Science

Astronaut holding Astronaut Food freeze dried ice cream on the moon

Astronaut Foods Can Make Your 2024 Eclipse Safe and Tasty

Get ready to mark your calendars because a rare celestial event is on the horizon! The last time North America witnessed a solar eclipse was back in 2017, and we won’t get another chance until 2044. But on Monday, April 8th, skygazers in parts of the US will be treated to an awe-inspiring sight. What better way to get kids interested in science and space exploration? Astronaut Foods, known for its freeze-dried ice cream and fruit, is stepping up to make this celestial celebration one to remember.

News

Scientists Photograph a Black Hole, the World Is Probably Not Ending

My son is absolutely fascinated by science but he is terrified of black holes. For the longest time, I managed to assuage his concern by convincing him that black holes were too far for us to even see, but now science has gone and made me a liar. Also, it looks like we found Sauron, so if anyone has the One Ring, be careful.

Events

How to View the “Blood Moon” Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight

Even though you’re currently looking at your smartphone or some device reading this article, you should point your phones upward tonight, and capture one of the most stunning sights in the sky tonight.

Events, News

Happy Pi Day from Gear Diary!

Happy Pi Day Everybody! Today is the one day out of the year that you can wake up at 9:26:53AM and eat a whole bunch of pie. If you aren’t a math wiz kid; look up the definition of Pi, it’s described as “the symbol ? denoting the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter”.

Editorials

Thoughts on the Orion Spacecraft Launch from a Space Shuttle Fan

I truly mourned the space shuttle’s demise. You see, Challenger, the second space shuttle, first launched on my birthday. Unfortunately, not long after that launch we lost Challenger. Then many years later we lost Columbia. This week’s launch of the Orion spacecraft signals a return to the capsules of old and in many ways a return to what works.

News

So You Think You Can Dance, but Can You Attract a Mate?

According to a group of evolutionary biologists at Northumbria University, there are the dance movements that will catch a woman’s eye; in other words, these are the movements that will attract a mate. Can you do them? If not, you’d better get busy. If you nail the moves, we’d love to see your videos. 😉 The biggest difference I see is that the “good” dancer has his head up and he is working his legs and torso; such confidence! Obviously he is an excellent hunter-gatherer who will provide for his prospective spouse and his future family. The “bad” dancer is stuck in…

Events

HP Opens Up Its Houston Testing Labs for a Journalist Tour!

Recently Hewlett-Packard invited a group of bloggers into their Houston testing labs. Why do that? That was my question going on the tour – but it was quickly apparent that HP has a lot to be proud of in an area that adds tremendous value to their computers. Let’s take a look with HP at the Science of PC!

News

Consumer Reports Takes On ‘BendGate’ with Science … Finds NO #BendGate

By now anyone who follows technology – and many who don’t – has heard about #BendGate, the term coined after a video showed how easy it was to bend and distort the iPhone 6/6+. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised – they are incredibly thin and light with an elongated aspect ratio. But is #bendgate REAL? Consumer Reports took a scientific look!

News

Astronaut Sells Apollo 15 Hand Controller for $610,000+ at Auction

Imagine that you are an astronaut, and after flying to the moon, you make it safely home. What kind of SWAG do you give a guy who completed a safe lunar mission? Why not the hand controller from his Apollo 15 flight? How much would something like that be worth? Astronaut Dave Scott just found out.

Editorials

More Than Anything, Mars One Way Shows Participants’ Need to Feel Special

Were you one of the 2000,000 who applied for the Mars One project? The Mars One Way video interviews five who did, and as I watched, I had to make sure that it wasn’t an SNL parody. If these are the people who will inhabit Mars, then Mars is going to be … just like Earth, only even more mediocre.

Gear Bits

Carl Sagan’s Home Movies and More Are Now in the Library of Congress

Carl Sagan holds a special place in my heart. He advocated science and mastered at taking complex ideas and breaking them down into accessible knowledge that everyone could understand. Sagan’s influence on many was, and is, still profound. Due to a donation by Seth MacFarlane, there is now a Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan collection at the Library of Congress.

Reviews

Magnetic Nanodots Gyro Duo Is a Cool Toy for Science Fans

I loved playing with Nanodots when I reviewed them a few years ago. They were a great fidget toy when you are concentrating on something at work. Their new magnetic Gyro Duo product is another example of a great desktop fidget toy; they are also not as easy to lose, since they are much bigger than Nanodots.

Gear Bits

Sorry Apple Weather, That Is NOT How You Calculate Wind Chill

When I was a kid, the concept of ‘wind chill’ was new; the National Weather Service didn’t start reporting it until the 1970s, and it took a while longer to become popular with news viewers. Now it has evolved into ‘Real Feel’ or ‘Feels Like’ rather than just ‘Wind Chill’. Either way, Apple’s Weather app doesn’t have a clue.

Gear Bits

My Spy Birdhouse Takes Birdwatching to a Voyeuristic Level

Occasionally, my wife, Sarah will point out products she thinks we should cover on Gear Diary. Often they’re interesting or unusual, and sometimes they’re just “oh, come on, you’ve got to be kidding me” ridiculous. The My Spy Birdhouse we saw on TV today clearly falls in the latter category, and Sarah practically fell off the couch laughing at it!

Crowdfunding

Help Bring the McDonald Observatory’s Struve Telescope Model Home to Texas

The McDonald Observatory is a Texas landmark that evokes emotion in all who see it. To me, the bright white telescope domes nestled in the Davis Mountains represent inspiration, education, and — perhaps most importantly — exploration. An Indigogo campaign has been launched to celebrate the Observatory’s 75th anniversary; here is how you can be a part of it all.

Gear Bits

Monday Mystery: Scientists Discover Unknown Knee Ligament

Image courtesy Science Daily Several years ago I tore my ACL. I sat with the orthopedist and he showed me a model of the knee to explain where the ACL was, what it did, and how they took other bits of a tendon to replace it. I was left with the impression that surgeons know exactly what’s in there, but a new study indicates they’ve discovered a previously unknown ligament! Yes, apparently there’s another one in there, the Anterorlateral Ligament or ALL. The new theory is that this ligament causes the “pivot shift” sensation when you tear your ACL. Pivot…

Editorials

Popular Science Turns Off Comments – Because They Are Doing Harm to Actual Science!

The blog entry starts with a chilling phrase – “Comments can be bad for science”. It is the announcement that Popular Science is shutting down the ability to comment on articles on their site – and it is being done because they see harm happening to the spread of science based on negative and politically charged commentary. So what is the big deal? I mean, have you been on YouTube lately? The discourse on PopSci is definitely civil compared to that level of vitriol. But it is the way negativity and misinformation in comments can shape whether or not someone…

Gear Bits

Enjoy an Aerial Tour the Arctic & Greenland from the Comfort of Your Home

I’ve always been fascinated by the Arctic and Antarctic, but touring either would take a lot of money, and it’s just so … cold! Enter IceBridge, a six-year NASA mission to survey the ice at both of Earth’s poles; they’ve released almost 4.5 minutes of icy aerial goodness. I’m still shivering at the thought, but now I’m even more intrigued. Find out more at the Operation IceBridge website; via Universe Today.

Gear Bits, News

New App Channels ‘SETI @ Home’ Technology for Android Smartphones!

Do you remember the heyday of ‘SETI @ Home’? The program was very popular just over a decade ago, and it made use of the millions of desktop computers that were not continuously hooked up to the internet via early broadband but sat idle much of the time waiting to chime ‘You’ve Got Mail!’. Now the folks at Berkeley are putting the same core computing principles at work with a project called BOINC. BOINC stands for Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, and is known for the software that allows unused CPU cycles to be tapped by as many as…

News

Astronomy-Class 100X Telescope and Back Case for iPhone 5

A few weeks ago, we experienced a “super moon.” This is where the moon is full while at the closest proximity to the earth. My boys have a beginner telescope so we spent most of the evening in the back yard looking at the moon and discussing all of the markings and features. We were even able to see the rings of Saturn which surprised me using that particular telescope. While we took turns admiring the majesty of the moon, my oldest said, “Dad, I wish you could hook your iPhone up to the telescope and take a picture.” Following…

Gear Bits

xkcd’s Interstellar Memes Graphic, or Stellar Distance Measured by Age of Pop Culture Phrases

I love xkcd.com. It’s a thought-provoking, often hilarious, sometimes sobering stick figure strip. The strip was conceived by Randall Monroe, who describes himself thusly: I’m just this guy, you know? I’m a CNU graduate with a degree in physics. Before starting xkcd, I worked on robots at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia. As of June 2007 I live in Massachusetts. In my spare time I climb things, open strange doors, and go to goth clubs dressed as a frat guy so I can stand around and look terribly uncomfortable. At frat parties I do the same thing, but the…

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