Ricky blog

CongressArchives: On September 11, 1789 George Washington...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:28:33 -0500

On September 11, 1789 George Washington nominated Alexander Hamilton to be the first Secretary of the Treasury. The Senate approved the nomination that same day. Hamilton resigned as Secretary of the Treasury in 1795.

Nomination message, 9/11/1789, SEN 1B-A1, U.S. Senate

Gloss & Gradients: Designing Intuitive Toolbar Icons for Mobile Interfaces by Considering Context and Metaphor Redundancy

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:28:14 -0500

Gloss & Gradients: Designing Intuitive Toolbar Icons for Mobile Interfaces by Considering Context and Metaphor Redundancy:

taylorcarrigan:

Toolbar icons without labels are incredibly common in the mobile interfaces of today—and understandably so—the limited screen size¹ of mobile devices means that the simplification and focus of interface controls is of the utmost importance. Because of this, the icon metaphors we as designers…

medicina tradizionale cinese, al microscopio: L’AGOPUNTURA FUNZIONA, ANCHE SE SIMULATA

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:27:51 -0500

medicina tradizionale cinese, al microscopio: L’AGOPUNTURA FUNZIONA, ANCHE SE SIMULATA:

medicinatrad:

La ricerca indaga su una questione a lungo dibattuta: gli effetti positivi dell’agopuntura nel contrastare il dolore cronico e la nausea sono dovuti alla pratica in quanto tale o sono determinati dal condizionamento psicologico del paziente? Studi clinici indicano che l’agopuntura è utile,…

theeconomist: How Luther went viral: five centuries before...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:27:36 -0500

theeconomist:

How Luther went viral: five centuries before Facebook and the Arab spring, social media helped bring about the Reformation.

cbssports: Now this is how you ring in your 104th birthday.

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:27:21 -0500

cbssports:

Now this is how you ring in your 104th birthday.

beautifullyengineered: The McLaren MP4/4 is Beautifully...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:27:05 -0500

beautifullyengineered:

The McLaren MP4/4 is Beautifully Engineered

This is it. This is THE Formula 1 car. This is Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s car, the one that dominated all but one race of the 1988 F1 season. The one with the 900hp (in qualifying trim) turbocharged 1.5L Honda V6.

It was designed by Gordon Murray, who based the design on his lowline Brabham BT55 car of 1986, and American engineer Steve Nichols.

Murray’s design philosophy revolved around placing all of the car’s weight as low as possible in the chassis. The ultra-low chassis meant that the drivers had to lie almost flat in the car, which was something Alain Prost initially objected to.

In addition to the obvious handling benefits, the low line also provided aerodynamic advantages. The frontal area was reduced by 10% and air could flow more cleanly to the rear wing, greatly improving its efficiency. Murray’s only compromise concerned the ride-height, which was not quite as low as it could have been to get . This made the MP4/4 more forgiving to drive and easier to setup.

The TAG/Porsche V6 was replaced by the twin-turbo Honda V6, which had previously powered the Williams and Lotus teams. Even with the latest boost-restrictions, it was the most powerful engine on the grid. The V6 was mated to a three-shaft six-speed gearbox that was specifically developed for the MP4/4 in conjuction with Weisman in the USA.

Brazilian rising star Ayrton Senna had moved with the Honda engines from Lotus to McLaren. His raw speed complemented the then two-time World Champion Alain Prost. The French driver had earned the nickname ‘Le Professeur’ for his consistent and smooth driving style. The two best drivers on the grid, Murray’s ultra-low chassis and the most powerful engine made for an unbeatable combination.

In fifteen races during the season, the McLarens were unstoppable. The only blot on their record occured at the Italian Grand Prix when Senna ran into a back-marker and Prost was forced to retire due to engine problems. Senna had the edge with 13 pole positions and 8 victories over his teammate’s 7 wins when taking into account the 11 best results of the year. McLaren easily won the Constructor’s Championship with nearly three times as many points as runner-up Ferrari.

The remarkable MP4/4 had to be retired at the end of the season as for 1989 turbocharged engines were banned. Having proven his point in rather dramatic fashion, Murray was assigned to the new road car program. Under a new designer and with a new Honda engine McLaren’s dominance continued. The results and ultra-low appearance of the MP4/4 were however never matched. It remains as the best Grand Prix car ever built by McLaren.

MP4/4 Specification:

Configuration: Honda RA186-E 80º V6

Location: Mid, longitudinally mounted

Construction: aluminium alloy block and head

Displacement: 1.494 liter / 91.2 cu in

Valvetrain: 4 valves / cylinder, DOHC

Fuel feed: Honda Fuel Injection

Aspiration: 2 IHI Turbos

Power: 900 bhp / 671 KW

BHP/Liter: 602 bhp / liter

Chassis: carbon fibre honeycomb monocoque

Front suspension: double wishbones, push-rod actuated coil springs and dampers

Rear suspension: double wishbones, rocker-arm actuated coil springs and dampers

Brakes: carbon ceramic discs, all-round

Gearbox: McLaren 6 speed Manual

Drive: Rear wheel drive

Power to weight: 1.67 bhp / kg

If you would like to read the actual engineering white papers on the Honda 1.5 liter turbocharged V6, it is here: http://www.zzw30.com/HondaRA168EEngine.pdf

textsfrombennett: Bennett on African hunger #textsfrombennett

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:26:47 -0500

textsfrombennett:

Bennett on African hunger #textsfrombennett

matthen: Benford’s law says that in many sources of real life...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:26:30 -0500

matthen:

Benford’s law says that in many sources of real life data, the number 1 is the most common first digit, then 2, 3 etc. For example, in non-fraudulent tax returns, the number 1 will be the most frequent first digit (otherwise it could be faked.) But why might this be? In the animation we are simulating a process where lots of random numbers are multiplied together, and drawing a histogram of the results- but on a log-scale. Because multiplying numbers is just adding them on a log-scale ( log(a * b) = log(a) + log(b) ), the histograms look similar to what you’d get from just adding lots of random numbers- i.e. Bell-curve-ish shapes. The next thing to realise is that on the log scale, the first digits are not distributed evenly- but 1__ numbers (purple) take up the most space. So if the Bell-curves are broad enough, then they will be more likely to produce numbers which start with 1 than, say, 8 (orange). As time progresses in the animation, more and more numbers are being multiplied- so the curve moves up the scale. A lot of data in real life comes from multiplying various random numbers or exponential growth- which behave like this example. [more] [code]

‘Open Science’ Challenges Journal Tradition With Web Collaboration - Thomas Lin via NYTimes.com

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:26:13 -0500

‘Open Science’ Challenges Journal Tradition With Web Collaboration - Thomas Lin via NYTimes.com:

stoweboyd:

A great overview of how online, communitarian, open science sites are transforming the wold of science journals, and research.

Thomas Lin via NYTimes.com

The system is hidebound, expensive and elitist, they say. Peer review can take months, journal subscriptions can be prohibitively costly, and a handful of gatekeepers limit the flow of information. It is an ideal system for sharing knowledge, said the quantum physicist Michael Nielsen, only “if you’re stuck with 17th-century technology.”

Dr. Nielsen and other advocates for “open science” say science can accomplish much more, much faster, in an environment of friction-free collaboration over the Internet. And despite a host of obstacles, including the skepticism of many established scientists, their ideas are gaining traction.

Open-access archives and journals like arXiv and the Public Library of Science (PLoS) have sprung up in recent years. GalaxyZoo, a citizen-science site, has classified millions of objects in space, discovering characteristics that have led to a raft of scientific papers.

On the collaborative blog MathOverflow, mathematicians earn reputation points for contributing to solutions; in another math experiment dubbed the Polymath Project, mathematicians commenting on the Fields medalist Timothy Gower’s blog in 2009 found a new proof for a particularly complicated theorem in just six weeks.

And a social networking site called ResearchGate — where scientists can answer one another’s questions, share papers and find collaborators — is rapidly gaining popularity.

The web is subversive and corrosive to established power configurations, and now is the time for the scientific journal oligopoly to crash.

bostonmeetups: Boston Tumblr Meetup This Saturday, September...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:25:57 -0500

bostonmeetups:

Boston Tumblr Meetup
This Saturday, September 10th
8:30pm at Scholars
25 School Street
Boston, MA 02108

emotionswithjonhamm: Brian Austin Green just explained that...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:25:41 -0500

emotionswithjonhamm:

Brian Austin Green just explained that Beverly Hills 90210 wasn’t real. Jon Hamm is now reevaluating his life choices in the 90s.

cbsfilms: The Mechanic - Official Green Band Trailer

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:25:25 -0500

cbsfilms:

The Mechanic - Official Green Band Trailer

thepacegallery: Carsten Nicolai, “syn chron”, 2005. Interior...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:25:11 -0500

thepacegallery:

Carsten Nicolai, “syn chron”, 2005. Interior view of installation at Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany. © Uwe Walter. Courtesy: Galerie Eigen+Art, Berlin/Leipzig and The Pace Gallery/VG-Bildkunst

“Across the artificial divide seperating the worlds of music and art, Carsten Nicolai, aka Alva Noto, is known for an aesthetics of precision: the form of the artist’s stripped-down sound and design installations often follows a scientific function, playing with and altering viewers’ audio-visual perceptions…” (via Hans Ulrich Obrist talks to Carsten Nicolai)

shaddicted: avignonblues: My day in three parts, more or less....

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:24:51 -0500

shaddicted:

avignonblues:

My day in three parts, more or less. Hehehe.

<3

good: cordjefferson: Motherfucking progress. A big “welcome...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:24:37 -0500

good:

cordjefferson:

Motherfucking progress.

A big “welcome home” to all the troops, gay, straight, or otherwise.

civilwar150: In this exclusive clip from the 1930s, Confederate...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:24:21 -0500

civilwar150:

In this exclusive clip from the 1930s, Confederate veterans step up to the mic and let out their version of the fearsome rallying cry.

FULL ARTICLE: http://j.mp/tB6YWO

mothgirlwings: Mickey Mouse tries to rescue Pluto from The Mad...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:24:05 -0500

mothgirlwings:

Mickey Mouse tries to rescue Pluto from The Mad Doctor (1933) - By Walt Disney

todaysdocument: Amputation being performed in a hospital tent,...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:23:43 -0500

todaysdocument:

Amputation being performed in a hospital tent, Gettysburg, July 1863.

The last day of the Battle of Gettysburg was July 3, 1863.

crashinglybeautiful: Tile | Origin: Takht-i Sulayman, Iran |...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:23:28 -0500

crashinglybeautiful:

Tile | Origin: Takht-i Sulayman, Iran | Period: 14th century Il-khanid period | Details: In the Islamic world, ceramics makers emphasized brightly colored glazes and intricate designs to animate relatively simple shapes and architectural tiles. Drawing on a variety of decorative sources, they continually expanded and refined their repertoire of calligraphic, abstract, and figurative motifs. Some of the designs, such as the soaring phoenix on this fourteenth-century turquoise molded tile, reflect Iran’s contacts with other artistic traditions, in particular China. Such “exotic” motifs became an integral part of the Persian visual language and were skillfully adapted to satisfy local taste and aesthetic preferences. | Type: Stone-paste painted and gilded under and over glaze | Size: H: 20.9 W: 21.3 D: 2.0 cm | Museum Code: S1997.114 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Thank you, yama-bato.

Google Web Fonts V2 New, improved, bigger, better, etc.

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:23:12 -0500

Google Web Fonts V2

New, improved, bigger, better, etc.