Little Bear
Audrey's favourite toy is Little Bear (followed by Hippo, Big Bear and Sophie).
But today Little Bear suffered a setback.
I marked the sad event by uploading this video of happier times!
747 Piggyback
An enduring image from my childhood (as a space obsessed kid) was the Space Shuttle being piggybacked on the back of a 747.
Image: NASA/Carla Thomas
So what a thrill to go inside the now retired Shuttle Carrier Aircraft during a recent visit to Houston.
Thanks to everyone at Nasa and my mate Destin for being cameraman!
Some extra footage below not used in the main video.
John Nash
The famous mathematician John Nash died last week.
He and his wife were sadly killed in a car crash as they returned from Nash's collection of the Abel Prize.
Nash was known to many through the film A Beautiful Mind, so it was inevitable that we'd be asked by many people to make a Numberphile film about him.
These two videos - from Numberphile and Numberphile2 - focus mainly on his work on geometry and Nash Embedding Theorem.
These discoveries are are perhaps more beloved my mathematicians than Nash's more "famous" and Nobel Prize-winning work on game theory.
Some people have commented that the videos do not discuss Nash's death. They suggest we filmed it before the accident or were unaware of his passing.
This is not the case.
However we decided these videos should be timeless - something which may be watched today or in three years time.
Sure, today they are being viewed in the tragic context of Nash's death.
But in a year or two, we thought it would be wrong to emphasise a car crash rather than a lifetime of extraordinary work.
This blog post is a prime example of how, for now, the videos can be framed in the context of Nash's passing.
But I am pleased they are timeless and not pegged only to the "news cycle".
When memories of a sad car crash in New Jersey have faded, the videos can continue as a small tribute to the work of a beautiful mind.
A Printed 'Plane Crash Corner'
Many listeners to the Hello Internet podcast will know about Plane Crash Corner.
This is a semi-regular segment when I discuss the latest aviation disasters with a slightly bemused and fearful CGP Grey.
You can only imagine my delight when this email and picture arrived today.
Hello Brady!
My friend T.X. Watson and I are huge fans of plane crash corner. We just graduated community college, and while we were there we ran the a free-press, student run paper as editor-in-chief and copy editor.
We thought because of your experience in journalism and your love of plane crash corner, you would enjoy this fan tribute we did to your mini-segment.
One of our editors wrote about the frequency of plane crashes and big plane crash stories, so we decided to title it “Plane Crash Corner.”
Attached is a photo of the two of us holding the published segment.
Best,
Faith Gregory
From the NECC Observer (Northern Essex Community College) out of Haverhill, Massachusetts
Up on the Plateau
A while back I visited Chile, making films for Deep Sky Videos.
We visited various sites and telescopes associated with the European Southern Observatory, including the Very Large Telescope.
I've gradually been releasing the videos ever since (it is a big editing job).
This week's release was a real highlight - from our visit to Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
Located in the barren Atacama Desert, ALMA's main operations are at 2,900m. This means they are just low enough to avoid the designation of "high altitude" for work purposes.
On arrival, we were lucky enough to meet a Deep Sky Videos fan working at ALMA - scientist Denis Barkats.
After medical checks and collecting emergency oxygen cylinders (just in case), we drove up to 5,000m and the main ALMA site, on the Chajnantor plateau.
Not a llama at ALMA but a related vinuca
Parked among the array of dishes
Denis joined us and I co-opted him into being our star on camera - he was much better qualified than me to be "tour guide" for the video.
Me and Denis (ALMA in the background just the left of us)
The main ALMA site was remarkable, 60-odd radio antennae scattered across the moonscape like giant robotic chess pieces.
And they really are like chess pieces. Depending on scientific needs, the antennae are strategically moved around the giant chessboard (measuring 20km by 20km) to optimise there performance as an epic interferometer.
Despite being slightly light-headed and needing to ensure we always moved slowly, I managed to film a few nice clips for the video.
But best of all (and quite unexpectedly), the ALMA staff even "turned on" the telescopes and swivelled them about.
It was the ultimate high-tech ballet.
Pic: Clem & Adri Bacri-Normier (wingsforscience.com) / ESO
Namche Bazaar
The second big earthquake to hit Nepal had an epicentre reported to be near Namche Bazaar.
Details are still unknown, but this was especially sad news to me because Namche has been a special place on my travels (from 2012 and 2013).
Namche is where a trek to Everest Base Camp (on the Nepal side) really begins.
After landing at Lukla you walk along a valley for the first day. But things really start on Day Two when you cross the Hillary Suspension Bridge and walk up a mountain to Namche Bazaar.
It is on this climb you get your first distant glimpses of Everest.
The first glimpse of Everest through the trees while walking towards Namche Bazaar
View out the hotel window at Namche
Your first ascent is rewarded with the colourful sight of Namche's rooftops.
And the bustling village of Namche - a sort of the "capital" of the Everest region - is your last chance to really buy anything useful before you head higher and away from modern luxuries.
Shopping at Namche
Heading back from Everest, glimpsing Namche also feels like a homecoming.
Overlooking the town
It is the first place you can splash out and "go out for dinner".
Namche Bazaar is a pretty and bustling place, cradled in a bowl between towering mountains.
I hope the town and its people have not been hit too hard.
Namche Bazaar 2013
Penguins and Vader - Photos
Some snaps from our Hello Internet event at Bristol Zoo on Saturday, May 9.
The event was held at Bristol Zoo to raise money for penguin conservation. The weather was glorious and started with a special talk about penguins by one of the keepers.
As a special surprise, it was revealed a recently-born penguin chick has been named CGP Grey in thanks for Hello Internet's fundraising efforts. More about that in a separate blog post.
After watching the penguin feeding, we then retreated to a special room for the film screening!
Cue John Williams!
Guest of honour David Prowse answers questions after the film.
Hello Internet listeners helped raise over £3,000 for the zoo's penguin conservation project.
Darth Vader may be a one dimensional character (!) but not David.
Thanks to everyone at Bristol Zoo who helped arrange the event, but especially Abi.
Then a chance to meet viewers, and even sign a few technology products (Kindles, iPads and iPhones)... Yes those a penguin feet!
Signing an iPad is high-stakes.
Quite a few iPhones were signed
Selfie with a disposable camera - old school
Signing Knut's poster for the event.
A few more photos
And home, where Grey finally meets Audrey!!!