Whistlers are “noises made by the electrons whizzing about in the magnetic fields that surround the planets of the solar system.” The Nasa Project: Sun Rings is a piece composed by Terry Riley for string quartet and a 60-voice choir, and part of it comes from the whistlers recorded by NASA’s explorations into space. (via Follow Me Here)

Taking good photographs of jewelry is difficult. You have to focus on something small, pick an angle that shows it off well, light it properly, and hope that the colors of the stones won’t look horribly off. Cindy Lichfield, plagued by problems photographing the jewelry she wanted to sell online, invented the Cloud Dome as an inexpensive way to take beautiful pictures of jewelry. As a cloud diffuses light, revealing details and colors, this device filters light to create even lighting over the subject matter. A nice little invention.

I’ve told many people about Call to Protect run by The Wireless Foundation, which takes donated phones and reprograms them for victims of domestic violence to use. SF Chronicle writer Henry Norr draws our attention to a different program that takes old cell phones, donates a few dollars to a designated charity, uses a disabled worker program to refurbish or recycle them, and sells working ones to cell phone carriers in Latin America and the Caribbean. It’s actually a for-profit operation, but they say their goal is to protect the environment and be socially responsible. So if you don’t mind someone making a few bucks off your donated phone down the line, it’s not a bad way to keep it out of the landfill. The company president, biased of course, actually thinks that The Wireless Foundation is duping people. The foundation has collected 1.4 million phones, given 48,677 to the domestive violence cause, recycled 30%, and sold the rest to cover costs. Any proceeds are split between the foundation and charity. If you don’t like either of these options, consider giving your old phone to a relative or friend to keep in their car for calling 911 in emergencies.

You have the right to feel old when…
You’ve missed the age limit of a writing contest by just a few years. The European Space Agency is sponsoring a science fiction writing contest. The Clarke-Bradbury International Science Fiction Competition is aimed at young writers and encourages innovative concepts in space technology. The contest is open to those aged 15 to 30. Time to sponsor a sci-fi writing contest for the old, crotchety, jaded, and disillusioned 31-110s perhaps?

You know you’ve married the right person when…
You’re in the library and in browsing through “The Ultimate History of Video Games” you find this funny passage about the acquisition of Atari by the Tramiels.

Everybody was expecting something draconian to happen. When they first walked in the building, someone got on the PA system and did the line from The Empire Strikes Back. I think it went, “Attention, Imperial storm troops have entered the base.”

You gleefully run over to show it to your husband who you think will appreciate it. He responds “Oh! That was me!” (read my husband’s account of this event)

Medical Antiques Online has photos and information on the history of the stethoscope. Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec invented the stethoscope in 1816 after divising an alternate method of listening to the heart of a young woman. As he was unwilling to place his ear on her chest, he rolled up 24 sheets of paper, placed one end on her chest, listened at the other, and was happy to find that the sound was magnified. The site includes his own description of his discovery that led to the invention. He created the first stethoscope using a wood-turning lathe. ‘Binaural’ models (for both ears) came to market in the 1850s.

A long forgotten Pippi Longstocking story, printed in 1949 in a children’s magazine, was rediscovered by Lena Toernqvist, secretary of the Astrid Lindgren Society. The short tale tells of a visit by Pippi to cheer up three children who are facing a dreary Christmas. No one in the Lindgren family had heard of the story either. Toernqvist had been preparing for an exhibition of illustrations from Lindgren’s books when she happened across it.

A listing of all the Presidential pets, courtesy of the Presidential Pet Museum in Lothian, Maryland. (via Breaching the Web)

A self-tuning piano? “Carefully controlled electric currents” are used to warm the strings to the correct pitch. It leaves the factory tuned sharp and can then be warmed to the right pitch. No news on whether the heat has an adverse effect on the longevity of the piano wood or strings.

At last, Red Dwarf DVDs will be released in the U.S. Seasons 1 & 2 will be available on February 25. Amazon has preordering ready to go. Of course if you have all the episodes memorized already, well, maybe you’d rather look forward to the movie they keep trying to make. It’s in pre-production. (thanks TVPicks)