Device spells doom for superbugs
More neat tech stuff:
Well, there went history…
Just when it looks like we’re getting things figured out…
Turns out we don’t really KNOW squat.
Oldest “Human” Skeleton Found–Disproves “Missing Link”.
The find reveals that our forebears underwent a previously unknown stage of evolution more than a million years before Lucy, the iconic early human ancestor specimen that walked the Earth 3.2 million years ago.
So… still lots of things to learn….
The Virtues Of Technology….
The problem with being both a technology enthusiast and a human in today’s world is simply that more and more of the USES to which the modern miracles are put tend to go in directions that are less and less useful or worthwhile than one could wish. It’s a human failing, not a technological one – given a choice between new ways to accomplish things, or new ways to amuse ourselves, it seems we’ll take easy entertainment far more often than not. (For the record, I’m as guilty of this as the next guy; I’d like to think I’m getting better, but it’s a constant battle.)
This, however, is just VERY cool, and makes me feel somewhat better about the degree to which electronic and electrical gadgets have replaced education, reflection, and imagination.
A Linguist Preserves Languages With Digital Tools
In its new digital form, this kind of research is more accessible. It allows larger projects to share the world’s linguistic heritage with a wider public of teachers and learners, including, when possible, the original speakers.
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Mornin’… I think.
Philosophically, of course, there is much to consider here.
And I DO intend to consider these things, if I ever stop laughing.
Dunno why; it’s one of those mornings. I seem to have gotten some defective caffeine recently; it’s not working as well as it once did…
Or perhaps I just need to use more OF it.
Prehistoric European Cave Artists Were Female
via National Geographic News Service:
Prehistoric European Cave Artists Were Female.
Hmmm. Not really surprising, but I’m betting this is going to rev up the discussion in a few places. But seriously… the question isn’t “why not?” but rather, “why did we assume not?” and “what difference would this make in our assessments of early social development and prehistoric societies?”
Questions for paleo-anthropologists, I guess.
The answer may well be “none, and that’s an ignorant question…” I’m just starting to study these things, so have neither opinions nor insights to offer.
Still, is neat.
Go Holly….
One of the great things about blogging, from a personal perspective, is that I can interrupt myself to brag about things my friends do. So when the morning’s email included “I made the Library Blog where I go to college,” I just HAD to link it.
It doesn’t QUITE have the ring of “Hey, I made the newspaper!” but then “Hey, I made the newspaper!” doesn’t have the ring it once did for me either.
Holly’s one of my oldest and best friends (and the lady who shot about the only portrait of me that I’ve ever liked…).
Just to brighten up what looks like a truly messy weekend….
Stone Age Flutes Found in Germany Offer Clues to Early Music
Stone Age Flutes Found in Germany Offer Clues to Early Music
Hmmm. Not really all THAT surprising, conceptually – music seems to be one of the defining characteristics of humanity, and even those of us who can’t produce it wish we could – but still, finding actual hard evidence is fascinating.
Archaeologists Wednesday reported the discovery last fall of a bone flute and two fragments of ivory flutes that they said represented the earliest known flowering of music-making in Stone Age culture.
The photo that accompanies the NYT article shows what looks to be about seven or eight inches of the original flute, with one end broken off; it looks almost painfully delicate. One imagines it as some unknown artist’s most carefully guarded possession.
The replica produces a breathy, light sound, much like modern variants of the reed or grass flute, not at all unpleasant. If I were going to do a documentary film, this would be the perfect musical accompaniment.
We haven’t moved as far past g-g-grandpa as we’d like to think, perhaps.
Holiday Update
A little birdie told me that there’s a major holiday today, or all week, that I’d overlooked.
It’s National Library Week.
Today, specifically, is National Library Workers Day.
Thank your librarian today. If you don’ t HAVE a librarian, go find one.
And THEN thank them.
(Thanks to the little birdies. Apparently the wp.com twidget isn’t working properly… though it may be a twitter issue – no shortage of them this week.)
(UPDATE: It’s working again. For Now. Subject to change.)
Time. There’s never enough.
As I posted on the photoblogs, I had planned to actually sit down over the weekend and attempt to summarize, quickly and possibly even coherently, the nature of the TED prize, and I thought I might even slide in a little low-key hero-worship of James Nachtwey,* but the time didn’t materialize, and it looks like this evening isn’t going to allow it either.
So instead, I refer you to original sources:
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) prize
Mr. Nachtwey’s TED page (PLEASE take the time to watch his presentation. The man understands.)
Mr. Nachtwey’s TED prize project, XDRTB.org
* I’m a little old for “fanboy” and it seems shallow, somehow, given the nature of his work… I lean towards Mr. Capa’s take on it: “The war photographer’s most fervent wish is for unemployment” — but I still try to get eyes on anything Mr. Nachtwey publishes, since his work represents to me some of the finest contemporary examples of the finest traditions of photojournalism.
**It’s also been suggested that I advise you that some of the photographs you will see if you follow the links to Mr. Nachtwey’s work will show you things in our world that you WILL find unpleasant. I certainly do. That’s one of the reasons the man does what he does… because it matters that there are witnesses.
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