December 2011

Charles Babbage in 1860

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The father of computer science Charles Babbage was born on December 26, 1791 in London, England. He’s remembered for designing the difference engine and the Analytical Engine, the first mechanical computer programmable to perform any kind of calculation.

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Tomorrow at last the NBA 2011/2012 season is starting. What are the favorites teams for the title? This year, predictions are more difficult than ever because of the lockout: possibly there will still be major trades and the preseason was very short so it will take some time to see the teams at their best. Let’s see which teams might be the Conference semi-finalists.

Titan and Dione with Saturn rings in the background (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

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One of the photographs taken by the Cassini spacecraft is truly extraordinary: Titan and Dione appear so close as to touch each other and in the background there are Saturn’s rings. Actually, Titan is at a distance of approximately 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Cassini while Dione is about 3.2 million kilometers (2 million miles) from the spacecraft. It’s therefore an optical effect but the combination of elements is really fantastic!

Stephen Lang as Commander Nathaniel Taylor

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Terra Nova is a colony created in the Cretaceous trahnks to the discovery of a space-time rift that allows the opening of a portal to the past to travel 85 million years back in time. The trip is one way only because the portal only works from the future to the past, though there are hints about the possibility of sending radio signals towards the future. In 2149, the Shannon family joins a “pilgrimage”, a group of settlers who regularly travel in time when the portal is opened to become part of the community of Terra Nova.