They had a terrific video the other day, about humans and dancing – this is a must see about this Matt Harding fellow and his travels around the world. This guy hit 42 countries in 14 months to make this video.

Be prepared to smile – this is pretty nifty.

Find the video and a great introduction of the video, at the APOD site here

If you have a good, broadband Internet connection, check out the HD version of the video here

Or…just watch it here!

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Admit it – you always wondered what caused Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis. Now NASA has nailed it down – it mainly revolves around magnetic fields getting stretched and then snapping. That was always my theory, but now it is definite. (!)

Here is how NASA describes it:

The key to the auroras is magnetic reconnection, which NASA describes as “stressed magnetic field lines that suddenly snap to a new shape, like a rubber band that’s been stretched too far,” causing a burst of light and movement near the northern and southern poles. “We discovered what makes the Northern Lights dance,” said UCLA’s Vassilis Angelopoulos, who is the principal investigator for the THEMIS mission.

OK, it’s all a bit geeky, but this is a tech blog, after all. And we love Astronomy around here.

CNet has a good story on the issue with some great photos – see it here

Yes, this one is a virus. You get an email, it claims to be from UPS about a shipment, and there is an attachment. Do not open either the email or the attachment – it’s a virus, and it does do some damage.

When UPS does send you an email, it won’t have an attachment.

UPS has details on their web site here

The ‘Urban Legends” site at about.com has some good info here

Here is a sorta scary story: an IT admin in San Francisco has locked the City out of its own network, and won’t reveal the passwords. Currently, he has set it up so there is limited access to the network.

Not sure the real issue here; in most any network the admin password can be broken, especially if you have physical access to the server (needs to be a particular server, but the idea is the same). In any event, he apparently isn’t saying why he did it, and he isn’t budging. The have him in custody with a $5 million bond.

Read the PC World story here

EDIT: In San Francisco, you can even get paid after you’ve hijacked the system. The SF Chronicle reports the rogue network admin is getting his $150K salary while he sits in jail. See the story here

EDIT TWO: The mayor of SF, Gavin Newsome, saves the day. He went to see the IT guy in jail, in a secret meeting that even the city’s DA didn’t know about (I’m sure he was thrilled!). The good Mayor got the access codes. CNet has the story here.

But here is the best part: on the CNet story page, there are some reader comments at the bottom. One of them says this:

Jeez what is it about it IT guys? Every single one of them suffers from delusions that they’re the smart ones and everyone else is an idiot. This clown should be sent back to mom’s basement.

I just want to say that I…have…no…comment on this post.