Rube Goldberg machine

This image is from a national competition to create the most complicated process for a simple task. Funny! For what it’s worth, I think this type of exercise is great for fostering creativity and outside-the-box thinking. Hopefully, the next project these kids tackle will be a slightly more practical innovation.

clipped from news.com.com Ferris State students cheer on their machine dubbed the Toy Factory, which squeezed juice from an orange and poured it into a glass in 345 steps.

Cupcake

Yes, it runs on solar power, but I’m not ready to trade in my car just yet.

clipped from news.com.com

Works of M.C. Escher

With this post, I’m trying a new service called clipmarks. You know me: I always have to try the new tools and gadgets.

clipped from www.mcescher.com CASTROVALVA Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) is one of the world’s most famous graphic artists. His art is enjoyed by millions of people all over the world, as can be seen on the many web sites on the internet. He is most famous for his so-called impossible structures, such as Ascending and Descending, Relativity, his Transformation Prints, such as Metamorphosis I, Metamorphosis II and Metamorphosis III, Sky & Water I or Reptiles. But he also made some wonderful, more realistic work during the time he lived and traveled in Italy. Castrovalva for example, where one already can see Escher’s fascination for high and low, close by and far away.

The year in green

It has been a busy year for environmental issues. Visit the Sierra Club online to review a collection of ‘green’ stories from 2006 and cast your vote for the most significant.

Know-it-alls

There are two very interesting articles on Reuters today that proved an enjoyable reminder that we (contemporary human society):
a) aren’t the only ‘intelligent’ life on Earth
b) didn’t develop advanced thinking in just the last century, and
c) haven’t even come close to unravelling every mystery

Humpback whales have “human” brain cells

Ancient calculator was 1,000 yrs ahead of its time

Humility: it’s refreshing!