but a snake rope.... come on.
The Crystal Skull looks like a plastic case with screwed up plastic inside. And it does not look very heavy either.
So as you can see the bad stuff is not ingrained throughout the film and does not make it a bad film experience, I was able to put it aside and enjoy the rest of the movie for what it was, a good solid Indiana Jones flick. When I left the movies I had it at a 6.5 out of 10, but now I am up to 7.5, maybe an 8.

More gas for your $$$$$ - say it IS so...please?

Spam. Who'd have thought 100 years ago when they invented the savoury potted meat, that the word would eventually become one of the more feared in the English lexicon. And not feared in a "arrgh arrgh, its got my leg" kind of way, but more of a "oh for fucks sake, its not what I think it is" eye rolling type of response. Is my wanger really that small? Do my boobs really need to be bigger than they already are? Is investing in in that pharmaceutical company really going to fulfil me as a person? Or is all this spam just needlessly thrashing the worlds networking devices?

And some spam isn't even trying to elicit money - its one of those ones that unless you look closely at what its saying, and think objectively, it may sneak past the radar and encourage you to forward it on to someone else. The dreaded S-SPAM (Sneaky-Superficial Pesky and Annoying Message) that you end up getting from a well meaning work mate, your sister-in-law or the guy you know at the coffee shop who just got online for the first time and has your email addy for some reason. A majority of these run the same gambit - pull heart strings, then bullshit or threaten the reader.

My snake/dog/penis was trapped/shot/fired from a cannon and only through extensive surgery/gods will/serious whacking will it ever be able to work/walk/rummage through my sock drawer.
Please send this on to 5 million people and you'll see a fire start spontaneously in your hard drive/a cool video of dancing voles/me coming through the front door with an axe.

It was exactly this kind of mail that I received a yesterday. A well meaning, but misguided work....dude (I cant say mate, I don't know the guy!) sent it to everyone in the building. 500 people had that eye rolling moment when you see someone on the internal mail list you've never heard of sending an email with multiple $$$ signs in the subject.

So, "get to the point" you say, and quite rightly as well. The subject was "More gas for your $$$$$" and as I went to delete it, I paused and thought "thats a new one". More gas? I've seen more inches, boobs, drugs, pr0n, shares, watches, Nigerian dollars and degrees, but gas? Was someone hoping to up my flatulence rate? Ok ok - I couldn't help it - everyone loves the fart jokes. Lets examine the contents. Of the email. Not the fart.

In this day and age, with petrol prices sky rocketing, we are more concious than ever about when we use the car and for how long. So this email played on that fear and I was sucked in. Here's a basic run down :

It was someone in Durban (SA) who worked in the petroleum industry. They spoke about the types of fuel the handled every day.

1) The first tip was to only fill up your car early in the morning because "all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening" you get less bang for your buck.
2) Tip #2 was don't fill too fast because "the trigger has three stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.
3) Tip #3 was only fill when your tank is half full. This, it was reasoned was due to "the more fuel you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space" and "petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine".
4) And finally, tip #4 is don't fill straight after a truck has delivered the fuel to the station, as "the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom."

The message was ended with a lovely "Hope this will help you get the most value for your money".

Now it may be that someone has decided to send helpful information around the world via forwarded email, but being the cynical bastard I am I seriously doubted it. I decided to spend 30 mins checking the veracity of this email because a) if it was right, I could save some pingers at the pump, and b) if it was wrong I could use it as blog fodder. Lets look at the claims :

1) Cold fuel is better than warm fuel.
It said in the email that a 1°C rise would make a big difference in what you pay at the pump. Nearly all petrol stations store their petrol underground. The ground temperature change over the course of a day is not big for something that deep - probably 1 or 2 °C during the course of a day (data from New Zealand meteorological stations in Wellington). But lets use the 1°C in the email. Assuming that a motorist typically bought 40 litres of petrol per week at $2.00 per litre, and assuming that by carefully choosing to fill up at a particular time of day said consumer could realize a 1% savings, the total savings to be gleaned over the course of a year is about $40. Would that reward really be worth the potential inconvenience of adhering to a rigid fill-up schedule week after week?
I checked a report done by the National Weights and Measures in 1999 and they state the following figures :

Hot fuel Temperature > 24°C Approx. 1% volume difference from 15°C
Warm fuel Temperature > 17°C Approx. 0.25% volume difference from 15°C
Cool fuel Temperature < 13°C Approx. 0.25% volume difference from 15°C
Cold fuel Temperature < 6°C Approx. 1% volume difference from 15°C

This means there would have to be a 9°C change to realise that 1% savings. That's way outside the 1 or 2 °C on an average New Zealand Day.

2)Pour your petrol slowly
Advocates maintain that pumping gas more slowly produces fewer vapours, and therefore consumers get more for their money by using slower settings on pumps (because less gasoline is lost to vaporization). Critics assert that the amount of vapour loss produced during the pumping process is so small as to be economically insignificant to the ordinary consumer. And one has to consider the time factor: Is the aggregate amount of time you're going to lose by using only the slowest delivery setting at every fill-up really worth whatever modest amount of money you might save?

3)Fill your tank when its half full
Some advanced gasoline filtration systems claim to recover about 2% of the fuel lost by evaporation from gas station storage tanks. Is that savings really worth essentially halving the storage capacity of your car's gas tank (thereby requiring you to stop for gasoline twice as often as before)? Assuming that our typical consumer bought gas once a week, and that the fill-up process averaged a modest 8 minutes (including the time to get to a gas station, to wait in line if the pumps are all busy, to pump the gas, to pay for the purchase, and to get back on the road), said consumer would be spending an extra 7 hours per year pumping gas to achieve these savings. Is that a good trade-off of time vs. money?
The report by NWM also states :

"With modern petrol engine burning about 98% of the fuel entering the cylinders and with catalytic converters burning about 75% of unburnt fuel leaving the engine, total emissions from the engine exhaust represent only about 0.5% of fuel usage. Vapour losses from ullage spaces are likely to be of the order of 0.15-0.2% at each of the stages listed above and the fuel supply chain emissions are therefore comparable with vehicle operating emissions"

0.15% - 0.2%, which if we use the example from point 1 (40l x $2 x 52 weeks = $4160/year) we would see a return of $6 to $8 per annum. Not very much return on the wasted time.

4)Sediment in the tank
Most sources agree that deliveries from tanker trucks do stir up particles of dirt and sludge in gasoline storage tanks, but that this isn't really much of an issue for the ordinary motorist. Service stations are required to have filters that trap dirt and sludge, and modern cars also have fuel filters, so a bit of stirred-up dirt doesn't really pose much of a potential to adversely affect your car. And again, one has to consider the trade-off. On the (probably infrequent) occasions when you arrive at a gas station at the very same time a tanker is filling the station's tanks, is it really worth the time and expense to leave without filling up and drive off to a different service station just to avoid something that likely isn't much of a concern in the first place?

If you've skipped all of this and are looking for the punch line, here it is - don't believe everything you receive in the inbox, but don't be overly sceptical either. Check your facts, look for evidence supporting and contradicting both sides (check the veracity of the sources too) and make up you own mind.

For the best info on making your car go further, I suggest you read the following sites which have the best info for motorists and its basic stuff backed up by simple science. It by far and away beats anything listed above in terms of fuel saved and it can be as simple as modifying your driving habits. Check it out.

New Zealand Government website FuelSaver

Consumer.org - Consumer Protection Non-profit Organisation

BTW - this email is listed on Snopes.com and they say this :

This collection of purported money-saving tips for buying gasoline is another item difficult to classify as strictly true or false. It's not completely false in that one or more of the tips might actually result in some savings (however modest), but it can't fairly be classified as true either, as the practical utility of all of these tips is disputed, and the economic gains to be had from following them is highly questionable.

3, 2, 1 Blast off! No - I mean, blast on, er down - goddamit!

The Phoenix Mars lander is due to stop, drop and roll dick roll onto the Martian surface this week. May 25, 4.46 PDT (Pacific Daylight Time - UTC -7 hrs) is the time for our attack, er I mean, landing and investigation. The mission, Jim, is to drop this sucka onto the pole and find out where all the women, I mean, water is at. More info and a cool vid after the jump.











So once our tank, I mean, scientific vehicle lands on the Pole, it will be sniffing around to try and find signs of water in either frozen or liquid form, and also if life could have ever been sustained ere
Heres the offical line :

The complement of the Phoenix spacecraft and its scientific instruments are ideally suited to uncover clues to the geologic history and biological potential of the Martian arctic. Phoenix will be the first mission to return data from either polar region providing an important contribution to the overall Mars science strategy "Follow the Water" and will be instrumental in achieving the four science goals of NASA's long-term Mars Exploration Program.

They forgot to mention the machine guns and high explosives, but thats ok. We dont want the Martians finding out anyway.

Heres a vid explaining what has to happen to get the Phoenix onto the martian surface without doing an impression of the Dambusters bouncing bomb.

Joss Whedon Gets Something Right

Thanks to Gizmodo for this one. It is the trailer to the new Joss (Alien wrecker) Whedon's TV show called 'Dollhouse'. The premise is that a bunch of people are 'Actives' that are essentially empty bodies with no memories that can be programmed to behave in certain ways and do certain things, like be assassins, spys and opoeratives.

The assumption being that when they finish a mission they can be wiped so that they have no memory of the job and can be programmed for next weeks show where they will do something different. No doubt there will be some over arching plot line that means you will have to watch them all to know what is going on. It does sound interesting I have to admit, even if it does sound kind of like Dark Angel/Matrix/McGyver.
The reason old Joss has got this right may have something to do with casting. He has got Arnies Daughter from True Lies to be the lead. That would be Eliza Dushku, who also stared in Bring It On and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Check out the vid to see what I am getting at.

World Wide Telescope Goes Live

Microsoft have finally gone live with their version of Google Sky. Its called the World Wide Telescope and is now available from Microsoft at http://www.worldwidetelescope.org. I heard about this project a while ago when it was announced at TED and was excited from the get go. More info after the jump.

Currently Microsoft have about 20 terabytes of data that make up the visual experience, which will be updated on a regular basis. This equates to about 1.2 million books.
One of the features that Microsoft has been keen on is the ability for anyone from professional astronomers to amateur viewers to be able to use the software. This should enable the tool as a teaching aid to school children and other novices.
This is what Dr Roy Gould of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics had to say about the new software tool.

"Galileo's telescope started to give us views of the universe that no one else
had seen before and we started asking what was out there and why. And I think
the WorldWide Telescope is going to do the same thing for the rest of us, In terms of pushing the envelope, this really pushes the envelope."

I cant wait to get this going and see if it is as good as its supposed to be.

R2D2 is Cool as Ice.

Here is the new R2D2 ice box. This will go nicely along side the R2D2 projection unit, the R2D2 rubbish bin and the R2D2 remote control toy.
Not only do you get the funky ice box but you also get the Han Solo ice cube tray to make your very own carbonite ice sculptures. Jump for the pics.

Not only do you get the funky ice box but you also get the Han Solo ice cube tray to make your very own carbonite ice sculptures.

Surprise surprise - video games dont do shit

In a new book Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, a husband-and-wife team at Harvard Medical School, they detail their views on the effects of video games on kids. The results? Hardly surprising really. No direct causal link between computer gaming and violent behaviour. "What I hope people realize is that there is no data to support the simple-minded concerns that video games cause violence," Kutner said.

The only thing that the research did show was an increase in aggressive behaviour for kids playing M-rated games. The researchers found that 51 per cent of boys who played M-rated games – the US industry's equivalent of an R-rated movie, meaning suitable for ages 17 and up – had been in a fight in the past year, compared to 28 per cent of non-M-rated gamers. The pattern was even stronger among girls, with 40 per cent of those who played M-rated games having been in a fight in the past year, compared to just 14 per cent for non-M players.

Some people may say "Aha!" at this point - "see! Play violent games, increased violent behaviour!". Not so kemosabe - it shows correlation, not causation. You cant draw a link like that when you don't take into account other factors like home life, personality type or other such influences. What if kids who are naturally predisposed to aggressive behaviour seek out aggressive natured games?

"It's still a minority of kids who play violent video games a lot and get into fights. If you want a good description of 13-year-old kids who play violent video games, it's your local soccer team," Olson said.

They also are trying to place the new wave of computer gaming (new meaning the last 12 years or so since Quake came out) in context with other such media influences such as TV, Movies and comics. Whenever a new medium is released, there is always a tendency for people to jump up and down and blame human activity on the influence of a new media. Look at Video Nasties in Britain, Heavy Metal music in the 80's and Rock'n Roll music in the 50's - every time someone has pointed at these things as a single cause of all that is bad in society today. I'm afraid life just isn't that simple - its always going to be a combination of factors.

There have been several studies recently which show differing levels of response from young people when exposed to "violent" video games. Some say they calm people down and allow them to release tension. The one thing they all say is that further study is needed because the results are unclear.

Playing games that simulate violence against fictional characters is not the same as actually mutilating someone. Comparing something that is in reality violent (assaulting someone) against something that has no real world consequence (playing GTA4) is not the same. A majority of people can differentiate between real world violence and fictitious or simulated violence. It is true that people become desensitised to certain violent symbols after long periods of gameplay (such as images of guns and war) but this does not affect they way the react to emotionally disturbing images such as sick children.

"One thing I like about their approach is that they've tried to historicize the whole concept of a media controversy and that we've seen this before," said Ian Bogost, a professor at Georgia Tech known for his studies on video games.

The book urges a common-sense approach that takes stock of the entire range of a child's behaviour. Frequent fighting, bad grades, and obsessive gaming can be signs for trouble.

"If you have, for example, a girl who plays 15 hours a week of exclusively violent video games, I'd be very concerned because it's very unusual," Kutner said.

"But for boys (the danger sign) is not playing video games at all, because it looks like for this generation, video games are a measure of social competence for boys."

I totally agree - any young kid who can't whoop an oldie's ass at Unreal Tournament deserves to be sent back to PC Gaming kindergarten until he can frag with the best of them.

Volcano spews plasma : run away! run away!

Check out the awesome pic's taken by some nut who stuck around as the long dormant Chaitén volcano on the coast of Chile erupted this week. They say that the mingling of lightning and ash seen in these pic's may be a "dirty thunderstorm." The little-understood storms may be sparked when rock fragments, ash, and ice particles in the plume collide to produce static charges—just as ice particles collide to create charge in regular thunderstorms.

Check out more pic's after the jump. (Thanks National Geographic!)

Click on image to enlarge.

Alien rides the tube - needs pee break

Some guy in London has made his own Alien costume and likes to attend charity events wearing it. Check out the vid after the jump from the BBC of him wearing it on the London underground. Mind the Gap.


Sorry folks - can't embed the player. Check it out here :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7376635.stm

Plastic Syringe Inventor Passes Away.

Not many people know the name of Colin Murdoch, the inventor of the plastic syringe and the tranquilliser gun. Mr Murdoch passed away yesterday after battling cancer since 1991. There is no doubt that the man from New Zealands South Island made his mark on history. His simple invention replaced the permanent glass and metal syringe with the modern day plastic disposable one we see today.

Not only is this used all over the world in hospitals and schools but it is safe to say that the disposable syringe has saved countless lives by not reusing the old fashioned ones. disposable syringes means no cleaning and no sharing. If this had not come about then there is no doubt that the cases of cross contamination would be considerably higher. Not to mention the use of syringes by drug addicts.
Not only did he come up with the disposable syringe but he also developed the way of administering doses of tranquiliser via modified world war 2 weapons. While studying imported goat and antelope he developed the tranquiliser gun so that the animals could be subdued from a distance. Again this development has helped with the study of animals around the world and his company Paxarms Ltd helped to develop many of the technologies. Another Great New Zealander who's name should be up along side Sir Edmund Hilary and Lord Ernest Rutherford.

XKCD - so true

Indy 4 - Latest Trailer

The new Indy film has finally got a full length trailer. It can be seen over at www.indianajones.com and can be downloaded in quicktime here (be aware that the download is 112mb, so it is fairly hefty). This will more than likely be the last trailer as the film is due out in less than 3 weeks. Enjoy.

American National Day of who gives a crap.

Looks like the fundies are out in force in the good ole USA today - its apparently the National Day of Prayer. A day when everyone stops working towards the greater good, and starts sitting down muttering to themselves. Cause thats going to do some good apparently. Yes, instead of feeding the hungry, clothing the poor and helping the weak, they are going to pray for their sad asses.

I was walking to work today and got bugged by the sight of the Salvation Army out collecting...again. They always seem to be standing around with their hand out, and as a religious organisation, begging for my money seems a bit hypocritical. Don't they collect enough from their parishioners every Sunday? Either way, I will never give money to a religious organisation, especially one that reckons everyone should follow their wacky rules, or believes some mystical figure created everything.

I think PZ Myers has a pretty good understanding of this supposed National Day for Americans - fuck the National Day of Prayer.

Henry Rollins : Air Raid Vehicle at the Theatre

After making a concious decision to get a bit of culture in 2008, I was striding purposefully through the streets of Wellington, wondering exactly how I was going to accomplish this. Inspiration in the form of having to wait at a corner for the lights to change struck me. Well, it was more the coincidence of having Low Self Opinion blasting through my headphones, and seeing a poster for Mr Rollins on the lamp post in front of me. Aha! I thought - just the ticket. So I spoke to my bro, and we booked some tickets to see the angry Black Flag front man doing his spoken word tour through Australasia.

He was the front man for the punk band Black Flag, from 1981 to 1986, and after that disbanded he formed his own band and record label 2.13.61 (his birthdate). He also began doing spoken word tours, based on times when the mic was free during gigs and they needed someone to fill the gaps. As he said himself, it wasn't long until he was doing all the talking with some musical interludes, with the bands he had been supporting, now doing support for him.

Having turned 47 recently, Henry says he feels like an old bastard. But that hasn't changed his outlook on life or his enjoyment of new experiences. He frequently tours some rather odd places around the world, introducing everyone to Henry's brand of investigative tourism. He usually hears of a place that everyone says he shouldn't go to, and immediately books a ticket. After going to these far flung, and often dangerous areas of the planet, meeting the local citizens and makin new friends, he returns to the States and tells everyone about it. Its "my way of fucking with the man!"

We spent an enjoyable 3 hours and change listening to Henry Rollins explain his world, and many of his life experiences. It was fascinating, funny, poignant, hilarious, worrying and ultimately an excellent night out. But thanks to the Paramount theatre in Wellington, it also took a physical toll. I'm not a massive guy, but my legs are obviously long enough that I'm outside the average leg length for someone in 1812, which is when the stupid bloody seats were put in. My knees are still giving me gyp days later, and I swear my butt lost all circulation for at least 24 hours after the show.

But it was worth it - he's a great person to listen to, and as stream of conciousness goes he's the fucking master. He spoke for the 3 and some odd hours it seemed without taking a breath or a sip of water. I reckon if you get the chance, go see him and listen - amazing guy, loves the mic and good orator. He's doing the Edinburgh festival according to his website, 18 Aug - 25 Aug, so if your over there get along and check him out.

Otherwise, check out some of Henry's other stuff - he has released numerous spoken word albums, appeared on many TV shows, and also filmed a TV Series called the Henry Rollins Show for ITV last year.

New Indy 4 TV Spot

Here we go with another Indy 4 TV Spot. A lot of the footage is stuff we have seen before but there are a few new shots of Indy back handing some dude, and Indy and Mut on a motorbike. Needless to say I am very excited about this and I am waiting for the full length trailer due sometime soon. Links to the Quicktime files follows. Have a look.

Quicktime download links:
Small
Medium
Large
trailer
Youtube vid.

Chronic masturbators solve world energy crisis

Yes, wanking for the common good will soon be in vogue once piezoelectric clothing takes off. Seen here on textually via Gizmodo a new fashion article called a Piezing Dress where the wearer generates a charge as they move that is stored in a small battery. The applications are endless as far as I'm concerned.

But seriously folks, if every affluent country of the world used this clothing for even 30% of its populous, we could save so much energy being generated at our fossil fueled powered generation plants. I forsee a future where air polluting energy generation is replaced by people taking long walks to power the telly, a quick jaunt on the exercycle to charge the water heater, or flicking one off the wrist to keep the monitor going on the PC.

Yes, even the spotty nerds currently sucking up the worlds power on their 15 monitors, 10 PC's, wireless devices, endless chargers and MP3 players could turn the energy crisis tide by simply wearing this clothing whilst having a tap. We would have an energy surplus. People walking to work, going for a run, walking the dog - hell lets coat the pets! Lets get those bloody cats to return something for once!

Trust me - its going to be an energy revolution my friends!

Movie Review : The Painted Veil

Starring : Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Leiv Schreiber, Toby Jones, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
Directed by : John Curran
Synopsis : A young scientist and his reluctant wife move to the interior of China during a Cholera outbreak in the 1920's, and amidst Nationalist revolts against British intervention in the country.
My Rating - 4/5




Right about now you are wandering if I should be checked in for a psych evaluation. Well, sod off is all I can say. I was admittedly a bit hesitant to go to this movie, what with it being a drama, distinct lack of explosions and no snappy repartee during gunplay. But since it was a relaxing Sunday morning with She Who Must Be Obeyed, I thought it would be nice to spend a bit of "quality time".
I saw the review by Kate Rogers on TV3 and I must admit, I generally agree with most of what she says about a large number of movies, so the fact that she enjoyed it meant I went into it with a positive frame of mind.
Edward Norton is a brilliant actor, and while I don't always agree with the roles he plays, he has the talent to be able to pick the roles he wants to do. I didn't really like the Spike Lee film The 25th Hour, except for one scene where Ed does a monologue at the mirror - that one scene blew me away and made that whole movie worth watching.
It will be interesting to see how the new Hulk movie goes later this year.
Naiomi Watts I have never really liked to be honest, but this is one movie I can say she blew me away in. She captures the emotions and motivations of the character incredibly, and projects them so well you'd have to be blind to miss them. Superbly cast, both Naiomi and Edward made this movie entertaining and I got an emotional connection I don't normally get with this sort of movie.
Leiv Schreiber, Toby Jones, and Anthony Wong Chau-Sang also do an excellent job of capturing their roles and help flesh out this movie into a masterpiece.

Overdoing it much? Who gives a shit - enjoyed the movie, recommend you see it, but I don't care if you don't like it - I reckon its excellent.

Cats are evil - I knew it!

Yes its now official - cats are the spawn of all that is unholy. Not only do they defecate frequently on innocent home owners lawns, eat food and provide nothing in return that a robot can't do, but now they make us mental too. Its all their fault.

Clinton Pays for Good Science - Saves Arecibo

Hilary Clinton has stepped into the fray over the funding of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico by proposing a bill that will secure dollars for the facility. Currently it is funded by the National Science Foundation and they have announced that the will cut most of its budget by 2011. A spokesperson at NSF said that the observatory does “good and unique science”, surely this alone would be grounds to continue with the funding. People in favour of the facility have noted that the Bush administration are looking at doubling the NSF’s budget within the next 10 years. Amazing.

I know that the decision by Clinton is more than likely a political driven stunt due to the ongoing Democratic Presidential bid but I welcome the news and hope that the telescope at Arecibo has along and fruitful life. You never know, it may still receive a reply to the message that was beamed from there in 1974 (more below).

Facts about Arecibo:
1968, the discovery of the periodicity of the Crab Pulsar
1974 Hulse and Taylor discovered the first binary pulsar PSR B1913+16, for which they were later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
1982, the first millisecond pulsar, PSR J1937+21, was discovered by Don Backer, Shri Kulkarni and others
1989, the observatory directly imaged an asteroid for the first time in history: asteroid 4769 Castalia
1990, the first extra-solar planets ever discovered.
2008, detection of prebiotic molecules methanimine and hydrogen cyanide in the distant starburst galaxy

The telescope also had military intelligence uses, for example locating Soviet radar installations by detecting their signals bouncing back off the Moon. Arecibo is also the source of data for the SETI@home project

In 1974, the Arecibo message, an attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial life, was transmitted from the radio telescope toward the globular cluster M13, about 25,000 light-years away. The 1,679 bit pattern of 1s and 0s defined a 23 by 73 pixel bitmap image that included numbers, stick figures, chemical formulas, and a crude image of the telescope itself.

It has also featured in the James Bond film Goldeneye as the Villains hideout and it played itself in the film Contact about a message from outer space.

The desire to expand the knowledge of the universe needs places like Arecibo to continue the work now and in the future.

Thanks - Bad Astronomy - Orlando Sentinal - NASA Watch - WIKI