We are becoming a new species, we are becoming Homo Evolutis. "At TED 2009, Juan Enriquez talked about the new human species emerging before our eyes. Thanks to an array of biological advances and our growing aptitude in robotics, we now find ourselves in the early days of the deliberate creation of what he called a new species." [Via]

WHAT DON'T YOU F*CKING UNDERSTAND?? more inside

Curious I'm-not-a-hacker George. Help me access sites that don't want me to access them... In an non-creepy kind of way. [more inside] more inside

RIP Lux Interior

Neat commercial, where millimeters matter

New Microsoft bug debuts at Bill Gates TED Talk

Mirrorshards: 100-word stories, a new story every day. more inside

Titanoboa - thirteen metres, one tonne, largest snake ever. 'Titanic' boa fossils provide clues to past tropical climate.

Cornify! And to think I never knew I needed it...

What are the Benefits of Mind Uploading? [Via]

Finding Esther In 1926, Emma Alice Smith, aged 16, cycled off from her home in Waldron, East Sussex, England, headed for the railway station. She was never seen again. Eighty-three years later, a fictionalized account of her disappearance has been made into a film by the local dramatics society The Waldron Community Players - which has led the police to reopen her case as a possible murder investigation.

World's First Garbage Truck Powered by Garbage A town in Britain has recently demonstrated its new "'leccy vehicle" - an electric garbage truck that is fueled by the garbage it collects.

So anyway, one photographer sent a daguerreotype of the Obama inauguration along to another photographer whose wife then found the first photographer in a Gigapan picture also taken at the inauguration. Since the daguerreotype process was announced in 1839 and GigaPan was spun off in 2008 (and was itself the result of R&D deployed as part of the Mars Rover mission) that puts nearly 170 years between the two. Which is, I dunno, kinda neat really.

Fifty years ago today, February 3rd 1959 a small plane carrying musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson from a stop in Clear Lake Iowa to another show in Moorehead Minnesota on their Winter Dance Tour (pics from a show in Green Bay Wisconsin) crashed in a snowstorm, killing all three musicians as well as the 21 year old pilot. This was not the "day the music died"- three great talents died, their music never will.

Indian project one-ups OLPC with ten dollar laptop The laptop was developed by students at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and will be distributed as part of the National Mission on Education. more inside

And it wasn't Galileo. Despite his innovative work, Harriot remains relatively unknown. Unlike Galileo, he did not publish his drawings. Unlike Galileo, Harriot is not being widely celebrated during 2009, dubbed the International Year of Astronomy as a commemoration of the telescope's 400th year. This has been another episode of Publish or Perish.

Perfect Balance . Another fun game at Kongregate!! more inside

Saddlebacking. [Via]

John Martyn dies aged 60, though he surprised many by making it this far after some hard living, interspersed musically with some beautiful songs, an album of searing emotional honesty and a willingness to experiment.

Yakushima is a beautiful island off the southern tip of Japan. Its ancient forest, including many cedars over 1000 years old, inspired Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke. For one photoblogger, a short visit led to a three-day trek over the island's peaks. more inside