SubtractAddDivide: November 2008

Sunday, 30 November 2008

TED Conferences TEDGlobal 2009 - TED's coming to Oxford, UK in 2009

TEDGlobal 2009, Oxford, UK. July 21-24, 2009.
Registration is open!

Dear TEDizens,

We are delighted to announce that TED is coming to Europe next summer as a major new, annual event. TEDGlobal 2009, is to be held in Oxford, UK, 21-24 July 2009, and every year after that.

This is our next major step in taking TED global. From 2010 onward we envision simulcasts of this event to TED communities in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. (The UK's time zone is more convenient for these regions than California's.) To set the stage in 2009, we are reaching out to attendees from every continent to become founder members of TEDGlobal. We welcome a truly international mix of thinkers and doers, creatives and catalysts. Because all of the world's biggest ideas and biggest problems transcend borders and affect us all. We're in this together.

In a time of extraordinary global uncertainty and doubt, it's time to look beneath and beyond; to dig under the surface; to consider novel ideas that will drive the times ahead. Therefore we've based next summer's event on a potent theme: "The Substance Of Things Not Seen".

We've signed up a spectacular group of speakers: scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, tech wizards, creative geniuses, game-changing thinkers. As is TED's way, we won't spoil the surprise by revealing them just yet. But the internal view is that this is an amazing line-up, every bit as strong as our California conferences. There's a real treat in store.

Oxford is a one-of-a-kind environment that for centuries has championed the power of reason and discovery and art, and TEDGlobal will be finely woven into the Oxford landscape. Most sessions will take place at the Oxford Playhouse, the city's theatre, with special events and parties at the distinctive Sheldonian Theatre, at the stunning Museum of Natural History, at historic Keble College, and at the Malmaison Hotel -- the newly renovated, extraordinary hotel that was once a Victorian prison. More details and pictures here.

During the 24 hours preceding and following the conference, attendees will be offered a series of discoveries and special programs, including TED University, a tour of Bletchley Park (think Alan Turing and the Enigma machine), punting on the river Cherwell and surprising exclusive visits. These activities will be opened to registered participants only.

Participation in TEDGlobal costs $4500. To sign up, follow the steps below. Seating is limited. All applications received will be considered for acceptance on the same basis. If the number of applications exceeds availability, we will have to make some tough choices on how to allocate the passes, seeking always to make the TED community the best it can be: talented, connected, diverse.

Here is how to register:

1. Go to the TEDGlobal 2009 page on TED.com

2. Log-in and complete the form (if you are not a TED.com member yet, you will need to register on the site first). Please do take the time to answer the questions fully and accurately. These answers become especially important if the event ends up being oversold, as looks likely

3. Click on "Submit".

If you have any problems with the registration process, you can get in touch with us through contact@ted.com.

We are awed and humbled by the enthusiasm that is surrounding TED and the support shown by you and other TEDizens. We believe TEDGlobal will be a major step in our project to build TED as a borderless community of doers and thinkers that have the future of the world at heart.

We hope to see you in Oxford next July. Thank you very much!

Chris Anderson
TED Curator

Bruno Giussani
TED European Director

Saturday, 29 November 2008

Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | Look! 70's Rock Musicians and Their Parent's Homes

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/look/look-70s-rock-musicians-and-their-parents-homes-070419
via BoingBoing

Thursday, 27 November 2008

YouTube - The Hubble Deep Field: The Most Important Image Ever Taken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBV-cXVWFw
Space is big! No, really. It's very VERY big!

Tuesday, 25 November 2008

Alien-like Squid Filmed at Ultra-Deep Oil-Drilling Site

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081124-giant-squid-magnapinna.html
Have these people not seen "The Abyss"?

Monday, 24 November 2008

Seedmagazine.com | Portfolio | Colonial Intelligence

http://www.seedmagazine.com/portfolio/11_colonial-intelligence.html
(Art science)

SQL Mandlebrot Set

http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Stupid-Coding-Tricks-The-TSQL-Madlebrot.aspx
via Fark
http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=4040038&cpp=1

Sunday, 23 November 2008

BigThink — Get to Know

http://new.bigthink.com/
~~I'm not sure whether this is just open to US'ers~~

Also: http://www.bigthink.com/

TED: Talks| George Smoot on the design of the universe | Video on TED.com

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/george_smoot_on_the_design_of_the_universe.html

Is it me, or do some of those animations look like a bunch of synapses/neurons?

Michael Pollan gives a plant's-eye view | Video on TED.com

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/michael_pollan_gives_a_plant_s_eye_view.html
What if human consciousness isn't the end-all and be-all of Darwinism? What if we are all just pawns in corn's clever strategy game to rule the Earth? Author Michael Pollan asks us to see the world from a plant's-eye view.

Saturday, 22 November 2008

BoingBoing: Minuscule: CGI bug videos

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/22/minuscule-cgi-bug-vi.html
{I'm sure I posted an episode of this before, but I can't find it. Too bad. Here it is again.}

Minuscule Part l ( 1 / 11 ) - la coccinelle (Ladybird?) / catapulte (Catapult)

Minuscule Part l ( 2 / 11 ) - (Dung Beetles?) / Deux Cheniells (Two catterpilers?)

Minuscule Part l ( 3 / 11 ) - Les Formis (end of the catapillers/prisonniere)(the ants/prisoner)

Minuscule Part l ( 4 / 11 ) - (end of prisoner) reve d'escargot/love story (Snail's dream?/love story)

Minuscule Part l ( 5 / 11 ) - (more love story) grasse matinee (big breakfast?/)

Minuscule Part l ( 6 / 11 )

Minuscule Part l ( 7 / 11 )

Minuscule Part l ( 8 / 11 )

Minuscule Part l ( 9 / 11 )

Minuscule Part l ( 10 / 11 ) - Baby Ladybirds, and a Caterpiller's Dream comes true

Minuscule Part l ( 11 / 11 ) - Chewing Gum

See Questions & Answers as They Come in - 118.com

http://www.text118118.com/livefeed.aspx
Some questions PNSFW

Friday, 21 November 2008

EtherPad: Realtime Collaborative Text Editing

http://etherpad.com/
I wish I known about this a couple of hours ago...

Developed by a couple of Ex-Googlers, and looks like it's down at the mo...

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | IBM to build brain-like computers

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7740484.stm

Saw this in the Local Guardian RSS

Start:	Dec 4, '08 2:15p
Location:	Radio

BBC success for Tooting playwright
3:25pm Friday 21st November 2008

Comments (0) Have your say »

By Eleanor Harding »

A playwright from Tooting proved every cloud has a silver lining after turning the global financial crisis into a BBC Radio 4 play.

Sarah Wooley, 38, wrote the black comedy, Life Savings, in response to the problems families all over the country are facing.

It tells the story of a Glaswegian businessman with a second wife who disinherits children from his first marriage after his finances take a nose dive.

Ms Wooley said: “It’s about what happens when someone does this, and it’s also about the financial crisis and how it has impacted on everybody.

“Most of the play is set in Glasgow, but the character does come down to London and something terrible happens to him there. That’s all I’m going to say!”

The 38-year-old Gatton Road resident went to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before becoming a director and later writing plays.

Her work was commissioned as part of a series of plays about current affairs and was written in just six weeks, with recording taking place this week.

To hear the play, tune in to BBC Radio 4 on Friday, December 12, at 2.15pm.

Life Savings - BBC Radio 4 on Friday, December 12, at 2.15pm.

Thursday, 20 November 2008

Shhhh - What's that noise? SimplyNoise.com

http://simplynoise.com/
SimplyNoise.com - The best free white noise generator on the Internet.

via MeFi

Spiders On Drugs

http://www.trinity.edu/jdunn/spiderdrugs.htm

Sketchers take note...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-drawing-of-a-7-legged-spider_W0QQitemZ190265903424QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item190265903424&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318
Original drawing of a 7-legged spider - eBay (item 190265903424 end time Nov-13-08 04:54:38 PST)

Wednesday, 19 November 2008

Sounds just like a Bill and Ted idea!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7671946.stm
BBC NEWS | UK | How a home secretary was hoodwinked

Oh, I forgot to tell you, The Borg are coming for tea...

http://blog.longnow.org/2008/11/19/long-term-materials-testing-on-the-iss/
The Long Now Blog » Blog Archive » Long-term materials testing on the ISS

LIFE photo archive hosted by Google

http://images.google.com/hosted/life

Tuesday, 18 November 2008

komplexify.com | Math jokes, humor, and poetry

http://komplexify.com/math/humor.html
Via MeFi

Sunday, 16 November 2008

Saturday, 15 November 2008

Know your (Disk) Fault... The sound of pain

http://datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php
Failing hard drive sounds - Datacent.com - Datacent

And today's "Best use of Muons, in a Geological Project" award, goes to...

http://inventorspot.com/articles/scientists_use_muons_take_volcano_xrays_19796
Cosmic Ray Detector Can Look Inside Volcanoes

Friday, 14 November 2008

Simon Pegg - The dead and the quick

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/nov/04/television-simon-pegg-dead-set

Make your own doppelganger visage with That's My Face

http://www.thatsmyface.com/
I'd really like one with the printing on the inside... (not that blue/plain finish + mini-pic) - That way it'd look as though it was following you round the room

via BoingBoing Gadgets
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/11/13/make-your-own-doppel.html

Saturday, 8 November 2008

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | US Elections 2008 | Obama family dog 'a major issue'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/7716985.stm
World for many has turned to cr@p both in and out of the US. But he's just finished his first Press briefing on the current financial crisis and the US economy... and some stupid asks him about his dog!

At first I was disappointed. I wish he'd taken the opportunity to put the media in its place more and torn a strip off that reporter, but I suppose a moment of comic relief is OK.