This Hubble Space Telescope image of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101) is the clearest, most detailed piece of astronomy porn I've ever seen.

Thanks to Fred Manteghian.

I guess I never really thought about the uniqueness of sand, no matter how many times I heard that expression. <I>Microscopy</I> made me think about it&mdash;and the corollary notion that every beach and sandpit is unique as well.

This A/V presentation from the BBC is a three-minute vacation from your day job. Wonderful pictures.

While riding the <a href="http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/service/fline.htm">F</a&gt; train this morning, I, for some reason, found myself face down on the <a href="http://www.oldnewark.com/education/images/elementary/hawkins/hawkinssts… Street School</a> asphalt. All over again, on this hot, summer, 5th grade afternoon: Jose Quiros pushed his weight down against my lower spine, clenched his angry hands around my 10-year old throat, and announced, clearly and confidently: "I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you..."

The way I figure it, the least <I>Popular Science</I> can do is publish articles like this about jet-packs. If I recall correctly, it predicted we'd <I>all</I> have one in the Twenty-First Century.

My favorite: "I will not have Henry throwing tomatoes at a spinning fan blade whilst yelling at Montjoy."