Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Pussycat vs Tiger Moms Prefer Lego To AP Calculus

  1. Pussycat vs Tiger Moms Prefer Lego To AP Calculus

  2. The Economist ‎- 6 days ago
    Let's hope this improves his exam grades SQUEEZED between the boutique cafés and posh handbag shops in a Singapore shopping mall, ...

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

CBS News Typhoon reports

CBS News Typhoon reports


Storm chaser on rescuing typhoon victims: "You don't think about it, you just go"
Josh Morgerman has documented more than 20 storms, and he raced to the Philippines to get as close to the eye of Typhoon Haiyan as possible. Morgerman tells Bill Whitaker the typhoon was "without a doubt" the worst storm he's ever been through.




Red Cross official describes "complete devastation" in Tacloban
Nichola Jones of the International Red Cross tells Scott Pelley there is "100 percent damage" to buildings and shelter in the city of Tacloban following Typhoon Haiyan. Jones says there is not enough food or water, and survivors are being forced to sleep outside or in the shells of buildings that are still standing.




Saturday, August 03, 2013

Fukushima Updates

Aug 3, 2013

http://www.simplyinfo.org/?p=7624

Dr. Robert Jacobs Explains The Meltdowns At Fukushima

SimplyInfo.org member, Dr. Robert Jacobs of the Hiroshima Peace Institute addressed an audience in Kazakhstan to explain the meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi and the damage known to have happened before the tsunami. (text transcript below)
Version of this video with French subtitles available here http://www.youtube.com/user/kna60
French transcript below after the English transcript.
He says (along with others) that the earthquake alone caused the coolant to fail, and started the meltdown even before power loss with the tsunami, and that means every power plant is unsafe in an earthquake area
On March 11, 2011 at 2:46 in the afternoon, a 9.0 earthquake struck about 70 km offshore of Northern Japan. The earthquake shook violently for over five minutes. Buildings in Tokyo, 373 km away rocked badly, and oil refineries in the Tokyo suburbs caught fire. It was the largest recorded earthquake in Japanese history, and one of the five largest earthquakes since the beginning of earthquake record keeping began.
At 3:35, 49 minutes later, a 14 meter tsunami wave hit the Fukushima nuclear complex, flooding over the seawalls and inundating nuclear plant units 1, 2, 3, & 4.
These two events, the earthquake and the tsunami, substantially exceeded safety design assumptions for the nuclear power plants. They had been designed to withstand an earthquake of 8.2, and had a seawall built to withstand a tsunami of 5.7 meters. The earthquake that struck on 3/11 was eight times larger than design assumptions, and the tsunami was more than twice as high as the design assumptions. The plant designers had assumed that they built the plant to withstand any earthquake and tsunami that was likely for over a thousand years. These assumptions were wrong.
Fukushima units 1, 2, & 3 were operating at the time of the earthquake. Unit #4 was shut down for routine maintenance and refueling. The three operating plants all experienced total meltdown of their nuclear fuel. Unit 4 lost cooling to its large pool of spent fuel rods, and this fuel experienced significant melting as well. All four plants experienced explosions that dispersed radioactive material into the ocean, but also across large areas of Northern Japan, including many parts of Tokyo...

David McNeil and Jake Adelstein interviewed several TEPCO workers who were at the plants when the earthquake and tsunami both hit. They spoke on conditions of anonymity since they still worked for TEPCO at the time. One worker told them: “I personally saw pipes that came apart and I assume that there were many more that had been broken throughout the plant. There’s no doubt that the earthquake did a lot of damage inside the plant.There were definitely leaking pipes…I also saw that part of the wall of the turbine building for Unit 1 had come away. That crack might have affected the
reactor.”
Another worker told them: “the first impact (of the earthquake) was so intense you could see the building shaking, the pipes buckling, and within minutes I saw pipes bursting. Some fell off the wall. Others snapped.” The workers were ordered to evacuate the plant, but, says this second worker, “I was severely alarmed because as I was leaving…I could see that several pipes had cracked open, including what I believed were cold water supply pipes. That would mean that the coolant couldn’t get to the reactor core. If you can’t sufficiently get the coolant to the core, it melts down.” He told them that as he was headed to his car he could see the walls of the unit 1 building had already started to collapse. He said, “There were holes in them. In the first few minutes.”
Another worker reported that, quote: “I was in a building nearby when the earthquake shook. After the second shockwave hit, I heard a loud explosion that was almost deafening. I looked out the window and I could see white smoke coming from reactor one. I thought to myself, ‘this is the end.’”

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Pixar Monsters University Patterned After Cal, MIT, Harvard, Stanford


http://www.berkeleybyte.com/2012/06/29/pixars-monsters-university-inspired-by-cal/

Pixar’s “Monsters University” Inspired by Cal


Concept art for Pixar’s film “Monsters University,” scheduled for release in June 2013, recently surfaced on the web, and hints of Berkeley seep throughout the drawings.  As The Daily Cal reported last September, Pixar visited Cal and other universities, such as Harvard and MIT, for inspiration and research.
Traveling to different places for inspiration and to help build the world in its films is nothing new for Pixar.  For “Brave,” the research team visited Scotland; for “Up,” they journeyed to Venezuela; and for “Ratatouille,” they made a voyage to Paris.  A quite adventurous job, don’t you think?
See if you can spot the similarities between Monsters University and Berkeley below!
Sather Gate?
See the resemblance?
The Campanile?
The Pixar team has also explored close to home, as


UC BerkeleyAs Pixar is located in Emeryville less than 20 min from the UC Berkeley campus, it's only natural that Cal would get a lot of screen time.

Harvard

Law library

Harvard University Law Library

Memorial Hall


Harvard Yard and Freshman Dorms
Seen at 0:25, 0:31, 0:40-0:42, 0:52-0:53, 0:59



MIT Dome 7 or 10



MIT Mass Ave Steps to Dome 7





Calder sail from MIT




Harvard Bridge
Seen at 1:12

Stanford

Arches at the Quad
Seen at 0:56

MIT

Stratton Student Center
Seen at 1:03


Princeton (this one is a bit of a long shot)

Gargoyles
Seen at 0:14-16



Monsters University Stills

The green suitcase (no wheels) and simple backpack are identical to what I took to MIT in the fall of 1976. A new student woudn't have an MU logo backpack though.

Harvard Frat House


http://identitymetrics.com/img/harvard-fraternity-houses

CommentInsert a dynamic date here
Brittany Cheng
I think that the main building of the scaring school is based off o...

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Michael Powell - Did Josh's Brother Commit Suice Because He Buried Susan Powell?

Michael Powell's story:

Michael Powell was a student at the University of Minnesota, and was probably the main "troll" advocating for Josh on internet sites. He probably was the only one that maintained the youtube channels including the one impersonating the missing / dead Susan Powell. He committed suicide in Feb 2013 by jumping off a parking ramp in Minneapolis, probably because the police were asking questions about his involvement which makes yet another death after the suicide and murder of Josh and his two sons. Michael wrote an e-mail to People defending his brother, saying he drove 1,000 miles to help. Susan Graves long believed that Michael must have known what happened to Susan, and believes Michael might have been an accomplice. Michael had his Taurus towed far away, and bought sattelite pictures to make sure the car had been destroyed, but cadaver dogs only found indications of a body on his car, which indicates it may have been used to transport the body. After the search in a area outside of Salem Oregon, West Valley police say if no new leads turn up, it may turn into a cold case without a final conclusion. 

    1. Utah police say search of rural Oregon site turns up no sign ofSusan Powell
      Fox News ‎- 3 days ago
      Police say they have found no trace of missing Utah mother Susan Powell at ... searching a rural Oregon property for her remains, Powell's father said. ... In February 2012, Josh Powell locked a social worker out of his ... is handling the Powell investigation, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
  1. Police call off Oresearch for Susan Powell's remains | ksl.com

    www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=25195775
    4 days ago – UPDATE: A search of a farm in Salem, Ore., for the remains of missing West Valley City mother Susan Cox Powell was called off Thursday after ...

Susan Powell disappearance likely to become cold case, police say ...

www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=25203559
3 days ago – The search for clues into the disappearance of Susan Cox Powell in Oregon ended Thursday. And police say their leads are now exhausted.


    1. People Magazine? http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20701213,00.html

      Did josh powell's brother commit suicide because he buried susan's ...

      2 days ago – The search for the body of the Utah mom who went missing in December 2009 still continues.
    1. A West Valley City police spokesman, Sgt. Mike Powell (no relation), would neither confirm nor deny that police now believe Michael Powell buried Susan's body. But he confirms that police may soon reveal more about Susan's disappearance. 

    ...Josh and Michael Powell’s sister, Jennifer Graves, who has publicly shared her suspicions about Josh since early in the case, tells PEOPLE that she always suspected that Michael was at least aware that Josh killed Susan. also suspects he was an accomplice to the murder. 

    ..The West Valley City police department was recently forced to return federal drug-enforcement grant money that it improperly spent on the Powell case – money that may have been used to investigate whether Josh poisoned Susan's pancakes, according to media reports. 

    ..Michael, a Democratic National Convention delegate for President Obama who ran unsuccessfully for a state representative seat in Washington state. 

    In an email to PEOPLE a month after Susan's disappearance, Michael, a doctoral candidate in cognitive science at the University of Minnesota, ardently defended his "grief-stricken" brother, complained about the "level of integrity" by the media, and suggested police look outside his family for suspects, particularly at a neighbor of Josh and Susan's in West Valley City, Utah. .."As someone who is close to Josh, I know he is hurting because he misses his wife, and my hope for him is that people are understanding of that," Michael Powell told PEOPLE on Jan. 16, 2010. .. he drove 1,000 miles to help Josh after Susan's disappearance because "I am happy to help a family member in need." 

    Two years after Susan's death, Josh Powell adjusted a $1.5 million insurance policy on his sons to name Michael Powell as a 93 percent beneficiary...

     "Michael had his Ford Taurus towed a hundred miles, and then sold it for salvage value because, police think, he had her body in there. Then he hired militaristic satellite photography people to go look at the wrecking yard to see if his car had been completely destroyed, but it wasn't." She adds, "Cadaver dogs came to the tow yard and only indicated on his car, no one else's." 

    ..Utah police repeatedly questioned Michael Powell in Minneapolis. Then, three months ago, Michael Powell jumped from the fifth story of a parking structure,taking his own life. He was 30. 

    Cox says he and the officers believe Michael Powell "couldn't live with what he'd done, or the police were closing in." But Cox also said it was he who prompted the search in Salem, Ore., based on a tip he received from a confidential source. 
    1. Did Josh Powell's brother bury Susan Powell's body?
      ksl.com ‎- 2 days ago
      The father of a West Valley City mother missing since 2009 says he was misquoted in a PEOPLE magazine article that claimed his daughter ...

  1. Did Josh Powell's brother bury Susan Powell's body? | ksl.com

    www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=25222403

    2 days ago – The father of a West Valley City mother missing since 2009 says he was misquoted in a PEOPLE magazine article that claimed his daughter ...

  2. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20701213,00.html

    Did josh powell's brother commit suicide because he buried susan's ...

    2 days ago – The search for the body of the Utah mom who went missing in December 2009 still continues.

  3. Did Josh Powell's Brother Help Bury Susan Cox Powell? - Police ...

    puyallup.patch.com/.../did-josh-powells-brother-help-bury-susan-cox-po...

    2 days ago – New revelations about this week's search of a rural farm in Salem, Ore. and the recent suicide of Josh Powell's brother Michael might be the ...

  4. Susan Powell: Did Josh Powell's brother kill himself over ... - Daily Mail

    www.dailymail.co.uk/.../Susan-Powell-Did-Josh-Powells-brother-kill-guil...

    2 days ago – This latest twist was revealed by Susan Powell's father who claims police have turned their sights on her brother-in-law Michael Powell...

  5. Did Josh Powell's brother bury Susan Powell's body? - Topix

    www.topix.com/.../did-josh-powells-brother-bury-susan-powells-body

    2 days ago – Did Josh Powell's brother bury Susan Powell's b... Bernie Madoff tormented by son's suicide · GG's Island Restaurant fire ruled arson · Pregnant ...

  6. Chuck Cox believes Josh Powell's brother buried Susan ... - Fox 13

    fox13now.com/.../chuck-cox-believes-josh-powells-brother-buried-susan...

    2 days ago – Chuck Cox believes Josh Powell's brother buried Susan ... West Valley City Police did not confirm any suspicions about Michael Powell.

  7. Susan Powell: Did Josh Powell's brother kill himself ... - Capitalbay

    www.capitalbay.com/.../342253-susan-powell-did-josh-powell-s-brother-...

    2 days ago – Susan Powell: Did Josh Powell's brother kill himself over guilt of helpingbury Susan's body? Police investigating.

  8. Did Josh Powell's brother bury Susan Powell's body?

    west-valley-city-police.rsspump.com/?...did-josh-powell...brother-bury-s...

    2 days ago – The father of a West Valley City mother missing since 2009 says he was misquoted in a PEOPLE magazine article that claimed his daughter wa ...

  9. Did Josh Powell's Brother Commit Suicide Because He ... - IMDb

    www.imdb.com/news/ni53805277/

    2 days ago – Did Josh Powell's Brother Commit Suicide Because He Buried ... they were acting on suspicions that Susan Cox Powell was buried there - and ...

  10. Did Josh Powell's Brother Commit Suicide Because He Buried ...

    www.twentyfoursevenheadlines.com/.../did-josh-powells-brother-commit...

    2 days ago – Did Josh Powell's Brother Commit Suicide Because He Buried Susan'sBody? ... Susan Lucci's PEOPLE Magazine Cover Look Gets in the ...

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Boston's Northeast University Now 35% Admit MIT/Harvard/Tufts Backup

This college as recently as the 1970s was seen as a commuter college, but their SAT scores are up 20 points and in the next batch of colleges after the top 10 (10% admit rate), and the top 30 (20% admit rate) with a 35% admit rate.

Continued here http://campusquest.blogspot.com/2013/03/northeastern-university-now-good-2nd.html

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Hang UFO Drum Video Gallery


Hang is a steel drum which is shaped like a UFO flying saucer, sometimes paired with a digereedoo.

Click here for explanation 



Youtube has a lot of Asian artists doing this. hang insomiac jam nearly 2M 1,822,000 views  Daniel Waples - hang drum solo - HD 162,170 views  in Brujas with digereedoo and ankle tambourine 410K views  Yuki and Tatsuki in Singapore Hang and Diggeridoo 365,000 views  Hang Playing Hedge Monkeys, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2010 169k views  Hang Drum, Interview with Davide Swarup and Ortal Pelleg, Moscow 2011 Part 3, HD 
Click here to watch part 1 http://youtu.be/46Ps2Jd-W7Q 
Click here to watch part 2 http://youtu.be/-PzfHMvCrf4 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Rochester MN Police 2013 Ford Taurus FWD

New Taurus Police Interceptor, but not AWD option. Not explorers either.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Blizzard of '78 vs the Blizzard of 2013

Blizzard of 2013 



in Quincy 


Blizzard of 78 vs 2013: 

Here 1978

MIT Kresge Auditorium
It doesn't show the giant 30 ft long dragon in the oval





Sunday, January 27, 2013

SE Minnesota High School Solo Ensemble Lakeville High South 2013


Video of string performances from South and East Minnesota Regional Solo and Ensemble Contest
at Lakeville South High School. Jan 29, 2011.


Mendelssohn Trio Piano Violin Cello Op. 49 Century High School Rochester MN


Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile String Quartet No. 1 Austin MN High School


Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5 for Viola (Suzuki 6) Henry Hu Century High

Henry is Grade 11

Lalo Violin Symphony Espagnole Northfield HS Northfield HS


Bach Brandbenburg Concerto No. 5 Austin High School MN Flute, Solo Violin


Voice: Kathryn Alan Solo 2013 Solo / Ensemble Contest - Lakeville MN


Austin HS Septet


Tuba Christmas (same video guy as Alan)


Monday, January 14, 2013

CES Gangham Style Robot, Dancing Parrot Quad Helicopters

Gangnam Style robot at CES

Parrot Quad Helicopter Drone Formation Dance

These were being sold at Costco and hobby stores

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Henry Team Wins 2nd Place Lego Monorail Robot Contest

IBM donated Lego Mindstorm NXT kits and gave them to local high schools in Rochester MN, and had a competition at the Rochester Technical college for elementary up to high school. A lot of these rigs didn't work right, but Henry's worked just fine. These had to ride on a monorail, use an optical sensor to pick up "cargo" and drop them off, and then quickly reprogram to do a slightly different task.