momusradar

Just by coincidence the N.Y. Times’ Dot Earth presented a fantastic photograph of a real snow leopard on the very same day Apple Inc. started selling its Snow Leopard:

Dot Earth likes a good animal photo as much as the next blog, particularly when the animal is beautiful and endangered. So we’re pleased to present a photograph of a snow leopard, taken by a camera trap in the Wakhan Corridor in northeastern Afghanistan.

News Junkie Post covers a compelling study that should be read by all:

Senator Ted Kennedy’s brain cancer could have been prevented if he had not used his cell phone so much. At least that is the argument being raised by health advocates who released a new study that concludes that too much cell phone use could lead to brain cancer.

The study, “Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern, Science, Spin and the Truth Behind Interphone” was released by the International EMF Collaborative this week to counter another study funded by cell phone industry giants (The Interphone study), which minimizes the risk of cell phone use.

I’m duly impressed with how far we’ve progressed in those four hundred years since Galileo’s watershed contribution to science.

As commemorated by the International Year of Astronomy and observed elsewhere on this site, 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of the year that astronomer Galileo Galilei began fashioning his own telescopes and turning them to the heavens. Before long, he started to characterize the surface of the moon, discovered a quartet of Jupiter’s moons and began to revolutionize our view of Earth’s place in the universe.

Four hundred years ago this week, Galileo reached a milestone along this journey, presenting his telescope to the Senate in Venice on August 25, 1609. The senators were duly impressed, according to historical accounts, doubling the astronomer’s salary and making his university appointment a lifelong one.

I came across the following puzzle at God Plays Dice, who came across it at Fark:

FACTS:
There is a bus with 7 children inside of it
Each child has 7 rucksacks
In each rucksack there are 7 big cats
Every big cat has 7 small cats
Everything listed above is entirely in the bus
All objects are unique
There is no driver
Every child has 2 legs
Every cat has 4 legs

QUESTION:
How many legs are in the bus?

Although it did take me four attempts to solve it, I’m happy to be part of the 20% who got it right. As of this posting that percentage has dropped to 17%.

addendum February 27, 2008

As noted at God Plays Dice, the key to solving this problem is to fully grasp the facts.

rethinkingschools.org has a wonderful map game that tests your geographic knowledge of the Middle East.

I’m humbled to admit my unfamiliarity of the ‘-stan’ nations as well as the African countries not on the continent’s north shore.