The Great Geek Manual

Today, June 18, is Phi Day! Like Pi, Phi, also known as the Golden Ration, is an irrational number, equal to approximately 1.61803398874989484820458683436564. Phi is used a great deal in astronomy, but it’s found everywhere you look here on Earth, from architecture to shells and even the human body. Most importantly, it’s found in the proportions in the Greeks’ famous golden rectangle, and it’s derivable by many proofs, including the famous Fibonacci Sequence.

1858
Charles Darwin receives an academic paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that draws conclusions regarding evolution nearly identical to those Darwin made himself. The concurring opinion prompts Darwin to publish his own theory of evolution.
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In view of the kind of matter we work with, it will never be possible to avoid little laboratory explosions.

- Sigmund Freud in a letter to Carl Jung, June 18, 1909.

Book: The Lost City of Z
ISBN-13: 978-0385513531

Author: David Grann
Publisher: Doubleday
Genre: Non-fiction / Doc-u-tainment
Release: February 24, 2009
Length: 352 pages (Hardcover)

Verdict

Despite essentially being a biography, The Lost City of Z is a gripping tale that combines the intellectual stimulation of your favorite History Channel documentary with the high-adventure of a classic Victorian fantasy novel. Grann’s descriptions of the hardships endured in the Amazon were more riveting than Tolkien. His colorful peppering of trivia was better than a Discovery Channel documentary.

Anyone with a love of science or a childhood dream of far-flung exploration should add this title to their wishlist, secure in the knowledge it isn’t the sort of book that can be spoiled by giving away the end. It’s spell lies not in its destination, but in the way it carries readers along on Fawcett’s journey through the darkest jungles of South America.

Synopsis

Official: After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann set out to solve “the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century”: What happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z? In 1925, Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization, vowing to make one of the most important archaeological discoveries in history. For centuries Europeans believed the world’s largest jungle concealed the glittering kingdom of El Dorado. Captivating the imagination of millions around the globe, Fawcett embarked with his twenty-one-year-old son to prove that this ancient civilization–which he dubbed “Z”–existed. Then he and his expedition vanished.

For decades scientists and adventurers have searched for evidence of Fawcett’s party and the Lost City of Z. Countless have perished, been captured by tribes, or gone mad. As David Grann delved ever deeper into the mystery surrounding Fawcett’s quest and the greater mystery of what lies within the Amazon, he found himself, like the generations who preceded him, drawn into the jungle’s “green hell.” His quest for the truth, and his stunning discoveries about Fawcett’s fate and “Z,” form the heart of this enthralling narrative.
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In science, self-satisfaction is death. Personal self-satisfaction is the death of the scientist. Collective self-satisfaction is the death of the research. It is restlessness, anxiety, dissatisfaction, agony of mind that nourish science.

- Jacques Monod in New Scientist, June 17, 1976.

1837
Charles Goodyear obtains his first rubber-processing patent. (US No. 240) India rubber would become sticky in the summer heat. Goodyear resolved this problem by devising a process to treat the rubber with metallic solutions such as copper nitrate and strong acid for a few minutes, before washing it with water. His patent explains the method and the use of a water paste of quicklime to bleach the rubber for various purposes. He obtains additional patents as he continued to revise his process using sulphur and oil of turpentine.

1867
Joseph Lister of Glasgow, Scotland becomes the first surgeon to perform surgery under antiseptic conditions.

1885
The Statue of Liberty is delivered to New York Harbor.

1901
The College Board introduces its first standardized test, which will become the forerunner of the SAT.

1922
The idea of a radio network, conceived of as a public service, is proposed in a letter from David Sarnoff to E.W. Rice Jr., Honorary Chairman of the Board ofGeneral Electric Company. Rather than a public service, the first network will evolve into the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).
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I love this video! I you did this a U.S. city, someone would probably call the cops and accuse you of being a terrorist. Still, I wonder if the people in this video are playing along because Japanese people are just that cool or because the guy pretending to shoot people has a camera man standing beside him?

Resources

10 Easy ways to fix common WordPress headaches – There always seems to be some common WordPress problems that need you to dive into the code and hack away, here is a sample of plugins to help stop the hacking!

100 Firefox Add-Ons to Create a Truly Brilliant Browser – The Internet is full of smart tools these days, but only if you have the patience to go out and find them. So what if you could turn your browser into a little black book of awesome shortcuts, organizers, alerts and blogging assistants? Well, you can. Read on to learn about the 100 Firefox add-ons you need to create a truly brilliant browser that will make your life oodles easier.

40 Essential iPhone Applications For Web Designers – Web designers can be struck with inspiration at any time, but if you’re away from your computer there isn’t much you can do. Well, with an iPhone or an iPod Touch that has all changed. Now you can make notes, pick color schemes, ping servers and even FTP a file to your device, edit it and then upload it back. Why bother being tied down to a desk anymore when you can work just as easily from a beach if inspiration hits you?

Create a Clean and Colorful Web Layout in Photoshop – Tutorial9 explains how to create a clean corporate layout in Photoshop.

The Dawning of Internet Censorship in Germany – Germany is on the verge of censoring its Internet: The government – a grand coalition between the German social democrats and conservative party – seems united in its decision: On Thursday the parliament is to vote on the erection of an internet censorship architecture.

How To Ask the Boss If You Can Work Remotely – You’ve considered it. You’ve researched the implications. You’ve spoken to your significant other/landlord/dog and made sure they’re comfortable with the idea. You’re all ready to work remotely. All that remains is (cue suspenseful music) to ask the boss.

A look inside the fastest supercomputer in Europe – What is now the fastest supercomputer in Europe was recently unveiled at a research institute in Jülich, Germany. The computer, named Jugene, is capable of a massive one trillion computing operations per second.

Opera Unite – Opera 10 introduces a new technology called Opera Unite, radically extending what you are able to do online. Opera Unite harnesses the power of today’s fast connections and hardware, allowing all of us to help define the future landscape of the Web, one computer at a time. Read about how Opera Unite is going to change the way we interact on the Web on labs.opera.com.
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Art

• Pete Corp shows off his Lego Slave Leia.
• These 20 breathtaking realistic CG portraits from CGSociety are almost photo-realistic.

Film

• Forget those glittery gold Vampires, here’s a list of 15 Funny Vampire Films, no angst involved.
• The Future of Classic runs down a list of Seven Iconic Shots of the Moon in movies.
• SciFi Wire asks How will the writers of Star Trek approach the sequel film?

Literature

• Free Fiction: Issue 18 of OG’s Speculative Fiction is available free.
• Free Fiction: Read “The Gun” by Philip K. Dick from Planet Stories at Project Gutenberg.
• Free Fiction: Read “Superhero Girl” by Jessica Lee at Fantasy Magazine.
• Interview: The BSC interviews Alan Dean Foster, author of the recent Flinx Transcendent.

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