RTFA: http://www.alphagalileo.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=r…

“For the first time ever, animals are now being exposed to an unmitigated space environment, with both vacuum conditions and cosmic radiation,” says the ecologist Ingemar Jönsson, a researcher at Kristianstad University in Sweden. One of the aims of sending the tiny tardigrades into space is to find out whether they can cope with the rugged conditions in space, which has previously been predicted but never tested. Tardigrades are one of the most tolerant animals on earth when it comes to dehydration and radiation, a characteristic that would be required in order to survive a trip through space. But the project is also part of research into the fundamental physiology of the tardigrade, primarily of the mechanisms that underlie their ability to withstand desiccation.

Insane, creepy, invincible bugs… into space! To colonice other planets!

RTFA: http://www.listphile.com/about

Listphile is a powerful tool for organizing and collaborating around structured information. Call it a database tool, if you will (but please don’t scare anyone away).
Listphile was borne of curiosity, and the belief that we learn more effectively when we have a framework for collaboration and knowledge sharing.
It is my intention that Listphile will be used in ambitious and open ways: make a publicly shared database of all baseball players who ever played in the Major Leagues. It is also my dream that Listphile will be used for humanitarian purposes: create a list of journalists who are currently imprisoned, or a list of peace treaties. Listphile can just as easily be used to document vintage Nike sneakers, or to create an Open Surf Atlas of all surf spots on the planet, or document all of the beers in the world.

Web 2.0

RTFA: http://www.stencilrevolution.com/forum/viewtopic.p…

My name is Phelyx and I have been asked by several Stencil Revolution members to produce a tutorial for my bleaching process. Sometimes, I am called the bleach guy. I am honored by both. Here is my Bleaching Tutorial, exclusively for Stencil Revolution members.

In 2002, I was hired by a small clothing company to invent a process by which we could produce images on garments that would be more “tattooed” into the fabric than screened on. I immediately thought about bleach and began two years of research and testing. I worked with chemists, fabric manufacturers, and artists. I wrecked my studio, my clothes, and my lungs. I wasn’t paid nearly enough for this.

Chemically, to achieve different values, I worked with retardants to slow the process of the chemical’s effects, I watered down mixtures, I used “stop-baths”, dehydrated bleach crystals… you name it. I also worked with all kinds of different fabrics, 50/50 blends, natural cottons, many textures and naps. I experimented with different application processes including brush-on, sprays, mists, atomizers, airbrushes, and even a gel-bleach, I created, that was screened on. The most frustrating part of this entire experience was to arrive, full-circle, at the beginning. Sometimes the simplest method is the best.

Solid.

RTFA: http://www.lightsoutsf.org/

Lights Out San Francisco is a citywide energy conservation event on Oct. 20, 2007. On this night, we invite the entire city of San Francisco to install one compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) and turn off all non-essential lighting for one hour.

Neat. We don’t really have any lights to turn off, though… but we do draw 420 watts when the office is kicking! (I blame the 20-inch CRT)

RTFA: http://dna.imagini.net/friends/

Art is…

Neat … er, test? Cool project.