Free Republic

Pompeii was an ancient Roman city near modern-day Naples in Italy, which was wiped out and buried under 6 meters of ash and pumice following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It is an eerie feeling to walk the empty streets of Pompeii and to view shops and homes left virtually untouched for nearly two millennia. One home still contains a complete loaf of bread sitting in the oven, perfectly preserved by a coating of ash. Now everyone has the opportunity to walk the streets and peer inside homes thanks to a detailed 3D digital reconstruction of an...

f you kill 7 minutes on an internet video today, make it this clip of a minimal building facade transforming through illusions of 3D projection. The structure is O. M. Ungers' "Galerie der Gegenwart"—or it was before projection artists at Urbanscreen got involved. Their vision of "dreaming" architecture gave the textureless, motionless facade a dynamic new look. Some of the illusions work better than others. For instance, the first animations of two hands pressing in the bricks actually fall short of desired surrealism—probably because you see the wrists floating over the building's real windows. But other moments will exploit your...

The FINANCIAL -- As a testament to the growing demand to improve patient care while reducing healthcare costs, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. has installed the first Aquilion ONE dynamic volume CT system in the Western U.S. at Nevada Imaging Centers in Las Vegas. "As the only dynamic volume CT system in the world, the Aquilion ONE's ability to image an entire organ and show function means faster, more accurate diagnosis, better patient outcomes and ultimately lower healthcare costs," explained Dr. William W. Orrison, chief of Neuroradiology, Nevada Imaging Centers. "Nevada Imaging Centers is committed to best-in-class solutions for...

October 03, 2005 - "Reality Game" maker Kuma Reality Games has released a stunning 3-D video game simulation of what a U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities might look like. Based on declassified documents and the latest thinking of military experts, Kuma's latest episode, "U.S. Attacks Iran," is available for free download at Kuma\War. As with all Kuma\War episodes, "U.S. Attacks Iran" contains in-depth, expert analysis and a thoughtful discussion of the political ramifications and tactical considerations of military action as well as a playable 3D event simulation, letting ordinary individuals experience firsthand what military planners think such an attack...