How different animals see the world around them

Recent scientific research has revealed how animals see the world around them and many possess dramatically different “sights” than humans. For instance, the brain of the dragonfly processes the images it sees so fast, it appears to be in slow motion and pigeons are capable of detecting more subtle color gradations than the most complex computer software. Below is a collection of comparisons between human and animal vision.

How different animals see the world around them

Scientist observe and photograph record-breaking meteorite impact on Moon

On September 11, 2013, Spanish astronomers spotted a meteorite with a weight of nearly 1,000 lbs crashing into the surface of the Moon. Astronomers say the record-breaking impact would have generated a flash of light bright enough to be seen from Earth. The strike was recorded by the Moon Impacts Detection and Analysis System (MIDAS), a series of telescopes in southern Spain

Scientist observe and photograph record-breaking meteorite impact on Moon

Rare photographs of unusual animals before they became extinct

When we think of extinct animals, species which are no longer living, we tend to envision dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, and saber tooth tigers. What you may not know is that several species, some quite unusual, have only recently been wiped out. In fact, some extinct animals ceased to exist after the 1820’s when photography was invented and hence, a few photographs exist of the species. Below is a collection of rare photographs of extinct species before they disappeared.

Rare photographs of unusual animals before they became extinct

Megan Fox pictorial

Megan Fox, American actress and model, has been a long-time geek favorite for her roles in Jennifer’s Body, Jonah Hex (as Leila, a gun-wielding beauty and Jonah Hex’s love interest), and of course, the Transformers movies (playing Mikaela Banes, the lead female role in the movies).

Megan Fox pictorial

Cool robotic clock writes time with pen, erases, starts again

Designed by Thingiverse member Johannes from Nuremburg, Germany and created using 3D printed parts, the Plotclock writes the time, in hours and minutes, on a white board using a dry-erase pen, before erasing it and starting again.

Cool robotic clock writes time with pen, erases, starts again

Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh away - another bonehead business move during OneDrive rollout

Just when you think Microsoft won’t shoot themselves in the foot any longer – they do it again. Today they rolled out OneDrive, their replacement (or revamp) for their cloud storage product, SkyDrive, with a special offer for 100GB of free drive space. Only the forgot to mention that after a year the user must upgrade or lose their files to the cloud’s nether-regions…

Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh away - another bonehead business move during OneDrive rollout

Can you spot the hidden snipers in these pictures?

Driven by the increasing range and accuracy of firearms, camouflage designers have been researching and exploiting optical illusions since World War I and German artist Simon Menner proves that our eyes can often deceive us. Check out the photo montage below and see if you can spot the sniper hidden in each of the landscapes.

Can you spot the hidden snipers in these pictures?

Climactic closing scene from HBO's True Detective S01E04 - dare we call it a cinematic masterpiece?

There’s a lot of buzz going around about the climactic scene from Episode 4 of HBO’s new series True Detective. The complicated, single 6-minute tracking shot follows Rust Cohle (played by Matthew McConaughey) fleeing the scene through two homes and the streets of a ghetto in an attempt to make it to the safety of his partner’s (Martin Hart played by Woody Harrelson) car. To film the scene was no small feat – it required detailed mapping, well-planned traffic control, minute-by-minute placement of nearly a hundred extras, timed special effects, on-the-fly setup of camera tracks, and expert choreography to pull off.

Climactic closing scene from HBO's True Detective S01E04 - dare we call it a cinematic masterpiece?

Why some ISPs are throttling Netflix and what you can do about it

It’s no longer just a theory – despite their denials, major ISPs are ignoring net neutrality rules and throttling Netflix bandwidth and Netflix has the proof in hand which they provide through their publicly-available monthly statistics reports. Here’s how to find out if you’re being throttled by your ISP, why ISPs throttle network traffic from Netflix (and other competing streaming video providers), and what you can do about it.

Why some ISPs are throttling Netflix and what you can do about it

As if they weren't terrifying enough - researchers find alligators perched in trees!

Endowed with natural armor and 6-inch teeth, they hide, deathly still, in dense underbrush waiting for their prey. No problem – just watch where you step. But now a University of Tennessee study has found that the reptiles can climb and perch in trees as far as the crowns. Vladimir Dinets, a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, is the first to thoroughly study the tree-climbing and -basking behavior.

As if they weren't terrifying enough - researchers find alligators perched in trees!

400 Gbps DDoS attack on Monday smashes Spamhaus DDoS record

CloudFlare announced late last night that a 400 Gbps DDoS attack against an unnamed entitym smashed the record set last year during the Spamhaus incident in which a sustained 300 Gbps attack was launched against a European organization who maintains a blacklist of spam-related ISPs. Effects from the attack were especially strong in Europe which caused slowdowns and related problems for ISPs. At the same time, French hosting outfit OVH also reported fending off an attack running at over 350Gbps, though of course it’s impossible to say whether the same attacker was responsible.

400 Gbps DDoS attack on Monday smashes Spamhaus DDoS record

Straight out of Dr. Suess - a fish tank that lets the fish drive around on wheels

Fish on Wheels lets its fish tank occupant steer the tank in whatever direction it feels like going. The prototype tank was built using a standard webcam, battery-powered Beagleboard, and an Arduino controller and uses the contrast of the fish with the bottom of the fish tank to determine the fish’s position in the tank. When the fish moves to the right of the tank, the tank steers in that direction and when it moves left – well, you get the picture.

Straight out of Dr. Suess - a fish tank that lets the fish drive around on wheels

Mind-bending door system uses interlocking triangles and no rails to produce functional door opening system

The folks over at Klemens Torggler’s door in Austria have introduced yet another mind-bending, but functional, door opening design, this time based on a brilliant series of interlocking triangles. Klemens Torggler’s door is an invention based on rotating squares or triangles. The special construction makes it possible to move the door sideways without the use of tracks. We give it two thumbs-up.

Mind-bending door system uses interlocking triangles and no rails to produce functional door opening system

Visual history of Facebook- from its introduction in 2004 to its modern-day design

“The Facebook” went live on February 4, 2004 from Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard University dorm room. Ads began running shortly thereafter. In 2005, Facebook rolled out the News Feed and by 2007, Facebook simplified its design. By 2008, Facebook had 100 million users and launched Facebook Chat. In 2012, Facebook hit 1 billion members and in 2013, the Ticker was killed off. Check out the visual history of Facebook.

Visual history of Facebook- from its introduction in 2004 to its modern-day design

Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) from the Game of Thrones

The beautiful Emilia Clarke currently plays the sexy queen Daenerys Targaryen on the HBO hit show Game of Thrones. Clarke won the 2011 EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for her role as Daenerys. In 2013, she was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the 2013 Primetime Emmys. Check out the sexy pictorial of the beautiful Emilia Clarke below.

Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) from the Game of Thrones

Department of Transportation moves to allow cars to communicate with each other on the road

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced today that it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for automobiles. This technology would improve safety by allowing vehicles to “talk” to each other and ultimately avoid many crashes altogether by exchanging basic safety data, such as speed and position, ten times per second.

Department of Transportation moves to allow cars to communicate with each other on the road

Beautiful animal and nature photographs that'll put a smile on your face - Part 2

Stop and smell the roses? Sometimes is helps to take the time to recognize the beauty of the world that we live in. Here is a collection of nature photographs that will surely put a smile on your face.

Beautiful animal and nature photographs that'll put a smile on your face - Part 2

Fascinating optical illusion - what do you see in this picture?

In the picture below, do you see a man standing on the shores of a lake, reflections of trees on the water? Now rotate the picture 90 degrees counterclockwise to see what is really portrayed in this photograph.

Fascinating optical illusion - what do you see in this picture?