… I would go nuts over this useful and beautiful animated world map that shows the wind. Updated every three hours.
Rotate the earth, look at the poles and see the Coriolis force in action, zoom in and out – so fun!
Category Archives: Around the World
Some links
Physics and my favorite physicist: The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
“Caltech and The Feynman Lectures Website are pleased to present this online edition of The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Now, anyone with internet access and a web browser can enjoy reading a high-quality up-to-date copy of Feynman’s legendary lectures.”
So far, only the first volume is online, but the other two will hopefully follow soon.
Link via MetaFilter.
A Capella Science is the YouTube Channel of Tim Blais. He published Rolling in the Higgs (Adele Parody) about a year ago and released Bohemian Gravity! today. Recommended if you love physics or music or both. And don’t miss the Einstein puppet!
31 Things “Friends” Taught Us About Life. Complete with 31 animated gifs from the TV series. My favorite is the first one: How to get out of things: “I wish I could help, but I don’t want to.”
10 Fascinating Photos That Look Unbelievably Like Paintings. Link via MetaFilter.
BTW, I found the little star in my archives. Apparently it was all the rage back in 2000…
Diese Woche in der Zeit
Diese Woche in der Zeit
Faktomat: “Egal ob Hauptschüler, Realschüler oder Abiturienten: In Gemeinschaftsschulen sind alle deutlich besser.”
“Gesamtschüler lernen mehr, behauptet Gregor Gysi und stützt sich dabei auf eine Studie. Dem misstraute unser Leser “Jona 123″ in unserem Online-Politikercheck. ZEIT-Bildungsredakteur Martin Spiewak hat die Aussage überprüft.” Von Martin Spiewak.
Serie Political Animals: Die Rückkehr der Könige
“Im Westen der USA wollen Umweltschützer und Indianer Tausende von Bisons ansiedeln. Doch die Lobby der Rinderzüchter leistet erbitterten Widerstand.” Von Martin Klingst.
Israel: “Hier ist alles anders”.
“Eine obskure Zusammenkunft von Israels angesagtesten Unternehmern zeigt, warum dort so viele Firmen entstehen.” Von Alexandra Rojkov.
Bundestagswahl: Wo ist die Bildung im Wahlkampf?
“Für bessere Schulen und Unis machen die Parteien keine Werbung.” Von Marion Schmidt.
Erwachsenwerden: Leben lernen.
“In Thüringen erkennt ein Junge, dass er schwul ist. In Berlin will ein Mädchen gegen den Rat ihrer Lehrer Artistin werden. Und im schwäbischen Backnang muss eine Schülerin damit leben, dass ihr Bruder in Afghanistan gefallen ist. Drei große Geschichten vom Erwachsenwerden.” Von Heike Faller, Christine Meffert und Nicola Meier.
Summer vacation
Two and a half weeks in Wales. Long walks along the coast and in the hills. Summer.
Cove in Pembrokeshire
The desert really is a dangerous place
MetaFilter: The hunt for the Death Valley Germans
“In 1996, a family of German tourists went on vacation in the desert Southwest of the US. They disappeared in Death Valley sometime late July of that year, and despite repeated searches, their remains were not found until 2009. Tom Mahood details how that happened.”
This story, especially Tom Mahood‘s detailed accounts of his searches, fascinated and terrified me at the same time. André and I visited Death Valley National Park on our very on September 8, 1999. It was about 115°F (46°C), and I only lasted a few minutes outside the air-conditioned car. Back then we had basically no hiking experience, especially not in the desert in the summer, but I’d love to go back there some time. Death Valley is a fascinating place, but the story of the four Germans is a cautionary tale.
Photo taken in Death Valley on Sep 8, 1999
I also read Tom Mahood’s reports on the search for Bill Ewasko, which began in June 2010 and is still going on. Ewasko went missing after going for a solo hike in Joshua Tree National Park, which was the first park André and I visited in 1999, (I’ve also been there while on a student exchange in 1992 when it was still a National Monument).