Rainshadow

Real, physical places form the Net's backbone: data centers, under-sea cables, junctions, optic fiber pipes. Wired traced a single bit's journey from England, across the US, and into Asia—a fascinating reminder at how physical the virtual really is.

This fortress, which looks like a heavily armed gas station preparing for a zombie invasion (without the gas pumps) is a stopping point for emails sent to many three-letter government agencies. It's far enough away from DC to survive a nuclear blast, but close enough to service all the relevant entities that depend on them. More beautiful, informative postcards from locations you may never have expected were so important over at: [Wired]

Bare is a conductive ink that is applied directly onto the skin allowing the creation of custom electronic circuitry. This innovative material allows users to interact with electronics through gesture, movement, and touch. Bare can be applied with a brush, stamp or spray and is non-toxic and temporary. Application areas include dance, music, computer interfaces, communication and medical devices. Bare is an intuitive and non-invasive technology which will allow users to bridge the gap between electronics and the body.

Sonja Bäumel's project (In)visible Membranes: Life on the Human Body and Its Design Applications is a "fusion of fashion, philosophy, and science that explores how bacteria on our skin could be used to create clothing."

I've always been told that depositing large amounts of cash through the ATM was dubious and should be taken to the teller instead. I was wondering whether the same applied to large checks. Anyone use ATMs anything besides withdrawing cash?

Bill "Caution: Awesome Awesomeness" S. says:

Communication devices. Seriously. Spy trick to communicate internationally without detection:

Open an account, give two guys cards and set up a code system ($20 w/drawl means Plan B, $100 deposit is Plan C)

One guy in, say London, w/draws a set amount (say $20)

The other guy can instantly see the money has been taken out and knows what it means

Read about it once as an example of why all the communications monitoring in the world won't due you much good...

Those few who ventured outside, especially at dawn, were greeted by a Martian sky, familiar landmarks blotted out by the heavy red dust blowing by.

[Image: Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images. Sydney office buildings seen through the haze of a dust storm on September 23, 2009].

It's not hard to imagine that if we ever terraformed Mars, the result would be something like this. Minus the ocean, of course.

The speech that William Safire drafted for President Nixon in the event that the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded to die on the moon:

[Image: The first page of Safire's speech, via gawker.com].