Is that a h-h-h-hand? Or is it a, a, f-f-f-f-foot?

Sort of, anyway.

That’s a very, very strong earthquake .

The hottest day of the year - the official temp is 82°, but it feels more like 90°. I had to turn one of the Macs off.

I wish I could say that dinner will be this salad (cantaloupe, grapes, white peaches, white nectarines) with many dollops of ice cream on top, but that is not the case. A honey yogurt dressing will be made.

Sometime in the not-too-distant future,a two-minute pass with the blue light will eradicate the bad stuff in your mouth. But will it come with that cool electronic sound, and maybe a soothing Darth Vader quote or two?

The special of the day might be a spirulina concoction, with other menu choices from the rice, tomatoes, potatoes, onions grown in the future greenhouses on Mars .

She blinks, she talks, she seems to breathe. Lifelike skin. Gestures. A slight fluttering of the eyelid.

Imagine a doll-sized one. Parents wrapping and putting one under the tree. During the night, it unwraps itself, and is standing by the little girl’s bed in dawn’s early light. Aaaiiieee!

Two of my favorite subjects lately.

When I was in first grade, my mom knitted me a red sweater with green pompoms to tie at the neck. I know it’s cute, because I still have it in a box somewhere. The minute I got to school, I pulled it off. The itchy wool drove me crazy.

Now, there’s a new wool that has the characteristic scratchiness and shrinking nature removed through a process called ‘bio-polishing’.

This article also explains why the military is showing such a keen interest in the new material.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Pitt conclude that chem textbooks don’t give students the whole picture, focusing instead on explanation of basics. In contrast, articles in the science media , such as Scientific American magazine, provide a broader range of knowledge, incorporating explanation plus analyses and syntheses.

In a cleanup effort before the 2008 Olympics, volunteers in Beijing recently removed 10 tons of garbage from Mount Everest. It is estimated that 615 tons remain .

All nine symphonies by the BBC Philharmonic under Gianandrea Noseda are yours for downloading as MP3s. Symphonies 1 and 3 available today till 5:30 p.m. Tomorrow, 2, 4, and 5 available till 5:30 p.m. Information on the rest can be seen here .

By replacing copper and aluminum wires with carbon nanotubes , scientists at UC-Irvine have created the fastest data transmission ever.

A new polymer created by a team of Australian and U.S. scientists has a unique lattice to allow shaping of plastic with UV light.

A frightening aspect of the meth user’s life is now being seen by dentists in parts of the U.S. Warning: unpleasant image within NY Times article.

Our instincts tell us how to react to dangerous situations. A common defense is freezing in place, a behavior that can be induced by simply showing the subject a picture of say, human injury.

Which explains why my unfortunate choice of movies this past weekend was not the most relaxing.

Helicopters that can swarm like flocks of birds, each with its own IP address, and able to pass on data over a wireless network - from University of Essex scientists.