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You are visitor # since January 1, 2003. December 2005 Plenum News 2005 (enhanced) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Entire Year (minimal, early formats) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 You can write Comments or read the KeelyNet discussion list. Feel free to subscribe. Be aware in case any of these links don't respond, most will be available through the Wayback Machine, simply cut and paste the link to recall the 'lost' information. 12/31/05 - the Morphing Rocket A rocket that changes inflight to an aircraft with wings and control surfaces to facilitate directed flight. Examples of morphing wings can be found on the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet and the B-1 bomber, which both feature a variable-sweep wing that allows short field take-offs, which then can be swept back for supersonic flight. In essence, a variable-sweep wing provides greater mission flexibility for the aircraft. A morphing rocket uses the idea in reverse: It takes off at maximum speed, achieves the desired altitude, then deploys the folded-back wings into a lift-inducing forward position, slowing the craft down to provide loitering or directed flight capabilities. The civilian and military applications are numerous: reconnaissance, targeted ordnance strikes, and close-in weather analysis, such as into the eye of a tornado or hurricane. To date, however, morphing wings have been associated with jets and airplanes, not rockets. “It was an amazing success!” said Wilkins. “We started literally from scratch and designed our objectives, our testing protocol, and our action plan. Over the course of the semester, this team completed every one of our goals, and created a rocket, piece by piece, that flew, morphed, and returned safely. We’re all very proud of this achievement. 12/31/05 - Bullied children abuse alcohol A new study out of Oregon indicates children who are bullied in middle school are more likely to abuse substances in high schools. Researchers at the Oregon Research Institute studied 223 boys and girls in grades five through seven and followed them into high school. They found frequent verbal harassment is the norm in middle school rather than physical harassment and both forms decrease once a student gets to high school. The study found verbal harassment in middle school made it three times more likely a teen would abuse alcohol in high school. 12/31/05 - Is Interstellar flight possible & practical at this point? Actually, we already have space craft venturing into interstellar space. Pioneer and Voyager probes, 2 each, have reached the sun’s escape velocity and are now forever outward bound. The fastest, Voyager 1, is traveling at 62,000 kilometers per hour (39,000 mph). Even at that tremendous speed it’s painfully slow when interstellar distances are involved. Voyager 1 would take over 17,000 years to get Proxima Centuari, our nearest neighbor at 4.22 light years distance. With a theoretical speed limit imposed by Einstein's Theory of Relativity at 1,079,252,848.8 km/h, or the speed of light, even the closest stars are very far away indeed. A study by NASA in 1998 identified 3 potential propulsion technologies that might enable exploration beyond our solar system. Antimatter, fusion and light sails. Technical problems include lack of fuel - the world supply is a few dozen nanograms a year, fuel handling - you can easily predict the catastrophic results of an antimatter fuel accident - and reaction control. All these technologies are as far away now as the atomic bomb was to Alfred Nobel - the inventor of TNT. That is to say, not very. We may see the beginnings of an interstellar spaceflight program before the end of the millennium. We will simply need a compelling reason. Travel in interstellar space represents a huge challenge to humankind. For now, it remains in the realm of science fiction - but soon, who knows? We may yet live to see the first missions to nearby stars - that is if the last 100 years of history is any guide. 12/31/05 - Robot to Deflect Asteroids w/Spray Paint What do you do when a big ole asteroid is found headed straight toward earth? Blow it up? Naw, instead you send little space robots to deflect those asteroids with spray paint! If you blow up an asteroid, you may have a bigger disaster area with lots of little pieces hitting the earth! However, if one side of an asteroid is painted, the color can cause either heating up or cooling down on that side which may cause the asteroid to change course. Dr Gianmarco Radice and a team of Glasgow University students will be conducting a £300,000 three-year study into asteroids backed by the Government's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. They say the big threat currently is a 390-metre wide asteroid called Apophis that NASA says could hit earth April 13, 2036 destroying thousands of miles. 12/31/05 - Siempre Viva! Live Forever! Kurzweil envisages - the "singularity" - when technological change becomes so rapid and profound that our bodies and brains merge with our machines. Singularity depicts what life will be like after the brain-machine fusion takes place and our experiences shift from real reality to virtual reality. This moment that Kurzweil sees coming 20 years hence is when our intelligence becomes non-biological and trillions of times more powerful than unaided human intelligence. What this will mean for humanity is that aging can be reversed, pollution eradicated, hunger solved and our bodies and the environment transformed by nanotechnology that will also overcome the limitations of biology - and death. Kurzweil takes human evolution far beyond today's most optimistic forecasts. These hold that anyone born today will live to be 130 and productive to 110, and those born in the 22nd century will live to 250. The glass-half-full-and-filling geomancers of the human genome research world can perceive "immortality" in the 23rd century. Kurzweil's sees the same evolution achieving a similar breakthrough for the children and grandchildren of the post-World War II baby boomers. Bill Joy, co-founder and former chief scientist of Sun Microsystems, is filled with foreboding about the perils of humanity's technological future. But Joy still concedes "The Singularity Is Near" is "a clear call for a continuing dialogue to address the greater concerns arising from these accelerating possibilities." What worries Joy in his book "Why The Future Doesn't Need Us" is that "we are being propelled into this new century with no plan, no control, no brakes." "Singularity," John Casti of Nature wrote, is "a mind expanding account (that) is nothing less than a blueprint for how to shove Homo sapiens off center-stage in evolution's endless play...if you buy into Kurzweil's Law of Accelerating Returns - and all empirical evidence currently available supports it completely - then the replacement of humans by machines as the primary intellectual force on Earth is indeed imminent." George Gilder wrote, "Kurzweil's ideas make all other roads to the computer future look like goat paths to Patagonia." 12/30/05 - Unified physics theory explains animals' running, flying and swimming (This HAS applications to interacting with aether/zpe influx! - JWD) A single unifying physics theory can essentially describe how animals of every ilk, from flying insects to fish, get around, researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering and Pennsylvania State University have found. The team reports that all animals bear the same stamp of physics in their design. The researchers show that so-called "constructal theory" can explain basic characteristics of locomotion for every creature -- how fast they get from one place to another and how rapidly and forcefully they step, flap or paddle in relation to their mass. Constructal theory is a powerful analytical approach to describing movement, or flows, in nature. "The similarities among animals that are on the surface very different are no coincidence," said Adrian Bejan, J. A. Jones Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke's Pratt School. "In fact, animal locomotion is no different than other flows, animate and inanimate: they all develop in space and in time such that they optimize the flow of material." In the case of animal locomotion, this means that animals move such that they travel the greatest distance while expending the least amount of energy, he said. The constructal law arises from the basic principle that flow systems evolve so as to minimize imperfections -- energy wasted to friction or other forms of resistance -- such that the least amount of useful energy is lost. The theory applies to virtually everything that moves, Bejan said. For example, his earlier work has examined how the law explains traffic flows, the cooling of small-scale electronics and river currents. One view of evolution holds that it is not a purely deterministic process; that history is full of chance and historical contingency. It is the idea purported by Steven Jay Gould and others that if you were to "rewind the tape" and run it again, evolution would proceed down a different path, Marden said. "Our finding that animal locomotion adheres to constructal theory tells us that -- even though you couldn't predict exactly what animals would look like if you started evolution over on earth, or it happened on another planet -- with a given gravity and density of their tissues, the same basic patterns of their design would evolve again," Marden said. The researchers, funded by the National Science Foundation, report that the constructal law predicts universal relationships between animals' body mass and speed, as well as the frequency and force of the strides, beats or undulations that propel their bodies forward. 12/30/05 - Private space companies competing for cheaper Moon tickets In another ten years a flight to the orbit now available to millionaires will be quite an ordinary thing. Instead, flights to the Moon will become more fashionable and exciting. Nowadays, Russia and the USA offer tempting routes to wealthy customers: a non-stop flight around the Moon and even landing on the Moon. While flights to the satellite offered by national companies cost about $100 million, private companies offer tours to the Moon that are four times cheaper. Commercial flights to the Moon are no longer the prerogative of Russia and the US only. The other day, two private American companies said they were ready to outdo the space tourism projects of the two countries. In other words, these companies are ready to start making money on the Moon ten years earlier than state-run companies. There are some defects in the project, however. What are space tourists to do if something happens to the only professional spaceman accompanying them? And also some experts think that mining minerals on the Moon is not quite feasible. They say it would require plowing half of the Moon to mine helium-3. USA's SpaceDev says it will be able to perform a tourist flight around the Moon or land a manned spacecraft on the Moon for scientific research in 5-8 years. The project may cost less than $10 billion. The private company also supposes to build a residential base in the area of the South Pole. The private company obtained the project of its new lunar spaceship in a dustbin. The Dream Chaser six-seat orbital spaceship the company offers for flights very much resembles the HL-20 light shuttle that NASA developed in 1992 but failed to launch. The company will offer cheap tickets to the Moon by receiving at least four space tourists on board of the modernized spaceship HL-20. SpaceDev expects that landing on the Moon will be fairly inexpensive. 12/30/05 - Immune system becomes exhausted Like boxers wearied by a 15-round bout, the immune system's CD8 T cells eventually become "exhausted" in their battle against persistent viral infection, and less effective in fighting the disease. Emory University have traced the problem to a gene that turns off the infection-fighting drive of CD8 T cells in mice. The discovery raises the possibility that CD8 cell exhaustion can be reversed in human patients, reinvigorating the immune system's defenses against chronic viral infections ranging from hepatitis to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. "CD8 T cells that have fought viral infections retain a 'memory' of the viruses they've encountered, so they can rapidly respond to new infections from those viruses," says the study's author, Gordon Freeman, PhD, of Dana-Farber. In the case of chronic infection, however, senior author Rafi Ahmed, PhD, of Emory, has shown that memory cells become exhausted and lose the capacity to respond to the virus. Why this occurs, on a molecular level, has been unclear. Although it's not known why CD8 cells become exhausted -- roughly a month after infection begins -- scientists theorize that it may be part of the body's system for naturally ending the immune response after an infection has been quelled. If it persists too long, the immune response can damage normal, healthy tissue. 12/30/05 - Life Imitating Art - Wanna fix it? Do your Homework! Life is imitating art. President Bush stars as Sgt. Bob Barnes, the maniacal soldier in Oliver Stone's Platoon, who proclaims that he "is reality". The USA now openly advocates torture, spying on its own citizens, or equates dissent with aiding and abetting the "brutal killers" as Bush describes them. The USA is no victim or innocent bystander in the world's machinations. Each and every US citizen is responsible for the actions of its leaders--such as they are. If the American people want a militarized state, then so be it. Have some brass and go for it. If they want to torture, then they should have the guts to stick a knife in the throat of a living human being and watch'em gurgle and die. After all, it's good for business and anyway, how would "you", White Collar Proletariat, know what it takes to keep the gas pumps in operation or what threats are out there. Since most Americans are, as President Nixon once said, "children", they'll do what they are told. For a time, US citizens were spared the ruthlessness of the USA's actions abroad primarily because the government and its corporate partners could control the images, the stories, the facts from reaching Americans. Recognizing they've lost that ability, the PATRIOT ACT is a sort of government-corporate last ditch effort to retain control over information flows. Now the security police can whip up a file on you containing credit ratings, health records, spending patterns, reading preferences, travel destinations and even sexual preferences. Get off your lazy behind and become a responsible US citizen. Instead of being fed the news, hunt it down yourself. Start with foreign newspaper websites, other country news agencies and get used to the images of death and destruction. USA. One of the best data resources is the US government's own data. 12/29/05 - Hyperbaric Oxygen treatments mobilize stem cells According to a study to be published in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulation Physiology, a typical course of hyperbaric oxygen treatments increases by eight-fold the number of stem cells circulating in a patient's body. Stem cells, also called progenitor cells are crucial to injury repair. The study currently appears on-line and is scheduled for publication in the April 2006 edition of the American Journal. Stem cells exist in the bone marrow of human beings and animals and are capable of changing their nature to become part of many different organs and tissues. In response to injury, these cells move from the bone marrow to the injured sites, where they differentiate into cells that assist in the healing process. The movement, or mobilization, of stem cells can be triggered by a variety of stimuli - including pharmaceutical agents and hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Where as drugs are associated with a host of side effects, hyperbaric oxygen treatments carry a significantly lower risk of such effects. "We reproduced the observations from humans in animals in order to identify the mechanism for the hyperbaric oxygen effect," added Thom. "We found that hyperbaric oxygen mobilizes stem/progenitor cells because it increases synthesis of a molecule called nitric oxide in the bone marrow. This synthesis is thought to trigger enzymes that mediate stem/progenitor cell release." Hopefully, future study of hyperbaric oxygen's role in mobilizing stem cells will provide a wide array of treatments for combating injury and disease. 12/29/05 - High-fat Western-style diet may cause diabetes ating lots of high-fat Western-style diet may cause diabetes, says a study on mice that may lead to new ways to prevent and treat the disease. Jamey Marth and other researchers at the University of California in San Diego found that eating lots of fat blocks the production of an enzyme that is key to creating the hormone insulin, reported the online edition of BBC News. Insufficient levels of the enzyme were found to compromise the ability of beta cells in the pancreas to produce insulin in response to rising levels of glucose in the blood, for instance after a meal. Failure to control glucose levels eventually leads to full-blown Type 2 diabetes, the researchers said. "If our findings can be applied to humans, they should give us important insights into how Type 2 diabetes may be prevented and treated," Marth said. "However, it is uncertain if these mouse models are directly applicable to man," said Andrew Hattersley, professor of molecular medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Exeter. The number of people with diabetes has soared to over two million in Britain. Of these, the vast majority - about 1.7 million - have Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity. 12/29/05 - More renewable fuels will be at the pump U.S. drivers will be able to gas up their vehicles next year with nearly 3 percent of clean-burning, domestic renewable fuels such as ethanol. Under new standards issued by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the standard is the first step in EPA's Renewable Fuels Standard Program -- which EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson says is designed to reduce vehicle emissions and strengthen U.S. energy security by doubling the use of fuels produced from U.S. crops by 2012. "This investment in renewable fuels made from domestic crops will support American agriculture and replace fossil fuels with an increasing amount of cleaner-burning alternatives such as ethanol or biodiesel illustrating that environmental progress and economic development can, in fact, go hand-in-hand," said Johnson. 12/29/05 - Vertebroplasty reduces pain using bio-concrete injections A Mayo Clinic study has found patients report less back pain at rest and while active following vertebroplasty, a procedure in which medical cement is injected into painful compression fractures in the spinal vertebrae due to osteoporosis. Patients also reported improved function in their daily activities, such as walking, housework and getting dressed. "It's hard to remember your pain," he says. "Also, it's hard to say how bad my pain is compared to your pain. I've had patients say their pain is no better after treatment, yet I look at them and they look 10 times better." Patients for whom vertebroplasty is appropriate, according to Dr. Kallmes, have osteoporosis or a similar condition and have suffered compression of their spines with no or minimal injury. For example, while bending over to tie their shoes or turning over in bed, patients' vertebrae may fracture because their bones are weakened due to osteoporosis. Each year, 700,000 people suffer this injury. For four out of five patients, the fracture heals and the accompanying pain goes away in approximately four weeks with bed rest and analgesics. However, for one in five patients, the fracture does not heal and the pain persists, requiring treatment. Surgery is not an option for these patients, as their bones are too weak. Vertebroplasty is the only available treatment option for patients in this condition. Vertebroplasty is not appropriate for patients with back pain due to ligament injuries, joint disease or narrowing of the spinal canal, says Dr. Kallmes. 12/29/05 - Missouri turkey oil plant closed because of foul odors foul-smelling plant that turns turkey byproducts into fuel oil was ordered closed by the governor Wednesday until the company finds a way to clear the air. Renewable Environmental Solutions Inc. in the southwest Missouri community of Carthage had agreed in May to improve its odor-control systems after state and city officials sued, alleging the smell posed a public nuisance. "The people of Carthage have endured terrible odors from the plant for too long," Blunt said. The facility produces 100 to 200 barrels of fuel oil a day using byproducts from a nearby ConAgra Foods turkey processing facility. Company officials were "shocked and disappointed" by the governor's order, according to a statement. They said a process was already in place for the city and the department to work together on the problem. The two parties were scheduled to meet next week. Authorities had hoped cooler weather and plant improvements would reduce odors. But that has not happened and "additional measures are needed before spring when experts believe the nuisance will grow more acute due to warmer weather," the governor said. According to the company's Web site, the plant uses extreme heat and pressure to break down agricultural waste and reform it, mimicking the way fossil fuels are created in nature, but in hours rather than millions of years. 12/29/05 - Sterling proposal would harness wind The Exeter Energy Corp., which operates a tire-burning energy plant in the Sterling Industrial Park, confirmed Wednesday it plans to lease the entire 73 unoccupied acres of the town's second phase of the industrial park for six months while it explores the possibility of placing up to 35 windmills on the property. Wycherley said Exeter hopes to produce about 50 megawatts of energy, about double the tire plant output, with the windmills. The energy they produce would be transmitted over the same lines the tire-burner uses to transmit the energy it produces. That energy was originally sold to Northeast Utilities, but, after deregulation, is now sold to Public Service Electric and Gas in New Jersey. Wycherley said if each windmill is designed to produce 1.5 megawatts of electricity, it would require between 30 and 35 to meet the company's 50-megawatt goal. If larger turbines are used, the number of windmills would be reduced. While the equipment is expensive to install, the rising energy costs would justify the expense, Wycherley said. "The currents are normally stronger along a ridge," she said. That description would fit the industrial park site, which is built into the steep hillside, with the tire-burning plant occupying the highest point. The proposal received some mixed reaction from townspeople. Charles P. Rabbitt immediately expressed concern about the noise from the windmills. " I'd be opposed to it," he said. "I drove past a windmill farm during a trip to California and couldn't believe the noise. It sounded like a helicopter hovering nearby. If they're located on the hill, we're going to hear them all over town," he said. 12/29/05 - Adult Brain Cells Do Keep Growing Neurons continue to grow and change beyond the first years of development and well into adulthood, according to a new study. The finding challenges the traditional belief that adult brain cells, or neurons, are largely static and unable to change their structures in response to new experiences. The study, performed in adult mice, found that the branch-like projections on some neurons, called dendrites, were still physically malleable. Dendrites conduct electrical signals received from other neurons to the parent neuron's cell body. The changes occurred both incrementally and in short bursts, and involved both growth and shrinkage. Some of the changes were dramatic by neuron standards. One dendrite sprouted an impressive 90 microns (about .003 inches), more than doubling its length in less than two weeks. 12/29/05 - Scientists link violence with alcohol A study at Sweden's Karolinska Institute of 133 violent offenders shows 58 percent had consumed alcohol within 24 hours before the violent act. A large majority of the offenders were men with psychiatric diagnoses and most of the victims were known to the attackers. Researchers at the Stockholm medical school said a 13.2-fold increase in the risk of violence was found within 24 hours of alcohol consumption. The relative risk of violence was based on comparison with each individual's usual frequency of alcohol use during the previous year, in a case-crossover analysis. Use of other drugs, such as benzodiazepines and antidepressants in regular doses, was associated with a decreased risk of violence. Contrary to other studies the risk for criminal violence was not increased if the consumption of alcohol was combined with benzodiazepines. Alcohol seems to have the largest triggering effect on violence compared to other substances we investigated, said Ulrika Haggard-Grann of the Karolinska Institute This suggests treatment for individuals at risk for violence should be focused on decreasing their alcohol consumption. 12/29/05 - Worlds fastest, most powerful Automobile The latest fastest and most powerful automobile ever: 1001 horsepower, zero to 188 mph in 14 seconds. Witness the result of an auto industry executive’s ego run amok. Even with a price tag of $1.25 million each, Volkswagen won’t make a dime on this, the world’s fastest and most powerful automobile ever created, commissioned by former VW head Ferdinand Piech before he retired. The 2006 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 has been a long time coming, but exotic car fanatics agree that it was worth the wait. Running a sixteen-cylinder engine force-induced by four turbochargers, the Veyron produces an eye-bugging 1001 horsepower and 922 lb.-ft. of torque - though final engine output figures for North America are yet to be set. Bugatti claims a launch from 0-188 mph can be achieved in a mere fourteen seconds and that the Veyron can reach a top speed of 250 mph. Now the down side; just 300 copies of the hand-built Bugatti Veyron will be made, with only 100 coming stateside. 12/29/05 - Yoga improves memory and concentration Do you run back to check whether you have locked the door? Often forget where you placed your keys? If yes, you need to work out for a better level of concentration, says a yoga expert. Absent-mindedness is a common problem, says M K Nagaraja Rao, yoga practitioner and teacher in Tumkur. It is essentially a result of not tuning our minds right. He quotes yoga texts and explains that there are several reasons for poor concentration, which lead to absent-minded behaviour -- ill-health, laziness, suspicion, inertia, disinterestedness and illusion. According to him, lack of interest in our work is a major reason. He says, “If a person forgets what he has just done, it’s a sign that he did not do the work with his heart and mind in it.” Rao explains that yogic texts suggest that one should have a ‘mythri bhava’ (intimacy) with one’s own actions to maintain presence of mind. “In an attempt to do things faster, many people end up doing them in a hasty manner and later suspect whether they have done it properly or not. But it is always better to complete fewer things with proper attention than do more without perfection,” he advises. Hence, he suggests, “a calm and steady approach to action is the solution.” 12/29/05 - 10 Crazy Science Facts (Details in the linked article - JWD) 1.) You can Hypnotize Chickens - 2.) You can have an erection once you're dead - 3.) Your hand can have a life of it's own - 4.) Don't laugh too much, it can kill you - 5.) A weapon could make you Gay - 6.) It's true, Men can breastfeed - 7.) Bart Simpson's Tomacco (half tomato, half tobacco) was possible - 8.) It's OK to have a third nipple - 9.) You can die on the Toilet - 10.) Picking one's nose and eating it might be healthy 12/28/05 - Hybrid cars race ahead in 2005 Hybrid engines powered by electricity and petrol have been around for years. But it took a kick from rocketing gasoline prices to encourage large numbers of Americans to see their fuel-efficient appeal. Up to the end of November, Toyota said it had sold 99,000 Prius cars this year compared to 47,700 over the same period of 2004. According to research firm Global Insight, total US sales of hybrids are set to more than double to 200,000 this year and mushroom to 500,000 a year by 2010. Toyota has led the way with the Prius and the four-by-four Highlander, designed to appeal to Americans' taste for sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Its Japanese rival Honda has three hybrid models and lies second in sales. US giants General Motors and Ford are now ramping up their own hybrid production but came late to the game. An average SUV consumes about 20 litres (five gallons) of petrol over a 100 kilometre (62 mile) trip, compared to a hybrid which will sip just four to five litres (1.1 to 1.3 gallons) of gasoline. Ford's chairman blames Japanese government intervention for the sales advantage enjoyed by Toyota and Honda. 12/28/05 - China Develops Technology To Generate Power from Grass The new technology anoxically turns carbon and hydrogen elements in the cordgrass into flammable gas. After it has been decontaminated, the gas can be used for cooking, power generation and heating. English cordgrass was introduced into China in the 1970s as a binder for coastal soil, but it became a biological threat after rampant growth. More than 100 counties in China are currently threatened by the alien plant. Experiments show that one kilogram of English cordgrass can produce two cubic meters of flammable gas, which can generate one kilowatt-hour of electricity. If all of its 3.3 million hectares of English cordgrass were processed, China would be able to harvest 50 billion to 75 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. 12/28/05 - Premature Aging - Werner's Syndrome The superfast ageing, known as the Werner syndrome, makes absolutely normal and healthy people age 50 or even 100 times faster than usual. Several occurrences of superfast ageing have been registered with five-year-old children. A five or an eight-year-old girl may suddenly reach puberty and even deliver a baby, which is considered absolutely normal in certain African tribes. Doctors tend to explain the utterly inexplicable medical phenomenon with "genetic disorders" and "congenital susceptibility to ageing." The superfast ageing, known as the Werner syndrome, makes absolutely normal and healthy people age 50 or even 100 times faster than usual. Specialists of the Moscow-based Genetic Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences said that their archives contain records of only two individuals who suffered from similar symptoms. Japanese researchers calculated that the unknown disease may affect only one of four million people. 12/27/05 - Power generation from a mix of sources Success comes from a mix of sources, not trying to rely on just solar or just wind. The Atlantic County Utilities Authority in New Jersey has opened up a new power center for its wastewater treatment facility near Atlantic City. Wastewater treatment is an important job, but very energy-intensive. When ACUA decided to add on-site power to the plant, they had to pick something that could handle the job -- so they went with combined wind and solar. The system, when completed, will include a 504 kW solar power grid and five 1.5 MW wind turbines. The system doesn't cover the entire power requirement of the facility, but when completed, it could account for up to half of it (assuming peak production from wind and solar simultaneously). ACUA estimates that the system will provide 20 million kilowatt-hours annually to the facility and to nearby residences. The main drawback of the system is that, like most home solar and wind units, it simply feeds into the grid, and doesn't have on-site energy storage or the ability to supply power in a grid failure. The ACUA intends for future renewable power projects, already in the works, to include these features. 12/27/05 - Tree plantations can suck streams dry Planting trees willy-nilly to counter increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere may actually result in other environmental damage, new research shows. An international team publishing in this week's journal Science argues that while tree plantations can be an effective tool for slowing CO2 concentrations, the wrong plantings in the wrong area at the wrong time can suck streams dry and turn fresh water salty. Tree plantations have become common practice to combat carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is because trees store carbon in their trunks and branches for long period of times - and if that carbon dioxide is not in the atmosphere, but in the trunks, the atmosphere won't warm quite as quickly. But tree plantations were also found to have positive effects in some areas. "For example, we found that trees planted in some parts of Western Australia affected by dry land salinity alleviated the problem to some degree," Barrett says. "On the other hand, trees planted in the pampas areas of Argentina [were] less successful, because they drew saline water that was deep in the soil into the shallow soil layers, [effectively] salinising the fresh water." The researchers conclude that it is important for global communities to know and understand local conditions well before tree planting goes ahead. 12/27/05 - Dangers of Exposure to Excessive UV Radiation 1. Non-melanoma skin cancer. One in 29 people in New Zealand is diagnosed with skin cancer each year. New Zealand is the second worst hotspot for skin cancer in the world. 2. Melanoma. The potentially fatal melanoma incidence rates in New Zealand are about 10 times higher than in other countries. At lease two-thirds of all melanoma cases are directly associated to UV radiation exposure. 3. Immunodeficiency. Exposure to the excessive UV radiation in New Zealand impairs human immune system; it causes genetic mutations, increases risk of diseases from the human immunodeficiency virus HIV- 1, herpes viruses, malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, dermatitis, and E. coli as well as several blood diseases. 4. Cataracts. The exposure to excessive UV radiation in New Zealand results in increased incidents of cataracts (as well as other eye damage). NZ authorities are acting dishonestly and reprehensibly by preying on unsuspecting foreign tourists, students and new immigrants, while failing to inform them about the dangers of exposure to the excessive UV radiation in New Zealand. 12/27/05 - Ian Wilmut Wants to Experiment With Stem Cells on the Dying Ian Wilmut, the creator of Dolly and now a would-be cloner of human embryos wants to experiment on dying people. Rather than go through the usual process of animal studies to test efficacy and safety, he wants to switch quickly to conducting embryonic stem cell experiments upon dying people on the basis that the experiments would be "high risk but high gain" procedures. This has a certain surface attraction. After all, if people are dying, what's the harm? 12/27/05 - Amazon.com Exec to Open Aerospace Venture Jeff Bezos expects a rocket-ship complex for his aerospace venture Blue Origin to open early next year. City records show that an office and warehouse he's revamping in this south Seattle suburb will be used to design and build spacecraft and engines. Blue Origin has released few details about the project. But a Texas newspaper editor who interviewed Bezos earlier this year said the billionaire talked sending a spaceship into orbit that launches and lands vertically, like a rocket, and eventually building spaceships that can orbit the Earth - possibly leading to permanent colonies in space. Bezos paid $13 million for nearly 25 acres of industrial land, where city records indicate he's spending up to $8 million to remodel an office building and warehouse. Plans also call for construction of an experimental stand where rocket engines will be tested in three-minute-long trial runs. Test launches will be conducted in West Texas, where Bezos recently bought a 165,000-acre ranch near the small town of Van Horn, about 110 miles southeast of El Paso. Long-term plans for that site include a spaceport where three-person space-tourism flights could blast off once a week. A 243,000-square-foot office and warehouse building in Kent is being revamped to accommodate cavernous bays, assembly areas, chemical laboratories, a workout room and a day-care center. The 90,000-square-foot rocket-engine test stand will be surrounded by a 12-foot earthen berm. Blue Origin, now located in a warehouse in an industrial area in south Seattle, plans to move to the Kent site in the first quarter of next year, Hicks said. The company's work force will grow to about 70 or 100 - up from 40 - over the next several years, according to city records. 12/26/05 - Quezon City Inventor says No to P3.5 billion offer ($65,420,560.75 USD) A barber-turned-inventor from Quezon City refused an offer of P3.5 billion for the patent of his invention, a cream based on cashew nut oil that rids users of warts, moles and other skin growths. He said he turned down the offer by two multinational drug firms for the outright purchase of his patent for his RCC herbal cream preparation, which could have assured him of P1 million in interest income a day for the rest of his life. The De la Cruz family runs the Amazing Touch Co. and has been conducting free treatments for residents of depressed areas, particularly in Zambales, where wild cashew nuts abound. Out of curiosity, he pounded a wild cashew nut into a paste, and tasted it. He subsequently sustained an inflamed tongue and lips, feeling the sensation of heat traveling through them. He forgot the incident for a time, working as a barber by day and studying by night. One day, De la Cruz noticed that the warts on one of his regular customers were slowly disappearing. He asked what the man used to rid himself of the warts, to which the customer replied, "cashew nut." De la Cruz said the heat generated by the cashew nut oil can be compared to a laser that burns off any unwanted skin growth. "The heat generated by the oil kills bacteria and other unwanted organisms in the skin," he said, noting that he added a "secret ingredient" to his herbal cream preparation. De la Cruz also has another international award-winning invention, the DeBCC cream, which is used for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common type of skin cancer. The cream contains a formulation of cashew nut extracts and other Philippine herbs. "By mere application of the cream, with no radical and unacceptable surgeries or procedures, 14 patients with skin cancer were cured in 16 weeks. No recurrences were reported," he said. 12/26/05 - Misadventures in the wacky world of patent law The combination of an antiquated patent justice system and spiraling patent litigation costs are stacking the judicial deck against successful companies that want to defend themselves against patent infringement claims. Making matters worse, technical and medical innovators have become such hugely successful businesses that small companies -- known as patent trolls -- with little more than a few patents to their name are flooding courts with lawsuits. It used to be a snap for big companies to defend themselves against patent infringement cases. With deeper pockets, they typically mounted huge battles in a number of legal venues until smaller plaintiffs exhausted their budgets and cried uncle. Today, some courts, particularly federal district court in Virginia, are fast tracking patent cases, taking away big companies' advantage. Faced with these challenges and the potentially devastating outcomes of the RIM and eBay cases, legal experts say it has become too perilous to take patent fights to court. The stark legal reality is that patent litigators have enormous leverage to demand lucrative licensing fees or settlements regardless of the validity of their claims. The biggest problem with litigation is old-fashioned legislation that grants patent protections to individuals or companies that can prove they were the first to invent a product. It means that if an individual or company, even accidentally, uses the same intellectual property previously discovered or invented by another, then a patent has been infringed. In contrast, Canada and most European countries have modernized their acts so that protection is given only to those who first file patents for their inventions, making patent cases in these countries a simpler matter of proving dates on patents. 12/26/05 - Turbine company harnesses wind power Fort Worth real estate mogul Ross Perot Jr. will be among the first to use a new alternative energy invention from a Plano-based company -- the Mag-Wind rooftop turbine, which uses wind to generate electricity. Mag-Wind Co. L.L.C. in February will install one of its first five pre-production models -- possibly the one nicknamed "Toto" by its inventor -- atop the developer's Victory office building in downtown Dallas. The founders of privately held Mag-Wind have been developing the patent-pending vertical-axis turbine since 1991. Each Mag-Wind can generate 900 to 2,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month, depending on the amount of wind. That's enough to power the average household, according to Bob Thompson, CEO of Mag-Wind. The Mag-Wind unit, made of aluminum, fiberglass and steel, measures 4-feet square and weighs 250 pounds. It retails for $6,599. The installed cost is $10,000 to $15,000, Thompson said. Mag-Wind says homeowners will earn back their investment in five to seven years. Designed to last an estimated 20 years, Mag-Wind features no gears to wear or freeze. Its platform of aluminum sails, or wings, float on magnets. The platform base rotates around a stabilizing, vertically fixed shaft through its center. A circle of magnets on the inside of the base pass by a circle of coils to create electricity. 12/26/05 - Ben Franklin’s Greatest Invention Even today, sources on inventions list six by Benjamin Franklin that are still in active use. One of those sits in my back hall, cheerfully and economically heating the back of my home--the Franklin stove. Another sits on the bridge of my nose as I write this--a pair of bifocals. But this is about Franklin’s greatest invention, one that the lists never mention because it is mere words, not a physical object. One of the things Franklin learned on his trips to Europe was that creative people were being cheated out of the financial benefits of their creations. He recognized that the building of a nation required the creation of a form of fastest possible communication among its parts. So he created the first Post Office, and also served as the first postmaster. But even the post office, which led inexorably to the Internet, was not Franklin’s greatest invention. He thought about the problem of creative people being encouraged to develop new creations. He understood the importance of good, old-fashioned financial incentives. He suggested to James Madison the following 27-word clause to be added to the powers of Congress in Article I, Section 8. With little debate and no objection, since it came from the respected scientist, it was added to the Constitution: “To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. . . .” It is Franklin’s invention of this clause that has caused the explosion of American creativity, which began with the founding of the nation, and has shown no signs of slowing down in the two and a quarter centuries since. Franklin saw the problem as it existed in the rest of the world. Franklin recognized that providing an economic incentive would encourage inventors and creators. And he also recognized that it must be temporary, “for limited times,” since he was aware of permanent monopolies such as the salt monopoly in the Ottoman empire, which were benefits for preferred supporters of the ruler. In short, Franklin’s invention of this clause led to the current status of the American economy as the most powerful economic engine in history. 12/26/05 - Wyoming Launches Cloud-Seeding Project Wyoming is embarking on an $8.8 million, five-year cloud-seeding project that aims to bolster mountain snowpack, and possibly yield proof of whether cloud seeding actually works. Millions of dollars is already being spent, especially in the West, to spew silver iodide into storm clouds in order to coax more rain and snow to fall. Breed said most of the water in the West comes from mountains, where the snowpack acts essentially like a reservoir. The Colorado River Basin, fed mainly by water from the mountains, is a major water supply for seven states. But increasing demand for water has water managers fearing shortages in the future. If more snow can be produced in the mountains by cloud seeding, it would mean more water for cities, towns and farms. However, whether cloud seeding actually works has been the subject of debate among the scientific community. In 2003, the National Academy of Sciences questioned the science behind cloud seeding and called for national research into the practice. 12/26/05 - Bio-Levitation (TM claims this ability yet reports of their 'flying' state they sit in the lotus position and move their legs to throw them into the air, it is NOT true levitation. - JWD) Fortune-teller Marisa Lozinskaya was sitting at her table on Sunday afternoon in the Polish town of Goshkovice. There were several clients around the woman, wishing to look into their future. One of them (Anneli Vozgolskaya) described the events as follows: "All of a sudden she said she had a headache. She stopped reading cards, turned ashen-faced and even screamed with pain. Right at that moment I saw her rising above the ground slowly. Her body remained motionless at that. Everybody on the square was flabbergasted with the sight of the woman hanging in the air three meters above the ground. She was hovering for two minutes and then started going down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she fell facedown." Serafim Sarovsky, the archbishop of Novgorod and Pskov is one of the Russian "levitators." Moscow chronicles tell of St.Basil flying across the Moskva River in front of astounded crowds. An interesting experiment was carried out in one of Russian universities, at the psychological department. A person was told during a seance of hypnosis that he was inside an orbiting spaceship. A hypnotist told the person that he was about to find himself into a state of weightlessness. When devices showed the complete absence of weight, the scientists did not believe their eyes: the weight of the hypnotized individual vanished totally. Also see; Neel - Lung Gom Pa, bottom of page and this; 60 pound loss with Party Levitation experiment and this; Gravitational Spider and this; Russian weight loss reports and this; Slavek's Report of weight loss during Sleepwalking. 12/26/05 - Using the Internet to Solve R&D Problems Small businesses and major corporations alike have discovered a new form of global outsourcing: They're using the Internet to advertise monetary awards for inventions. Ambros Hügin was sitting at home one evening in his apartment in Geneva, just surfing the Web. He had quit his job as a researcher at the city's university hospital and was enjoying his new freedom. After a few mouse clicks, he chanced upon a virtual laboratory of sorts, filled with thousands of inventors. Soon after, the 50 year old landed a research contract to develop a new method for testing anti-inflammatory drugs. He brooded over the task at hand and ran a few experiments. And then Hügin solved the problem. He submitted his idea and before long, the $10,000 fee appeared in his bank account. To this day, he has no idea who paid him. What turned out to be easy cash for the self-employed inventor stems from a carefully designed business idea developed by a US-based company called Innocentive -- the name is a fusion of the words innovation and incentive. The business principle behind the company's idea exchange is quite simple. A company has a problem it wants to solve, but its own R&D department is unable to develop a solution on its own. So the company describes the problem it wants solved -- using a few sentences, formulas or graphics -- posts it on Innocentive's Web site and names a sum it's willing to pay for the invention -- anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000. Some 80,000 inventors have already tried their hand at solving the various problems posted on Innocentive. The rules are straightforward: Whoever produces the best solution gets the money, while everyone else gets nothing. The Web site charges the companies a fee to post their questions. In return, they remain anonymous, in order to protect company secrets. 12/26/05 - Muslims - invention then vs now Contrary to our brilliant past, in the current century not a single invention came forth by any Muslim, regretted Chairman Senate Mohammedmian Soomro. Addressing the 31st Convocation of Preston University here Saturday, he said: “In recent past, most of the inventions were made by Muslim experts in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. Muslims are needed the creative ideas those are the basics of any invention”. He emphasized that the success of any nation largely depended on its educational human capital. “Adequate and sustained investment in human capital was therefore the need of the hour and was absolutely essential for the socio-economic and political development of the country”, he added. 12/26/05 - Taxing Computer Software A state board is proposing a sweeping change to make computer software used in business subject to property taxes, a move that some business leaders contend could drive up costs and hurt job growth in Tennessee. "This would be a significant chunk of change," said Hayes Ledford, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s director of public affairs. Carl Hartley, a Chattanooga attorney representing some businesses, said the change could put a considerable tax bite on some companies whose businesses are heavily based on computer use, such as banks, finance companies, leasing firms and insurance businesses. Currently, there is no consistent approach to determining what business software should be considered taxable, according to the executive secretary of the State Board of Equalization, which proposed the change. However, software already is taxed as property in some Tennessee counties, said Kelsie Jones. He said county assessors have taken "varying approaches" in making distinctions about not only taxing software, but the kinds, as well. For example, Mr. Jones said, some tax operational software but not that which is applicational. The new rule would provide a uniform standard across the state, he said. "One of the reasons for the proposal comes down to consistency. The rule as proposed would quit worrying about distinctions," he said. "All software becomes assessable." 12/25/05 - Looking into technology's future Space cruises around the moon. Robotic farm machinery. DNA-specific medical treatment. These products could be on the market in the not-too-distant future, according to technology innovators in San Luis Obispo. "You'll be able to pay money and go for a ride -- go into orbit," Babcock said. "You'll be able to look at the Earth from space." He hopes that will impact people's perspectives about life back home. "It does, I think, raise people's awareness that we've got to take care of this planet," he said. Eventually, Babcock expects to see multi-day cruises around the moon. Someday, medical providers could look at a patient's DNA to decide whether they are likely to have an adverse reaction before administering the drug. ...and more at the link. 12/25/05 - Space burials, star names on sale by US company The challenge of arranging space flights for its special payload notwithstanding, the company's space burials have taken off. It is preparing for its sixth launch in March 2006. The first launch in 1997 carried the remains of 24 men, including Gene Roddenberry the creator of the legendary television series Star Trek; 1960s counterculture icon Timothy Leary, and Princeton University physicist Gerard ONeill. The upcoming launch will also evoke Star Trek memories, carrying remains from the late actor James Doohan, who played the engineer on the spaceship Enterprise. Chafer, who started his career developing rockets for commercial launches, explained that the company sends into space vials of people's ashes as a secondary payload accompanying commercial launches of satellites. The ashes are then set into orbit at the same level of the satellite. The cost is not out of orbit, however. The company charges by the weight, 995 dollars for a capsule containing one gram of a person's ashes, and up to 5,300 for seven grams, inserted into a container which resembles a lipstick tube. "It reflects a growing trend, here in the US and around the world, of doing things with someone's ashes that will be meaningful for that person." 12/25/05 - Bill Would Allow Arrests for No Reason in Public Places A bill on Gov. Bob Taft's desk right now is drawing a lot of criticism, NewsChannel5 reported. One state representative said it resembles Gestapo-style tactics of government, and there could be changes coming on the streets of Ohio's small towns and big cities. The Ohio Patriot Act has made it to the Taft's desk, and with the stroke of a pen, it would most likely become the toughest terrorism bill in the country. The lengthy piece of legislation would let police arrest people in public places who will not give their names, address and birth dates, even if they are not doing anything wrong. WEWS reported it would also pave the way for everyone entering critical transportation sites such as, train stations, airports and bus stations to show ID. "It brings us frighteningly close to a show me your papers society," said Carrie Davis of the ACLU, which opposes the Ohio Patriot Act. 12/25/05 - Dutch mathematician simplifies the search for oil It all centres on the so-called Helmholtz equation. Solving this is important in interpreting the acoustic measurements taken when prospecting for oil. Sound waves are transmitted into the ground and their reflections recorded as they return to the earth's surface. Analysis of this data enables specialists to locate oil deposits. In the past, these measurements have been taken two-dimensionally. Effectively, the earth was surveyed as a series of flat layers. But the oil companies would rather use a faster method involving three-dimensional blocks. Until recently, though, their computers were not powerful enough to do that. Solving the Helmholtz equation requires huge arithmetical capacity. As part of his PhD research, Erlangga has succeeded in making the method of calculation used to solve the Helmholtz equation a hundred times faster. And that finally makes it possible for firms like Shell to use 3D calculations when prospecting for oil. So it seems highly likely that oil companies will express an interest in exploiting Erlangga's work. But other applications are also conceivable. This is because the Helmholtz equation is used to describe many kinds of wave. Not just acoustic ones, as in the oil example, but also electromagnetic waves including visible light. It is quite feasible, therefore, that Erlangga's work could be applied to lasers - in data storage on a Blu-ray Disc, for example - or to radar measurements in aviation. 12/25/05 - "Straight up" embryo stem cells fix heart damage Injecting embryo stem cells "straight up"-without changing their cell type first-has fixed damage in an animal model of heart attack. Reporting in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, scientists led by UW-Madison stem cell researcher Timothy J. Kamp report that the stem cells, when transplanted into damaged mouse hearts, morph into functional forms of cells that compose a healthy heart. The study is considered important because it means that blank-slate embryonic stem cells could be introduced directly to damaged heart tissue to repair heart muscle and blood vessels. In their experiments, when stem cells were introduced directly to tissue damaged by a heart attack, three critical types of cells formed: cardiomyocytes or heart muscle; vascular smooth muscle, the muscle that forms the bulk of the walls of blood vessels; and endothelial cells, the flat cells that line the interior surfaces of blood vessels in the heart and throughout the body's circulatory system. Kamp emphasized that although results of the new study show promise for using stem cells to repair diseased and damaged tissue, clinical application remains a distant hope. Further studies in mice, primates and, ultimately, humans will be required to ensure efficacy and safety... One intriguing result of the new study is that the implanted cells did not result in tumor formation, one of the primary safety concerns for stem cell therapy. Like cancer cells, embryonic stem cells have a capacity to reproduce indefinitely and scientists must perfect cell transplant methods that are safe before the therapy can be attempted in human patients. 12/25/05 - 10% of prescription drugs are fake When fakes of a GlaxoSmithKline anti-malarial drug turned up in Africa, authorities assumed the drug giant would want to know. Instead, they learned about a huge, evil trade in fake drugs -- and about an industry that doesn’t want the truth to get out. In Vienna, Virginia, not far from Washington, a database of all the fake drugs discovered by the world’s 18 largest drug companies is kept at the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI). The data maintained by the PSI may well hold the key to saving millions of innocent consumers from ingesting lethal counterfeits of the industry’s best-selling medicines -- but it remains inaccessible to outside inquiries for what the industry calls “security” reasons. Fake drugs are indeed the pharmaceutical industry’s most closely guarded secret. “It’s despicable,” says the lean, shrewd White, at 54 one of the world’s top malaria experts. “One packet or bottle is the difference between life and death. Poor people normally invest everything in that one medicine. You’ve got one shot and that’s it. They often don’t know why they are suffering and their children have died.” 12/24/05 - Oil shale may be fool's gold Hyping oil shale is nothing new. As geologist Walter Youngquist once wrote, "Bankers won't invest a dime in 'organic marlstone,' the shale's proper name, but 'oil shale' is another matter." Oil shale is a lousy fuel. Compared to the coal that launched the Industrial Revolution or the oil that sustains the world today, oil shale is the dregs. Coal seams a few feet thick are worth mining because coal contains lots of energy. If coal is good, oil is even better. And oil shale? Per pound, it contains one-tenth the energy of crude oil, one-sixth that of coal. Oil shale is said to be "rich" when a ton yields 30 gallons of oil. An equal weight of granola contains three times more energy. America's "vast," "immense" deposits of shale have the energy density of a baked potato. Oil shale has one-third the energy density of Cap'n Crunch, but no one is counting on the Quaker Oats Company to become a major energy producer soon. Historically, oil shale has been mined, crushed and roasted in large kilns, or "retorts." The slag, swollen in volume and contaminated with arsenic, must then be disposed. The process is so costly, laborious and polluting that global output has never exceeded 25,000 barrels a day, compared to 84 million barrels of conventional oil production. Shell proposes to heat a 1,000-foot-thick section of shale to 700 degrees, then keep it that hot for three years. Shell's method avoids the need to mine shale, it requires a mind-boggling amount of electricity. To produce 100,000 barrels per day, the company would need to construct the largest power plant in Colorado history. Costing about $3 billion, it would consume 5 million tons of coal each year, producing 10 million tons of greenhouse gases. What contribution can oil shale make to energy security? Producing 100,000 barrels per day of shale oil does not violate the laws of physics. But the nation currently consumes that much oil every seven minutes. All hype aside, oil shale is the poorest of the fossil fuels, containing far less energy than crude oil, much less even than hog manure, peat moss or Cap'n Crunch. A meager amount of energy, tightly bound up in an enormous volume of rock, oil shale seems destined to remain an elusive bonanza, the petroleum equivalent of fool's gold. After an investigation that included a frightening car chase, I learned that everyone on all sides of the Middle East conflict was making over 50 fakes of well-known medicines because the trade was so lucrative. 12/25/05 - 'Positive Addictions' to Prevent Violence Getting kids into the habit of participating in positive activities such as school sports or music could help reduce school violence, according to researchers at Utah State University's Center for the School of the Future. The researchers found that schools participating in the "Prevention Plus" violence-prevention model experienced less fighting and fewer court referrals and gang-related activities. The program cultivates the development of children's protective assets, such as stronger relationships with family members and mentors and the pursuit of "positive addictions" such as athletics, fitness, or a musical instrument. Other protective assets include well-developed social and academic skills and demonstrations of support from family and friends. School violence is a major problem in U.S. schools, says program director Rich West, citing a dramatic rise of violence and intimidation by female students as particularly troubling. Fear of victimization keeps as many as 10% of students out of school at least one day a month. (via impactlab.com) 12/24/05 - R&D challenges for new-energy cars As China faces growing energy demands, the government is promoting electric, hybrid and hydrogen vehicles. But before these wheels start rolling onto city streets, developers face high research and development costs. They must also reshape consumers' purchasing habits. International experts gathered recently at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai to discuss the road ahead for new energy vehicles in China. Li Zhuangmiao takes a look at their direction. China's thirty million-odd petrol-driven automobiles suck up nearly half of the country's total oil. China's demand for outside oil is forecast to rise to two hundred and seventy million metric tons in 2020, and to minimize demand, the country is promoting cars driven by new energies. But vehicles such as hybrid gas-and-electric cars, which use forty percent less fuel and produce eighty percent less pollution are expensive to create. Zhuangmiao said: "35,000 new cars hit Shanghai streets in the last five years, and the trend is nationwide. But these conventional models are half the price that a hybrid would cost, which makes winning customers over a big challenge for hybrid automakers." Prof. Bernd Schmitt, Columbia Business school said: "Consumers often have a very short-term orientation, as we know from research. They often only see the benefits for themselves in terms of using the more environmentally friendly forms of energy. Plus, very often there's no incentive for them to do so. The price for gasoline is acceptable so they go for the bigger cars." Professor Schmitt says China's retail petrol prices remain relatively low compared to the US or Germany. This discourages the pursuit of alternative fuels. 12/24/05 - Carpenter enjoys life off the grid McGovern has eight solar panels and a wind turbine that power his every energy need: heating water for showers, lighting his house and shop, running massive woodworking tools like table saws, etc. These alternative sources create more than enough energy for himself and his two cats, but they're not for every Daydream Johnny with ideas of self-sustainability. "If you're living in the city, with easy access to the power grid, in most cases it's going to be cheaper to just connect," said McGovern. "You need a minimum of 12 mph average daily wind or you're wasting your time, and you need sun access most of the year to make solar power work. The equipment can be expensive also." In McGovern's case, he lives 12 miles west of the city limits on Highway 130, and it would have cost him at least $25,000 for the power company to run poles out to his property. As it stands, he spent about $16,000 for all the equipment he uses now to power his meager needs. "The average household uses 35 kilowatt hours per day," said McGovern. "I use five kilowatt hours per day for a home and a carpentry shop. I don't know what these other people are doing, but if everyone would cut their energy consumption to 12 kilowatt hours per day, we wouldn't have to worry about drilling for oil in Alaska." In addition to the solar panels and wind turbine, McGovern has a solar hot water collector and a dozen 600-pound batteries that he recycled from a telecommunications company. The batteries store the energy collected until needed, then run it through an inverter to change the power from DC to the standard AC used in most houses. "I've never had a day without power," McGovern said. "I've gone over two weeks without wind and sun before, and the batteries were still going strong. 12/24/05 - Research shows happiness leads to success A team of researchers has come up with an equally startling finding. It is better to be happy than sad. And that, they conclude, may put you on the road to success. That finding may seem a tad obvious, but the fact is a lot of research has pointed in another direction, contending that happiness is the result of a lot of things - success at work, a good marriage, a fit body, a fat bank account. But according to psychologists at three universities, that's backward. People aren't happy because they are successful, they conclude. They're successful because they are happy. The researchers combed through 225 studies involving 275,000 people and found that most researchers put the proverbial cart before the horse. Most investigators, they concluded, "assume that success makes people happy." They conclude that happy people are easier to work with, more highly motivated and more willing to tackle a difficult project. Thus, they are more likely to be successful. "What is the hallmark of happiness?" they ask. "Our focus in this article is on happy individuals - that is, those who experience frequent positive emotions, such as joy, interest and pride, and infrequent (though not absent) negative emotions, such as sadness, anxiety and anger." Most people who are miserable seem eager to share their misery. "Happy moods appear to lead people to seek out others and to engage with the environment at large, to be more venturesome, more open and more sensitive to other individuals." But alas, there is a downside to all this happiness. Sometimes, especially when the subject is "chronically happy," the researchers note, co-workers may find all that cheerfulness a bit annoying. 12/24/05 - China scooping up deals in Africa as US firms hesitate China's growing demand for energy sources and profitable construction deals is leading the world's most populous country increasingly to swoop into Africa, where it has found abundant raw materials, governments desperate for outside investments, and relatively little competition from American firms. The Chinese, sensing Africa's tremendous potential upside, are making strategic economic inroads into a continent that, outside of oil investments, has long been written off by most Western companies as too risky because of poor governance or threat of conflict. US companies, in particular, have been caught flat-footed by the Chinese financial strikes, according to American and other experts on Africa's economic potential. s China's financial stakes blossom in the world's poorest continent, many others increasingly see the motivations behind the relationship as simple, too: China wants to expand its business reach, especially if it can bring new energy contracts, and Africa dearly needs investment. 12/24/05 - The year of unnatural disasters In the space of a year, a tsunami, an earthquake, brutal storms and floods have claimed more than 300,000 lives and cost at least 100 billion dollars in damage. Could mankind be to blame? For many scientists, the deep pain from this year's string of disasters is to a very large degree man-made. From the Mississippi delta to the mountains of Kashmir and the beaches of the Andaman Sea, governments failed in almost every case to respect the basic laws of sustainable development. In a nutshell, these rules are: don't house people in places that are at risk to disasters -- but if you do, respect natural defenses; keep the population growth to sensible limits; build wisely and ensure high safety standards in construction; and set up effective alert and response networks in the event disaster does strike. "Indiscriminate economic development and ecologically destructive policies have left many communities more vulnerable to disasters than they realize," said the Washington-based environmental group the Worldwatch Institute. Climate scientists are loath to pin a single event, or even a season, to the greenhouse-gas effect. Despite this, a small but increasing number of experts are venturing the opinion that the 2005 hurricane season was no accident, for it coincides with ever-rising sea temperatures that fuel bad hurricanes, and a year set to be the warmest ever recorded. Others urge caution, saying it could be years before we get confirmation as to whether 2005 was just a freak year for storms, part of a natural cycle for hurricanes, or the start of a man-made phenomenon. Oliver-Smith says it is too early to say whether the string of catastrophes of the past 12 months has dented mankind's obsession with economic growth regardless of the cost. 12/23/05 - Five ways to combat Climate Change A great story by the Economist lays out the basis for climate change and what needs to be done to combat it. In particular, it cites Dr. Rob Socolow of Princeton on six wedges of the CO2 pie-chart that need to be tackled: 1. Greater efficiency. - 2. Decarbonized electricity. - 3. Decarbonized (liquid) fuels. - 4. Fuel displacement by electricity. - 5. Methane management. - 6. Natural carbon sinks. This article provides an excellent introduction to the basis for climate change and is certainly worth forwarding on to friends and family who may have a fuzzy concept of the problem. (via thewatt.com) 12/23/05 - Shape of glass influences how much alcohol is poured When pouring liquor, even professional bartenders unintentionally pour 20 to 30 percent more into short, squat glasses than into tall, thin ones, according to a new Cornell University study. "Yet, people who pour into short, wide glasses consistently believe that they pour less than those who pour into tall, narrow glasses," said Brian Wansink, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing, Applied Economics and of Nutritional Science at Cornell. "And education, practice, concentration and experience don't correct the overpouring." The reason for the difference, Wansink speculates, is the classic vertical-horizontal optical illusion: People consistently perceive equally sized vertical lines as longer than horizontal ones. "People generally estimate tall glasses as holding more liquid than wide ones of the same volume," Wansink said. "They also focus their pouring attention on the height of the liquid they are pouring and insufficiently compensate for its width." In separate studies, the researchers asked 198 college students (43 percent female) of legal drinking age and 86 professional bartenders (with an average six years experience -- 38 percent of them female) to pour a shot (1.5 oz.) of spirits into either short, wide tumblers or tall, thin highball glasses. The college students consistently poured 30 percent more alcohol into the short glasses than into the tall, and the bartenders poured 20 percent more. When the researchers asked one group of students to practice 10 times before the actual pour, they still poured 26 percent more into the short glasses. When the researchers asked one group of bartenders to "please take your time," the bartenders took twice as long to pour the drink, but still poured 10 percent more into the short glasses. 12/23/05 - End of cheap gas: U.S. automakers running on empty This month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released projections that reveal dramatically higher world oil prices, with a new floor of $2 a gallon for gas. "This is the first significant increase in EIA's forecast of oil prices in years," said McManus, director of the U-M Transportation Research Institute's Automotive Analysis Division. "It is time for our automakers to accept this reality-something foreign competitors have understood for years." McManus says that in response to escalating profit losses and plunging market share, General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler have begun to "restructure" their North American production capacity. But these plans, he says, do not appear to involve retooling factories or redesigning assembly lines to build fuel-efficient cars. With gasoline prices 50 percent higher than just three years ago, consumers are increasingly turning to fuel-efficient cars and to foreign competitors. If ailing automakers are to successfully restructure their business, they must do what the EIA has done-acknowledge the end of cheap oil and retool their plants to build products that will sell in this new era." "It is the fuel economy of all vehicles on the road that determines how much oil we consume, McManus said. According to the EIA, 'greater penetration by hybrid and diesel vehicles and slower growth in the sales of light trucks and sport utility vehicles' will save only the equivalent of two-and-a-half weeks of fuel." "The real question is what kind of fuel economy does America need to achieve real reductions in fuel consumption by 2025? The real answer is a lot more than the EIA currently projects." 12/23/05 - Trash to turn into energy The Columbia City Council voted Monday night to proceed with the design and permitting phase of a bioreactor in the newest landfill cell that will launch the production of electrical power from the landfill for the Water and Light Department. The vote came after the council received a conceptual engineering and economic feasibility report from the consulting and engineering firm Camp Dresser & McKee. The firm builds bioreactors and was contracted to do the report in December 2004. A bioreactor is “basically a large scale of composting,” said Richard Wieman, Columbia Solid Waste Utility manager. The basic design is similar to landfills used today, but a bioreactor hastens the rate of decomposition through the controlled circulation of leachate - the liquid that filters through waste - and the addition of water or oxygen to spur microbes into biodegration. A natural byproduct of this process is methane gas, which can be burned to produce electricity. The “dry tomb” method, which seals off the elements and allows only marginal biodegration, is the conventional method, Pendergrass said. With a bioreactor, regulated amounts of water and air are injected into the landfill cell, allowing controlled reactions that stabilize waste quicker and provide higher methane levels. Wieman estimated the process could use about 40,000 gallons of water per day. “Initially, we’re going to expect to get 1.5 to 2 percent (of the city’s electricity) from the generation here in town,” Columbia Water and Light director Dan Dasho said. Until the methane production becomes fully operational, Columbia plans to buy long-term supplies from other renewable energy sources. The Water and Light Department bought about 1 percent of its energy in 2005 from a bioreactor at the Milam landfill in East St. Louis, Ill. 12/23/05 - Healing with Heat Moxibustion is the heating method used mostly for chronic diseases. Like needling, moxibustion also enhances the flow of vital energy (that is Qi) throughout the meridians in a body. Moxibustion is used in very chronic, (yin) situations. Moxibustion has tremendous scope in the treatment of swelling, ganglion, tumours, sprains, spasms and any type of pain. According to the Chinese, moxibustion clears the meridians. It removes the coldness, dampness and other impurities of blood and enhances the it as well as other vital energy circulations. The term moxibustion is from Japanese term ‘mogusa’ for the mugwort plant. The moxa is ignited by a candle and the ignited end is shown at the distance of 3.5 cm to the skin producing a warm feeling. 12/23/05 - Congress Digs in Its Heels to Defy Bush After four years in which Congress repeatedly laid down while President Bush dictated his priorities, 2005 will go down as the year legislators stood up. This week's uprising against a four-year extension of the USA Patriot Act was the latest example of a new willingness by lawmakers in both parties to challenge Bush and his notions of expansive executive power. "What you have seen is a Congress, which has been AWOL through intimidation or lack of unity, get off the sidelines and jump in with both feet," especially on the national security front, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. What is most striking is the pushback is coming not just from Democrats and moderate Republicans, who often disagree with Bush, but from mainstream conservative members. The year's events, say some legislators and scholars, reflect more than just a change in the president's legislative scorecard. They suggest Bush may have reached the outer limits of a long-term project to reshape the powers of the presidency. - Online MSNBC poll Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment? - of 126118 responses - 85% say Yes 12/23/05 - The AmeriKKKan police state (Worth the read in its entirety. - JWD) Perhaps Bu$h fears the people might actually read the U.S. Declaration of Independence and discern the glaring similarities between the reasons the 13 colonies broke away from England and the conditions George W. Bu$h and his merry band of thieves, rogues and warmongers have foisted upon the AmeriKKKan people. Read it for yourself, then ask yourself whether or not the words are relevant today. Ask yourself whether or not the words in that document mirror in any way, the situation you are facing today. If you see no similarities whatsoever, go back to the television, go back to sleep or stick your head back into the sand. Sooner or later someone will come along and stick their jack booted foot into your comatose, stupid behind. But by then, if the ruling elites have their way, it will be too late to alter the situation. 12/22/05 - Rapidly produced Cheap hot water (I am wary of this news report because I could not find the Patent Number or Inventors Name at the Patent Office, how can they produce a press release with TWO ERRORS unless it is a hoax or a fraud? I have emailed them requesting the correct information. - JWD) A new patent for "Method and Apparatus for the Production of Hydrogen and Oxygen" (Patent # 11254593) from Robert J. dePalo. This patent was acquired in order to further develop the described invention for the economical production of hot water on demand. "We are very excited about our acquisition of these patent rights," says Benjamin Croxton, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of WES. "Our prototype apparatus, utilizing our technology, has heated ground water from 70 degrees F to 195 degrees F in less than 15 seconds using common household electrical current at a cost of 6 (six) 10ths (6/10) of a penny per minute," says Croxton. "Utilizing common household current to create hydrogen/oxygen gas (from water) allows us to operate our design anywhere in the world where there is electricity. It is the goal of WES to further develop this technology for potential use in commercial, industrial, residential and military applications," stated Croxton. (Update - 12/23/05 - I received an email from WES lawyer Clifford J. Hunt explaining the misleading patent information. He indicates the patent has not been granted, so the information remains confidential until it is granted. Most inventors do this to prevent interference with their ongoing patent applications.) 12/22/05 - Japanese instant checkout defeats long lines If a shopper places the basket on the checkout counter, the system scans the prices in one second without the sales clerk having to scan each item. Including the time for procedures such as putting the goods in a bag, "it takes less than 10 seconds to leave the counter," said Itochu spokesman Yasuhiko Takahashi. The trial-run will take place at a FamilyMart convenience store in Tokyo for a month from January 30, using special tags on 500 kinds of goods and electronic money, trading house Itochu said Wednesday. Many in Japan use electronic money in the form of cards for instant debits or prepaid value, much like a phone card. 12/22/05 - EPA invents battery-less hybrid system Called hydraulic hybrid technology, the system uses energy stored up during braking to help propel a vehicle during acceleration. The energy is stored in pressurized hydraulic fluid, the same sort of fluid used in brake lines and for power steering. Ordinarily, when a driver applies the brakes in a car the energy removed from the vehicle's forward motion is simply lost as heat through the car's brake pads and rotors. In gasoline-electric hybrids, like the Toyota Prius, some of that energy is recaptured through generators that charge batteries that, in turn, can help provide supplementary power to the vehicle. In the EPA's hydraulic hybrid system, braking pressure is used to power pumps that compress hydraulic fluid. This stores energy in the same way you would if you squeezed a spring with your hands. When needed, the pressure is released and the expanding hydraulic fluid is used to power gears that help turn the vehicle's wheels. Also, just as a gasoline-electric hybrid's gas engine can charge the batteries directly during highway cruising, the hydraulic hybrid's engine can also pump up the pressurized fluid tanks as the vehicle drives. There is a major advantage to the EPA's new system and one major disadvantage, the agency said. The advantage is its simplicity and relatively low cost. The system would cost an estimated $600 to install on a mass-production basis, the agency estimates, compared to $3,000 to $6,000 for an electric hybrid system. The disadvantage is the system's weight, the EPA says. According to a 2004 EPA report, a hydraulic hybrid SUV would weigh about 190 pounds more than a conventional SUV. That means the EPA's system is most applicable to trucks where the added weight would make a smaller overall difference, the agency said. The added weight of the system is similar to the weight of an electric hybrid system, although the EPA itself cites weight as a disadvantage. The EPA's system was demonstrated at an engineering conference last year on a prototype Ford Expedition SUV and will be used next year in at least one UPS delivery truck next year. The UPS truck could get as much a 70 percent increase in fuel efficiency in city routes, the EPA estimates, and the added cost of the trucks should be paid off in fuel savings in about 2.5 years. All these vehicles are diesel powered. Diesel engines are inherently more fuel efficient, to begin with, than gasoline engines. The use of diesel also allows the EPA to show off "clean diesel" technology it has also developed in its laboratories. 12/21/05 - Unlimited Electric Energy from the Environment An alternative electric power generating system that draws energy from a seemingly unlikely yet abundant, eminently renewable and virtually free power source has been submitted for patenting by MagCap Engineering, LLC, Canton, Mass., in collaboration with Gordon W. Wadle, an inventor from Thomson, Ill. Wadle has invented a way to capture the energy generated by a living non- animal organism -- such as a tree. Chris Lagadinos, president of MagCap, developed circuitry that converts this natural energy source into useable DC power capable of sustaining a continuous current to charge and maintain a battery at full charge. "As unbelievable as it sounds, we've been able to demonstrate the feasibility of generating electricity in this manner," said Wadle. "While the development is in its infancy, it has the potential to provide an unlimited supply of constant, clean energy without relying on fossil fuels, a power generating plant complex or an elaborate transmission network." Wadle likened the invention to the discovery of electricity over 200 years ago when charged particles were harnessed to create an electric current. "Now we've learned that there is an immense, inexhaustible source of energy literally all around us that can be harnessed and converted into usable electric power," he said. Ultimately, it should prove to be more practical than solar energy or wind power, and certainly more affordable than fuel cells, he added. Wadle said he got the original idea of harnessing a tree for electrical energy from studying lightening, more than 50 percent of which originates from the ground. This prompted him to develop the theories resulting in a method to access this power source. Lagadinos then designed circuitry that filtered and amplified these energy emanations, creating a useable power source. Basically, the existing system includes a metal rod embedded in the tree, a grounding rod driven into the ground, and the connecting circuitry, which filters and boosts the power output sufficient to charge a battery. In its current experimental configuration, the demonstration system produces 2.1 volts, enough to continuously maintain a full charge in a nickel cadmium battery attached to an LED light. "Think of the environment as a battery, in this case," said Lagadinos, "with the tree as the positive pole and the grounding rod as the negative." Lagadinos said the system could be enhanced enough to generate 12 volts and one amp of power, "a desirable power level that could be used to power just about anything," he said. It is enough power to charge batteries for any type of vehicle, including hybrids and electric cars, or to use with an AC converter to produce household power, he added. The LED industry is a prime example of a potential user of this power source. While the basic concept of this invention -- using a tree to generate electric power -- seems too incredible to be true, Lagadinos said it can be demonstrated quite simply. "Simply drive an aluminum roofing nail through the bark and into the wood of a tree -- any tree -- approximately one half inch; drive a copper water pipe six or seven inches into the ground, then get a standard off-the-shelf digital volt meter and attach one probe to the pipe, the other to the nail and you'll get a reading of anywhere from 0.8 to 1.2 volts of DC power," he said. "You can't do anything with it in that form because it is 'dirty' -- i.e. highly unstable and too weak to power anything," he added. In order to properly harness this potential energy source, MagCap devised two test circuits: one with three capacitors that were connected in parallel by means of a switch and charged to 0.7 volts each. When fully charged they are switched to a series mode, multiplying the voltage to 2.1 volts and flashing an LED to show that sufficient power could be generated to produce a useable result. The second circuit included a filtering device to stabilize and "clean" the current so it could be used to charge and maintain a NiCad battery. The battery then could be connected to the LED to keep the LED lit continuously. Wadle pointed out that there seems to be no limit to the amount of power that can be drawn from an individual tree, no matter how many "taps" are inserted -- each produces the same amount of energy, an average of 0.7 - 0.8 volts. Size of the tree also seems not to matter. Interestingly, while conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that the tree draws much of its energy from photosynthesis via its leaves, the voltage output actually increases to 1.2-1.3 volts in the winter after the leaves have fallen. 12/21/05 - Swallow a balloon to beat the bulge Did you ever think that a balloon could be instrumental in helping you get rid of that bloated up body? Well scientists have now devised a method wherein obese people can lose excessive weight without any invasive surgery, but by simply swallowing a balloon. Results of a recent trial have been startlingly good, with patients showing significant weight loss in just three months. It is particularly exciting as it offers a non-surgical alternative to gastric bands and stomach reduction procedures. Doctors first carry out an initial examination of the stomach with the help of an endoscopic camera, to check for abnormalities or obstructions. The deflated balloon, made from a soft silicone material, is then fed down the throat and into the stomach. Anaesthetic is put onto the surface of the throat to numb the tissue while the balloon is swallowed. Muscle-relaxing medication may also be used. Once in place, the balloon is filled with 500 ml of saline through a small tube that also goes down the throat and which is attached to a self-sealing valve in the neck of the balloon. The tube is removed when filling is complete and the balloon floats around the stomach safely. Once it is filled, the balloon is too big to get through the valve from the stomach to the bowel. The trial by doctors in Rome shows that the whole procedure took only 10 to 15 minutes. The idea is that the balloon reduces the working size of the stomach, without surgery. The theory is that the patient feels fuller and less need to eat. The manufacturers, Inamed Health, claim that as the balloon creates a feeling of fullness, it acts as an aid to weight reduction and helps users adhere to a prescribed diet. The system was designed for people who are at least 40 per cent above their ideal weight and who have failed to get prolonged success with other weight control programmes. 12/21/05 - So what happened to the Segway? Anyone ridden a Segway recently? This month marks the four-year anniversary of Dean Kamen's much-hyped self-balancing upright scooter. Upon unveiling his invention, Kamen promised it would eventually replace the automobile for short-distance trips and offer easier mobility to everyone from postal workers to the elderly. With equal parts naivety and hubris, some of Segway's supporters even foresaw a day when the world would redesign cities to accommodate its new capabilities. Two years later, Kamen's invention is nowhere to be found. Segways have been relegated to specialty applications, such as pilot studies with parcel couriers and police officers. The U.S. Patent Office is filled with applications for inventions that will never bring an additional penny to anyone besides the patent lawyers who filed them. Always novel, and occasionally interesting, these inventions are not innovations. An innovation is far more valuable. It's an invention that has a socioeconomic effect and changes how people live or work -- or what they buy. And managed well, it pays the bills. That doesn't mean that we don't need new inventions. Just that they're only half the story. 12/21/05 - Wealthy less charitable, study finds Working-age Americans who make $50,000 to $100,000 a year are two to six times more generous in one measure of the gifts they give to charity than Americans who make more than $10 million, a pioneering study of federal tax data shows. Among those 35 and younger, those making less than $200,000 made gifts equal to 1.87 percent of their assets, a figure that fell to 0.5 percent for the 189,000 taxpayers making $200,000 to $10 million and to 0.4 percent for the 285 taxpayers making more than $10 million. 12/21/05 - Watercone - sun + seawater = clean water One of the easiest tools for making brackish or sea water usable requires little more than sunlight and time -- the Watercone. Made of a rugged, transparent plastic, the Watercone is incredibly easy to use: fill up the base plate with salt water, place the cone over the plate, and wait. 24 hours later, a trough around the edge of the cone will contain 1-1.5 liters of fresh water, produced by vaporation/condensation. Pour the water out, and start again. Individual units are expected to cost around $50 apiece, although that will depend in large part on who manufactures them. (via worldchanging.com) 12/21/05 - Excess packaging 'wasteful' RETAILERS and manufacturers have been criticised for using cheap marketing tactics and too much plastic packaging by Environment Victoria in its annual Dump awards. A vitamin pill with a red flashing light aimed at grabbing the attention of shoppers has been awarded the gold Dump award for the use of damaging and useless materials in packaging. Judged by a panel of seven people from academia and industry, Myadec A-Z Guard multi-vitamin was singled out for the top award for its red light and batteries, which could be hazardous when dumped in landfill. Cadbury Schweppes Hot Chocolate, which has a bottle covered in shrink wrap, was awarded both the Negative Development in Packaging and the Misleading Labelling gongs. Ms Henty said non-recyclable or hazardous packaging not only added to the cost of the products, but also harmed the environment. "The cost to the community of this waste is enormous, not just as litter in our waterways and animal habitats, but to the cost of products themselves and (municipal) council rates," Ms Henty said. "Manufacturers want you to buy as much as possible so they create short-lived products and wrap multiple products together in one pack," Mr West said. "So avoid buying products that are obviously over-packaged or non-recyclable." 12/21/05 - NSA/CIA spooks incensed at Wiretapping of private citizens A few current and former signals intelligence guys have been checking in since this NSA domestic spying story broke. Their reactions range between midly creeped out and completely pissed off. All of the sigint specialists emphasized repeatedly that keeping tabs on Americans is way beyond the bounds of what they ordinarily do -- no matter what the conspiracy crowd may think. "It's drilled into you from minute one that you should not ever, ever, ever, under any f**king circumstances turn this massive apparatus on an American citizen," one source says. "You do a lot of weird shit. But at least you don't f**k with your own people." As reported in the Times, the C.I.A. seized the terrorists' computers, cellphones and personal phone directories, said the officials familiar with the program. The N.S.A. surveillance was intended to exploit those numbers and addresses as quickly as possible, they said....In addition to eavesdropping on those numbers and reading e-mail messages to and from the Qaeda figures, the N.S.A. began monitoring others linked to them, creating an expanding chain. While most of the numbers and addresses were overseas, hundreds were in the United States, the officials said....Since 2002, the agency has been conducting some warrantless eavesdropping on people in the United States who are linked, even if indirectly, to suspected terrorists through the chain of phone numbers and e-mail addresses. But this call chain could very well have grown out of control, the source admits. Suddenly, people ten and twelve degrees of separation away from Osama may have been targeted. If the Bush administration didn't like the 72-hour requirement, then they should have gone to Congress and asked that FISA be amended to allow for more time. If the Bush administration didn't feel that the FISA court could handle the increased caseload at current staffing levels, then they could have, once again, gone to Congress and asked that the FISA court be expanded. The Bush administration did neither of these two things. They broke the law instead. And just as in the case of the intelligence committees on Capitol Hill, the Bush adminstration only told (it's reported) a single judge on the FISA court that they were bypassing FISA per executive order. In other words, the Bush administration blew off the judicial review of the FISA court concerning countless warrantless surveillance activities and established their own in-house "judicial review" apparatus instead. 12/21/05 - Psychiatry Ponders Whether Extreme Bias Can Be an Illness Mental health practitioners say they regularly confront extreme forms of racism, homophobia and other prejudice in the course of therapy, and that some patients are disabled by these beliefs. As doctors increasingly weigh the effects of race and culture on mental illness, some are asking whether pathological bias ought to be an official psychiatric diagnosis. Advocates have circulated draft guidelines and have begun to conduct systematic studies. While the proposal is gaining traction, it is still in the early stages of being considered by the professionals who decide on new diagnoses. If it succeeds, it could have huge ramifications on clinical practice, employment disputes and the criminal justice system. Perpetrators of hate crimes could become candidates for treatment, and physicians would become arbiters of how to distinguish "ordinary prejudice" from pathological bias. "I think it's absurd," said Sally Satel, a psychiatrist and the author of "PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness Is Corrupting Medicine." Satel said the diagnosis would allow hate-crime perpetrators to evade responsibility by claiming they suffered from a mental illness. "You could use it as a defense." 12/21/05 - Brandy as an antioxidant A new research has found that a shot of Christmas brandy is beneficial for the body as it could help eliminate free radicals that bring on old age and disease. The study, by physicist Dr Gordon Troup and chemist Dr Steve Langford from Monash University in Melbourne, has found that a standard 30 millilitre shot of brandy has the equivalent antioxidant potential as the daily recommended intake of vitamin C. Dr Troup said that eating a slice of brany-infused traditional Christmas cake or drinking a brandy of a good quality is good for health. "So when you are enjoying a slice of brandy-infused fruit cake or a drink of good quality brandy over Christmas you can put your mind at rest that this amber liquid isn t too bad for you at all," ABC online quoted him, as saying. The researchers studied seven different brandies using electron spin resonance spectroscopy, which uses microwaves to image free radicals and antioxidant chemicals. They found that six types of the fiery liquid had a healthy amount of antioxidants present which came from sources including copper atoms from the distiller, phenols from the oak used in the ageing process and manganese atoms from the grapes. The report of their findings is published in the latest issue of the Alcohol in Moderation Digest. 12/21/05 - The current U.S. system is harming innovation For over 200 years, the U.S. patent system has catalyzed economic growth and protected the national interest. Unfortunately, over the past few decades, patents have become irrelevant -- even harmful -- to the innovation process. The first problem with patents is that the entire process takes too long: three years on average, often as long as five, and getting longer all the time. Second, a company's most valuable IP almost always results from later insights, gleaned by developing its early products and interacting with customers, not from the IP it originally filed. Competitors are busy inventing as well, and since the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office often grants trivial and overlapping patents, IP minefields may be waiting to explode. Third, the $50,000 to $100,000 lifetime cost of patent application, protection, and maintenance effectively limits the number of patents a young, financially constrained company can file. Much patentable IP is left on the cutting-room floor, at the risk of allowing trivial variations filed by competitors to block the originator's path to market. Fourth, and probably most important, few venture-capital-backed companies will ever dare to defend their IP in court. If they do, they'll risk losing customers and squandering anywhere from $1 million to $5 million of their precious venture funding. Much of what the Patent Office sees as invention is merely science applied to a new field by equation or analogy. At AT&T, we took old microwave patents and filed identical claims on optical inventions, which are also radio waves, only 10,000 times smaller. We were able to do this even though it was obvious to anyone who ever picked up a physics textbook that once you have the ability to make things smaller, the physics just translates over. Higher standards and greater simplicity are the path to a better patent system -- for our nation and for its inventors. In my case, probably no more than a dozen of my 70 patents would reach this bar. Yet they would be more valuable in the end. Sometimes more isn't better. 12/21/05 - Atlantic currents show signs of weakening THE NORTH Atlantic's natural heating system, which brings clement weather to Western Europe, is showing signs of decline. Scientists report that warm Atlantic Ocean currents, which carry heat from the tropics to high latitudes, have substantially weakened over the past 50 years. Oceanographers surveying the `Atlantic meridional overturning circulation,' the current system that includes the warm Gulf Stream current, report that it seems to be 30 percent weaker than half a century ago. Harry Bryden of the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, England, and his team reported their results recently in Nature. The team measured water temperature and salinity along a latitude of 25 degrees North, taking samples roughly every 50 kilometres. They then calculated from the density and pressure differences between each sample, the volume and velocity of the circulation at various depths, assuming that from coast to coast the balance of water flowing north and south must be zero. Similar measurements along the same latitude were previously made. But until now, the data never showed any significant decline in circulation. "In 1998 we saw only very small changes," says Bryden. However, this time things were very different. The near surface, and mostly wind-driven, Gulf Stream has remained almost constant since 1957. But the deep-ocean return flow of cooler water has decreased dramatically. This cycle usually returns water to more southerly latitudes. But much of this water now seems to be trapped in a loop in the subtropical Atlantic, instead of cycling all the way to the ocean's northern extremity. Bryden and his colleagues estimate that, overall, the circulation has slowed by about 30 per cent since 1957. Other oceanographers warn that this is not proof of a long-term trend. Possible disturbances such as ocean eddies, and natural fluctuations in the strength of the circulation system, must be considered, they say. "Something is clearly going on," says Jochem Marotzke, an oceanographer at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg. "But we still have only a series of snapshots. The crux is to determine how representative they really are." He adds that the chances of imminent collapse of the circulation system are small. Sensor-equipped moorings installed at 25 locations across the subtropical Atlantic have now begun to monitor continuously the circulation at all depths. 12/20/05 - Giant Limes grown in Thailand This is via boingboing.net though the page is in Thai which I can't translate to discover how they grew these limes so large. AS written at boingboing; "Possibly a result of mutation, this lime tree bears more than 100 limes -- each lime is very big with the biggest (5 1/2" diameter) weighs in at 1.5kg or 3.3 pounds. Four of these limes give 500cc juice that tastes exactly like lime juice from a normal sized lime." In Mexico, they sell 'limones' in two forms, the normal small ones with seeds which are about an inch in diameter and large ones that are seedless and range from 2-3 inches in diameter. 12/20/05 - Ford To Build Flexible Fuel Engine Plant In The Philippines In his visit to the country, Ford Motor Company Corporate Vice President and President of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa, Peter Daniel, announced company plans to invest P1.1 billion (US$20 million) to build a Flexible Fuel engine plant in the Philippines. A Ford first in the region, the investment further establishes Ford’s innovation leadership in Flexible Fuel technology and the use of bio-ethanol fuel. Ford’s Flexible Fuel engines are designed to operate on either conventional gasoline or a combination of gasoline and bio-ethanol fuels. The investment translates to production of 100,000 engines over the next five years valued at about US$100 million. Start-up activities will be undertaken in the first quarter next year, with full production to begin before the end of 2006. Ford is the first and only volume exporter of vehicles from the Philippines. The success of the export program can be attributed to the world-class vehicles being produced at the Santa Rosa plant. Currently, Ford Philippines exports the Focus and Escape, and the Mazda3 and Tribute to several ASEAN countries-bringing cumulative exports from the start of the program to end 2005 to some 40,000 vehicles valued at approximately US$500 million. The engines from the Philippine plant will be used in the production of Flexible Fuel vehicles (FFVs). Currently, Ford Motor Company has more than one million ethanol-powered cars and trucks on the road. In North America, four new vehicles are planned for 2006 that will largely run on ethanol, increasing the production of FFVs in 2006 to as much as 250,000 units. Ford’s interest in using ethanol as an alternative fuel goes back to the days of its founder, Henry Ford, who experimented with ethanol to power his Model T invention. 12/20/05 - Flying Scooter turns heads Shaw has invented what he calls the Ultralight Flying Scooter. It is a mini-motorcycle with a "flight modification kit" attachment. It includes a 42 m-2 tandem-rated paraglider wing, a parachute that tucks in at the front of the vehicle between the driver's legs, and an engine. "It is a street legal, power paraglider. It is in a weight class that makes it an ultra light aircraft. Its under 254 pounds so it meets the FAA regulations." And it does fly. Unlike a paraglider, this gizmo has an engine, so it doesn't rely on the wind for flight. "It actually pushes your vehicle on the ground to a flight speed that makes the paraglider wing actually stay above your head so it can then take off like an airplane." And because the flying scooter weighs less than 254 pounds you don't need a pilot's license to use it...but that also means you cannot fly it near any airport. "Its extremely affordable. It's the most affordable aircraft you can get and you can drive on the streets with it." And how "affordable" is it?? Well, the flight modification kit costs just under $10,000. That does not include the scooter. "We actually have a payment plan as well." And for another $1,200, Shaw will teach you how to use this aircraft with training wheels. 12/20/05 - A big wave of mini-hydro projects Propelled by high energy costs, federal incentives, and an eased licensing process, at least 104 projects in 29 states - with 2,400 megawatts of new capacity - have been granted "preliminary permits" by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which regulates hydropower development. Many other projects in the works have not yet been officially reported by FERC, observers say. Some trace the surge in hydropower interest to little-noticed provisions in the 2005 energy bill that provided tax credits and incentive payments to boost the industry. It also included measures to soften the clout of environmentalists, native Americans, fishing enthusiasts, and federal agencies that might oppose or wish to modify such projects. About 4 in 5 projects on the books are tiny - producing less than 20 megawatts of power. But if all 104 projects now in the planning stages are built, they would contribute 2.4 gigawatts to generating capacity nationwide. The potential exists for much more, say federal researchers. Of 80,000 existing dams, only about 2,500 generate electricity. Upgrading those hydropower