If there’s anyone I wanna just sit down and chat with and dig into some statistical SEO analysis to develop into an SEO science, it would definitely be Michael Martinez over at SEO Theory after reading his latest article on Link Analysis Done Right.

Bookmark To:

I must say, I really do enjoy the History Channel as it provides some great insight and new changes into ancient history. What fascinates me is how technology and science of Ancient Rome did not disappear, but moved towards the Middle East during the 8th to 13th Centuries (known as the Islamic Century) where all the knowledge moved into the House of Wisdom. (more…)

Bookmark To:

You have a very well-known SEO person, Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land claiming that it’s the first birthday of the “Google Bomb Fix“. Now, you could call that bad/false advertising by Danny Sullivan or a post that should specifically note that Google fixed the “miserable failure bomb” manually, but nonetheless, I just wanted to point out how even a ‘well-respected’ person within the industry still makes anecdotal claims based purely upon… well, anything but actual facts.

The perfect example that disproves the ‘fix’ on Google Bombing is after the jump… (more…)

Bookmark To:

The concern over electromagnetic radiation from the proposed extension of the Shanghai Maglev reminds me of the days when people were freaking out about the same kind of radiation from power line towers (not to mention the same from cell phones). In fact, that concern grew so much back in high school we actually nicknamed one park in Fremont “cancer park” since it was under a couple of power line areas. People would refuse to buy the homes that were near those power lines, so freaked out they were over bogus reports.

(more…)

Bookmark To:

A wonderful article in the Cosmos Magazine (not Cosmo) about archaeologists using Google Earth to help find lost cities around the globe shows just how in-depth satellite mapping has become:

Within a few hours on Google Earth, Madry was able to locate 101 features in an area covering 1,440 square kilometres in Central France. These features represented Iron Age, Medieval and Gallo-Roman sites.

“I have found a very large number of sites using Google Earth from my office here in the U.S.. I was quite surprised at this, and have now given many different short courses in the U.S. and Europe for archaeologists on how to use Google Earth in their work,” Madry said.

“Now, with the commercial ultra-high resolution satellite imagery and especially with Google Earth, archaeologists can conduct regional site surveys from their own offices,” Madry said. “This is something we would have only dreamed of before.”

Although I think Cosmos is a little off on calling for the end of Indiana Jones’s style archeology; I think that going off randomly searching for lost cities is probably over now. Yet, those using Google Earth can now help their archeology and treasure seeking by finding areas that are still uncovered and following up by actually traveling there via GPS.

This all goes to show how using technology, knowledge, and curiosity can truly be a positive benefit when used properly. Not only that, but even with cities entirely gone, archeology can be used to find civilizations thousands of years erased, pushing forward how long our own civilizations would be findable if we all suddenly disappeared.

Bookmark To:

For the most part, the libertarians I run across and are friends with are usually not very religious, so it struck me as rather odd to see a very libertarian candidate (Ron Paul) note that he does not accept evolution. Makes me wonder whether that could put a crimp in some of his supporters as libertarians are not necessarily the bunch who will not accept with so much factual basis behind it.

Personally, any candidate that is not willing to change one’s belief when the facts are right in front of you is certainly not a candidate for me to support. The commenter on Andrew Sullivan’s blog says it well:

A reader writes:

I too, wanted to pretend like I didn’t see that video of Ron Paul saying that he can’t accept Evolution.  I admire the man.  He is clearly the most legitimate GOP candidate.  But this has completely damaged my perception of him.  As an Athiest, I often find it absoultely mind-boggling that so many people in the United States, in this day and age, can still deny that Evolution is real.  But the truth is, while pretty much any person you meet who doesn’t believe in Evolution is doing so for religous reasons, it is important to note that this issue goes far deeper than just religion itself.  After all, the present day Vatican, and even Pope Benedict have a very sober stance towards Evolution.  So this to me, highlights why Paul’s denial of Evolution is such a big deal.

Bookmark To:

This week should expect to see some amazing meteors that will really be enjoyable:

What could be the best meteor display of the year will reach its peak on the night of Dec.13-14.

Here is what astronomers David Levy and Stephen Edberg have written of the annual Geminid Meteor Shower: “If you have not seen a mighty Geminid fireball arcing gracefully across an expanse of sky, then you have not seen a meteor.”

Guess that partially explains the meteor I saw a few weeks ago in San Jose?

Bookmark To:

Here are some amazing pictures taken by NASA in order to better understand the unique night-shining clouds towards the poles:

Beautiful picture I have to say nonetheless! Here’s some information so far that we know about these clouds (but please click into the site to learn more):

These mystifying clouds are called Polar Mesospheric Clouds, or PMCs, when they are viewed from space and referred to as “night-shining” clouds or Noctilucent Clouds, when viewed by observers on Earth. The clouds form in an upper layer of the Earth’s atmosphere called the mesosphere during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer season which began in mid-May and extends through the end of August and are being seen by AIM’s instruments more frequently as the season progresses. They are also seen in the high latitudes during the summer months in the Southern Hemisphere.

Bookmark To:

A new fabric, Zetix, has been tested resisting bomb blasts due to the principles of auxetics where objects get fatter the more you stretch them. As crazy as this sounds, there are fascinating properties out there that always makes me wonder how it can be and this is just another example of that. Gizmodo has more about this blast-resistant fabric:

To demonstrate how Zetix works, the best thing is to look how a thread behaves. When you jump from a bridge using a bungee cord, the force of gravity acting over your body weight will stretch it as you go down in free fall. While this happens, the cord threads will stretch getting closer together and making the cord get thinner as it expands through a larger distance.

(more…)

Bookmark To:

What??? The Smithsonian Magazine has a fascinating article about a team of diggers in Australia finding dinosaurs that would have had fared the cold winters back when Australia and Antarctica were joined near the South Pole.

Think “dinosaurs” and you probably conjure up behemoths trudging through sweltering swamps or torrid tropical forests. But Rich and other scientists working in Australia, Alaska and even atop a mountain in Antarctica have unearthed remains of dinosaurs that prospered in environments that were cold for at least part of the year. Polar dinosaurs, as they are known, also had to endure prolonged darkness—up to six months each winter. “The moon would be out more than the sun, and it would be tough making a living,” says paleontologist David Weishampel of Johns Hopkins University

(more…)

Bookmark To: