Lost in Translation - Cross-language computer translation "Language is the source of misunderstandings." — Antoine de Saunt-Exupéry in The Little Prince Important: Systran, which for years provided our translation functionality, shut down their service in May. We're now using Google Translate. Unfortunately, the Google Translate API has been officially deprecated as of May 26, 2011. Google's API will be shut off completely on December 1, 2011. What happens when an English phrase is translated by computer back and forth among a few different languages? Try it for yourself! It is possible to understand Engineers - Where theres a will, theres a way. Understanding Engineers #1 Two engineering students were biking across a university campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want." The first engineer nodded approvingly and said, "Good choice, The clothes probably wouldn't have fit you anyway." Understanding Engineers #2 To the optimist, the glass is half-full. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. Understanding Engineers #3 A priest, an ophthalmologist, and an engineer were golfing one morning behind a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with those guys? The doctor chimed in,"I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!" The priest said, "Here comes the greens keeper. He said, "Hello, George. The greens keeper replied, "Oh, yes. They were silent for a moment.
Meet the world’s only immortal animal Email If you’re thinking McLeod, you couldn’t be further from the truth. What you have to do is think small; not microscopic, just big enough to see with your naked eye. Solitary organisms are (according to current belief) doomed to die, after they completed their life cycle. Still, our Turritopsis nutricula (can I call it Joe?) They’re able to return to polyp stage due to a cell change in the external screen (Exumbrella), which allows them to bypass death. lion fish amung silver 10-Year Sea Census Photograph courtesy A. Fifis, IFREMER Its fuzzy, winter-white coat might look at home in the Himalaya, but the yeti crab was discovered skittering around hydrothermal vents about a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) under the South Pacific off Easter Island (map) in March 2005. The 6-inch (15-centimeter), blind crustacean—officially Kiwa hirsuta— is among the more than 6,000 new species discovered during the Census of Marine Life , a ten-year effort to document all sea life that concluded Monday. (See "Six-hundred-year-Old Worms Among Surprises of Ten-year Sea Survey." ) The project's 500-plus expeditions have also amassed a visual legacy as unique as the organisms uncovered—from which National Geographic News has selected these images as the 13 best of the census. ( Read more about the yeti crab. )
Todd Aki Underwater Marvels Flickr Hive Mind is a search engine as well as an experiment in the power of Folksonomies. All thumbnail images come directly from Flickr, none are stored on Flickr Hive Mind. These photos are bound by the copyright and license of their owners, the thumbnail links take to you to the photos (as well as their copyright and license details) within Flickr. Because some other search engines (Google, etc.) index parts of Flickr Hive Mind, you may have been led here from one of them. Flickr Hive Mind is a data mining tool for the Flickr photography database, allowing search by: tags(keywords); Flickr photography groups; Flickr users, their contacts, and favorites; free text; the Flickr Explore algorithm for interestingness.
A Seahorse Inspects a Diver’s Watch Jun 27, 2012 In this remarkable capture, a seahorse checks out a diver’s watch (and own reflection) underwater. Given the clarity of the clouds in the reflection, this was likely taken quite close to the surface. A reverse image search on Tineye and Google did not identify a valid source for this photograph, if you know more please let us know (update: Many thanks to Hoss Cartwright for the help)! Since there’s not much additional information here are some facts about seahorses: - Seahorse is the title given to forty-seven species of marine fish in the genus Hippocampus - They are mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate waters throughout the world, and prefer to live in sheltered areas such as seagrass beds, estuaries, coral reefs, or mangroves - Seahorses range in size from 0.6 to 14 inches (1.5 – 35.56 cm). [Source: Wikipedia]
Creatures of the Lembeh Strait *notcot in nature , 07:40 On visual inspiration, there is something about the overwhelming sense of calm serenity with nothing but the sound of your own bubbles and the occasional boats overhead… as you just swim about watching the most incredible and mind blowing creatures going about their daily lives all around you… so, on “vacation pictures” ~ here are some of the many (there are hundreds of photos, here’s just a selection of fun ones!) creatures i’ve been encountering diving the Lembeh Strait of Indonesia this week (hiding out at Kungkungan Bay Resort)… and besides the diving creatures, you also get a peek at the large crab i ran into, and the impressive Tuna statue in the center of Bitung (tuna capital of indonesia?) For the whole Kungkungan Bay Resort Lembeh Strait dive-cation series - [The dramatic moon] [Wonderpus vs Mimic Octopus] [Frogfish, Nudibranchs, and more creatures!] Tags: animals - nature - ocean - travel
U.S. Marine Protected Area Photos Photograph by Paul Chesley The United States' nearly 1,800 marine protected areas contain some of the country's most spectacular reefs, underwater archaeological sites, and most valuable commercial fisheries and tourist diving sites. Ranging in size from less than one square mile (2.6 square kilometers) to over 139,797 square miles (362,073 square kilometers), the sites are located from the Arctic to the South Pacific, from Maine to the Caribbean, and as far west as the Philippine Sea. The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, established in 2009, and covering 95,216 square miles (246,608 square kilometers) of submerged lands, is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world. Explorers and scientists are discovering strange and fantastic new species and habitats as they bridge this final frontier on Earth into the deep-sea.
Tourists bask in blue glow of firefly squid 13 Apr 2006 Toyama Bay is the habitat of the world-famous glowing firefly squid, which surface in large numbers every spring in a phenomenon that has been designated a special natural monument. Peak firefly squid season means big catches for fishermen and brisk business for sightseeing boats that provide close-up views of the magical action. Early in the morning, after 3 AM, sightseeing boats depart the Namerikawa fishing port (Namerikawa is also home to the world's only museum dedicated to the firefly squid) in Toyama prefecture, making a short journey to fixed nets located about 1 to 2 km offshore. As the fishermen haul in their nets, the light emitted by the firefly squid causes the sea surface to glow a cobalt blue, evoking squeals of delight from the tourists. Toyama Bay's firefly squid fishing season opened on March 1 and is expected to continue until the end of June. [Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun]
Strange New Fish Found Deep off New Zealand How deep is the ocean, how high am I? How deep is the ocean, how high am I. via : Ghost Room External Stimuli : Hengki Koentjoro, Flickr Stream, Chet Baker Themes : Photography Nodes : cool jazz, gelatinous, Hengki Koentjoro, jellyfish, ocean, underwater Microscopic Sea Creatures By Daily Mail Reporter Updated: 16:31 GMT, 30 September 2010 Bobbing away in the dark depths of the ocean, these tiny creatures display a unique beauty that few get to truly appreciate. And the latest publication by a scientist who studies these microscopic animals is set to become an unlikely bestseller - all thanks to the beauty of plankton. His coffee table book about the amazing life forms that live unseen in the oceans has dozens of remarkable photographs taken through a microscope. Amazing life forms: Dr Richard Kirby's passion for plankton has led to a set of marvellous pictures which feature in his book Ocean Drifters, a secret world beneath the waves like these tiny Jellyfish Hidden beauty: Stunning images of a Horseshoe worm (left) and a Moon Jellyfish The book also points out that without the miniature creatures we would have no fish, oil, gas or clouds, and the sea would lose its distinctive smell. Tiny creatures: Images of Sea Angels (left) and Acantharea