The SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific yesterday, marking a flawless victory for the first-ever privately-run mission to the International Space Station. I’ll go on record right now – this is the start of a new era.
Big congratulations to Snigdha Nandipati, an 8th grader from San Diego who scored a flawless victory of her own. Just yesterday, she won the National Spelling Bee with the word “guetapens,” meaning ambush or snare. (No way I would have gotten that one!) Indian-Americans have won the last five National Spelling Bees in a row, and 10 of the last 14, setting up quite the dynasty.
Fractal Recursions is simply the most gorgeous and varied gallery of fractal art I’ve ever seen. The thumbnail above is from this image. Another of my favorites is here. Each page comes equipped with a “Random Fractal” link that should keep you enthralled at least through your lunch break.
SMBC delivers as usual with a great webcomic about the ethics of Batman.
A flash “brighter than a thousand suns”: that’s how physicist Anatoli Bugorski described the experience of a high-energy proton beam passing through his skull. The incident happened back in 1978.
And finally, one of the more terrifying visions of the Singularity that I’ve ever seen. Enjoy.
Have a great weekend.
Brian D. Buckley 