Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Snippets 2011-11-23

Web: Lord of the Rings: Gary Appenzeller has compiled three web pages with the differences between books and movies for 'The Fellowship of the Ring' , ‘The Two Towers' and 'The Return of the King'
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Medicine: Patient.co.uk: Good information on a variety of diseases. Also more in dept information at PatientPlus. Also has an informative video directory
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Photography: Fotolia: Stock photos for little money
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Maps: Gmap Pedometer: Measures distances of self-chosen routes on a Google map
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Video: You Only Live Twice (1967). w/ Sean Connery (James Bond). Directed by Lewis Gilbert. Bond needs to find out who is behind the hijacking of American and Russian space crafts.The trail leads to Japan, SPECTRE its leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Overall rating 4 out of 10.
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Movie: GoldenEye (1995): w/ Pierce Brosnan (James Bond), Sean Bean (Alec Trevelyan),Izabella Scorupco (Natalya Simonova), Famke Janssen (Xenia Onatopp). Directed by Martin Campbell. Bond fights a former colleague (006) who stole a satellite weapon. Overall rating 5 out of 10.
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History: Historypin. Provides map with current and historical photos. Can study how streets have changed over the years.
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Movie: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). w/ James Franco (Will Rodman), Freida Pinto (Caroline Aranha), Andy Serkis (Cesar). How it all began: Delopmental Alzheimer's drug is tested on monkeys and makes them intelligent. Researcher takes one of them (Cesar) home and raises him there, but eventually has to give him up to a shelter. Cesar escapes and organizes an uprising. Good special effects. Story okay. Andy Serkis also played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
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Monday, August 08, 2011

Snippets 2011-08-08

Computer: Virus online scanners for single files: VirusTotal. Checks a file against 30+ virus scanners. Useful, when you want to counter check the alert received by your local virus scanner. Alternatively, it is possible to check with individual scanners online: Avast Online (max. size 16MB) or Kaspersky (max. size 1MB)
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Medicine: Drugs.com:. Info on drugs and drug companies, including sales figures
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Music: Rapid Library: Search engine for downloadable MP3s
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Music: Spectrasonics: Virtual musiclal instruments. Synthesized sounds out of a computer. Cool. Has interview with and music by Lyle Mays
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Life: Wetterkontor.de: Weather in Germany, including historical data
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Music: Wolfgang's Vault: Concert recordings to stream.
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Patents: Patent Retriever: Full text PDF versions of patents
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Physics: The name electron for the negatively charged subatomic particle originates from the greek word 'electron', which means amber. Amber attracts small objects by electrostatic forces after being rubbed with fur
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Movies: La Vallee (1972). Written and directed by Barbet Schroeder (b. 1941) who also directed the movie 'More' (1969). With Bulle Ogier (Viviane). Four hippies on a journey in search of paradise in the Papua New Guinea bush. Sountrack by Pink Floyd, released as the album 'Obscured by Clouds'. Rating 7 out of 10
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Movies: Mal de Mer (2005). Short film with Bulle Ogier, Michel Piccoli. Retired couple meets two guys by the sea. Rating 7 out of 10
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Computers: FileDropper: Simple way to share/distribute files up to 5GB. No sign-up required. If the files are not downloaded even once within 30 days post upload they are removed
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Movies: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). w/ Kevin McCarthy (Dr. Miles J. Bennell), Dana Wynter (Becky Driscoll). Directed by Don Siegel (Dirty Harry). Doctor in a fight to prevent an alien race's attempt to secretly replace people by identical copies that lack emotions. Good pace. Seems somewhat dated today, but keeps the suspense up. Overall rating 7 out of 10.
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Aphorsims: Collection of quotes in the Liss-Kompendium (in German)
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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Snippets 2011-05-14

Life: Depleted Uranium (DU) ammunition is used by various different countries because of its high penetrating power that can destroy even tanks. Uranium has a very high density (19.1 g/cm3). The use of DU could be a factor in the development of Gulf War syndrome (fatigue, loss of muscle control, headaches, dizziness and loss of balance, memory problems, muscle and joint pain, indigestion, skin problems, immune system problems, and birth defects). Also, children in Iraq have contracted leukemia and cancer, possibly after radioactive contamination from playing in destroyed tanks. Interesting video 'Der Arzt und die verstrahlten Kinder von Basra-Irak.flv' on Youtube.
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TV Series: UFO: British television science fiction series created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson (who also produced the series Space: 1999 in 1975, with Martin Landau). First aired in 1970. Main cast: Ed Bishop (Commander Edward Straker), Michael Billington (Colonel Paul Foster), who work for the secret organization SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation) to study and protect the world from aliens. Episode 'A Question Of Priorities' on YouTube.
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Nutrition: SelfNutritionData: Contains searchable database of U.S. food labels on the basis of USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. Informative.
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Business: Top-line data from the pharmaceutical industry at IMS
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Computer: List of Windows Vista Services with explanations and tweaks. Also covers other OS's
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Food: Foodwatch: Debunks promises by the food industry (in German)
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Life: Bike tours in Bavaria: Map at Bayerninfo.de, tab 'Bayernnetz für Radler'
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Friday, March 04, 2011

Site-specific searches on Google: In the Google search window, add your search term followed by the word 'site:' and the URL of the site you would like to search, i.e. <search term> site:dynamicplanet.blogspot.com. Other tips on Google searches here

Snippets:
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Science: Journal Ranking at SCImago. Impact factors given
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Philosophy: Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639), Italian Dominican philosopher. Spent a good part of his adult life in prison due to heresy. Most famous work is 'The City of the Sun' (1602/1623, Italian: La città del Sole; Latin: Civitas Solis; German: Sonnenstaat), in which he develops a theocratic society of communism of goods, women and children. In this society, the individual counts little and the structure of the family is abolished. Main goal is the preservation of the species. Also wrote 'The Defense of Galileo' (1616/1622), although Galileo himself may not have appreciated the help of a heretic
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Mathematics: Sierpinski triangle. Fractal. Discussed in NPR's Engines of Our Ingenuity No. 2599 (Strange attractors and imagery)
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Law: Buzer: Full text of select German laws and regulations (in German)
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Music: Websites that can generate tones and music: 1.) Isle of Tune 2.) Seaquence  3.) Balldroppings, use Javascript.
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Psychology: Dan Gilbert, Professor of Psychology at Harvard, on happiness: Lecture 2004 and Lecture 2005. Notes: 1.) Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782): Expected value = Odds of Gain x Value of Gain 2.) Mistake humans make: Comparing with the past, not with the possible 3.) Comparisons change the value of things 4.) Problem of shifting comparisons (30,000 --> 100 saving sounds much less than 200 --> 100 saving) 5.) Plato: What space is to size, time is to value (source not given, quote not verified)
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Sunday, February 20, 2011

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Literature: Hybris (Hubris): Overestimation of one's competence or capabilities. In Greek tragedies, the cause of the demise of a hero, usually based on the Nemesis, i.e. the wrath of the gods that determines the fate.
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Mathematics: Lemniscate of Bernoulli: Sign for infinity, resembles the figure 8 put on the side.
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Art: The Madonna of the Carnation (Die Madonna mit der Nelke) by Leonardo da Vinci. Only painting by Leonardo in a German museum (Alte Pinakothek, Munich). Painted between 1473 und 1478, when Leonardo was only about 20 yrs old.
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Science: Antikythera Mechanism: Antique mechanism found in a shop wreck off of the coast of the Greek islands Antikythera in ca. 1900. Time of construction is estimated ca. 150 - 100 BCE. Presumed to be the first analog computer. Used to calculate calendaric events. The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project studies the object in great detail with modern imaging techniques.
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Art: Google art Project: Browse different museums online, using Google Streetview technology.
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Astronomy: Moon: Formed ca. 4.5 billion years ago, presumably out of the debris generated through the giant impact of the protoplanet Theia on proto-Earth.
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Astronomy: Trojan: Minor planet or natural satellite (moon) that shares an orbit with a larger planet or moon. The Trojan does not collide, because it orbits around one of the two Lagrange points of stability (L4, L5; Trojan points).
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Life: Çatalhöyük Very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia, Turkey, which existed from approximately 7500 - 5700 BC. Excavated in 1958. Distinctive murals and clay figurines found.
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Music: John Cage: ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible). Current organ performance of the piece at St. Burchardi church in Halberstadt, Germany, began in 2001 and is scheduled to have a duration of 639 years, ending in 2640.
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Music: 55Bar, NYC, Feb. 13, 2011: Iris Ornig (bass & composition), Stacy Dillard (Saxaphone), Danny Grissett (fender rhodes), Alvester Garnett (drums): good music, sax slightly weaker; jazz version of Bjorks' Venus as a Boy.
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Art: The Roman Mosaic from Lod, Israel, Metropolitan Museum, NYC, Sep 28, 2010–Apr 3, 2011. Believed to belong to a large house owned by a wealthy Roman in about A.D. 300. First discovered in 1996 during construction on the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway in Lod (formerly Lydda), Israel. Uncovered during the summer of 2009, now first full display.
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Art: PS1/MoMA: Laurel Nakadate: Only the Lonely: Jan 23, 2011 - Aug 8, 2011: 10 yr retrospective. Stills, film and video works. Includes Good Morning, Sunshine (2009), in which Nakadate enters the bedrooms of young women, wakes them, and instructs each to strip down to their underwear for the camera. Also includes two feature films, Stay the Same Never Change (2009) and The Wolf Knife (2010), and the photographic series, 365 Days: A Catalogue of Tears.
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Art: MoMA NYC: Andy Warhol: Motion Pictures, Dec 19, 2010–Mar 21, 2011: Between 1964 and 1966 Warhol shot approximately 500 rolls of film with several-minute silent portraits of acquaintances, friends and celebrities. At times, he left his subjects alone with the camera. Exhibitions shows examples on large screens. Warhol recorded the portraits at 24 fps, but specified them to be projected at a 16 fps, creating a slow fluidity of pace.
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Art: MoMA NYC: Abstract Expressionist New York, Oct 3, 2010–Apr 25, 2011: Pollock, Rothko, de Kooning, Newman  etc.
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Music: Feb 19., 2011 NJPAC, Newark: Classic Albums Live: Abbey Road. CAL, Founded in 2003 by Craig Martin, takes classic albums and recreates them live on stage. Good performance, although it naturally cannot compete with the original.
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Snippets:
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Science: PRISM (Polar Radar for Ice Sheet Measurements). Goal to develop and utilize innovative radar and robotic rovers to measure ice thickness and determine bedrock conditions below the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. Good resource of the history of polar exploration.
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Art: Kunstmarkt. Many short biographies
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Art: Gentile Bellini (active about 1460; died 1507): The Sultan Mehmet II, painted in 1480), now at the National Gallery London (not on display), is attributed to Gentile Bellini. The crime novel 'The Bellini Card' by Jason Goodwin, revolves around this painting. Gentile was the son of the painter Jacopo Bellini and the brother of the even more gifted and renowned Giovanni Bellini. In 1479 Gentile was sent to Constantinople by the Venetian government to work for Sultan Mehmet II, where he painted the portrait. He remained there until 1481.
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Mythology: Arimaspi: A legendary one-eyed people of northern Scythia; described in a lost lost archaic poem Arimaspea by Aristeas, reported in Herodotus' Histories
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Music: John Cage's 4'33'' on YouTube.
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Movie: My Afternoons with Marguerite (La tête en friche, 2010). French w/ English subtitles. w/ Gérard Depardieu, Gisèle Casadesus. Directed by Jean Becker. Middle-aged French country man of low education finds the way to read books through an old lady he meets in the park. Simple story with some good moments. Predictable. Rating: 6 out of 10
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Art: Laurel Nakadate: Photographer and video artist born in Austin, TX. Raised in Ames, IA. Lives in NYC. 10-yr retrospective (Only the Lonely) at the MoMA/PS1 is shown Jan-Aug 2011.
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Movie (Online): M --- Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (1931). w/ Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke, Gustaf Gründgens. Directed by Fritz Lang. Written by Fritz Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou. First 'talking' picture by the director. In a city, underworld criminals hunt a child murderer with the help of beggars. Rating 7 out of 10.
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Language: Cum grano salis = with a grain of salt; phrase comes from Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia XXIII (Text at the Perseus Digital Library) where he wrote, possibly ironically to doubt the activity, that a certain antidote for snake bites needed to be taken by „addito salis grano“.
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Mythology: Pomona: Roman goddess of fruit. A statue of Pomona is in the fountain before the Plaza Hotel in NYC.
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Photography: Jock Sturges (b. 1947, NYC). Nudes of adolescents.
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Astronomy: Regiomontanus = Johannes Müller von Königsberg (1436-1476): German mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and translator from Königsberg, Bavaria (Franconia). Built the first astronomical observatory in Germany, located in Nuremberg. Described the angle maximization problem named after him.
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Poetry: Dichterseiten: German poems. Includes a section with list of used words
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Science:     Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859): Reise in die Aequinoctial-Gegenden des neuen Continents, 3 Bände, available at Project Gutenberg in various formats.
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