faster than the speed of light?
Einstein’s theory of special relativity, proposed in 1905, states that nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum.
But researchers at the CERN lab near Geneva claim they have recorded neutrinos, a type of tiny particle, travelling faster than the barrier of 186,282 miles (299,792 kilometres) per second.
The results have so astounded researchers that American and Japanese scientists have been asked to verify the results before they are confirmed as a discovery.
Well, fuck me.
Further: “Proof that something had travelled faster would pose major questions about our understanding of the laws of nature because, for example, something that travels faster than light would in theory arrive before it left.”
Update: From an article on the announcement at Wired:
Jung, who is spokesperson for a similar experiment in Japan called T2K, says the tricky part is accurately measuring the time between when the neutrinos are born by slamming a burst of protons into a solid target and when they actually reach the detector. That timing relies on the global positioning system, and the GPS measurements can have uncertainties of tens of nanoseconds. “I would be very interested in how they got a 10-nanosecond uncertainty, because from the systematics of GPS and the electronics, I think that’s a very hard number to get.”
(via @fchimero)
it’s complicated
From an article on literary, and other, deal-breakers in relationships, we get this insight into the complex male psyche:
Straight guys are often asked if they are “ass men” or “boob guys,” if they like skinny or curvy, if they prefer a big rack or a small rack, bush or no bush. And though it’s fun to claim allegiance to one camp or the other, I think the true answer is that we like attractive women who will sleep with us.
(via @tcarmody)
The Singled Person
“The Singled Person” is an installation of eight unsynchronized slide projectors displaying photographs by eight international photographers: Michael Ackerman, Morten Andersen, Lorenzo Castore, Thorsten Kirchhoff, Peer Kugler, André Lützen, Hisashi Murayama and Filippo Romano. … This slideshow, set to the sound of a projector, shows a sampling of the work of each photographer.
Some aren’t safe for work.
quote out of context
One of my favourites is pavements. He is not discussing what the stuff is that pavements are made up of. Instead he is looking at what the movement of pavement tells us about who has driven on that road. For instance he describes “shoving”, which is when warm pavements, over time, create a little crevice and then a hill after it — the pavement has been moved by the starting and stopping of a large force. If you begin to look for this shoved part of the pavement as you cross the street you will see it here and there. What it represents is where a lot of cars, or in New York a very large bus, might have stopped and started repeatedly. At bus stops you will see shoving. I love the idea that you can look at something so familiar that you have never really examined, and see this additional dimension — in this case, of who has passed by before.
dueling banjos
Downhill trike racing at 55 mph
Three guys going 55 mph down a mountain highway, with traffic, on tricycles, using the soles of their shoes for brakes.
We write to you today with the overwhelming concern that an innocent person could be executed in Georgia tonight
Six former corrections officials wrote Georgia Corrections Officials and Governor Nathan Deal asking that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles reconsider the execution of Troy Davis:
We write to you as former wardens and corrections officials who have had direct involvement in executions. Like few others in this country, we understand that you have a job to do in carrying out the lawful orders of the judiciary. We also understand, from our own personal experiences, the awful lifelong repercussions that come from participating in the execution of prisoners. While most of the prisoners whose executions we participated in accepted responsibility for the crimes for which they were punished, some of us have also executed prisoners who maintained their innocence until the end. It is those cases that are most haunting to an executioner.
As of now, the execution has been postponed pending review from the Supreme Court.
Update: The Supreme Court Rejects the stay of execution.
(thanks, Tim)
Three “perfect” self-contained sentences a day…
Tussel bore left on the wye West–North, West-northish. Nosing his old de Ville into wind-chill rushing across glacial tundra and down, from a thousand miles ahead. Forty-five miles an hour, nine miles a gallon, Tussel gripped the wheel, leaned into the accelerator, pressing the head-wind.
I already screwed up. They’re not “self-contained.”
headline of the day, III
Ted Haggard Appearing On Celebrity Wife Swap With Gary Busey
headline of the day, II
French boy finds 30-year-old human fingers in jar
Somebody made this
Parallel universes In which Netflix becoming Qwikster makes sense
Internet friend and minecraft comrade, Sarah Pavis, over at The Idler:
Doing Two Things Is Confusing
The year is 2000, Amazon, the burgoning internet book seller, splits off their new music department into a website called Nile.com. By 2011 every river has a .com address and is a commerce portal operated by Amazon.com. Over the next 10 years the internet is entirely dominated by single-serving sites. Subdomains don’t exist and more than 8 characters after the .com is considered obscene. As Netflix’s streaming catalog threatens to overshadow its classic DVD by mail program a bewildered public and confused stock market force Netflix to spin off its flagship productline into a new company for clarity’s sake.
headline of the day
Man wins dumpling eating contest, then dies
Lebowski Nighthawks
Anybody know where this is from?
Wim Delvoye, Tyres
Untitled (Car Tyre)
2007
H 81.5 x 19 cm
Hand carved car tyre
Wim Delvoye is a Belgian artist “perhaps best known for his digestive machine, “Cloaca”, which he unveiled at the Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerp, after eight years of consultation with experts in fields ranging from plumbing to gastroenterology.”
R.E.M. just broke up
“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.”
Floating above your head is really different
bananas
Reading this paragraph from an article on how retail stores prime shoppers to make particular choices, I couldn’t help feel I was being primed for a subconscious lesson in grammar.
Let’s take for example Whole Foods, a market chain priding itself on selling the highest quality, freshest, and most environmentally sound produce. No one could argue that their selection of organic food and take-away meals are whole, hearty, and totally delicious. But how much thought have you given to how they’re actually presenting their wares? Have you considered the carefully planning that’s goes into every detail that meets the eye?
What has happened to online writing? Matt Yglesias and Josh Marshall, both political writers I admire, often post with grammatical errors. Have we decided this medium doesn’t require the rigor of print? Are the errors part of the message? What bananas should I buy?
Amish Mug Shots
I’ll let you click through for the context, but Jimmy Kimmel mentioned this tonight, and it made me happy.
quote out of context
She says a pornographic site will allow PETA to reach a broader audience and that publicity about the site is just as important.
headline of the day, II
Kindergartener brings crack pipe, meth for show-and-tell
She said
Doris Day looks fat.
headline of the day
Cross-Dressing Gang Terrorizes Florida in Search of Drag Queen Essentials
Jorgen Leth’s The Perfect Human
I found myself thinking about this tonight.
The trailer for Urbanized
Gary Hustwit released the trailer for Urbanized, the third film in his design trilogy, today.
