How to start a fire with water - cool!

I like this little video that shows how to start a fire using a water bottle.  You never know when a skill like this might come in handy.  Watch, learn and file away in your brain somewhere where you might be able to access it when you are out in survival mode.

What can we learn from Minecraft?

The blocky, Minecraft world of Happitopia

Bix and Widdikay host Happitopia, an on-line, virtual world where they and their friends explore and create.  This world runs on a computer/server we have hosted for the last year and a half running a program called Minecraft.  In this vast, planet sized, Lego-like virtual world, there are two modes - survival mode and creative mode.  In survival mode, you have to worry about getting enough food to eat and finding enough resources to build shelter.  You may need to trade with other players to get the things you need.  By contrast, in creative mode, you can never starve, and you can have any kind of raw materials you want.  There are no limits.  You are all-powerful and god-like in this mode.  You might think that kids would be drawn to the mode where they can be omnipotent, but the interesting thing is that, at least in Happitopia, the kids don't always choose creative mode.  Both modes are popular.  They enjoy the challenge of dealing with finite resources and a realistic constraints sometimes, while other times, they want the god-like powers that let them express themselves creatively with very few constraints.

The kids created this short promotional video about their server to attract more members

For our kids, this game has been an interesting combination of open ended exploration, creative expression, civics, leadership, socialization and technical challenge.  They and their friends have dedicated countless hours of time to build an environment for themselves where they socialize and create creative challenges for themselves and each other.  In addition to the technical work that Widdakay does to host the server, keep it up and running 24/7, keep it backed-up, build the supporting website with associated wiki and bulletin board and write Java code for customization; the environment has been a place for other types of learning.  Although the environment is completely operated and managed by the kids, they've managed to keep this from becoming a "Lord of the Flies" world.  Happitopia, this virtual world, has forced them to deal with some real world issues.  How do you attract friends to the server and keep them challenged, entertained and coming back for more?  How do you create a "society" that encourages the type of behavior you would like?  How do you punish "bad" behavior?  What types of rules should govern your world?  What form of justice should be enforced?  These are not the types of questions that you wrestle with in the classroom or on a standardized test, where your job is to follow the rules, not to create them.  Yet learning the skills to successfully manage these issues can translate directly the workplace and society in general.    It has made me wonder how Minecraft can be used as a teaching tool.  Apparently I'm not the only one wondering about this.  Below are two videos, from PBS's Idea Channel, about potential uses of Minecraft in education, and a little bit about what Minecraft may be able to tell us about the future of the world around us.  Watch and enjoy.

To space and back

A fellow named David Windestål, from Sweden, has attempted a project that I always wanted to do.  We've hooked sensors and radios to a balloon and sent it up to the edge of space, which is incredibly cool.  At around 100,000 ft up, the balloon bursts and our payload came back down to earth on a parachute.  I always thought it would be cool to fly back down from up there instead of just floating down on a parachute.  Well, David hung a remote controlled glider to the balloon when he sent it up.  The glider was equipped with a live video feed so that he could remotely pilot it on the way back down.  Unfortunately, things didn't go quite according to plan, and he wasn't able to get the plane back to his location, however, he did recover it and has some incredible GoPro footage to prove it.  Well done!

I don't know about you, but I think it is incredibly cool that we have gotten to the point where individuals can send gadgets up to the edge of space.  We aren't talking NASA here guys.  We are talking about hobbyists who do this stuff because its fun.  That's right.  It's not motivated national pride or a space race against Sputnik.  It's not funded by a bottomless pit of tax payer money and an endless supply of PhDs from the best schools.  This was accomplished by a smart guy who lives near a big lake in Sweden with the courage to go try something cool... just because...  Something about that is truly awesome and inspiring.

The technical details of the project are spelled on out David's web site, rcexplorer.se.

Adults can learn from kids

Adora Svitak is a 15 year old author and speaker.  In her TED talk, I think she does a fine job explaining why adults should spend at least as much time learning from kids as they do trying to teach them.  Well played Adora.

Time lapse freezing water droplet

What happens when you put a drop of water onto a liquid-nitrogen cooled plate?  Spoiler: it freezes.  Still, watching the process at 5 times normal speed is pretty awesome.  As I watch, I'm thinking it's a  NASA planet fly-by that turns into ice cream which somehow evolves into a Chia Pet.  I'm pretty sure it goes through the Frazil Ice stage in there somewhere too.

Now that's punny

I'll apologize in advance for this one.  You see my dad has always been a prolific punster.  He can make a pun out of anything, anytime, anywhere.  So puns, mostly really bad groaners, are near and dear to me.  Just as I had no idea that they have competitions for flying kites without wind, planing and synchronized walking, I had no idea that there is a world championship punoff.
So, in honor of my dad's birthday, I present this video from the pun world championships.  In the head-to-head competition, the competitors have 5 seconds to come up with a pun related to a topic chosen by the audience.  If they repeat a pun, they get a strike... three strikes and you're out.  They continue until one of them strikes out, or can't think of a new pun in 5 seconds.  Dad, I'm pretty sure you could take these guys!

If you managed to watch that video and you still are looking for more, you may enjoy the jokes here or the video below.

Happy Birthday Dad!

A little marine science for you

Edith Widder: How we found the giant squid

Edith Widder gives a TED talk about how they took pictures of the giant squid.  It is a pretty interesting story.  Apparently, if you act like a distressed jelly fish, you can attract giant squid, not because the squid are interested in you, but because they are interested in what might be eating you.

Once, when we were sailing in the Indian Ocean, Monika and I found a school of ~2' squid under our sailboat.  It was pretty spectacular and spooky at the same time.  They have a very alien look.. In fact, they kind of make me think of the movie Alien, but maybe that is just me.  I really can't imagine what it would be like to encounter one on the scale of the one in the video above.

Mike deGruy: Hooked by an octopus

Mike deGruy had a bid hand in making the expedition above possible, but unfortunately he died in a helicopter crash before the project got its results.  His TED talk about octopi is quite inspirational.

This Wave Pendulum is Compelling

For some reason I really like this wave pendulum.  Some of the patterns it gets into are really cool.  It kind of makes me want to build one of my own.  Why don't they make these for your desk, kind of like a Newton's cradle?  Probably because if I had one on my desk I wouldn't get any work done.

Tall Ships are coming to Redwood City

This is local news for those of you in the Bay Area.

Redwood City is the only deep water port in the south San Francisco Bay.  As such, it occasionally hosts interesting maritime events.  One such event is the arrival of the replicas of historic tall ships, Lady Wachington and Hawaiin Cheiftan.  The Lady Washington is a wood hulled brig which set sail in 1989 and has been named Washington State's official tall ship.  She has appeared in numerous movies including the 2003 movie Pirates of the Carribean: the Curse of the Black Pearl.  The Hawaiian Cheiftan is a steel-hulled topsail ketch replica of a 19th century coastal trader.  They will be in the port from March 7-19 and will offer public tours, sailing excursions and educational programs for K-12 students and groups.

One of the fun things about this visit is that they have adventure and battle sails where you can actually  sail in these amazing ships and imagine what it must have been like to head out to sea in the olden days.

Schedule

3/8: Walk-on tours, 4 p.-.to 5 p.m. No reservation required, but $3 donation requested.
3/9-10: tours, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. No reservation required, but $3 donation requested.
3/9-10: Battle Sails, 2p.m. to 5 p.m., $40-$60.
3/10: Adventure Sail (Lady Washington only), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. $39 all ages.
3/l2-15: Walk-on tours, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. No reservation required, but $3 donation requested.
3/16-17: Walk-on tows, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. No reservation required, but $3 donation requested.
3/16: BattIe Sail, 2p.m. to 5 p.m., $40-$60


More information from the Port of Redwood City

Synchronized Walking - really?

We've featured a few interesting competitions here on Digital Diner recently.  Planing and Windless Kite Flying both were pretty unusual, but how about this one?  Synchronized Walking.  I can see that it requires some skill and incredible amounts of practice (see the move at about 2:00), but at the end of the day, it's just walking.  That's pretty weird, I've got to say.