Butt heads with scientists on hot topics

Link of the day for Sunday, August 26

Scivee aims to bring together both amateur and professional scientists in a web 2.0 forum that allows everyone to be on an even playing field, regardless of social class or education. Both professional and amateur scientists can write papers, and submit them to the site to review. Of course, in this age of digital media, why stop with written papers when you can submit and review scientific videos as well ? As a free member, you can read these papers, comment on them, and let the scientific community know what you really think!

[www.scivee.tv]

New Nikon Lenses

Softpedia reported the release of five new lenses for use with Nokia digital cameras. These lenses were designed based on product consumer feedback, and as such, should appeal to any amateur photographer who is serious about taking pictures.

"God's Warriors": Waxing philosophy with CNN

The Bush Propaganda Machine (also known as CNN) has engaged one of its most interesting news anchors, Christiane Amanpour to present a seemingly unbiased point of view of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. The three-part series ends tonight with a view of Christianity (9 pm EST on CNN).

If you've missed the first two episodes, you can read about them here. In the meantime, Christiane waxes philosophy with some of the world's top Internet reporters. The interview can be found here.

New Roomba vacuum announced

Beware the drones!

According to The Register, iRobot has unveiled a new, advanced version of their popular "robot vacuum". How long before these things make my coffee ?

[Link to article]

A Wedding Adventure

The white card left in the mailbox was bereft with a contour of simple elegance. Within its center, the scripted typeface announced a joyful occasion, a formal affair that normally endures time itself. The request inscribed on the card was a simple one, written in silver lettering: would we be so grateful as to join the happy couple in celebration of their love ? It was the celebration itself that we were invited to - the formalities that precede the reception was reserved for close family and friends. Still, whereas the style of the card was formal, the invitation itself was sincere. It was therefore with happiness in our heart that we agreed, by formal response, to join them in the happiest day of their lives.

It has been almost a decade ago that our close friends introduced us to the soon-to-be newlyweds. Of course, our friendship was not as profound as the relationship that had grown between the four of them. Nevertheless, we had the privilege of socializing with them on a number of occasions, and had grown quite fond of the two of them, both as individuals and as a couple. We therefore made a decision to attend, and through a formal response, we confirm our attendance, hoping our appearance would tighten the bond that had started to form.

Now that the formalities were over, it was time to plan for the big event. In addition to what was obvious to Jill (such as what to wear or who was going to attend), my job was to find the location of this big event. Never one to leave without a map or a sense or direction, I rely on trusty good ol' Google Maps. After all, it has never let me down before, and its accurate representation of rural routes in Ontario has always steered me in the right direction. Little did I know that this would precipitate the lateness of our arrival.

My source tells me that the ride is no more than 65 km, and should take approximately 40 minutes to arrive. Given that our urgency to arrive on time was mitigated by the fact we were invited to the after-party, we gave ourselves a full hour of travel (and notoriously getting lost) when we left the house.

After one hour of travel, we knew we were lost. The dirt road we had ventured on suddenly turned into mud, and the "Road Closed" sign up ahead was a good indication that we had taken a wrong turn somewhere. How is this possible ? Could it be that my trusted source that had always shown me the way, be so wrong as to send me on a wild goose chase ?

Luckily, Jill was with me, and in her ever-knowing wisdom, she suggests we stop and ask for directions. I pull into a country farmhouse, just in time to see the farmer come to greet me at the end of his driveway. He was dressed in jeans and a trendy T-shirt. His clothes were somewhat dirty with the grime of everyday work on a farm. The years he has spent working outside were etched on his face, and the wisdom emanating from his eyes told courageous stories of struggles establishing his farmland, and making a living of it.

In a subtle eastern European accent, he greets us politely, then asks if we are looking for the weeding. It is obvious at this point that we were not the first strangers to stray from our destination. This fact makes me feel a little better, although the trepidations in my heart confirmed that Google may have let me down. (Oh, Google, you trickster, you!)

After getting proper directions from the man, and saying hi to the young boy standing next to him, we were well on our way back. It turns out we missed the turn-off about 25 minutes away, and the road was on the left-hand side of the road, not the right, as we had found out. Cursing Google (not too loudly, after all, I know all will be forgiven by the time I get re-united with my laptop), we backtrack, and eventually find the location we were looking for.

It was a beautiful night for the end of a wedding. It was a clear night, the stars shone through the heavens almost as if the happy couple had ordered them to come out and stay in place. Ever now and then, a shooting star could be seen over the hue of the milky way, proving that the heavens arrange themselves sometimes for their sole purposes.

The site was stunning. Walking up the plank boardwalk towards the reception hall, the expanse of an artificial lake to our right shows the reflection of the stars into the dark depths of the water below. It seems as though you could stoop down, and scoop the stars from the sky. The contour of lake was peppered with candles, giving the edge of the water an orange glow. But it was the island and the events that followed that made this wedding site one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.

The applause and the laughter now reaching its crescendo inside, we knew the speeches were finally finished. The first to come out of the rustic-looking cottage were, obviously, the smokers. I can't say I blame them - after two hours of Aunt Bertha telling stories of the groom running around naked at 2 years old, I'd be desperate for a cigarette also! As the crowd trickled out of the hall, we met up with our friends, and waited for the first dance to begin.

It was the timing that made it so perfect. Without fully understanding what was going to happen next, a soft melody starts playing outside, and a spotlight is thrust to something in the middle of the lake, something that, in admiration of the beauty all around us, had eluded us. There, approximately 50 feet from where we were standing on the edge of the lake, was an island, no more than 20 feet in diameter. But it was the shapes standing on the island that left all in awe. The newlyweds were dancing their first dance on the island, beneath the stars of a beautiful summer's eve. It seemed perfect - after all, what better way to show your love than to share an intimate moment with the 200 or so guests that came to witness this great event ? Finally, I think it was the fireworks that had everyone in awe. The dance ended in a crescendo of lights and sound, leaving us all with goosebumps and stories to tell for a very long time.

We had a good time that night, despite our getting lost. We drank, ate, danced, socialized. Finally, it was around midnight when we decided it was time to leave. After all, the bride and groom have some...uhm...business to attend to, and although it was quite early, it was a weeknight, and many of the older relatives had already had enough.

Jill and I dropped our friends off at home, and headed back to our place, with the feeling that we were lucky to be invited, to be a part of something so special between the two of them. In addition, I don't think our friends would have gone if we hadn't, and as such, I feel vindicated of the trouble we've been through.

Now, the only item that remains is to find out why Google led us astray. I think I'll save that one for tomorrow, turn the lights out, and go to bed.

Good night everyone!

100 days that changed music

Subtract the following 2,400 hours from history and you’d have no mp3s, no LSD, no hip–hop, no soul–sucking corporate rock — actually, can we erase that last one? Blender presents the most earth–shakingly important days in music, ever.

Transcript from numbers 100 through 95:
100. October 3, 2000: Radiohead release Kid A
Spontaneously, guitar fans everywhere begin weeping.

99. December 11, 1965: The Velvet Underground play their first show
Giving birth to the sound of alternative rock.

98. April 13, 1963: The Kingsmen record “Louie Louie”
When it becomes a hit, everyone assumes singer Jack Ely’s incomprehensible mumbling masks obscenity, causing the first panic over dirty lyrics.

97. November 23, 1936: Robert Johnson’s first recording session
The King of the Delta Blues Singers hooks up with the devil, provides a Rosetta Stone for rock pioneers including Eric Clapton and Keith Richards.

96. December 14, 1977: Saturday Night Fever debuts in New York
Prompting the inexorable march of polyester suits and disco into the suburbs — and throughout the world.

95. August 21, 1966 The Doors perform “The End” at L.A.’s Whisky A Go Go
Jim Morrison’s 11–minute–plus nightmare about Oedipal desire, snakes and ancient lakes cements the Doors’ Dionysian rep — and earns them a permanent ban from the club.

[Click here for more]

Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music

Link of the day for Thursday, August 9

It is said: "Music is an interpretation of the soul." This is especially true for electronic music, which can penetrate the soul through rhythmic beats, progressive tones, and transic melodies. As a genre, electronic music can be traced as far back as the early 19th century, when Thaddeus Cahill developed a Teleharmonium, which ultimately led the way for the famous Hammond organ.

Combining an interactive Flash interface with many sound samples, Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music provides an overview of the evolution of Electronic Music. At first, the site seems a little daunting. Still, by clicking on one of the many electronic classes (you have the choice between: House, Trance, Techno, Breakbeat, Jungle, Hardcore, and Downtempo), a modern timeline map appears, showing the path the class has followed throughout history.

From there, you can click on any element on the map, and a short encyclopedia entry will explain the history of the element. In addition, you can choose from many sound samples (in low quality, mind you), which can help you appreciate the artists of the era.

The site is hosted by di.fm, which hosts dozens of techno Internet radio stations. You can listen to most of them for free (again, in low quality), or upgrade to a premium account for high-quality versions.

[www.di.fm/edmguide/edmguide.html]

Interactive Periodic Table of Elements

Link of the day for Wednesday, August 8

I've always been interested in chemistry. After all, what kid in middle school didn't enjoy learning about blowing stuff up by adding two elements together ? As much as I enjoyed the lab experiments we did in class, however, I am having difficulty, twenty years later, remembering the basics of the periodic table of elements.

Hence why today's link of the day is the Interactive Periodic Table by Touchspin (which also hosts an interactive biological microscope and information on web design).

For those that may have forgotten how useful this table is, let me remind you that it serves not only as a tool to remember the element names and numbers, but the table layout itself allowed for anyone to be able to analyze any element contained within it, using its position in the table to determine its properties.

For example, each row in the table is called a period. The elements are laid out in rows so that those with similar properties line up vertically against the rest of the table. Same with the columns (called groups). Elements in a group have similar properties (hence the colour variations in each column).

The interactive version of the table allows you to examine the properties of any element simply by moving your mouse over the table. You can click on any element in the table to bring you to the corresponding Wikipedia entry, where you can find out all about the rare elements, such as Dubniom, Seaborgium, and my favorite, Praseodymiun, including how they got their name.

The table is very easy to use. In addition to the standard table, you can view elements by atomic mass #, electron properties and orbital configuration. You can change the colours of the table to help identify temperature levels (Plutonium melts at 640F, and boils at 3235F) or ionization levels.

If you're any type of science buff, I am sure you will enjoy today's link of the day.

[www.touchspin.com/chem/DisplayTable.html]

UPDATE: Google AdSense

[This is an update. Click here to see my original post.]

Hooray! I finally received my confirmation email that AdSense is ready to go! Shaking with excitement, I log in to my Blogger account, and quickly add a sample ad spot in the corner of the site.

Options
All of the options to customize the AdSense box is available with the click of the button. A neat feature is the way Blogger can configure AdSense with your current theme and colors. (Another example why it's great to aggregate everything to Google products!)

There are also a number of display options, including a banner at the top of the page, a small rectangular box on the side, or a complete status bar at the bottom of the blog.

I will try experimenting a little with both the layout and the content of the ads in a little while.

In the meantime, please enjoy the capitalistic addition to my site! (Hey, I have to pay the bills somehow!)

---

Customize XP with InterfaceLIFT

Link of the day for August 7

Let's face it - although Windows XP is the most stable Microsoft operating system so far (until Vista proves itself, that is), the look & feel of the OS is very bland, and boring at best. If I was in charge at Microsoft, I would change the large, ugly default Start button, give the windows and menus in my applications a facelift, provide a multitude of beautiful wallpapers that would enlighten anyone, and design beautiful icons to go with all of the changes I am proposing.

Okay, so I'm not in charge of Microsoft. But I am in charge of my desktop! Thanks to InterfaceLIFT, I can now have everything I want.

Wallpapers and Icons
There are over 1,300 beautifully-drawn wallpapers to choose from. Simply browse through the thumbnails, and when you find a wallpaper you want to use as your default background, simply select the size of the picture you want to download.

The size is measured in pixels. There are a number of sizes to select from, depending on the type of monitor you have. Check your desktop resolution settings and your video card to determine the largest resolution possible.

Some images can also be downloaded in high-definition, for use with modern widescreen televisions. There is also a section for some images to be downloaded to your mobile phone. See your phone manual for details on how to do this.

In addition to wallpapers, there are downloadable icons for both the Mac OS and Windows.

Themes for use with StyleXP
Themes are also available for free download. These themes are designed for use with StyleXP, a utility that allows you to control how Windows XP displays colours, windows, and cursors. You can find more information on StyleXP and other customization programs here.

[interfacelift.com]

Signing up for Google AdSense

After posting the last blog entry, a Google advertisement stuck out at me. It said that I can make revenue from my blog by using AdSense. Free revenue from my blog ? This sounds too good to be true. Although I've heard of AdSense before, and have seen its use on other pages, I thought I would give it a try to see if it works as advertised.

Signing Up
The only information required to sign up for Google AdSense is a valid Google email address, and select a default language.

AdSense API Account
I wait a few seconds for the confirmation email message. After clicking on the confirmation email link, I am sent to an "AdSense" API account page to set up my API profile. There is nothing on this page to help me determine what an API is. However, I can quickly deduce that this looks like the place I would enter my billing information.

After selecting my country, I then fill in my full name, my home address, complete with postal code (or zip code), and a phone number where they can have their goons contact me if there is a problem.

There exists an interesting feature where I can configure my AdSense account from within Blogger. I click on the check mark to grant them the right to do so, only to find out that some blog sites will actually keep a percentage of the revenues associated to your AdSense account. Luckily, for Blogger, that percentage is 0.0%.

Policy Acceptance
Wow - I must now agree to five distinct terms and conditions separately for my account to be validated.

1. I agree that I will not click on the Google ads I'm serving through AdSense.
Makes sense for them - after all, I could make tons of money if I clicked on every ad hosted on my own site.

2. I will not place ads on sites that include incentives to click on ads.
Hmmm - not sure how Google can enforce this one. After all, there should be some expectation of privacy when posting public blogs. But I do want to know what the hubbub is about AdSense, so I accept this condition as well.

3. I agree that I can receive checks made out to the payee name I have listed above.
This one covers their liabilities in regards to banks arguing whether the cheques sent to one of their customers are considered legal tender.

4. I will not place ads on sites that include pornographic content.
Darn - there goes my plans to have ads hosted by www.hornyllamas.com! Oh well, I guess I'll to do without.

5. I certify that I have read the AdSense Program Policies.
Even more legal jargon to leaf through. I click on the Policies link, and find myself reading a standard Google help page with 8 section headers, each describing the policies and standards in regards to AdSense. The section headers are: Invalid Clicks and Impressions, Encouraging clicks, Site Content, Copyrighted Material, Webmaster Guidelines, Site and Ad Behavior, Ad Placement, and Competitive Ads and Services.

Terms and Conditions
Where is my lawyer when I need him ?! I have 17 points to cover on this page, each with at least 10 lines of text to read. I take the time to read each one, and wonder in amazement how Google can get away with a lot of this stuff!

Tentatively, I accept the terms and conditions, and click on the "I Accept" button.

And now....the waiting game!
Now I'm really disappointed - looks like after I have gone through this effort, I must wait for Google to get back to me, no doubt to validate the information I have provided them.

They say: "Thank you for verifying your information. Your application has now been submitted for review and we will follow up with you by email in 1-2 days."

I will post further updates here when I get a response from Google. In the meantime, I will have to satisfy myself with reading the FAQ and the demos that are provided. I have listed them below for your convenience.

Flash Demonstrations
Getting started with AdSense
Introduction to payments

Frequently Asked Questions
How much will I earn through this program?
The Google ads you are able to display on your content pages can be either cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-1000-impressions (CPM) ads, while AdSense for search results pages show exclusively CPC ads. This means that advertisers pay either when users click on ads, or when the advertiser's ad is shown on your site. You'll receive a portion of the amount paid for either activity on your website. Although we don't disclose the exact revenue share, our goal is to enable publishers to make as much or more than they could with other advertising networks.

When do I get paid?
We'll send your check or EFT payment within approximately 30 days of the end of the month in which your account balance reaches US$100, unless a payment hold exists or unless otherwise agreed to in writing (including electronic mail).

(Stay tuned for more as I wait to hear back from Google!)

Read news that's relevant NOW

Link of the day for Saturday, August 4

Newsmap is a new service by Marumushi, a Tokyo artist with a flair for modern themes. His latest work involves aggregating all of the news headlines from Google News, and presenting the headlines in terms of relevance to the people, based on popularity and blog responses – no sign-up required.

The result is a puzzle-type map with headlines laid out in squares. The size of the square tells you how popular it is – the larger the square, the more relevant its headline might be to you. The colour of the square indicates the category, so you can quickly see when category everyone else in the world is interested in.

One of the features I like is you can filter the news headlines by country. It does not seem to remember this setting, so you must reset it every time you launch the Flash application. I do not see this as being a huge problem for a lot of people.

I’m sure Marumusi will not be the last person to come up with innovative ways to modernize journalism. Just wait and see!

[www.marumushi.com/apps/newsmap]

UPDATE: MyDogSpace

During my adventure in signing up for MyDogSpace, the new MySpace for dogs, I had identified three functional problems. Being a practical human being, I had sent three separate e-mail messages to alert them of these bugs.

The problems were:

1. The Terms of Use indicated that "You must be fourteen or over to register as a member of MyDogSpace.com or use the Website", whereas a warning on the sign-up page mentionned "By joining MyDogSpace.com, I confirm that I am over 13 years of age."
I received a response, less than 12 hours after I had sent the email. The email came from support@mydogspace.com, but it was signed "Rob". (I wonder if it is the same "Robert" that is shown prominently on the start page ?).

Rob carefully explained to me that the two sentences pretty much mean the same thing. Although I would normally agree, it is important that Rob understand the repurcussions of being ambigious in the terms of use. You can find my response below:

Hi, Rob,

Thanks for the quick response...

Ok, I see your point, but try to understand the way I (and dozens of other people) read it.

By saying "over 13", it could mean that if I am 13 years old + 1 day, then I am eligible to sign up. Where as "14 or older" means that I have to wait until I turn 14 before I can sign up.

Just a minor detail at this point, until you get sued by the first 13-year old's parents who claims you corrupted their son. (Don't mind me - I'm a cynic!)

:-)

Cheers.

2. When posting my first blog, the blog entry showed up twice.
Another e-mail response from Rob. This time, the response was short - "What browser are you using, IE 6 or IE 7 ?" I'm not sure if this is because the site was only tested on those two platforms, or whether Rob is a little short-sighted, but I explain to him that I was using Firefox when this had happened. I suggest I will try posting tonight using IE 6 and 7, and let him know the results.

3. The pre-defined tiled background option did not work.
I must have annoyed Rob, because I haven't heard back from him on this topic. This may have something to do with Firefox again, so I will try later with IE 6 and IE 7.

I don't expect to hear back from Rob anytime soon.

Now Fido can get MySpace too!

Link of the day for Friday, August 3

It's finally happened - the web 2.0 bubble has started to burst! If social networking for humans wasn't enough, we now have social networking for dogs. That's right - a new startup called MyDogSpace (and its sister company called MyCatSpace) allows your dog (or cat) to have his or her own MySpace page!

Who knows what will happen if this takes off ? If LOLCats is any indication of things to come, we may be in trouble. In the meantime, let's let Fluffy or Fido have their fun.

[http://www.mydogspace.com/] [http://www.mycatspace.com/]

---

Signing Up
As the proud owner of a pet of the canine variety, I thought I'd sign up Dusty for her own page.

Creating a free account is easy. By clicking on the beautiful web 2.0-styled Create Free Account link, I am asked for personal information about myself. It does say that I will enter my dog's information afterwards, so for now, I am content with providing a username, my email address (required to receive a confirmation email), and a password (which I must also confirm).

Interestingly enough, they also ask for my birthday. The legal jargon below advises that "By joining MyDogSpace.com, I confirm that I am over 13 years of age." As well, another note mentions that "Your birth date is never shown to other members." Hmmm - I guess I'll have to trust them. Reluctantly, I give them a fake birthday (they don't really need to know how old I am, do they ?), and start reading the Terms of Use.

Terms of Use
Now I'm confused. In the Eligibility section of the Terms of Use, they mention "You must be fourteen or over to register as a member of MyDogSpace.com or use the Website." This conflicts with the agreement on the sign-up page that said "By joining MyDogSpace.com, I confirm that I am over 13 years of age." I send them a quick email advising them of their folly.

The rest of the document is just what I expected - nothing unusual, just the normal legal jargon. I put a checkmark agreeing to give them my first-born, and click on the Submit button. After receiving the confirmation email in my junk mail account, I quickly click on the confirmation link. At my next visit to the site, I am asked for my username and password. The information is entered forthwith, and in no time, I am logged in.

My Dog House
Ah, my home page. This is where I can check my mail, set up my dog's profile, sent/receive dog pal requests, or post in the forums. Of course, there is information regarding my personal online profile, and the number of times it has been viewed. But you're not interested in me. Let's set Dusty up with her own profile.

Dusty's Profile
The profile setup page looks similar to a blogger's template page. In here, I can change the background color of Dusty's page, her background image (which can be tiled across the page in true MySpace fashion), and other useless tidbits of information. I'll come back to that later - for now, I click on Add a new dog under the "My Dogs" section.

Adding a Dog
Well, this step was easy as well. I enter my dog's name, her nickname (I didn't know dogs needed nicknames), her motto that will be displayed to her future dog pals (let's hope it's not a male named Bubba). Of course, gender, birthday (best guess), breed are all included. There is even room to enter a secondary breed. This is great, since Dusty is half Boston terrier, half pug. (I know, but she makes for one very cute dog!) There is even a large textbox for her biography. Neat - I'll definitely have to finish the bio later. I am having way too much fun exploring here.

Dusty's Picture

Okay, I've added Dusty profile to the "My Dogs" section. Now, I need to add Dusty's picture to make it look complete. It took me a while to find it, but you can manage your pictures by clicking on the "Photos" button located at the top right-hand side toolbar. I probably would have missed it if I wasn't looking for it so closely.

I upload Dusty's picture, and before I know it, her cute blue eyes and pug face are looking at me. It worked!

Background Images
Unfortunately, I am having a hard time attaching an image to my profile page. I click on the Background Image link, and it appears I can select from a number of different tiled backgrounds.

I select one, and click on the Submit button. Nothing happens. So I try to upload my own image - success! I may have found a bug - I alert them, also by email.

Dusty's Blog
Now, Dusty is ready to write her first article! I can help her out by clicking on the "Blog" button. I create her first blog entry for her (no opposing thumbs), and wait for it to show up on her web site. It does, but in duplicate! Must be another one of those bugs (no wonder they call it "Beta"!) I send a third email in less than 30 minutes.

Dog Pals
The last step in the profile setup is to find other doggie friends to play with. Luckily, Dusty already has one request to be her friend. (Wow, this social networking thing moves fast, even for dogs!) So I accept the other dog's request, and her friend can now be found under her "Dog Pals" section on her profile page.

Final Product
Well, here it is - a snapshot of the final product. (Yes, that's Dusty sitting on Santa's lap in the background. And no, she's not spoiled at all!) As you can see, it looks almost as bad as the human MySpace pages!

The Good Stuff
The site could stand a little clean-up, but not bad for 30 minutes work. In less time than it takes to watch an episode of The Dog Whisperer, I have: created an account for myself, set up my profile, set up Dusty's profile, added a background image, created a blog entry, made a new doggie friend, and completed this entry.

The Bad Stuff
There is still a lot of work to do; after all, I ran into 3 bugs in the same 30 minutes it took to get set up. As well, navigation seems to be a little confusing. You expect that clicking on the "Home" button would take you to your home page, but instead, it takes you to the standard home page that you landed in when we first started this exercise.

As well, my username appears to be used in the URL for Dusty's page. (The format appears to go: www.mydogspace.com/me/username/). It would be nice if it was simple www.mydogspace.com/Dusty/.

The layout of the final product is dissapointing. Some text shows up too large, and it looks very haphazard. If the goal is to mimic the human MySpace pages, then I guess it has succeeded.

What I think about this site
Given that the site appears to be only slightly functional, and until I have a chance to evaluate what other dogs are doing, I would give this site 5 doggie treats out of 10. If they can fix the bugs and make it a little easier to navigate, I would easily raise it to a 7.

Still, looks like it could be great fun for anyone who has a pet named Fluffy or Fido.

UPDATES

I received a response from the three email messages I had sent. You can check out their response here.

UPDATE: GalaxyZoo Project

The first ever GalaxyZoo newsletter was sent today, announcing the opening of MyGalaxies and the Discussion Forum.

(You can find out more about GalaxyZoo by clicking here).

Discussion Forum

You can easily access the discussion forum by clicking on the Forum link on the top toolbar, or you can bookmark the URL: [http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/]

MyGalaxies

To access this feature, simply click on the Show My Galaxies menu option on the left-hand side after you sign in. You can now view a history of all of the galaxies you have previously identified, and by clicking on a galaxy number, the image of the galaxy appears on the right-hand side:

In addition to the preview, you can find out more technical information about the galaxy by clicking on the Find out more about this object link. This opens a new window, bringing you to the SkyServer Object database, displaying plenty of scientific data for you to explore:

A transcript of the original email can be found here:

Hello

This is the first email newsletter from www.galaxyzoo.org . We
wanted to thank you all for making the first three weeks such a success, and so we're sending this to all 80,000 of you. If you'd like to opt out of future emails, see the unsubscribe instructions below.

PROJECT UPDATE
To date, unbelievably, 80,000 of you have viewed and classified more than 10 million images of galaxies. Our initial target of having each galaxy (there area million in our initial sample from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey)viewed once is more than done, but we still need your help. Our NEW target is to have each and every galaxy classified by 20 separate users.

The importance of multiple classifications is that it will enable us to build an accurate and reliable database, that will meet the high standards of the scientific community. For the first time, we'll be able to separate not only spirals from ellipticals, but obvious spirals from fainter, fuzzier things. No-one has ever been able to do this before, so we hope that you'll continue to search through our galaxies and enjoy the ride.

Thanks as well to everyone who has emailed us with an interesting object, or posted on the forum (see below). We're slowly working through the list, and the first objects have now been sent off to telescopes for follow-up work to begin. The ability to follow up on objects identified by you, our users, is one of the most amazing things about Galaxy Zoo and we're looking forward to sharing the results.Hopefully it's also a motivation to look at 'just one more' galaxy when you're using the site.

MY GALAXIES AND THE FORUM ARE LIVE
The long-awaited Galaxy Zoo forum is now online atwww.galaxyzooforum.org (or just follow the link from the main site).Please come and join those members sharing their greatest images, or talking about their experiences in the galaxy zoo.

Many of you have also noticed that the 'My Galaxies' link on the Galaxy Analysis page is now live, so you can trawl back through the galaxies you've classified in the last week or so and share the best
with your friends and those on the forum.
That's all for now, but we're working hard on making the most of your classifications to date, and planning new projects with which you can explore the Universe further. If you haven't been back to the site fora while, please come and help us reach our new target of 20 million classifications. It's only another 100 or so galaxies each!

The Galaxy Zoo team.

Eye candy for your desktop

Link of the day for Wednesday, August 2

Desktopography is more than just an art gallery; it features over 75 beautifully drawn desktop images made by selected designers. The wallpapers are all nature-themed, most rendered to look like paintings.

The site prides itself on being a non-profit, fun project, and encourages people to share the site. The custom flash interface is fun and easy to use.
You can browse through the thumbnail index at the bottom of the site, and simply click on the picture you want to preview. There is a download button, allowing you to save the picture to your desktop. Most of the wallpapers should work on any size resolution, and some of the newer ones download a ZIP file containing multiple sizes.

Are you an artist ? Desktopopgraphy is always looking for artists to profile, simply send an email to Pete Harrison, the site designer.

[www.desktopography.net]

"Tech support, your problem is my purgatory."

Link of the day for Wednesday, August 1

Welcome to Columbia Internet, a fictitious Internet start-up whose mandate is to make us laugh.

Created by J.D. "Illiad" Frazer, UserFriendly is a daily comic strip about the day-to-day misfortunes of an Internet company. (Remember those, before the "big guys" gobbled them up ?) Everyone is there: the annoying salesperson (Stef), who would sell his mother if it would make him some money; the all-knowing sysadmin (Greg) who, with a click of his mouse, can boot everyone off the network; the geeky tech support guy (Mike); an A.I. by the name of Erwin; a fluffy mascot created from the inner workings of an old server ("Dust Puppy"). There are many more characters, too many to name here, but you can check out their profiles here.

This is one of the only cartoon sites that have existed for a long time (the archives go back all the way to its beginnings in 1997). In addition, the site has a very good comment system, so you can join the regular community (known as "UFies") in discussions about Linux, why Microsoft sucks, and many other geeky ramblings. Bored ? Send a Dusty Puppy postcard!

Tune in daily for your dose of comedy, drama, and geeky puns. Anyone who's worked the industry can certainly relate - I know I do!

[userfriendly.org]

Smashing Particles, Batman!

Link of the day for Tuesday, July 31

In May 2008, the Large Hadron Collider will send millions and millions of atoms smashing together in the hopes of discovering hidden particles.

But what exactly is an atom ? What is the composition of an atom ? What are particles ? What happens when we smash particles together at speeds close to the speed of light ? Why do we care ? These are just some of the questions that have baffled scientists for decades. As we get an answer to one of those questions, another one emerges.

So how does one go about explaining these concepts to someone who is not a rocket scientist ? Through the use of interactive learning techniques, The Particle Adventure introduces us to the microscopic world of protons, electrons, photons, and other bizarre phenomenon. By using a simple interface, this site uses animated graphics and simple text explanations to give us a better understanding on what happens at microscopic and sub-atomic levels.

This is a fun, easy read that any amateur scientist can understand.

[particleadventure.org]

Sex talk in the Muslim world

My wife and I were discussing the rights of Muslim women last night. The topic came up quite unobtrusively, after she had just finished reading the book Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi. The book is an autobiography of sorts that describes the author's fight for freedom in a world governed by strict Islamic laws. After being forced to resign from her job as a professer, she invites her best female students to participate in book studies of Western literature. Through these discussions, women find comfort in each other and discuss the indignities that the Iranian government has imposed on them, and constantly living in fear of the Mutaween - a "morality police force". You can read reviews and discussions about the book here.

Stories of Muslim women overcoming the obstacles set before them are starting to come out. An article in today's Toronto Star talks about a Cairo sex therapist who is taking sex talk out of the hush living room, and onto the airwaves, despite crushing resistance from the male clerics.

One must note the courage and determination of these women. It is so very easy for me, a male in an otherwise free society, to take for granted many rights and freedoms that other people (let alone people of the opposite sex) must fight for every day.

Links:

Article in the Toronto Star

Book reviews

Book club discussion questions

Board game meets art

Link of the day for Monday, July 30

I have never seen a game so beautifully drawn as Get The Glass. Other than being an obvious sponsor for Milk and dairy products, this online board game beats all others in terms of superior graphics, a gripping soundtrack, and easy playability.

The game is similar to traditional board games where you roll a dice, move a number of squares, and pick from one of three decks. If you're lucky, fortune goes your way, and you can roll again to move closer and closer to your goal. If you're unlucky, however, you may be forced to move back, or end up in jail where you must decide to attempt daring escape, or wait for someone to bail you out.

What sets this game apart from any others I've seen are the intense graphics, all beautifully drawn in Flash format. Needless to say, the requirements for this game are a little extreme - you need a minimum 1024 x 768 display, and a broadband connection is required to play. As well, this is a game that the whole family can enjoy (no violence at all, just pure fun).

So why not poor yourself a tall glass of cold, white, milk, and enjoy the coolest board game on the Internet.

[www.gettheglass.com]

Galaxies as far as the eye can see

Link of the day for Sunday, July 29

Modern-day telescopes such as the Hubble have allowed us to peek deep inside distant galaxies. Coupled with sophisticated equipment to analyze the information coming from these telescopes, we have the technology to gain a better understanding on how galaxies form.

But computers can only do so much. The human eye and human instinct is the perfect machine to analyze visual data, such as the shape of a particular galaxy. This is where GalaxyZoo comes in.

No previous scientific experience necessary - anyone can participate. All you have to do is look at a picture of a galaxy, and decide if it is: (a) elliptical, (b) spiral, or (c) unknown. Just give it your best guess, and don't worry if you're wrong. The same galaxy will be analyzed by hundreds of other people, so the laws of averages will prevail.

After signing up for a free account, I recommend running through the very short tutorial - this will help you in your task. Just sign in to GalaxyZoo, and identify a few galaxies - it only takes a few seconds!

Who knows ? There may be one out there with your name on it!

Update: MyGalaxies and GalaxyZoo forums now open!

[http://www.galaxyzoo.org/]