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The new music video from OK Go, made in partnership with Chevrolet. OK Go set up over 1000 instruments over two miles of desert outside Los Angeles. A Chevy Sonic was outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play the instruments, and the band recorded this version of Needing/Getting, singing as they played the instrument array with the car. The video took 4 months of preparation and 4 days of shooting and recording. There are no ringers or stand-ins; Damian took stunt driving lessons. Each piano had the lowest octaves tuned to the same note so that they’d play the right note no matter where they were struck. For more information and behind-the-scenes footage, see http://www.LetsDoThis.com and http://www.okgo.net.
Director: Brian L. Perkins & Damian Kulash, Jr.
Director of Photography: Yon Thomas
Editor: Doug Walker
Producer: Luke Ricci
Erasing A CD and DVD With Spark Gap / HV
The reflective metallic layer on the disc is literally obliterated by the spark gap. The spark gap follows the path of least resistance. The CD recording medium is conductive, so it arcs to the nearest point, vaporizing it until nothing is left.
Here is the same process, used on a commercial DVD:
Pretty cool stuff. To accomplish this, a high-voltage transformer is used (TV), and small motors powered by battery. See the following:
The FISTS International Morse Code Preservation Society Celebrates 25 Years In 2012
FISTS is an international group of individuals and clubs that support the use, preservation and education of Morse code. Practically speakinking, the club is devoted exclusively to the use of Morse code by way of radio, usually through the mode known as “CW”. CW operators, CW operating and people who are passionate about Morse code are welcome to be members.
FISTS is a well established and recognized Morse code (CW-mode on the radio) organization in the world of amateur radio. Founded in 1987 by Geo Longden, G3ZQS, it now has a membership in the thousands, is world-wide, and growing daily.
What FISTS wants to accomplish:
1. To further the use of CW on the amateur bands.
2. To encourage newcomers to the CW mode.
3. To engender friendship within the membership.
The International Morse Code, sometimes referred to as ‘CW’ in Amateur Radio jargon because a continuous wave is turned on and off with the long and short elements of the morse code characters, is a type of character encoding that transmits telegraphic information using rhythm. Morse code uses a standardized sequence of short and long elements to represent the letters, numerals, punctuation and special characters of a given message. The short and long elements can be formed by sounds, marks, or pulses, in on off keying and are commonly known as “dots” and “dashes” or “dits” and “dahs”. The speed of Morse code is measured in words per minute (WPM) or characters per minute, while fixed-length data forms of telecommunication transmission are usually measured in baud or bps.
Why is it called ‘Morse Code’? This character encoding was devised by Samuel F. B. Morse, the creator of the electric telegraph. This ‘Morse Code’ came in two flavors, in the beginning. One was in use by the railroads of America, and is known as ‘American Morse Code’. And, there was a unified, internationally-used version (adopted by radio operators), now known as the ‘International Morse Code’. Now, when most people refer to ‘Morse Code’ or ‘CW’, they mean, ‘International Morse Code.’
The most popular current use of Morse code is by amateur radio operators, although it is no longer a requirement for amateur licensing in many countries. In the professional field, pilots and air traffic controllers are usually familiar with Morse code and require a basic understanding. Navigational aids in the field of aviation, such as VORs and NDBs, constantly transmit their identity in Morse code. Morse code is designed to be read by humans without a decoding device, making it useful for sending automated digital data in voice channels. For emergency signaling, Morse code can be sent by way of improvised sources that can be easily “keyed” on and off, making Morse code one of the most versatile methods of telecommunication in existence.
More information:
+ My CW / Morse code website - http://cw.hfradio.org/
+ The FISTS Website - http://FISTS.org
This Model of Stephenson’s Steam Engine was made in 2008 by master glassblower Michal Zahradník.
Highlights:
* The crankshaft is glass. The piston is glass. The counterweight that makes the wheel spin evenly is glass. Imagine that everything is made out of glass.
* There are no sealants used. All is accomplished by a perfectly snug fit. The gap between the piston and its compartment is so small, that the water that condensates from the steam seals it shut!
* Notice the elaborate excessive steam exhaust system next to the piston.
* The piston is the most arduous part to make due to to extreme level of precision needed. Its parts have to be so accurate that no machinery is of use here. The piston and its cylinder must be hand sanded to perfection, and they are very likely to crack in the process! On average, three out of four crack.
> VERY COOL <
(Source: youtube.com)
Huge ice chunks are falling from a radio tower…
…as people observe, underneath. I’m not sure I would want to be so close to “ground zero”, nor do I think I would be laughing. Perhaps the laughter is just a nervous reaction. Awe and hope that no vehicle is damaged… or that anyone is injured or killed. Oh, wait. A vehicle is damaged. Watch… you’ll see.
(Source: youtube.com)
Wizardry: a great demonstration of Lenz’s Law!
An induced electromotive force (emf) always gives rise to a current whose magnetic field opposes the original change in magnetic flux.
As the magnet moves through the copper pipe, an excellent conductor of electricity, the magnet is inducing a current in the pipe, in turn creating a secondary magnetic field that opposes the movement of the magnet down the pipe. This secondary field causes the magnet to slowly fall through the pipe.
Here is an explanation of Lenz’s Law:
(Source: nw7us.us)
2011 West Virginia University Marching Band Armed The 2011 West Virginia University Marching Band Armed Forces Salute
Check out this great marching band “concert” that showcases the West Virginia University Marching Band’s full complement of brass, woodwinds, percussion, flags and feature twirlers. In this performance, they pay tribute to the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much to preserve and protect our country. The WVU Band presents their “Armed Forces Salute,” which features a medley of the songs from all branches of our great military.
This selection will close with a stirring rendition of “America, The Beautiful.”
• The United States Army!
• The United States Coast Guard!
• The United States Marines!
• The United States Air Force!
• The United States Navy!
(Source: http)
Fish With Transparent Head Filmed (2009)
Reported in 2009, a large Pacific barreleye fish - complete with transparent head - has been caught on film by scientists using remotely operated vehicles at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The deep-sea fish’s tubular eyes pivot under a clear dome.
Even though this was reported back in 2009 but actually filmed in 2004, I am blogging this now, because such wonders never get old. This is incredibly interesting.
With a head like a fighter-plane cockpit, you can see inside the Pacific barreleye fish: see its highly sensitive, barrel-like eyes topped by green, orb-like lenses. The two orifices that look like eyes on the front area actually used by the fish to “smell”.
The fish, discovered alive in the deep water off California’s central coast by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), is the first specimen of its kind to be found with its soft transparent dome intact. The 6-inch (15-centimeter) barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) had been known since 1939—but only from mangled specimens dragged to the surface by nets.
Here’s the Wikipedia link on this cool fish.
(Source: youtube.com)
Rio for Real! Fly with a bird…
This is a very cool video of a hawk that glides up to a guy who is paragliding. This is a video where these guys are training the hawk. ’Parahawking is coming to the USA.’ is the official caption… These are a few shots of training a Harris’s Hawk to fly with a paraglider.
(Source: youtube.com)
Travel to the center of the Earth? Not quite, but…
For centuries we have dreamed of reaching the center of the Earth. Now scientists are uncovering a bizarre and alien world that lies 4,000 miles beneath our feet, unlike anything we know on the surface.
It is a planet buried within the planet we know, where storms rage within a sea of white-hot metal and a giant forest of crystals make up a metal core the size of the Moon.
Horizon follows scientists who are conducting experiments to recreate this core within their own laboratories, with surprising results.
(Source: youtube.com)
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