|
I'm an Australian, based in the Washington, DC, area of the United States. I spend a lot of time there with Jasmine, Australia's best-known speedsolver of the Rubik's Cube. Prior to the US, Jasmine and I were based in London, UK. We have also lived previously in the United States and Australia. I have worked for an Australian business rules and compliance company since 1999 in Australia, the US and the UK. I have also lectured in IT and Law related topics at King's College, London, and at The Australian National University. I have some more information and a list of publications available (pop-up window).
Site design by Jasmine |
Sun, 18 Mar 2007 [Australian eastern time]
Can lunar dust harm astronauts?
BBC News has published an interesting article about the potential dangers to astronauts of inhaling moon dust. It seems there are a couple of health risks: the tiny size of the particles, which can cause lung damage; and the fact that they not only contain iron but are so small that the iron quickly reaches the bloodstream, with adverse effects on the blood's haemoglobin content. [tags: astronaut moon lunar] Sat, 17 Mar 2007 [Australian eastern time]
Most powerful bomb ever constructed
I normally have zero interest in weaponry, but Damn Interesting's story about the most powerful bomb ever constructed actually caught my attention today. It talks about the 1961 detonation of a Soviet device code-named "Ivan". The article's conclusion is interesting:
(Via Digg) [tags: nuclear Cold+War] Sun, 22 Oct 2006 [Australian eastern time]
Last year was a good year for apples
Completely by accident, while looking through Technorati, I found an article which suggests the apples we buy in supermarkets can be up to a year old, due to the processes used to extend their life after picking! [tags: food nutrition] Sat, 19 Aug 2006 [Australian eastern time]
Inspired by school experiments with sodium
I used to like school chemistry. I was quite good at it, but my enjoyment was also partly about the explosions and other excitement of the lab. Dropping a tiny sliver of sodium into water and watching it burn is one demonstration I remember well from when I was 12 years old at school. I'm not the only one who remembers this demonstration. Theodore Gray has a series of photos and videos of his adventures creating really spectacular effects with sodium. His site recently rated a mention in the UK's Guardian newspaper, although Gray's photos and videos are not particularly new. [tags: sodium The+Guardian] Sat, 04 Feb 2006 [Australian eastern time]According to a post on Boing Boing, some wasps can turn cockroaches into zombies, which blindly follow wasp directions:
See the Boing Boing article for more gory details! |