Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Nuclear Rifle

I was happily perusing a gallery of cold war dooms day weapons as one does when I noticed something called the M65 Atomic Cannon. Having done a bit of googling I have discovered that not only is this a mobile cannon which fires NUCLEAR FREAKING WARHEADS, but there is also a shoulder mounted variant.

I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking of nuclear weapons as the stealth bomber carried final move the in the game of Mutually Assured Destruction which is scary enough, but this is something else again.

The idea of soldiers wandering about the battlefield with atomic rifles shows just how insane the cold war would have been had it become hot.

This rather terrifying video shows it in action.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Free Pocket Ubuntu Book

The excellent book Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference by Keir Thomas is available for free download from this link: http://www.ubuntupocketguide.com/aboutthebook.html

It's probably a little basic for a hardcore Nix head but if you are considering breathing new life into an old laptop or ditching Vista then I'm sure it will be a lot of help.

Kid playing the 'Why?' game outdone by science dad

Linky


DAD: Why does the soap grab the dirt?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: Because soap is a surfactant.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why is soap a surfactant?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: That is an EXCELLENT question. Soap is a surfactant because it forms water-soluble micelles that trap the otherwise insoluble dirt and oil particles.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why does soap form micelles?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: Soap molecules are long chains with a polar, hydrophilic head and a non-polar, hydrophobic tail. Can you say ‘hydrophilic’?



and so it goes on...