Fish in Forest

Is it a dream that fish can swim in the forest? No, it does exist in reality! During the rainy season in the Amazon, the water level of the rivers can rise 10m or more. Thus the rainforest is transformed into part of the river where fish and dolphins swim through the tree trunks. The flooded forest becomes fish's paradise, for they have more places to hide from predators. The trees can also stand in the water for 6 months or more. I learned all this from BBC's Wild South America, another amazing natural world series.

I'm so fascinated with this magic transformation of space in nature. I can't help thinking that even the natural world possesses such flexibility and possibility, what about architecture? Shouldn't there be more wonders to be created?

Saving Galápagos

Last week I watched a PBS show on Galápagos Islands, which reveals how the booming tourism is threatening the endemic species. Tonight ABC News took a similar look at the issue -

Today, the Galapagos face a different kind of threat: tourism. While the Galapagos hosted 10,000 visitors 30 years ago, last year there were 161,000 visitors. They brought in approximately $350 million, a vast sum for this struggling country.

To support tourism, the local population has grown from a modest 5,000 to 30,000.

Unbeknownst to many tourists, the island does not have a sewage system. Sewage is left to seep into the ground and the sea. With the spike in tourism, the Galapagos' pristine landscape is in danger of being transformed.

(full article)

These facts are really frightening. If tourism and development continue to grow, this "living laboratory of evolution" would eventually be destroyed. My Ecuadorian friend Cristina, a scientist, has been to the islands twice. She told me how amazing the wildlifes were, but at the same time lamented on the negative impacts of tourism. I definitely want to go there to see the species, but I can't accept the fact that my presence will do any harm to the islands.

Fortunately, Ecuador has started exploring clean energy to deal with the air pollution. For instance, wind turbines were installed earlier this year. The government proposed to declare the islands fossil fuel free by 2015. They also made regulations to limit the number of tourists. Hopefully this exotic place on earth will return to a more peaceful time.

Life After People

Last night I watched the trailer of an upcoming show called Life After People on History channel. It depicts to us a world after all humans disappear where plants and animals take control again. The images remind me of some scenes from sci-fi movies like 12 Monkeys and Children of Men. I also wonder how much it is based on Alan Weisman's book The World Without Us. It seems to be a very fascinating and thought-provoking show.

This show will be on History channel on Jan 21. I will miss it due to my trip, but hopefully can catch up later!
more info: http://www.history.com/minisites/life_after_people/

Michel Gondry's trick

Learned about this cool video from a Michel Gondry forum: Michel Gondry solves Rubik's cube with his feet.

If you can't figure it out, like me, here's the solution -

The Power of Visual Analysis

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Source: http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/personal/matt.davis/Cmabrigde/

Isn't it amazing? Now I won't worry about typos :P

Earthlike Planet Found!

The extremely exciting news for the day!!
The new planet is about 50 percent bigger than Earth and about five times more massive. The new “super-Earth” is called Gliese 581 C, after its star, Gliese 581, a diminutive red dwarf star located 20.5 light-years away that is about one-third as massive as the sun.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18293978/

Seeing is Believing - UFO Sighting Mar 11, 2007

Last night I took a walk in the neighborhood, and noticed the clouds appeared in strange shape: like dark grey smokes. I got a feeling that something unusual would happen. Around 8pm I was walking towards north in a large open field, suddenly this around translucent green object appeared in between the clouds, as big as the size of a full moon. It moved and jumped toward east at high speed while flashing, and then disappeared. The whole experience took only 3-5 seconds. Being a UFO believer, I was totally overwhemled with the sight. Wish I could take video!

In this case, SEEING is BELIEVING :) also the title of Peter Jenning's 2-hr special show on UFOs (http://www.crystalinks.com/ufos2005.html). Man's curiosity and passion for the unkown will never die!