Legendary Broadway producer dies

Cy Feuer has died at age 95. You may not have heard of him, but you’ve probably heard of some of the shows he produced, especially Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He (and co-producer Ernest H. Martin) also introduced such great Broadway talents as Gwen Verdon and Julie …

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"This invention is a system that teleports a human being through hyperspace…"

This has to be the patent application of the year: BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention is a system that teleports a human being through hyperspace from one location to another using a pulsed gravitational wave traveling through hyperspace. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The basis for this invention is an event, referring …

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Photo of the Day: Back Door

Too busy to blog today, but not too busy to continue getting used to my new camera. More photos (though none are from the new camera yet) here.

Photo of the Day: Irises

Well, I took the plunge and upgraded to a digital SLR: a Canon Rebel XT. 8 megapixels and lots of bells and whistles, but still reasonably affordable and plenty of camera for my needs. Plus I knew pretty much how to use it right out of the box, since its interface is very similar to …

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Electrical energy from spinning bacteria

It’s been a long time since I was involved in a science fair. When I was seven, I put the microscope I’d just gotten for Christmas on display alongside a “dissected” fish…or maybe it was a frog. By the time I was done with it, I doubt anyone could tell. Alas, I think first prize …

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Camera woes

Not much blogging today, because I’ve been out pretty much all day. And no photo of the day because……my trusty Canon S50 has quit working. Well, that’s not quite true–it still works, it just won’t communicate with the memory card. Any memory card. So off it goes for a multi-week outing at the end of …

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Photo of the Day: Mom

Happy mother’s day to my Mom, Nina Mae (Spears) Willett. We just celebrated her 80th birthday earlier this month. Here she is in 1948, the year she turned 22. Not hard to see what Dad saw in her!

Deciphering book reviews

Ben MacIntyre of The Times of London explains what the oft-used phrases of book reviewers really mean. (Via Normblog.)

120 Years of Electronic Music

Just to prove there’s a website devoted to everything, here’s a cool one with detailed information, images, and even sound files of more than a century’s worth of electronic musical instruments, from 1870 to 1990. “The Musical Telegraph.” Who knew?

Are bacteria the new batteries?

A Montreal 16-year-old has demonstrated that you can generate quite a bit of electrical power by spinning magnetic bacteria. It could point the way to a new and very green source of electricity for low-power applications.

Ah, the good old days…

…before overcrowded cities, food coloring, air pollution and video games turned us all violent.

Photo of the (Thurs)Day: The Marble Palace

The Saskatchewan Legislative Building on an absolutely gorgeous spring day. More photos here.