Chronicles of the Void

Who you gonna call?

2005-10-13T22:59:00.000Z

Ghostbusters have gone ex-directory? Troubled by noisy spirits?

You need a pocket GhostRadar. I wish I had thought of it.

www.ghostradar.co.uk/

Singing Sand Dunes!!

2005-09-18T21:43:00.000Z

It has come to my attention, that sand dunes sing, apparently. For some time, it has been known that masses of sand in deserts, sometimes make low rumbling noises, but we have been unsure as to why.

Now, not only have scientists figured out the secret, they have managed to reproduce the sounds in a lab, and you can buy the CD!

Listen here :

Songs of the sand!

New Scientist article

Through the Square Window

2005-08-14T15:53:00.000Z

Part of my "abandoned factory complex" series :

Big LASERs in Space - revisited

2005-05-11T10:36:00.000Z

Yes, once again, the Americans would like to cement their global hegemony by mounting offensive weaponry in orbit around the planet, the goal being to be able to strike at anybody and anything, anywhere, at anytime and without fear of retaliation.

This is not science-fiction; much of the necessary technology to do so has existed for decades, as has the will to implement it. It is bad enough trying to install a "missile defence" shield, which would be largely ineffective against any kind of real nuclear assault, and would only serve to antagonise other nations. Attempting to put offensive weapons in space is far worse, and would start a whole new, potentially more dangerous arms race.

I strongly recommend the following links :

Comprehensive Overview by the Rand Corporation
www.globalissues.org - Arms Control and Space
MIRACL - Mid Infrared Chemical Laser
Recent military laser successes
More anti-satellite lasers
Popular Mechanics article
Airborne laser experiments

HamsterMIDI - Rodent Music Sequencing

2005-04-27T20:22:00.000Z

A clever young man at an American university has constructed a remarkable device, which "intelligently" creates pseudo-random music, based on the interpreted movements of 6 hamsters in tubes. Incredible.

For more details, including a video of the hamsters at work, and clips of the tunes, follow this link :

HamsterMIDI controller

Amusing diversions.

2005-03-20T23:04:00.000Z

The Bush Video Game
Mr T vs Everything
Films re-enacted in 30 seconds using rabbits

Frog levitation

2005-03-20T15:02:00.000Z

http://www.hfml.science.ru.nl/froglev.html

Click on the image for movies :

Not a lot to say about this, except that the University of Nijmegen High Field Magnet Laboratory have learnt how to make frogs (amongst other things) levitate. I won't pretend to be a world authority on physics, so I will let them explain.

I Am Canadian.

2005-03-20T14:57:00.000Z

Actually, I'm not, but I wouldn't mind living there some day. This is Canadian nationalism best expressed in the form of a beer advert :

Molson "Beaver" advert.

Pure genius.

'Murka

2005-02-22T17:05:00.000Z

Boston, MA, USA. Jan 6th, 2005. Very pretty.

Sniffer bees (and moths)!

2005-02-16T20:07:00.000Z

I told you so. They are real. Nobody ever believes me.

The US Army has successfully trained bees to detect explosives. Read on...

http://www.onrglobal.navy.mil/reports/2003/Newsletter_Bees_in_a_Box.doc
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1131790
http://www.oxfordtechnology.com/files/Inscentinel.html
http://www.deanfriedman.com/zine-state/zine_stateoftheuniverse-02.html
http://www.tomifobia.com/bees.html
http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1173177.htm
http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/?id=1749

Falling objects.

2005-02-08T22:45:00.000Z

Okay, it's fair to say that I was a strange child...
but this has reminded me of one of my old preoccupations, back when I was a bairn:the haunting fear of being struck by falling objects from space.

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/28/india.meteorite/
http://www.meteorobs.org/maillist/msg28346.html
http://www.branchmeteorites.com/metstruck.html
http://www.galactic-guide.com/articles/8S15.html

The Legend of Japanese Jesus!

2004-12-17T01:00:00.000Z

Okay... this is the most amusing thing I've read in about a week.

http://www.rense.com/general60/jesusjapan.htm

Long story short, there is a small village in northern Japan, where they
are absolutely convinced that :

a) Jesus was not executed on the cross; his younger brother Isukuri took his place,

b) Jesus then fled from the Romans, and escaped across Siberia, to Japan, where he
settled, married a local woman and raised a family, dying aged 106.

Fascinating stuff; they have a whole museum dedicated to it. Plus you can visit the brothers' graves.

Pretty waterfall.

2004-12-12T02:26:00.000Z

Exactly what it says on the tin.

Many are called!

2004-12-12T02:24:00.000Z

Another abstract image which started as me running down my corridor.

Words of Mass Deception!

2004-12-12T02:15:00.000Z

He's not the Messiah! He's a very naughty boy!

Illegal Chemical/Biological weapons programme!!!

Some of this may make unsettling reading, but I urge you to take the time to follow ALL of these links!!!

Bio weapons 1
Bio weapons 2
Bio weapons 3
Bio weapons 4
Bio weapons 5
Bio weapons 6
Bio weapons 7
Bio weapons 8
Bio weapons 9
Sunshine-Project - source for all above

General Electronic Surveillance.

Privacy International
Big Brother Awards

PATRIOT ACT & "PATRIOT ACT II". (No more Bill of Rights!!!)

ACLU Safe & Free
Safe & Free part 2
PATRIOT Act analysis!! Read!!
PATRIOT Act II analysis!! Read!!
Patriot Act guide

Suspension of human rights for "the Bad People(TM)".

Are you one of the Bad People?
Make the Bad People suffer!

Ancient.

2004-12-12T02:13:00.000Z

In case you were wondering, he's dead, and she's doing the "resurrection by laying-on-hands" thing.

Your guess is as good as mine.

2004-12-12T02:11:00.000Z

Interpret this as you feel. I wasn't thinking of anything in particular, when I did it.

Aurora borealis

2004-12-09T13:56:00.000Z

Surely, this is simultaneously the most bizarre and the most beautiful natural phenomenon on the planet?

Unfortunately, I missed the Nov 9th storm (which was visible as far south as Cardiff), despite having advance warning of it (and forwarding this warning to innumerable others), because I was indoors playing Grand Theft Auto. I am still incredibly pissed off about this.

Photos courtesy of Jan Curtis.

All these links contain more photos, or information on how to see it for yourself. (Basically, you want to be going to Canada, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand or somewhere of similar latitude. On very rare occasions, it is visible at lower (or higher, if you're in the southern hemisphere) latitudes, but nobody ever looks because they don't expect it to happen.)

In case you were under any illusions, it MOVES! Check the video clip below.

http://personal.inet.fi/koti/tom.eklund/aurora.html
http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/Curtis/aurora/aurora.html
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mapds/space/aurnov25.htm

http://sec.noaa.gov/Aurora/index.html
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/

You have been warned.

2004-12-08T16:36:00.000Z

This has been a long time coming. I am not entirely sure of its ultimate purpose yet, besides venting my spleen, but I am pretty sure that will become readily apparent, in due course.

Let the attack begin.