Having spent the past weekend here at the North Carolina coast, I know that the color of water can make a big difference in your day. Learning the subtle shifts in shade can help you avoid running aground, or give you insight as to where to dock your boat when the tide is high. But […]
Having just returned from the beach myself, this story particularly caught my attention this morning. Not to mention that, for about two years during my elementary school education, I was convinced I would become an oceanographer or a marine biologist. I was obsessed with dolphins, and did a rather snazzy presentation on echolocation in the […]
According to National Geographic, scientists suspect that volcanic ash from Iceland may have colored our moon a pale red this past Saturday during an eclipse. While not a total eclipse, the show in the sky began at dawn in North America, in the central and western part, that is. Those of us on the East […]
Stephen Hawking has partnered with the Discovery Channel to present a new documentary series called “Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking” covering some pretty wonderfully geeky subjects including alien visitors and time travel. But don’t get all excited. Mr. Hawking, as ever, is measured in his approach—though his comments on time travel will likely cause […]
I’m willing to argue that gardening is one of the first geeky hobbies. I mean, before the advent of television and video games, botanists and hobbyists alike have been categorizing seeds and experimenting with the plant world for time out of mind. There’s just something really captivating about the combination of science and aesthetics—not to […]
Summer approaches, and if you’re like me, the life of a geek tends to make thoughts of stepping out in front of other people in your bathing suit a little terrifying. Wii Fit aside, many games (*cough*DragonAge*cough*) play to our obsessive sides, and make it so easy to spend hours with our rear ends parked […]
I remember all the news about Biosphere, back in the early 90s when I was in elementary school. There was something so hopeful about it, so pioneering and unusual. We followed the stories of the people inside, and talked about self-sustaining ecosystems on the moon or planets not yet discovered. For a budding sci-fi geek, […]
Courtesy of BBC news this morning, two particularly interesting stories that mix science, history, and… cosmetics. First up, let’s talk about eyeliner. Yes, eyeliner. There may be no look as timeless and as oft-copied as the Cleopatra eye, made famous in Egyptian art, culture, and mythology. And while it’s certainly aesthetically pleasing (I’m a personal […]
Like many young geeks, when I was a kid I wanted to be an archaeologist–and a paleontologist–when I grew up. Nothing sounded so exciting as discovering ancient cities, unearthing forgotten cultures, and also, if I had the time, naming a dinosaur after myself. Well, I eventually found other career paths, but I still love history […]
Remote controlled bugs buzz off, followed by a picture that looked straight out of a cyberpunk novel, a beetle with a remarkable bit of tech strapped to its head. Well, it turns out that the future (for those of us who’ve ever imagined a future in which people can control cyborg beetles by using a […]