Movie of the day: Becoming Jane

Movies that bring us back into the world of English countrysides and gentry with their intrigues and superficial splendor are hard to follow for more than an hour when no major action like murder, war etc are happening. 'Becoming Jane' accomplishes fascination of the audience (Gabriele, the cat 'Sparkle' and myself) by an excellent cast and a story that not only was typical and important for its time but also challenges peoples integrity and emotions. The story is simple and circles around the problem of finding partners for marriage that combine affection and economical reason. Anne Hathaway plays the role of Jane Austin in a fully believable and entertaining way. Her outstanding beauty that apparently goes beyond the historical Jane, helps through the stages of love, betrayal and resolve with the family of the poor daughter of a clergyman keeping its world together. It is a movie to enjoy the beauty of the pictures but also the intelligence of the dialogs and the significance of the problem and its resolution. It does not need many shots fired (only one in this movie as an accident without consequences) or racing vehicles to make a good and entertaining movie.

Lithopanspermia theory on test

It started with the image of the brown bolder (see left insert) in the Popular Science magazine at the health club and it keeps me going already for a few days: How can the surrogate meteorite Foton-M3 help to test the lithopanspermia theory that is around for several hundred years and still has not changed our understanding of the origin of life on earth? This theory assumes that life was "inoculated" on earth by means of meteorites carrying life forms from outer space to earth from which point it started to evolve to the myriads of forms we know about today. So the theory does not - as often misstated - question the evolution theory, but it defines a different, more advanced starting point for evolution on our planet. The transport of life forms through space and to the surface of Earth through surrounding atmosphere pose difficult questions for the lithopanspermia believers. The radiation in outer space and the immense heat when travelling through the atmosphere are not particularly life-supporting conditions. So has the collaborative space mission between NASA, ES and Russia in 2007 dubbed 'Foton-M3' provided for experimental test opportunities to expose cyanobacteria and lichens to those fierce conditions. The unmanned spacecraft orbited the Earth 12 times last September before it dove into its fall back to a field in Kazakhstan. The hitchhiking life forms were recovered and are under investigation. Different to reports you may have seen in other blogs, the results are still confidential since they have not yet been published in a scientific journal. ESA's coordinator Rene Demets told me in an email yesterday "that the lichens fully survived just as they did in 2005". By this he refers to a 2005 experiment published in a 2007 paper (Sancho et al., Astrobiology 7(3)) where lichens proved to recover their full metabolic activity within 24 hours after return to Earth from a 16-day space mission. As soo as I learn mora about the results of the FOTON-M3 mission, I will share them with you so we can speculate some more about the merits of the lithopanspermia theory. Image credits: ESA, BBC, and Rene Demets.

Pen computer - Concept or reality?

Recently I had received from a friend a set of photos that shows a device that is described as a pen-size computer with keyboard and monitor projected on flat surfaces. I found this concept intriguing and shared it with many of my friends by email. Many recipients have responded and expressed from awe to caution and doubt. So I inquired about the origin of this technology information and whether it is more than a concept. Here is what I found:

The particular set of photos is around only in a number of blogs since approx. 2005. It is available as a video slideshow on YouTube since April 27, 2007, and has since then 54,000 views. You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ptixSbHzJ4 The video/images are discussed daily in a stream of comments attached to the YouTube viewing site and range from informative to obnoxious. Some posts claim the PC is already available in Japan,others characterize this as a hoax. I could not find any proof for reality or commercial availability.

However, at the 2003 ITU Telecom World exhibition held in Geneva, the Tokyo-based NEC corporation displayed a conceptual prototype of what they dubbed a "Pen-style Personal Networking Gadget Package," or P-ISM. As NEC described the P-ISM:

P-ISM is a gadget package including five functions: a pen-style cellular phone with a handwriting data input function, virtual keyboard, a very small projector, camera scanner, and personal ID key with cashless pass function. P-ISMs are connected with one another through short-range wireless technology. The whole set is also connected to the Internet through the cellular phone function. This personal gadget in a minimalistic pen style enables the ultimate ubiquitous computing.

The P-ISM system was based on "low-cost electronic perception technology" produced by the San Jose, California, firm of Canesta, Inc., developers of technologies such as the "virtual keyboard" (although the last two pictures shown above appear to be virtual keyboard products sold by other companies such as VKB rather than components of the P-ISM prototype).

The information from the exhibition was posted in December 2005 by B. and D. Mikkelson at http://www.snopes.com/photos/advertisements/pcpen.asp I cannot verify that the P-ISM is the device shown in the pictures of the "pen PC" in the video. I did not find websites or information about such technology on websites of the quoted companies. So for the time being it looks this is a just a concept and not a product that we can buy in the near future. If somebody sees/hears otherwise, you input (e.g., as a comment here) would be highly appreciated.

Birdfeeder still popular

Although spring has arrived the feeder is still visited by many birds throughout the day. Some bird couples are very 'regular' and come to feed together (e.g., House Finch [see photo], Starlings, Junkos), some others visit separately (e.g., Cowbird, American Goldfinch [see photo], Mockingbird). Additional species arriving back from their winter quarters in the South have not shown up yet.

Welcome home, Katze Walk II.

After more than seven years we have taken another cat into our home. Gabriele and I were always thinking about it but could not decide to take on another responsibility. Now Alexander asked us whether we could have a pet companion in our family and that tipped us over the edge. And here she is, "Katze Walk the second". About one year old, a grey tiger that is healthy and happy with people inside a home. From the first moment she 'owned' the place and felt at home. Alexander will give her a new name but in the the interim she bears the same name as our former cat in Germany which looked very similar and kept us company for more than ten years before she died of old age.

Blueray - Second thoughts

After comparing the quality/impression of the picture of the Blueray player (Sony BDP-S300) with Blueray DVDs and standard DVDs upsampled to 720p resolution with the images presented by the 460p Lexicon RT-10 DVD player (no upsampling), we decided to return the Blueray player and continue to use the standard player instead. Either the technical quality and sophistication of the first and second generation of Blueray players is still far from that of higher-end standard DVD players or the component cable connection that I have to use with my Meridian G68 processor is so much worse than the HDMI connection used by the most recent versions of processors that they should not be used (I actually saw a Denon Blueray player that had only HDMI output). So if you consider Blueray at this time, make sure you can use HDMI connectors and have a TV or projector that can handle full 1080p resolution. Then Blueray may make sense even at this time. But also check and compare carefully before you commit to replace your current DVD player with a new Blueray.

Discovery of organic molecules on extrasolar planet.

Methane molecules in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-sized extrasolar planet HD 189733b has been found with the Hubble Space Telescope. Under the right circumstances methane can play a key role in prebiotic chemistry -- the chemical reactions considered necessary to form life as we know it. Although methane has been detected on most of the planets in our Solar System, this is the first time any organic molecule has been detected on a world orbiting another star.

Blueray is the winner

The decision is made: Blueray will be the new DVD standard and HD-DVD is history. As a first consequence most Blueray players are sold out immediately. So I had a limited choice and bought a Sony BDP-S300. The good thing about this particular player is that it upconverts 'normal' DVD up to 1080p resolution (the best you can have with your TV or projector these days). So its "Blueray time"! Well, for me that means I bought one single Blueray DVD for calibration and reference purposes ("The Fifth Element" - a great movie!). I have this movie already in the standard DVD (460p bitstream) version and so I can play the two with my Lexicon RT-10 DVD player and the new Blueray Sony side-by-side. My first impressions are that the picture is more detailed with Blueray (I can project 720p of the 1080presolution of the Blueray disk with my "old" Yamaha DPX-1000 projector.) than with the standard DVD. Also the contrast is increased which makes 'black' more black and 'white' more white. With this difference the picture becomes less soft and color-detailed (or less 'movie-like'). Maybe this can be tweaked with the settings of the new player, but I prefer the 'old' DVD tone of the picture more. The same difference can be observed with upconverted DVDs on the Sony vs. th Lexicon player. So the picture 'liking'is a question of what the viewer prefers: detail resolution or natural color tones.
Another clear difference between the two players is the sound. Here is the ten-times more expensive Lexicon as a high-end player the clear 'winner' over the Sony. Again, this is a first impression after two movies and I may not have optimized thge settings and cables, but the sound difference is very audibel. Another point is that the Lexicon but not the Sony can play two- and multi-channel SACDs and HD-Audio CDs. So the Blueray player is not a replacement for the Lexicon at this time. So, I will watch some more and compare the the two systems. Maybe some of you can help and join me for a movie. By the way, I will obtain my Blueray movies through my Netflix subscription and will not buy a new collection of disks in yet another format to be replaced by something 'better' in the future.

Movie of the Day: Damages
A few TV series actually can work as the material for a good movie (without episodes on different days and interrupting ads so one can follow a complex story). We had already enjoyed both seasons of "Carnivale" and now are going through Season 1 of "Damages". Damages is a complex legal drama with Glenn Close as steely litigator Patty Hewes and Rose Byrne as Ellen Parsons who is a young successful 'runner up' in Patty's law firm which finds herself in jail with a murder charge. The story is told in time 'flips' back an forth and so comes together with increasing numbers of episodes. Each episode, though, is an interesting piece in itself and the characters as well as the story are interesting, complex, and good material to think about. Family values, business drive, betrayal and loyalty, money & power, and many other important concepts in life are being portrayed, challenged, lost and found with actors who represent the complexities in an excellent way. If you get started and like it as much as we do, you will spend a lot of hours in front of the screen, because it sucks you in and doe not let you go. (Our score: 9/10)

Birdfeeder extension

We have now extended our birdfeeder on the deck from two to four 'arms', each carrying a different feeder. The 'design' of the feeder comes from a book that Gabriele gave me as a Christmas present. We have now a finch feeder, a berry feeder, a peanut feeder, and a sunflower seed feeder. In addition a wirebox with suet for woodpeckers is attached to the 4x4 pole. We hope that this variety will increase the variety of bird species coming to our deck. Our yard is the home to at least 32 species of birds. In accordance with the expected ranking of frequency of feeder visits in Virginia, House finches, Slate-colored juncos, Cardinals, Northern mockingbirds, White-breasted nuthatches and Carolina chickadees are the most frequent guests. We also saw Carolina wrens, Red-breasted woodpeckers, Tufted titmice, Mourning doves, European starlings, Hairy and Downy woodpeckers join the party. A few days ago a Yellow-rumped Myrtle warbler showed up. I took photos of these birds and can share them with you, if you are interested.

Learning about life from a dying man

"Tuesdays with Morrie", a relatively short book (or audio CD if you listen rather than read) by Mitch Albom, a journalist hearing 16 years after graduation that his former sociology professor or 'coach' is terminally ill and preparing a thesis about life from taped conversations with the ill on Tuesdays. An important book. Touching - not primarily because of the disease consuming and then killing the old man, but because its about all of us who live, about what is important and what is not. Its about the value of people, family, loved ones, friends, time, about essential vs superficial things and behaviors. I cannot imagine that anyone is not learing something from this dying man. His messages are honest because he has nothing to loose, his messages are simple but still surprising and disturbing. I wished I could convince my mother now and my child when he is a man to read or hear it. The audio CD adds to the book the voice of the teacher and the student, making it even more authentic and emotional. Yes, it made me cry and I am not ashamed of it. For those in Chesterfield: The audio book is at the public library.

Heard of 'Witricity'?

Wow, this looks like a really important innovation: Charging all our gadgets like cell phones, laptops etc without wires and plugs - using 'Witricity'. That this is for real can be deducted from the fact that MIT is involved. Marin Soljacic, an MIT Assistant Professor, is at the forefront of the research moving this technology towards commercial application. Check it out at http://www.witricpower.com/introduction-witricity.htm

Movie of the Day: Man on Fire
A standard story directed well: Ex US federal agent (or mercenary?) with a drinking problem takes on the job of a body guard for a girl of a rich young couple in Mexico city, where kidnapping is a daily event. The girl grows on him, becomes kidnapped while he is gunned down and she is reported killed after the transfer of the ransom went bad. Now a complex story of corrupt cops, ruthless gangsters, lawyers and business men unfolds being embedded in the colorful and chaotic scenario of Mexico city. The story takes twists and turns with constant action that keeps you on you tiptoes. Believable characters played convincingly by Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning (the girl) and the others on cast, a believable and almost realistic story (except for the end when melodrama takes over and washes over the otherwise professional criminals and 'good guys'), and a realistic amount of violence and brutality push the movie to its climax. Great action with a meaningful plot - worth 2.5-h watching. (Our score: 8/10)

The movie of the day: Class Action. Not many movies have an excellent cast across the bord - this one has. Its not just the lead actors Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who excel as father and his estranged daughter representing opposing parties' counsel in court, its also the supporting roles such as the wife and mother of the two lawyers (Joanna Merlin), but also the bartender at their favorite hangout and the associates (e.g. Laurence Fishburne) and other members of their law firms who pulled us into their fascinating story, dialogs and emotions. Nothing is 'out-of-date' in this 1991 movie about family conflict, professional ethics, suppressed emotions and outbursts of passion. This movie is smart, entertaining, and made us smile and cry. What a treat. Highly recommended (Score: 9/10).

Punkin Chunkin 2008

If you have no plans for Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, 2008, jet - why don't you join us when we go for the first time to the annual Punkin Chunkin World Championship in Bridgeville, Delaware. What this is all about? Pumkin shooting with sophisticated, powerful machines. The goal for the contestants and engineers of those monstrous machines is to shoot/fly undamaged pumkins as far as possible through the air into a target field. The machines fall into several technical categories such as Air Cannon, Centrifugal, Catapult, Trebuchet, Human Power, and Torsion. If you want to see how they look like and how they work (if they work), have a look at the action in the video clips on the left hand side. The challenge is to apply maximum power on the naturally grown pumkins without smashing them to puree before the travel through the skies. What a wonderful and relatively harmless way to be creative with mechanics.
See pumpkin cannons from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIf0zLIlDbM or 'sling machine' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhtFXB-3XHk

As a start ....

Gabriele started her blog in German some time ago and she and her friends like it a lot. So I will give it a try too. Bear with me: There is a lot to come.

If you like what you see, let me know, if you don't, let me know too. Feedback will help to make this a useful form of 'staying in touch' with friends, which I would like to accomplish with this.



The English 'word of the day' (its a new one for me) is: Adobe - not just the name of a software product line, but "a sundried brick" used to build walls for buildings in arid areas such as the American West.



The movie of today: Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 remake 'The man who knew too much' with Doris Day and James Stewart. We liked the first half of the mystery plot, but then it became a bit too melodramatic with Doris Day singing 'Que sera, sera' in an English embassy setting and crying while standing without a ticket in the aisle of a balcony box of the Royal Albert Hall expecting the villain to assassin the English Primeminister. Well, our expectations of 'action movies' have obviously changed since the 60s.