Any high school-aged coders with a love for space and NASA out there? Read on. Zero Robotics, a robotics programming competition set up through MIT, is entering its fourth year — and there’s still a day left to register. Here’s how it works: Students can sign up in teams for free on the website. Over the course of the semester, they compete head-to-head with other teams in writing programs — sort of situational, scenario-based challenges. Gradually, the challenges get more difficult. Then, after several phases, finalists are selected to compete in running code for the International Space Station (ISS) — which is broadcast live by an astronaut on board the ISS. Since 2009, the competition has allowed participants to compete in a series of coding challenges through an online platform. “There’s a whole ranking system that tells them how well they’re doing as they’re going through it,” said Jake Katz, co-founder of the competition and research assistant in the Space Stations laboratory at MIT. “And throughout the course of the season, the game gets slightly more complex. They start out in two dimensions and then they will soon, around Oct. 5, be going into 3-D competition — then we add some additional challenges towards the end.” The original kick off for this year’s competition was on Sept. 8. But, Katz said, there’s still a day left to register. “There have been people participating so far, and are already off and running with it, but it’s still possible to join in and make a submission for the first phase,” he said. “We have 75 teams so far, and that’s just from the U.S.” There are an additional 43 teams from 19 other countries, he said. The competition is sponsored by NASA, DARPA, TopCoder, Aurora Flight Sciences, CASIS and MIT. TopCoder, a programming company, designed the platform the games are played on. “In 2009, when we started, we had just two teams competing against each other,” Katz said. “Just two years later, we had about 100 teams from all over sign up.” Check out the promotional video below: What kind of code would you write to run on board the ISS? Let us know in the comments. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/26/zero-robotics-mit/
How to get out of your presentation… and into detention. Read more: http://www.wimp.com/when-you-have-nothing-prepared-for-your-speech-presentation-in-class/
Chameleons are some of the coolest reptiles out there. They’re some of the most unique camouflage artists in the animal kingdom because they don’t just blend into their surroundings — they change their skin to fit in. Chameleons don’t always camouflage themselves, however. They can also be bright and completely stand out, as one panther chameleon owner found out recently. He holds the reptile in front of the mirror and captures the amazing transformation in real time. This is so cool! (via Goodfullness) Chameleons are basically the coolest pets ever. I can’t stop watching this video! Share it with the animal lovers you know who will be amazed by this natural work of art. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/chameleon-changing/
When McCann commissioned photographer Nick Meek to create a dreamlike, beautiful landscape full of flowers in order to promote a new Sony television, they probably didn’t realize he was going to build heaven on earth. What Nick was able to create in this Costa Rican village was truly breathtaking. It’s so beautiful, it’s hard to believe this is real. Nick brought an amazingly beautiful vision to life for Sony’s new 4K TV. Nick Meek The team and the entire Costa Rican town collected 8 million beautiful flower petals, representing the 8 million pixel display of the 4K television. Nick Meek They they spread those petals around the gorgeous countryside. Nick Meek The petals erupted from a volcano, covered an entire town and fell beautifully from the sky. Nick Meek Imagine walking through the natural beauty of Costa Rica, its lush landscape covered in soft petals. Nick Meek It’s so beautiful, it seems like it couldn’t possibly be real. Nick Meek Amazing. Nick Meek Nick Meek is an incredibly artist. Nick Meek Source: Nick Meek via My Modern Met These kinds of advertisements are truly an art form. If you think the pictures of this advertising campaign are beautifully surreal, you need to see the video, too: If you were moved by this advertisement, click on the button below to share this beautiful creation with others. Read more: http://viralnova.com/explosion-of-flowers/
“Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water …” So says the tagline used to advertise Jaws 2, and it rings a little too true after watching this video. What these divers recorded while swimming in Australia’s Tasman Peninsula might look like a giant tentacle monster, but it’s actually nothing to be afraid of. Apparently these long, glowing “worms” are called pyrosomes, and they’re made up of thousands of salps, otherwise known as “sea squirts.” Salps are marine invertebrates that move via jet propulsion, which involves pumping water into their bodies and pushing it back out. Scientists aren’t sure how these tiny animals are able to coordinate their behavior and move as one colony, but some believe that they communicate with light signals. For more information on pyrosomes, check out this article. Read more: http://www.wimp.com/sea-squirts-giant-pyrosome-mick-baron/
It’s easy for students to get more caught up with getting a good grade in the class than retaining any useful information. Watch as Professor Anil Rao from the University of Florida teaches his students why good grades don’t mean anything if you didn’t learn something in the process. Read more: http://www.wimp.com/why-good-grades-are-meaningless/
Mother’s Day has come and gone, but this thoughtful gift from four adorable Icelandic boys will surely last a lifetime. Gísli is an orthodontist and a father of four, so when Mother’s Day rolled around this year, he decided to combine two of his great loves into one epic gift for his wife. He filled a bucket with impression material that is most often used for creating molds of teeth and had his sons dip their hands in it. After 10 minutes of them all keeping as still as possible (the youngest did surprisingly well at staying patient), they removed their hands and were left with a mold. Gísli poured a stone mixture into it…when you see the end result, you’ll be amazed! This is hands down the most unique and creative Mother’s Day gift I’ve ever seen…or is it hands up? Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/cute-mothers-day-gift/
Getting ready for a new school year can be a challenge for most parents, but while many think getting up at 7 a.m. to see your kids off to the bus is rough, it’s nothing compared to what this father does. Jose Luis Dominguez is determined to give his two kids — seven-year-old Luis and eight-year-old Kayla — the best possible chance at a good education, something he never had the opportunity to get. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘VN_PG_DCBP_ATF’); }); The three live in Mexico but through sheer determination Dominguez managed to get his two kids enrolled in a school in South Texas, just across the street from the restaurant he works at. Every morning and afternoon, the trio make the trek across the Hidalgo International Bridge, over the Rio Grande, to and from home. The 32-year-old says life is ugly across the border, with kids frequently being abducted by drug cartels. He feels a lot safer knowing his little ones are in school in the U.S. while he’s at work. Talk about going the extra mile for your kids. For Dominguez, a quality education away from drug violence is reason enough to wake up every morning and hike across an international border in the hopes it will get his children walking on a better path. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/education-walk/
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot(‘/37886402/VN_PG_DTBT_ATF’, [728, 90], ‘VN_PG_DTBT_ATF_581168f291861’).addService(googletag.pubads()) googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_MB”, “VN_”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_SC”, “VN_ORGN”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_TS”, “TS_D”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_AT”, “VN_ORGN_PG_D_REV_1.0_ASYNC_DEFAULT”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_CC”, “VN_ORGN_D_UNK_118244_A”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_PG”, “1”); googletag.enableServices(); googletag.display(‘VN_PG_DTBT_ATF_581168f291861’); }); Over 20 years ago, Amanda Lemmond lost her mother to bone cancer. The 10-year-old was placed in foster care with nothing more than a stuffed Easter bunny to remember her by. Lemmond thought her past had been forgotten. Then, a strange box arrived on the porch of her Colorado home. Inside were photos, her birth certificate, and, most incredibly, letters her mom had written just weeks before she died. While moving, the executor of her mother’s estate found the keepsakes and forwarded them along. Watch as she finally reads one of the letters her mother wrote her over two decades ago. Lemmond told NBC News: “After my mom passed away, I was shipped all over the country. From Washington States to Texas, to Louisiana, to Texas, back to Washington, back to Texas — in and out of state care — foster care. These are a glimpse into my past that I’ve sorely longed for, for over two decades now.” Read More: Airman’s ‘Engagement Game’ Turns Out To Be A Huge Surprise From His Fiancée The letters might be 23 years late, but every word still means so much. Now I have to go call my mom. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/late-mom-letters/
Russian fans celebrate during a women’s ice hockey game at the Shayba Arena in Sochi on Feb. 9 at the 2014 Winter Olympics.Image: Petr David Josek/Associated Press The first weekend of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, is in the books, with the first two days of competition delivering impressive performances and viral moments aplenty. If you haven’t managed to catch any of the thrilling action out of Sochi yet, it’s definitely not too late to get excited about the Winter Olympics. And if you live far from Russia and are trying to catch these events in real time, you may need an adrenaline rush on par with a run through the slopestyle course just to stay awake. That’s why we put together this Music Monday playlist of pump-up songs that are sure to get your feet moving and your heart racing. So whether you’re an Olympian preparing to launch yourself off a ramp at 60 mph or a superfan trying to stay awake through that 2 a.m. curling match, this playlist will get you in the mindset to go wild for the Sochi Games. Have something to add to our playlist? Share with us in the comments, below, or on Spotify, and we’ll add it. How to Share Your Song With Us 1. To follow Mashable on Spotify, click here. If a popup window asks you to launch an external application, accept. This just means the browser will open up Spotify. 2. Follow Mashable, or send us music by clicking “Send Music.” 3. To send music while browsing tracks within Spotify, follow the MashableHQ account. Then right-click (ctrl + click) on the song you want to send, and click the “Share” option. 4. By default, Spotify pulls up the “Post to Feed” option. Instead, select the “Send to Friend” tab, type in “MashableHQ” and hit the blue “Send” button. If “MashableHQ” doesn’t show up when you’re trying to send a track, make sure you’re following the account. If you’re still having problems sending a song after that, let us know in the comments, below, and we’ll help you fix the problem. BONUS: Fans Celebrating at the Winter Olympics Fans Celebrating at the Winter Olympics Under and Out! Fans limbo under a U.S. flag to celebrate Jamie Anderson’s gold medal in the women’s snowboard slopestyle final at the 2014 Winter Olympics on Feb. 9 in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Image: Sergei Grits/Associated Press Get Pumped A fan awaits the start of the women’s freestyle skiing moguls final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Feb. 8. Image: FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images Watchful Eye Judges look on during the ladies’ normal hill individual ski jumping training at the Ruski Gorki Jumping Center on Feb. 9. Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images Go, Fight, Win! Norwegian fans enjoy the atmosphere during the alpine skiing men’s downhill at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center on Feb. 9 in Sochi. Image: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Russian Pride A Russian supporter smiles on his way from the Laura Cross Country […]
