Web Site of The Week

[bits_blogger]

WEB SITE PICK OF THE WEEK: http://www.mn-stem.com/

Thanks for stopping by once again to see what your humble bits_blogger has come up with
for this week!

S.T.E.M. = "Science, Technology, Engineering & Math"

Don’t be frightened by STEM!

Here is a comforting quote about math from Albert Einstein:
“Do not worry about your problemswith mathematics. I assure you mine are far greater.”

The STEM web site is a Minnesota initiated educational web site to promote
STEM courses for mostly high school students.

STEM is a learning resource intended for high school students, parents, and teachers.

The goal of STEM is to help students with their post secondary education and in pursuing of
ewarding careers using innovative technology skills.

STEM is a statewide campaign started and supported by the Minnesota Department of Education,
Minnesota High Tech Association, Minnesota Business Partnership, and the Minnesota Chamber
of Commerce.

The STEM web site has several motivating multimedia “tools” available on it also.

Some of the items in this “tool kit” include various study guides, including easy-to-read equation
charts for trigonometry, geometry, physics, algebra and chemistry.




A younger Bill Gates on the cover of the 1984 Time Magazine






Your Bonus Link: http://www.mn-stem.com/assets/study_charts/Conversion_charts.pdf

As students begin this new school year, your bits_blogger hopes their learning and understanding of a STEM curriculum will provide a solid foundation for their future careers – and allow them to make known to the rest of us - the new technologies of tomorrow.


---bits_blogger---
Have a Great Week!

[bits_blogger]

The International Time Capsule Society (ITCS) is an organization established in 1990 to promote the careful study of "Time Capsules." It strives to document all types of time capsules throughout the world.
The society is headquartered at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Web Site of The Week: http://tinyurl.com/9h66a

The ITCS is currently setting up a registry of time capsules. The society estimates there are approximately 10,000 capsules worldwide, with many time capsule locations unknown and undocumented.
This ambitious project will be a continuing process and is one of the most important ITCS functions.

The folks at ITCS provides a link for anyone who would like to register known Time Capsules:
http://tinyurl.com/6ndeu8


Recently in Tulsa Oklahoma, buried under the city's courthouse
lawn - a 50 year old Time Capsule was unearthed. It contained
a concrete vault which housed a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere!

From the photo's, you can tell the people must have been
disappointed when they discovered water had penetrated
the vault and ruined the classic automobile:


At a Friday ceremony complete with a couple of drum rolls, crews removed a
multilayered protective wrapping caked with red mud, revealing a vintage
vehicle that was covered in rust and wouldn't crank.

There were a few bright spots, literally: shiny chrome was still visible around
the doors and front fender, and workers were able to put air in the tires.

But the unveiling in front of thousands of people at the Tulsa Convention
Center confirmed fears that the past 50 years had not been the kindest
to Miss Belvedere.

"I'll tell you what, she's a mess. Look at her," said legendary hot rod builder
Boyd Coddington, who was unable to start the thing up as planned.

Event organizer Sharon King Davis, a fourth generation Tulsan whose
grandfather helped bury the Plymouth, joked that the car needed a little
Oil of Olay to help it out.

In the trunk, workers meticulously pulled out some of the objects buried
with the two-door hardtop to celebrate Oklahoma's 50 years of statehood
a 5-gallon can of leaded gasoline, which went for 24 cents a gallon in those
days, and rusted cans of Schlitz beer.
source: TULSA, Okla. (AP)



In Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, a 100 year old cornerstone was opened on May 9, 2001:

County Highway Department workers toiled for hours to open the stone and eventually
they found the time capsule hidden within.

The next day, May 10th, the time capsule was opened and its contents saw the light of day for the first
time in 100 years.

The tin box, lined with copper, contained 117 items placed in it by county officials and residents
100 years ago.

The time capsule contained newspapers, paper documents from organizations
and churches, business cards, 1901 stamps and coins, a small metal plaque memorializing
the contractors Wurthmann and Vollmar, commemorative ribbons from the cornerstone
celebration, four historic photographs, an original copy of Becker’s poem, speeches from
the ceremony, and the script for the laying of the cornerstone ceremony.

All these items appropriately reflect the people and the culture of Ozaukee County 1901.
The contents inside of the Ozaukee County, Wisconsin 100 year old
Time Capsule cornerstone.
Below is a link to the Ozaukee County web site with more info:
http://www.co.ozaukee.wi.us/1901timecapsule/LinksToListings.htm


From Alberta,Canada:
Below are a couple photo's of the Mammoth sized steel time capsule that captured and will preserve Albertans' memories and mementos.

It is called "The Alberta Centennial Time Capsule," and it is BIG.

The time capsule is almost 6.5 meters (21 feet) long, and 1.8 meters (6 feet) in diameter!

Alberta's Centennial Time Capsule,is loaded with memories and mementos collected during its 2005 tour of the surrounding Canadian provinces.

More than 200 communities were invited to fill and insert smaller 'micro time capsules' with photographs, newspaper clippings and other items reflecting local culture. The capsule also made stops at 13 schools.

The Alberta Centennial Time Capsule will spend the next 100 years at the Royal Alberta Museum.

The time capsule will be reopened during Alberta's bicentennial in 2105.


Here is the link if you want to read more about The Alberta Centennial Time Capsule:
http://www.albertacentennial.ca/timecapsule/default.html

Would you like to have your very own Time Capsule? Here is a web site where you can order one!
http://www.futurepkg.com/products/tc_future.html

The Minnesota Historical Society also has information on how to build and what to store in your time capsule:
http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservation/reports/timecapsule.pdf



---bits_blogger---
Have a Great Week!

[bits_blogger]

Web Site of The Week: http://www.plasticlogic.com

Plastic Logic's new "Organic-Plastic Electronic Reader," which I wrote this week's
"Bits & Bytes" column about, is an exciting new way to read news, books and more.

The yet-to-be-named reader will be available for purchase in early 2009.

The Plastic Logic reader features a large and easily readable display screen the size
of an 8.5 x 11 inch paper.

Yet it's actually thinner than a pad of paper,(see below pictures) lighter than many
business periodicals, and offers a high-quality reading experience that I found amazing!

The Plastic Logic reader supports a full range of business document formats, such as
Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint, and Adobe PDFs, as well as newspapers, periodicals
and books.

It has an easy gesture-based inter-active user interface (flat-touch) and some powerful
software tools which will help users to organize and manage their information.

Users can connect to their information either wired or wirelessly and store thousands of
documents on the device.

The reader incorporates "E Ink" technology for great readability
and features low power consumption and long battery life.

The Plastic Logic reader brings information to your fingertips with powerful tools to help
your humble bits_blogger and other people be more productive and simplify our work lives.





People electronically reading a newly downloaded newspaper subscription and a favorite book!


The Plastic Logic Electronic Reader sits on top of a regular magazine and a pad of paper. Very Cool!

Plastic Logic videos showing the new Electronic Reader are available on YouTube.
Use the link below to view some of them:
VIDEO LINK: http://tinyurl.com/5tcdrb

The "Web Site of The Week" also has a video you can play which shows the CEO of Plastic Logic giving
his presentation on the Electronic Reader at the DEMO 2008 Conference last week in San Diego California.
LINK: http://www.plasticlogic.com

Bits & Bytes column for: 08/15/2008 LINK: http://tinyurl.com/5hymqq



---bits_blogger---
Have a Great Week!

[bits_blogger]

Web Site of The Week:http://steampunkworkshop.com

Steampunk has its roots in science fiction literature . . . such as Jules Verne, where "Steampunk" - more or less - describes
a portion of the genre obsessed with the Victorian era and the idea that the computer age evolved alongside of it.
In the past couple of years, Steampunk has emerged in today's world, as a growing number of Steampunk enthusiasts and
hobbyists build Steampunk devices and then share photos of them on the Internet.
I hope you enjoy these beautiful and incredibly amazing Steampunk photo's I collected for this weeks forum.


YES faithful Forum Readers...It's all about . . .STEAMPUNK!


Isn't Steampunk Cool?!!

Above shows a beautifully completed Victorian-Styled personal computer Queen Victoria herself would love!

BTW, the above pictures are the ones I wrote about in this week's column that captured my attention!
I became "awestruck" staring at the picture of this particular computer – it seems to have the
appearance of having been manufactured during the Queen Victoria era?
**note the steampunked microphone and mouse too!




Above photos show wrist watches which have been Steampunked






Above shows guitars which also underwent the Steampunk process


Above is an Apple iPod that has been Steampunked!


How USB Flash Drives look after they are Steampunked


Play your vinyl records on this Steampunk Turntable!




Love how they incorporated the Steampunk "look" using brass switches which operate the monitor's buttons



Front and Back of the computer monitor. Fantastic Steampunk style look used here. The monitor does work!



See! It does work!


Above is a photo of Mr. Bruce Sterling, who wrote a brief essay about Steampunk
You can read Sterling’s essay on Steampunk at http://tinyurl.com/63kaoz

09/22/08 "Bits and Bytes" "Taking 21st century technology back to the 1800s via "Steampunk'"
http://tinyurl.com/4ehd6r


---bits_blogger---
Have a Great Week!

____

[bits_blogger]

Web Site of The Week:http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edhome.html


Welcome back to another exciting Web Site of The Week!

Brought to you by your humble bits_blogger, who in his never ending weekly quest - continues to seek out
interesting subjects to bring to his faithful readers attention for their reading and viewing pleasure!

I admit, last weeks "SteamPunk" might be tough to beat,(I wonder what this week's web pick woud have thought about it) so I figured I would play it safe and present some information
on a great inventor you are all familiar with.

So here we go!

Next month (October 18) we will be observing the 77th year since the passing of one of the
greatest inventors in America. (no, not Alexander Graham Bell - although I do have a personal preference for ol' Alex).

If he were alive today, Thomas Edison would be 161 years old, and he would probably be still working
on some new invention. Oh, btw, he would also be the oldest person living in the world...

Inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) has had a profound impact on modern life. In his lifetime, the "Wizard of Menlo Park" patented 1,093 inventions, including the phonograph, the kinetograph (a motion picture camera), and the kinetoscope (a motion picture viewer).

Edison managed to become not only a renowned inventor, but also a prominent manufacturer and businessman through the merchandising of his inventions.

The collections in the Library of Congress's Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division contain an extraordinary range of the surviving products of Edison's entertainment inventions and industries. This site features 341 motion pictures, 81 disc sound recordings, and other related materials, such as photographs and original magazine articles.
bits_blogger's information sources include: Wikipedia

I found the following video link in the Digital sound recordings in Library of Congress entitled: "A day with Thomas A. Edison." The film was made by the General Electric Co. around 1922 and is a six-part documentary recording the 74-year-old Edison's collaborations with his staff, conversations with industrial leaders, and supervision of the factory's production line. The majority of the films chronicles Edison's trip to the incandescent light bulb factory and details its manufacturing process. I hope you take time to watch them!

Here is the link to the where you can view the video's: http://tinyurl.com/4e7l4n



______________________________________________________young Thomas Edison





__________________________________


---bits_blogger---
Have a Great Week!
____

[bits_blogger]

Web Site of The Week: http://www.underseacable.net/History.htm

The September 26, 1956 edition of the New York Times had this front page headline:



On the same day, similar stories appeared in newspapers throughout Canada. The subject was TAT-1, the first "Trans-Atlantic Telephone" system,
which had been inaugurated on the previous day. Simultaneously, a symposium on the Atlantic Cable was in progress at the Chateau Laurier
in Ottawa. TAT-1 began the modern era of global communications.

TAT-1 was the first cable of the TAT series. The cable ran 2,240 miles between Gallanach Bay, near Oban, Scotland and Clarenville, Newfoundland.

Before TAT-1, voice was carried on unreliable and expensive radio channels. Text messaging was carried on submarine telegraph cables (the
technology of the previous 90 years) which was reliable, but slow and expensive.

As well as being a beginning, TAT-1 is the continuation of a story that began on November 8, 1850 with a letter by the Catholic bishop of
Newfoundland, J.T.M. Mullock in the St. Johns Courier . His Grace outlined a scheme whereby messages dropped from ships passing the eastern
coast could be relayed by telegraph across Newfoundland and the Cabot Strait to mainland North America, effecting a saving of days.
Fredrick Glisborne, an English telegraph engineer took up the challenge and began the construction of the telegraph line across the rugged interior
of Newfoundland. Unfortunately, he ran out of money a short way out from St. Johns. Before shuffling off the historical scene, Glisbornes
made one lasting contribution: enlisting the involvement of a retired paper manufacturer, one Cyrus Field. Field immediately went beyond the
relay scheme by advocating transatlantic telegraph transmission. His first concerns were with, what he called, the twin problems of Ogeography
and lightning. On the latter, the challenge of long distance electrical transmission, he consulted Samuel Morse, receiving assurances of
feasibility. On the geography, he was encouraged by Lt M. F. Maury, Head of the National Observatory in Washington. In 1853, the US Brig
Dolphin had surveyed the ocean floor on the likely path across the Atlantic and found a "telegraph ridge," whose depth and the surface were
suitable for cable laying.

Loading the cable into the holding tank aboard the HMTS Monarch


The Monarch - Undersea cable laying ship for the TAT-1 was built in 1946 and was the largest
cable ship afloat at that time.


The HMTS Monarch - Taking on the new cable for the TAT-1 undersea cable in 1955

Clarenville (Canada) can claim the distinction of being chosen as the first place for the laying of the Transatlantic Telephone Cable which took
place in June, 1955. Following a decision of Great Britain, United States and Canada, Clarenville was used as the western terminal of
the Transatlantic Telephone Cable or the TAT-1 as it was known. Clarenville was choosen due to it's seclusion from the open ocean giving
shelter from fierce storms and deep enough water so that boats would not harm the cable.

In the summer of 1955, Her Majesty's Telegraph Ship (HMTS) Monarch, which was the largest cable laying ship in the world at the time,
was anchored in Random Sound with her hold full of submarine telephone cable. On June 22, 1955 the town declared a municipal holiday
to celebrate the landing of the cable and the opening of the newly constructed cable station on what is now Cormack Drive. The cable was
christened in a big ceremony attended by principals of all companies involved, as well as politicians. A champagne bottle was broken over
the cable.


On June 22, 1955 the town of Clarenville celebrated the holiday




TAT-1 comes ashore at Carnesville Canada ___ September 1956 Program


A piece of the TAT-1 cable
A: Outer Plastic sheath
B: Copper screen
C: Inner dielectric insulator
D: Copper core

Below is a snap-shot from the video to commemorate the 150th anniversary of
the inauguration of the first transatlantic telegraph cable, the event took place
in New York.

Video Link: http://tinyurl.com/53l4k4

Born in 1819, Cyrus West Field began work In 1854 with the quest to lay a telegraphic cable across the Atlantic Ocean.
After several failed attempts, in August 1858 Field arranged for Queen Victoria to send the first transatlantic message
to President James Buchanan, and New York erupted in celebrations, lauding Field, telegraph inventor Samuel F. B. Morse,
modern technology, and American ingenuity in general. But the cable broke after just three weeks, and Field did not complete
his project until 1866. It was the "Wiring of the World."




Cyrus West Field Video Link: http://tinyurl.com/3q5o9m


The link below is to the History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications website which details the history
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network:
Video Link: http://www.atlantic-cable.com/



Linking mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan with the United States is a new 11,000 mile fiber
optic cable. The Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) fiber optic cable will have the capacity to handle an
amazing 77.5 million simultaneous phone calls.

This is more than 60 times the overall capacity of the existing cable directly linking the United States and mainland China.
The TPE fiber optic submarine cable will have a data transfer speed of 6Tbps (terabits per second).
In April, the first optical “light” over the TPE cable was transmitted between Chongming in China and Nedonna Beach, Oregon.


Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) fiber optic cable undersea fiber-optic cable route from Nedonna Beach
Oregon to the Chinese Mainlands


Below ideo from Verizon about the TPE fiber optic cable:
Video Link http://tinyurl.com/4zw67m


__________________________________________________2008 undersea cable map of the world. Link: http://tinyurl.com/yw6afb



Link to this week's "Bits & Bytes" column: http://tinyurl.com/4zdnuy


---bits_blogger---
Have a Great Week!

[bits_blogger]

Web Site of The Week: http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/

Has your bits_blogger sold out to the commercial interests of Apple? As one who has been a PC user for over 25 years, I am now using
an Apple product. (Yes, I can hear you Apple folks out there saying the Windows user point and click environment was first used by Apple . . . I know I know!)
When I was given a birthday gift of an Apple iPod Touch, I put my stubborn old Windows PC preferences aside ;) and learned about
iTunes and more about the iPod touch. The WiFi is great to use when your in the local coffee place or airport. This is an excellent device which
saves time, provides information ( like maps) and you can download all the games you want from ITunes too. I have become a podcast junkie along with my craving
to be constantly downloading YouTube videos and iTunes music files!



You can download onto the iPod Touch your pictures, music, video files and access the Internet over WiFi using Safari.
It is a truly remarkable device – it is only 4.3 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide and just .33 inches thick. It is slightly larger than a credit card.
This iPod Touch is light, it weighs a little over 4 ounces. The commands are executed by "tapping" on the touch sensitive display screen.
It has a 3.5 inch color “Multi-Touch” display screen which provides crisp and clear displays of pictures and videos using a resolution of 480 by 320 pixels.
The iPod Touch has a slim and sleek design with a contoured enclosure made of polished stainless steel – Apple will even engrave your name on it if you want.
It also has a “touch screen” QWERTY keyboard for typing and Instant Messaging.
The iPod Touch allows access to Wi-Fi networks. This is great because I can access my AOL e-mail, weather, YouTube, stock reports, Google, driving maps
and any Internet web address. The built-in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in the iPod Touch provides up to 36 hours of audio playback or 6 hours of video
playback for the 8GB iPod Touch version 2.1.1 model I have. It has ample storage – ten hours worth of video, 10,000 photos, or 1,750 songs


This is what I found when I opened the box:

iPod touch
Earphones (Earbuds)
USB 2.0 cable
Docking adapter
Polishing cloth
Stand Off
Quick start guide
Apple stickers

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/guidedtour/

To read this week's "Bits & Bytes", click here http://tinyurl.com/3ossuk


---bits_blogger---
Have a Great Week!

[bits_blogger]

______
______Web Site of The Week: http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/tombstone.html




25' Monument where below in the earth, rest the remains of Edward Lawrence Schieffelin (1847-1897)












Tombstone History Archive link: http://www.tombstonehistoryarchives.com/?page_id=7


Allen street in Tombstone - in the warmth of a beautiful sunset




---bits_blogger---
Have a Great Week!
Bits & Bytes Column http://herald-journal.com/archives/2008/columns/mo102008.html

[bits_blogger]

Web Site of The Week http://www.computerhistory.org/Web Site of The Week

__________________



Click above YouTube link to see video about
The Computer Museum:




"The History of Computer Chess Exhibit" Your bits_blogger's favorite!


"Visible Storage Exhibit" Museum's collection of computing artifacts


"Internet Timeline Exhibit" The history of how it became the Internet





---bits_blogger---
Have a Great Week!

This week's "Bits & Bytes" column: http://herald-journal.com/archives/2008/columns/mo102708.html
________________________________________________

[bits_blogger]

I-SWARM "Intelligent Small World Autonomous Robots for Micro-Manipulation" I-SWARM


Web Site of The Week: http://www.i-swarm.org/




Here is a graphic of micro robots forming a line with "distributed behavior" (THEY GOT SMARTS!)


(No audio recorded on video - but is pretty self-explanatory)


A link to a very informative Power Point presentation about The I-SWARM project: http://www.swarm-robotics.org/SAB04/presentations/seyfried-review.ppt

This week's "Bits & Bytes" column talks about how robotic 'ants' may colonize Mars: http://herald-journal.com/archives/2008/columns/mo110308.html

______
______---bits_blogger---
______Have a Great Week!