trees

'Treegonometry' uses math for perfect Xmas tree

Let's say you just bought a 6-foot Christmas tree and want to decorate it just so. According to a quick treegonometric calculation, you should use approximately 30 feet of tinsel. (I got that number, incidentally, by multiplying pi by 13, dividing that number by 8, and then multiplying that figure by the tree's height in centimeters.)

Didn't study treegonometry in high school? That's because it just got invented by members of the University of Sheffield's SUMS math society. Two students at the U.K. school set out to calculate the amount of baubles, tinsel, and lights needed to give a tree just the right amount of decorative zing.

Their math might not add up to anything worthy of complex analysis, but it's a festive and amusing idea. "The formulas took us about two hours to complete," 20-year-old student Nicole Wrightham said in a release. "We hope the formulas will play a part in making Christmas that little bit easier for everyone." … Read more

Dalek tree could exterminate Christmas if it wanted to

If you thought the Grinch was bad news, you haven't yet met the Dalek Christmas tree, an alien entity so evil it wants to not only wipe out Christmas, but all of humanity as well. That's one chimney Santa Claus is going to regret sliding down.

Doctor Who's most famous villain has appeared in the abode of Dain Sandoval, a network admin in California. There have been no reports of casualties... yet.… Read more

My Family Tree

Interested in creating your very own detailed family history complete with photos, sounds, and videos? My Family Tree by Chronoplex Software is a free genealogy application designed to help anyone do just that.

The software, which supports standard GEnealogical Data COMmunication (GEDCOM) files, presents an appealing and easy-to-understand interface. There is also a Help file to aid the user in putting the genealogy software through its paces. You can build your family tree from scratch or edit an existing one. The information for every individual is very detailed and it allows the upload of audio, photos, and videos for that … Read more

100,000 'firefly' LED bulbs float through Tokyo

For centuries, the people of Tokyo have been flocking to the Sumida River to see fireworks displays. This past weekend, though, they got a spectacle of a different sort as thousands of electric "fireflies" wafted downstream.

The Tokyo Hotaru Festival 2012 is a modern twist on the age-old Japanese love of watching fireflies along waterways. Some 100,000 blue LED light bulbs floated down the Sumida in imitation of the insects, long celebrated in haiku and other verse.

Measuring just over 3 inches across, the LED bulbs were charged with solar-generated electricity and later reclaimed in nets downstream. … Read more

Japan builds Tokyo Sky Tree, world's tallest tower

TOKYO--Nearly a year after the magnitude-9.0 quake that pummeled Japan, construction of the world's tallest tower, the Tokyo Sky Tree, is now complete.

Builder Obayashi, which recently announced plans for a space elevator to start services by 2050, declared the Sky Tree complete ahead of a ceremony Friday. While the world's tallest man-made structure remains the Burj Khalifa in Dubai at 829 meters (2,720 feet), the Sky Tree tops the list of the tallest free-standing towers at 634 meters (2,080 feet).

It's 34 meters taller than the Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China, and nearly twice the height of its predecessor, Tokyo Tower (333 meters). Operated by Tobu Railways and a consortium of media companies, the Sky Tree will serve as a digital terrestrial broadcasting center for Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto region. … Read more

The sweet, sweet music of the wood-playing turntable

You have to admit there's at least a little resemblance between the ring-lined cross-section of a tree and an LP. So why shouldn't a tree's rings elicit beautiful music the way a record's can?

That might well have been the inspiration for Bartholomaus Traubeck's Years project, a record player that can read the rings of a tree and translate them into lovely piano melodies.

According to the Years Web site, "A tree's year rings are analyzed for their strength, thickness and rate of growth. This data serves as basis for a generative process … Read more

Geek Christmas trees spread nerdy cheer

'Tis the season to be jolly, watch "Star Trek" reruns, craft Foursquare ornaments, and draft E.T. into service as a tree topper.

Tech geeks sure know how to celebrate with style. We asked readers and contributors to send along pics of their hopelessly nerdy Christmas trees.

The results range from a rescued traffic cone to a collection of "Star Trek" ornaments that would make Spock blush.

We filled out the slideshow with a couple of delightful additions from around the Web. Check out a wonderfully squicky Cthulhu tentacle tree and an impressive nerd tree that will have computer programmers dreaming of sugar plum fairies with 500W power supplies.… Read more

At Levi Strauss, green trees are brown (photos)

SAN FRANCISCO--A holiday "tree" lot here at Levi Strauss & Company's headquarters is offering up a green alternative to live trees.

Antlre Creative, a San Francisco-based eco-conscious design company, created 100 percent recycled cardboard trees, which grew into a forest in Levi's buidling lobby (shown above).

The large trees sell for $35, and small ones for $25. Proceeds from the fundraiser go to Friends of the Urban Forest. These "greener" trees are produced and manufactured entirely with solar energy and are inspired by recycling.

And while we're in the holiday spirit, here's … Read more

Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift 2011 is here

Cut the Rope, one of the hottest smartphone games, just got an update to the free standalone holiday version for both the iPhone and iPad (universal) featuring new challenges and holiday-themed levels.

Certain apps have staying power on the top-10 list at the iTunes App Store and Cut The Rope offers just the right mix of challenging physics-based gameplay, family-friendly graphics, and tons of levels to explore to keep it near the top.… Read more

Start on your Ancestral Quest

Ancestral Quest is genealogical research freeware that can search over 1 billion entries freely at FamilySearch as well as 500 million names, though that feature requires a free log-in ID. You can also upgrade to the paid version for access to more search options. However, the free tool offers a lot.

Ancestral Quest's installer let us opt for free or paid searches, something that happened frequently while using the freeware version, though that's why it's free. The setup also gave us the option to search Ancestry.com (though a subscription may be required) and make other choices. … Read more