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It was a clear and cold, maybe upper 30s, when I got home at around 2AM. Now the ring was really clear, I even noticed some color. Then I realized that it was the color spectrum and that I was looking at a rainbow halo. Apparently it’s cause by the light from the moon (reflected from the sun) refracting through cirrostratus clouds which contained ice crystals. See, you learn something everyday.

Interestingly, “Cirrostratus” also happens to be the name of a short lived late 90s progressive folk rock band, whose biggest hit was titled Halo of the Moon. Wow, who knew I can make up such bullshit? Only this last part though, the rest of the meteorological stuff is all true. I tried taking pictures but my ultra compact just wasn’t up to the task. The above picture is from google, click here for more.

…his proposal is remarkable because, by the arcane standards of particle physics, it does not require highly complex mathematics.

Even better, it does not require more than one dimension of time and three of space, when some rival theories need ten or even more spatial dimensions and other bizarre concepts. And it may even be possible to test his theory, which predicts a host of new particles, perhaps even using the new Large Hadron Collider atom smasher that will go into action near Geneva next year.

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If you’re interested, read the article he published:
An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything.

Stayed up till about 5 last night (this morning) to watch the eclipse. It was pretty amazing. You can learn more about it by watching this video. I took some pictures, but since I only have an ultra compact, this was the best I was able to get (the jpgs looked better); can’t wait to get an SLR. These picture were taken about 2 minutes apart.

I can’t wait for the videos from TED 2007, but in the mean time, they put up this 7 minute “teaser” to further whet my appetite. Prepare to be inspired.

The annual Technology, Entertainment, Design conference brings together speakers from around the globe, each getting 18 minutes to fascinate and inspire the audience with their ideas in art, science, technology, nature, humanity, music, religion and everything in between.

The speakers are a veritable who’s who of the world’s best and brightest. Recognizable names such as Bill Clinton, Bono, Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon), Richard Dawkins, Peter Gabriel, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Sergey Brin and Larry Page (co-founders of Google), Tony Robbins, and James Watson share the stage with unfamiliar, but equally, if not more compelling speakers like Wade Davis (National Geographic), David Deutsch (physicist at the University of Oxford), Frans Lanting (nature photographer), Rev. Tom Honey (Canon Pastor of Exeter Cathedral), Helen Fisher (anthropologist), Joshua Prince-Ramus (architecture), and Jehane Noujaim (filmmaker).

One of the highlights of the event is the TED Prize. Three people are selected before the conferenc, each getting some prize money and, more importantly, one wish to present to the TED attendees. This is the 2nd year for the TED Prize, one of last year’s prize winner was Bono, and his wish was “to help build a social movement of more than one million american activists for Africa”. TEDsters acted and set up ONE.org, Sun Microsystems provided technology support, others provided funding, marketing, and media access. Today, ONE is a network more than two million strong.

This year, another wish maker was Dr. Larry Brilliant who played an important role in the wiping out of Small Pox. His wish was to help build an early warning system to protect us from a pandemic outbreaks such as the Bird Flu. In addition to other supporters, he was approached by the founders of Google to head up their $1 billion philanthropic foundation Google.org. It will give him a great head start in reaching his goal.

Check out the documentary The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED, It will make you feel better about the state of the world and humanity. Also, be sure to go to TED.com and watch and be inspired by these brilliant speakers.