Explaining Twitter

Here is a great video to explain the little box on the right labeled "Tim's Twitter Updates" and why the stuff in it changes so randomly. Enjoy the show and check out more web concepts explained in plain english at http://www.CommonCraft.com/show

Public Service Announcement

This is a small Public Service Announcement to tell everyone about a COOL new site that helps you improve your vocabulary while also giving rice to hungry people!! FreeRice.com has a simple word matching game that has you pick the meaning of a given word. As you play, the words get slightly harder until you get one wrong. Each time you get a correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. Advertisers at the bottom of the screen pay for the rice while you play the game!

After only 5 minutes I had several hundred grains of rice donated and was in the 30's vocab range (max is 50--Genius level!). The game was fun and a good way to brush up on forgotten words. The skill level algorithm kept me on my toes without making me feel too dumb or too smart. Overall, FreeRice.com is a much more useful tool for burning a few minutes online than watching a YouTube video or reading another bogus chain email. Give it a try! At the very least, someone will get fed.

Sunshine ZERO-G video

I am going on another ZERO-G flight this weekend!!! I am excited to be flying in the new 35-seat configuration. More seats and more floating space--what a combo!

Below is a clip showing some clips from a ZERO-G flight I was on with the production team for the movie "Sunshine" (opening July 20 in the US). Check it out for some shots of Dan Florez floating around!!

Space videos from MARS

Our space friend Ryan Kobrick has been posting video updates from his team at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah online. If you want to know what the future of space exploration looks like (including a preview of who will be there doing the exploring), check out the videos.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Rykoby