Happy 50th Birthday, DARPA

DARPA is 50 years old as of February, 2008.

They're the people who, among other things, brought you the internet and GPS, and developed stealth technology. Its role in the U.S. military structure is to fund "blue sky" research projects that could keep up America's military edge, but are seen as too risky or out-there for a traditional defense research department to pursue.

Their model has worked well enough that IARPA, a similar agency but with an intelligence focus, has been created recently with the same goals.

In recognition of their 50th, NewScientist and Popular Mechanics have both published articles. NewScientist's article highlights the successes, failures, and current projects, while the PopSci artcile is a short piece outlining the agency's method.

DARPA themselves posted a video of their history as well, on the site page for their 50th event: Here

Know Your (potential) Candidates #2

Consider this a follow-up to the previous post, where I showed three music videos, each a fan-made endorsement for one of the three main candidates.

GOOD Magazine has posted 3 videos as part of their "America: Love It or Fix It" series. They're a bit cutesy, and definitely aimed at the younger crowd, but it gives a very accessible summary of each candidate's background and agenda. Each one is also only 2 to 3 minutes long.

Head over there and check it out.

Airships

I admit, I have a bit of a thing for airships. Maybe it's the idea of a reasonably swift long-distance flight without the can-of-sardines feel of a narrow jetliner. Maybe it's the throwback to the early 20th century, when those hydrogen behemoths, the zeppelins, traversed the skies.

Either way, I think it's very interesting that the technology is being explored again. One has to wonder if we'd already be at this point if not for early attempts that resulted in such events as the Hindenburg disaster, the crash of the USS Akron, and the British R-101.

That's where we've been. Now, take a look at what's next:


(a prototype for one model of the hybrid* airships)



*: hybrid in the sense that they only get a portion of their lift from lighter-than-air gas. The remaining lift comes from lifting-body designs and/or small wings, similar to a traditional aircraft.

Historical Maps, animated

If you haven't seen it, Maps of War is really worth checking out.

I had some pretty bad history teachers growing up, and it really wasn't until college that I took another look at history. It's a big part of how the world became what it is today, and, as such, is an important thing for anyone with an interest in international affairs to at least have a general awareness of.

That said, one of the hardest things in those early history classes was keeping track of all the maps, all the rising and falling empires, and when that was all happening.

Not to sound like too much of a fanboy, but Maps of War illustrates these beautifully. Granted, they skip on the details, but the trade-off is worth the visual appeal:

See this one, on the spread of Democracy from Rome to the modern day:


Or this one, on the ruling powers in the Middle East throughout history:


Go take a look at the ones they have, and maybe shoot them an email asking them to make more:
Maps of War