Vida rural rusa

Lustrosas pin-up rusas

Fuente: englishrussia.com

 

El chip del futuro “leerá” el pensamiento

Fuente: muy interesante

Investigadores de Intel Labs han presentado un chip futurista que cuenta aproximadamente con entre 10 y 20 veces los motores de procesamiento que se encuentran ahora dentro de los procesadores de marca Intel Core más populares.

Se trata de un procesador experimental de 48 núcleos cuyo objetivo a largo plazo es incorporar unas prestaciones "increíblemente mejoradas" a los ordenadores futuros, como interfaces para la comunicación entre el ser humano y los dispositivos electrónicos. Este prototipo contendrá 48 núcleos de procesamiento de Intel totalmente programables, la mayor cantidad jamás incorporada en un único chip de silicio.

Algunos investigadores vaticinan que los ordenadores incluso podrán leer las ondas del cerebro, por lo que tan sólo deberemos pensar en un comando como, por ejemplo, dictar palabras para realizar esa tarea sin tan siquiera hablar.

Intel Labs ha llamado a este chip en prueba single-chip cloud computer, porque recuerda la organización de los centros de datos que se utilizan para crear una "nube" (cloud) de recursos informáticos a través de Internet, un concepto usado para ofrecer servicios como, por ejemplo, las transacciones bancarias online, las redes sociales y las tiendas on-line a millones de usuarios.

¿Por qué se mueven solas las piedras en el Valle de la Muerte?

Fuente: José Manuel Nieves, en El Blog

Desde hace más de medio siglo, un curioso misterio desafía a cuantos geólogos han intentado resolverlo sin éxito. Se trata de sólidas rocas, de todos los tamaños, que se mueven solas y aparentemente a sus anchas por una extensa área arenosa  (que es el fondo de un antiguo lago) conocida como Racetrack Playa, en el Valle de la Muerte, California. Como prueba de sus "viajes", las rocas dejan largos rastros y huellas inconfundibles, como puede apreciarse en las fotografías.

 

 

Lo curioso, a juzgar por las marcas que dejan, es que no todas siguen una misma dirección, sino que sus trayectorias a menudo se cruzan y se superponen trazando una complicada red de huellas, como las que dejarían muchos coches pasando por un mismo cruce (ver imagen).

 

Tampoco los tamaños de las rocas parecen importar. Desde pequeñas piedras que caben en la palma de la mano a grandes peñascos más grandes que un hombre. Todas ellas se mueven, y nadie acierta a saber muy bien el por qué. Además, para terminar de complicar las cosas, los movimientos no se producen siempre, sino sólo en periodos muy concretos que se suceden cada dos o tres años...

Muchas de las marcas dejadas por las rocas revelan, para colmo, que éstas pueden cambiar repentinamente de dirección, o incluso volcar y seguir arrastrándose, o deslizándose, o sea lo que sea que hagan, sobre cualquier otra de sus caras. Son frecuentes los grupos de piedras que han comenzado a moverse en paralelo y en los que uno de los miembros, de repente, cambia de rumbo, hacia la izquierda o la derecha, o incluso en dirección contraria, desandando el camino que había hecho hasta el momento.

A pesar de que se sabe a ciencia cierta que las rocas se mueven, nadie las ha visto aún mientras lo hacen, y tampoco se conoce por lo tanto la velocidad a la que se desplazan.
Fueron los geólogos Jim McAllister y Allen Agnew quienes, en 1948, repararon por primera vez en el extraño fenómeno mientras realizaban estudios en la zona. E inmediatamente comenzaron las especulaciones. Y las expediciones científicas específicamente enviadas para aclarar un misterio que dura hasta nuestros días.

Hasta ahora se han aventurado varias hipótesis, pero por el momento ninguna ha podido ser comprobada. La que goza de mayor aceptación achaca el inusual movimiento al agua que periódicamente surge de debajo la superficie y que se congela formando láminas de hielo sobre las que las rocas se deslizan. Esta teoría fue propuesta por primera vez por George M. Stanley en 1955 y es apoyada desde entonces por numerosos científicos.

Otros, sin embargo, como Robert Sharp y Dwight Carey, sostienen que las características de los rastros dejados por las rocas no pueden deberse, por su geometría, a un deslizamiento sobre hielo. No ha faltado incluso quien apunte que el fenómeno sólo es posible si se da, a la vez, el suelo helado y un fuerte viento, que daría impulso a las piedras. Claro que eso no puede explicar el motivo por el que algunas cambian de dirección o empiezan, incluso, a ir marcha atrás.

Durante los últimos veinte años, investigadores equipados con instrumentos cada vez más sofisticados han acudido al Valle de la Muerte (una de las regiones más inhóspitas del mundo), en busca de una explicación. Pero nadie lo ha conseguido todavía. El vídeo que acompaña estas líneas, realizado por Brian Dunning, muestra por primera vez cómo el agua que se filtra a la superficie  de la Racetrack Playa forma las láminas de hielo sobre las que hipotéticamente se deslizarían las rocas, impulsadas por el viento como si fueran barcos de vela.

Aunque eso está aún por demostrar. Artículo original

¿Necesitas gafas?

Oler a muerto

Fragancias desde la tumba

Fuente: muy interesante

¿Te gustaría oler como Albert Einstein o Elvis Presley? ¿O quizás como Marilyn Monroe o Katherine Hepburn? La empresa My DNA Fragance afirma fabricar perfumes a partir del ADN mitocondrial de personaje famosos ya fallecidos para "recuperar" su olor corporal. ¿Y cómo lo consigue? Muy sencillo: extrayendo el material genético de la colección privada de cabellos de celebridades reunida por John Reznikoff, un curioso personaje que ya ha colaborado varias veces con el Departamento de Justicia estadounidense y con el FBI.

En estos momentos tienen a la venta 6 fragancias: IQ (de Einstein), Entrance (de Joan Crawford), Blu Suede (del Elvis), Monarch (de Katherine Herpburn) y Marilyn (de Marilyn Monroe). El último perfume en ponerse a la venta ha sido el de Michael Jackson, llamado sencillamente M. Cada uno de ellos cuesta 59,99 dólares.
Además, My DNA Fragance ofrece la posibilidad de crear un perfume concentrado personalizado para cada persona a partir de su perfil genético. Sólo hace falta enviar una muestra de piel de la parte interna de la mejilla del cliente. Como reza su lema, aquí “el aroma eres tú”.

Los diecisiete Budas más grandes del planeta

Fuente: environmentalgraffiti

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Image: David Schroeter

Bigger, better, heavier – that seems to be the motto of Asia’s amazing Buddha statues. Our list features actual statues as well as destroyed and planned ones but all have to be taller than 50 m (165 ft). Where does that leave the most famous and sadly destroyed ones, the Buddhas of Bamyan? At 180 ft, they are some of the shortest! Read on to discover which one tops the list. A hint: it’s a good 500 ft!

Have you ever wondered why some Buddhas are depicted standing, some seated and some even lying down? And why they all pose their hands in unique gestures? Not to forget the sheer number of gigantic statues. Well, according to tradition, Buddha images must be high enough so that their feet are above people’s eye level to avoid any accidental soiling.

The elevation is also meant as a reminder for devotees to refrain from pride and ego. While attaining enlightenment, Buddha was in a seated position, therefore this is a favourite position. The hand postures are called mudras and have different meanings, for example fearlessness, instruction, meditation, wish granting and others. Regardless of which giant Buddha you may visit, they are all great tourist attractions that easily take a whole day to explore. Here’s the countdown:

17. Buddha Dordenma, Thimphu, Bhutan 51.5 m (169 ft) – under construction

The Buddha Dordenma project is dedicated to erecting a 169-ft Shakyamuni Buddha statue on a hill slope 100 m above the Wangchu River, overlooking Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital. According to the Dordenma website, the Buddha statue is supposed to “radiate auspicious energy over the country and to all parts of the world, fulfilling the prophecy of bestowing blessings, universal peace and happiness to the whole world.”

The 12 m clay model of the Buddha statue:

Image via dordenma

The statue will be made of bronze and then gilded and house 100,000 similar, yet much smaller Buddha statues. Planning started in 2004 and a 12-m-tall clay model was finished the same year. In 2008, the first parts of the actual statue reached Bhutan where they are waiting to be assembled. Once completed, the site is expected to draw pilgrims from all over the world.

An eye of the Buddha, already resting in Bhutan:

Image via dordenma

16. Buddhas of Bamyan, Afghanistan – 55 m (180 ft) and 37 m (121 ft) – destroyed

The Buddhas of Bamyan demonstrate how the absence or loss of a piece of art can be almost greater than its presence. Standing tall for almost 1,500 years, the destruction of the Buddhas as a deliberate act of intolerance by the Taliban in 2001 shook the whole world.

An absence that has clearly marked the landscape:

Image: Tracy Hunter

All were Standing Buddhas carved into a cliff in central Afghanistan’s Bamyan valley, about 230 km (143 miles) northwest of Kabul. The two tallest statues were 55 m (180 ft) and 37 m (121 ft), respectively, and built during the sixth century at an altitude of 2,500 m (8,202 ft).

One of the Buddhas of Bamyan in 1976:

Image: Marco Bonavoglia

The statues were originally painted and their details modeled and pasted on with a mixture of mud and water coated with stucco that was lost over the centuries. Their destruction took several weeks and lots of dynamite. Unexpectedly, it uncovered about 50 caves, some of them with wall paintings probably stemming from the sixth to eighth century.

… now a gaping hole:

Image: Carl Montgomery

The destruction of the Buddha statues inspired the construction of smaller ones or parks elsewhere as a tribute, and even numerous films and other artworks. Plans to rebuild at least the two tallest statues are underway, with Japan, Switzerland and a host of other countries having pledged support.

15. Tokyo Wan Kannon of Futtsu, Chiba, Japan – 56 m (184 ft)

Futtsu in Japan’s south western Chiba Prefecture houses the Tokyo Wan Kannon, a 56-m-tall Buddha statue. Kannon in Japanese or Guan Yin in Chinese is the term for a bodhisattva associated with compassion as worshipped by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female form. We’ll see other representations below. The one in Futtsu was built in 1961.

The top of the standing Tokyo Wan Kannon:

Image: Mayuno

14. Jibo Dai Kannon of Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima, Japan – 57 m (187 ft)

Jibo literally means “loving mother” and therefore the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy is depicted with a child in her arms. In Japan, the Kannon’s three female forms are meant to depict child giving, mothering in general and being a loving mother. She is the patron saint of motherhood, easy delivery and child-rearing.

Visitors can go inside the 57 m-tall statue or enjoy the enormous Japanese garden with a 14-m Reclining Buddha.

Image via losu.org

13. Guan Yin at Mount Xiqiao, Guangdong, China – 62 m (203 ft)

The 62-m statue is located in the city of Foshan, in China’s south eastern Nanhai district. It stands on a 15 m pedestal, bringing the total height up to 77 m (252 ft).

It is generally believed that the concept of Guan Yin, known in the west as the Goddess of Mercy, originated as the Sanskrit Avalokitesvara, her male form.

The statue of Guan Yin is a popular tourist attraction:

Image: Whw

12. Jibo Kannon at Naritasan Temple, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan – 62 m (203 ft)

Another Jibo Kannon with child in her arms that bears a striking resemblance to the Virgin Mary. These Japanese images of the Kannon nursing a baby are not considered of Buddhist origin but influenced by Christianity, most likely during the Edo Era, when Christianity was banned and converts were persecuted.

Not Mother Mary and the infant Jesus:

Image: Tim Vickerman

11. Leshan Giant Buddha, Leshan, China – 71 m (233 ft)

The Leshan Giant Buddha was carved out of the cliff face overlooking the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in China’s Sichuan province. The statue depicts a sitting Matreyia Buddha, hands resting on his knees, who is so tall that a person can sit comfortably even on his smallest toenail. The statue took 90 years to finish – a testament to ancient building techniques and skill.

Taking it all in stride for centuries – the Leshan Buddha with tourists:

Image: David Schroeter

Construction was started by a Chinese monk named Haithong in 713 CE who hoped that the Buddha would guide shipping vessels along the rivers’ currents. After Haithong’s death, the project came to a halt for almost 70 years due to a lack of funds, then was restarted and finally completed in 803 CE. The area today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

10. Great Standing Maitreya Buddha, Taiwan – 72 m (236 ft)

The Maitreya or Buddha of the Future is also called the Laughing Buddha because of the large smile that seems to shake even his protruding belly. Maitreya worship is not particularly widespread in China or Taiwan and was even forbidden during the Qing period from 1644-1911.

Long earlobes and the world in his right hand – the Laughing Buddha:

Image: Wm Jas

Only four Maitreya Buddhas can be found in Taiwan of which the Great Standing Maitreya Buddha near Beipu at Emei Lake in Xinzhu County is the tallest at 72 m.

9. Awaji Kannon, Awaji Island, Hyago, Japan – 80 m (262 ft)

The Awaji statue might not win a prize for being the most beautiful one portrayed here but it is located on Awaji Island, one of Japan’s oldest settlements. The statue stands on a 20 m (66 ft) pedestal, bringing the total height up to 100 m (328 ft).

Stern-looking in front of a grey sky:

Image: Takaaki Nishioka

8. Ling Shan Great Buddha, Mashan, China – 88 m (289 ft)

Exactly 99 steps lead to the Grand Buddha, an impressive, 88 m bronze statue in Ling Shan, south of China’s Longshan Mountains. The statue weighs over 700 tons and was completed in 1996. Since 2008, visitors can also wander around the new Five Signet or Brahma Palace that were built close by.

Visitors need to do a bit of climbing:

Image: Synyan

Here’s a frontal view of the Buddha:

Image: Holger Naether

7. Dai Kannon at Kita no Miyako Park, Hokkaido, Japan – 88 m (289 ft)

This particular Kannon is another depiction of Avalokitesvara, literally “the Lord who looks down”. Like a Goddess of Mercy, the female form means to embody the compassion of all Buddhas. This Kannon in Ashibetsu, located in the Kita no Miyako Park in Hokkaido, was completed in 1989. Visitors can climb up the statue to enjoy the panoramic views or use one of the eight places dedicated to prayers between the 6th and 20th floor.

Gracefully looking down upon the world:

Image: 100yen

6. Great Reclining Buddha and Standing Buddha near Monywa, Myanmar – 90 m & 116 m

In Monywa, close to the Po Khaung Taung mountain range, visitors are in for a treat as not one but two gigantic Buddha statues wait to be explored. The Monywa Buddha is the largest Reclining Buddha statue in the world. Don’t be fooled by the length – the statue is also 60 ft tall! It was constructed in 1991 and is like a building inside that visitors enter through the Buddha’s, er, rear. They can then walk from the Buddha’s head to his toes, guided by 9,000 metal images of the Buddha, events in his life and his disciples.

The Reclining Buddha with another huge one behind, under construction in 2006:

Image: Colegota

Dimension check – the Buddha is a building!

Image: Colegota

But there’s more; the complex also boasts of one of the tallest standing Buddha statues, called Laykyun Setkyar. Though it is often billed at 132 m (433 ft), the height of the statue is 116 m (380 ft). Since its opening in February 2008, the statue has become one of Myanmar’s main tourist attractions.

Monywa’s Giant Standing Buddha in early 2008:

Image: Wagaung

5. Guanyin Buddha, Sanya, Hainan province, China – 108 m (354 ft)

As mentioned earlier, guanyin statues depict the bodhisattva Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The one in Sanya is located on the tropical island of Hainan, a popular seaside resort. Not unlike the Statue of Liberty, it rests on a specially designed island platform, this one surrounded by the South China Sea. Also noteworthy are the statue’s three sides – one facing inland and two facing the sea so that blessings and protection can be directed everywhere.

Three-faced:

Image: Fanghong

Another remarkable fact is that more than a hundred Buddhist monks from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Mainland China and tens of thousands of pilgrims participated in the construction that took six years. The statue was inaugurated in April 2005.

A close-up does justice to its details but not size:

Image: C. Ling Fan

4. Dai Kannon of Sendai, Japan – 100 m (328 ft)

Here’s another depiction of Avalokitesvara in Sendai, the capital of the Miyagi prefecture. It was built by a once flush and now defunct company in the 1980s to avoid taxes rather than show devotion, a reason why it is loathed by many locals. Visitors enjoy the elevator ride to the top though and admire the spectacular views of the city.

Is that a smile?

Image: Peter

3. Ushiku Daibutsu, Japan – 120 m (394 ft)

At 120 m, the huge Buddha statue in Ushiku, Japan is one of the world’s tallest. But that’s not all; the gently smiling Buddha with the upward facing right palm and downward facing left palm has a secret – a four-level museum related to Buddhism inside and an observation platform at 85 m.

Three times taller than the Statue of Liberty:

Image: aerogat

The statue was completed in 1993 and stands on a 10 m high base and another 10 m high lotus platform. Just to get a vague idea of the dimensions: the Buddha’s hands are each 18 m long, each ear 10 m and the mouth 4 m.

A landmark greeting visitors from afar:

Image: hagsfam

2. Spring Temple Buddha, Henan, China – 128 m (420 ft)

The Spring Temple Buddha, named after the nearby Tianrui hot spring, was built in response to the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamyan, an act the Chinese government condemned. The project was completed in 2002 and tops the Ushiku Daibutsu by 8 m, making it the tallest completed statue in the world.

Serene – the Henan Buddha:

Image: whipsandchains

Part of the statue is a 20 m high lotus throne but it also stands on a 25 m high building, raising its height to 153 m if taken into account. Since 2008, the hill the Buddha is placed upon is also being reshaped into two pedestals, really letting the statue reach for the sky with an expected height of 208 m. Bigger is better? We don’t know yet.

1. Maitreya Buddha, Uttar Pradesh, India – 152 m (500 ft) – planned

Finally, speaking of ambitious projects, the Maitreya Project is an international organisation that aims to build the world’s tallest Buddha statue in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. Planned is a steel-truss construction covered by around 6,000 aluminium-bronze panels.

Part of the project will be education and healthcare facilities for the local population. One aim is also to develop the area for tourism, which is why an accompanying park, cathedral, monastery, convent, guesthouse, library and food facilities are also planned.

A computer-generated image of the proposed statue:

Image: Maitreya Project

If all those tall Buddha statues remind you of the Tower of Babel or you think that the astronomical building costs could better be used for housing for a nation’s poor, here what His Eminence Trizin Tsering Rinpoche, chairman of the Buddha Dordenma project, has to say:

“By building Buddha statues limitless people can pray and offer for thousands of years, thus by receiving blessings, clearing negativities and building virtues, this life will be happy, next life will be better at a higher level then finally everybody will be enlightened. The well being of future generations is dependent on the kindness and compassion of the present sponsors, Buddha makers and those who participate in this activity. This project brings benefit to self and all beings.”

Especially in view of the latest Buddha building craze, this list claims by no means to be complete, so if you know of any tall Buddha statues we have missed, let us know!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

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Tal vez tengas dentro más ritmo del que crees.

Suites galácticas en construcción

Fuente: muy interesante

Un equipo de ingenieros espaciales y arquitectos con sede en Barcelona está construyendo el Galactic Suites Space Resort, un complejo hotelero espacial a 250 kilómetros de la superficie terrestre que dará una vuelta al planeta cada 80 minutos, a 30.000 kilómetros por hora. Los afortunados huéspedes podrán ver el amanecer 15 veces al día. Las reservas podrán hacerse a partir de 2012.

"Es normal que pensemos que nuestros hijos, posiblemente dentro de 15 años, podrán plantearse pasar un fin de semana de vacaciones en el espacio" asegura Xavier Claramunt, promotor de este proyecto pionero. Eso sí, la capacidad del hotel es limitada: solo pueden ocuparlo simultáneamente cuatro turistas y dos astronautas. Para pasar tres noches en sus exclusivas suites, en forma de cápsula y con ventanales para observar la Tierra y las estrellas, habrá que desembolsar tres millones de euros y realizar un entrenamiento de 5 meses en una isla tropical.

La NASA confirma la existencia de enormes "tsunamis solares"

Fuente: José Manuel Nieves, en El Blog

Gigantescas olas de cien mil kilómetros de altura, hechas de plasma supercaliente y que se desplazan a una velocidad superior a los 250 km por segundo. Parece el escenario de una pesadilla infernal, pero la misión de observación solar STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory), de la NASA, ha confirmado que esos enormes "tsunamis de fuego" se dan realmente sobre la superficie del sol.

Es tal la magnitud del fenómeno que los astrónomos, cuando lo observaron por primera vez hace apenas una década, pensaron que se trataba de una especie de ilusión óptica, un engaño de los instrumentos de observación. Nadie, en efecto, creía que algo así fuera posible.

Una de esas olas, por ejemplo, se alzó a una altura superior al diámetro de la Tierra para curvarse después sobre sí misma alrededor de un punto central y expandirse finalmente según un patrón circular que se extendió a lo largo de millones de kilómetros. Muchos dijeron entonces que se trataba de alguna clase de sombra que, de algún modo, estaba engañando a la vista.

Pero las nuevas observaciones de la pareja de satélites de la misión STEREO (cuyas imágenes combinadas ofrecen una visión estereoscópica del sol) no dejan duda posible. La agencia espacial norteamericana ha difundido un vídeo en el que el fenómeno se aprecia con toda claridad.

"Ahora lo sabemos", afirmaba ayer mismo John Gurman, del Laboratorio de Física solar del Centro Espacial Goddard. "Los tsunamis solares son algo real".

Las dos naves gemelas de la misión STEREO confirmaron la autenticidad de los tsunamis solares con imágenes capturadas el pasado mes de febrero, cuando la mancha solar 11012 entró súbitamente en erupción. La explosión lanzó al espacio una nube de mil millones de toneladas de gas ardiente (un fenómeno conocido como "eyección de masa coronal" o CME, por sus siglas en inglés) y causó a la vez un tsunami que empezó a recorrer rápidamente la superficie solar…seguir leyendo

Lámparas Vespa, de Lamponi

Las lámparas diseñadas por Lamponi nos traen recuerdos de de otras décadas. Manillares de scooters legendarios, como Vespa y Lambretta ,y otros elementos constituyen la inspiración del milanés Maurizio Lamponi Leopardi. Puedes verlas y comprarlas en su web.