Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category:
7 Earth-Sized Planets Discovered
Ohhh snap. Check out this space news (via CNN):
Size comparison of the four terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars and the terrestrial dwarf planet Ceres. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(NOTE: the photo above does not depict the planets in question. It’s just a cool photo of planets.)
Astronomers have found at least seven Earth-like planets orbiting the same star 40 light-years away, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The findings were also announced at a news conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
This discovery outside of our solar system is rare because the planets have the winning combination of being similar in size to Earth and being all temperate, meaning they could have water on their surface and potentially support life.
The seven exoplanets were all found in tight formation around an ultracool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. Estimates of their mass also indicate that they are rocky planets, rather than being gaseous like Jupiter.
“Ultracool dwarf star” is my favorite phrase of the day.
Source: CNN
Kids Asks Google For Job, CEO Responds – Cute News
So much of the news is WTF these days, so here’s some cute news.
English: Google Logo officially released on May 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A 7-year-old kid decided she wanted to work at Google. Her dad said, “write them a letter.” She did. The CEO responded. It’s cute stuff. Hit up the link below.
Chloe Bridgewater was inspired by seeing the bean bag chairs and slides in the office.
Source: A 7-year-old wrote a letter to Google asking for a job—here’s how the CEO responded
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Complete Works of “Weird Al” – Yes Please
Weird Al Yankovic is releasing 14 albums in a variety of formats, including good ol’ fashioned vinyl. As you can see, you can get the albums in a “Squeeze Box” styled to look like Mr Y’s signature accordion. Good stuff. Video follows.
You know who else likes Weird Al, like, a lot? Lin-Manuel Miranda. The guy who wrote a little show called “Hamilton”. So we’re in good company.
Don’t Let Kids Eat Lithium Batteries
It may sound obvious but apparently the website Hackaday received a press release about kids eating coin cell batteries, which are made with lithium. Eating said batteries is extremely dangerous. The message is “Don’t let kids eat lithium batteries.” That’s todays DaddyTip.
At first I said “duh”. But then I looked at the little batts. They are EXACTLY the kind of thing a kid might pop into their mouth. Round, small, easy to swallow… frankly, if you’re a little kid and don’t know better, they could easily be mistaken for candy. Now, hopefully you teach your children not to put stuff in their mouths, and/or you keep an eye on them to make sure this doesn’t happen. Still, it’s always good to be reminded.
I do NOT recommend that you show your kids this video, a Canadian PSA about “eating things that don’t belong inside you.” Ah, Canada.
As with most things, the key is to talk to your children and when they are little, and keep an eye on ’em. Better yet, keep the batteries out of reach. Like, don’t leave a box of coin cell batteries next to a dish of candy. There’s the tip.
Happy new year!
Source: PSA: Don’t Let Kids Eat Lithium Batteries | Hackaday
Carrie Fisher Flipping The Bird
A photo montage of Carrie Fisher flipping the bird in various occasions. Enjoy.
HBO Airs Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking On Sunday
Carrie Fisher at WonderCon 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Press release from HBO:
HBO remembers Carrie Fisher with an encore presentation of WISHFUL DRINKING this Sunday, Jan. 1 (9:00-10:20 p.m. ET/PT) on the main HBO channel. Debuting in 2010, this feature-length adaptation of the Hollywood icon’s hit autobiographical stage production tells the intoxicating tale of her life, combining her raucous one-woman stage performance, interviews with family and friends, and archival footage. Produced and directed by World of Wonder’s Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, the special received two Primetime Emmy® nominations, includingOutstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.
RIP Ms. Fisher. You will be missed.
Spider-Man: Homecoming Trailer
Here is the Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer. If you are a Geek Gold Card member, prepare to make little nerdy noises.
Where to begin? So much to like.
- He’s young. This is the first on-screen Peter Parker we’ve had that is actually the age of the original character, which is 15. Yes. 15. Even if one were to dicker over the exact age, it was clear that he was in high school, making him, at best, 16, 17, whatever. While both Tobey Maquire and Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of the character had him in high school, neither actor was as young as the current Peter/Spidey, one Tom Holland, seen already in Captain America: Civil War. It is SO MUCH FUN to see a kid playing Peter Parker as a kid. (Holland is 20 but looks younger.) Next summer (July 2017) we get a whole movie of this. Yay! (No disrespect to Mr. Maquire or Mr. Garfield, both of whom were very good.)
- Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. is in the movie. In one of the many versions of Spidey in Marvel Comics, Tony Stark plays the role of mentor to Peter Parker. We got a taste of this in Civil War. We get another taste in the trailer. The movie will have more. There is even a peek of the two fighting side-by-side. Eee. (That’s a little nerdy noise.)
- It looks like Ganke but it’s not. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought that Peter’s friend in the trailer was Ganke. Ganke was/is (I can’t keep track) Miles Morales’ friend in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics. Miles Morales is a different version of Spider-Man who was in a different universe but now isn’t. Because comics.
- Web wings. Spider-Man sometimes has webbing on his arms, or as Peter once referred to himself in the comics, “ol’ web pits.” In the movie, these apparently give Spider-Man the ability to glide. Not fly. Glide. Love it.
What can I say? I’m a sucker for this stuff. I’ve been fully into the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the beginning. I never thought Spider-Man would be a part of it. Now he is. I am happy.
