1 - 01/30/11 - Why our paltry Climate Control efforts are SOO Insignificant 2 - 01/30/11 - White House Wants 1M Electric Cars By 2015 3 - 01/30/11 - The Demands of the Egyptian Revolutionaries 4 - 01/30/11 - Mesa man makes eco-friendly plastic bottles 5 - 01/30/11 - India's most expensive movie yields most astonishing action-scene 6 - 01/30/11 - Awesome Foundation offers cash for crazy ideas 7 - 01/30/11 - 555 based balancing bot 8 - 01/30/11 - Amr Khaled: Islam's Billy Graham 9 - 01/30/11 - Plug and Prey: Malicious USB devices 10 - 01/30/11 - Scientists Develop Plants to Detect Explosives at Airports 11 - 01/30/11 - Young inventors prompt colleges to revamp rules 12 - 01/30/11 - Wireless electricity enables next generation of annoying packaging 13 - 01/30/11 - Expect More Muslims 14 - 01/30/11 - Move to cut pirates down to size 15 - 01/30/11 - New Radio Invention - Selective Sampling Receiver 16 - 01/30/11 - Don't steal the towels: invention tracks towels at health clubs, hotels 17 - 01/30/11 - Photographer's bust-card silkscreened on white-balance cards 18 - 01/30/11 - Butterfly-inspired invention could stump counterfeiters (video) 19 - 01/30/11 - Revolver that fires shotgun shells 20 - 01/30/11 - Woman burns her insides with water bought at Moscow's luxury store 21 - 01/30/11 - Every profession has its superstitions 22 - 01/30/11 - Ford Building Cars That Talk To Other Cars 23 - 01/30/11 - How Gaming Can Save the World 24 - 01/30/11 - Bomb Detecting Plants To Root Out Terrorists 25 - 01/30/11 - Egypt Cuts the Net, Net Fights Back 26 - 01/30/11 - Swedish ISPs To Thwart EU Data Retention Law 27 - 01/30/11 - Model Says Religiosity Gene Will Dominate Society 28 - 01/30/11 - Internet Kill Switch Back On the US Legislative Agenda 29 - 01/27/11 - How Chrysler's Battery-Less Hybrid Minivan Works 30 - 01/27/11 - Tech Info - Italian Scientists Demonstrate Cold Fusion? 31 - 01/27/11 - What Should Replace Religions? 32 - 01/27/11 - Magnets held to the head could switch off sense of right and wrong 33 - 01/27/11 - VW unveils an ultra-efficient car 34 - 01/27/11 - Flier beats TSA video recording charge in court 35 - 01/27/11 - Standard Reference Kilo Losing Weight 36 - 01/27/11 - Whole-airplane parachute 37 - 01/27/11 - Alien hand syndrome sufferer 38 - 01/27/11 - MAKE presents: (How to Use) The Multimeter 39 - 01/27/11 - Domestic Use of Aerial Drones By Law Enforcement 40 - 01/27/11 - Rings of Energy, Spin Forces, etc. 41 - 01/27/11 - Japanese Supreme Court Rules TV Forwarding Illegal 42 - 01/27/11 - The United States of Shame 43 - 01/27/11 - Italian Consumer Watchdog Sues Microsoft Over 'Windows Tax' 44 - 01/27/11 - Moods of Cone Bird Tell Weather (Sep, 1931) 45 - 01/27/11 - Chinese Stealth Fighter Jet May Use US Technology 46 - 01/27/11 - Is Homeland Security secretly preparing for a dollar collapse? 47 - 01/27/11 - Two-Thirds of US Internet Users Lack Fast Broadband 48 - 01/27/11 - Third of Content On Popular BT Portals Are Fake 49 - 01/27/11 - Video anthology of time-saving tips 50 - 01/27/11 - Fox 11 News report on Trolling Phenomenon 51 - 01/27/11 - NASA's Commercial Plans for Kennedy Space Center 52 - 01/27/11 - Does the Moon Have Military Value? 53 - 01/27/11 - Self-Control In Kids Predicts Future Success 54 - 01/27/11 - Mexican drug smugglers catapult weed over border fence into US 55 - 01/27/11 - Ford Building Cars That Talk To Other Cars 56 - 01/24/11 - America Losing Its Edge In Innovation 57 - 01/24/11 - Why Man Creates 58 - 01/24/11 - Secret UFO Propulsion Systems 59 - 01/24/11 - Scientists warn of 'superstorm' heading for California 60 - 01/24/11 - Ambitious project to green the desert to begin in Jordan 61 - 01/24/11 - 'The World' is sinking: Dubai islands 'falling into the sea' 62 - 01/24/11 - Morbid Curiosity Leading Many Voters To Support Palin 63 - 01/24/11 - Infectious cancer cells hop hosts, steal replacement parts 64 - 01/24/11 - The Martin Luther King You Still Don't See on TV 65 - 01/24/11 - Not Beefy Enough 66 - 01/24/11 - MIT uses nanotech to make solar panels more efficient 67 - 01/24/11 - Thermal water pump could aid farmers in developing nations 68 - 01/24/11 - Firm’s pain free fat laser device goes global 69 - 01/24/11 - Scientist builds motor running on air 70 - 01/24/11 - Kurdistan energy inventor 71 - 01/24/11 - Programmed for Love 72 - 01/24/11 - Clever Human-Powered Transport Proposed for Low Carbon Masdar City 73 - 01/24/11 - Preparations for alien contact 74 - 01/24/11 - Portugal: 10 years of decriminalized drugs 75 - 01/24/11 - Rescuing a Broken America 76 - 01/24/11 - Doom and gloom 77 - 01/24/11 - Woman's Voice Restored After Larynx Transplant 78 - 01/24/11 - Apple Files Patent For Display Mouse 79 - 01/24/11 - More Americans On Food Stamps More Money JP Morgan Makes 80 - 01/24/11 - Laser Incidents With Aircraft On the Rise 81 - 01/24/11 - 60% of AOL's Profits Come From Misinformed Customers 82 - 01/24/11 - Artificial Retinas Can Balance a Pencil On Its End 83 - 01/24/11 - The Fall of Traditional Entertainment Conglomerates 84 - 01/21/11 - Update: Italian scientists claim to have demonstrated cold fusion 85 - 01/21/11 - Calling All Inventors: Win a PopSci Invention Award! 86 - 01/21/11 - The Placebo Effect 87 - 01/21/11 - ‘Invention boosts turbine energy’ up to 30% more power 88 - 01/21/11 - Interview with Jetpack Inventor Justin Capra 89 - 01/21/11 - Push Button Emergency Housing 90 - 01/21/11 - Smoking Causes Genetic Damage in Minutes Rather Than Years 91 - 01/21/11 - A Private Space Shuttle Replacement 92 - 01/21/11 - A brave new world of fossil fuels on demand $30 Barrel Oil 93 - 01/21/11 - Comparing Countries 94 - 01/21/11 - ‘Vacuum-Rocket’ Car Sets Style for Dirigible (May, 1936) 95 - 01/21/11 - Technology causes information overload 96 - 01/21/11 - Electrified Arm Shield for Officers Delivers Loud Electrical Shock... 97 - 01/21/11 - Napoleon man shelving his high-efficiency engine dream 98 - 01/21/11 - Real world magical security thinking 99 - 01/21/11 - Ag Flag named a top invention 100 - 01/21/11 - Convicted Felon's Invention to Help Prevent Fraud 101 - 01/21/11 - Crazy-talking boffins 102 - 01/21/11 - $11 Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device 103 - 01/21/11 - Innovation Always Trumps Invention 104 - 01/21/11 - New variety of jalapeno bred for sports bars, bowling alleys 105 - 01/21/11 - If Earth’s Spin Speeds Up We’ll All Get Fat and Uninhibited 106 - 01/21/11 - Who is fixing your plane, and how? Repair outsourcing 107 - 01/21/11 - A BBB advisory on a new telephone scam making the rounds 108 - 01/21/11 - $20 Vantec SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter 109 - 01/21/11 - American defense monster has grown too many heads 110 - 01/21/11 - Russia to leave USA behind in building space hotel 111 - 01/21/11 - The Prospects For Lunar Mining 112 - 01/21/11 - Cosmological Constant Not Fine Tuned For Life 113 - 01/21/11 - Music Really Is Intoxicating, After All 114 - 01/21/11 - Unsecured IP Cameras Accessible To Everyone 115 - 01/21/11 - Milk Cured My Nerve Shock (Mar, 1922) 116 - 01/21/11 - 30% More Patents Issued in 2010 117 - 01/21/11 - Blackswift: USA's response to threats from China and Russia 118 - 01/21/11 - New Sunlight Reactor Produces Fuel 119 - 01/21/11 - Self-Charging Cable 120 - 01/21/11 - Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France 121 - 01/19/11 - Focardi and Rossi LENR (Cold Fusion) Demo today 122 - 01/19/11 - Rossi Cold Fusion Patent #US2011005506 (A1) 123 - 01/19/11 - Focardi Energy Generator Patent #WO9520816 (A1) 124 - 01/19/11 - More bama birth certificate info from Kenya 125 - 01/18/11 - Hawaii governor can't find Obama birth certificate 126 - 01/18/11 - The 'Spaser' heats up laser technology 127 - 01/18/11 - Anti-Energy Left Comes Unglued as ‘Green Economy’ Claims Collapse 128 - 01/18/11 - Filed under 'you ain't gonna believe this' - 3D No glasses 129 - 01/18/11 - Even worse - Facial Electrodes fun 130 - 01/18/11 - Red light campaign foiled by own photos 131 - 01/18/11 - How to Plant Ideas in Someone's Mind 132 - 01/18/11 - Americans Split on What to Cut from Government 133 - 01/18/11 - China turns out first solar-powered air conditioner 134 - 01/18/11 - New Type Of Entanglement Allows "Teleportation in Time" 135 - 01/18/11 - Tri-rotor helicopter with full autopilot 136 - 01/18/11 - The Right to Die 137 - 01/18/11 - The Cycle-Glider (Jan, 1932) 138 - 01/18/11 - Billion Dollar Opportunities in Cleantech 139 - 01/18/11 - For startups, a reality check 140 - 01/18/11 - A heater that uses domestic waste to keep rooms warm 141 - 01/18/11 - Portland's Indow Windows brings thermal inserts to market 142 - 01/18/11 - Microsoft Seeks Do-Let-The-Bed-Bugs-Bite Patent 143 - 01/18/11 - Smartphone As Your Most Dangerous Possession 144 - 01/18/11 - Remote Control Worms With Laser Light, Using FOSS 145 - 01/18/11 - Freedom from Religion movement 146 - 01/18/11 - DoE Develops Flexible Glass Stronger Than Steel 147 - 01/18/11 - Threat of Cyberwar Is Over-Hyped 148 - 01/18/11 - Vertical takeoff Glider (almost) 149 - 01/18/11 - GE Venture Will Share Jet Technology With China 150 - 01/18/11 - The Prospects For Lunar Mining 151 - 01/18/11 - Pissing and Moaning - Lawrence, Kansas, December 12, 2008 152 - 01/15/11 - HHO system runs 400 Watt load 153 - 01/15/11 - Amazon Box Will Not Reach Destination 154 - 01/15/11 - Unlock Your Car With A Tennis Ball 155 - 01/15/11 - Experiments in Orgone for busting Chemtrails 156 - 01/15/11 - The Magic of Green Screen 157 - 01/15/11 - Nobel Prize Winner Says DNA Performs Quantum Teleportation 158 - 01/15/11 - Need a Campaign TO NOT RENEW THE HORRIBLE PATRIOT ACT!!! 159 - 01/15/11 - Google Holds Global Science Fair 160 - 01/15/11 - Darwin Was Right - We come from monkeys. No other explanation. 161 - 01/15/11 - NASA regurgitates ARES as new Heavy Lift Vehicle To Congress 162 - 01/15/11 - Snow Present in 49 of the 50 U.S. States 163 - 01/15/11 - Wine makes Superconductors 164 - 01/15/11 - Weird Science 165 - 01/15/11 - Theory behind evanescent wave coupling, aka wireless power 166 - 01/15/11 - Quote of the Day 167 - 01/15/11 - 125MPH Compressed Air Locomotive (Feb, 1934) 168 - 01/15/11 - China cracks down on "money sucking" mobile phones with malware 169 - 01/15/11 - The $75 Sous Vide Hack 170 - 01/15/11 - Horrors and delight of alternative medicine 171 - 01/15/11 - Goodbye Bifocals — Electronic Glasses Change Focus 172 - 01/15/11 - Catching Exam Cheats With a Spectrum Analyzer 173 - 01/15/11 - NASA Says 2010 Tied For Warmest Year On Record 174 - 01/15/11 - Research Suggests E-Readers Are "Too Easy" To Read 175 - 01/15/11 - Bastardi's Wager 176 - 01/15/11 - Unusual "safety certificate" from the 1940s 177 - 01/15/11 - Russia Moves To Universal ID Card 178 - 01/12/11 - Ex telecoms engineer creating energy waves 179 - 01/12/11 - U.S. Science Productivity Continues to Drop 180 - 01/12/11 - Thunderstorms Make Antimatter 181 - 01/12/11 - Knowledge about Thunderstorms Expanded 182 - 01/12/11 - A Battery-Ultracapacitor Hybrid 183 - 01/12/11 - Tongue-zapper could treat sleep apnea 184 - 01/12/11 - Ark Hotel! Giant biosphere is a 'self-contained disaster haven' 185 - 01/12/11 - Phase Conjugating Dentist Drill sound to lessen pain 186 - 01/12/11 - Sphero the robotic ball: ready for game development 187 - 01/12/11 - Favourite music evokes same feelings as good food or drugs 188 - 01/12/11 - Cyberdyne Is Real And Is Making Thought-Controlled Exoskeletons 189 - 01/12/11 - Self-Pressuring Systems for Lunar Stations to Be Developed 190 - 01/12/11 - DIY air gap flash saves at least seven grand 191 - 01/12/11 - Can we change time? 192 - 01/12/11 - Concept bicycle charger for harvesting kinetic and wind energy 193 - 01/12/11 - Local invention keeps lights on in a storm 194 - 01/12/11 - Why we can't can't walk straight 195 - 01/12/11 - Body heat used to warm buildings 196 - 01/12/11 - Larry Griswold on the Frank Sinatra show - 11/13/51 197 - 01/12/11 - Killing Jobs or Growing Jobs? 198 - 01/12/11 - A Leaf into the Future 199 - 01/12/11 - Lab on a chip research brings the autodoc closer to reality 200 - 01/12/11 - Hypersonic Radio Black-Out Problem Solved 201 - 01/12/11 - In-Car Technology Becoming More Important Than Horsepower 202 - 01/12/11 - Should Dolphins Be Treated As Non-Human Persons? 203 - 01/12/11 - It's Surprisingly Hard To Notice When Moving Objects Change 204 - 01/12/11 - Aussie Team Smashes Land Speed Record For Solar-Powered Cars 205 - 01/12/11 - Internet Downloading Costs To Rise In Canada 206 - 01/12/11 - US Government Strategy To Prevent Leaks Is Leaked 207 - 01/12/11 - New Laser Makes Pirates Wish They Wore Eye-Patches 208 - 01/12/11 - Scientists Find Tears Are the Anti-Viagra 209 - 01/12/11 - Mars Journal Issue Inspires Hundreds of One-Way Trip Volunteers 210 - 01/12/11 - Gulf Bacteria Quickly Digested Spilled Methane 211 - 01/12/11 - Crazy Assassin, Fester(s) and Crowley 212 - 01/12/11 - Universities Collaborate On Air-Purifying Dress 213 - 01/09/11 - R.I.P. Pioneer Alt Science researcher Walter (William) Baumgartner 214 - 01/09/11 - Pelosi Passes Gavel to Boehner 215 - 01/09/11 - The Solar Panels Are Free, as Long as You Pay for the Power 216 - 01/09/11 - "The really fundamental thing turns out to be the quantum vacuum." 217 - 01/09/11 - Solar fuel invention seeks industrial partner 218 - 01/09/11 - We Have to Wait At Least 200 More Years for Interstellar Travel 219 - 01/09/11 - Cedar Rapids uses invention to scare birds 220 - 01/09/11 - Steam cycle feels like your pants are on fire 221 - 01/09/11 - Claim of 'Energy by Motion' Free Energy Machine 222 - 01/09/11 - Size of Plastic waste island floating in the Pacific are 'false' 223 - 01/09/11 - Cloak Hides Underwater Objects from Sonar 224 - 01/09/11 - Brazil's Family Grant program pays the poor 225 - 01/09/11 - New Digital Mailbox Will Let You Receive, Pay & Archive Multiple Bills 226 - 01/09/11 - Modern Utopians of the '60s and '70s 227 - 01/09/11 - China’s New Method to Mass Produce Light Water 228 - 01/09/11 - Unsubsidized price of solar panels has dropped 30% in three years 229 - 01/09/11 - Fixing the Rovio battery charging circuit 230 - 01/09/11 - RAF helmet allows pilots to shoot down enemy jets by looking at them 231 - 01/09/11 - Global spam e-mail levels suddenly fall 232 - 01/09/11 - Seaplanes Launched From Deck of Ship on Canvas Slide (Mar, 1930) 233 - 01/09/11 - Theremin Is a Real Invention Featured on 'Big Bang Theory' 234 - 01/09/11 - S.A. doc uses own invention to save lives in Haiti 235 - 01/09/11 - Whatever happened to Muslim pioneering spirit? 236 - 01/09/11 - EN-V electric car prototype 237 - 01/09/11 - Google Map of Mass Animal Deaths 238 - 01/09/11 - TV-B-Gone jacket 239 - 01/09/11 - The Vibrator Bomb Hack 240 - 01/09/11 - Google working on Star Trek type Universal Translator 241 - 01/09/11 - Can sitting too much kill you? 242 - 01/09/11 - NYT on the controversial ESP paper 243 - 01/09/11 - Silicon Pancreas To Treat London Diabetics in 2011 244 - 01/09/11 - The Continued Censorship of Huckleberry Finn 245 - 01/09/11 - Will Touch Screens Kill the Keyboard? 246 - 01/09/11 - 5 Scientific Reasons The Dark Side Will Always Win 247 - 01/09/11 - New Cars Vulnerable To Wireless Theft 248 - 01/09/11 - The American Dreem (almost 30 minutes but worth watching!) 249 - 01/09/11 - Hackers Find New Way To Cheat On Wall Street 250 - 01/09/11 - Man Arrested For Exploiting Error In Slot Machines 251 - 01/09/11 - Internet ID For Americans - more paranoia 252 - 01/09/11 - The Art of Dissent 253 - 01/09/11 - Thieves in South Africa Hit Traffic Lights For SIM Cards 254 - 01/09/11 - Internet Downloading Costs To Rise In Canada 255 - 01/06/11 - R.I.P. Anne Francis - 1930-2011 256 - 01/06/11 - "Nanoscoops" for New Generation of Electric Automobile Batteries 257 - 01/06/11 - Rocket Plane Powered by 86 Gun Barrels (Jan, 1929) 258 - 01/06/11 - Have scientists discovered how to create downpours in the desert? 259 - 01/06/11 - Best Card Trick EVER! 260 - 01/06/11 - Women and alcohol 261 - 01/06/11 - RC pontoon from a toy car 262 - 01/06/11 - Scientist haunted by misuse of drugs he invented 263 - 01/06/11 - Make the wedding ring speak to her 264 - 01/06/11 - Navy Pitch for Exotic Weapons Launches at Pearl Harbor 265 - 01/06/11 - Tapping showers unleashes potential 266 - 01/06/11 - A Leviathan-Sized Greed Strikes 267 - 01/06/11 - Air Force names new drone after Greek she-monster Gorgon 268 - 01/06/11 - Biological joints could replace artificial joints soon 269 - 01/06/11 - Disappearing Car Door 270 - 01/06/11 - MS Asks Google To Delay Fuzzer Tool 271 - 01/06/11 - How a Guy Found 4 New Planets Without a Telescope 272 - 01/06/11 - Protesting the censoring of Anti-War Art 273 - 01/06/11 - Radiation Detection Goes Digital 274 - 01/06/11 - French Use Space Tech To Find Parking Spots 275 - 01/06/11 - Interactive, Emotion-Detecting Robot Developed 276 - 01/06/11 - Saudi Arabia Requiring License For Online Media 277 - 01/06/11 - Two girls race to top of US-Mexico fence in 15 seconds 278 - 01/06/11 - 45 Years Later, Does Moore's Law Still Hold True? 279 - 01/06/11 - Romania ticks off witches through taxation 280 - 01/06/11 - Unwise — Search History of Murder Methods 281 - 01/06/11 - What is going on? 282 - 01/06/11 - Military Set To Develop Smart, Robotic Cameras 283 - 01/06/11 - Lurving Murica 284 - 01/03/11 - Why Washington Hates Hugo Chavez 285 - 01/03/11 - Give It Back For Jobs 286 - 01/03/11 - Welcome to 2011. You have 5 months until the end of the world 287 - 01/03/11 - Amazing discovery provides 93% Efficient Heating Pellets 288 - 01/03/11 - Always similar announcements; A New Solar Fuel to the Rescue? 289 - 01/03/11 - Why is it so cold? Simple... it's the North Atlantic Oscillation 290 - 01/03/11 - Our Lazy Solar Dynamo — Hello Dalton Minimum? 291 - 01/03/11 - Australia Floods Turn Deadly: 'A Disaster Of Biblical Proportions' 292 - 01/03/11 - Many using technology to control impulses, enforce good behavior 293 - 01/03/11 - NASA Images Find 1,750,000 294 - 01/03/11 - Cartoonize Yourself 295 - 01/03/11 - The Amazing GoPro HD Camera 296 - 01/03/11 - Journalists Merge With Government 297 - 01/03/11 - Inter-Dimensional Travel 298 - 01/03/11 - How Mechanical Turk is Broken 299 - 01/03/11 - When I was a professional psychic for a day 300 - 01/03/11 - The Story of the Tuxtla Bees and the Power of Belief 301 - 01/03/11 - Necessity giving birth to range of inventions 302 - 01/03/11 - Spokeo may know more about you than you realize 303 - 01/03/11 - The Rise And Fall Of Angels 304 - 01/03/11 - How to build anonymity right into your home internet connection 305 - 01/03/11 - Jell-O EEG similar to human brain function 306 - 01/03/11 - Renewable energy and sovereignty 307 - 01/03/11 - Hot Water Cure for Insomnia (Feb, 1933) 308 - 01/03/11 - Welcome to America Comes Alive! 309 - 01/03/11 - 'Zombie' Satellite Returns To Life 310 - 01/03/11 - 'Colonizing the Red Planet,' a How-To Guide 311 - 01/03/11 - YouTube Legally Considered a TV Station In Italy 312 - 01/03/11 - Fun Teacher - Math Class Shadow 313 - 01/03/11 - Chinese Intellectual Property Acquisition Tactics Exposed 314 - 01/03/11 - Leaving Juarez 315 - 01/03/11 - Detailing the Security Risks In PDF Standard 316 - 01/03/11 - How Islam will rule the world 317 - 01/03/11 - Why Published Research Findings Are Often False
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.
01/30/11 -
Why our paltry Climate Control efforts are SOO Insignificant
If what the regimen these laughable "Climate Scientists" are applying as "Science" were applied to our building of bridges, buildings, and airplanes, I think they'd all fall down! And our latest high-tech cars wouldn't run at all! - Bob
Interesting:
The current volcanic eruption in Indonesia (Gunung Merapi) has, in just 1 week, negated every effort made in the past five years to control CO2 emissions on our planet.
The volcano in Iceland recently took just 4 days to achieve similar results.
When Mt Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it spewed out more greenhouse gases than the entire human race had emitted in its time on earth.
And yet government is still trying to impose a whopping carbon tax on the premise that climate change is anthropogenic.
Since the discovery that the globe has cooled by .7 degrees during the last century "Global Warming" is out "Climate Change" is in.
But wouldn’t our greenhouse gasses have caused the global temperature to rise?
Hmmm, perhaps we just didn’t burn enough coal and oil during the 20th century.
Here’s hoping we can at least slow this frightening decline in global temperature.
01/30/11 -
White House Wants 1M Electric Cars By 2015
"The White House has outlined a wide-ranging plan for putting one million of what it calls 'advanced technology vehicles' on the road by 2015. Most observers would say that is a good start, but is it reasonably doable? The next White House budget will inc
lude a number of investments and enticements to make the goal achievable in theory. Of course, not all of the provisions are likely to make the cut."
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
The Demands of the Egyptian Revolutionaries
People wanted to overthrow the regime - We are the masses in the sit in in Tahrir Square, who ignited the spark of the uprising against injustice and tyranny, where raised by the will of the people, the people who suffered 30 years of oppression, injustic
e and poverty under the rule of Mubarak, and his cronies in the National Party .
Egyptians have proven today that they are capable of extricating their freedom and destroying tyranny
The people's demands were vocalized today in their chants:
1. Mubarak's immediate stepping down from power.
2. The resignation of the cabinet.
3. the dissolution of the fraudulent parliament
4. The formation of a national government.
We will continue to sit-in until our demands are met, and we call upon the masses all over Egypt and the trade unions, professional syndicates, political parties, and institutions to rise up and extricate these demands.
Let us strike and sit-in and protest everywhere, untill we topple the regime.
Long live the struggle of the Egyptian people!
thanks to zoss ca and Islam Afify for translation...
01/30/11 -
Mesa man makes eco-friendly plastic bottles
Inventor Danny Clark's idea was simple: If he could make plastic water bottles biodegradable, it would reduce the impact on landfills, curb roadside litter and reduce the amount of plastic garbage that eventually washes into the oceans. Everybody wins. We
ll, not everybody. The Mesa man's small-business venture has run into opposition from a large and unexpected source: the $400 billion recycling industry, which fears that by making plastic bottles biodegradable, it will reduce the stream of plastic refuse
used to make everything from carpet to clothing to new bottles. In addition, changing the makeup of plastic bottles could make it more difficult to recycle them, the industry fears. With plastic-bottle sales already slowing and only a small amount being
recycled, the industry is meeting threats to its profits head-on, actively campaigning against attempts by companies like Clark's to make bottles biodegradable. Billions of plastic bottles, which take millions of barrels of oil to produce, appear on super
market shelves every year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Only about 28 percent of bottles manufactured in the U.S. end up being recycled, the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers said. The other 72 percent winds up in l
andfills or as eyesore pollution across the land and in the sea. He launched his new startup, Mesa-based Enso Bottles, in 2008 and says he has come up with a truly biodegradable and recyclable polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, plastic bottle. The compan
y produces an additive used in the plastic-manufacturing process and says on its website that independent testing data show bottles start to biodegrade in as little as 250 days in a controlled environment or as long as five years in the elements. In addit
ion, Clark's data shows that the additive doesn't diminish the quality or effectiveness of the plastic, he says. Traditional plastic PET bottles can take hundreds of years to break into smaller pieces, but those pieces never actually decompose. PET is use
d to make a wide range of products, particularly packaging containers for consumer goods, such as water and soda bottles. Clark said that technologies allowing plastics to biodegrade have been around for several decades but that the process had not been a
pplied to PET bottles. He collaborated with a team of chemists, microbiologists and manufacturers for a year and half using earlier technology to find new compounds that could blend into PET and make it biodegradable. Recycling-industry experts have conce
rns about Enso's biodegradable efforts, saying they are not convinced the technology works, but they also worry that if it does, it will damage their business. The experts say biodegradable products are more difficult and costly to recycle than PET bottle
s. Dennis Sabourin of the National Association for PET Container Resources said the association is not in favor of anything that disrupts that recycled-product stream.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
India's most expensive movie yields most astonishing action-scene
The stunning climax of the Tamil movie Endhiran (Robot), the most expensive movie in Indian cinema history. Killer robots, a seeming infinitude of them, outnumbered only by the endless cannon-fodder Indian soldiers, each with his own machinegun. There are
many like it, but this one is his. And it will soon be the killer robots. They will form into enormous, improbable geometrical solids, and they will improvise with those guns to create enormous whirling ballistic buzz-saws of death, except when they're f
orming up into huge, stylized cobras and such. And there are lorries filled with gas bottles, daring kamikaze missile-firing choppers (each more doomed than the last), and, of course, a software worm with the power to overcome them. Or does it? There are
only two copies of this movie for sale on Amazon (as of this writing), though I expect that will self-correct shortly, as this clip (with its curiously fitting Russian-language descriptive track) is ripping through the Anglo Internet, where thousands of p
otential watchers wait only for the opportunity to snap up their own copy of this genuinely unprecedented monsterpiece.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Awesome Foundation offers cash for crazy ideas
That crazy idea simmering on the back your brain could nab you a bag full of cash. If it’s awesome. The newly formed Toronto Chapter of the Awesome Foundation is now accepting wild ideas and crackpot schemes. The best of the bunch will get a paper bag stu
ffed with $1,000. “It’s about turning random flashes of half-baked genius into reality,” says Matt Thompson, the Toronto chapter’s Trustee of Awesome. Yes. That is his official title. The money is given up front in cash. No strings attached. No questions
asked. And the Awesome Foundation will make no claims to ownership of the idea or the finished product. The Trustees of Awesome — 10 for each chapter, give or take — put up $100 of their own money every month to support awesome projects. Make no mistake;
they won’t peer over your shoulder as you work toward your goal. They open their wallets with hope, trust and blind faith. All you need to apply for an Awesome Foundation grant is a simple pitch. It was meant to be easy way to make great ideas happen. And
with 13 chapters in three continents, it’s catching on fast. Applications for the first Toronto grant are due on Feb 15. The Toronto Trustees will get together — probably at a pub, Thompson says — to read over the submissions. They’ll pick a winner by co
nsensus.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
555 based balancing bot
This post on Reddit by [superangryguy] caught our attention today. He’s put together a video explaining the basics of how to build balancing robots, focusing on a 555 timer based one. He’s got two main versions, the 555 based one and another that is based
off of two transistors. He says the 555 based one is much easier to build. This has all come about due to the upcoming 555 timer contest. if you go to the Reddit post you can get schematics for both versions as well as a sneak peak at what he plans on bu
ilding for the contest. You can see the video after the break.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Amr Khaled: Islam's Billy Graham
Mohamed ElBaradei may well be the face of the opposition movement, but here in this snowy, sleepy Swiss hamlet, far away from the hot and smoky streets of Cairo, is the man who may have been the spark. In his presentation at a faith community meeting here
at the World Economic Forum, Amr Khaled said, "Arab and Muslim youth need to be listened to. No one listens to them. They have dreams. We need to bring out those dreams." For decades it was extremist groups who understood young people best. It's not an a
ccident that suicide bombers are in their teens and 20s. Al Qaeda and its allies target young people. They strike at that soft spot of identity, purpose and pride. They deliver their message in YouTube videos and sophisticated websites. But Amr Khaled was
unwilling to forfeit this rising generation of Muslims to the extremists. And he was unwilling to let their ugliness tarnish his faith. As the Muslim tradition says, "God is beautiful and loves beauty." Khaled started a website and invited young people t
o post their dreams. He put up pictures of Neil Armstrong reaching the moon, the then and now of Dubai, the rebuilding of Germany after the destruction of World War II. These are examples of dreams realized, he said. Hundreds of thousands of Muslim youth
sent Khaled their dreams. "Love your religion," he told them. And once-secular Egyptian youth started to pray again. "Build your society," Khaled told them. And thousands became involved in cleaning garbage from the streets of Cairo and starting rooftop g
ardens. "Cooperate with each other, in your own society and across the world." Christians and Muslims in Egypt started doing joint volunteer projects and attended interfaith conferences Khaled organized. Khaled is beating the extremists on their own terri
tory: media. He is prolific -- television shows, YouTube videos, website posts, Tweets. But all the messages are really just one message. God made you beautiful. God made you powerful. God gave you dignity. God gave you stewardship over this His most prec
ious Creation. Use your beauty, your power, your faith, your dignity to accomplish your responsibility. Be a dreamer. Be a builder. Change your life. Shape your society. Invent your destiny. Before something happens in the world, it has to happen in your
mind. You have to imagine your freedom before you fight for it. You have to believe in your own power to change things before you actually change anything. What we are seeing now in the Middle East is a generation of young people who learned how to love t
hemselves, believe in themselves, change themselves. And now they are changing the world. (Such a guy needs to be supported, a hero for inspiring young people (everyone really) to take control of their destinies, I love that. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Plug and Prey: Malicious USB devices
This very informative talk given at Shmoocon 2011 has been posted over at IronGeek. Covering all kinds of angles that a person could attack someones computer through the USB port, this should be read by anyone who is security minded at all. No matter whic
h side of the port you tend to be on, this article has great information. They cover some common attack methods such as keyloggers and fake keyboards as well as some common methods of securing your system against them. We’ve actually seen this in the news
a bit lately as people have been using the keyboard emulation method in conjunction with android phones to hack into systems.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Scientists Develop Plants to Detect Explosives at Airports
Researchers at CSU say they’re finding that plants are at least as good, maybe better, than dogs at sniffing out things like explosives and dangerous chemical weapons. Landscaping plants, for example, can look really nice, but also be programmed to change
color when there’s danger in the air. “If this plant would sense an explosive or an environmental pollutant, it would turn white,” CSU biology professor Dr. June Medford said. “It’s a little slow (right now).” Medford says right now the plants take a cou
ple hours to begin turning white, but she says with more research any kind of plant could be altered to change color in minutes or possibly seconds. “You can do it for a lot of other plant species, but it’s not quite as simple as this,” CSU researcher Pet
e Bowerman said. Researchers dunk the plants in custom-made bacteria that changes the plant genetically to make it sensitive to anything from TNT to radon. “They can detect multiple substances and they can turn different colors,” Medford said. Security at
places like airports could well have an entirely different look if plants are doing the screening. “Instead of that nasty line at DIA that can wind on forever and ever and ever, you would go through a beautiful garden area. Now in my garden area we would
have a variety of plants that would detect a variety of those nasty things that a terrorist might take in,” Medford said. Medford says cameras could detect the color changes automatically to alert security. “We can then take the 10 people that happened t
o go by those plants at that time and those 10 people will be patted down, not the hundreds and thousands and everybody that has to have it done right now,” Medford said.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Young inventors prompt colleges to revamp rules
Tony Brown didn't set out to overhaul his college's policies on intellectual property. He just wanted an easier way of tracking local apartment rentals on his iPhone. The University of Missouri student came up with an idea in class one day that spawned an
iPhone application that has had more than 250,000 downloads since its release in March 2009. The app created by Brown and three other undergraduates won them a trip to Apple headquarters along with job offers from Google and other technology companies. B
ut the invention also raised a perplexing question when university lawyers abruptly demanded a 25 percent ownership stake and two-thirds of any profits. Who owns the patents and copyrights when a student creates something of value on campus, without a pro
fessor's help? With new apps worth big money, the legal questions are now being debated across academia. Many universities "generally seek to retain ownership, or at least have a formalized mechanism for assessing ownership of a student's work in much the
same way they would regarding a faculty member's work," said Joshua Powers, an Indiana State University professor who studies campus technology transfer. Students who create something may face the burden of showing their work in no way benefitted from be
ing at the university. But Missouri relented in Brown's case. It also wrote rules explicitly giving student inventors the legal right to their unique ideas developed under specific circumstances. If the invention came from a school contest, extracurricula
r club or individual initiative, the university keeps its hands off. If the student invention came about under a professor's supervision, using school resources or grant money, then the university can assert an ownership right — just as it does for facult
y researchers. No estimate exists on the number or value of student inventions or apps on the market. Carnegie-Mellon program coordinator Babs Carryer said an earlier mindset still lives on in academia, in which students are considered anonymous grunts at
the service of faculty researchers. "That old paradigm still exists," she said. "I know there are a lot of labs where the students are still indentured servants."
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Wireless electricity enables next generation of annoying packaging
Yep, these cereal boxes light up. They’re using a new branded-technology called eCoupling that provides electricity via induction, which means the shelves have a coil with AC power running through it. The “printed coils” on the boxes allow inventory contr
ol and data exchange presumably thanks to a low-power microcontroller. But in the video after the break you can see that the printed lighting on the boxes lets them flash parts of the box art as a way to attract customers’ attention. We’d bet that they’re
using electroluminescent materials but we weren’t able to get find specifics on how this is done. We just hope advertisers don’t start rolling noise-makers into their packaging.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Expect More Muslims
No surprise here: World's Muslim Population Expected To Grow Twice As Fast As Non-Muslims In 20 Years. On a global level, the Muslim population is expected to grow by 35 percent over the next two decades -- twice the pace of the world's non-Muslim populat
ion, according to a controversial new report. Prepared by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life, "The Future of the Global Muslim Population" states that Muslims will comprise about 2.2 billion of the world's population by 2030, up f
rom the 2010 estimate of 1.6 billion. Officials state on the Pew Research Center's website that Muslims will make up 26.4 percent of the world's total projected population of 8.3 billion in 2030, up from 23.4 percent of the estimated 2010 world population
of 6.9 billion. As the Washington Post is reporting, the percentage of native-born Muslims in the U.S. is projected to rise from 35 percent today to 45 percent in 2030. Note the phrase native-born Muslims. That's because religion has absolutely nothing t
o do with the actual belief systems. A person's religion is pretty much determined by where that person is born, and what religion his parents claim to believe in. In other words, the religion with the highest birth rate dominates. That also explains the
Catholic/birth control thing. Tell me again why we should respect religion?
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Move to cut pirates down to size
Somalia's heavily armed pirates may have met their match - a South African invention that takes razor wire out of the suburbs and attaches it to ships so it can slash bad guys to ribbons. Maritime safety authorities have long recommended that ships sailin
g through the Indian Ocean danger zone wrap razor wire around their deck rails as a non-lethal deterrent. However, seamen hate to install it because it cuts their hands, and pirates swarming up the side of a ship can render it harmless by throwing blanket
s or mattresses over it. But now Cape Town company Vessel Protection Systems has developed a new way of deploying razor wire that it says has less hassles for the crew and is also more intimidating for the pirates. Wire is packed in 20m coils in canisters
that are attached at intervals around the ship; when pirates attack the wire is released to hang down the sides and drag in the sea. "It doesn't stay still, it bounces around, which makes it impossible for anyone to get alongside," said company director
John Beadon. "It leaves the most hideous wounds; it really can chop you up." The canister system has been installed on two ships plying perilous routes off East Africa, but has not yet been tested in action against a pirate attack. Pirates operating from
Somalia are increasingly extending their range, causing an expensive headache for shipping. Apart from razor wire, measures vessels are advised to take to protect themselves include using water cannons. But the measures have had limited success, and an in
creasing number of ships are hiring armed guards - in many cases South Africans - to sail with them through the red zone.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
New Radio Invention - Selective Sampling Receiver
For as long as he can remember, Daniel Weber has been interested in radio waves. So, for those who know him, it's no surprise he invented something that one day could be a big deal. Dan Weber invented the Selective Sampling Receiver. "My original design .
.. came down to just a few components," Weber said from his Cedar City home. "You can buy it all for about a dollar at Radio Shack." He calls his invention the Selective Sampling Receiver. Basically it tunes in wanted radio signals and tunes out unwanted
signals. Current receivers just tune out unwanted signals. To try and explain its potential better, Weber compares current radio signals and receivers to trying to see with cataracts. "With the Selective Sampling Receiver, it has the promise of taking tho
se cataracts off, and being able to actually see much more of what's out there than what can be done today," Weber said. As far as real world use, Weber believes his invention could be used for a variety of things. One could be to help airplane pilots nav
igate better in bad weather. "Right now, you really can't do forward imaging of radar signals," said Weber, who currently works on long range radar sites and microwave links for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Weather Service. "They d
o have radar mapping-type things, but they have to look out to the side. Looking forward is something that is not really done because it's costly and expensive." He's already received one patent for his technology, and a second patent is still pending. H
is first patent is a "first issuance" patent, which is extremely rare and means no other device is like it. "There are many applications that can be used, from imaging in the RF spectrum to multiplying the usefulness of wireless spectrums that are already
out there," he said. Now, Weber would like to get corporate partners to start bringing his invention to public use. "This is a whole new realm of receiver technology," he said. "The possible applications are endless because it can be used in any spectrum
."
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Don't steal the towels: invention tracks towels at health clubs, hotels
36-year-old Steven Molewyk owns two coin-operated laundries in Northeast Grand Rapids, the Creston Sit and Spin and Hillside Laundry. The inspiring conversation was with one of his commercial clients, a health club owner who dropped off a load of towels.
“He told me it cost him maybe $45,000 a year to replace towels,” Molewyk recalled, mostly due to theft or members inadvertently taking them home. "That translates to a huge number of towels. I just kept thinking, I've got to figure out a way to stop it."
The Towel Tracker is a 7-foot tall steel box that looks like a vending machine. Health club members swipe their membership ID (or, for hotels, their room card) and a glass door opens. Through flexible, paper clip-sized tags embedded in each towel, the uni
t tracks the number of towels removed by each member. When towels are returned, the system reads the tag again and the ID card is cleared. If they aren't, the vendor has the option to charge for them. The machine, software and training costs about $27,000
, Molewyk said.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Photographer's bust-card silkscreened on white-balance cards
PetaPixel sells a set of white-balance cards that are (handily enough) silkscreened with bust-cards
spelling out US law regarding photography in public places.
Stick 'em in your camera-bag
and you'll always have balanced whites and balanced rights!
This white balance card set allows you to wear your photography rights around your neck while you're out shooting,
and can be easily shown to anyone who challenges your legal right to photograph.
Text is only printed on one side of the cards.
These durable plastic cards are 5.4cm by 8.5cm
and are attached to a white lanyard via a detachable clip,
The three-page bulletin reminds officers, agents and employees that, "absent reasonable suspicion or probable cause," they "must allow individuals to photograph the exterior of federally owned or leased facilities from publicly accessible spaces" like str
eets, sidewalks, parks and plazas. Even when there seems to be reason to intercede and conduct a "field interview," the directive says: Officers should not seize the camera or its contents, and must be cautious not to give such 'orders' to a photographer
to erase the contents of a camera, as this constitutes a seizure or detention.
01/30/11 -
Butterfly-inspired invention could stump counterfeiters (video)
A Canadian invention that was inspired by butterflies could help clip the wings of clever counterfeiters. Clint Landrock, an inventor and scientist working in the field of nano-technology, has come up with a method that uses tiny "nano-scopic" perforation
s to protect bank notes and other documents from forgers. The tiny holes, each one 1,500 times smaller than a human hair, reflect and refract light, and unlike a hologram, can't be duplicated or photocopied. "Because they're so small and because of that s
cale it's very difficult to produce a master stamp that you would use to create the feature on something like a banknote," Landrock recently told Canada AM. "So it's extremely difficult and the machinery that is required to develop that type of technology
is very expensive." It was during a trip to Costa Rica several years ago that Landrock first developed the idea for the invention. He was inspired by the blue morpho -- a butterfly that uses tiny perforations in its wings to reflect and refract light in
a brilliant, flashing display.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Revolver that fires shotgun shells
This whopping handgun, called "The Judge," has been designed to fire shotgun shells. Taurus, who briefly imported the gun from Brazil, has withdrawn it from sale following a visit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. According to
Neatorama, "The Judge shoots .410 gauge shells as well as .45 Long Colt cartridges. 'The Raging Judge', pictured above, goes even further in this approach, firing the much larger 28 gauge shell."
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Woman burns her insides with water bought at Moscow's luxury store
A large scandal is brewing in Moscow. A woman visited a cafe in Moscow's GUM luxury department store on Red Square. She bought a bottle of mineral water and was soon hospitalized with serious burns of her food pipe and larynx. The woman, named as Karina O
rlova, a journalist, suffered second and third degree burns after she drank some water from a bottle of Bon Aqua. It turned out that there was acid in the bottle instead of water. The woman has been transferred from the intensive care unit of Moscow's Skl
ifosovsky Institute of Emergency Care to a common ward. "I was in a cafe with my mother yesterday. To be more precise, we were at GUM and decided to have a cup of coffee on the second storey. We ordered coffee, some snacks and a bottle of Bon Aqua water.
As far as I can remember, the bottle was closed, but it was not industrially sealed, you know, it opened without a click. I opened it and filled two glasses. When filling the glasses, I noticed that the water was somewhat sticky and oily, but I didn't pay
attention to it. The next moment I took a gulp," the woman said. "The water burned me immediately, I started suffocating. I realized that they poisoned me with something. It was very scary because I did not know what it was and how I could get that out o
f me. I spit all out, fell on the floor and started screaming, it was very scary. It was some sort of acid," the journalist told Kommersant FM radio station. The ER vehicle arrived in quite a while, because there was no place for parking outside. The bott
le with the liquid has been sent for analysis; a criminal case will be filed accordingly.
(I had something like this happen to me here in central Mexico. Everyone uses garrafons (20 liter) water bottles. They pass your house everyday and replace them, factory sealed and safe. But sometimes you miss them or the price is too high (about 22 pe
sos now) so you can take them to a water refill store where the guys wash them out, refill and seal them on the spot in front of you. HOWEVEVER, often they have pre-filled bottles which are sealed so you expect them to be safe. But the guys who work there
are sometimes lazy and screwing around, so they sometimes DON'T WASH OUT THE BOTTLES they refill. I think I got hold of one of those because the water had a kind of acid chemical taste. I made tea with the water and noticed it had a funny taste. It didn'
t hit me til I got sick that lasted about 3 days. I keep 3 garrafons of bottled water so had two factory sealed from the truck and comparing them, it was clear my refilled bottle was poison. Usually if I use a refill place I make them refill my own clean
bottles but this one time I was in a hurry and they urged me to trade for a prefilled bottle. I reported this to the guys and the owner and they all laughed and said no way that could happen. I have heard this same story from 2 others who USED to buy pref
illed bottles...never again. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Every profession has its superstitions
People of many professions have their own superstitions. Most likely, they did not appear from scratch. Doctors, for example, try not to exchange their night duties. If they do, they will have a tough night, they say. They also try not to have sex the day
before the night duty. There is nothing funny about it because people usually get relaxed and become less attentive after sex. Surgeons have plenty of superstitious beliefs. For example, a surgeon will never operate their relative or a loved one. It is c
onsidered bad luck to operate a patient, whose first and middle names coincide with those of a surgeon. A surgeon identifies such a patient with himself, which increases chances for mistakes during surgery. When putting rubber gloves on, a surgeon starts
with his left hand. If a glove bursts, the operation may not go smoothly. It is also considered a bad sign to sit down on a surgical table, or to pick up a tool from the floor.
Representatives of another "emergency" profession - fire people - believe that if they clean their boots on duty or if a new man appears in the brigade, a fire call will follow soon. When a fireman returns from vacation, his co-workers pour water on hi
m, otherwise they have to answer a fire call the same day.
Teachers have their own professional superstitions. If a chair breaks during a lesson - the teacher will not have a raise for a long time. It probably means that since there are no funds to purchase new chairs, there are no chances for raising teachers
' salaries. It is considered bad luck for a teacher to be late for the very first class in their career. It means that he or she will not be able to make a good career at school.
Sales people are in a habit of taking a banknote from their previous earnings to stroke their goods with the note so that the goods could sell well. If the first client is a male, it means that a vendor will have good sales during the day. If a male cl
ient gives a large note for his purchase, it means that the day will bring a very good profit.
It is considered a very bad sign for a driver to run over a dog - not a person, but a dog. If it happens, a driver should get rid of his vehicle as quick as possible. Otherwise, the driver will have car accidents on a regular basis.
As for pilots, one should not wish then a good flight, for it may attract trouble. Pilots never take pictures of themselves before flights - some of them may not return otherwise. Russian cosmonauts also have their professional tradition. It appeared afte
r well-known Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolyov decided not to conduct launches on Mondays. Several Monday launches were said to have failed, and Korolyov would always reschedule launch dates not to make them happen on Mondays. The tradition is still
alive in today's Russia.
The most popular tradition among actors and actresses - if sheets of paper fall down on the floor, one should sit on them not to forget the role. In theaters, it is strictly forbidden to whistle and to nibble sunflower seeds - there will be no ticket s
ales. If an actor or an actress trips on stage, he or she will have a messy performance during the whole night. It is also considered a bad sign to play death on stage or in the movies, for it may cause trouble in real life. However, some say that if an a
ctor plays death, he will live a long life.
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Ford Building Cars That Talk To Other Cars
"Ford's new system works over a dedicated short-range WiFi system on a secure channel allocated by the FCC. The company says the system one-ups radar safety systems by allowing full 360-degree coverage even when there's no direct line of sight. Scenarios
where this could benefit safety or traffic? Predicting collision courses with unseen vehicles, seeing sudden stops before they're visible, and spotting traffic pattern changes on a busy highway. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) r
eported in October that vehicle-to-vehicle warning systems could address nearly 80 percent of reported crashes not involving drunk drivers. As such, it could potentially save tens of thousands of lives per year."
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
How Gaming Can Save the World
"Game designer and all-around interesting person Jane McGonigal just published a book arguing that playing games will help solve the urgent problems of the real world. To mark the publication, Discover Magazine has a Q&A with McGonigal on several topics,
such as: exactly how much gaming is too much? 'There was a really significant study that tracked 1,100 soldiers for a year, and looked at how they were spending their free time with things they considered coping mechanisms—using Facebook, listening to
music, reading, working out, or playing video games. They correlated this with incidences of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicide attempts, and domestic violence. The found that by a very wide margin, the most psychologically protect
ed individuals—who had the lowest rates of any of these negative experiences—were people who were playing video games 3 to 4 hours a day. ... That was fascinating—it was more beneficial than anything but working out 7 hours a day.' She also talks abou
t how relationships forged in games can change the world, and which world problems exactly is she trying to solve via games. (Hint: think big.)"
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Bomb Detecting Plants To Root Out Terrorists
"The Denver Post Reports that a biologist at Colorado State University has re-engineered plants so that they can detect explosives, air pollution and toxic chemicals, signaling the presence of potentially deadly vapors by turning from green to white. 'If
you take something into Denver International Airport, like an explosive for a plane, my plants are going to turn white,' says June Medford, who developed the system. 'That's going to get the security guys on you.' Military and Homeland Security research d
irectors say they envision wide applications for the genetically modified plants positioned in buildings, war zones and cities where terrorists could set up covert bomb-making factories and add that strategic placement of the plants could help reach a goa
l of deploying a decentralized, nationwide system for detecting explosives. 'Our hope is if these plants could be located ubiquitously, we might be able to detect explosives at the point they are being assembled,' says Doug Bauer, the Homeland Security ex
plosives research program manager. 'You would have a much greater opportunity for first-responders to interdict and disrupt that activity.'"
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Egypt Cuts the Net, Net Fights Back
"Egypt's cutoff of the Net enrages the Netizenry, who are finding a bunch of ways — high tech and low tech — to fight back, from dial-up to ham radio, from mesh networks to Twitter. Robert X. Cringely shows how the Net war is being waged, and asks, Could
it happen at home, too?" Sure, it could. On the same topic, reader dermiste writes "In reaction to the Egyptian government crackdown on the Internet, the French non-profit ISP French Data Network set up a dial-up Internet access. This way, anyone in Egypt
who has access to a analog phone line and can call France is able to connect to the network using the following number: +33 1 72 89 01 50 (login: toto, password: toto)."
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Swedish ISPs To Thwart EU Data Retention Law
"After a leaked document from the department of justice showed police will be able to demand extensive private information for minor offenses, some Swedish ISPs have decided to fight back (translated article). By routing all traffic through VPN, they p
lan to make the gathered data pointless. ISP Bahnhof says they will give you the option to opt out of VPN, but giving up your privacy will cost extra."
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Model Says Religiosity Gene Will Dominate Society
"PhysOrg reports on a study by Robert Rowthorn, emeritus professor at Cambridge University, that predicts that the genetic components that predispose a person toward religion are currently "hitchhiking" on the back of the religious cultural practice of hi
gh fertility rates and that provided the fertility of religious people remains on average higher than that of secular people, the genes that predispose people towards religion will spread. For example, in the past 20 years, the Amish population in the US
has doubled, increasing from 123,000 in 1991 to 249,000 in 2010. The huge growth stems almost entirely from the religious culture's high fertility rate, which is about 6 children per woman, on average. Rowthorn says that while fertility is determined b
y culture, an individual's predisposition toward religion is likely to be influenced by genetics, in addition to their upbringing. In the model, Rowthorn uses a "religiosity gene" to represent the various genetic factors that combine to genetically predis
pose a person toward religion, whether remaining religious from youth or converting to religion from a secular upbringing. Rowthorn's model predicts that the religious fraction of the population will eventually stabilize at less than 100%, and there w
ill remain a possibly large percentage of secular individuals. But nearly all of the secular population will still carry the religious allele, since high defection rates will spread the religious allele to secular society when defectors have children with
a secular partner."
- Full Article Source
01/30/11 -
Internet Kill Switch Back On the US Legislative Agenda
"The bill, which has bipartisan support, is being floated by Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican ranking member on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The proposed legislation, which Collins said would not give the president the same
power Egypt's Hosni Mubarak is exercising to quell dissent, sailed through the Homeland Security Committee in December but expired with the new Congress weeks later. 'My legislation would provide a mechanism for the government to work with the private sec
tor in the event of a true cyber emergency,' Collins said in an e-mail Friday. 'It would give our nation the best tools available to swiftly respond to a significant threat.'"
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
How Chrysler's Battery-Less Hybrid Minivan Works
"Chrysler announced Wednesday that it would partner with the US Environmental Protection Agency to build and test prototypes of a different kind of hybrid vehicle, one that accumulates energy not in a battery pack but by compressing a gas hydraulically. T
he system in question, originally developed at the EPA labs, uses engine overrun torque to capture otherwise wasted energy, as do conventional hybrid-electric vehicles. The engine is Chrysler's standard 2.4-liter four-cylinder, the base engine in its mini
van line. But rather than turning a generator, that torque powers a pump that uses hydraulic fluid to increase the pressure inside a 14.4-gallon tank of nitrogen gas, known as a high-pressure accumulator."
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Tech Info - Italian Scientists Demonstrate Cold Fusion?
"Italian scientists Andrea Rossi and Sergio Focardi of the University of Bologna announced that they developed a cold fusion device capable of producing 12,400 W of heat power with an input of just 400 W....when the atomic nuclei of nickel and hydr
ogen are fused in their reactor, the reaction produces copper and a large amount of energy. The reactor uses less than 1 gram of hydrogen and starts with about 1,000 W of electricity, which is reduced to 400 W after a few minutes. Every minute, the rea
ction can convert 292 grams of 20C water into dry steam at about 101C. Since raising the temperature of water by 80C and converting it to steam requires about 12,400 W of power, the experiment provides a power gain of 12,400/400 = 31."
More Italian Cold Fusion -
Italian scientists Andrea Rossi and Sergio Focardi demonstrated a cold fusion reactor at the University of Bologna last Friday. They claim their device generates power via cold fusion, but they can’t explain exactly why. Their application for a patent was
rejected for lack of a theory conforming with accepted laws of physics. But they are confident a commercial cold fusion reactor can be developed in as little as three months.
Nuclear fission versus cold fusion - The sun creates massive amounts of energy with nuclear fusion. Rossi and Focardi claim to have successfully achieved cold fusion — a process occurring at room temperature — by fusing the atomic nuclei of nickel and
hydrogen. The reaction produces copper and a lot of energy in the form of heat.
Atomic reactors and nuclear weapons generate energy via nuclear fission — which splits atoms to release energy along with a great deal of radiation and toxic waste. The Italians said their cold fusion reaction uses just 400 watts of power to generate 1
2,400 watts. They claimed a commercial version of their cold fusion reactor could produce eight times more energy than it takes to operate. Their cold fusion power would cost about 1 cent per kilowatt-hour. The average cost of coal generated power
in the U.S. in 2004 was 7.62 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Rossi and Focardi wrote a paper on cold fusion that was rejected by peer-reviewed journals. They created their own online journal “The Journal of Nuclear Physics,” and published it themselves. They say operating their cold fusion reactor is as simpl
e as flicking a switch and following the instructions. Their reactor would be refueled every six months by an authorized dealer. A Greek utility company has said it is interested.
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
What Should Replace Religions?
This is a really good and thoughtful video presentation. What will replace religion? Fastest growing replacement these days is NO RELIGION. Amon to that...
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Magnets held to the head could switch off sense of right and wrong
Scientists claim they have found a way to turn off our understanding of right and wrong – by using magnets. When special kinds of magnets are held up to a person’s head they can disrupt the neural centre responsible for morality, tests showed. A team from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology first asked 20 volunteers to rate actions on a scale from one (morally forbidden) to seven (permissible). Each subject was then asked similar questions while transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was being appl
ied to their brain’s right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ). The findings, published in the Proceedings of the U.S. National Science Academy journal, found that they could not switch off our morality sensors altogether – but they could drastically alter wh
at we believe to be permissible. During the tests, each participant considered 48 types of moral scenarios told via 192 different stories so that they would be no repetition. They also watched 24 separate videos, after which they had to judge the level of
permissibility.
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
VW unveils an ultra-efficient car
Volkswagen has made a car it says can travel 313 miles on a gallon of diesel, and that emits just 24 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled. The XL1, which seats two adults, combines a 0.8 litre two cylinder diesel engine with an electric motor
. The car is constructed around a carbon fibre reinforced polymer monocoque to reduce the weight to just 795 kilos. On the engine front, electrification is becoming mainstream even though pure electric cars are expected to remain niche products for decade
s yet. Instead, carmakers are increasingly combining conventional solutions, such as petrol or diesel engines, with battery-powered solutions. "All sorts of mixes will come to the fore," said Jim O'Donnell, BMW North America's chief executive, in a
n interview with BBC News. The Volkswagen XL1 is to be formally unveiled at the Qatar motor show on Tuesday night. The carmaker says it can accelerate from nought to 100 kilometres per hour (60 miles per hour) in 11.9 seconds.
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Flier beats TSA video recording charge in court
Phil Mocek knows he isn't required to show ID to fly, and that it's perfectly legal to record video in publicly accessible areas of an airport. A jury agreed with him earlier this week, acquitting him of trumped-up charges brought against him by TSA and p
olice officers who demanded obedience. He didn't need to call any witnesses or testify himself; he was acquitted based on the evidence entered against him.
I went to a conference in Albuquerque in 2009, I went to the airport there, I spoke with some people, I went to jail, I went to court, and I was acquitted. This took over a year and I owe for thousands of dollars of legal fees as a result.
Here's a video I created at the airport. The State of New Mexico entered this as evidence against me last week. The jury was unconvinced that I was disorderly, trespassed, refused a lawful order, or concealed my identity from police officers with the inte
nt to obstruct.
He was helped, however, by TSA rules that say "in no uncertain terms [that] you do not have to show ID in order to fly, and that you can use cameras in public areas of the airport." It's also clear from the video that, while uncooperative, he remained
polite to officers even after one of them waves a baton in his face. As soon as he revealed he didn't even have ID with him, one officer claimed that he had to show it because 'you are now part of a criminal investigation.' (These untrained, clueless b
uffoons need to be fined and jailed for lying and trying to use their tin Barney badges to run over this guys rights...many more people should do this same thing and file charges to make them stop this crap or learn what they can and can't do. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Standard Reference Kilo Losing Weight
Scientists said Monday they were moving closer to coming up with a non-physical definition of the kilo after discovering the metal artefact used as the international standard had shed a little weight. Researchers caution there is still some way to go befo
re their mission is complete, but if successful it would lead to the end of the useful life of the last manufactured object on which fundamental units of measure depend. At the moment, the international standard for the kilo -- the equivalent of around 2.
2 pounds -- is a chunk of metal, under triple lock-and-key in France since 1889. But scientists became concerned about the cylinder of platinum and iridium housed at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in Sevres, near Paris, after disc
overing it had mysteriously lost a tiny amount of weight. Experts at the institute revealed in 2007 that the metal chunk is 50 micrograms -- 0.0000017 ounces -- lighter than the average of several dozen copies, meaning it had lost the equivalent of a smal
l grain of sand. They are now searching for a non-physical way of defining the kilo, which would bring it in line with the six other base units that make up the International System of Units (SI).
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Whole-airplane parachute
The small planes sold by Cirrus Aircraft are all outfitted with a whole-airplane parachute. The system demonstrated in this video was developed by Ballistic Recovery Systems' Boris Popov, who was inspired after surviving a fall from a hang glider into a l
ake. While this is the first commercial whole-airplane parachute, the idea has been around for more than 80 years. From Smithsonian Air & Space:
In 1929, Hollywood stunt pilot Roscoe Turner deployed a whole-airplane parachute for kicks before 15,000 spectators in Santa Ana, California, and landed softly in his 2,800-pound Lockheed Air Express. In 1948, pilot and parachutist Bob Fron
ius twice deployed a chute from a JR-V Robin sailplane near San Diego, and several times the following year from a J-3 Piper Cub. “He would climb, shut the engine down, open the chute, play around with it, then release the chute and dive to start the engi
ne,” says Fronius’ son Doug. Bob Fronius never commercialized his parachute. “He was a better experimenter than a businessman,” says Doug. “He considered the job done once he accomplished the experimental part.”
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Alien hand syndrome sufferer
Karen Byrne, 55, suffers from Alien Hand Syndrome. The condition began after surgeons snipped her corpus callosum, connecting her brain's two hemispheres, to treat her epilepsy. She's featured on The Brain: A Secret History, a documentary series on BBC Fo
ur. From the BBC: Cutting the corpus callosum cured Karen's epilepsy, but left her with a completely different problem. Karen told me that initially everything seemed to be fine. Then her doctors noticed some extremely odd behaviour. "Dr O'Connor said
'Karen what are you doing? Your hand's undressing you'. Until he said that I had no idea that my left hand was opening up the buttons of my shirt. "So I start rebuttoning with the right hand and, as soon as I stopped, the left hand started unbuttoning the
m. So he put an emergency call through to one of the other doctors and said, 'Mike you've got to get here right away, we've got a problem'." Karen had emerged from the operation with a left hand that was out of control. "I'd light a cigarette, balance it
on an ashtray, and then my left hand would reach forward and stub it out. It would take things out of my handbag and I wouldn't realise so I would walk away. I lost a lot of things before I realised what was going on."
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
MAKE presents: (How to Use) The Multimeter
The ability to test resistance, voltage, current & continuity are vital to any electronics maker - even the freshest of newbies. In fact, having a reliable multimeter on hand is a huge help when learning the basics. Even before understanding what each val
ue means, you'll be able to establish reference points for applying each new concepts and troubleshooting experiments.
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Domestic Use of Aerial Drones By Law Enforcement
"Aerial drones are now used by the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Mesa County Sheriff's Office, Colorado; the Miami-Dade County, Florida, Police Department; and the Department of Homeland Security. But what about privacy concerns? 'Drones raise th
e prospect of much more pervasive surveillance,' said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. 'We are not against them, absolutely. They can be a valuable tool in certain kinds
of operations. But what we don't want to see is their pervasive use to watch over the American people.'"
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Rings of Energy, Spin Forces, etc.
Some key people to look into: Walter Russell, Ed Leedskaln, Professor John Searl, John Keely, Tesla, Viktor Grebbenikov, Dan Winter, Dr. Masaru Emoto, Cleave Baxter, Viktor Schauberger, Marko Rodin, John Hutchison, John Titor, The Billy Meier Case, Dr. Jo
nathan Reed Case, Ancient Hieroglyphics, Legends, Ufology, crop circles, sacred geometry, geomancy, etc. Thermodynamics and Conservation (Physics) without Cryodynamics and Liberation (Magnetics) is like Male with no Female.
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Japanese Supreme Court Rules TV Forwarding Illegal
"If you use anything like a Slingbox in Japan, you may be dismayed to find out that a Japanese maker of a similar service has been successfully sued by Japan Broadcasting Corp. and five Tokyo-based local TV broadcasting firms under copyright violations fo
r empowering users to do similar things. TV forwarding or place shifting is recording and/or moving your normal TV signal from its intended living room box to your home computer or anywhere on the internet. Turns out that Japan's Supreme Court overruled l
ower court decisions confirming fears that to even facilitate this functionality is a copyright infringement on the work that is being transferred."
- Full Article Source
Jeff Wysaski of Pleated Jeans wrote “Whether it’s a fat population, high rate of STDs or excessive tax rate, it turns out that every state ranks dead last in at least one unsavory category.” So he compiled a most unusual “worst of” list, featuring your fa
vorite home state.
- Full Article SourceITEM #43
01/27/11 -
Italian Consumer Watchdog Sues Microsoft Over 'Windows Tax'
"[An] Italian consumer watchdog is suing Microsoft over the 'Windows Tax' – the near impossibility of an ordinary user getting a refund if they decide to delete Microsoft's software from a new computer or laptop. The class action case says Microsoft ma
kes it too difficult for people who buy a computer with Microsoft software on it to remove that software and get their money back. Most users do not realise that starting the software means you have accepted the end user licence."
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Chinese Stealth Fighter Jet May Use US Technology
"In 1999, a US F-117 Nighthawk was downed by a Serbian anti-aircraft missile during a bombing raid. It was the first time one of the fighters had been hit, and the Pentagon blamed clever tactics and sheer luck. The pilot ejected and was rescued. Now, the Guardian reports that pieces of the wrecked F-117 stealth fighter ended up in the hands of foreign military attaches. 'At the time, our intelligence reports told of Chinese agents crisscrossing the region where the F-117 disintegrated, buying up parts of the plane from local farmers,' says Admiral Davor Domazet-Loso, Croatia's military chief of staff during the Kosovo war. 'We believe the Chinese used those materials to gain an insight into secret stealth technologies... and to reverse-engineer them.' Zoran Kusovac says the Serbian regime routinely shared captured western equipment with its Chinese and Russian allies. 'The destroyed F-117 topped that wish-list for both the Russians and Chinese,' says Kusovac."
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Is Homeland Security secretly preparing for a dollar collapse?
Is the Department of Homeland Security, through its FEMA unit, getting read to feed all of their department's essential personnel for a year in the chaos following a US dollar collapse? Perhaps so, since they just put out a request for 140 million of the
military's MREs (meals ready to eat). The bid specifies that:
"All meals/kits must have 36 months of remaining shelf life upon delivery."
Of course, they couldn't very well say: "The purpose of this Request is to identify sources of supply for 140 million MRE's to feeding essential Homeland Security personnel for a period of one year during a crisis brought on by a collapse of the dollar
." So the cover story they came up with is an obvious fabrication:
"The purpose of this Request for Information is to identify sources of supply for meals in support of disaster relief efforts based on a catastrophic disaster event within the New Madrid Fault System for a survivor population of 7M to be utilized for t
he sustainment of life during a 10-day period of operations."
The New Madrid Fault is know to only produce major earthquakes on a 400 to 600 year cycle. And since the last major quake happened less than 200 years ago. Those 140 million MRE's with a shelf life of just 36 months are going to be pretty stale after s
itting around for 200 or 300 years until that big earthquake finally hits the Midwest. So why do they really want 140 million meals in storage?
The government has spent almost $2 for every $1 it collected in taxes for two years running now. The biggest threat our nation currently faces is that our foreign creditors might start dumping our nation's debt and dollar, pushing the nation into b
ankruptcy, collapsing the dollar and our economy. Your sure not going to admit that on a bid request to buy 140 million MRE's to insure Homeland Security's essential personnel can be fed throughout the crisis.
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Two-Thirds of US Internet Users Lack Fast Broadband
"Two-thirds of US Internet connections are slower than 5 Mbps, putting the United States well behind speed leaders like South Korea, where penetration of so-called 'high broadband connectivity' is double the rate experienced in the United States. The Unit
ed States places ninth in the world in access to high broadband connectivity, at 34% of users, including 27% of connections reaching 5 Mbps to 10 Mbps and 7% reaching above 10 Mbps, Akamai says in its latest State of the Internet Report. That's an improve
ment since a year ago, when the United States was in 12th place with only 24% of users accessing fast connections. But the United States is still dwarfed by South Korea, where 72% of Internet connections are greater than 5 Mbps, and Japan, which is at 60%
. The numbers illustrate the gap between expectation and reality for US broadband users, which has fueled the creation of a government initiative to improve access. The US government broadband initiative says 100 million Americans lack any broadband acces
s, and that faster Internet access is needed in the medical industry, schools, energy grid and public safety networks."
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Third of Content On Popular BT Portals Are Fake
"A study published by a group of researchers, most of them based in Europe, analysed the publishers of content on two major BitTorrent portals, Pirate Bay and MiniNova, and found out that almost a third of all files on the two sites were fake."
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Video anthology of time-saving tips
One of those icky, deliberately "viral" videos from a big, stupid telco, but this five-minute video is a seriously interesting anthology of time-saving tips, some of which have been shamelessly nicked from existing video hits, others are new to me, and co
llectively, they represent substantial relief from the pitiless drudgery imposed by stupid physics.
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
NASA's Commercial Plans for Kennedy Space Center
"Whether or not NASA launches two or three more shuttle missions, NASA's venerable hub of operations, the Kennedy Space Center will need a new mission. That's why NASA today said it was looking to morph the center's unique space rocket facilities into a n
ew more commercial role after the shuttles stop flying. While its facilities would likely rise far above others, NASA could find some competition in any commercial launch venture."
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Does the Moon Have Military Value?
"Despite the fact that under President Barack Obama's space policy, Americans will not be going back to the moon any time soon, discussions are occurring about what, if any, military value the Earth's nearest neighbor has. Opinions, as can be expected, va
ry on the subject." / Comments: #1 - Are you reading this, The U.S. Government? The moon is of endless strategic military value! You could be the most powerful military on earth if you had the most advanced space programs. Divert some of that ridiculously
high military funding toward space programs, as much as you can spare! #2 - You don't need nuclear weapons from the moon, nor toxic weapons either. Apparently the moon has a rich supply of these mysterious city-killing weapons called "rocks" which, when
catapulted out of the moon's gravity well naturally fall into Earth's. The Earth's gravity operates on the mass of the rocks, accelerating them to great terminal energy - enough to look as much like nuclear weapons as makes little difference. Done with su
fficient precision, or simply enough quantity, it should be more than enough force to get the Earth to capitulate. Scary thought: the entire moon is made up of these disastrous weapons of mass destruction, which require no fine art to deploy. I read a boo
k about it once, a long time ago. Wish I could remember the title. Odd note of geek trivia: the "Toynbee Tiles" enigma is precisely about this.
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Self-Control In Kids Predicts Future Success
"A new study suggests that a child's future success depends on the amount of self-control they exhibit. From the article: 'The international team of researchers looked at 1,037 children in New Zealand born in the early 1970s, observing their levels of sel
f-control at ages 3 and 5. At ages 5, 7, 9 and 11, the team used parent, teacher and the children's own feedback to measure such factors as impulsive aggression, hyperactivity, lack of persistence and inattention. At age 32, they used physical exams, bloo
d tests, records searches and personal interviews of 96% of the original participants to determine how healthy, wealthy and law-abiding the subjects had turned out to be. The results were startling. In the fifth of children with the least self-control, 27
% had multiple health problems. Compare that with the fifth of kids with the most self-control — at just 11%. Among the bottom fifth, 32% had an annual income below approximately $15,000, while only 10% of the top fifth fell into that low-income bracket.
Just 26% of the top-fifth's offspring were raised in single-parent homes, compared with 58% of those in the bottom fifth. And 43% of the bottom fifth had been convicted of a crime, far outstripping the top fifth's 13% rate.'"
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Mexican drug smugglers catapult weed over border fence into US
A remote video surveillance system captured drug smugglers using a catapult to launch packages of pot over the Mexico/US border. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, US National Guard troops coordinated with Mexican authorities to halt the ope
ration. / On Friday evening, National Guard troops operating a remote video surveillance system at the Naco Border Patrol Station observed several people south of the International Boundary Fence preparing a catapult and launching packages over the Intern
ational Border fence, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Border Patrol agents working with the National Guard contacted Mexican authorities, who went to the location and disrupted the catapult operation. The camera showed the individuals fle
eing the area before they could be intercepted by Mexican authorities. The Mexican officials seized about 45 pounds of marijuana, a sport utility vehicle, and the catapult device.
- Full Article Source
01/27/11 -
Ford Building Cars That Talk To Other Cars
"Ford's new system works over a dedicated short-range WiFi system on a secure channel allocated by the FCC. The company says the system one-ups radar safety systems by allowing full 360-degree coverage even when there's no direct line of sight. Scenarios
where this could benefit safety or traffic? Predicting collision courses with unseen vehicles, seeing sudden stops before they're visible, and spotting traffic pattern changes on a busy highway. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) r
eported in October that vehicle-to-vehicle warning systems could address nearly 80 percent of reported crashes not involving drunk drivers. As such, it could potentially save tens of thousands of lives per year."
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
America Losing Its Edge In Innovation
"Forbes has an interesting article about America losing its edge in innovation because engineers and scientists in the US are not as respected as they are in other countries, and thus fewer youths aspire to become one. Quoting:
'I’ve visited more than 100 countries in the past several years, meeting people from all walks of life, from impoverished children in India to heads of state. Almost every adult I’ve talked with in these countries shares a belief that the path to succe
ss is paved with science and engineering.
In fact, scientists and engineers are celebrities in most countries. They’re not seen as geeks or misfits, as they too often are in the US, but rather as society’s leaders and innovators.
In China, eight of the top nine political posts are held by engineers. In the US, almost no engineers or scientists are engaged in high-level politics, and there is a virtual absence of engineers in our public policy debates.'"
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Secret UFO Propulsion Systems
"We now know how to travel to the stars. The Air Force has just given us a contract to take ET back home." - Ben Rich, former Head of Lockheed Skunkworks. As a Senior Research Engineer Boyd Bushman worked for Lockheed Martin, Texas Instruments and Hughes
Aircraft. He is regarded as one of the inventors of the Stinger missile and he speaks on Camera about Area 51 and advanced propulsion systems being tested there. As a Senior Research Scientist at Lockheed Martin - Boyd Bushman reveals that Defense Contrac
tor - Lockheed Martin has researched antigravity technology, specifically gravity manipulation by means of magnetic fields, and he shows that he experimented at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth, Texas facilities, proving that magnetic fields affect the gravit
ational field and because of that, bodies don't fall with the same acceleration, a result different from the classical experiments made by Galileo with no magnetic fields present. (Thanks to Jim Nicholson at Gravity Control dot Org. You might also want to read these additional correlations. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Scientists warn of 'superstorm' heading for California
US Geological Survey scientists predict that the storm could last 40 days, producing up to 10-feet of rain and causing £190 billion ($300 billion) worth of flooding damage, which would make it the most destructive storm in California's modern history. Nat
ional Weather Service images show an atmospheric river system - a huge hose-like flow of Pacific Ocean moisture - moving onto the state increasing the risk of the winter weather phenomenon. US Geological Survey Director, Marcia McNutt said: "The time to b
egin taking action is now, before a devastating natural hazard event occurs. This scenario demonstrates firsthand how science can be the foundation to help build safer communities. The ARkStorm scenario is a scientifically vetted tool that emergency respo
nders, elected officials and the general public can use to plan for a major catastrophic event to help prevent a hazard from becoming a disaster." Jones added: "This is not just a Californian problem. There will be disruption to ports and transportation s
ystems. The economic impact will be felt across the country." "For a storm which can cause four times as much damage as earthquakes, Californians are less aware of risks they face from floods." Federal and state emergency management officials met last wee
k to discuss emergency preparations for possible superstorms.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Ambitious project to green the desert to begin in Jordan
The Sahara Forest Project’s (SFP) first facility will be located on a 2,000,000 square meter (21,527,821 sq. ft.) plot of land in Aqaba, a coastal town in the south of Jordan where it will be a test bed for the use of a combination of technologies designe
d to enable the production of fresh water, food and renewable energy in hot, arid regions. The main pillars of the project are saltwater greenhouses, concentrated solar energy, and cultivation of traditional crops along with energy crops such as algae, wh
ich all come together in one location to solve a whole range of environmental problems. The SFP would use saltwater greenhouses to grow crops throughout the year in desert locations without any supply of freshwater. Seawater is evaporated from grilles at
the front of the greenhouse to create cool humid conditions inside. A proportion of the evaporated seawater is then condensed as freshwater that is used to irrigate the crops, re-vegetate surrounding dry areas and provide water to the concentrated solar p
ower plant. The solar power plant is in turn used to generate electricity to power the pumps to transport the seawater from the Red Sea to the saltwater greenhouse and the fans to circulate the humid air within the greenhouse. The greenhouse will also be
used to cultivate algae to absorb CO2 and provide biomass to be used for energy and food production.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
'The World' is sinking: Dubai islands 'falling into the sea'
The islands were intended as the ultimate luxury possession, even for Dubai. 'The World', the ambitiously-constructed archipelago of islands shaped like the countries of the globe, is sinking back into the sea, according to evidence cited before a propert
y tribunal. Developed with tailor-made hotel complexes and luxury villas, and sold to millionaires, the islands, off the coast of Dubai, are accessible by yacht or motor boat. But now the islands' sands are eroding and the navigational channels between th
em are silting up. "The islands are gradually falling back into the sea," Richard Wilmot-Smith QC, for Penguin Marine, said. The evidence showed "erosion and deterioration of The World islands", he added. With all but one of the islands still uninhabited
– Greenland – and that one a showpiece owned by the ruler of Dubai, most of the development plans have been brought to a crashing halt by the financial crisis.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Morbid Curiosity Leading Many Voters To Support Palin
A recent poll shows 62% of Americans say they don't want to vote for Palin, but kinda just have to see what would happen.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Infectious cancer cells hop hosts, steal replacement parts
On its own, cancer is a pretty disturbing disease. But over the last few years, we've identified an even more disturbing ability: in at least two cases, cancerous cells have evolved into a communicable disease. Now, researchers studying one of these infec
tious cancers have found that it's apparently stealing part of its host's cells when it infects them. Currently, we know of two cases of transmissible cancer. In one case, a lethal oral cancer is pushing the Tasmanian devil towards extinction. But the oth
er case is both less lethal and wider reaching: it strikes domestic dogs on all continents, but only causes a transient infection. The disease, canine transmissible venereal tumor, appears to have originated a few thousand years ago, based on the differen
ces between its genome and that of domesticated dogs. The cancer still seems to be evolving rapidly—the common ancestor of all the strains we've isolated is only a few hundred years old, despite the relative antiquity of the original cancer. At some point
, the same lack of bottleneck that lets the mitochondrial genome go bad might affect the regular, nuclear genome of the cells. At which point we may see the cancer evolve a way to start stealing genes from the host it effects.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
The Martin Luther King You Still Don't See on TV
It's become a TV ritual: Every year in mid-January, around the time of Martin Luther King's birthday, we get perfunctory network news reports about "the slain civil rights leader." The remarkable thing about this annual review of King's life is that sever
al years--his last years--are totally missing, as if flushed down a memory hole.
What TV viewers see is a closed loop of familiar file footage: King battling desegregation in Birmingham (1963); reciting his dream of racial harmony at the rally in Washington (1963); marching for voting rights in Selma, Alabama (1965); and finally, l
ying dead on the motel balcony in Memphis (1968).
An alert viewer might notice that the chronology jumps from 1965 to 1968. Yet King didn't take a sabbatical near the end of his life. In fact, he was speaking and organizing as diligently as ever. Almost all of those speeches were filmed or tape
d. But they're not shown today on TV. Why? In his last months, King was organizing the most militant project of his life: the Poor People's Campaign.
He crisscrossed the country to assemble "a multiracial army of the poor" that would descend on Washington--engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience at the Capitol, if need be--until Congress enacted a poor people's bill of rights. Reader's Digest w
arned of an "insurrection."
King's economic bill of rights called for massive government jobs programs to rebuild America's cities. He saw a crying need to confront a Congress that had demonstrated its "hostility to the poor"--appropriating "military funds with alacrity and ge
nerosity," but providing "poverty funds with miserliness."
How familiar that sounds today, more than a quarter-century after King's efforts on behalf of the poor people's mobilization were cut short by an assassin's bullet. As 1995 gets underway, in this nation of immense wealth, the White House and Congress c
ontinue to accept the perpetuation of poverty. And so do most mass media. Perhaps it's no surprise that they tell us little about the last years of Martin Luther King's life.
(Sure sounds suspicious that he was assassinated possibly in fear of inciting some kind of 'insurrection'. Only minor problems in the early years. If this is true that he was calling for 'massive government jobs to rebuild Americas cities' (and I'd
hope factories and infrastructure too), then bully for him and we all should be for that!
Stop the wars, pull back all our troops, quit messing in other countries business..stop giving other countries our money and focus on making life perfect for Americans...after all its OUR MONEY and should be used for our people!
We need a Star Trek like 'Non-Interference Directive' and 'Federation of Planets Membership Requirements' for all countries and only have dealings with countries who meet Federation standards and criteria. Everyone else can pound sand until they grow u
p and evolve. - JWD)
Federation Membership Requirements - (Think of this, for now, as countries and not planets. - JWD) Admittance into the Federation was either by in
vitation or successful petition of a world or civilization desirous of joining. In the second case, membership was granted only upon satisfaction of certain requirements.
Firstly, the government of the prospective member submitted an official petition to the Federation Council, outlining its desire to join. A lengthy, thorough investigation of the prospective member's culture followed. This investigation could take seve
ral years, and was done to ascertain whether or not the culture genuinely shared the values of the Federation: values of benevolence, peaceful co-existence and co-operation, the rule of law, and equal rights and justice.
For example, the discovery on the petitioning planet, Angosia III, of enhanced soldiers being unjustly indefinitely imprisoned without treatment in times of peace was considered unacceptable in Captain Jean-Luc Picard's official evaluation of the plane
t for the Federation. (TNG: "The Hunted")
Even before the investigation, the prospective member had to meet certain requirements. These were as follows:
* It had to have an "advanced level of technology." The Federation's baseline definition of this term was the capability for faster-than-light space travel. (TNG: "First Contact")
* Its government had to have achieved stable planetary political unity, respecting the rights of the individual. (TNG: "The Hunted", "Attached")
* No form of caste discrimination was to be practiced. (DS9: "Accession")
Once the first contact scenario has commenced further introduction into the Federation charter is observed, and such worlds are continued to be carefully assessed, and slowly indoctrinated. If full membership is to be permitted, further conditions must
be met. Firstly the civilization must operate under a unified planetary government, additionally, cases involving any form of social or political ostracism, exploitation, slavery, or internal conflict is definitely not considered.
Caste systems are also strictly prohibited. The final phase of membership applications go before the Council, and once all criteria, ranging from military matters, general technological fields, social, psychological and criminal statuses and cultural i
ntegration requirements, and many other points which need careful scrutiny and analysis, the decision will be given.
But there is much to be done in the way of preparation and research before such a decision is reached. These tasks are initially ca
rried out by an elite committee of specialists from every scholastic and scientific field, from sociologists, to physicians and anthropologists. It is a long and drawn out process of discussion, investigation and examination. In some instances membership
proposals can take years to be processed.
- MLK Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Not Beefy Enough
What's in a name? That's the question at the heart of a class action lawsuit Montgomery, Alabama law firm Beasley Allen filed targeting fast food giant Taco Bell. The lawsuit claims the company uses "false advertising" on its menu and in its advertisement
s. "The complaint alleges that what Taco Bell calls "beef" doesn't meet the minimum requirements set by the USDA to be called "beef" or "seasoned ground beef" or anything of the kind. "Rather than beef, these food items are actually made with a substance
known as "taco meat filling," according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit states that Taco Bell should refer to its product as "taco meat filling" because it contains mostly "extenders" and other non-meat substances. What are these substances? The document list
s water, "Isolated Oat Product," wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch and sodium phosphate as well as beef and seasonings. (How many other big fast food companies use mixes or extenders
but claim beef, chicken or whatever? - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
MIT uses nanotech to make solar panels more efficient
Using nanomaterials, MIT professor Professor Michael Strano and his team of researchers have come up with a method of concentrating light at 100 times the rate of traditional photovoltaic methods. This could lead to a new kind of solar panel that is both
smaller and more powerful. "So the solar funnel operates the same way you would think a regular funnel would work if you were to bring it outside in the rain. In fact, that's a very good analogy," Strano says. If photons — small packets of light — are com
pared to rain droplets, the MIT professor says, “what the funnel actually does is it concentrates these photons down in space and concentrates them down to a small spot. And if you have a photovoltaic or a photo detector there, then you can greatly enhanc
e the performance of this device." Similar to a common kitchen funnel, MIT’s "solar funnel" gathers energy found over a larger area and concentrates it into a smaller area. Strano's group often works with carbon nanotubes and nanowires and is always looki
ng for new ways to use them. When the carbon nanotubes are arranged into microscopic fibres, they can serve as tiny antennas. The technology is still in development, but the group hopes to be able to coat solar panels with these microscopic structures to
boost efficiency. Graduate student, Geraldine Paulus, explains how the light is concentrated at the center of a test fiber in the lab. "The sunlight excites the nanotubes that are in the outer layer of the fiber, and because of the different properties th
at make up the nanotubes in the different layers, the light is being funnelled to the core of our construction, of the fiber. That's where it is emitted at a wavelength that is specific to the nanotubes in the core of the fiber. So basically we've spatial
ly and energetically focused the light," she says. The group's invention uses the concept of bandgap. Bandgap is the difference between an electron's energy level in resting and excited states. When a photon hits an electron, it jumps to a higher energy s
tate. Energy flows from higher to lower bandgap materials. Strano's team exploits the energy flow from higher to lower bandgap materials to funnel the energy. The description in the recent Nature Materials paper describes losses of about 13 percent, but t
he team is hoping to develop new antennas that reduce energy losses to one percent. The invention could become more efficient by finding types of nanotubes with closer bandgap differences to minimize the loss of energy as the photons travel from one type
of material to the other, says Paulus. This type of technology could change the way people approach coating a roof with solar cells or making photovoltaic panels, by allowing them to use smaller devices to capture the same amount of energy.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Thermal water pump could aid farmers in developing nations
A water pump that uses thermal energy from the sun is to undergo field testing before potentially being used by farmers in the developing world for irrigating fields. The device uses a non-inertive-feedback thermofluidic engine (NIFTE) that converts relat
ively small temperature differences between its heat source and heat sink into mechanical force. It does this without any electrical supply or mechanical moving parts, instead using liquid pistons that move up and down in response to pressure variations,
caused by boiling and condensation. Because of this it can hopefully be produced relatively cheaply, with a cost of £50 per pump being muted. Thermofluidics has recently received a grant from the California Energy Commission for a slightly different inven
tion that can pump water from deep below the ground or a significant height above it.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Firm’s pain free fat laser device goes global
A WEST Wales company which has produced a faster, pain free laser version of fat reducing liposuction has been granted approval to market the invention in the US and Brazil, two of the world’s biggest cosmetics markets. Chromogenex based in Llanelli produ
ces the i-Lipo laser device which removes fat from problem areas. Conventional surgical liposuction can be painful and requires significant recovery time. But the i-Lipo targets fatty cells with laser energy, stimulating them to break down into fatty acid
s which are expelled from the body naturally. Peter McGuinness, the managing director of Chromogenex said of the i-Lipo device: “Earlier liposuction techniques required a period of recovery following treatment. “But i-Lipo is a treatment you can literally
have in your lunch break with no need for rest and recuperation afterwards.”
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Scientist builds motor running on air
Inventor Armando Regusci’s patented motor, basically uses compressed air to run and there is certainly no shortage of air in the world; and the best part is air is completely free. He claims he has tested the engine on cars and motorcycles and have record
ed mileages of over 100 kilometres on a single charge. A typical charge is about 300 litres of air for an average-sized car. Another advantage is, it takes a short time for a complete ‘fill-up’ of air than a electric car, which requires much longer to cha
rge up.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Kurdistan energy inventor
The future of energy may lie with Qassim Omer Bindiani. Qassim Omer Bindiani, a Kurdish inventor, has requested that the Kurdistan Regional Government open a supportive institute for Kurdistan inventors. "I request that higher education, industry and you
th ministries open a joint institute for Kurdistan inventors," said Bindiani, adding that the institute could play a crucial role as a bridge to build ties between Kurdistan inventors and Kurdish inventors abroad as well as between government and Kurdish
inventors inside the country. He explained a number of his inventions to the "Globe." His first invention, a hydro electrical generator, is patented in the U.S. It produces clean water from a river with a simple, environmentally friendly process. "The hyd
ro generator is very good for poor countries. Poor countries can produce power without building dams. The whole generator will be under water and can be used as a bridge in the river at the same time," he said. Another invention uses four turbines beside
each other (in a row) in a dam instead of one. The importance of this invention is that water will not be wasted since it will be used four times to produce power. In 2009, the U.S. recorded the idea as Bindiani's invention. "The U.S. recorded it since th
ey liked the way the turbines are connected to each other," said Bindiani, who has been invited to San Francisco to give seminars.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Programmed for Love
Imagine standing in front of a robot, gazing into its wide, plastic eyes, and falling in love. Your heart revs up, and you hope this Other—this humanoid machine—turns your way again, tilts its head in interest, likes you back. Professor Sherry Turkle has
spent some 15 years studying this emerging breed of "sociable robots"—including toys like Furbies and new robotic pets for the elderly—and what she considers their seductive and potentially dangerous powers. She argues that robotics' growing trend toward
creating machines that act as if they were alive could lead people to place machines in roles she thinks only humans should occupy. Her prediction: Companies will soon sell robots designed to baby-sit children, replace workers in nursing homes, and serve
as companions for people with disabilities. All of which to Turkle is demeaning, "transgressive," and damaging to our collective sense of humanity. It's not that she's against robots as helpers—building cars, vacuuming floors, and helping to bathe the sic
k are one thing. She's concerned about robots that want to be buddies, implicitly promising an emotional connection they can never deliver. In Turkle's view, many of us are already a little too cozy with our machines—the smartphones and laptops we turn to
for distraction and comfort so often that we can forget how to sit quietly with our own thoughts. In that way, she argues, science fiction has become reality: We are already cyborgs, reliant on digital devices in ways that many of us could not have imagi
ned just a few years ago. Perhaps it's not so far-fetched to think that walking, talking machines will soon come a-courting—and that many people might welcome their advances. Turkle says her shift in attitude about the influence of digital technologies gr
ew not just from personal experiences like those with Cog, but also from her field research—hundreds of interviews with children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly encountering the latest tech gadgets. Again and again, she saw how even a relatively clums
y robot dog or electronic baby doll could spark a deep emotional response.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Clever Human-Powered Transport Proposed for Low Carbon Masdar City
SkyRower and SkyRide Technology allow you to safely propel yourself through the sky, at up to ten miles an hour, suspended under a monorail. With the Zayed Energy Future Prize being awarded this week in Abu Dhabi, when better to pitch the idea, and who be
tter to implement it than the low carbon capital of the world, Masdar City? Olson visited last week to propose the idea to Masdar, as well as to the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce, Ferrari World, and several other local organizations. Olson envi
sions us humans invading the near earth airspace usually plied only by our two-legged friends, safely suspended from a monorail, and propelled along just by our own pedal power. We would lie back in a recumbent position for maximum comfort and minimum aer
odynamic drag. The idea has many useful applications. Getting people across rivers in place of bridges (hook a bicycle underneath?) and over freeways. But I can also imagine these set up in multi-lane highway systems, clogged with rush hour traffic of row
ers and bikers, following each other a few behind, and about ten feet apart. For many of us, ten miles an hour is a normal speed for how we get to work and back anyway – and then we have to somehow carve out another hour to drive to the gym to make up for
all that sedentary way of life. For those of us who are less athletically inclined, there would be an electric assist that keeps us all at the same lane speed. Without detailing specifics, SkyRide Technology’s chief marketing officer, Adam Meyer says, “o
f course for everyday use or for people not interested in manual effort, there will be alternatives.”
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Preparations for alien contact
If we do make contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, what happens next? Well, assuming the ball is in our court, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project has a plan. In fact, SETI even has a Post-Detection Taskgroup made up of sci
entists, journalists, philosophers, and, of course, science fiction writers. Astrobiologist Paul Davies of Arizona State University leads the bunch. ...the discovery of a signal from intelligent extraterrestrials could lead to "mayhem." (former of head of
NASA's SETI program John) Billingham agrees. "Some people will think that this is a natural event in the continuing work on scientific questions," he says, and others will ask, in panic, "What do we do now?" People would likely fall into two camps. Catas
trophists, as one of the camps is called, might well predict the end of humanity as we know it, or at least the end of our current culture. In 2010 Stephen Hawking said that making contact with aliens would be "a little too risky" and compared the event t
o Columbus arriving in the New World, "which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans." But millenarian enthusiasts anticipate revelations of rapture: how to cure cancer, solve the energy crisis or win world peace. And if aliens did manage to co
me to Earth, says (Center for SETI Research director Jill) Tarter, an admitted enthusiast, "they would likely have outgrown the aggressiveness that has served us so well."
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Portugal: 10 years of decriminalized drugs
Here's a good Boston Globe report on the first decade of Portugal's bold experiment with drug decriminalization and increased treatment. Ten years ago, Portugal -- whose drug problem had been spiraling out of control -- decided to treat drug addiction as
a public health matter, not as a criminal matter. They decriminalized possession of drugs, and increased treatment available to addicts, and experienced an immediate, dramatic and sustained drop in negative effects from drug use -- though the use of some
drugs went up.
In this sense, one drug policy expert noted, the Portuguese experiment has become a sort of Rorschach test -- in the dark blobs on the page, people can see whatever they want to see. But Tom McLellan, the former deputy director of the Office of Nationa
l Drug Control Policy under President Obama, said he's happy for the conversation. While not in favor of decriminalization, McLellan believes that the American debate over drug reform has become too polarized, with one side calling for incarceration and t
he other for legalization. "And I just don't buy it," McLellan said. The answer is likely somewhere in the middle, he believes, and perhaps that's where we can learn something from Portugal, a country that at least tried something new.
"I like that approach to drug policy," McLellan said. "Policy is really a product. And like a product, policy can be made better with experimentation and honest evaluation, rather than stupid polemic polarization of ideology."
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Rescuing a Broken America
Michael Coffman talked about his book Rescuing a Broken America: Why America Is Deeply Divided and How to Heal It Constitutionally (Environmental Perspectives, 2010). In his book he argues that over the course of the past one hundred years Americans' worl
d view, once based on liberty and the individual, has been replaced by increased government control. Mr. Coffman cites the disparate writings of John Locke and Jean Jacque Rousseau to illustrate what he believes are the changes in America's political unde
rstandings and presents his thoughts on how the Constitution can still protect the individual. Michael Coffman spoke about conservative values, political philosophy, and the roots of partisanship. He also responded to questions from members of the audienc
e at the Seventeenth Annual Eagle Forum Collegians Leadership Summit. The annual conference was held at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Doom and gloom
Have you noticed that most Americans seem to know far more about American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Justin Bieber and their favorite sports teams than they do about world affairs? Most Americans cannot even find Tunisia and Algeria on a map, and if
you told them that food riots are happening in those nations right now most of them would not even care anyway. We have become a very self-centered, self-involved and self-absorbed nation. (Clearly these people don't read Keelynet....)
Quite a few people have accused this column of being obsessed with "doom and gloom", but the truth is that the world really is falling apart out there. What are we supposed to do? Are we all supposed to stick our heads in the sand and pretend that ever
ything is going to be okay? Should we all not try to warn others so that they can prepare for what is coming? Until people understand that we are facing absolutely massive problems they are not going to be motivated to take significant action, and hopeful
ly those of us that are proclaiming "doom and gloom" are doing a good enough job of describing what is really going on out there that some people are starting to wake up and actually make changes.
Most Americans may not care, but the food riots that are starting to erupt around the globe are actually very serious. even before all of these weather disasters struck the price of food had been going up significantly. The UN recently announced that t
he global price of food hit an all-time high during the month of December, and world leaders all over the globe are openly expressing concern about what 2011 is going to bring. Sadly, the truth is that there has been a trend of rising food prices for quit
e some time. According to Forbes, corn is up 94% since June, soybeans are up 51% since June, and wheat is up 80% since last June.
As one of my readers recently pointed out to me, it usually takes about six months for the prices of agricultural futures to filter down into the supermarkets. So the very high prices for agricultural commodities that we are seeing right now should rea
lly start to be felt around the globe by the middle of 2011. In addition to everything else, reports continue to come in of thousands of birds and millions of fish suddenly dying all over the globe, and nobody seems to really know what is causing it. Do y
ou want some more doom and gloom?
Sadly, most Americans have only known tremendous prosperity all of their lives, so they can't even conceive of what it would be like to go through difficult times. Most Americans have been conditioned to believe that while we may have brief "recessions
" once in a while, in the end our economy will always get better and the good times will continue to roll. But the good news is that an increasing number of Americans are waking up and are trying to warn their family and friends about what is coming. So d
o you believe that the food shortages and the food riots are going to get even worse throughout the rest of 2011?
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Woman's Voice Restored After Larynx Transplant
"A woman in the US is able to speak for the first time in 11 years after a pioneering voicebox transplant. Brenda Jensen said the operation, which took place in California, was a miracle which had restored her life. Thirteen days after the surgery she sai
d her first words: 'Good morning, I want to go home.' It is the first time a larynx and windpipe have been transplanted at the same time (image) and only the second time a larynx has ever been transplanted. In October, surgeons at the University of Califo
rnia Davis Medical Center removed the larynx, thyroid gland and 6cm of the trachea from a donor body. In an 18-hour operation, this was transplanted into Ms. Jensen's throat and the team connected it to her blood supply and nerves. Thirteen days later, sh
e was able to speak her first croaky words and is now able to talk easily for long periods of time."
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Apple Files Patent For Display Mouse
"AppleInsider has posted a story detailing a new patent application by Apple that hints at the possibility of adding a touchscreen to the company's magic mouse. At a basic level this could mean things like customizable colors or artwork displayed on the u
ser's mouse, but the possibilities extend much further to fully customizable mouse layouts and program controls. Apple Insider comments on the possibilities: 'The display on the mouse would change according to what the user may be doing on their Mac. As a
n example, the application describes displaying a number of icons for quickly selectable options when a user is running Apple's Pages word processing application. Switching over to the spreadsheet software, Numbers would reconfigure the buttons on the scr
een to allow for commands in that respective application.'"
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
More Americans On Food Stamps More Money JP Morgan Makes
JP Morgan is the largest processor of food stamp benefits in the United States. JP Morgan has contracted to provide food stamp debit cards in 26 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. JP Morgan is paid for each case that it handles, so that means tha
t the more Americans that go on food stamps, the more profits JP Morgan makes. Yes, you read that correctly. When the number of Americans on food stamps goes up, JP Morgan makes more money. In the video posted below, JP Morgan executive Christopher Pat
on admits that this is "a very important business to JP Morgan" and that it is doing very well. Considering the fact that the number of Americans on food stamps has exploded from 26 million in 2007 to 43 million today, one can only imagine how much JP Mo
rgan's profits in this area have soared. But doesn't this give JP Morgan an incentive to keep the number of Americans enrolled in the food stamp program as high as possible? So if unemployment goes down will this ruin JP Morgan's food stamp business? Wel
l, apparently not. In the interview Paton says that 40% of food stamp recipients are currently working, and he seems convinced that there could be further "growth" in that segment. So is this what America is turning into? A place where tens of millions o
f the unemployed and the working poor crawl over to Wal-Mart and the dollar store every month to use the food stamp debit cards provided to them by JP Morgan? It turns out that JP Morgan also provides child support debit cards in 15 U.S. states and they a
lso provide unemployment insurance benefit debit cards in seven states. Apparently states have found that they can save millions of dollars by "outsourcing" the provision of these benefits to big financial firms like JP Morgan.
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Laser Incidents With Aircraft On the Rise
"High-power laser pointers available for cheap are increasingly finding abuse as the ultimate long-distance weapons of pranksters and vandals. The Federal Aviation Administration says laser events aimed on planes have nearly doubled in the last year, leap
ing from 1,527 in 2009 to 2,836 in 2010. The highest number of incidents was reported at Los Angeles International Airport, which recorded 102 in 2010. Lasers pointed at cockpits can temporarily blind pilots, forcing them to give up control of an aircraft
to their co-pilot or abort a take-off/landing. In March of 2008, unidentified individuals wielding four green laser pointers launched a coordinated attack on six incoming planes at Sydney Airport, which resulted in a ban on all laser pointers in the stat
e of New South Wales."
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
60% of AOL's Profits Come From Misinformed Customers
"Ken Auletta's big New Yorker piece on AOL (subscription only) this week revealed an interesting detail about the company's inner workings. According to Auletta, 80% of AOL's profits come from subscribers, and 75% of those subscribers are paying for so
mething they don't actually need. According to Auletta: "The company still gets eighty percent of its profits from subscribers, many of whom are older people who have cable or DSL service but don't realize that they need not pay an additional twent
y-five dollars a month to get online and check their e-mail. 'The dirty little secret,' a former AOL executive says, 'is that seventy-five percent of the people who subscribe to AOL's dial-up service don't need it.'"
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
Artificial Retinas Can Balance a Pencil On Its End
"A team of researchers has built a neural information system that is good enough and fast enough to balance a pencil in real time. If you think it's an easy task, try it! The Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH / University Zurich have used what look like
video cameras to do the job but in fact they are analog silicon retinas. They work so fast that even with fairly basic hardware they can balance a pencil."
- Full Article Source
01/24/11 -
The Fall of Traditional Entertainment Conglomerates
"We no longer live in the era of 'plantation-type' movie studios or recording houses. However large private companies still have considerable power over content production, distribution and promotion. Technology has been slowly changing this state of affa
irs for almost 30-40 years, however certain new technological advances, enabling systems and cost considerations will change the entertainment industry as we know it within 5 years."
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Update: Italian scientists claim to have demonstrated cold fusion
Despite the intense skepticism, a small community of scientists is still investigating near-room-temperature fusion reactions. The latest news occurred last week, when Italian scientists Andrea Rossi and Sergio Focardi of the University of Bologna announc
ed that they developed a cold fusion device capable of producing 12,400 W of heat power with an input of just 400 W. Last Friday, the scientists held a private invitation press conference in Bologna, attended by about 50 people, where they demonstrated wh
at they claim is a nickel-hydrogen fusion reactor. Further, the scientists say that the reactor is well beyond the research phase; they plan to start shipping commercial devices within the next three months and start mass production by the end of 2011.
The claim - Rossi and Focardi say that, when the atomic nuclei of nickel and hydrogen are fused in their reactor, the reaction produces copper and a large amount of energy. The reactor uses less than 1 gram of hydrogen and starts with about 1,000 W of
electricity, which is reduced to 400 W after a few minutes. Every minute, the reaction can convert 292 grams of 20°C water into dry steam at about 101°C. Since raising the temperature of water by 80°C and converting it to steam requires about 12,400 W of
power, the experiment provides a power gain of 12,400/400 = 31. As for costs, the scientists estimate that electricity can be generated at a cost of less than 1 cent/kWh, which is significantly less than coal or natural gas plants. “The magnitude of this
result suggests that there is a viable energy technology that uses commonly available materials, that does not produce carbon dioxide, and that does not produce radioactive waste and will be economical to build,” according to this description of the demon
stration. Rossi and Focardi explain that the reaction produces radiation, providing evidence that the reaction is indeed a nuclear reaction and does not work by some other method. They note that no radiation escapes due to lead shielding, and no radioacti
vity is left in the cell after it is turned off, so there is no nuclear waste.
The scientists explain that the reactor is turned on simply by flipping a switch and it can be operated by following a set of instructions. Commercial devices would produce 8 units of output per unit of input in order to ensure safe and reliable condit
ions, even though higher output is possible, as demonstrated. Several devices can be combined in series and parallel arrays to reach higher powers, and the scientists are currently manufacturing a 1 MW plant made with 125 modules. Although the reactors ca
n be self-sustaining so that the input can be turned off, the scientists say that the reactors work better with a constant input. The reactors need to be refueled every 6 months, which the scientists say is done by their dealers. The scientists also say t
hat one reactor has been running continuously for two years, providing heat for a factory. They provide little detail about this case.
“We have passed already the phase to convince somebody,” Rossi wrote in his forum. “We are arrived to a product that is ready for the market. Our judge is the market. In this field the phase of the competition in the field of theories, hypothesis, conj
ectures etc etc is over. The competition is in the market. If somebody has a valid technology, he has not to convince people by chattering, he has to make a reactor that work and go to sell it, as we are doing.” He directed commercial inquiries to info(at
)leonardocorp1996.com .
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Calling All Inventors: Win a PopSci Invention Award!
Do you have an invention you KNOW will someday change the world? Have you been toiling for years in your basement, building prototype after prototype to PROVE that your idea works? If so, tell us about it! Enter the fifth annual PopSci Invention Awards. W
e’re looking for game-changing products that come from the passionate drive of independent inventors (rather than those born in the R&D labs of universities and corporations). PopSci editors will pick 10 inventions that best represent the spirit of homegr
own ingenuity and solve real-world problems in a practical and innovative way. And we’ll show them to our seven million readers in our June 2011 issue. Check out last year's amazing winners here, and find details for entry below. To enter, simply submit d
etails on your invention via email to inventions@popsci.com. Here are a few guidelines:
* Inventions must be physical objects—no processes or concepts.
* There must be a working prototype or something else that demonstrates that the invention actually works.
* Inventions must be the work of independent inventors or small teams; outside funding is fine, but inventions created wholly out of universities or other R&D labs will not be considered.
* Inventions that are intended to become commercial products in the future are acceptable, but they must not already be available for sale.
* Inventions must be something new, not just an incremental improvement on an existing thing.
* Popular Science will not publish an entry online or in print without notifying the inventor first, but we will seek third-party verification of the technology and significance of the invention. All intellectual-property protection is the responsibil
ity of the entrant.
* All entries must be received by February 25, 2011.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
The Placebo Effect
An excerpt of Ben Goldacre doing stand-up at Nerdstock: 9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People, December 2009. Ben's website: http://www.badscience.net
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
‘Invention boosts turbine energy’ up to 30% more power
Business partners Colin Amess and Ian Casselden have developed a way of maximising wind-power efficiency. They were awarded a patent for their wind turbine control system in November and are in advance talks to see their invention rolled out across the co
untry. Their innovative system allows turbines to capture up to 30 per cent more energy than they currently do. Mr Amess, who has 35 years’ experience in electronics, said, “Power extraction capacity increases of up to 30 per cent can be achieved from win
d turbines by controlling the turbines so they constantly operate at their optimum wind energy extraction efficiency. “Our technology makes it possible to achieve a significant uplift in the levels of wind energy that can be harvested by allowing them to
operate safely and efficiently over an extended wind speed range.” The ‘closed loop control system’ allows wind turbines to work more efficiently in both low and high winds. With current technology, turbine blades struggle to work at all in low winds as t
hey try to respond to National Grid demands – the higher the demand the slower the blade is forced to rotate and in light winds the blades cannot rotate at all meaning potential energy is lost. However, with the revolutionary control box wind turbines rot
ate at a speed which forces the blade to rotate at optimum speed.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Interview with Jetpack Inventor Justin Capra
Humanwire correspondent Calin Dinulescu reporting from Bucharest, Romania brings us an interview with Justin Capra, the Romanian inventor of the jetpack. Capra designed 70 prototypes of fuel-efficient vehicles, 7 unconventional flying machines and 15 alte
rnative engines. None of them have been patented internationally, though. The jet pack was designed as a means to escape the communist regime without being seen. He devised his first prototype and flew it in the 1950s, and only after 4 years it got releas
ed by Bell, in the US. Capra also thinks that modern automobiles are “a disgrace,” because their low actual efficiency is due to carrying one ton besides the payload. For every liter of consumed gasoline, only 20 grams are used to carry one passenger.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Push Button Emergency Housing
We’ve seen many post-apocalyptic housing concepts before, but none have been quite as, well, realistic as the Japanese EDV-01. Daiwa House is actually producing these houses, which can spring up into mobile-houses with the push of a button. They’re small
even by Japanese standards, at 6m x 2.5m x 2.4m, but pretty sturdy, weighing 10 tons. It’d take a lot to push one over, but apparently they’re designed to be mobile and could house a couple of people fairly comfortably with a bathroom, kitchen, beds, and
satellite connectivity in case the phone networks die.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Smoking Causes Genetic Damage in Minutes Rather Than Years
In a report – described as ‘a stark warning’ to those tempted to start smoking – scientists found that cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco form rapidly after the first inhalation from a cigarette. One in five adults smoke in England and the habit causes m
ore than 80,000 deaths a year. Half of long-term smokers will die prematurely due to cigarettes. Dr Stephen Hecht from the University of Minnesota led a team that studied the level of harmful substances known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 12 smok
ers. Scientists have long believed that PAHs are one of the main causes of lung cancer, but until now it was not known how the chemicals caused DNA damage in humans. Dr Hecht and colleagues added a labelled PAH, phenanthrene, to cigarettes and tracked its
fate in 12 volunteers who smoked the cigarettes. They found that phenanthrene quickly forms a toxic substance in the blood known to trash DNA, causing mutations that can cause cancer. The smokers developed maximum levels of the substance in a time frame
that surprised even the researchers: just 15 to 30 minutes after the volunteers finished smoking. The researchers said the effect is so fast that it’s equivalent to injecting the substance directly into the bloodstream.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
A Private Space Shuttle Replacement
The Dream Chaser will go into orbit on the nose of a rocket, then land gently on airport runways. Once the space-shuttle program ends this year, the only way to get people into orbit and to the International Space Station will be to buy seats on Russia's
three-person Soyuz capsules. So NASA, through its Commercial Crew Development program, has given $50 million in grants to companies developing new spacecraft capable of carrying people and supplies into orbit and to the space station. The recipient of the
biggest chunk of this money was the Sierra Nevada Corporation, which received $20 million to develop the Dream Chaser. This spacecraft, the size of a business jet, will take cargo and up to eight people into low Earth orbit, where the space station is lo
cated, and then return and land on commercial airport runways. Other orbital spacecraft under development by companies including SpaceX and Boeing are capsules that will use parachutes to descend on land or in the sea. The Dream Chaser has a lifting body
design; it looks something like an airplane without the large wings on the side. Another private company, Orbital Sciences, is also working on a space-shuttle-like lifting body craft. The Dream Chaser's shape, in combination with extensible wheels and mot
ors, will enable it to make a controlled landing on a runway. Sirangelo says that the craft will therefore be able to land on the ground in more places than other vehicles can, and that the gravitational forces to which it will expose passengers—and sensi
tive cargo and scientific instruments—will be less intense. Sierra Nevada, which also makes satellites, sensors, and other components, did not design the Dream Chaser from the ground up. In the 1970s, the Soviets tested a vehicle like it, known as the Bor
-4. The crew of an Australian ship photographed it, and NASA used the image to reverse-engineer a similar craft.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
A brave new world of fossil fuels on demand $30 Barrel Oil
In September, a privately held and highly secretive U.S. biotech company named Joule Unlimited received a patent for “a proprietary organism” – a genetically adapted E. coli bacterium – that feeds solely on carbon dioxide and excretes liquid hydrocarbons:
diesel fuel, jet fuel and gasoline. This breakthrough technology, the company says, will deliver renewable supplies of liquid fossil fuel almost anywhere on Earth, in essentially unlimited quantity and at an energy-cost equivalent of $30 (U.S.) a barrel
of crude oil. It will deliver, the company says, “fossil fuels on demand.” Aside from hungry, gene-altered micro-organisms, it requires only carbon dioxide and sunshine to manufacture crude. And water: whether fresh, brackish or salt. With these “inputs,”
it mimics photosynthesis, the process by which green leaves use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds. Indeed, the company describes its manufacture of fossil fuels as “artificial photosynthesis.” Joule says it now has “a library”
of fossil-fuel organisms at work in its Massachusetts labs, each engineered to produce a different fuel. It has “proven the process,” has produced ethanol (for example) at a rate equivalent to 10,000 U.S. gallons an acre a year. It anticipates that this
yield could hit 25,000 gallons an acre a year when scaled for commercial production, equivalent to roughly 800 barrels of crude an acre a year.
- Full Article Source
The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like? Would you be the same person? IfItWereMyHome.com is your gateway to understanding life outside your home. Use our co
untry comparison tool to compare living conditions in your own country to those of another. Start by selecting a region to compare on the map to the right, and begin your exploration.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
‘Vacuum-Rocket’ Car Sets Style for Dirigible (May, 1936)
Looking as though it might be as much at home in the air as on the ground, a motor truck propelled by air sucked through a wind tunnel is testing principles that may revolutionize the building of dirigibles. Air is drawn into its concave, funnel-shaped fr
ont by a small propeller and is forced out at the rear with tremendous velocity, sending the car rocketing across the earth. Testing it on the Kansas City airport, its inventor, Thomas M. Finley of St. Louis, said he attained a speed of forty-seven miles
an hour from a standing start in a half mile. If this propulsion principle were applied to dirigibles, propellers would suck air into a hollow nose and thrust it back through a tunnel in the middle of the bag, creating a vacuum at the front instead of pus
hing against air pressure.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Technology causes information overload
Since the dawn of the Gutenberg Printing Press, we have been producing more works of literature than any average human being could ever read in their lifetime. The beauty, and irony, of Gutenberg's invention was the ability to produce a mass amount of boo
ks for an extremely low cost. This caused humans to face the unfamiliar dilemma of having to choose what books to read. And there lies the beginning of what is now called information overload. Nowadays, we have computers and BlackBerrys that feed us with
gigabytes of information. But the problem doesn't end there. We also have numerous choices on what cars to buy, what schools to attend, what food to eat, and even what phone to use to receive all those text and email messages. One problem with information
overload is that usually the information we are receiving is trivial. While the printing press helped make books and literature more easily available in the 15th century, the Internet has made exabytes (yes, that's 1 billion gigabytes) of information eve
n more accessible than anyone could have ever imagined. Which leads us to our next problem. How do we deal with information overload? The answer is simple: filter.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Electrified Arm Shield for Officers Delivers Loud Electrical Shock...
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will soon test and evaluate several pre-production prototypes of a "stunning" new invention that is reminiscent of Robocop armor. The BodyGuard, an innovative self-defense weapon worn on the non-dominant forearm
, will enable a cop (or prison guard or soldier) to deliver a less-than-lethal electrical shock to any aggressor who attacks. More important, however, is that the menacing sight and sound of the electrical arc that, when activated, will jump between elect
rodes near the wrist should startle or frighten the aggressor, and hopefully dissuade him from approaching. The basic BodyGuard includes a high-impact plastic arm shield, an ECD, and a high-powered LED flashlight. Brown says more advanced versions of The
BodyGuard can include a still camera, a video camera, a radio, a laser pointer, a communications device that will allow the wearer to both transmit and receive live video, automated license plate readers, and perhaps a heart rate monitor that will alert d
ispatch that the officer is in distress. As the BodyGuard's capability to record video and audio evidence that can be GPS- and time/date-stamped becomes known, the would-be attacker may have another reason to hesitate to commit assault, as the criminal ac
t would likely be captured by the cameras built into the BodyGuard and used to make the case against him in court. Not only will the camera be able to record an encounter, but it will also be able to stream live video back to the station or emergency call
center. Other police officers who respond to assist may be able to see and hear much of what transpires on their laptop in their vehicle before they arrive at the scene. They will know, for example, who to arrest. Using the natural defensive motion or po
sture of fending off an attacker with the non-dominant arm – Mr. Brown describes it as a "spontaneous primal action" – the wearer would squeeze his hand to activate a pressure pad switch in the glove. This would trigger a loud arc of electricity between t
he electrodes just above the wrist area. And when we say "loud," we mean LOUD. Mr. Brown says it sounds like an M-80 firecracker going off. In addition to the arc between the electrodes, the "hot bar" centered on the shield would be electrified as well.
For example, as an arm shield worn like a glove, the BodyGuard cannot be dropped or taken away and then used against the officer. Because it would incorporate a video camera, wireless transmitter, and global positioning, it could alert the police communic
ations center when activated to summon back up, as well as transmit real-time video intelligence. The device would have a safety mechanism on the inside of the arm shield in the form of a pin that, like the pin on a grenade, would be removed before the el
ectrical components could be activated.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Napoleon man shelving his high-efficiency engine dream
The Napoleon man who developed an alternative engine he claimed could achieve more than 110 mpg officially has parked the project, laid off his remaining three employees, and is clearing out the Wauseon plant where he dreamed of building high-efficiency e
ngines. Doug Pelmear, of Hp2g.com, announced Thursday he is closing what remains of his 100,000-square-foot factory in Wauseon by month’s end when his lease is up because he could not get financing. “With not being able to have a saleable product, I can’t
see keeping on going with the [cash] outgo,” said Mr. Pelmear, who filed patent applications for his engine design and its components in May. In October, he began taking orders for after-market computer chips that would allow vehicles manufactured after
1996 to use E-85 FlexFuel. However, he said he has been unable to obtain financing for manufacturing. He will continue to sell his original invention, the Valley Girdle — an add-on device that makes V-configured engines more efficient by stiffening them a
gainst energy-robbing vibration — from his small shop in Napoleon, he said.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Real world magical security thinking
From Roger's Security Blog, a sterling physical embodiment of every stupid "security" measure we find online
-- such as my bank, the Co-Op, which will only accept foreign transfers if you fax them;
my former insurer, Hiscox, which will converse by email but not by phone (unless you give them a lot of personal information, for "security"),
and in
numerable other examples:
* DRM on audiobooks, ebooks and music
* Allowing ground crew to enter airports without screening
* Banning liquids over three ounces
* Prohibiting photographs of products in shops
* Etc..
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Ag Flag named a top invention
The Ag Flag is a bright orange flag on a 5-foot fiberglass pole. The pole bends into a U-shape, and the flag end of it is pushed into the ground. At the flag end of the object is a replaceable strip of paper. When the paper gets wet, the flag is released
and pops up. "I saw there was a need to save water and save time irrigating," explained Mike Hansen. The Ag Flag is cheap and easy to set up, and Hansen said the bright orange banner can be seen for a long way. Hansen said growers who flood-irrigate can u
se the flag to show when irrigation water hits a certain area of the crop. Hansen said he designed the flag to be farmer- friendly. "The flag doesn't have any moving parts, needs no batteries and doesn't require any programming," he said. Hansen's simple
but elegant device landed on the 2011 "Top-10" list determined by the World Ag Expo, set for Feb. 8-10 in Tulare.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Convicted Felon's Invention to Help Prevent Fraud
The irony was inescapable Wednesday morning in Duluth as the invention of Frank Abagnale, a convicted felon, was touted as one of the best ways to avoid check fraud. "Frank has always been, for the past 35 years, trying to prevent these kinds of fraud," S
AFEChecks president Gregory Litster said. "He invented a new check, called the Super Business Check. It's a check that has never been able to be replicated by the forgers."
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Crazy-talking boffins
WHEN trying to generate new ideas, “you have to make sure people feel OK about saying crazy things,” says Nathan Myhrvold. His firm, Intellectual Ventures, seeks to profit from inventions. Mr Myhrvold does not need the money; as a former chief technology
officer of Microsoft he already has sacks of it. But he believes that “invention is the closest thing to magic we have.” Mr Myhrvold convenes “invention sessions”, each one including thinkers from a variety of fields. He puts them in a room with gallons o
f coffee and lets them bounce ideas around. Assistants record the conversation and jolly it along by projecting relevant scientific papers onto a screen. Mr Myhrvold, a physicist by training, takes part with gusto. Among other things, his team has designe
d a nuclear reactor that would use nuclear waste as its fuel. This, he says, would squeeze 20 times more power out of uranium than current technology does. He and Bill Gates set up TerraPower, an energy firm, to develop the idea. This is the kind of ambit
ious and risky bet that the world has to make if global warming is to be curbed, says Mr Myhrvold. If it comes off, he will make another fortune. If not, he has plenty of other ideas. Mr Myhrvold’s firm illustrates some useful principles for those who wan
t to foster innovation. First, as technology grows more complex, advances depend less on individual inspiration and more on collaboration. The more that the millions of scientists in the world talk to each other, the more good ideas will emerge. His ideas
are controversial. Intellectual Ventures, as well as generating its own ideas, buys sheaves of patents from others. Some people in Silicon Valley fear that Mr Myhrvold will use his portfolio of patents to sue technology firms for allegedly infringing the
m. But Mr Myhrvold denies any intention of becoming what Valley folk call a “patent troll”. He runs a number of funds that allow patient investors to take a punt on a basket of ideas that may produce a long-term pay-off. This generates immediate rewards f
or inventors who sell their patents, thereby encouraging innovation, he argues.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
$11 Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device
Interviewing someone over the phone is never easy, and it is a task that has been made a bit more difficult since the switch to mobile phones. I was originally hopeful when a previous reviewer devised a way to record cell phone interviews while wearing a
hands free headset using parts found at Radioshack. But I wanted something simpler. With a little bit of research I discovered the Olympus TP-7; a miniature microphone that slips into your ear and plugs into your recording device (or computer) and enables
easy recording of phone calls. At $11 it seemed like a low risk move to try one out.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Innovation Always Trumps Invention
Invention is often viewed as a source of economic growth. It isn't. It's innovation that generates new products, new services, new businesses, and new jobs. As a country we need to be focused on innovation more than ever before. Invention and innovation h
ave been mashed together so thoroughly that it is hard to tell the difference between them—yet they could not be more different. The implications of this confusion are important, steering budding entrepreneurs down the wrong path, crimping the growth of e
xisting companies, and muddying public policy intended to support business. It is time to clarify and redefine the difference between invention and innovation. My message for an inventor is to think more like an innovator. His or her success rate would al
most certainly go up. There are inventors and there are innovators. One is creating a product with the dream of success. The other brings a product to market knowing with certainty that there is a need to be met. Understanding the difference and acting on
it can provide an important stimulus for the economy in the challenging years ahead.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
New variety of jalapeno bred for sports bars, bowling alleys
Scientists in New Mexico have successfully bred a bell pepper to a jalapeno to create a new, larger, medium-hot version of the jalapeno. What's the point? Poppers, my friends. Poppers. The breeding program was specifically aimed at meeting America's growi
ng demand for ever-more-massive, cheese-stuffed, deep-fried peppers.
Called the NuMex Jalmundo, seeds will be available for sale next year commercially, but it looks like you can buy seeds through the Chile Pepper Institute already.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
If Earth’s Spin Speeds Up We’ll All Get Fat and Uninhibited
Almost all plants and animals have an internal “clock” – called a circadian clock – that synchronizes our biological rhythms with Earth’s cycle of day and night. Conveniently, our biological clocks are best at synchronizing to a 24 hour day, the length of
time it takes for the Earth to rotate. This clock cues us mammals to get sleepy at around the same time every nightor day if you're nocturnal, but it also regulates a plethora of other internal cycles that we might be less aware of. In fact, scientists s
till don’t know just how much the circadian clock controls. But a new study in PNASProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines what happens when you throw off mice’s circadian clocks for an extended period of time. We’re not talking about sim
ple jet lag here – like humans, a mouse’s biological clock can adjust after a few days in a new time zone. Instead, this study replaced the normal 24 hour day with a much shorter artificial 20 hour day, consisting of 10 hours of light followed by 10 hours
of darkness. This cycle was kept up for 10 weeks. Three major differences became apparent between the control mice (12 h light/12 h dark) and the 20-hour-day mice. The circadian-disrupted mice gained weight, had trouble learning some new things, and had
altered “emotions”. These changes were consistent with other physiological differences that the researchers found when they examined the mice more closely.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Who is fixing your plane, and how? Repair outsourcing
On the newly revamped PBS program Frontline last night, an investigative report by Miles O'Brien (co-produced with the Investigative Reporting Workshop) on the "outsourcing of major airline repair work to lower-cost independent maintenance operations in t
he U.S and abroad."
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
A BBB advisory on a new telephone scam making the rounds
"A caller reported she received an automated phone call telling her that her computer and IP address had been noted as having visited the Wikileaks site, and that there were grave consequences for this, including a $250,000 or $25,000 fine, perhaps impris
onment. It left an option for leaving a message as to how she was going to handle this and the fine payment."
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
$20 Vantec SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter
This gadget is a barebones adapter for mildly tech-savvy people to connect a 2.5" or 3.5" hard drive to your computer's USB port. I've been using it for about six months, and have attached a variety of drives (IDE and SATA) to my Mac, to a PC, to a Virtua
lBox Windows VM, and to a dedicated NAS box running Linux. I've consistently used it without installing dedicated drivers (and for that matter, without reading the installation guide which is provided on CD-ROM). For the same money (about $20) you could g
et a USB enclosure that keeps your drive better protected, but then you'd be locked into one specific drive size and connector type. The Vantec adapter is flexible across several drive types (2.5" v. 3.5", SATA v. IDE) , and comes with adapters for both t
he data and power connections.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
American defense monster has grown too many heads
Fifty years ago, on January 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his Farewell Address to the Nation, in which he warned the Americans about the danger of the further development of the national defense complex.
"Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea. [...] We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United Sta
tes corporations. [...]
We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must nev
er let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes," Eisenhower said.
"Nowadays, the American defense complex shows very serious influence on the political administration. The defense orders, which the complex receives, may often exceed the necessary limits. It is an open secret that the United States has the most powerf
ul armed forces in the world, which largely gives the country the power that it has in the world. However, the defense power of the country, which costs colossal amounts of money, is absolutely not needed for that. It just so happens that the funds, which
could be used in other spheres, are wasted. The world should learn the lessons from the development of the American military and industrial complex," the expert said. The Americans should keep Eisenhower's words in mind because it was the arms race th
at devastated the USSR.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Russia to leave USA behind in building space hotel
Russia may become the first country to build a near-orbit hotel. Sergei Kostenko, the head of Orbital Technologies, stated that a commercial space station may accept first clients already in 2015-2016. The station will offer the comfort of hotel suites, n
ot just inflatable rooms, as some American competitors offer. The Russian station will have four cabins. They will have large windows so that the guests could always enjoy the beauty of space 24/7. The hotel will be able to accommodate up to six tourists
at once. In addition to space tourists, the commercial station will open its doors for researchers. It will also be possible to use the station as a shelter for ISS crews in case of emergency. The United States is also working on a similar project. The Am
ericans are developing the CSS Skywalker project. A day on orbit will cost a tourist a million dollars. The price does not include transportation costs. Will Russian spaceships be able to cope with such a serious task? Igor Afanasyev, an editor with News
of Cosmonautics magazine, told Newsinfo website that Russia's Energia Corporation does not hold the capacity to produce more spaceships that it does now. "The ships are hardly enough to organize flights to the International Space Station, and we would hav
e to expand the production to deliver tourists to space hotels," Afanasyev said. "Neither the Russian, not the American space systems are capable of servicing a large number of space tourists today. One has to build larger spaceships, something like space
shuttles of new generation. It goes without saying that developing new spaceships costs a lot of money. This is not really business yet, it's just an offer right now. The only kind of space tourism that is economically justifiable today is suborbital tou
rism, but it has not had a flight yet," he said.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
The Prospects For Lunar Mining
"With the discovery of vast amounts of water on the Moon, some frozen in the shadows of craters at the Lunar poles and some chemically bonded with the regolith, interest in lunar mining has arisen among commercial space entrepreneurs. Paul Spudis, a lunar
geologist, has suggested a plan to return to the Moon, which features, among other things, robotic resource extraction and the deployment of space-based fuel depots using lunar water even before the first human explorers return to the lunar surface. But
Mike Wall, writing in Space.com, suggests that there are a number of legal as well as technical issues involved in setting up lunar mining operations."
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Cosmological Constant Not Fine Tuned For Life
"A common argument one might encounter in intelligent design or the arduous process of resolving science with religion is that the physical constants of our world are fine tuned for life by some creator or designer. A University of Alberta theoretical phy
sicist claims quite the opposite when it comes to the cosmological constant. His paper says that our ever expanding universe has a positive cosmological constant and he explains that the optimum cosmological constant for maximizing the chances of life in
the universe would be slightly negative: 'any positive value of the constant would tend to decrease the fraction of matter that forms into galaxies, reducing the amount available for life. Therefore the measured value of the cosmological constant, which i
s positive, is evidence against the idea that the constants have been fine-tuned for life.'"
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Music Really Is Intoxicating, After All
"Our reaction to the music that we love stimulates the flow of dopamine into certain sections of the brain, concludes a new study out of McGill University. The findings 'help to explain why music is of such high value across all human societies,' the scie
ntists note." / The researchers followed the brain patterns of test subjects with MRI imaging, and identified dopamine streaming into the striatum region of their forebrains "at peak emotional arousal during music listening." Not only that, but the scient
ists noticed that various parts of the striatum responded to the dopamine rush differently. The caudate was more involved during the expectation of some really nice musical excerpt, and the nucleus accumbens took the lead during "the experience of peak em
otional responses to music." In other words, just the anticipation our favorite passage stimulates the production of dopamine. "Our results help to explain why music is of such high value across all human societies," the writers conclude.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Unsecured IP Cameras Accessible To Everyone
"In the last couple of decades, we have become so accustomed to the idea that the public portion of our everyday life is watched and recorded — in stores, on the street, in institutions — that we often don't even notice the cameras anymore. Analog surveil
lance systems were difficult to hack into by people who lacked the adequate knowledge, but IP cameras — having their own IPs — can be quite easily physically located and their stream watched in real-time by anyone who has a modicum of computer knowledge a
nd knows what to search for on Google."
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Milk Cured My Nerve Shock (Mar, 1922)
ONE of the most deplorable, disheartening and distressing results of the War is our crop of cripples. The cruelly maimed, the pathetic blind, the derelicts who have lost legs or arms in the bestial, bitter game, are figures of sorrow. They affect every de
cent-minded man or woman with an overshadowing sense of resentment and protest at the futility of it all. There are, in various Government institutions scattered throughout the country, and in homes where they are more or less dependent, thousands upon th
ousands of shell-shock victims, in every conceivable stage of abnormalcy. They are being treated by Government doctors, and by physicians in private practice, in the main with but little success. They get the bromides, hyocine, strychnine, caffeine, and t
heir other drugs regularly enough. But not a very large percentage of them are really cured—even though they may be discharged as cured after many months of treatment. For one principal cause of the condition has not been removed. This cause is toxemia
.
“When the nerves have been shocked by the soul-wounds of the modern hell called “war,” normal functioning of the digestive organs is completely upset. Also, the functions of the endocrine glands—the ductless glands—are thrown out of gear. This disturba
nce of digestion and of gland functioning, in turn, produces a disturbance in metabolism—that process by which the food is finally converted into tissue cells, and the waste products of the cells properly eliminated. If there is faulty food conversion and
faulty elimination of the “end-products” of this food conversion, the result is a storing up in the body of highly toxic substances. These poisons depress, and irritate, and inhibit memory. It is their influence that so frequently causes the mental aberr
ations, and the various sinister effects of metabolistic disturbance. They are not usually to be gotten rid of by “masking” the symptoms with hypnotics, sedatives or opiates; or by stimulating the organism with “tonics” and cell irritants. They are, on th
e contrary, best gotten rid of by preventing the under-oxydation of the proteid molecule which is so often the cause of these disturbances.
And by ridding the system of the accumulation of toxins that act as depressants. One of the best and most effective methods of accomplishing this result is to get back to dietetic first principles, by first giving the system a chance to rid itself of a
ccumulated poisons, and then by refraining from putting more poison food, or food that may most readily be changed to toxic material, into the system. The limited fast for a period of three or four days, during which time a half dozen or more oranges are
eaten each day, seems to afford the system a chance to rid itself of a large measure of its stored up toxins. If, after this, an exclusive milk diet be adopted, a maximum of nutriment, with a minimum of waste product, will be absorbed.
Milk contains every element needed for perfect nutrition, and is eminently fitted to sustain life for an indefinite period. It affords an easily assimilated form of nourishment, acceptable to human beings of any age, color, or previous condition of ser
vitude. This refers, of course, to non-pasteurized “whole milk,” and not to milk which has undergone a sterilizing process, or to milk which has been robbed of its vita-mine-yielding butter fat. Whole fresh milk, or whole milk which has been clabbered
by being set near the radiator or the back of the stove for about twenty-four hours, is more than a good food. It is a good food which acts, in thousands of cases, as good medicine.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
30% More Patents Issued in 2010
"The numbers are in, and the US Patent Office granted 219,614 patents last year, which is 31% higher than in 2009 and 27% higher than any year in history. This wasn't just a marginal increase in patents being approved, but a major leap. US Commerce Secret
ary Gary Locke and USPTO director David Kappos have both stated that one of their goals is to reduce the backlog in patent approvals, and it appears that the way they're doing so is by approving more patents, more quickly with less scrutiny — with a large
percentage of them being software patents. This may decrease the backlog at the Patent Office, but seems likely to increase the backlog in the court system as lawsuits are filed over a bunch of these new patents." (And how many of those 'patents' were
actually built and tested or just theoretical and never 'embodied' in a working device? This is the problem with the patent office...you can dream up anything and claim you invented it...inv
ention to me is hardware and proof of principle and operation...anything else is just a novel or sci-fi story. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Blackswift: USA's response to threats from China and Russia
According to Ares blog, the Blackswift program is being reanimated indeed. DARPA will take into consideration the experience of 2010: the first successful flight of the X-51 hypersonic missile, the unsuccessful launch of the HTV-1 hypersonic drone and the
orbital flights of reusable X-37B spacecraft. America plans to build the first prototype of Blackswift aircraft by 2016. The vehicle is likely to be passed into service during 2021-2025. Some experts ironically say that one should install engines of thre
e different types to make the aircraft fly at the speed of 6 Max. A turbojet engine would be needed for the take off and initial acceleration. A jet engine would then be needed for the plane to develop the declared hypersonic speed. Finally, the vehicle s
hould be equipped with a supersonic combustion ramjet to continue flying at this speed. American engineers hope to solve these problems and create a compound engine which would switch between several modes during operation. "The Americans believe that the
ir new hypersonic weapons will minimize possible threats from both Russia and China. As recent experience shows, the projects are quite realistic. However, it will take them years to get the projects into shape. Russia and China may use this time to think
about responsive measures. In Russia, it will be possible only if we have professionals at the head of the national armed forces. For the time being, we spend up to ten billion rubles to purchase elite cars for generals, hundreds of millions of euros to
purchase Mistral vessels, which no one needs in the country, and we don't think of the future at all," the expert said.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
New Sunlight Reactor Produces Fuel
"A new reactor developed by CalTech shows promise for producing renewable fuel from sunlight. The reactor hinges on a metal oxide named Ceria that has very interesting properties at very high temperatures. It exhales oxygen at very high temperatures and i
nhales oxygen at very low temperatures. From the article, 'Specifically, the inhaled oxygen is stripped off of carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H2O) gas molecules that are pumped into the reactor, producing carbon monoxide (CO) and/or hydrogen gas (H2).
H2 can be used to fuel hydrogen fuel cells; CO, combined with H2, can be used to create synthetic gas, or "syngas," which is the precursor to liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Adding other catalysts to the gas mixture, meanwhile, produces methane. And once the c
eria is oxygenated to full capacity, it can be heated back up again, and the cycle can begin anew.' The only other piece of the puzzle is a large sunlight concentrator to raise the temperature to the necessary 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The team is working
on modifying and refining the reactor to require a lower temperature to achieve the two-step thermochemical cycle. Another issue is the heat loss which the team claims could be reduced to improve efficiency to 15% or higher. Since CO2 is an input, the po
ssibility exists for coal and power plants to collect CO2 emissions to be used in this process which would effectively allow us to "use the carbon twice." Another idea listed is that a "zero CO2 emissions" is developed along these lines: 'H2O and CO2 woul
d be converted to methane, would fuel electricity-producing power plants that generate more CO2 and H2O, to keep the process going.' The team's work was published last month in Science."
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Self-Charging Cable
One of the greatest inventions ever: Laptop self charge cable.
Ever heard about the amazing exploits of "Baron Münchhausen"? He pulled himself out of a swamp jerking his hair (other stories say jerking his bootstraps) repeatedly.
In earnest there are some gadgets offered which are to be fed by the USB-connector, which are nonsense, because the USB will feed .5 Amp maximum.
I think this cable is a joke on this and the silliness of certain "cable buyers" in general.
- Full Article Source
01/21/11 -
Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France
"The French state-owned DCNS (French military shipyard) announced today a concept study for an underwater nuclear reactor dedicated to power coastal communities in remote places. It is derived from nuclear submarine power plants, and its generator would b
e able to produce between 50 MWe and 250MWe. Such a plant would be fabricated and maintained in France, and dispatched for the different customers, thus reducing the risk for proliferation."
- Full Article Source
01/19/11 -
Focardi and Rossi LENR (Cold Fusion) Demo today
Two Italian inventors claim successful Cold Fusion which can be scaled up as needed.
A process (international patent publication n° WO 2009/125444 A1) capable of producing large amounts of energy by a nuclear fusion process between nickel and hydrogen, occurring below 1000 K, is described. Experimental values of the ratios between outp
ut and input energies obtained in a certain number of experiments are reported. The occurrence of the effect is justified on the basis of existing experimental and theoretical results. Measurements performed during the experiments allow to exclude neutron
and gamma rays emissions.
froarty: I would agree they don't have the correct theory and that the energy SOURCE is not nuclear - But - I believe they are unknowingly extracting energy from an interaction of a synthetic skeletal catalyst with different bond states of hydrogen alo
ng the lines of Moller's MAHG, Lyne's Furnace or Mill's BLP reactor. No one has totally nailed the theory yet (Jan Naudts may be real close with relativistic hydrogen) but it doesn't matter, if they have learned to reliably reproduce the energy at this le
vel, the race for low hanging IP will ensue.
Goat Guy: The fall-back position, isn't it? Well, it doesn't really have a nuclear signature, so, hmmm... yeah, that's it... its probably related to the work by Mills 'n' Dunderhead(s) AKABlacklight Power, etc Little hydrino fairies that everyone in ph
ysics somehow missed (except Mills, Moller, Naudts...) that using nothing more intriguing than a bottle of powdered metals and a magic wand, create kilowatts of thermal heat. (For how long? - never for days, that's for sure!)
As you can see, the arguments about what is actually happening, if anything are taking up all the space, rather than test data with sufficient details that others can confirm the process. Inventor Andrea Rossi expresses his opinions about this endless ana
lysis when people don't have all the data;
Andrea Rossi: January 16th, 2011 at 4:01 PM
Dear Mr William :
1 - I am the inventor of the method and the apparatus.
2 - You are asking to me to give away for free technology and know how. It is impossible, for obvious reasons.
3 - We have passed already the phase to convince somebody. We are arrived to a product that is ready for the market. Our judge is the market.
In this field the phase of the competition in the field of theories, hypothesis, conjectures etc etc is over. The competition is in the market. If somebody has a valid technology, he has not to convince people by chattering, he has to make a reactor th
at work and go to sell it, as we are doing.
You are not convinced? It is not my problem. My problem is make my reactors work. I think that the reason for which I arrived to a working reactor is that I bellieved in my work, therefore, instead of chattering and play the big genius with mental mast
urbations, spent all my money, without help and financing from anywhere, to make thousands of reactors that didn’t work, until I made the right one, following my theories that may be are wrong, but in any case gave me the result I wanted.
If somebody is convinced he has a good idea, he has not to convince anybody by chattering, he has to make something that works and sell it to a Customer who decides to buy because can see a product which works. If a Customer wants not my product no pro
blem, I go to another, without chattering or giving away free technology.
What I made is not a “Holy Graal”, as you ironically say, is just a product. My Customers know it works, this is why they bought it,that’s enough for me. We are investing to make thousands of reactors and is totally irrilevant for us if somebody or man
ybodies make negative chatterings about our work.
To ask us to give away as a gift our technology, in which I invested my life, to convince somebody or morebodies that my reactors work is contrary to the foundamental rules of the economy.
To convince the World of our product we have just to sell products which work well, not to chatter. If somebody is convinced to have invented something better or equal to our product, he has not to chatter, he has to make a product better or equal to o
urs and sell it. Thank you for your useful inquiry,
01/19/11 -
Rossi Cold Fusion Patent #US2011005506 (A1)
Publication number: US2011005506 (A1)
Publication date: 2011-01-13
Inventor(s): ROSSI ANDREA [IT] +
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CARRYING OUT NICKEL AND HYDROGEN EXOTHERMAL REACTION
Abstract of US 2011005506 (A1) - A method and apparatus for carrying out highly efficient exothermal reaction between nickel and hydrogen atoms in a tube, preferably, though not necessary, a metal tube filled by a nickel powder and heated to a high te
mperature, preferably, though not necessary, from 150 to 5000 C are herein disclosed. In the inventive apparatus, hydrogen is injected into the metal tube containing a highly pressurized nickel powder having a pressure, preferably though not necessarily,
from 2 to 20 bars.
- Full Article Source
01/19/11 -
Focardi Energy Generator Patent #WO9520816 (A1)
Publication number: WO9520816 (A1)
Publication date: 1995-08-03
Inventor(s): PIANTELLI FRANCESCO [IT] + (PIANTELLI, FRANCESCO)
Applicant(s): FOCARDI SERGIO [IT]; HABEL ROBERTO [IT]; PIANTELLI FRANCESCO [IT]
ENERGY GENERATION AND GENERATOR BY MEANS OF ANHARMONIC STIMULATED FUSION
Abstract of WO 9520816 (A1) - A process of energy generation and an energy generator by means of anharmonic stimulate fusion of hydrogen isotopes absorbed on metal comprising a charging step on a metallic core (1) of a quantity of hydrogen isotopes H
and D; a heating step in which said core (1) is heated (9) to reach a temperature higher than Debye's temperature of the material composing the core; a startup step wherein a vibrational stress is produced with a rise time less than 0.1 seconds which acti
vates a nuclear fusion of said hydrogen isotopes; a stationary step during which it is exchanged (3,5) the heat produced by the H+D nuclear fusion reaction which occurs in the core (1) because of a steady keeping of a coherent multimodal system of station
ary oscillations.
- Full Article Source
01/19/11 -
More bama birth certificate info from Kenya
For whatever it is worth... So far, his new Supreme Court Justice managed to squash every case brought against him regarding his legal status to be president. She got the job as payment for stopping all court cases against him... Her name is on all the co
urt papers as defending Obama in these cases, as a result of her previous job...the last line says it all! This is what Obama has spent almost $2M (so far) to hide... The above document is a "Certified Copy of Registration of Birth", but below is a copy o
f the actual Certificate of Birth... the real-deal legal kind of certificate.
The Mombasa Registrar of Births has testified that Obama's birth certificate from Coast Province General Hospital in Mombasa is genuine. This copy was obtained by Lucas Smith through the help of a Kenyan Colonel who got it recently directly from the Co
ast General Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya. The local Muslim Imam in Mombasa named Barack with his Muslim middle name Hussein so his official name on this certificate is Barack Hussein Obama II. The grandmother of Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. reveals the story o
f his birth in Mombasa, Kenya, a seaport, after his mother suffered labor pains while swimming at ocean beach in Mombasa...
"On August 4, 1961 Obama's mother, father and grandmother were attending a Muslim festival in Mombassa, Kenya. Mother had been refused entry to airplanes due to her nine month pregnancy. It was a hot August day at the festival so the Obama's went to th
e beach to cool off. While swimming in the ocean his mother experienced labor pains so was rushed to the Coast Provincial General Hospital, Mombasa, Kenya where Obama was born a few hours later at 7:21 pm on August 4, 1961. Four days later his mother f
lew to Hawaii and registered his birth in Honolulu as a certificate of live birth which omitted the place and hospital of birth."
Letter from Kitau in Mombasa, Kenya...
"I happen to be Kenyan. I was born 1 month before Obama at Mombasa medical center. I am a teacher here at the MM Shaw Primary School in Kenya. I compared my birth certificate to the one that has been put out by Taitz and mine is exactly the same. I e
ven have the same registrar and format. The type is identical. I am by nature a skeptical person. I teach science here and challenge most things that cannot be proven. So I went to an official registrar today and pulled up the picture on the web. They
magnified it and determined it to be authentic. There is even a plaque with Registrar Lavenders name on it as he was a Brit and was in charge of the Registrar office from 1959 until January of 1964. The reason the certificate says republic of Kenya is t
hat we were a republic when the "copy" of the original was ordered. I stress the word "copy". My copy also has republic of Kenya. So what you say is true about Kenya not being a republic at the time of Obama's birth, however it was a republic when the
copy was ordered."
Fortunately they even have pictures of his parents with him immediately after his birth at the Mombasa hospital with the hospital in the back ground.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Hawaii governor can't find Obama birth certificate
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie suggested in an interview published today that a long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate for Barack Obama may not exist within the vital records maintained by the Hawaii Department of Health. Abercrombie did not report
to the newspaper that he or the Hawaii Department of Health had found Obama's long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate. The governor only suggested his investigations to date had identified an unspecified listing or notation of Obama's birth that
someone had made in the state archives. "It was actually written, I am told, this is what our investigation is showing, it actually exists in the archives, written down," Abercrombie said. So far, the only birth document available on Obama is a Hawaii Cer
tification of Live Birth that first appeared on the Internet during the 2008 presidential campaign. It was posted by two purportedly independent websites that have displayed a strong partisan bias for Obama – Snopes.com released the COLB in June 2008, and
FactCheck.org published photographs of the document in August 2008. (Well of course they can't find it, you don't think bama and his enormous entourage went to Hawaii just for vacation, do you? Wipe all records possible. Personally I don't think he was b
orn here..too much smoke for no fire. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
The 'Spaser' heats up laser technology
The physical length of an ordinary laser cannot be less than one half of the wavelength of its light, which limits its application in many industries. Now the Spaser, a new invention developed in part by Tel Aviv University, can be as small as needed to f
uel nano-technologies of the future. "Spaser" is an acronym for "surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation" -- and despite its mouthfilling definition, it's a number one buzzword in the nanotechnologies industry. The Spaser has bee
n presented at recent meetings and symposia around the world, including a recent European Optical Society Annual Meeting. Spasers are considered a critical component for future technologies based on nanophotonics -- technologies that could lead to radical
innovations in medicine and science, such as a sensor and microscope 10 times more powerful than anything used today. A Spaser-based microscope might be so sensitive that it could see genetic base pairs in DNA. It could also lead to computers and electro
nics that operate at speeds 100 times greater than today's devices, using light instead of electrons to communicate and compute. More efficient solar energy collectors in renewable energy are another proposed application. "It rhymes with laser, but our Sp
aser is different," says Prof. Bergman, who owns the Spaser patent with his American partner. "Based on pure physics, it's like a laser, but much, much, much smaller." The Spaser uses surface plasma waves, whose wavelength can be much smaller than that of
the light it produces. That's why a Spaser can be less than 100 nanometers, or one-tenth of a micron, long. This is much less than the wavelength of visible light, explains Prof. Bergman.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Anti-Energy Left Comes Unglued as ‘Green Economy’ Claims Collapse
The anti-energy lobby, surrogates for Big Wind and Big Solar, is now backed into a rhetorical corner in its effort to impose its agenda of protecting the world from the horrors of affordable, abundant energy. Remember, although they say their objective is
to use policy to force invention of Flubber or pixie dust to satisfy our future energy abundance, this doesn’t square with their decades of saying that “If you ask me, it’d be a little short of disastrous for us to discover a source of clean, cheap, abu
ndant energy because of what we would do with it” (green Energy guru Amory Lovins). Or that it would be “like giving a machine gun to an idiot child” (green leader, Paul Ehrlich), that “It’s the worst thing that could happen to our planet” (Eco-writer Jer
emy Rifkin). That’s what drives them. They want you limited to stuff that doesn’t and won’t work because it doesn’t and won’t work. But to get you there they swear it will. Despite saying for decades that would actually be their worst nightmare. You figur
e out which of their stated positions is the lie. I’ll wait.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Filed under 'you ain't gonna believe this' - 3D No glasses
www.jonathanpost.com Jonathan Post Experiment present by Francois. a new technology for 3D screens without glasses!
This system works only on 120Hz monitor displays. It simulates 3D Active Shutter Glasses. I hope to have a final version for CES 2012. For further information, contact me at talk@jonathanpost.com
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Even worse - Facial Electrodes fun
[Jonathan Post] has a way to watch 3D video without wearing shutter glasses but it might be kind of a hard product to break into the market. As you can see above, a pair of electrodes are stuck on a viewer’s eyelids, using electricity to alternately close
each eye. The video after the break shows a demonstration of this technology. Obviously a camera can’t capture the image that the viewer sees, but this man describes a perfect 3D image. This reminds us of those ab exercisers that use electrodes to stimul
ate the muscles. Do you think a 3 hour epic would leave your eyelids tired and sore, eventually resulting and a steroid-esque muscle-ridden face? Edit from [Caleb]: Judging from the comments, some people believe this to be an absolute impossibility. Wh
ile we concur that this example is pretty silly (what’s powering those electrodes?), we invite you to watch [Daito Manabe]‘s facial electrodes fun.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Red light campaign foiled by own photos
The problem is the video and photos the cameras snap as proof that a motorist ran a red light. They can't capture a clear picture of a license plate. To get that, one of the photos is magnified to show a close-up shot of the license. However, unlike the v
ideo and other pictures, the close-up of the license tag doesn't have a time or date stamp. Further, there is no indication where the car was when the photo of the license plate was shot. The lack of information violates the most basic rules of evidence,
Abramson said. "The license plate is what ties you to the video," he said. Without incontrovertible evidence that the tag belongs to the vehicle shown blowing through an intersection, there is no way for city and village officials to prove their case. "Th
ey can't lay the evidentiary foundation to prove your car is the one shown in the video," he said. Hearing officer John Kurtz agreed and threw out dozens of cases for that reason. Hearing officers have thrown out tickets because the community service aid
es that handle the program for West Palm Beach couldn't produce certificates showing they had training that is required by state law. Tickets have been dismissed because officers had copies of vehicle registrations, but not certified copies. One hearing o
fficer threw out a ticket because the police officer couldn't prove that a required sign was in place to notify motorists that cameras were being used at the intersection, Hall said. "Every week a different magistrate comes up with a new rule or a new rea
son to throw out the citation," he said. "My staff is getting very frustrated." A spokesman for American Traffic Solutions, which is paid $4,750 per camera per month by the municipalities, said he didn't know of any place in the nation where tickets have
been dismissed because of the license tag issue. Charles Territo said the information the hearing officer needs to link the tag to the car is readily available. It should be provided when the next round of tickets are heard in court Tuesday.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
How to Plant Ideas in Someone's Mind
Before we get started, it's worth noting that planting an idea in someone's mind without them knowing is a form of manipulation. We're not here to judge you, but this is the sort of thing most people consider evil, so you probably shouldn't actually do an
ything you read here. Instead, use this information to stay sharp. Reverse psychology has become an enormous cliché. I think this peaked in 1995 with the release of the film Jumanji. (If you've seen it and remember it, you know what I'm talking about.)
The problem is that most people look at reverse psychology in a very simple way. For example, you'd say "I don't care if you want to go risk your life jumping out of a plane" to try and convince someone not to go skydiving. This isn't reverse psycholog
y—it's passive-aggressive. So let's leave that all behind and start from scratch. If you're going to use logic reversals in your favor, you need to be subtle. Let's say you want your roommate to do the dishes because it's his or her turn. There's always t
his approach: "Hey, would you mind doing the dishes? It's your turn." But in this example we're assuming your roommate is lazy and the nice approach isn't going to get the job done.
So what do you do? Something like this: "Hey, I've decided I don't want to do the dishes anymore and am just going to start buying disposable stuff. Is that cool with you? If you want to give me some money, I can pick up extras for you, too." What this does is present the crappy alternative to not doing the dishes without placing any blame. Rather than being preoccupied with an accusation, your roommate is left to only consi
der the alternative. This is how reverse psychology can be effective, so long as you say it like you mean it... (You might also be interested in Become Invisible which deals
with mind control methods. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Americans Split on What to Cut from Government
CBS News poll finds that Americans strongly prefer cutting spending to raising taxes to reduce the federal deficit. While 77 percent prefer to cut spending, just nine percent call for raising taxes. Another nine percent want to do both. Yet most Americans
could not volunteer a program they'd be willing to see cut in order to reduce the deficit - only 38 percent could name a program they would support cutting. The top responses were military/defense (six percent), Social Security/Medicare (four percent) an
d welfare/food stamps (four percent).
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
China turns out first solar-powered air conditioner
The first 50,000 units will be sold in the American market. After that, the units will also be available for purchase in China, according to company sources. The air conditioner, independently developed by Gree, mainly uses solar power, using normal elect
ricity only when solar power is inadequate, said Huang Hui, chief engineer of Gree Electric Appliances. The American government is supporting efforts to send excess solar energy to local power grids, and so the model should be popular in America, said Hua
ng. As a major producer and consumer of air conditioners, China also boasts great market potential for solar-powered air conditioners, Huang said. Huang said the second-generation of the model will begin production in January 2011 and that it will be 100-
percent solar-powered, adding that it will run without producing any emissions and achieve real environmental friendliness.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
New Type Of Entanglement Allows "Teleportation in Time"
Entanglement is the strange quantum phenomenon in which two or more particles become so deeply linked that they share the same existence. That leads to some counterintuitive effects, in particular, when two entangled particles become widely separated. Whe
n that happens, a measurement on one immediately influences the other, regardless of the distance between them. This "spooky-action-at-a-distance" has profound implications about the nature of reality but a clear understanding of it still eludes physicist
s. Today, they have something else to puzzle over. Jay Olson and Timothy Ralph at the University of Queensland in Australia say they've discovered a new type of entanglement that extends, not through space, but through time. They begin by thinking about a
simplified universe consisting of one dimension of space and one of time. If you imagine the present as the origin of this graph, then the future (ie the space you can reach at subluminal speeds) forms a wedge that is symmetric about the y-axis. Your pas
t (ie the space you could have arrived from at subluminal speeds) is a mirror image of this wedge reflected in the x-axis. When two particles are present, both sitting on the x-axis, their wedges will overlap in the future and in the past. This has a simp
le meaning: these particles could have interacted in the past and could do so again in the future, but only in the areas of overlap. Conventional entanglement cuts across this world, quite literally. It acts along the the x-axis, linking particles instant
ly in time and in defiance of the boundaries to these wedges. What Olson and Ralph show is that entanglement can just as easily work along the y-axis too. In other words, entanglement is so deeply enmeshed in the universe that a measurement in the past ha
s an automatic influence on the future.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Tri-rotor helicopter with full autopilot
Quadcopters stand aside, here’s a three-rotor helicopter we think you’re going to love. The body is made out of plywood and carbon fiber rods, keeping it light enough to be easily lifted by just 3 motors while making sure the force doesn’t tear the aircra
ft apart. Three gyroscopes, two accelerometers, three magnetometers, and a GPS module are all used in conjunction for an autopilot system. There’s a lot of great pictures and videos but our favorite, embedded after the break, shows the tricopter writing m
essages in the sky using light and camera exposure tricks similar to this ground-based trike.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
The Right to Die
Self-determination of death is not a popular topic; however, it inflames most everyone to be on one side or the other. Usually it’s either total agreement or passionate resistance to the idea. Why is it that I can make the decision to have my animal put t
o sleep, in order to end the suffering, but I must not be able to make that same decision for myself. When did personal responsibility come with conditions? Conditions like it’s okay if society feels okay about it; it’s okay if I leave a DNR (do not resus
citate) but I have to go through whatever my hell reality is first --- kind of like I have to earn it! I didn’t get a say in how or when I came into this world. Yes, I’m not the only one! I should, however, get to choreograph the when and how of leaving –
just being born and living have earned me this right. No one else has earned my decision.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
The Cycle-Glider (Jan, 1932)
NEW possibilities in the line of aerial sport are indicated by the “Unicycle” (single-wheel) glider illustrated above, and intended to be driven by the operator, either on the ground or in the air, through pedals and gears. The sketches on this page, adap
ted from the patent drawings, show the method of applying the power suggested by the inventor; but other designs may readily occur to the mechanically-minded reader. As will be seen, the wheel, with its large diameter, though light construction, permits t
he glider to roll over the ground, while the weight of the apparatus is concentrated below its center; overcoming the top-heaviness which would result if the small motorcycle-size wheel were used. The wheel, with its square central frame, giving four poin
ts of support, is thus the fuselage of the glider; while the tail frame and rear airfoils are standard, as well as the wing. The novelty lies in the propeller; this we must suppose capable of being thrown out of gear, when its use is not required. Like al
l gliders, the unicycle must, obviously, have some method of getting into the air. This may be, perhaps, launching with the aid of a ground crew and a “shock cord,” as illustrated by the artist above, or towing by an automobile—both methods popular in gli
der practice. The patent specifications do not deal with this; but we may suppose a swivel attached to the propeller hub; or even a connection to the frame through a hollow propeller shaft, which is possible with the transmission used here. We may also vi
ew the practicability of launching from an incline, either natural or artificial; perhaps with a light running gear under the tail skid, which would be dropped when the glider took off under sufficient lift. We can hardly assume that human power, which is
on the average not over a quarter-horsepower for sustained effort over any length of time, can be expected to drive such a machine like an airplane, steadily and continuously, regardless of wind. It would, on the other hand, serve to apply an additional
component force for the maneuvering of the glider, when necessary, to take advantage of changing currents. This would make the man-bird more nearly the equal of the feathered fliers which glide, it is true, but are also able to engage in actual flight und
er their own power, when necessary. The technique of the combination of propelled and gliding flight would, however, differ from that of gliding pure and simple; and would require special practice in its students to meet their changed relation to the air
currents. The construction of the glider itself, as the drawings show, is comparatively simple. The wheel itself must be light, and the tire not too heavy; but neither has to sustain a great amount of weight. The frame must be sufficiently rigid under the
applied stress; other parts of the machine might be of the lightest construction, and demountable for transportation. Another model, described by the inventor, is to be equipped with front and rear propellers, but without airfoils, and thus limited to op
eration on the ground like a bicycle; while still another, with a small rear wheel like the “high” bicycles of the ’80s, is intended only as a toy. The perfecting of the cycle-glider, undoubtedly, would add another to the twentieth-century recreations, re
quiring youth and enthusiasm, rather than high cost. The glider, requiring cooperation in its handling, is especially adapted to operation by a club of aviation fans.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Billion Dollar Opportunities in Cleantech
Cleantech investment hasn’t worked out exactly how people dreamt it would back in the overly-optimistic days of the last decade. One of the main obstacles deterring venture capital investors from the sector is the frequently lengthy time lag between inves
tment and commercialization. More importantly, the number of successful cleantech exits remains few — often because either the technology is not as disruptive as competing solutions or it is simply taking longer to adopt it. The other fly in the ointment
is the large-scale capital expenditures required to develop the technology in the first place. Clean technologies can be incredibly capital-intensive in the developmental and commercialization stages. The level of investment required can and have discour
aged further investors from committing to later and larger rounds of capital raises. When this problem is compounded with that of actually getting to commercialization it is not hard to see why many venture capital funds are decidedly more cautious about
investment in cleantech than they were just a few years ago. And these are not the only snags...
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
For startups, a reality check
"If you think you work hard now, just wait until you become your own boss. You will come to know what the word 'sacrifice' means," Emerson writes in her book "Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works" (Adams Media
, $14.95). When jobs become scarce and layoffs increase, there's often a rise in startups. Nearly 9 percent of job-seekers gaining employment in the second quarter of 2009 did so by starting their own businesses, according to a survey by outplacement and
executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. But as the current economy has gained strength, business startups have declined. Activity dropped significantly in the first half of last year as would-be entrepreneurs found work or were scared off by
the still-tenuous economic conditions. Being wary about starting a business is a good thing, says Emerson, founder and chief executive of Quintessence Multimedia, a full-service production firm. "Too many entrepreneurs underestimate and romanticize what
is required to run a small business," she writes. "Because starting your own business will mean such a radical shift in your lifestyle, you need to think through what this will mean. Only then are you ready to get into the nitty-gritty of your business pl
anning." Although this book will certainly help people already running a business, it's best for those contemplating starting one. If you have the time - a year she recommends - take it to carefully map out what it will take to make your startup a success
.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
A heater that uses domestic waste to keep rooms warm
An Arab expatriate has developed a machine that converts domestic waste into energy to keep houses warm during winter and produce warm water for daily use. “With this technology, you can save 90 per cent of the electricity used to heat the water for bath
and washing or keep the room heat,” said Alex Bashara, who has been living in the UAE for 23 years, running his own businesses. Bashara, father of two university-going boys, said the technology was simple. The machine has a burning chamber, two tunnels –
one supplying water and the other, air. The chamber is provided with oxygen through a third tunnel to keep the fire running. In addition, it also has several water chambers to filter the smoke to minimise the CO2 emission before it is released into the ai
r. The self-taught scientist further added: “I call it an Arab World invention, and I’m introducing it to coincide with the future energy summit here in Abu Dhabi, where I wished to exhibit it but could not due to some circumstances. I have already patent
ed the invention in Egypt,” he said. Bashara said it was an environment-friendly machine converting waste into energy with almost no CO2 emission. He further added the model can provide both heat air and hot water for at least two apartments or a villa. “
The technology can be further enhanced to heat and provide warm water to an entire high-rise building with all the waste generated in the building used as fuel. All kinds of dry waste, except glass and metals can be used to convert them into energy. With
additional chamber of drying wet wastes, all the other wastes like left-over food can be used as fuel,” the Egyptian businessman explained. He has designed a plan where apartment building residents can throw their home-generated waste through especially d
esigned chutes that go directly to the burning chamber. With specially-designed pipe networks, all the apartments can be provided with both hot air and hot water without using electricity. Another good thing about the technology, Bashara added, was the en
d waste in the form of ashes would be only ten per cent of the waste used as fuel. “Even that end-waste or the ashes can be recycled for other products such as a kind of plaster.” “The technology can also be re-modified to convert waste into electricity,
run a vehicle or a desalination plant,” Bashara concluded.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Portland's Indow Windows brings thermal inserts to market
One day Sam Pardue noticed the seal around his refrigerator, and Indow Windows was born. The inserts are made out of acrylic glazing edged with a spring bulb. When you press the insert into place, the spring bulb compresses, holding the glazing securely i
n place, just like a refrigerator door. He has a patent pending on the design. Pardue won't reveal sales figures, but he says the company installs Indow Windows in several locations each. Buildings are the number one consumers of energy in the United Sta
tes, and windows are the number one source of energy loss from buildings. Pardue says 55 million American homes still have single pane windows. About 650,000 of those residences are in Oregon. The inserts are effective at retaining heat. Portland State Un
iversity's Green Building Research Laboratory found that they provide 94 percent of thermal protection of double-pane windows. They also dampen sound. Pardue says the Indow Windows can be left up all year, or easily removed to catch a fresh summer breeze.
A four-foot by three-foot window insert costs about $150, installed, compared with $450 to $700 for a double-pane window. Indow Windows is selling exclusively in Portland for now, but Pardue sees it becoming a national business in the future.
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Microsoft Seeks Do-Let-The-Bed-Bugs-Bite Patent
"In its just-published patent application for Adapting Parasites to Combat Disease, Microsoft lays out plans to unleash 'altered parasitic organisms' on humans, including mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, bed bugs, leeches, pinworms, tapeworms, hookworms, heart w
orms, roundworms, lice (head, body, and pubic), and the like. 'Irradiated mosquitoes can be used to deliver damaged Plasmodium to individuals,' explains Microsoft. 'Instead of contracting malaria, an individual receiving the damaged Plasmodium develops an
immune response that renders the individual resistant to contracting malaria.' Don't worry about runaway breeding, advises Microsoft — 'a termination feature [that] can include programmed death' makes this impossible. As David Spade might say, I liked th
is movie the first time I saw it — when it was called Jurassic Park."
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Smartphone As Your Most Dangerous Possession
"CNN reports that now that smartphones double as wallets and bank accounts — allowing users to manage their finances, transfer money, make payments, deposit checks and swipe their phones as credit cards — smartphones have become very lucrative scores for
thieves and with 30% of phone subscribers owning iPhones, BlackBerrys and Droids, there are a lot of people at risk. Storing a password and keeping your phone locked is a good start, but it's not going to protect you from professional fraudsters. 'Don't t
hink that having an initial password set on your phone can stop people from getting in there,' says Nikki Junker, a victim advisor at the Identity Theft Resource Center. 'It's a very low level of protection — you can even find 30-second videos on how to c
rack smartphone passwords on YouTube.'"
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Remote Control Worms With Laser Light, Using FOSS
"to share a new tool I've developed for neuroscience that uses optogenetics to remotely control the neurons of a worm as it swims or crawls. Its called CoLBeRT, Controlling Locomotion and Behavior in Real Time. With the instrument I can induce the worm to
stop, accelerate, lay eggs or experience the illusion of touch. All source code to run the instrument is GPLd and available. Science News and Scientific American both have stories. The project homepage is at colbert.physics.harvard.edu."
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Freedom from Religion movement
The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion. In modern times the first to speak out for prison reform, for humane treatment of the mentally ill, for abolition of cap
ital punishment, for women's right to vote, for death with dignity for the terminally ill, and for the right to choose contraception, sterilization and abortion have been freethinkers, just as they were the first to call for an end to slavery. The Foundat
ion works as an umbrella for those who are free from religion and are committed to the cherished principle of separation of state and church.
- Full Article Source
The Unending Manmade Horrors to which he Refers...
01/18/11 -
DoE Develops Flexible Glass Stronger Than Steel
"The Department of Energy Office of Science recently collaborated with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology to develop a resilient yet malleable new type of glass that is stronger than steel. The material ca
n also be molded, and it bends when subjected to stress instead of shattering. The glass is actually a microalloy and features metallic elements such as palladium. This metal has a high 'bulk-to-shear' stiffness ratio that counteracts the intrinsic brittl
eness of glassy materials. The team that developed the material believes that by changing various ratios, they could make it even stronger."
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Threat of Cyberwar Is Over-Hyped
"A new OECD report suggests the cyberwar threat is over-hyped. A pair of British researchers have said states are only likely to use cyberattacks against other states when already involved in military action against them, and that sub-state actors such as
terrorists and individual hackers can't really do much damage. Dr. Ian Brown said, 'We think that describing things like online fraud and hacktivism as cyberwar is very misleading.'"
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
GE Venture Will Share Jet Technology With China
"This week, during the visit of Chinese president Hu Jintao to the United States, GE plans to sign a joint-venture agreement in commercial aviation that shows the tricky risk-and-reward calculations American corporations must increasingly make in their pu
rsuit of lucrative markets in China. GE, in partnership with a state-owned Chinese company, will be sharing its most sophisticated airplane electronics (NYT reg. required, reg.-free alternative here), including some of the same technology used in Boeing's
new state-of-the-art 787 Dreamliner."
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
The Prospects For Lunar Mining
"With the discovery of vast amounts of water on the Moon, some frozen in the shadows of craters at the Lunar poles and some chemically bonded with the regolith, interest in lunar mining has arisen among commercial space entrepreneurs. Paul Spudis, a lunar
geologist, has suggested a plan to return to the Moon, which features, among other things, robotic resource extraction and the deployment of space-based fuel depots using lunar water even before the first human explorers return to the lunar surface. But
Mike Wall, writing in Space.com, suggests that there are a number of legal as well as technical issues involved in setting up lunar mining operations."
- Full Article Source
01/18/11 -
Pissing and Moaning - Lawrence, Kansas, December 12, 2008
A Kansas farm wife called the local phone company to report her telephone failed to ring when her friends called - and that on the few occasions, when it did ring, her dog always moaned right before the phone rang.
The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic dog
or senile lady. He climbed a telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and dialed the subscriber's house.
The phone didn't ring right away, but then the dog moaned and the telephone began to ring. Climbing down from the pole, the telephone repairman found:
1. The dog was tied to the telephone system's ground wire with a steel chain and collar.
2. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose.
3. The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current when the number was called.
4. After a couple of jolts, the dog would start moaning and then urinate.
5. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing the phone to ring.
Which demonstrates that some problems CAN be fixed by pissing and moaning.
- Thanks to Ken
01/15/11 -
HHO system runs 400 Watt load
Oliver and Valention, 2 users from the OverUnity.de forum, showing their selfrunning HHO system powering a 400 Watt incandescent lamp for the first time in public as a Christmas present for 2010. This unit only runs on Water being splitted and producing o
verunity power to run the lamp. This is the first candidate for 2011 for the OverUnity Prize. P.S: The small accumulator is only powering the ignition circuit for the ignition spark and only needs a few Watts, so this could also be powered by the output o
f the generator in later units. These are the comments Oliver did send me with this video: The setup is on a trolley and they drive it around the house. Since they let the camera run continuously, so there will be no cuts in the video, the camera catches
all the glitches like the blown out Lamp due to filament failure due to the vibrations of the whole trolly and the missed elevator. At the Beginning of the movie the system is started with the help of another steady Anton HHO system. From 0:45 it will be
"cut off" and the whole system runs self-sufficiently. At 1:15 the construction light is still switched on as a load. Then the "journey " goes on. Then of course Murphey´s law hits twice: 1. At about 2: 50 unfortunately, the lamp goes broke because of vib
rations and then the motor runs too fast because of the lack of a load. 2. At 3:25 we missed the elevator .. * grr * Murphy´s law always applies ! ;) At 4:55 of the elevator finally comes back and we go with the running motor-generator 4 Floors down. As o
f 5:37, the system turns suddenly far above the normal speed and we want to stop it before it breaks. No matter. Without consideration of losses, we continue down the corridor, out into the open courtyard .. 7:00 - The system is in the courtyard and the t
ransformer moves around bounces against the motor because of the vibration the engine. 8:00 - I turn off the camera, because I'm afraid for the expensive variac and the engine and because of the lack of light load the system still runs much too high RPM..
I like the concept of this movie, because nobody has yet shown a combustion engine running in an elevator before. Any known fuel would have clouded the air in seconds and poisoned us. Also inside the elevator there could not be any hidden cables as some
people always claim.. People wake up, this is a real system selfrunning !
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Experiments in Orgone for busting Chemtrails
The maker of the device had capitilized on an observation that Wilhelm Reich had written about in one of his books on orgone energy, The Cancer Biopathy. Reich found that any organic material, when juxtapositioned with metal, will act as an absorber of or
gone energy which is first attracted to and then reflected away by the metal. The device maker was calling his device an orgone generator (abbreviated "orgen" here). Apparently, an orgen can generate the positive form of orgone ("OR") energy by transmutin
g or neutralizing the deadly or negative form of orgone energy dubbed "DOR" . Orgone accumulators , on the other hand, can accumulate (and intensify) both the positive and deadly polarities of orgone energy. Orgone accumulators have traditionally been ab
breviated "oracs" and Don sometimes uses that term himself, but Don's modified version of a Cloudbuster employs the mixture of metal shavings and plastic resin of the orgone generator and is not the same thing as a traditional Reichean orogne accumulator
or Reichean Cloudbuster. The marrying of metal shavings and plastic resin of the orgone generator with Reich's Cloudbuster pipes has resulted in a different atmospheric instrument, with new and inique attributes from the traditional Reich Cloudbuster. It'
s probably more appropo to call it a "Chembuster" to distinguish it from Reich's Cloudbuster and avoid misunderstandings among Reich aficionados and pedagogues. The orgone generator portion of Don's hybrid devices consists of metal shavings, magnets, cry
stals, and sometimes a Mobius coil or spiral coils that are rigidly held in place by epoxy or polyester resin.
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
The Magic of Green Screen
Stargate Studios' ( http://www.stargatestudios.net ) Virtual Backlot Reel 2009. Music: "Lion Heart" by Emancipator
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Nobel Prize Winner Says DNA Performs Quantum Teleportation
"TechWorld is reporting that the joint winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2008, Luc Montagnier, is claiming that DNA can send 'electromagnetic imprints' of itself into distant cells and fluids which can then be used by enzymes to create copies of t
he original DNA. This would be equivalent to quantum teleportation. You can read the original paper here [PDF]." / A Nobel Prize winning biologist has ignited controversy after publishing details of an experiment in which a fragment of DNA appeared to ‘te
leport’ or imprint itself between test tubes. According to a team headed by Luc Montagnier, previously known for his work on HIV and AIDS, two test tubes, one of which contained a tiny piece of bacterial DNA, the other pure water, were surrounded by a wea
k electromagnetic field of 7Hz. Eighteen hours later, after DNA amplification using a polymerase chain reaction, as if by magic the DNA was detectable in the test tube containing pure water. Oddly, the original DNA sample had to be diluted many times over
for the experiment to work, which might explain why the phenomenon has not been detected before, assuming that this is what has happened. The phenomenon might be very loosely described as 'teleportation' except that the bases project or imprint themselve
s across space rather than simply moving from one place to another.
(See Dotto Ring - In the ultrahigh sound frequency over 5 megacycles, an isolated inactive virus can be excited to alter the transition temperatures or Curie point and disintegr
ate (Ruben). The human DNA (like a YAGI antenna one meter long) is tuned to any radio emission between 375-385 megacycles. Furthermore, the DNA is under the constant influence of charged ions traveling through the nervous system and acting as a modulation
frequency. The combined action of the two physical phenomena force the DNA to emit a high frequency sound in the range of 1.9-2 megacycles in order to detect, by returning echo, what type of protein is missing in the cell. These sound frequencies are not
only necessary to the DNA in scanning the type of RNA to produce; but also maintain active the virus in bipole form by means of the strain effect.)
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Need a Campaign TO NOT RENEW THE HORRIBLE PATRIOT ACT!!!
"When the Patriot Act was first signed in 2001, it was billed as a temporary measure required because of the extreme circumstances created by the terrorist threat.
The fear from its opponents was that executive power, once given, is seldom relinquished. Now the Examiner reports that on January 5th, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) introduced a bill to add yet another year to the soon-to-be-expiring Patriot Act, extendi
ng it until February, 2012, with passage likely to happen after little debate or contention.
If passed, this would be the second time the Obama administration has punted on campaign promises to roll back excessive surveillance measures allowed under the act. Last year's extension passed under the heading of the Medicare Physician Paymen
t Reform Act.
and the fact that the bill's Republican sponsor is only seeking another year, I think it's safe to read this as signaling an agreement across the aisle to put the issue off yet again,' writes Julian Sanchez."
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Google Holds Global Science Fair
"Google put out an APB Tuesday, looking for young Einstein and Curie wannabes for its new global online Google Science Fair (nice Rube Goldberg YouTube promo, btw). Students between the ages of 13-18 with access to a computer, the Net and a browser can co
mpete for prizes that include a trip to the Galapagos Islands, scholarships, and a five-day trip to CERN. Google hasn't yet figured out a way to web-enable science fair boards, so projects like Crystal Meth — Friend or Foe will have to be created as Googl
e Sites (example). Unlike a typical local school science fair, the judges here are the real deal, so you can forget about blaming scientifically-clueless students, parents and teachers for your loss this time, kids!"
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Darwin Was Right - We come from monkeys. No other explanation.
Pondering Whither America, I reflected on a story, probably apocryphal but which I am going to believe because I like it, about catching monkeys. Tribesmen somewhere craft a heavy pot with a hole in it large enough that a monkey could insert an open hand,
but not withdraw a closed fist. They then put monkey food in the pot. The monkey reaches in, grabs the food and, refusing to let go when the hunters approach, is caught and eaten. Here we have our politics in a paragraph. The American national monkey can
’t let go. The party is over, boys and girls, but we aren’t going to adapt. For example: When people recently found that they could no longer afford the SUVs, the McMansions, the buying of absurdities in a frenzy of competitive consumerism, they just put
it on the credit card. The monkey can’t let go. And now they are screwed. Same-same domestic policy. The US has played War-on-Drugs for half a century, with no results but to make drugs an integral part of the economy. The evils engendered are great. Yet
the monkey can’t let go.
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
NASA regurgitates ARES as new Heavy Lift Vehicle To Congress
"Well, Congress demanded, last year, that NASA develop a budget plan and proposal for a new heavy lift vehicle in light of the Ares V cancellation. Recently, NASA gave Congress just what they wanted. On January 11th, Douglas Cooke pitched an interim repor
t to Congressional members detailing the basic design concepts that would go into a new heavy lift vehicle. Congress required that the new heavy lift vehicle maximize the reuse of space shuttle components as part of its budget battle with President Obama
last year. As a result, NASA basically copy-pasted the Ares V design into a new report and pitched it to Congress on the 11th. The proposed vehicle will require the five segment SRB's that were proposed for the Ares V rocket. It will utilize the SS
ME's for it's main liquid stage. It will reuse the shuttle external tank as the primary core for the liquid booster (the same tank design that is currently giving the Discovery shuttle launch so many problems). And it will utilize the new J-2X engine that
NASA has been developing for the Ares V project as an upper stage. In other words, NASA proposed to Congress exactly what Congress asked for."
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Snow Present in 49 of the 50 U.S. States
After big snow and ice events in the Southeast, Plains, and Midwest this week, 49 out of the 50 states currently have snow on the ground – yes, even Hawaii, where snow falls in Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea all winter…
- Full Article SourceITEM #163
01/15/11 -
Wine makes Superconductors
Yoshihiko Takano and other researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan were in the process of creating a certain kind of superconductor by putting a compound in hot water and soaking it for hours. They also soaked the compound in
a mixture of water and ethanol. It appears the process was going well, because the scientists decided to have a little party. The party included sake, whisky, various wines, shochu, and beer. At a certain point, the researchers decided to try soaking the
compound in the many, many liquors they had on hand and seeing how they compared to the more conventional soaking liquids… When they tested the resulting materials for superconductivity, they found that the ones soaked in commercial booze came out ahead.
About 15 percent of the material became a superconductor for the water mixed with ethanol, and less for the pure water. By comparison, Shochu jacked up conductivity by 23 percent and red wine managed to supercharge over 62 percent of the material. The sci
entists were pleased, if bemused with their results.
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Weird Science
If you're reading this, there's a pretty good chance that you're one of the weirdest people on Earth. Don't be insulted, though -- most of your friends and acquaintances probably are too. Recent psychological research suggests that people from Western, ed
ucated, industrialized, rich, and democratic societies -- WEIRD, for short -- not only live differently from the vast majority of the world's population, but think differently too. Does this really matter? Aren't we all the same, after all? Not really, it
turns out. WEIRDos tend to be more individualistic and more competitive than people from non-industrialized Asian and African societies. In tests measuring how groups of people work together, Westerners -- and Americans in particular -- are far mo
re likely to look out for themselves. They even perceive space differently. When viewing the classic Müller-Lyer illusion (>--< vs. <-->), Americans are far more often and more easily fooled than Africans, possibly as a consequence of living in a world of
concrete square angles rather than natural shapes. But while undergrads in Wisconsin clearly perceive the world differently from Masai warriors or Vietnamese farmers, psychologists continue to make sweeping generalizations about how the human mind works.
For example, the notion that choice is unquestionably a good thing is a very American idea, says Heine, "yet psychologists have traditionally assumed that everyone wants to go to Starbucks and choose one of 10,000 different permutations of coffee.
"
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Theory behind evanescent wave coupling, aka wireless power
[Alan Yates] is building a persistence of vision display and needs a way to transfer power from the stationary base to the spinning circuitry. He’s decided to go with wireless energy transfer and he’s sharing all of his research and experiment data from t
he development process. It comes in two forms, the written version we just linked to, and a 37 minute video which is embedded after the break. If you liked some of the inductive energy transmission devices we’ve featured in the past, [Alan's] video will f
ill you in on the why’s and how’s by using a combination of illustrative schematic examples and measurements on test coils that he built.
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Quote of the Day
Today's quote is from a co-founder of Tucson's Tea Party, Trent Humphries.
"It's political gamesmanship. The real case is that she [Giffords] had no security whatsoever at this event. So if she lived under a constant fear of being targeted, if she lived under this constant fear of this rhetoric and hatred that was seething
, why would she attend an event in full view of the public with no security whatsoever?"
He makes a pretty good point. If anyone is to blame for this shooting, it's Gabrielle Giffords.
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
125MPH Compressed Air Locomotive (Feb, 1934)
Will steam power give way to compressed air for driving locomotives and hauling fast passenger trains? That is the vision of William E. Boyette, of Atlanta, Ga., whose amazing challenge to the iron horse—a monster truck-shaped locomotive propelled by comp
ressed air—was about to undergo a trial run between Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fla., at this writing. The forty-foot locomotive, illustrated above, is designed to attain a maximum speed of 125 miles an hour. Its power is obtained from air compressed to a p
ressure of 400 pounds to the square inch and carried in tanks behind the cab. Should the pressure in the tanks drop below 360 pounds, a pump operated by electric storage batteries automatically replenishes them. Besides high speed, Boyette claims the adva
ntage of exceptional economy in operation.
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
China cracks down on "money sucking" mobile phones with malware
The government of China is taking action against mobile phones pre-installed with malware that sneakily rack up user fees by triggering various fee-based mobile services. The ministry is targeting what it called "money sucking" phones, which are installed
with software that triggers fee-based mobile services without users' knowledge. The phones with the problem are brand name knock-offs built using the Android operating system, said Zhao Wei, CEO of Chinese security company Knownsec. Each month, the phone
s will spend only about 2 yuan (US$0.30) in text messages or other mobile services. The small amount ensures that users will not take notice, he said.
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
The $75 Sous Vide Hack
Most sous vide (soo-veed) cooking machines are commercial models that cost north of $2,000, and the first "home" version, the countertop SousVide Supreme, is priced in the neighborhood of $450 (not including vacuum sealer), which is still a steep investme
nt for something that essentially keeps water warm. I decided to build a better device on the cheap. Behold, the $75 DIY Sous Vide Heating Immersion Circulator! By scrapping together parts from eBay and Amazon, I created a portable device that heats and c
irculates water while maintaining a temperature accurate within 0.1°C. And unlike the SousVide Supreme, it mounts easily onto larger containers, up to about 15 gallons, for greater cooking capacity. The water is heated by three small immersion heaters and
circulated by an aquarium pump to keep the temperature uniform. An industrial process temperature module controls the heaters, and an eye bolt lets you clamp the entire apparatus to the rim of a plastic tub or other container. To cook sous vide, you also
need a vacuum sealer, which this project does not include. I bought a good one new for about $112.
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Horrors and delight of alternative medicine
Apparently, there is no perfection in the world. There is no perfect medicine for sure. We always think that somewhere out there, beyond the mountains, beyond the seas, everything can be cured. Cured quickly, cheaply and painlessly. Is this true? Actor Mi
chael Douglas, who in the past year was diagnosed with throat cancer, has announced that he got rid of the tumor. "I feel well, I'm much better," he said during the Today show on NBC. "The tumor has disappeared." The actor added that the swelling subsided
, thanks to chemo-and radiotherapy, and in such cases the chances of complete remission are very high. Hence, the famous actor used the services of doctors. Earlier, it was announced that a journey around the world would help him. Apparently, the actor an
d his family, after weighing all the pros and cons, decided to use the services of an Oncology Clinic. If he is getting better, it is possible that M. Douglas will still have time to travel to his heart's content. Some time ago Russian Academy of Medical
Sciences conducted an anonymous survey. The results of the survey revealed that 80 percent of patients who later turned to an oncologist, first turned to healers and sorcerers. Scientists also found that 40% of the so-called healers are in need of psychia
tric treatment, and 95% of traditional healers have no medical training. However, people first turned to dubious "bioenergy therapists." Why is this happening? They turned where they were promised assistance. They were guaranteed a cure. Scientists see ot
her reasons: the crisis of modern symptomatic medicine that does not rid patients of the causes of the disease. Any oncologist will tell you a tragic story of meeting people who could have been saved had they visited a doctor a few months earlier, but die
d because of "home care." (Real simple to protect yourself and prove if it works or not...have tests done before, during and after 'treatment' to verify you had something for real, that the method was working and at the end, that it really cured your prob
lem. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Goodbye Bifocals — Electronic Glasses Change Focus
"Move over Ben Franklin, we finally have a replacement for bifocals. Virginia-based Pixel Optics has developed a composite lens that can change the range of focus electronically. The emPower! glasses were created in cooperation with Panasonic Healthcare,
and allow you to switch between long distance and short distance vision in a split second. Rather than having a lens divided into two sections, emPower! uses an LCD overlay that can change the focal length of the glasses via electric current. When the LCD
layer is off, your lenses are good for intermediate/long distances. Turn the LCD layer on, and a section of the lens is suddenly magnifying close-up images – perfect for reading."
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Catching Exam Cheats With a Spectrum Analyzer
"Police in Taiwan have used a set of spectrum analyzers to catch at least three people suspected of cheating on an exam by monitoring them for mobile phone signals. Officers used three FSH4 analyzers specially configured by the German manufacturer Rohde &
Schwarz to monitor an exam in south Taiwan for prospective government workers."
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
NASA Says 2010 Tied For Warmest Year On Record
"It may not seem like it, but 2010 has tied 2005 as the warmest year since people have been keeping records, according to data from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. The two years differed by less than 0.018 degrees Fahrenheit. That
difference is so small that it puts them in a statistical tie. In the new analysis, the next warmest years are 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007, which are statistically tied for third warmest year. The GISS records begin in 1880." Adds jamie: "This was the
34th consecutive year with global temperatures above the 20th century average — 0.62 +/- 0.07 C above, to be precise. It was the wettest year on record too, according to the Global Historical Climatology Network."
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Research Suggests E-Readers Are "Too Easy" To Read
New research suggests that the clear screens and easily read fonts of e-readers makes your brain "lazy." According to Neuroscience blogger Jonah Lehrer, using electronic books like the Kindle and Sony Reader makes you less likely to remember what you have
read because the devices are so easy on the eyes. From the article: "Rather than making things clearer, e-readers and computers prevent us from absorbing information because their crisp screens and fonts tell our subconscious that the words they convey a
re not important, it is claimed. In contrast, handwriting and fonts that are more challenging to read signal to the brain that the content of the message is important and worth remembering, experts say."
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Bastardi's Wager
"AccuWeather meteorologist Joe Bastardi has a challenge for climate scientists. He wants one or more of their rank to accept a bet about temperature trends in the coming decade. Bastardi is making specific predictions. 'The scientific approach is: you see
the other argument, you put forward predictions about where things are going to go, and you test them,' he says. 'That is what I have done. I have said the earth will cool .1 to .2 Celsius in the next ten years, according to objective satellite data.' Ba
stardi's challenge to his critics — who are legion — is to make their own predictions. And then wait. Climate science, he adds, 'is just a big weather forecast.' Bastardi's challenge is reminiscent of the famous Simon-Ehrlich Wager, where the two men made
specific predictions about resource scarcity in the '80s."
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Unusual "safety certificate" from the 1940s
Mann Act - The Mann Act (18 U.S.C.A. § 2421 et seq.), also known as the White Slave Traffic Act, is a federal criminal statute that deals with prostitution and CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. Enacte
d in 1910 and named for its sponsor, Representative JAMES R. MANN, of Illinois, it also was used to prosecute men who took women across state lines for consensual sex. Representative Mann introduced the act in December 1909 at the request of Chicago prose
cutors who claimed that girls and women were being forced into prostitution by unscrupulous pimps and procurers.
The term white slavery became popular to describe the predicament these females faced. It was alleged that men were tricking, coercing, and drugging females to get them involved in prostitution and then forcing them to stay in brothels. The legislation
was intended to stop the interstate trafficking of women. The act made it a felony to transport knowingly any woman or girl in interstate commerce or foreign commerce for prostitution, debauchery, or any other immoral purpose. It also made it a felony t
o coerce a woman or a girl into such immoral acts.
Congress amended the act in 1978 to attack the problem of child PORNOGRAPHY. The amendments made the act's provisions regarding this issue gender neutral, so that both boys and girls who were sexually exploited were now protected (Pub. L. No. 95-225, 9
2 Stat. 8–9).
In 1986 the law was further amended. The new amendments made the entire act gender neutral as to victims of sexual exploitation. More important, all references to debauchery and any other immoral purpose were replaced by the phrase "any sexual activity
for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense" (Pub. L. No. 99-628, 100 Stat. 3511–3512.) This change took the federal government out of the business of defining immoral. Because most states have repealed criminal laws against fornication a
nd ADULTERY, noncommercial, consensual sexual activity no longer is subject to prosecution.
- Full Article Source
01/15/11 -
Russia Moves To Universal ID Card
"On January 1st 2012, the Russian government will start issuing universal ID cards (Russian original) that will replace current national identification system (Russia has a system of internal passports), medical insurance cards, student IDs, public transp
ort passes, and debit cards. The smart card contains unique personal identifiers and allows for multiple levels of authentication. The Russian government is pushing for local government agencies, transportation providers, banks and retail operators to ado
pt the government-issued ID to streamline their operations."
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Ex telecoms engineer creating energy waves
Inventor Jackie Stuart has developed what he calls a linear generator based on the Faraday principle, named after the 18th-century physicist Michael Faraday, who is best known for his discoveries of electro-magnetic induction and the laws of electrolysis,
his biggest breakthrough being the invention of the electric motor. "Jamaica is surrounded by water and the wave motion is there 24 hours a day. Most of the principal cities in Jamaica are near to the sea. My invention is basically using the Faraday prin
ciple of a magnetic field on a coil. A coil moving in a magnetic field generates power and all generators are based on that, but most generators developed around the world have a rotary motion," Stuart explained. What he has done with the linear version o
f the generator is to replicate that operation using the up-and-down motion of waves, as against the circular motion of traditional generators, to create energy. So successful is the device that it can generate power from any amplitude of wave. And while
the Jamaican has worked with about a metre range, he says this can be brought to a centimetre and still be practical. "The arm goes up and down and I am moving magnets in between coils and it's generating power outside. I have an electronic piece outside
that can add the power, because if you connect them in certain series and parallel arrangements you can generate power of any amount you want. So the output can be anything you want," the veteran engineer pointed out. "What I am going to do is put an inte
rface between where I can put the generator on land and the motion, and all I will do there is to use compressed air. So my arm, moving up and down, will compress air into a cylinder and I will release the air in accordance with what I want - whatever pac
e I want. It's micro-system, it's not a monstrous thing. An arm that extends out maybe 10-15 feet, a small unit like that, so we can generate maybe two to three kilowatts, but you can have multiples of these along a shoreline and generate exactly what you
want. It can be produced by local people - very cost-effective for that technology."
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
U.S. Science Productivity Continues to Drop
A historic downward shift in U.S. research efficiency is described in a new report on science publication trends, showing that while funding rose, the quantity of research yielded, measured by an analysis of published scientific papers. The new NSF report
confirms the 1990s inflection point: "[T]he evidence suggests that the growth trend either slowed or stopped altogether at that time." Significantly, the report cautions that the plateau "should not be confused with a decades-long and familiar decline in
the U.S. share of the world's S&E articles." In other words, the waning productivity in the U.S. is not explained by the (inevitably) more rapid growth elsewhere in the world. The new report advances some possible explanations: increased complexity of re
search, more comprehensive articles, greater expense for journal submission and research expenditures rising faster than inflation. Collaborations, measured by the number of institutions involved in producing a given paper, are up, and might be imposing h
igher costs from increased communication. Biomedical research productivity perhaps has fallen because after receiving a large infusion of federal funding in the past decade it may take time for new or expanded research efforts to become efficient. Spokesp
ersons for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, declined to comment on the report. The
offices of U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D–Ill.), chair of the House Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, and Rep. Rush Holt (D–N.J.), a former physics professor, also turned down requests for comment. Calls to the Senate Commerce, Science and Tra
nsportation Committee were not returned. (Didn't return calls because they AREN'T DOING THEIR JOB! Kids need to see the fun of science with more handson projects and demonstrations. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Thunderstorms Make Antimatter
Researchers working with the Fermi space telescope made the discovery while examining the gamma-ray flashes that thunderstorms are known to produce. (The multitasking Fermi can observe everything from gamma ray bursts in the most distant reaches of the un
iverse to terrestrial phenomena.) The high-energy gamma-ray flashes are thought to be caused by the electrical fields produced during lightning storms. The new study, presented at the ongoing meeting of the American Astronomical Society, suggests that the
se gamma-ray flashes create both electrons and their antimatter counterparts, positrons. When two of these opposing particles meet up they annihilate each other and cause another blaze of gamma rays, with a particular signature that Fermi can detect. In a
video about the findings, NASA explains that Fermi was traveling over Egypt on December 14, 2009 when it detected this signature–but the only active thunderstorm was in Zambia, too far away for Fermi to see it. The explanation: the electrons and positron
s traveled along the Earth’s magnetic field lines. When the traveling positrons reached Fermi they interacted with the spacecraft’s electrons and annihiliated, creating a flash of gamma rays. Says NASA’s video: “For an instant, Fermi became a gamma-ray so
urce, and set off its own detectors.” And there you have it: Fermi was struck by a beam of antimatter. The BBC talked to atmospheric electricity researcher Steven Cummer, who wasn’t involved in the current research, and found him to be pretty jazzed. “I t
hink this is one of the most exciting discoveries in the geosciences in quite a long time – the idea that any planet has thunderstorms that can create antimatter and then launch it into space in narrow beams that can be detected by orbiting spacecraft to
me sounds like something straight out of science fiction,” he said.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Knowledge about Thunderstorms Expanded
Unique data on thunderstorm formation in upper atmospheric layers were obtained during a series of geophysical experiments, performed at the International space station. Multispectral optical system, developed in Russia and equipped with highly sensitive
ultraviolet camera, allowed gathering unique information on nature of global thunderstorm phenomena in upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere – elves, red sprites, blue jets and other phenomena, detected in the sky over Equatorial Africa. A series of experime
nts has showed that ultraviolet range was extremely effective for monitoring of global physical events of natural and technogenic origin, as well as geophysical station in the atmosphere and surrounding space.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
A Battery-Ultracapacitor Hybrid
By combining the chemistries of ultracapacitors and lithium-ion batteries, a company called Ioxus has created a hybrid energy-storage device that could recharge power tools in minutes and might never need to be replaced. The company says future incarnatio
ns could perhaps be used to capture energy from braking vehicles. Ultracapacitors capture and release energy in seconds and can do so millions of times, but they store only about 5 percent as much energy as lithium-ion batteries. The hybrid can store more
than twice the energy by volume of standard ultracapacitors. That's still much less than a lithium-ion battery, but the hybrid can be recharged quickly over 20,000 times as against a few hundred cycles for a typical battery. A power tool using the lithiu
m-ion ultracapacitor would run for only a 15th as long as it would on a battery but would recharge in just a minute. The hybrid energy-storage device consists of an etched aluminum film coated on one side with carbon slurry, which is similar to the electr
ode found in an ultracapacitor. The other electrode, on the other side of the film, is coated not with carbon but with a lithium-ion material, providing more energy-storage capacity. The film is wound into a cylinder to make the finished device. Only one
other company—JSR Micro, in Tokyo—makes hybrid devices of this type, having brought them to market in 2009. The company says its device has three times the energy density of a conventional ultracapacitor and a cycle life of 100,000 recharges.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Tongue-zapper could treat sleep apnea
Loud snoring may do more than irritate your spouse: It can signal sleep apnea, depriving you of enough Z's to trigger a car crash, even a heart attack. Now scientists are beginning to test if an implanted pacemaker-like device might help certain sufferers
, keeping their airways open by zapping the tongue during sleep. What does your tongue have to do with a good night's sleep? One of the main causes of obstructive sleep apnea is that the tongue and throat muscles relax too much during sleep, enough to tem
porarily collapse and block breathing for 30 seconds or so at a time. The person jerks awake and gasps, a cycle that can repeat 30 or more times an hour, depriving patients of crucial deep sleep. The idea behind the experimental implant: Stimulate the ner
ve that controls the base of the tongue with a mild electrical current during sleep, and maybe it will stay toned and in place like it does during the day rather than becoming floppy. With Inspire's system, doctors implant a small pacemaker-like generator
under the skin near the collarbone, and snake a wire up under the jaw to that tongue-controlling nerve. A sensor at the diaphragm detects when a patient takes a breath, signaling the implant to zap the nerve. Researchers adjust the power so that the nerv
e is stimulated just enough to keep the tongue from falling backward during sleep but not to stick out. Patients turn on the device at bedtime with a remote control, complete with a timer they can set so they fall asleep before the pulses begin.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Ark Hotel! Giant biosphere is a 'self-contained disaster haven'
The futuristic Ark Hotel has been designed to withstand floods caused by rising sea levels. The floating behemoth is a 'biosphere' conceived as a safe, self-contained haven in case of disaster. Boasting a green, self-sustaining environment for guests, the
shell-shaped hotel would withstand tidal waves and other natural disasters.
Architects say the Ark's shell-like construction of arches and cables evenly distribute weight so it is also invulnerable to earthquakes. The design uses solar panels and a rainw
ater collection system to provide inhabitants with power and water.
The greenhouse-like environment also provides for lush vegetation to help with air quality and provide food sources. Because of the see-through structure enough daylight is filtered throu
gh internal rooms to reduce the need for lighting. And to ensure quality of light, the frame is protected with a self-cleaning layer.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Phase Conjugating Dentist Drill sound to lessen pain
If the high-pitched whine of the dentist’s drill fills you with fear, welcome relief is on the way. Scientists have developed a device which plugs into an MP3 player or mobile phone and uses a filtering technique to cancel out the noise of the drill – but
still allows the patient to listen to music through headphones and hear what the dentist is saying. Studies have shown that for many it is the sound of the drill that causes the most anxiety about visiting the dentist. People can still hear dentists and
other staff speak to them - the tool only filters out the sounds of the high pitch of the drill. The gadget contains a microphone and a chip which analyses the incoming sound wave and then produces an inverted wave to cancel out the unwanted noise. It als
o uses technology called adaptive filtering to 'lock on' to sound waves and remove them, even if the amplitude and frequency change as the drill is being used. 'The beauty of this gadget is that it would be fairly cost-effective for dentists to buy, and a
ny patient with an MP3 player would be able to benefit from it, at no extra cost.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Sphero the robotic ball: ready for game development
One of the fun toys we saw at the Consumer Electronics Show last week was the Sphero, a robotic ball that can be controlled from an iOS, Windows Phone, or Android device. While Sphero isn't due out for nearly a year, the API is open for developers to adap
t into some potentially cool games. The controls in the smartphone or tablet app (the demonstrators used iPhones and iPads) consist of a few buttons surrounding a joystick-like mechanism in the center. Once the ball has been directionally calibrated based
on a flashing light it emits, users can guide it around the floor. By default, a Sphero moves at a fairly ponderous pace, though a button in the UI allows you to "boost" its speed in order to push it over jumps or through difficult areas. The experience
was reminiscent of RC cars, but with only one joystick control instead of two. This is a bit of a shame, as it seems like Sphero could benefit from a second joystick. Directional calibration is easy enough, but just running into a wall or another Sphero w
as enough to put the ball's orientation out of whack. This means contact sports are out—so much for American Gladiator-style battles on an elevated platform—unless you're open to constant recalibration. Orbotix, the Sphero's creator, said the ball has an
operating range of up to 50 feet over Bluetooth and will hit the market for under $100 this coming holiday season.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Favourite music evokes same feelings as good food or drugs
Ever had goosebumps or felt euphoric chills when listening to a piece of music? If so, your brain is reacting to the music in the same way as it would to some delicious food or a psychoactive drug such as cocaine, according to scientists. The experience o
f pleasure is mediated in all these situations by the release of the brain's reward chemical, dopamine, according to results of experiments carried out by a team led by Valorie Salimpoor of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, which are published today
in Nature Neuroscience. In the experiment, participants chose instrumental pieces of music that gave them goosebumps, but which had no specific memories attached to them. Lyrics were banned because the researchers did not want their results confounded by
any associations participants might have had to the words they heard. The pieces chosen ranged from classical to rock, punk and electronic dance music. "One piece of music kept coming up for different people – Barber's Adagio for Strings," said Salimpoor.
It was the favourite classical piece and a remix of the tune was the most popular in the dance, trance and techno genres. As the participants listened to their music, Salimpoor's team measured a range of physiological factors including heart rate and inc
reases in respiration and sweating. She found that the participants had a 6-9% relative increase in their dopamine levels when compared with a control condition in which the participants listened to each other's choices of music. "One person experienced a
21% increase. That demonstrates that, for some people, it can be really intensely pleasurable," she said. In previous studies with psychoactive drugs such as cocaine, Salimpoor said relative dopamine increases in the brain had been above 22%, while a rel
ative increase of up to 6% was experienced when eating pleasurable meals.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Cyberdyne Is Real And Is Making Thought-Controlled Exoskeletons
At CES in Las Vegas this weekend they showed off their thought-controlled exoskeleton, which weighs a mere 22 pounds (10 kg) yet can allow people with very weakened legs to walk and even climb stairs. They currently rent this device to hospitals in Japan
for around $1500 per month. They’ve also been contacted by the U.S. military about the design. The suit works on intent: the user needs only to “think” of moving his or her legs — the suit does the rest. That’s because the brain sends signals to the mus
cles of the legs, and the sensors detect them. “Once I figured out how to stop trying to walk in the suit and just let the suit walk for me, the experience was almost transparent,” [Evan] Ackerman said. That is both outstanding and terrifying. They’ve n
amed this awesome beast a Hybrid Assistive Limb. Yeah. HAL. It’s called HAL. The company — freaking Cyberdyne — has created a thought-controlled exoskeleton and named it after the computer in 2001.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Self-Pressuring Systems for Lunar Stations to Be Developed
Russian scientists work on protecting manned space stations on the Moon, Mars and other planets of the Solar system, by means of self-pressuring systems. Surface of the Moon, Mars and other planets of the Solar system is intensively bombarded by mic
ro-meteorites and space debris, and that is why space stations need protection. Protective screens are currently reaching technical frontiers due to weight restrictions, so scientists suggest a new protection systems, based upon quick and effective restor
ation of station’s air tightness in case of a puncture. Researchers suggest three possible techniques for puncture elimination: a plug, a liquid sealer, or a combination of first two techniques – a self-pressuring system.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
DIY air gap flash saves at least seven grand
Did you know that a standard camera flash is much too slow to capture high quality images of bullets? A relatively long flash duration results in blurred images of the bullet. By building this air gap flash a bullet can be frozen in mid-air, producing som
e stunning results. There is an element of danger here, and not from the bullet. This flash uses a 35,000 volt capacitor to produce the mini-bolt of lightning which serves as the light source. The unit can be built for a few hundred dollars, which sounds
like a heck of a deal if commercial models really do start at $8k and go up from there.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Can we change time?
Since H.G. Wells released his novel The Time Machine in 1895, the idea of time travel has continued to be a mainstay in science fiction. In fact, it is such a popular idea that it has transcended the masses and has been used as a plot device in films, boo
ks and television programs of every genre, from comedy to horror to romance. It is a tantalizing idea to be able to go forward or backward in time to see how things are different. Some look at it as a chance to investigate history and discover all that we
think we already know. Some might use it to go forward, be it to see how mankind will evolve, or for ill-gotten gains (I have to admit, getting next week’s lottery numbers would be awfully tempting). Some would go back into their own past to either put s
omething right, or to change their fate. Some have postulated that timelines can 'fix' themselves. Hugh Everett put forth the many-world interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics, which states that every action can cause a whole new timeline, and that the
re are multiple worlds out there with every possible outcome happening (he’s the one to blame if you hate DC’s 'Crisis' stories). This has been argued against, of course, and by none other than Stephen Hawking, who says that even if MWI were possible, a t
ime traveler would experience a single, self-consistent timeline, and would remain in his own world. So can we make even the smallest changes to our timelines without negating the future? Or is there a 'Butterfly Effect' in place and will even small chang
es make for big catastrophes? Will time and space rip open if I go back in time and tell myself to pawn everything and invest in Microsoft? I don’t have those answers.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Concept bicycle charger for harvesting kinetic and wind energy
Fandi Meng, a Chinese industrial designer has designed a concept generator called the i-Green Bicycle Charging System which can be attached to a bicycle. The i-Green harvests kinetic energy from a moving bicycle and converts it to electricity for powering
small portable gadgets. This is not the first bike-powered charger on the market and the Energy Harvesting Journal has previously reported on the Nokia bike charger and the Copenhagen Wheel. The i-Green device, however, appears to differ in that it incl
udes a portable wind turbine mechanism which could harvest energy from wind at the same time as harvesting kinetic energy.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Local invention keeps lights on in a storm
The product, called illumaguard, is the creation of inventor Jeff Shakespeare, a fiber optics expert who formerly worked for Lucent. It started its journey from bright idea to actual consumer item a couple of years ago when he mentioned his notebook of pr
oduct ideas to friend Bill Crompton, a marketing expert, at a party. Together, the two men formed Electrikus, and in November with the help of a $45,000 investment from the Ben Franklin Technology Partners in Bethlehem, they rolled out their first product
: illumaguard. It's one of the first consumer product companies the technology incubator has backed. The mix of technical and marketing expertise Crompton and Shakespeare brought to the table and the utilitarian nature of their product helped overcome any
hesitancy the technology incubator had over getting involved with a consumer product company, said Wayne Barz, Ben Franklin's manager of entrepreneurial services. "We often see the technical side without any experience on the marketing and sales side," B
arz said. About the size of a clock radio, the backup connects directly to a customers' existing lamp. The lamp plugs into the unit, which is plugged into the wall and can be hidden under a sofa or behind a houseplant. When the lights go on, the batteries
in Illumaguard kick in and the light stays on for more than eight hours if it uses a 60-watt compact fluorescent light. So what makes this product unique? Lots of companies make backup power supplies, but most are hard-wired and cost thousands of dollars
to install, Crompton said. Some people make emergency lighting, but that typically requires consumers to purchase a special lamp. Electrikus' product retails for about $50, so it's relatively inexpensive, and it powers customers' existing lighting, he sa
id.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Why we can't can't walk straight
NPR's always interesting Robert Krulwich posted a great report on why people can't walk in a straight line from point A to point B without visual cues. Usually gimlets are involved in my case, but even sober, it's likely you will end up going in ever-tigh
ter loops. Benjamin Arthur's beautiful animation alone is worth checking out. Important viewing if you're searching for the Blair Witch or planning to walk to the neighbor's during a blinding blizzard.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Body heat used to warm buildings
A company in Sweden is using the body heat generated by people passing through Stockholm Central Station to warm an opposite office block. A real estate firm, Jernhusen, decided to harness the usually wasted natural resource that everybody produces. Speak
ing about the new system he created, Klas Johnasson, head of Jernhusen’s environmental division, said they are simply using an old technology in a novel way. He added that the difference is only that the energy is being shifted to another building. Around
250,000 people pass through the capital city’s Central Station every day, generating heat as they go. Buying food, newspapers and books also helps to create more warmth that is captured by the station’s ventilation system. This warmth is then converted i
nto energy and pumped into an office block across the road and used to heat its water. The system has apparently significantly reduced the building’s carbon footprint and also cut down on energy costs by 25 percent. All such energy would be wasted if it w
ere allowed to be ventilated away, according to Mr Johnasson.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Larry Griswold on the Frank Sinatra show - 11/13/51
Larry Griswold world's greatest comedy diver co-inventor of the trampoline.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Killing Jobs or Growing Jobs?
This problem of the rhetoric on jobs being out of sync with reality is even more severe for the environment. Environmental regulations are repeatedly blamed for cutting jobs. In this case, the problem is that there is no evidence to support the claim that
environmental regulations have had a negative impact on employment, either in general or for any particular regulation that I have looked at in a 35-year career. However, there is evidence that in fact, stronger environmental regulation consistently lead
s to greater employment. Environmental regulations produce jobs in several ways. First, they encourage technological innovation and competition on the best ways to meet the regulation. In most cases, the polluting processes were not very economically effi
cient in the first place, and the need to do something different to comply with the law promotes new thought on how to increase productivity and consequent new investment. Investments in enhanced productivity preserve or create jobs. Second, controlling p
ollution itself produces new jobs in manufacturing and operating the control equipment, and in improvements in operations and maintenance in the facilities that are required to keep pollution low. Third, environmental degradation has its costs, and these
often include damage to health, which reduces people’s ability to work effectively. Reducing these costs allows those that would have been afflicted with them to earn more and to spend the money they are saving on other purchases, all of which entail crea
ting or maintaining jobs.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
A Leaf into the Future
An impressive app is now available on the Nissan Leaf electric car and soon to be available on Ford’s Focus Electric, announced today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Here’s how it works: You’re at home and it’s 15 degrees outside. You don’t
want to get into a cold car, so you whip out your smart phone and warm your car to 68 degrees. Since the car is still plugged in, you’re not draining the battery. In summer, on a 100 degree day, you tell the car to be cool when you step in. It’s all done
by way of an app provided by Airbiquity, the same company responsible for the OnStar system and Ford Sync, a service that provides hands-free calling, directions and emergency assistance. The Airbiquity app does other things for electric vehicle owners.
It removes what’s called “range anxiety,” the fear that you’ll run out of juice before you reach your destination. The Leaf will only go about 100 miles on a single charge, so the Airbiquity system tells you first thing in the morning how much of a char
ge you have. It also sends you a text message if you haven’t plugged in your car at night, and lets you know where the charging stations are. The Leaf knows who’s in the car by identifying your phone. Your profile comes up and it shows buttons for the ra
dio stations you want. A different driver steps in and their phone is discovered, along with their preferences. Make changes to your profile and your interface looks different the next time you step in.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Lab on a chip research brings the autodoc closer to reality
A new device invented by a team of engineers and students at the University of Rhode Island uses just a pinprick of blood in a portable device that provides results in less than 30 minutes. "This development is a big step in point-of-care diagnostics, whe
re testing can be performed in a clinic, in a doctor's office, or right at home," said Mohammad Faghri, URI professor of mechanical engineering and the lead researcher on the project. "No longer will patients have to wait anxiously for several days for th
eir test results. They can have their blood tested when they walk into the doctor's office and the results will be ready before they leave." With the new lab-on-a-chip technology, a drop of blood is placed on a plastic polymer cartridge smaller than a cre
dit card and inserted into a shoebox-sized biosensor containing a miniature spectrometer and piezoelectric micro-pump. The blood travels through the cartridge in tiny channels 500 microns wide to a detection site where it reacts with preloaded reagents en
abling the sensor to detect certain biomarkers of disease.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Hypersonic Radio Black-Out Problem Solved
"Russian physicists have come up with a new way to communicate with hypersonic vehicles surrounded by a sheath of plasma. Ordinarily, this plasma absorbs and reflects radio waves at communications frequencies, leading to a few tense minutes during the re-
entry of manned vehicles such as the shuttle. However, the problem is even more acute for military vehicles such as ballistic missiles and hypersonic planes. Radio blackout prevents these vehicles from accessing GPS signals for navigation and does not all
ow them to be re-targeted or disarmed at the last minute. But a group of Russian physicists say they can get around this problem by turning the entire plasma sheath into a radio antenna. They point out that any incoming signal is both reflected and absorb
ed by the plasma. The reflected signal is lost but the absorbed energy sets up a resonating electric field at a certain depth within the plasma. In effect, this layer within the plasma acts like a radio antenna, receiving the signal. However, the signal c
annot travel further through the plasma to the spacecraft." / We wish to transmit messages to and from a hypersonic vehicle around which a plasma sheath has formed. For long distance transmission, the signal carrying these messages must be necessarily low
frequency, typically 2 GHz, to which the plasma sheath is opaque. The idea is to use the plasma properties to make the plasma sheath appear transparent.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
In-Car Technology Becoming More Important Than Horsepower
"It seems, and I think a lot of people have prophesied this for some time, that in-car features like internet radio and assisted driving technologies are surpassing horsepower, handling and design as automotive selling points. I just hope manufacturers ha
ve put in the time to consider all the security dangers that exist in owning internet synthesized cars."
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Should Dolphins Be Treated As Non-Human Persons?
"Dolphins have long been recognized as among the most intelligent of animals, but now the Times reports that a series of behavioral studies suggest that dolphins, especially species such as the bottlenose, have distinct personalities, a strong sense of se
lf, can think about the future and are so bright that they should be treated as 'non-human persons.' 'Many dolphin brains are larger than our own and second in mass only to the human brain when corrected for body size,' says Lori Marino, a zoologist at Em
ory University. 'The neuroanatomy suggests psychological continuity between humans and dolphins and has profound implications for the ethics of human-dolphin interactions.' For example, one study found that dolphins can recognize their image in a mirror a
s a reflection of themselves — a finding that indicates self-awareness similar to that seen in higher primates and elephants. Other studies have found that dolphins are capable of advanced cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, artificial language c
omprehension, and complex social behavior, indicating that dolphins are far more intellectually and emotionally sophisticated than previously thought. Thomas White, professor of ethics at Loyola Marymount University, has written a series of academic studi
es suggesting dolphins should have rights, claiming that the current relationship between humans and dolphins is, in effect, equivalent to the relationship between whites and black slaves two centuries ago."
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
It's Surprisingly Hard To Notice When Moving Objects Change
"Scientists at Harvard have found that people are remarkably bad at noticing when moving objects change in brightness, color, size, or shape. In a paper published yesterday (PDF) in Current Biology, the researchers present a new visual illusion that 'caus
es objects that had once been obviously dynamic to suddenly appear static.' The finding has implications for everything from video game design to the training of pilots."
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Aussie Team Smashes Land Speed Record For Solar-Powered Cars
"A record which has stood since 1987, set by General Motors, has been broken (YouTube video) by a university team. The land speed record for a solar powered car was 78km/h, and now stands at 88km/h despite the cloudy conditions... If only Doc Brown had us
ed the metric system!"
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Internet Downloading Costs To Rise In Canada
"According to CBC News, 'Surfing and downloading from the internet is about to get more expensive for many Canadians as internet companies Shaw and Primus have announced plans to impose new fees and caps on internet usage. Over the past year, the CRTC, Ca
nada's communication regulator, let Bell and Rogers start charging extra for customers who download a lot of data. ... Primus and Shaw have said they will begin passing on higher fees to their customers beginning Feb. 1. Primus, for example, rents bandwid
th on Bell's networks and said Bell is inflating the costs for everyone, including them. 'It's an economic disincentive for internet use,' said Matt Stein, vice-president of network services for Primus. 'It's not meant to recover costs. In fact these char
ges that Bell has levied are many, many, many times what it costs to actually deliver it.'"
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
US Government Strategy To Prevent Leaks Is Leaked
"The US government's 11-page document on how to get various US government agencies to prevent future leaks has been leaked. It doesn't get any more ironic than that. After the various leaks made by WikiLeaks, the US government understandably wants to limi
t the number of potential leaks, but their strategy apparently isn't implemented yet. It's clear that the Obama administration is telling federal agencies to take aggressive steps to prevent further leaks. According to the document, these steps include fi
guring out which employees might be most inclined to leak classified documents, by using psychiatrists and sociologists to assess their trustworthiness. The memo also suggests that agencies require all their employees to report any contacts with members o
f the news media they may have."
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
New Laser Makes Pirates Wish They Wore Eye-Patches
"The New Scientist has an article about a new laser developed by a company in Farnborough, UK, that aims to deter modern high-seas pirates. Devised as a 'warning shot' to 'distract suspected pirates rather than harm them,' the meter-wide beam can scan the
pirates' 6-metre skiffs and make it difficult for them to aim their AK-47 or rocket-propelled grenades at the ship." / The "SeaLase" laser, similar to weapons used for crowd control in Iraq and Afghanistan by the U.S. military, has a range of four kilome
ters and becomes harder to look at the closer an attacker comes. At a distance of one kilometer, attackers develop strong nausea and can no longer see, according to Lasersec Systems, the Finnish company that developed the lasers for commercial use. "We do
n't have guns, so we need non-lethal systems to defend yachts," Lasersec CEO Scott Buchter told CNN. Buchter, who recently launched the $104,000 multi-colored laser at Monaco Yacht Show, says the loss of eyesight the laser inflicts is only temporary and t
hat no permanent damage is inflicted. Hi-tech military-grade security systems like SeaLase have become increasingly popular with superyacht owners looking to protect multi-millon dollar yachts on the open seas.
Pirate attacks on oil tankers and other boats in dangerous waters like the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia -- a maritime link between Europe and Asia --have fueled the growing worry that superyachts may be the next target. Because law regarding the
use of deadly force on ships is ambiguous in some countries and the transport of guns is illegal in most international waters -- yacht crews favor the use of non-lethal weapons for security. This has fueled the recent market boom for weapons like SeaLase,
according to Buchter. SeaLase is the latest of these kinds of weapons, which include "L-Rad," a long-range acoustic device that temporarily deafens enemies and the $450,000 "SeaOwl" tracking system, which combines radar and infrared or thermal cameras to
detect incoming threats as far as five kilometers away.
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Scientists Find Tears Are the Anti-Viagra
"The male test subjects didn't know what they were smelling, they were just given little vials of clear liquid and told to sniff. But when those vials contained a woman's tears (collected while she watched a sad movie), the men rated pictures of women's f
aces as less sexually attractive, and their saliva contained less testosterone. Is this proof that humans make and respond to pheromones? The researcher behind the study doesn't use that controversial word, but he says his findings do prove that tears con
tain meaningful chemical messages."
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Mars Journal Issue Inspires Hundreds of One-Way Trip Volunteers
"An interplanetary trip to Mars could take as little as 10 months, but returning would be virtually impossible — making the voyage a form of self-imposed exile from Earth unlike anything else in human history. What would inspire someone to volunteer? A sp
ecial edition of the Journal of Cosmology detailed exactly how a privately-funded, one-way mission to Mars could depart as soon as 20 years from now — and it prompted more than 400 readers to volunteer as colonists. 'I've had a deep desire to explore the
universe ever since I was a child and understood what a rocket was,' said Peter Greaves, the father of three, and a jack-of-all-trades who started his own motorcycle dispatch company and fixes computers and engines on the side. 'I envision life on Mars to
be stunning, frightening, lonely, quite cramped and busy,' he said. Given the difficulties of the mission, Lana Tao, the editor of the Journal, said she was surprised by the response. 'At first we thought the e-mails were a joke... then we realized they
were completely serious.'"
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Gulf Bacteria Quickly Digested Spilled Methane
"From an AAAS news release: 'Bacteria made quick work of the methane released by the Deepwater Horizon blowout, digesting most of the gas within the four months after its release, according to a new study published online at ScienceExpress.' This study, h
owever, did not deal with other chemicals (oil) from the disaster's fallout. A glimpse of good news from the disaster's aftermath."
- Full Article Source
01/12/11 -
Universities Collaborate On Air-Purifying Dress
"From the ecouterre article: 'We have dresses to impress, for success, even to kill, but "Herself" must be the first drapery number to clear the air. A collaboration between the University of Sheffield, London College of Fashion, and the University of Uls
ter, the sweeping gown is part of a larger project to engage the public in the science of environmental pollution. "Catalytic Clothing" explores how textiles can improve ambient quality, and the self-described textile sculpture, is the first prototype to
emerge. Highly experimental, according to the designers, "Herself" is designed to illustrate how fabrics can eliminate pollutants so we can "breathe more beautifully."'"
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
R.I.P. Pioneer Alt Science researcher Walter (William) Baumgartner
Last Wednesday, December 29, William Baumgartner’s dear wife Margery (Maggie) Baumgartner told me that he had passed over, in hospital in Kelowna which is a city in the interior of British Columbia. I lost a wise mentor who was a very special soul, and th
e world lost much of his vast store of insights about the works of Viktor Schauberger, Walter Russell, John W. Keely and Nikola Tesla. He did leave a collection of writings, however.
Eighty years ago he was christened Walter Baumgartner (but changed his name to William in 1993). As a child and as a teenager in Bavaria, he felt closer to truth when out skiing the Alps or mountain climbing than when sitting bored in school. His schoo
l teachers, exasperated at his constant questioning, quoted books written by authorities. “But you always search;” he told me. “You have a feeling something is not right in this whole scientific edifice.” He nevertheless went on to get a mechanical engine
ering degree from Technisches Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. He pioneered in New-Energy print media by publishing the magazine Energy Unlimited from 1977 to 1987, followed by Causes newsletter co-written with Rhetta Jacobsen. They were teaching worksho
ps when I met them in 1986.
Baumgartner described the vortex as “Nature’s Tool with which it creates anything it chooses.” Human technologies can copy the natural processes, he said, if we recognize nature’s movements. “In the center of the vortex you have the invisible shaft. Th
e shaft accumulates ether energy. You have to create a steady flow out of the void, or space fabric, or ether or whatever you want to call it.” He coined a name for that creative process: vortex mechanics. He was certain that the etheric energy of the vac
uum of space is very real. “With our machinery today we dissipate this force so it never accumulates or flows steadily.”
His hands-on work was varied. Over the years he built large hydraulic turbines, Tesla’s mechanical oscillator, ozone equipment, a pancake-shaped generator, a levitating platform and other projects such as the Baumgartner Immersion Heater. From 1977 on,
Schauberger’s work was never far from his mind. Across the Atlantic from the visionary Russell who saw the hidden geometry of space, Schauberger had been the hardware designer who brought vortexian mechanics into manifestation.
William Baumgartner worked with Schauberger’s successors in Europe and sent prototypes across the ocean that they had commissioned him to build. Toward the end of his life, Baumgartner concluded that there were easier approaches than Schauberger techno
logy. William experimented then with magnetism and refined his theoretical understanding. He was a visionary who never stopped learning and expressing uplifting concepts that would help people glimpse the larger realities of science.
(Thanks to Michael Heleus for this sad news. Many of us in the alt science community had met and spent time with Walter, before he changed his name to William. The scoop is he changed his name because of legal problems with his wife Rhetta at the time
of their divorce. I don't remember all the details but he had a ranch I believe in New Mexico where he carried out his research. I met him and his very pretty red haired wife Rhetta at a Water and Vortex Conference in Los Angeles back around 1992 or so. I
t was shortly after that they divorced and he changed his name I was told to protect his estate. Really nice guy and he knew so many things. He made the most beautiful hand drawn art of Schaubergers work I have ever seen.
I
remember that conference because Walter, Rhetta, me and two other guys all went drinking one night, we were hungry and the restaurant was closed, so we all had seasoned bar nuts. I was allergic to them (didn't know it) and my face swelled up like a cabba
ge patch doll. The bar was about to close so we were all leaving anyway, so I scampered back to my room and applied cold compresses til the swelling went down. Never had that reaction before to peanuts but these had some kind of seasoning on them. Next da
y Walter asked me if I had to go to the emergency room for a shot.
Walter knew more about Viktor Schauberger and Walter Russell than anyone I ever met. He even setup a 'wasserfadden' to show us how the water in the city was almost 'dead'. It dealt with the zeta potential which is very high in 'living water'...the abi
lity to hold a charge. And when the zeta potential is high the water will actually glow and LEVITATE...it did but not as much as living water. So we lose yet another alt science pioneer and vortex mechanic who didn't live long enough to see practical grav
ity control or free energy. Walter (William) will be missed. - JWD)
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01/09/11 -
The Solar Panels Are Free, as Long as You Pay for the Power
A startup called SunEdison came along and made an offer Staples couldn't refuse—employing a financial model that could give solar the edge it needs if it's to provide a significant portion of the world's energy. Under SunEdison's plan, Staples would get s
olar panels on its retail rooftops at no upfront cost and without any monthly equipment fee. Instead, it would agree to pay SunEdison a preset rate for the power the panels generate over a period of 20 years. "The bottom line is that we're able to purchas
e solar energy off our rooftops for less than electricity off the grid," says Mark Buckley, Staples's vice president for environmental affairs. Staples has now installed about 10 megawatts of solar capacity at more than three dozen sites—the equivalent of
2,000 typical household solar installations. The advantages of SunEdison's plan go beyond the monthly savings relative to the cost of grid electricity, in that it also eliminates the typical risks of ownership. Staples doesn't have to worry that the pane
ls will underperform or be damaged. "If our solar system is a lemon, then you don't have to pay," says Jigar Shah, SunEdison's founder. SunEdison takes the gamble. "You've dumped almost all of the risk onto a third party, while receiving the only attribut
e that you probably really want, which is the clean energy that results ideally in a lower power bill," says Nathaniel Bullard, lead solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. But since the amount of sunshine over a 20-year period in any given locatio
n is highly predictable, the risk isn't as big as it may appear.
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01/09/11 -
"The really fundamental thing turns out to be the quantum vacuum."
This is an extract (Chapter 8) from the book "The Never-Ending Days of Being Dead" by Marcus Chown: Mass Medium - Why are loaded fridges difficult to budge? Because empty space impedes them. It is a very well written, popular-level overview of the topic of quantum vacuum and its connection to inertial and gravitational mass. "...Perhaps the most mind-blowing consequence of gravitational and inertial mass owing their existence to the vacuum is the possibility of modifying both through modifying the vacuum. If a way could be found to change the vacuum in the right way, it might be possible to nullify mass, making an inertia-less drive that could accelerate a spaceship from a standstill to the speed of light - the cosmic speed limit - in the blink of an eye!" Read the whole article here: http://www.calphysics.org/articles/chown2007.html (via zpenergy.com)
(Many of us are way deep into the study and understanding of this. A part of the plans of the Vanguard Sciences Lab Project, still seeking funding from one person or a group who understands the probabilities and potential of multiple successful discoveries. - JWD)
From the Authors site: Why are loaded fridges difficult to budge? Because empty space impedes them. This stubborn opposition of mass to any attempt to change its motion is attributed to a property called "inertia". Every time we try to budge a fridge and it stubbornly opposes our efforts, physicists say we are encountering the fridge's inertia. This kind of mass - "inertial mass" - is the most familiar of all forms of mass. In addition to inertia, however, there is another familiar characteristic which people associate with mass: "weight". The weight of a bag of shopping, for instance, is actually the "force" of gravity acting on it. In everyday life we tend to use the terms weight and mass interchangeably (much to the dismay of physicists). This is possible because the force of gravity is the same everywhere on the Earth's surface so that, if one body has twice the weight of another - as shown by, say, a set of bathroom scales - we can be sure it also has twice the mass. The fact that weight is not the same as mass but also depends on the strength of gravity was obvious to the Apollo astronauts as they bobbed about on the Moon. Although their mass was the same as on Earth, in the weaker lunar gravity their weight plummeted to a sixth of its terrestrial value.
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01/09/11 -
Solar fuel invention seeks industrial partner
Scientists at two Swiss universities have come up with a new way of making carbon neutral fuel alongside American counterparts. They hope it can become commercially viable by the end of the decade. The technique involves splitting water and carbon dioxide inside a reactor by concentrating the power of the sun into the thermochemical cycle. Solar rays are concentrated to a strength of 1,500 suns and directed into a reactor containing a metal oxide called ceria. Water or C02 are then introduced and stripped of their oxygen by the ceria to create hydrogen and carbon monoxide – known as syngas. The syngas can then be easily turned into liquid fuels for both conventional cars and aircraft. The whole process uses only energy from the sun and vehicles would only emit as much carbon as was originally extracted from the water or CO2 to create the fuel in the first place. The next goal is to increase efficiency to levels above 15 per cent, according to Aldo Steinfeld, professor of mechanical and process engineering at ETH. "At the current low rate of efficiency, the fuel we could produce would be much more expensive than conventional fuels,” he told swissinfo.ch. “Who would pay two or three times more to refuel their car with solar gasoline rather than conventional fuel?” “But once we have reached our higher efficiency target we will be well on our way to commercialisation,” he added.
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01/09/11 -
We Have to Wait At Least 200 More Years for Interstellar Travel
Marc Millis a former NASA propulsion scientist, analyzed 27 years of data on energy trends, mission energy requirements, individual energy use and any and all things involving energy to come up with his professional guesstimate, which involved a heck of a
lot of extrapolation. Millis looked at the amount of energy the US has used to launch the shuttle over the last thirty years or so, as a fraction of the total energy available to the country. He assumes that a similar fraction will be available for inter
stellar flight in future. [One] mission is a human colony of 500 people on a one-way journey into the void. He assumes that such a mission requires 50 tones per human occupant and that each person will use about 1000W, equal to the average amount used by
people in the US in 2007. From this, he estimates that the ship would need some 10^18 Joules for rocket propulsion. That compares to a shuttle launch energy of about 10^13 Joules. (And that is why he is a 'former NASA propulsion scientist', for making
stupid pronouncements like this. - JWD)
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01/09/11 -
Cedar Rapids uses invention to scare birds
Cedar Rapids is again hanging "crow coffins" in trees to scare away thousands of the giant, black birds that were converging on a downtown park this winter. The crows are back in force at Greene Square Park, where they hunker down in the trees at night. I
n an effort to get rid of them -- and the droppings they leave behind -- the city is hanging up a piece of crow-chasing wizardry. According to The Gazette, the crow coffin is the invention of former Cedar Rapids city veterinarian Russell Anthony. It's a b
oard with two dead crows on it. The side of the board with the dead crows is visible to the sky so the crows can see it, not to the ground where people might spot it. The boards will be placed about 10 to 15 feet below the treetops, said parks superintend
ent Daniel Gibbins. "It's definitely a different kind of method, but it seems to work," he said. Anthony said in 2006 a friend who hunted crows suggested the coffin idea after a crow he had shot remained high in the tree and other crows instantly stopped
roosting there. Anthony decided to try the crow coffin, and to his surprise, it worked. (Wonder if this would work on pidgeons, sparrows and other pest birds? - JWD)
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01/09/11 -
Steam cycle feels like your pants are on fire
Usually we don’t like to feature projects that have zero build details, saving them instead for a links post. But this steam-powered bicycle is too… peculiar to pass up. In between the rider’s legs is the firebox that contains a wood-fueled fire. Watch th
e clip and you’ll find just how noisy this contraption can be. In addition to the mid-range “chug-a chug-a” there’s also the constant whistle we’d attribute to the pressure regulator. It’s surprising that the whole bike doesn’t heat up, but it must not be
all that bad since the test pilot isn’t wearing asbestos pants. All kidding aside, it looks like this beast has no problem getting up to a running pace (based on the movements of the camera) and that’s thanks to a renewable energy source.
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01/09/11 -
Claim of 'Energy by Motion' Free Energy Machine
Located in Budapest, Hungary, Dr. Leslie I. Szabo and his team have perfected the EBM (energy by motion) technology in the form of a 15 ton generator capable of producing 10MW with 7.5MW excess as sellable energy. After 19 years of R&D, KFT has perfected
the EBM system which combines electrical & heat output when rotated through the magnetic field to produce excess energy. The EBM unit consistently produces more than 40% excess sellable energy and commercial units produce significantly more. (We have cove
red this before but it's worth repeating. Thanks to Bill Ward for the headsup. - JWD)
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01/09/11 -
Size of Plastic waste island floating in the Pacific are 'false'
Angelicque White, an assistant professor of oceanography at Oregon State University, said her research shows that waste in the ocean is a serious issue that must be addressed. The actual amount of plastic in the Pacific would only cover an area less than
1 per cent the size of Texas, her research shows. Professor White said: 'There is no doubt that the amount of plastic in the world's oceans is troubling, but this kind of exaggeration undermines the credibility of scientists.' It is misleading for people
to claim that oceans are filled with more plastic than plankton, she said, and that the so-called 'great garbage patch' of plastic in the ocean between California and Japan has been growing tenfold each decade since the 1950s. Professor White has particip
ated in one of the few expeditions solely aimed at understanding the abundance of plastic debris and the impact on microscopic aquatic life.
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01/09/11 -
Cloak Hides Underwater Objects from Sonar
In one University of Illinois lab, invisibility is a matter of now you hear it, now you don’t. Led by mechanical science and engineering professor Nicholas Fang, Illinois researchers have demonstrated an acoustic cloak, a technology that renders underwate
r objects invisible to sonar and other ultrasound waves. “We are not talking about science fiction. We are talking about controlling sound waves by bending and twisting them in a designer space,” said Fang, who also is affiliated with the Beckman Institut
e for Advanced Science and Technology. “This is certainly not some trick Harry Potter is playing with.” Fang’s team describe their working prototype, capable of hiding an object from a broad range of sound waves… The cloak is made of metamaterial, a class
of artificial materials that have enhanced properties as a result of their carefully engineered structure. Fang’s team designed a two-dimensional cylindrical cloak made of 16 concentric rings of acoustic circuits structured to guide sound waves. Each rin
g has a different index of refraction, meaning that sound waves vary their speed from the outer rings to the inner ones. “Basically what you are looking at is an array of cavities that are connected by channels. The sound is going to propagate inside thos
e channels, and the cavities are designed to slow the waves down,” Fang said. “As you go further inside the rings, sound waves gain faster and faster speed.” Since speeding up requires energy, the sound waves instead propagate around the cloak’s outer rin
gs, guided by the channels in the circuits. The specially structured acoustic circuits actually bend the sound waves to wrap them around the outer layers of the cloak. The researchers tested their cloak’s ability to hide a steel cylinder. They submerged t
he cylinder in a tank with an ultrasound source on one side and a sensor array on the other, then placed the cylinder inside the cloak and watched it disappear from their sonar. Curious to see if the hidden object’s structure played a role in the cloaking
phenomenon, the researchers conducted trials with other objects of various shapes and densities. “The structure of what you’re trying to hide doesn’t matter,” Fang said. “The effect is similar. After we placed the cloaked structure around the object we w
anted to hide, the scattering or shadow effect was greatly reduced.” An advantage of the acoustic cloak is its ability to cover a broad range of sound wavelengths. The cloak offers acoustic invisibility to ultrasound waves from 40 to 80 KHz, although with
modification could theoretically be tuned to cover tens of megahertz. “This is not just a single wavelength effect. You don’t have an invisible cloak that’s showing up just by switching the frequencies slightly,” Fang said. “The geometry is not theoretic
ally scaled with wavelengths. The nice thing about the circuit element approach is that you can scale the channels down while maintaining the same wave propagation technology.”
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01/09/11 -
Brazil's Family Grant program pays the poor
Brazil’s level of economic inequality is dropping at a faster rate than that of almost any other country. Between 2003 and 2009, the income of poor Brazilians has grown seven times as much as the income of rich Brazilians. Poverty has fallen during that
time from 22 percent of the population to 7 percent. Contrast this with the United States, where from 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the increase in Americans’ income went to the top 1 percent of earners. Several factors contribute to Brazil’s as
tounding feat. But a major part of Brazil’s achievement is due to a single social program that is now transforming how countries all over the world help their poor.
The program, called Bolsa Familia (Family Grant) in Brazil, goes by different names in different places. In Mexico, where it first began on a national scale and has been equally successful at reducing poverty, it is Oportunidades. The generic term f
or the program is conditional cash transfers. The idea is to give regular payments to poor families, in the form of cash or electronic transfers into their bank accounts, if they meet certain requirements. The requirements vary, but many countries e
mploy those used by Mexico: families must keep their children in school and go for regular medical checkups, and mom must attend workshops on subjects like nutrition or disease prevention.
The payments almost always go to women, as they are the most likely to spend the money on their families. The elegant idea behind conditional cash transfers is to combat poverty today while breaking the cycle of poverty for tomorrow. They face
a common challenge: how to make them work on a bigger scale. This one is different. Brazil is employing a version of an idea now in use in some 40 countries around the globe, one already successful on a staggeringly enormous scale. This is likely the m
ost important government anti-poverty program the world has ever seen. It is worth looking at how it works, and why it has been able to help so many people.
In Mexico, Oportunidades today covers 5.8 million families, about 30 percent of the population. An Oportunidades family with a child in primary school and a child in middle school that meets all its responsibilities can get a total of about $123 a mon
th in grants. Students can also get money for school supplies, and children who finish high school in a timely fashion get a one-time payment of $330. Do these sums seem heartbreakingly small? They are. But a family living in extreme poverty in Brazil
doubles its income when it gets the basic benefit. It has long been clear that Bolsa Familia has reduced poverty in Brazil. But research has only recently revealed its role in enabling Brazil to reduce economic inequality.
The World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank are working with individual governments to spread these programs around the globe, providing technical help and loans. Conditional cash transfer programs are now found in 14 countries in Latin Am
erica and some 26 other countries, according to the World Bank.
The program fights poverty in two ways. One is straightforward: it gives money to the poor. This works. And no, the money tends not to be stolen or diverted to the better-off. Brazil and Mexico have been very successful at including only the poo
r. In both countries it has reduced poverty, especially extreme poverty, and has begun to close the inequality gap.
The idea’s other purpose — to give children more education and better health — is longer term and harder to measure. But measured it is — Oportunidades is probably the most-studied social program on the planet. The program has an evaluation un
it and publishes all data. There have also been hundreds of studies by independent academics. The research indicates that conditional cash transfer programs in Mexico and Brazil do keep people healthier, and keep kids in school.
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01/09/11 -
New Digital Mailbox Will Let You Receive, Pay & Archive Multiple Bills
The same company that introduced the postage meter 90 years ago has announced it will launch a free digital mailbox in 2011 that will allow customers to pay multiple bills online without remembering more than one password. Pitney Bowes’s multi-plat
form Volly will allow consumers to receive, pay and organize all their bills with bank-like security. In addition to bill-related features like a pay calendar and reminders, customers will also have an option to opt in to catalogs and coupons from the com
panies of their choice…
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01/09/11 -
Modern Utopians of the '60s and '70s
The countercultural communes are the quiet giants of the 1960s, receiving far less attention than the politics, sex, drugs, and rock and roll, even though they helped define the era. There were thousands--probably tens of thousands--of them, and hundreds
of thousands of young counterculturists lived in one commune or another at some point. It was a period in which huge numbers of young Americans rejected the traditional American way of greed-based and emotionally isolated living and searched for a new lif
e path that embodied sharing, mutual caring, and openness. Although not all communes achieved their idealistic goals, their very existence represented a yearning of the human spirit for something better than the status quo and a courageousness to act upon
these convictions with direct action and sustained efforts. There was no precise beginning to the communes of the 1960s era; they emerged organically from the many communes and communal movements that had gone before. Communes dedicated to radical politi
cal activism, to mystical spiritual pursuits, to self-sufficient living, and to liberated sexual behaviors all existed long before the appearance of the 1960s counterculture. But things began to change in the early '60s. All of these new and tentative pro
bings into innovative social structures were pointing the way toward a new wave of communes by 1965, when Drop City suddenly appeared on the southern Colorado plains and attracted both visitors and publicity. The original Droppers--Clark Richert, Gene Ber
nofsky, and Jo Ann Bernofsky--were visual artists who met in Lawrence, Kansas, and took their creativity in unconventional directions. Eventually they decided to start their own new civilization, and on a six-acre goat pasture began to build wonderfully u
nconventional structures--domes constructed from scrap lumber and covered with car tops cut out of junkyard relics. The crazy-quilt domes were pictured in magazines from coast to coast. Something new was clearly going on, whether American society was read
y for it or not.
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01/09/11 -
China’s New Method to Mass Produce Light Water
Natural water has tiny amounts of D2O molecules, deuterium and oxygen, mixed in with the dihydrogen monoxide. Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is an isotope of hydrogen that contains one proton and one neutron. In North America, typical drinking
water has a deuterium concentration of about 150 ppm, roughly equivalent to a few drops per every quart. Water with higher concentrations of D2O is known as heavy water, and it is harmful to plants and animals.
By contrast, water with hardly any D2O — or light water — can boost the immune system and benefit plant and animal health, according to several studies. In one study from 2003, plant photosynthesis increased with the use of light water. A study
involving mice blasted with ionizing radiation showed a dramatic difference in survival between mice that drank light water and mice that drank regular water. It is even used as a cancer treatment for humans: In 2008, researchers reported that light water
noticeably lengthened the lifespan of terminal cancer patients.
Given these positive effects, it seems smart to provide greater quantities of light water for public consumption. But it’s hard to produce — current methods include electrolysis, distillation, a high-temperature exchange method that uses hydrogen sulfi
de, and desalination from seawater, according to authors Feng Huang and Changgong Meng of the Department of Chemistry at Dalian University of Technology in China. These methods are either expensive, inefficient or bad for the environment.
The authors propose a new method involving a platinum catalyst, which quickly removes deuterium from water using cold and hot temperatures, according to the American Chemical Society. The result is water with a deuterium concentration of roughly 125
ppm. The method could be the basis for industrial-scale light water production — and a new way to produce huge quantities of healthier water for the masses. (Loved this, backs up my Rejuvenation and Age Reversal by Conversion of Deuterium Oxide (D20) to Water (H20) written way back in 1991. Some of us are WAY ahead of the pack...lol... - JWD)
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01/09/11 -
Unsubsidized price of solar panels has dropped 30% in three years
Just like other industries, the customer price path is driven by supply and demand. After the spectacular industry global growth of 2010; a more than doubling in market size, the much slower growth rate anticipated for 2011 will cause prices to drop as ne
w supply capacity comes onstream. With the new index methodology that now includes both price changes and the effect of new module models coming in to the survey, the US price reduction of 9 cents is composed of just a 1 cent per watt change driven by pri
ce moves, the other 8 cents is a function of new low price modules entering the survey in January. The average price of new modules coming in to the US survey this month was $2.65 per watt.
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01/09/11 -
Fixing the Rovio battery charging circuit
[Chris] was unhappy with the battery performance of his Rovio. It seems that he’s not alone, so he set out to reverse engineer the battery charging circuit to see if there was a fix. Boy is there, what he found is the diode above, apparently installed bac
kwards when compared to the silk screen diode symbol. Now it’s entirely possible that the silk screen is wrong and this was fixed during assembly. We think that’s unlikely because if the closer of the two diodes was supposed to have the same polarity as t
he one next to it there should have been room to install them both in exactly the same orientation. [Chris] pulled out a soldering iron and changed the diode to match the silk screen. That fixed his problem and he’s now getting better performance than he
ever has.
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01/09/11 -
RAF helmet allows pilots to shoot down enemy jets by looking at them
This £250,000 headset allows RAF pilots to shoot down planes simply by looking at them. The ‘Striker’ Integrated Display Helmet marks one of the biggest leaps forward in attack capabilities in military history. All a pilot has to do is glance at an enemy
aircraft and then steer a missile towards it with his, or her, mind. Targets pop-up in the pilot's visor, at which point he can select by voice command and fire. As long as the enemy's aircraft is in sight - whether that be below, above or to either side
- a missile can be directed towards it. It works by using tiny optical sensors in the Striker helmet, which are then picked up by further sensors in the cockpit. A spokesperson for BAE said: 'An advanced optical head tracker is integrated into the helmet
system to provide a high accuracy/low latency solution for low, medium, and high altitude operations. 'While the system has been designed for the Eurofighter Typhoon, its modular design can be applied to all platforms, both rotary and fixed wing.'
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01/09/11 -
Global spam e-mail levels suddenly fall
Now, only 50 billion spam emails per day: Global spam e-mail levels suddenly fall. The amount of junk e-mail being sent across the globe has seen a dramatic fall in recent months. The volume of spam has dropped steadily since August, but the Christmas per
iod saw a precipitous decline. While the reasons for the decline are not fully understood, spam watchers warn the lull may not last. One possible explanation is that the spammers are simply regrouping ahead of a new campaign. / The vast majority of spam i
s sent by networks of infected computers known as botnets. One of these botnets, known as Rustock, was at its peak responsible for between 47% to 48% of all spam sent globally, said Mr Wood. "We've yet to see any evidence that spam has become a bad busine
ss to be in,” said Paul Wood. In December, Rustock was responsible for just 0.5% of global spam, he said. At the same time, two other prominent spamming botnets, Lethic and Xarvester, also went quiet. One possible explanation is that the spammers are simp
ly regrouping ahead of a new campaign. Spammers are driven entirely by profit, said Carl Leonard, a researcher at security firm Websense.
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01/09/11 -
Seaplanes Launched From Deck of Ship on Canvas Slide (Mar, 1930)
MAIL-STEAMERS not equipped with expensive catapults for launching airplanes at sea will welcome the invention of the Kiwull watersail, so named after its inventor, which is shown in operation in the above drawing. The invention is simple, consisting of a
length of canvas 100 feet long and 32 feet wide which is unrolled from the stern of the ship, as shown, to form an incline down which a seaplane can be lowered to the water. The canvas is held taut by water pulling against a “drogue” or net at the trailin
g end. Seaplanes can also return aboard deck by this means.
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01/09/11 -
Theremin Is a Real Invention Featured on 'Big Bang Theory'
Last night on The Big Band Theory - (The Bus Pants Utilization), Sheldon played a theremin..which prompted p
eople to wonder 'is it real or not? what the heck is it?" So yes it is real. According to Wikipedia, the thermin was originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument control
led without contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. The controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas which sense the position of the player's hands and contro
l oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other, so it can be played without being touched. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. The theremin is almost unique among musical instru
ments in that it is played without physical contact. The musician stands in front of the instrument and moves his or her hands in the proximity of two metal antennas. The distance from one antenna determines frequency (pitch), and the distance from the ot
her controls amplitude (volume). Most frequently, the right hand controls the pitch and the left controls the volume, although some performers reverse this arrangement. Some low-cost theremins use a conventional, knob operated volume control and have only
the pitch antenna. While commonly called antennas, they are not used for receiving or broadcasting radio frequency, but act as plates in a capacitor.
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01/09/11 -
S.A. doc uses own invention to save lives in Haiti
A San Antonio doctor has just returned from a trip to Haiti. His mission: to help save the lives of thousands of people suffering and dying from cholera. The cholera epidemic that started in Haiti in October rages on. The outbreak has now claimed the live
s of 3,000 people. Dr. Larry Miller, an emergency medicine specialist from San Antonio, is trying to help. For 11 days in December, Miller left the comfort of his San Antonio business, Vidacare, and headed to disease-ridden Haiti. He took a device he help
ed create called the EZIO. It delivers direct, rapid IV access into the bone for patients whose veins have collapsed. Dehydration can cause death in hours. “What I hope will be done is that it will decrease the death rate,” Miller said, “because almost al
l the deaths occur because people cannot start IVs. So this won’t stop the cholera epidemic, but it should stem the number of people who are dying from it.” Miller visited 15 major cholera treatment centers. He delivered 1,300 needles and 60 drivers to do
ctors treating the sick and dying. He also taught them how to use the device. The Haitian government is estimating there will be at least 400,000 cholera cases in the first 12 months of the epidemic, a period ending in October.
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01/09/11 -
Whatever happened to Muslim pioneering spirit?
(Muslim means an adherent or follower of Islam. Why must everyone always intermix the ARAB (or whatever) race with the Muslim RELIGION of Islam (approximate origin 620A.D.)? They are completely different things. I have no doubt the ARABS contributed gr
eatly to science, medicine and many other fields, but if you look at history, it appears NOTHING after the introduction and proliferation of Islam. Note in the following article how he intermixes muslim (religion) with arabs (the race)...- JWD)
Movement of ideas and excellence that once shaped the Islamic world has been lost in pointless delusions of grandeur and fruitless debates. An idea can change the world. Who would know this better than the people of the UAE? This young nation is a livi
ng, thriving tribute to the compelling power of simple, yet magical ideas. The restless energy and enterprising spirit of the Emirates to constantly break new ground and build something new and refreshing in this long dormant, sleepy part of the world oft
en reminds me of the pioneering spirit of early Arabs and Muslims.
It was during this period between the fall of Rome (about 476A.D.) and the rise of the European Renaissance (about 1350A.D.), that Muslim civilisation led the world in science and technology and virtually everything else. From the humble coffee beans t
o the crafty game of chess to windmills to clocks to fountain pens to soap to surgical instruments and from quilting or sewing to gunpowder, the list of Muslim inventions is endless. Five hundred years before Galileo discovered earth was round and was dul
y punished for it by the Church, the Muslim scientists had established the spherical nature of the planet.
How would you then explain the current intellectual stagnation? Why aren't Muslims part of the knowledge revolution anymore, let alone leading it? Have they run out of steam as a people and as a civilisation? It's no coincidence that power began to sli
p from Muslim hands just when they stopped exploring and expanding new horizons of knowledge.
Muslims haven't produced one intellectual or scientist of the stature of Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Ibn Sina (Avicenna) in the past many centuries. Why? Because the movement of knowledge and ideas that once drove Muslims and fired their imaginatio
n has lost itself somewhere. A small European nation or a backward Indian state boasts more universities today than all the Arab world put together. All we do these days is spend all our time and energy on pointless delusions of grandeur and fruitless
debates.
Instead of doing something concrete to lift ourselves out of the intellectual morass we are stuck in, we are busy issuing fatwas condemning each other. There's no dearth of talent or resources, human or material, in the Muslim world today. What
it needs is original ideas and men who could translate them into reality. More important, what is needed is an opening of minds.
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
EN-V electric car prototype
First revealed at a Shanghai trade show last year, General Motors' EN-V ("Electric Networked Vehicle") prototype was on show thie evening at ShowStoppers, a satellite event at Las Vegas's CES trade show. Only 150cm long, it manages about 25 MPH, but GM ha
s no plans to bring it into production soon. / The General Motors concept runs on battery power for about 25 miles on a charge, with top speeds of 25 miles-per-hour. The only downside to this pint-sized vehicle is its' inability to withstand a collusion w
ith a full-sized vehicle. Cities could, however, create EN-V-only lanes, or alternatively, create enclosed areas solely used by the vehicle. There is no timeframe yet for when the EN-V will be on the market.
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
TV-B-Gone jacket
Brooklyn based Becky Stern was invited to contribute to a fashion show at CES 2011, so she whipped up this jacket with a built in TV-B-Gone. Wearable tech is cool to begin with, but when that technology is performs a function you'd actually want to use, i
t's even better— and if that function is turning off TVs in public, that's like a high-tech hat trick. I'm going to try to make a version of this at the next eTextiles event at CRASHspace.
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
The Vibrator Bomb Hack
This is the Boing Boing post that introduces you to the phrase vibrator bomb: "A Minnesota man is facing felony charges after police discovered that he had retrofitted a vibrator, turning the sex toy into a homemade explosive device. [...] Waseca Police D
epartment officers also found two other sex toys (a pink vibrator had 'Merry X-mas Bitch' written on it in black ink) among [his] belongings." / According to a criminal complaint, Terry Allen Lester, 37, placed “gun powder, BB shot, and buck shot from sho
tgun shells” into the modified device, which had “black and red wires that connected to a trigger with a battery port,” according to a statement of probable cause filed yesterday in Waseca District Court. Police were alerted to the black vibrator by a wom
an with whom Lester had been living until last week. The device was reportedly included in belongings Lester left behind in the woman’s apartment. Lester, pictured in the mug shot at right, also left behind tools, cords, cables, and the remains of a drill
that was disassembled “to use the parts for the vibrator bomb.”(via boingboing.net)
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
Google working on Star Trek type Universal Translator
Conversation mode in Google Translate - What I want to do today is, I actually want to show you a preview of a feature that we've been working on for a little while—it won't be out for a few months. It's called "conversation mode" in Google Translate. And
for that I'm going to invite my colleague Kyle Overbeck on stage to help me out. Please keep in mind this is experimental, so it may or may not work perfectly.
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
Can sitting too much kill you?
[E]ven if you are meeting current physical activity guidelines by exercising for one hour per day (something few Americans manage on a consistent basis), that leaves 15 to 16 hours per day when you are not being active. Does it matter how you spend those
hours, which account for more than 90% of your day? For example, does it matter whether you spend those 16 hours sitting on your butt, versus standing or walking at a leisurely pace? Fortunately or unfortunately, new evidence suggests that it does matter,
and in a big way....to quote researcher Marc Hamilton, sitting too much is not the same as exercising too little. (if you take only one thing from this post, let it be that quote from Dr Hamilton). / Sedentary behavior is typically defined as any behavio
r with an exceedingly low energy expenditure (defined as <1.5 metabolic equivalents). In general, this means that almost any time you are sitting (e.g. working on a computer, watching TV, driving) or lying down, you are engaging in sedentary behavior. The
re are a few notable exceptions when you can be sitting or lying down but still expend high energy expenditure (e.g. riding a stationary bike), but in general if you are sitting down, you are being sedentary. In fact, individuals who sat the most were
roughly 50% more likely to die during the follow-up period than individuals who sat the least, even after controlling for age, smoking, and physical activity levels. Further analyses suggested that the relationship between sitting time and mortality was a
lso independent of body weight. This suggests that all things being equal (body weight, physical activity levels, smoking, alcohol intake, age, and sex) the person who sits more is at a higher risk of death than the person who sits less.
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
NYT on the controversial ESP paper
The New York Times sums up the controversy around respected psychologist Daryl J. Bem's new paper claiming evidence for precognition. The paper was accepted for publication by the respected Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Lots of other respe
cted scientists are somewhat-respectfully pissed off about it. The paper describes nine unusual lab experiments performed over the past decade by its author, Daryl J. Bem, an emeritus professor at Cornell, testing the ability of college students to accura
tely sense random events, like whether a computer program will flash a photograph on the left or right side of its screen. The studies include more than 1,000 subjects. Some scientists say the report deserves to be published, in the name of open inquiry;
others insist that its acceptance only accentuates fundamental flaws in the evaluation and peer review of research in the social sciences. “It’s craziness, pure craziness. I can’t believe a major journal is allowing this work in,” Ray Hyman, an emeritus p
rofessor of psychology at the University Oregon and longtime critic of ESP research, said. “I think it’s just an embarrassment for the entire field.” The editor of the journal, Charles Judd, a psychologist at the University of Colorado, said the paper wen
t through the journal’s regular review process. “Four reviewers made comments on the manuscript,” he said, “and these are very trusted people.” All four decided that the paper met the journal’s editorial standards, Dr. Judd added, even though “there was n
o mechanism by which we could understand the results.”
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
Silicon Pancreas To Treat London Diabetics in 2011
Pantelis Georgiou and Nick Oliver at ICL have developed a special blood glucose control chip that reacts to changes in sugar levels just like the cells in your body. The 'Silicon Pancreas' mimics the insulin controlling beta cells, as well as the glucagon
controlling alpha cells, normally found in the healthy organ.
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
The Continued Censorship of Huckleberry Finn
"Over a hundred years after the death of its author, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will be released in a censored format, removing two derogatory racial slurs: 'injun' and 'nigger.' The latter appears some 219 times in the original novel but both wil
l be replaced by the word 'slave.' An Alabama publisher named NewSouth Books will be editing and censoring the book so that schools and parents might provide their children the ability to study the classic without fear of properly addressing the torturous
history of racism and slavery in The United States of America. The Forbes Blog speculates that e-readers could provide us this service automatically. Salon admirably provides point versus counterpoint while the internet at large is in an uproar over this
seemingly large acceptance of censorship as necessary even on books a hundred years old. The legendary Samuel Langhorne Clemens himself once wrote, 'the difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter,' and now his ow
n writing shall test the truth in that today." (How pathetic, so much for free speech and language used AT THE TIME. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
Will Touch Screens Kill the Keyboard?
"Next-generation touch-screen devices will embed more haptics, or touch-based feedback, into virtual keyboards. 'A lot of companies are really getting into haptics, [using] source feedback and a sense of touch to try to replicate a keyboard on a display,'
says Bruce Gant, a mechanical engineer at Product Development Technologies, which integrates touch screens into cell phones and other devices for manufacturers. 'If people really get that down and nail that experience, [virtual keyboards] could replace m
echanical keyboards on laptops.' Don't tell that to Motorola, which just introduced the Atrix 4G, and dual-core 4.3-inch smartphone that docks to a laptop with, you guessed it, a physical keyboard."
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
5 Scientific Reasons The Dark Side Will Always Win
The Rebels got lucky. Han, Luke, Leia, that Nib-Nub guy who flew with Lando, all of them should have been death-starred hard in the face by the Empire -- and not just because of the Empire's superior numbers and technology. Darth Vader and his underlings
planned every last subtle detail, right down to the color of the spaceships and Vader's own robot voice, according to what science says works.
#5 - The Color Black Is Scientifically Proven to Intimidate People.
#4 - Thinking Evil Thoughts and Clenching Your Fist Makes You Stronger.
01/09/11 -
New Cars Vulnerable To Wireless Theft
"In a story published by Technology Review, researchers have demonstrated multiple times that they can bypass the security of wireless entry and ignition systems to take a car without the owner's permission. As researchers in the article point out, car se
curity systems will begin have a real impact to every day use if a thief can simply walk up to your car and drive it away. Although this article is light on technical details, a companion article shows how the researchers accomplished the security bypass.
An interesting read, and certainly something that will no doubt be the subject of a new movie any day now."
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
The American Dreem (almost 30 minutes but worth watching!)
How we got into the shape we are in and with suggestions for how to restore the American Dream. (Thanks to Marko for this headups. - JWD)
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
Hackers Find New Way To Cheat On Wall Street
"The high-speed trading exchanges that conduct the business of buying and selling stocks and mutual funds are so fast that hackers can introduce delays of a few microseconds completely unnoticed by today's network monitoring technology — and manipulate pr
ices in the process to reap millions of dollars to the detriment of everyone else, InfoWorld's Bill Snyder reports. This kind of activity creates new reason to distrust Wall Street and shows how the computer networks we all rely on for conducting business
and moving information are ripe for undetectable hacking."
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
Man Arrested For Exploiting Error In Slot Machines
"A man awaiting trial in Pennsylvania was arrested by Federal agents on Jan. 4, and accused of exploiting a software 'glitch' within slot machines in order to win payouts. The exploit may have allowed the man to obtain more than a million dollars from cas
inos in Pennsylvania and Nevada, and officials say they are investigating to see if he used the method elsewhere. The accused stated that 'I'm being arrested federally for winning on a slot machine. Let everybody see the surveillance tapes. I pressed butt
ons on the machine on the casino. That's all I did.' Apparently, slot machine software errors are fairly common. The lesson here seems to be that casinos can deny you a slot machine win any time they wish by claiming software errors, and if you find an
error that you can exploit, you may find yourself facing Federal charges for doing so."
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
Internet ID For Americans - more paranoia
"CBS News reports that the obama administration is currently drafting the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which will be released by the president in the next few months. 'We are not talking about a national ID card,' says Commerce
Secretary Gary Locke, whose department will be in charge of the program. 'We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to mem
orize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities.' Although details have not been finalized, the 'trusted identity' may take the form of a smart card or digital certificate that would prove online users are who they say
they are. These digital IDs would be offered to consumers by online vendors for financial transactions. White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt says that anonymity and pseudonymity will remain possible on the Internet. 'I don't have to get a
credential if I don't want to,' says Schmidt. There's no chance that 'a centralized database will emerge,' and 'we need the private sector to lead the implementation of this.'"
- Full Article Source
An Ongoing Series of Cultural and Personal Observations; by Tom Sutpen, Stephen Cooke, Richard Gibson, Kimberly Lindbergs and Greg Ferrara.
- Full Article SourceITEM #253
01/09/11 -
Thieves in South Africa Hit Traffic Lights For SIM Cards
"Some 400 high-tech South African traffic lights are out of action after thieves in Johannesburg stole the mobile phone SIM cards they contain. JRA (Johannesburg Road Agency) said it is investigating the possibility of an 'inside job' after only the SIM c
ard-fitted traffic lights were targeted. The cards were fitted to notify JRA when the traffic lights were faulty. 'We have 2,000 major intersections in Johannesburg and only 600 of those were fitted with the cards,' the agency's spokesperson Thulani Makhu
bela told the BBC. 'No-one apart from JRA and our supplier knows which intersections have that system.' The thieves ran up bills amounting to thousands of dollars by using the stolen cards to make calls."
- Full Article Source
01/09/11 -
Internet Downloading Costs To Rise In Canada
"According to CBC News, 'Surfing and downloading from the internet is about to get more expensive for many Canadians as internet companies Shaw and Primus have announced plans to impose new fees and caps on internet usage. Over the past year, the CRTC, Ca
nada's communication regulator, let Bell and Rogers start charging extra for customers who download a lot of data. ... Primus and Shaw have said they will begin passing on higher fees to their customers beginning Feb. 1. Primus, for example, rents bandwid
th on Bell's networks and said Bell is inflating the costs for everyone, including them. 'It's an economic disincentive for internet use,' said Matt Stein, vice-president of network services for Primus. 'It's not meant to recover costs. In fact these char
ges that Bell has levied are many, many, many times what it costs to actually deliver it.'"
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
R.I.P. Anne Francis - 1930-2011
Anne Francis starred with Leslie Nielsen in Forbidden Planet, the vastly influential 1956 flick. Her skinny dip scene probably made your dad or grandpa (and maybe mom or grandma) a little tingly. Francis' turn as Alta Morbius, the hot yet innocent daughte
r of Dr. Morbius, was followed up by many other memorable roles, including the mod classic Honey West and two memorable Twilight Zone eps, "Jess-Belle" and "The After Hours." All are worth checking out, but especially Forbidden Planet. (via boingboing.net
) / Actress Anne Francis, who appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies including Forbidden Planet, died in California on Sunday, her daughter told The Los Angeles Times. She was 80. Francis died of complications of pancreatic cancer at a retirement home
in Santa Barbara, California, after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007, said her daughter, Jane Uemura. The New York-born blond was best known for her roles in the 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet opposite Leslie Nielsen and Walter Pidgeon, as w
ell as her title role of a female private detective in the 1960s TV series Honey West, which earned her a Golden Globe.
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
"Nanoscoops" for New Generation of Electric Automobile Batteries
The new material, dubbed a “nanoscoop” because its shape resembles a cone with a scoop of ice cream on top, can withstand extremely high rates of charge and discharge that would cause conventional electrodes used in today’s Li-ion batteries to rapidly det
eriorate and fail. The nanoscoop’s success lies in its unique material composition, structure, and size. The Rensselaer research team, led by Professor Nikhil Koratkar, demonstrated how a nanoscoop electrode could be charged and discharged at a rate 40 to
60 times faster than conventional battery anodes, while maintaining a comparable energy density. This stellar performance, which was achieved over 100 continuous charge/discharge cycles, has the team confident that their new technology holds significant
potential for the design and realization of high-power, high-capacity Li-ion rechargeable batteries. “Charging my laptop or cell phone in a few minutes, rather than an hour, sounds pretty good to me,” said Koratkar, a professor in the Department of Mechan
ical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer. “By using our nanoscoops as the anode architecture for Li-ion rechargeable batteries, this is a very real prospect. Moreover, this technology could potentially be ramped up to suit the demanding need
s of batteries for electric automobiles.”
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
Have scientists discovered how to create downpours in the desert?
Technology created 50 rainstorms in Abu Dhabi's Al Ain region last year. Most of the storms were at the height of the summer in July and August when there is no rain at all. People living in Abu Dhabi were baffled by the rainfall which sometimes turned i
nto hail and included gales and lightening. The scientists have been working secretly for United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They have been using giant ionisers, shaped like stripped down lampshades on steel poles, to gener
ate fields of negatively charged particles. These promote cloud formation and researchers hoped they could then produce rain. In a confidential company video, the founder of the Swiss company in charge of the project, Metro Systems International, boasted
of success. Helmut Fluhrer said: 'We have achieved a number of rainfalls.' It is believed to be the first time the system has produced rain from clear skies, according to the Sunday Times. In the past, China and other countries have used chemicals for clo
ud-seeding to both induce and prevent rain falling. Last June Metro Systems built five ionising sites each with 20 emitters which can send trillions of cloud-forming ions into the atmosphere. Over four summer months the emitters were switched on when the
required atmospheric level of humidity reached 30 per cent or more. While the country's weather experts predicted no clouds or rain in the Al Ain region, rain fell on FIFTY-TWO occasions. The project was monitored by the Max Planck Institute for Meteorolo
gy, one of the world's major centres for atmospheric physics. Professor Hartmut Grassl, a former institute director, said: There are many applications. One is getting water into a dry area. 'Maybe this is a most important point for mankind.'
- Full Article Source
Russian Ionizer Experiment
The experiment took place in downtown Moscow street of Arbat. Scientists targeted the clouds with a stream of ions, using a device similar to an air ionizer invented by Soviet scientist Aleksandr Chizhevsky. The stream of ions was expected to lift clouds to the upper layers of the atmosphere, where they supposedly disperse due to a temperature change. Scientists expected the sky to clear up over an area of about five square km (2 square miles), two or three hours after the experiment. The sky over the test zone cleared up slightly at first, but after the device was switched off it started raining, according to eyewitness reports. The scientists leading the experiment say this only proves the efficiency of the device. You see, we turned it off, and the rain started, said one of them. The scientific community was skeptical even before the test, mainly concerning the power output of the device, which is equal to that of an electric kettle. The scientists leading the experiment say this only proves the efficiency of the device. You see, we turned it off, and the rain started, said one of them. Weather phenomena in the atmosphere, [such as] turbulence, cyclones and anticyclones, are extremely powerful. I wonder how a small device can influence it, said Lyudmila Krasnokutskaya of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics within the Russian Academy of Sciences. What can two kilowatts do to winds, clouds, million tons of water and powerful air currents in the atmosphere? It is unrealistic simply due to energy factors, said Viktor Savrin, deputy chief of the Research Institute for Nuclear Physics at Moscow State University.
01/06/11 -
Best Card Trick EVER!
James Galea at The 2009 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala for Oxfam Australia. Please donate to Oxfam Australia on 1800 034 034 or www.oxfam.org.au
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
Women and alcohol
Here is the abstract of a new paper, "Women or Wine, Monogamy and Alcohol": Intriguingly, across the world the main social groups which practice polygyny do not consume alcohol. We investigate whether there is a correlation between alcohol consumption and
polygynous/monogamous arrangements, both over time and across cultures. Historically, we find a correlation between the shift from polygyny to monogamy and the growth of alcohol consumption. Cross-culturally we also find that monogamous societies consume
more alcohol than polygynous societies in the preindustrial world. We provide a series of possible explanations to explain the positive correlation between monogamy and alcohol consumption over time and across societies.
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
RC pontoon from a toy car
[Kevin Sandom] built this boat using a radio controlled toy car. The two pontoons are recycled from Styrofoam packaging material using some thick wire to connect them and provide a framework for the propulsion and control circuitry. The motor itself is a
hobby outboard, which really only required [Kevin] to develop a method for steering. He walks us through the build process in the video after the break, where we find out that the original toy has a pretty bad design flaw. It seems the car used four AA ba
tteries to drive the motor, but one of the four batteries was also used separately from the other three to power the control circuitry. Running that battery down faster than the others shortens the life of the whole. This is considerably easier than the u
nderwater ROV hacks we’ve seen before. We do think that it would make for a fun weekend project, and we’d bet you’ll get some weird looks for piloting what appears to be garbage around a pond.
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
Scientist haunted by misuse of drugs he invented
David Nichols studies the way psychedelic drugs act in the brains of rats. But he's haunted by how humans hijack his work to make street drugs, sometimes causing overdose deaths. Nichols makes chemicals roughly similar to ecstasy and LSD that are supposed
to help explain how parts of the brain function. Then he publishes the results for other scientists, hoping his work one day leads to treatments for depression or Parkinson's disease. But Nichols' findings have not stayed in purely scientific circles. Th
ey've also been exploited by black market labs to make cheap and marginally legal recreational drugs. "You try to work for something good, and it's subverted in a way," Nichols said. "I try not to think about it." "You can't control what people do with wh
at you publish, but yeah, I felt it personally," he said in a phone interview, explaining that his struggles are probably somewhat similar to those faced by the inventor of the machine gun, although not as severe. The journal Nature published his essay on
line Wednesday.
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
Make the wedding ring speak to her
It’s a nice touch to engrave a heartfelt message on a wedding band, and my couples choose to do so. But you can say a lot more with a 20 second audio message. That’s exactly what [Luke Jerram] did by etching an audio track into this ring. He uses his cust
om-built hardware to playback the message, which you can see in the video after the break. The ring is an Edison Cylinder, which works just like a modern record player except that the media is on a spinning drum (the ring) instead of a rotating disk. We w
onder if this would sound a bit better with a high-end cylinder player. While you’re on [Luke's] page you might as well take a look at his image projecting ring as well. It has a color image slide on one side and a projection lens on the other. Wacky!
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
Navy Pitch for Exotic Weapons Launches at Pearl Harbor
Such as, the already existing 7,000 mph Rail Guns and the already existing speed of light (186,000 miles per second) Directed Energy Weapons. Plus More. Count on it. Always More. Is there ever anything else with these pitch men types? So. What else is new
? I’ve been trying to figure just exactly how to do justice to the standard Pentagon 30 year retirement notices on these exotic weapons engineer/officers for years. These are old weapons programs, pretty much hush-hush. Till now, that is. Trillions of Do
llars. - The proximate causes of the new pitch for money, as the Empire sees it, are the Chinese Commies and the formerly already paid for secret American weapons. Now, this Navy pitch man says it is absolutely necessary; and, simply what is called for n
ext to buy the exotic weapons again. I’m sure the smiling Admiral wants to make us a deal we can’t refuse. Like the Bank pitchmen who held up America in the last few years, he wants Trillions of Dollars now! These guys moan and groan that there is just no
realistic way to defend the giant thousand-foot-long, obsolete, floating airfields against the new “ship killing” Chinese missiles. You see, in China, the People’s Liberation Army simplifies things greatly and coldly calls the eleven huge American Aircra
ft Carriers “Targets”. No. No one has ever seen the Chinese missiles actually work. How do these highly paid Navy guys know the Chinese missiles actually do the job? Ya ready? Because the Chinese People’s Liberation Army TOLD the US Navy they worked. Duhh
… Yea, uh, sure – and I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale, too. It is a good buy at ONLY $42 Billion US Dollars. Then, to top off that tale, the Navy guys also said the Russians said they had a “ship killing” missile, too. Now, it is two against the one
-and-only SuperPower. “Help!” they wail. Send guns, money – buckets of it! – Now! Weaponized radioactive uranium oxide poison gas never, ever goes away … as the one time flourishing populations of Europe re-learn again and again. Every day, ever
y miscarriage, every congenitally deformed infant, every death “before the person’s time”; it is all the same. Europe’s population is in steep decline and, most likely, can not and will not recover. So say the people who should know. Do these new weap
ons sound expensive to you? Well, you are absolutely right if you said “Yes.” These babies will cost Trillions of US dollars to manufacture, ship, install, fire and supply. Yes, with a “T” as in Trillions. Arms manufacturers worldwide are literally lickin
g their chops ready to dive in and pig out. Of course, the standard, well developed Graft and Corruption model will apply. The numbers will be bigger and partially used to solidify the Empire’s Fascist-Democrat and Fascist-Republican political parties’ gr
ips, with powerhouse MindFuck technologies, on a nation of 308 million numbed, befuddled and dumbed down resident consumers. The Empire will expect mass compliance, of course; the “others” that are not “with the program” will be bamboozled and discarde
d with tried and true Divide and Conquer techniques that are as old as time. The Roman Emperor Constantine and German Dictator Adolph Hitler would just be amazed at how these technologies have advanced since the invention of advertising and “focus gro
ups.”
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
Tapping showers unleashes potential
Mr Evans, the inventor, had always been uncomfortable about taking a shower and seeing his bathroom and mirror mist up. He always thought it was "crazy" to release the shower atmosphere and then attempt to get rid of it. Then one day he was waiting for hi
s glass kettle to boil when he noticed that while steam was coming out of the nozzle, there was no steam above the waterline inside the kettle. It dawned on him that steam was created only when moist hot air collided with the cooler air outside the kettle
. "Why not control the hot air?" he thought, and rushed downstairs to cut a sheet of safety glass that fitted the top of his shower. Bingo, Mr Evans had a moist-free bathroom. The dome is made of high-grade, non-porous acrylic with a flange or flat edge
that disperses moisture in the shower - Mr Evans didn't like the cold droplets that fell from his original prototype. Showerdome predicts a dome repays itself in energy savings within three years. It has no moving parts to wear out, costs nothing to run,
is unobtrusive and lasts indefinitely. Because there's no steam in the shower and moisture in the bathroom, the windows do not need to be opened, the heaters and extraction fans do not have to be run, and the mirrors don't have to be heated to remove mois
ture.
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
A Leviathan-Sized Greed Strikes
When a nation becomes greedy, while not a unique event, it is rarely good for the national long-term best interests of its citizens. There is a case already brewing that will be interesting to watch unfold. The largest energy find since the Brazilian de
ep-sea Tupi (new Lulu) field has been announced lately. It is already changing the dynamics of the politics in its area. A nation that has always been energy dependent on imports is now going to find itself an energy exporter. What they do with this ne
w source of wealth will shape their national destiny for the next century. Israel could find its fields undeveloped, as the corporate risk of further contract hostage negotiations scares away capital. They do not have the technology to develop the fields
, and greed has killed more than one major field development before. The hydrocarbons will always be there. What Israel should do, is to embrace a natural gas society. It burns cleaner; it can be used in public and private transportation, & electricity
production. In fact, if Israel were to invest in a fleet of brand new Combined Combustion NG powered electricity plants; they could become the electricity exporter to the region. They have the infrastructure already in place to quickly become a major Ga
s to Electricity exporter.
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
Air Force names new drone after Greek she-monster Gorgon
In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a terrifying female monster with venomous snakes growing out of her head. Her unblinking eyes turned to stone all humans who gazed upon her. How scary was she? Her name derives from gorgós, the Greek word for "dreadful."
But make way for rebranding! Now, she's the inspiration for a multimillion dollar project the Air Force has just deployed to Afghanistan, "a revolutionary airborne surveillance system called Gorgon Stare, which will be able to transmit live video images
of physical movement across an entire town." Gorgon records at 2 frames per second.
- Full Article SourceITEM #268
01/06/11 -
Biological joints could replace artificial joints soon
A team of University of Missouri and Columbia University researchers have found a way to create these biological joints in animals, and they believe biological joint replacements for humans using the patient's own cells aren't far away. Artificial joint r
eplacements can drastically change a patient's quality of life. Painful, arthritic knees, shoulders and hips can be replaced with state-of-the-art metal or ceramic implants, eliminating pain and giving a person a new lease on life. But, what if, instead o
f metal and plastic, doctors were able to take a patient's cells and grow an entirely new joint, replacing the old one with a fully functional biological joint? James Cook, a researcher in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine and Dept of Orthopaedic Surg
ery participated on a research team that created new cartilage in animals using a biological "scaffold" in the animals' joints. The scaffold was implanted in rabbits with a surgical technique currently used for shoulder replacement in humans. The surgery
removes the entire humeral head, or the ball part of the ball-and-socket shoulder joints. The scaffolds are infused with a growth factor, which encourages the host's own cells, including stem cells, to become cartilage and bone cells. The advantage to thi
s technique is that it avoids the need to harvest and implant cells, which requires multiple surgeries.
- Full Article Source
01/06/11 -
Disappearing Car Door
In a controlled environment, accident free world this is a nice idea. Kind of like an underbody gull wing but there were lots of negative comments (edited for clarity);
How do firefighters get people out of (wrecked) cars with regular doors? Jaws of life. Don't tell me the door just pops open if it has been?hit on the side.
It's all good until you try to get out while it is shutting and BAM! You're cut in half.
If I were to be driving through Wyoming or Montana in a winter storm, How would I be able to exit the vehicle? Dukes of Hazard style from the General Lee? The ice would bond the storage pocket shut; if it were to open, the door would be too thick with
ice to retract into it. How about a crash that were to sever power? What about mud? Road salt? This was done in the 70s on the large GM station wagon tailgates, resulting? in the issues above. Especially the accumulation of mud and ice.
I bet the trim inside the door looks well crap.
Nice way to show off, but I dont wanna drive that car in a rainy, windy, freezing day. and revealing everything in the car after the door opens, is unpleasant to me,? no privacy whatsoever.
The concept is? perfect unless you live in a climate where it rains or snows.
So the door slides under? the car and gets scratched by rocks and brush?
Interesting info downloadable as PDF eBooks or sent via snailmail on
People wanted to overthrow the regime - We are the masses in the sit in in Tahrir Square, who ignited the spark of the uprising against injustice and tyranny, where raised by the will of the people, the people who suffered 30 years of oppression, injustic
e and poverty under the rule of Mubarak, and his cronies in the National Party .
Mohamed ElBaradei may well be the face of the opposition movement, but here in this snowy, sleepy Swiss hamlet, far away from the hot and smoky streets of Cairo, is the man who may have been the spark. In his presentation at a faith community meeting here
at the World Economic Forum, Amr Khaled said, "Arab and Muslim youth need to be listened to. No one listens to them. They have dreams. We need to bring out those dreams." For decades it was extremist groups who understood young people best. It's not an a
ccident that suicide bombers are in their teens and 20s. Al Qaeda and its allies target young people. They strike at that soft spot of identity, purpose and pride. They deliver their message in YouTube videos and sophisticated websites. But Amr Khaled was
unwilling to forfeit this rising generation of Muslims to the extremists. And he was unwilling to let their ugliness tarnish his faith. As the Muslim tradition says, "God is beautiful and loves beauty." Khaled started a website and invited young people t
o post their dreams. He put up pictures of Neil Armstrong reaching the moon, the then and now of Dubai, the rebuilding of Germany after the destruction of World War II. These are examples of dreams realized, he said. Hundreds of thousands of Muslim youth
sent Khaled their dreams. "Love your religion," he told them. And once-secular Egyptian youth started to pray again. "Build your society," Khaled told them. And thousands became involved in cleaning garbage from the streets of Cairo and starting rooftop g
ardens. "Cooperate with each other, in your own society and across the world." Christians and Muslims in Egypt started doing joint volunteer projects and attended interfaith conferences Khaled organized. Khaled is beating the extremists on their own terri
tory: media. He is prolific -- television shows, YouTube videos, website posts, Tweets. But all the messages are really just one message. God made you beautiful. God made you powerful. God gave you dignity. God gave you stewardship over this His most prec
ious Creation. Use your beauty, your power, your faith, your dignity to accomplish your responsibility. Be a dreamer. Be a builder. Change your life. Shape your society. Invent your destiny. Before something happens in the world, it has to happen in your
mind. You have to imagine your freedom before you fight for it. You have to believe in your own power to change things before you actually change anything. What we are seeing now in the Middle East is a generation of young people who learned how to love t
hemselves, believe in themselves, change themselves. And now they are changing the world. (Such a guy needs to be supported, a hero for inspiring young people (everyone really) to take control of their destinies, I love that. - JWD)
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Researchers at CSU say they’re finding that plants are at least as good, maybe better, than dogs at sniffing out things like explosives and dangerous chemical weapons. Landscaping plants, for example, can look really nice, but also be programmed to change
color when there’s danger in the air. “If this plant would sense an explosive or an environmental pollutant, it would turn white,” CSU biology professor Dr. June Medford said. “It’s a little slow (right now).” Medford says right now the plants take a cou
ple hours to begin turning white, but she says with more research any kind of plant could be altered to change color in minutes or possibly seconds. “You can do it for a lot of other plant species, but it’s not quite as simple as this,” CSU researcher Pet
e Bowerman said. Researchers dunk the plants in custom-made bacteria that changes the plant genetically to make it sensitive to anything from TNT to radon. “They can detect multiple substances and they can turn different colors,” Medford said. Security at
places like airports could well have an entirely different look if plants are doing the screening. “Instead of that nasty line at DIA that can wind on forever and ever and ever, you would go through a beautiful garden area. Now in my garden area we would
have a variety of plants that would detect a variety of those nasty things that a terrorist might take in,” Medford said. Medford says cameras could detect the color changes automatically to alert security. “We can then take the 10 people that happened t
o go by those plants at that time and those 10 people will be patted down, not the hundreds and thousands and everybody that has to have it done right now,” Medford said.
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PetaPixel sells a set of white-balance cards that are (handily enough) silkscreened with bust-cards 
This whopping handgun, called "The Judge," has been designed to fire shotgun shells. Taurus, who briefly imported the gun from Brazil, has withdrawn it from sale following a visit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. According to
Neatorama, "The Judge shoots .410 gauge shells as well as .45 Long Colt cartridges. 'The Raging Judge', pictured above, goes even further in this approach, firing the much larger 28 gauge shell."
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People of many professions have their own superstitions. Most likely, they did not appear from scratch. Doctors, for example, try not to exchange their night duties. If they do, they will have a tough night, they say. They also try not to have sex the day
before the night duty. There is nothing funny about it because people usually get relaxed and become less attentive after sex. Surgeons have plenty of superstitious beliefs. For example, a surgeon will never operate their relative or a loved one. It is c
onsidered bad luck to operate a patient, whose first and middle names coincide with those of a surgeon. A surgeon identifies such a patient with himself, which increases chances for mistakes during surgery. When putting rubber gloves on, a surgeon starts
with his left hand. If a glove bursts, the operation may not go smoothly. It is also considered a bad sign to sit down on a surgical table, or to pick up a tool from the floor.
"Chrysler announced Wednesday that it would partner with the US Environmental Protection Agency to build and test prototypes of a different kind of hybrid vehicle, one that accumulates energy not in a battery pack but by compressing a gas hydraulically. T
he system in question, originally developed at the EPA labs, uses engine overrun torque to capture otherwise wasted energy, as do conventional hybrid-electric vehicles. The engine is Chrysler's standard 2.4-liter four-cylinder, the base engine in its mini
van line. But rather than turning a generator, that torque powers a pump that uses hydraulic fluid to increase the pressure inside a 14.4-gallon tank of nitrogen gas, known as a high-pressure accumulator."
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Scientists claim they have found a way to turn off our understanding of right and wrong – by using magnets. When special kinds of magnets are held up to a person’s head they can disrupt the neural centre responsible for morality, tests showed. A team from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology first asked 20 volunteers to rate actions on a scale from one (morally forbidden) to seven (permissible). Each subject was then asked similar questions while transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was being appl
ied to their brain’s right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ). The findings, published in the Proceedings of the U.S. National Science Academy journal, found that they could not switch off our morality sensors altogether – but they could drastically alter wh
at we believe to be permissible. During the tests, each participant considered 48 types of moral scenarios told via 192 different stories so that they would be no repetition. They also watched 24 separate videos, after which they had to judge the level of
permissibility.
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Volkswagen has made a car it says can travel 313 miles on a gallon of diesel, and that emits just 24 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled. The XL1, which seats two adults, combines a 0.8 litre two cylinder diesel engine with an electric motor
. The car is constructed around a carbon fibre reinforced polymer monocoque to reduce the weight to just 795 kilos. On the engine front, electrification is becoming mainstream even though pure electric cars are expected to remain niche products for decade
s yet. Instead, carmakers are increasingly combining conventional solutions, such as petrol or diesel engines, with battery-powered solutions. "All sorts of mixes will come to the fore," said Jim O'Donnell, BMW North America's chief executive, in a
n interview with BBC News. The Volkswagen XL1 is to be formally unveiled at the Qatar motor show on Tuesday night. The carmaker says it can accelerate from nought to 100 kilometres per hour (60 miles per hour) in 11.9 seconds.
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"Despite the fact that under President Barack Obama's space policy, Americans will not be going back to the moon any time soon, discussions are occurring about what, if any, military value the Earth's nearest neighbor has. Opinions, as can be expected, va
ry on the subject." / Comments: #1 - Are you reading this, The U.S. Government? The moon is of endless strategic military value! You could be the most powerful military on earth if you had the most advanced space programs. Divert some of that ridiculously
high military funding toward space programs, as much as you can spare! #2 - You don't need nuclear weapons from the moon, nor toxic weapons either. Apparently the moon has a rich supply of these mysterious city-killing weapons called "rocks" which, when
catapulted out of the moon's gravity well naturally fall into Earth's. The Earth's gravity operates on the mass of the rocks, accelerating them to great terminal energy - enough to look as much like nuclear weapons as makes little difference. Done with su
fficient precision, or simply enough quantity, it should be more than enough force to get the Earth to capitulate. Scary thought: the entire moon is made up of these disastrous weapons of mass destruction, which require no fine art to deploy. I read a boo
k about it once, a long time ago. Wish I could remember the title. Odd note of geek trivia: the "Toynbee Tiles" enigma is precisely about this.
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A remote video surveillance system captured drug smugglers using a catapult to launch packages of pot over the Mexico/US border. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, US National Guard troops coordinated with Mexican authorities to halt the ope
ration. / On Friday evening, National Guard troops operating a remote video surveillance system at the Naco Border Patrol Station observed several people south of the International Boundary Fence preparing a catapult and launching packages over the Intern
ational Border fence, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Border Patrol agents working with the National Guard contacted Mexican authorities, who went to the location and disrupted the catapult operation. The camera showed the individuals fle
eing the area before they could be intercepted by Mexican authorities. The Mexican officials seized about 45 pounds of marijuana, a sport utility vehicle, and the catapult device.
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The Sahara Forest Project’s (SFP) first facility will be located on a 2,000,000 square meter (21,527,821 sq. ft.) plot of land in Aqaba, a coastal town in the south of Jordan where it will be a test bed for the use of a combination of technologies designe
d to enable the production of fresh water, food and renewable energy in hot, arid regions. The main pillars of the project are saltwater greenhouses, concentrated solar energy, and cultivation of traditional crops along with energy crops such as algae, wh
ich all come together in one location to solve a whole range of environmental problems. The SFP would use saltwater greenhouses to grow crops throughout the year in desert locations without any supply of freshwater. Seawater is evaporated from grilles at
the front of the greenhouse to create cool humid conditions inside. A proportion of the evaporated seawater is then condensed as freshwater that is used to irrigate the crops, re-vegetate surrounding dry areas and provide water to the concentrated solar p
ower plant. The solar power plant is in turn used to generate electricity to power the pumps to transport the seawater from the Red Sea to the saltwater greenhouse and the fans to circulate the humid air within the greenhouse. The greenhouse will also be
used to cultivate algae to absorb CO2 and provide biomass to be used for energy and food production.
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It's become a TV ritual: Every year in mid-January, around the time of Martin Luther King's birthday, we get perfunctory network news reports about "the slain civil rights leader." The remarkable thing about this annual review of King's life is that sever
al years--his last years--are totally missing, as if flushed down a memory hole.
What's in a name? That's the question at the heart of a class action lawsuit Montgomery, Alabama law firm Beasley Allen filed targeting fast food giant Taco Bell. The lawsuit claims the company uses "false advertising" on its menu and in its advertisement
s. "The complaint alleges that what Taco Bell calls "beef" doesn't meet the minimum requirements set by the USDA to be called "beef" or "seasoned ground beef" or anything of the kind. "Rather than beef, these food items are actually made with a substance
known as "taco meat filling," according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit states that Taco Bell should refer to its product as "taco meat filling" because it contains mostly "extenders" and other non-meat substances. What are these substances? The document list
s water, "Isolated Oat Product," wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch and sodium phosphate as well as beef and seasonings. (How many other big fast food companies use mixes or extenders
but claim beef, chicken or whatever? - JWD)
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Inventor Armando Regusci’s patented motor, basically uses compressed air to run and there is certainly no shortage of air in the world; and the best part is air is completely free. He claims he has tested the engine on cars and motorcycles and have record
ed mileages of over 100 kilometres on a single charge. A typical charge is about 300 litres of air for an average-sized car. Another advantage is, it takes a short time for a complete ‘fill-up’ of air than a electric car, which requires much longer to cha
rge up.
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SkyRower and SkyRide Technology allow you to safely propel yourself through the sky, at up to ten miles an hour, suspended under a monorail. With the Zayed Energy Future Prize being awarded this week in Abu Dhabi, when better to pitch the idea, and who be
tter to implement it than the low carbon capital of the world, Masdar City? Olson visited last week to propose the idea to Masdar, as well as to the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce, Ferrari World, and several other local organizations. Olson envi
sions us humans invading the near earth airspace usually plied only by our two-legged friends, safely suspended from a monorail, and propelled along just by our own pedal power. We would lie back in a recumbent position for maximum comfort and minimum aer
odynamic drag. The idea has many useful applications. Getting people across rivers in place of bridges (hook a bicycle underneath?) and over freeways. But I can also imagine these set up in multi-lane highway systems, clogged with rush hour traffic of row
ers and bikers, following each other a few behind, and about ten feet apart. For many of us, ten miles an hour is a normal speed for how we get to work and back anyway – and then we have to somehow carve out another hour to drive to the gym to make up for
all that sedentary way of life. For those of us who are less athletically inclined, there would be an electric assist that keeps us all at the same lane speed. Without detailing specifics, SkyRide Technology’s chief marketing officer, Adam Meyer says, “o
f course for everyday use or for people not interested in manual effort, there will be alternatives.”
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The Dream Chaser will go into orbit on the nose of a rocket, then land gently on airport runways. Once the space-shuttle program ends this year, the only way to get people into orbit and to the International Space Station will be to buy seats on Russia's
three-person Soyuz capsules. So NASA, through its Commercial Crew Development program, has given $50 million in grants to companies developing new spacecraft capable of carrying people and supplies into orbit and to the space station. The recipient of the
biggest chunk of this money was the Sierra Nevada Corporation, which received $20 million to develop the Dream Chaser. This spacecraft, the size of a business jet, will take cargo and up to eight people into low Earth orbit, where the space station is lo
cated, and then return and land on commercial airport runways. Other orbital spacecraft under development by companies including SpaceX and Boeing are capsules that will use parachutes to descend on land or in the sea. The Dream Chaser has a lifting body
design; it looks something like an airplane without the large wings on the side. Another private company, Orbital Sciences, is also working on a space-shuttle-like lifting body craft. The Dream Chaser's shape, in combination with extensible wheels and mot
ors, will enable it to make a controlled landing on a runway. Sirangelo says that the craft will therefore be able to land on the ground in more places than other vehicles can, and that the gravitational forces to which it will expose passengers—and sensi
tive cargo and scientific instruments—will be less intense. Sierra Nevada, which also makes satellites, sensors, and other components, did not design the Dream Chaser from the ground up. In the 1970s, the Soviets tested a vehicle like it, known as the Bor
-4. The crew of an Australian ship photographed it, and NASA used the image to reverse-engineer a similar craft.
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Looking as though it might be as much at home in the air as on the ground, a motor truck propelled by air sucked through a wind tunnel is testing principles that may revolutionize the building of dirigibles. Air is drawn into its concave, funnel-shaped fr
ont by a small propeller and is forced out at the rear with tremendous velocity, sending the car rocketing across the earth. Testing it on the Kansas City airport, its inventor, Thomas M. Finley of St. Louis, said he attained a speed of forty-seven miles
an hour from a standing start in a half mile. If this propulsion principle were applied to dirigibles, propellers would suck air into a hollow nose and thrust it back through a tunnel in the middle of the bag, creating a vacuum at the front instead of pus
hing against air pressure.
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The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will soon test and evaluate several pre-production prototypes of a "stunning" new invention that is reminiscent of Robocop armor. The BodyGuard, an innovative self-defense weapon worn on the non-dominant forearm
, will enable a cop (or prison guard or soldier) to deliver a less-than-lethal electrical shock to any aggressor who attacks. More important, however, is that the menacing sight and sound of the electrical arc that, when activated, will jump between elect
rodes near the wrist should startle or frighten the aggressor, and hopefully dissuade him from approaching. The basic BodyGuard includes a high-impact plastic arm shield, an ECD, and a high-powered LED flashlight. Brown says more advanced versions of The
BodyGuard can include a still camera, a video camera, a radio, a laser pointer, a communications device that will allow the wearer to both transmit and receive live video, automated license plate readers, and perhaps a heart rate monitor that will alert d
ispatch that the officer is in distress. As the BodyGuard's capability to record video and audio evidence that can be GPS- and time/date-stamped becomes known, the would-be attacker may have another reason to hesitate to commit assault, as the criminal ac
t would likely be captured by the cameras built into the BodyGuard and used to make the case against him in court. Not only will the camera be able to record an encounter, but it will also be able to stream live video back to the station or emergency call
center. Other police officers who respond to assist may be able to see and hear much of what transpires on their laptop in their vehicle before they arrive at the scene. They will know, for example, who to arrest. Using the natural defensive motion or po
sture of fending off an attacker with the non-dominant arm – Mr. Brown describes it as a "spontaneous primal action" – the wearer would squeeze his hand to activate a pressure pad switch in the glove. This would trigger a loud arc of electricity between t
he electrodes just above the wrist area. And when we say "loud," we mean LOUD. Mr. Brown says it sounds like an M-80 firecracker going off. In addition to the arc between the electrodes, the "hot bar" centered on the shield would be electrified as well.
For example, as an arm shield worn like a glove, the BodyGuard cannot be dropped or taken away and then used against the officer. Because it would incorporate a video camera, wireless transmitter, and global positioning, it could alert the police communic
ations center when activated to summon back up, as well as transmit real-time video intelligence. The device would have a safety mechanism on the inside of the arm shield in the form of a pin that, like the pin on a grenade, would be removed before the el
ectrical components could be activated.
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From Roger's Security Blog, a sterling physical embodiment of every stupid "security" measure we find online 
Interviewing someone over the phone is never easy, and it is a task that has been made a bit more difficult since the switch to mobile phones. I was originally hopeful when a previous reviewer devised a way to record cell phone interviews while wearing a
hands free headset using parts found at Radioshack. But I wanted something simpler. With a little bit of research I discovered the Olympus TP-7; a miniature microphone that slips into your ear and plugs into your recording device (or computer) and enables
easy recording of phone calls. At $11 it seemed like a low risk move to try one out.
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Scientists in New Mexico have successfully bred a bell pepper to a jalapeno to create a new, larger, medium-hot version of the jalapeno. What's the point? Poppers, my friends. Poppers. The breeding program was specifically aimed at meeting America's growi
ng demand for ever-more-massive, cheese-stuffed, deep-fried peppers. 
This gadget is a barebones adapter for mildly tech-savvy people to connect a 2.5" or 3.5" hard drive to your computer's USB port. I've been using it for about six months, and have attached a variety of drives (IDE and SATA) to my Mac, to a PC, to a Virtua
lBox Windows VM, and to a dedicated NAS box running Linux. I've consistently used it without installing dedicated drivers (and for that matter, without reading the installation guide which is provided on CD-ROM). For the same money (about $20) you could g
et a USB enclosure that keeps your drive better protected, but then you'd be locked into one specific drive size and connector type. The Vantec adapter is flexible across several drive types (2.5" v. 3.5", SATA v. IDE) , and comes with adapters for both t
he data and power connections.
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Russia may become the first country to build a near-orbit hotel. Sergei Kostenko, the head of Orbital Technologies, stated that a commercial space station may accept first clients already in 2015-2016. The station will offer the comfort of hotel suites, n
ot just inflatable rooms, as some American competitors offer. The Russian station will have four cabins. They will have large windows so that the guests could always enjoy the beauty of space 24/7. The hotel will be able to accommodate up to six tourists
at once. In addition to space tourists, the commercial station will open its doors for researchers. It will also be possible to use the station as a shelter for ISS crews in case of emergency. The United States is also working on a similar project. The Am
ericans are developing the CSS Skywalker project. A day on orbit will cost a tourist a million dollars. The price does not include transportation costs. Will Russian spaceships be able to cope with such a serious task? Igor Afanasyev, an editor with News
of Cosmonautics magazine, told Newsinfo website that Russia's Energia Corporation does not hold the capacity to produce more spaceships that it does now. "The ships are hardly enough to organize flights to the International Space Station, and we would hav
e to expand the production to deliver tourists to space hotels," Afanasyev said. "Neither the Russian, not the American space systems are capable of servicing a large number of space tourists today. One has to build larger spaceships, something like space
shuttles of new generation. It goes without saying that developing new spaceships costs a lot of money. This is not really business yet, it's just an offer right now. The only kind of space tourism that is economically justifiable today is suborbital tou
rism, but it has not had a flight yet," he said.
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"Our reaction to the music that we love stimulates the flow of dopamine into certain sections of the brain, concludes a new study out of McGill University. The findings 'help to explain why music is of such high value across all human societies,' the scie
ntists note." / The researchers followed the brain patterns of test subjects with MRI imaging, and identified dopamine streaming into the striatum region of their forebrains "at peak emotional arousal during music listening." Not only that, but the scient
ists noticed that various parts of the striatum responded to the dopamine rush differently. The caudate was more involved during the expectation of some really nice musical excerpt, and the nucleus accumbens took the lead during "the experience of peak em
otional responses to music." In other words, just the anticipation our favorite passage stimulates the production of dopamine. "Our results help to explain why music is of such high value across all human societies," the writers conclude.
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ONE of the most deplorable, disheartening and distressing results of the War is our crop of cripples. The cruelly maimed, the pathetic blind, the derelicts who have lost legs or arms in the bestial, bitter game, are figures of sorrow. They affect every de
cent-minded man or woman with an overshadowing sense of resentment and protest at the futility of it all. There are, in various Government institutions scattered throughout the country, and in homes where they are more or less dependent, thousands upon th
ousands of shell-shock victims, in every conceivable stage of abnormalcy. They are being treated by Government doctors, and by physicians in private practice, in the main with but little success. They get the bromides, hyocine, strychnine, caffeine, and t
heir other drugs regularly enough. But not a very large percentage of them are really cured—even though they may be discharged as cured after many months of treatment. For one principal cause of the condition has not been removed. This cause is toxemia
. 
According to Ares blog, the Blackswift program is being reanimated indeed. DARPA will take into consideration the experience of 2010: the first successful flight of the X-51 hypersonic missile, the unsuccessful launch of the HTV-1 hypersonic drone and the
orbital flights of reusable X-37B spacecraft. America plans to build the first prototype of Blackswift aircraft by 2016. The vehicle is likely to be passed into service during 2021-2025. Some experts ironically say that one should install engines of thre
e different types to make the aircraft fly at the speed of 6 Max. A turbojet engine would be needed for the take off and initial acceleration. A jet engine would then be needed for the plane to develop the declared hypersonic speed. Finally, the vehicle s
hould be equipped with a supersonic combustion ramjet to continue flying at this speed. American engineers hope to solve these problems and create a compound engine which would switch between several modes during operation. "The Americans believe that the
ir new hypersonic weapons will minimize possible threats from both Russia and China. As recent experience shows, the projects are quite realistic. However, it will take them years to get the projects into shape. Russia and China may use this time to think
about responsive measures. In Russia, it will be possible only if we have professionals at the head of the national armed forces. For the time being, we spend up to ten billion rubles to purchase elite cars for generals, hundreds of millions of euros to
purchase Mistral vessels, which no one needs in the country, and we don't think of the future at all," the expert said.
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One of the greatest inventions ever: Laptop self charge cable. 
Publication number: US2011005506 (A1)
Publication number: WO9520816 (A1)
The physical length of an ordinary laser cannot be less than one half of the wavelength of its light, which limits its application in many industries. Now the Spaser, a new invention developed in part by Tel Aviv University, can be as small as needed to f
uel nano-technologies of the future. "Spaser" is an acronym for "surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation" -- and despite its mouthfilling definition, it's a number one buzzword in the nanotechnologies industry. The Spaser has bee
n presented at recent meetings and symposia around the world, including a recent European Optical Society Annual Meeting. Spasers are considered a critical component for future technologies based on nanophotonics -- technologies that could lead to radical
innovations in medicine and science, such as a sensor and microscope 10 times more powerful than anything used today. A Spaser-based microscope might be so sensitive that it could see genetic base pairs in DNA. It could also lead to computers and electro
nics that operate at speeds 100 times greater than today's devices, using light instead of electrons to communicate and compute. More efficient solar energy collectors in renewable energy are another proposed application. "It rhymes with laser, but our Sp
aser is different," says Prof. Bergman, who owns the Spaser patent with his American partner. "Based on pure physics, it's like a laser, but much, much, much smaller." The Spaser uses surface plasma waves, whose wavelength can be much smaller than that of
the light it produces. That's why a Spaser can be less than 100 nanometers, or one-tenth of a micron, long. This is much less than the wavelength of visible light, explains Prof. Bergman.
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What this does is present the crappy alternative to not doing the dishes without placing any blame. Rather than being preoccupied with an accusation, your roommate is left to only consi
der the alternative. This is how reverse psychology can be effective, so long as you say it like you mean it... (You might also be interested in 
CBS News poll finds that Americans strongly prefer cutting spending to raising taxes to reduce the federal deficit. While 77 percent prefer to cut spending, just nine percent call for raising taxes. Another nine percent want to do both. Yet most Americans
could not volunteer a program they'd be willing to see cut in order to reduce the deficit - only 38 percent could name a program they would support cutting. The top responses were military/defense (six percent), Social Security/Medicare (four percent) an
d welfare/food stamps (four percent).
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NEW possibilities in the line of aerial sport are indicated by the “Unicycle” (single-wheel) glider illustrated above, and intended to be driven by the operator, either on the ground or in the air, through pedals and gears. The sketches on this page, adap
ted from the patent drawings, show the method of applying the power suggested by the inventor; but other designs may readily occur to the mechanically-minded reader. As will be seen, the wheel, with its large diameter, though light construction, permits t
he glider to roll over the ground, while the weight of the apparatus is concentrated below its center; overcoming the top-heaviness which would result if the small motorcycle-size wheel were used. The wheel, with its square central frame, giving four poin
ts of support, is thus the fuselage of the glider; while the tail frame and rear airfoils are standard, as well as the wing. The novelty lies in the propeller; this we must suppose capable of being thrown out of gear, when its use is not required. Like al
l gliders, the unicycle must, obviously, have some method of getting into the air. This may be, perhaps, launching with the aid of a ground crew and a “shock cord,” as illustrated by the artist above, or towing by an automobile—both methods popular in gli
der practice. The patent specifications do not deal with this; but we may suppose a swivel attached to the propeller hub; or even a connection to the frame through a hollow propeller shaft, which is possible with the transmission used here. We may also vi
ew the practicability of launching from an incline, either natural or artificial; perhaps with a light running gear under the tail skid, which would be dropped when the glider took off under sufficient lift. We can hardly assume that human power, which is
on the average not over a quarter-horsepower for sustained effort over any length of time, can be expected to drive such a machine like an airplane, steadily and continuously, regardless of wind. It would, on the other hand, serve to apply an additional
component force for the maneuvering of the glider, when necessary, to take advantage of changing currents. This would make the man-bird more nearly the equal of the feathered fliers which glide, it is true, but are also able to engage in actual flight und
er their own power, when necessary. The technique of the combination of propelled and gliding flight would, however, differ from that of gliding pure and simple; and would require special practice in its students to meet their changed relation to the air
currents. The construction of the glider itself, as the drawings show, is comparatively simple. The wheel itself must be light, and the tire not too heavy; but neither has to sustain a great amount of weight. The frame must be sufficiently rigid under the
applied stress; other parts of the machine might be of the lightest construction, and demountable for transportation. Another model, described by the inventor, is to be equipped with front and rear propellers, but without airfoils, and thus limited to op
eration on the ground like a bicycle; while still another, with a small rear wheel like the “high” bicycles of the ’80s, is intended only as a toy. The perfecting of the cycle-glider, undoubtedly, would add another to the twentieth-century recreations, re
quiring youth and enthusiasm, rather than high cost. The glider, requiring cooperation in its handling, is especially adapted to operation by a club of aviation fans.
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One day Sam Pardue noticed the seal around his refrigerator, and Indow Windows was born. The inserts are made out of acrylic glazing edged with a spring bulb. When you press the insert into place, the spring bulb compresses, holding the glazing securely i
n place, just like a refrigerator door. He has a patent pending on the design. Pardue won't reveal sales figures, but he says the company installs Indow Windows in several locations each. Buildings are the number one consumers of energy in the United Sta
tes, and windows are the number one source of energy loss from buildings. Pardue says 55 million American homes still have single pane windows. About 650,000 of those residences are in Oregon. The inserts are effective at retaining heat. Portland State Un
iversity's Green Building Research Laboratory found that they provide 94 percent of thermal protection of double-pane windows. They also dampen sound. Pardue says the Indow Windows can be left up all year, or easily removed to catch a fresh summer breeze.
A four-foot by three-foot window insert costs about $150, installed, compared with $450 to $700 for a double-pane window. Indow Windows is selling exclusively in Portland for now, but Pardue sees it becoming a national business in the future.
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The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion. In modern times the first to speak out for prison reform, for humane treatment of the mentally ill, for abolition of cap
ital punishment, for women's right to vote, for death with dignity for the terminally ill, and for the right to choose contraception, sterilization and abortion have been freethinkers, just as they were the first to call for an end to slavery. The Foundat
ion works as an umbrella for those who are free from religion and are committed to the cherished principle of separation of state and church.
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A Kansas farm wife called the local phone company to report her telephone failed to ring when her friends called - and that on the few occasions, when it did ring, her dog always moaned right before the phone rang.
"When the Patriot Act was first signed in 2001, it was billed as a temporary measure required because of the extreme circumstances created by the terrorist threat. 
Pondering Whither America, I reflected on a story, probably apocryphal but which I am going to believe because I like it, about catching monkeys. Tribesmen somewhere craft a heavy pot with a hole in it large enough that a monkey could insert an open hand,
but not withdraw a closed fist. They then put monkey food in the pot. The monkey reaches in, grabs the food and, refusing to let go when the hunters approach, is caught and eaten. Here we have our politics in a paragraph. The American national monkey can
’t let go. The party is over, boys and girls, but we aren’t going to adapt. For example: When people recently found that they could no longer afford the SUVs, the McMansions, the buying of absurdities in a frenzy of competitive consumerism, they just put
it on the credit card. The monkey can’t let go. And now they are screwed. Same-same domestic policy. The US has played War-on-Drugs for half a century, with no results but to make drugs an integral part of the economy. The evils engendered are great. Yet
the monkey can’t let go.
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If you're reading this, there's a pretty good chance that you're one of the weirdest people on Earth. Don't be insulted, though -- most of your friends and acquaintances probably are too. Recent psychological research suggests that people from Western, ed
ucated, industrialized, rich, and democratic societies -- WEIRD, for short -- not only live differently from the vast majority of the world's population, but think differently too. Does this really matter? Aren't we all the same, after all? Not really, it
turns out. WEIRDos tend to be more individualistic and more competitive than people from non-industrialized Asian and African societies. In tests measuring how groups of people work together, Westerners -- and Americans in particular -- are far mo
re likely to look out for themselves. They even perceive space differently. When viewing the classic Müller-Lyer illusion (>--< vs. <-->), Americans are far more often and more easily fooled than Africans, possibly as a consequence of living in a world of
concrete square angles rather than natural shapes. But while undergrads in Wisconsin clearly perceive the world differently from Masai warriors or Vietnamese farmers, psychologists continue to make sweeping generalizations about how the human mind works.
For example, the notion that choice is unquestionably a good thing is a very American idea, says Heine, "yet psychologists have traditionally assumed that everyone wants to go to Starbucks and choose one of 10,000 different permutations of coffee.
"
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Will steam power give way to compressed air for driving locomotives and hauling fast passenger trains? That is the vision of William E. Boyette, of Atlanta, Ga., whose amazing challenge to the iron horse—a monster truck-shaped locomotive propelled by comp
ressed air—was about to undergo a trial run between Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fla., at this writing. The forty-foot locomotive, illustrated above, is designed to attain a maximum speed of 125 miles an hour. Its power is obtained from air compressed to a p
ressure of 400 pounds to the square inch and carried in tanks behind the cab. Should the pressure in the tanks drop below 360 pounds, a pump operated by electric storage batteries automatically replenishes them. Besides high speed, Boyette claims the adva
ntage of exceptional economy in operation.
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Most sous vide (soo-veed) cooking machines are commercial models that cost north of $2,000, and the first "home" version, the countertop SousVide Supreme, is priced in the neighborhood of $450 (not including vacuum sealer), which is still a steep investme
nt for something that essentially keeps water warm. I decided to build a better device on the cheap. Behold, the $75 DIY Sous Vide Heating Immersion Circulator! By scrapping together parts from eBay and Amazon, I created a portable device that heats and c
irculates water while maintaining a temperature accurate within 0.1°C. And unlike the SousVide Supreme, it mounts easily onto larger containers, up to about 15 gallons, for greater cooking capacity. The water is heated by three small immersion heaters and
circulated by an aquarium pump to keep the temperature uniform. An industrial process temperature module controls the heaters, and an eye bolt lets you clamp the entire apparatus to the rim of a plastic tub or other container. To cook sous vide, you also
need a vacuum sealer, which this project does not include. I bought a good one new for about $112.
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"Move over Ben Franklin, we finally have a replacement for bifocals. Virginia-based Pixel Optics has developed a composite lens that can change the range of focus electronically. The emPower! glasses were created in cooperation with Panasonic Healthcare,
and allow you to switch between long distance and short distance vision in a split second. Rather than having a lens divided into two sections, emPower! uses an LCD overlay that can change the focal length of the glasses via electric current. When the LCD
layer is off, your lenses are good for intermediate/long distances. Turn the LCD layer on, and a section of the lens is suddenly magnifying close-up images – perfect for reading."
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"It may not seem like it, but 2010 has tied 2005 as the warmest year since people have been keeping records, according to data from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. The two years differed by less than 0.018 degrees Fahrenheit. That
difference is so small that it puts them in a statistical tie. In the new analysis, the next warmest years are 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007, which are statistically tied for third warmest year. The GISS records begin in 1880." Adds jamie: "This was the
34th consecutive year with global temperatures above the 20th century average — 0.62 +/- 0.07 C above, to be precise. It was the wettest year on record too, according to the Global Historical Climatology Network."
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Inventor Jackie Stuart has developed what he calls a linear generator based on the Faraday principle, named after the 18th-century physicist Michael Faraday, who is best known for his discoveries of electro-magnetic induction and the laws of electrolysis,
his biggest breakthrough being the invention of the electric motor. "Jamaica is surrounded by water and the wave motion is there 24 hours a day. Most of the principal cities in Jamaica are near to the sea. My invention is basically using the Faraday prin
ciple of a magnetic field on a coil. A coil moving in a magnetic field generates power and all generators are based on that, but most generators developed around the world have a rotary motion," Stuart explained. What he has done with the linear version o
f the generator is to replicate that operation using the up-and-down motion of waves, as against the circular motion of traditional generators, to create energy. So successful is the device that it can generate power from any amplitude of wave. And while
the Jamaican has worked with about a metre range, he says this can be brought to a centimetre and still be practical. "The arm goes up and down and I am moving magnets in between coils and it's generating power outside. I have an electronic piece outside
that can add the power, because if you connect them in certain series and parallel arrangements you can generate power of any amount you want. So the output can be anything you want," the veteran engineer pointed out. "What I am going to do is put an inte
rface between where I can put the generator on land and the motion, and all I will do there is to use compressed air. So my arm, moving up and down, will compress air into a cylinder and I will release the air in accordance with what I want - whatever pac
e I want. It's micro-system, it's not a monstrous thing. An arm that extends out maybe 10-15 feet, a small unit like that, so we can generate maybe two to three kilowatts, but you can have multiples of these along a shoreline and generate exactly what you
want. It can be produced by local people - very cost-effective for that technology."
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Unique data on thunderstorm formation in upper atmospheric layers were obtained during a series of geophysical experiments, performed at the International space station. Multispectral optical system, developed in Russia and equipped with highly sensitive
ultraviolet camera, allowed gathering unique information on nature of global thunderstorm phenomena in upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere – elves, red sprites, blue jets and other phenomena, detected in the sky over Equatorial Africa. A series of experime
nts has showed that ultraviolet range was extremely effective for monitoring of global physical events of natural and technogenic origin, as well as geophysical station in the atmosphere and surrounding space.
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By combining the chemistries of ultracapacitors and lithium-ion batteries, a company called Ioxus has created a hybrid energy-storage device that could recharge power tools in minutes and might never need to be replaced. The company says future incarnatio
ns could perhaps be used to capture energy from braking vehicles. Ultracapacitors capture and release energy in seconds and can do so millions of times, but they store only about 5 percent as much energy as lithium-ion batteries. The hybrid can store more
than twice the energy by volume of standard ultracapacitors. That's still much less than a lithium-ion battery, but the hybrid can be recharged quickly over 20,000 times as against a few hundred cycles for a typical battery. A power tool using the lithiu
m-ion ultracapacitor would run for only a 15th as long as it would on a battery but would recharge in just a minute. The hybrid energy-storage device consists of an etched aluminum film coated on one side with carbon slurry, which is similar to the electr
ode found in an ultracapacitor. The other electrode, on the other side of the film, is coated not with carbon but with a lithium-ion material, providing more energy-storage capacity. The film is wound into a cylinder to make the finished device. Only one
other company—JSR Micro, in Tokyo—makes hybrid devices of this type, having brought them to market in 2009. The company says its device has three times the energy density of a conventional ultracapacitor and a cycle life of 100,000 recharges.
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The futuristic Ark Hotel has been designed to withstand floods caused by rising sea levels. The floating behemoth is a 'biosphere' conceived as a safe, self-contained haven in case of disaster. Boasting a green, self-sustaining environment for guests, the
shell-shaped hotel would withstand tidal waves and other natural disasters. 
Did you know that a standard camera flash is much too slow to capture high quality images of bullets? A relatively long flash duration results in blurred images of the bullet. By building this air gap flash a bullet can be frozen in mid-air, producing som
e stunning results. There is an element of danger here, and not from the bullet. This flash uses a 35,000 volt capacitor to produce the mini-bolt of lightning which serves as the light source. The unit can be built for a few hundred dollars, which sounds
like a heck of a deal if commercial models really do start at $8k and go up from there.
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Fandi Meng, a Chinese industrial designer has designed a concept generator called the i-Green Bicycle Charging System which can be attached to a bicycle. The i-Green harvests kinetic energy from a moving bicycle and converts it to electricity for powering
small portable gadgets. This is not the first bike-powered charger on the market and the Energy Harvesting Journal has previously reported on the Nokia bike charger and the Copenhagen Wheel. The i-Green device, however, appears to differ in that it incl
udes a portable wind turbine mechanism which could harvest energy from wind at the same time as harvesting kinetic energy.
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An impressive app is now available on the Nissan Leaf electric car and soon to be available on Ford’s Focus Electric, announced today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Here’s how it works: You’re at home and it’s 15 degrees outside. You don’t
want to get into a cold car, so you whip out your smart phone and warm your car to 68 degrees. Since the car is still plugged in, you’re not draining the battery. In summer, on a 100 degree day, you tell the car to be cool when you step in. It’s all done
by way of an app provided by Airbiquity, the same company responsible for the OnStar system and Ford Sync, a service that provides hands-free calling, directions and emergency assistance. The Airbiquity app does other things for electric vehicle owners.
It removes what’s called “range anxiety,” the fear that you’ll run out of juice before you reach your destination. The Leaf will only go about 100 miles on a single charge, so the Airbiquity system tells you first thing in the morning how much of a char
ge you have. It also sends you a text message if you haven’t plugged in your car at night, and lets you know where the charging stations are. The Leaf knows who’s in the car by identifying your phone. Your profile comes up and it shows buttons for the ra
dio stations you want. A different driver steps in and their phone is discovered, along with their preferences. Make changes to your profile and your interface looks different the next time you step in.
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"Russian physicists have come up with a new way to communicate with hypersonic vehicles surrounded by a sheath of plasma. Ordinarily, this plasma absorbs and reflects radio waves at communications frequencies, leading to a few tense minutes during the re-
entry of manned vehicles such as the shuttle. However, the problem is even more acute for military vehicles such as ballistic missiles and hypersonic planes. Radio blackout prevents these vehicles from accessing GPS signals for navigation and does not all
ow them to be re-targeted or disarmed at the last minute. But a group of Russian physicists say they can get around this problem by turning the entire plasma sheath into a radio antenna. They point out that any incoming signal is both reflected and absorb
ed by the plasma. The reflected signal is lost but the absorbed energy sets up a resonating electric field at a certain depth within the plasma. In effect, this layer within the plasma acts like a radio antenna, receiving the signal. However, the signal c
annot travel further through the plasma to the spacecraft." / We wish to transmit messages to and from a hypersonic vehicle around which a plasma sheath has formed. For long distance transmission, the signal carrying these messages must be necessarily low
frequency, typically 2 GHz, to which the plasma sheath is opaque. The idea is to use the plasma properties to make the plasma sheath appear transparent.
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"Dolphins have long been recognized as among the most intelligent of animals, but now the Times reports that a series of behavioral studies suggest that dolphins, especially species such as the bottlenose, have distinct personalities, a strong sense of se
lf, can think about the future and are so bright that they should be treated as 'non-human persons.' 'Many dolphin brains are larger than our own and second in mass only to the human brain when corrected for body size,' says Lori Marino, a zoologist at Em
ory University. 'The neuroanatomy suggests psychological continuity between humans and dolphins and has profound implications for the ethics of human-dolphin interactions.' For example, one study found that dolphins can recognize their image in a mirror a
s a reflection of themselves — a finding that indicates self-awareness similar to that seen in higher primates and elephants. Other studies have found that dolphins are capable of advanced cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, artificial language c
omprehension, and complex social behavior, indicating that dolphins are far more intellectually and emotionally sophisticated than previously thought. Thomas White, professor of ethics at Loyola Marymount University, has written a series of academic studi
es suggesting dolphins should have rights, claiming that the current relationship between humans and dolphins is, in effect, equivalent to the relationship between whites and black slaves two centuries ago."
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"The New Scientist has an article about a new laser developed by a company in Farnborough, UK, that aims to deter modern high-seas pirates. Devised as a 'warning shot' to 'distract suspected pirates rather than harm them,' the meter-wide beam can scan the
pirates' 6-metre skiffs and make it difficult for them to aim their AK-47 or rocket-propelled grenades at the ship." / The "SeaLase" laser, similar to weapons used for crowd control in Iraq and Afghanistan by the U.S. military, has a range of four kilome
ters and becomes harder to look at the closer an attacker comes. At a distance of one kilometer, attackers develop strong nausea and can no longer see, according to Lasersec Systems, the Finnish company that developed the lasers for commercial use. "We do
n't have guns, so we need non-lethal systems to defend yachts," Lasersec CEO Scott Buchter told CNN. Buchter, who recently launched the $104,000 multi-colored laser at Monaco Yacht Show, says the loss of eyesight the laser inflicts is only temporary and t
hat no permanent damage is inflicted. Hi-tech military-grade security systems like SeaLase have become increasingly popular with superyacht owners looking to protect multi-millon dollar yachts on the open seas.
Pirate attacks on oil tankers and other boats in dangerous waters like the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia -- a maritime link between Europe and Asia --have fueled the growing worry that superyachts may be the next target. Because law regarding the
use of deadly force on ships is ambiguous in some countries and the transport of guns is illegal in most international waters -- yacht crews favor the use of non-lethal weapons for security. This has fueled the recent market boom for weapons like SeaLase,
according to Buchter. SeaLase is the latest of these kinds of weapons, which include "L-Rad," a long-range acoustic device that temporarily deafens enemies and the $450,000 "SeaOwl" tracking system, which combines radar and infrared or thermal cameras to
detect incoming threats as far as five kilometers away.
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"An interplanetary trip to Mars could take as little as 10 months, but returning would be virtually impossible — making the voyage a form of self-imposed exile from Earth unlike anything else in human history. What would inspire someone to volunteer? A sp
ecial edition of the Journal of Cosmology detailed exactly how a privately-funded, one-way mission to Mars could depart as soon as 20 years from now — and it prompted more than 400 readers to volunteer as colonists. 'I've had a deep desire to explore the
universe ever since I was a child and understood what a rocket was,' said Peter Greaves, the father of three, and a jack-of-all-trades who started his own motorcycle dispatch company and fixes computers and engines on the side. 'I envision life on Mars to
be stunning, frightening, lonely, quite cramped and busy,' he said. Given the difficulties of the mission, Lana Tao, the editor of the Journal, said she was surprised by the response. 'At first we thought the e-mails were a joke... then we realized they
were completely serious.'"
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Last Wednesday, December 29, William Baumgartner’s dear wife Margery (Maggie) Baumgartner told me that he had passed over, in hospital in Kelowna which is a city in the interior of British Columbia. I lost a wise mentor who was a very special soul, and th
e world lost much of his vast store of insights about the works of Viktor Schauberger, Walter Russell, John W. Keely and Nikola Tesla. He did leave a collection of writings, however.
remember that conference because Walter, Rhetta, me and two other guys all went drinking one night, we were hungry and the restaurant was closed, so we all had seasoned bar nuts. I was allergic to them (didn't know it) and my face swelled up like a cabba
ge patch doll. The bar was about to close so we were all leaving anyway, so I scampered back to my room and applied cold compresses til the swelling went down. Never had that reaction before to peanuts but these had some kind of seasoning on them. Next da
y Walter asked me if I had to go to the emergency room for a shot. 
A startup called SunEdison came along and made an offer Staples couldn't refuse—employing a financial model that could give solar the edge it needs if it's to provide a significant portion of the world's energy. Under SunEdison's plan, Staples would get s
olar panels on its retail rooftops at no upfront cost and without any monthly equipment fee. Instead, it would agree to pay SunEdison a preset rate for the power the panels generate over a period of 20 years. "The bottom line is that we're able to purchas
e solar energy off our rooftops for less than electricity off the grid," says Mark Buckley, Staples's vice president for environmental affairs. Staples has now installed about 10 megawatts of solar capacity at more than three dozen sites—the equivalent of
2,000 typical household solar installations. The advantages of SunEdison's plan go beyond the monthly savings relative to the cost of grid electricity, in that it also eliminates the typical risks of ownership. Staples doesn't have to worry that the pane
ls will underperform or be damaged. "If our solar system is a lemon, then you don't have to pay," says Jigar Shah, SunEdison's founder. SunEdison takes the gamble. "You've dumped almost all of the risk onto a third party, while receiving the only attribut
e that you probably really want, which is the clean energy that results ideally in a lower power bill," says Nathaniel Bullard, lead solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. But since the amount of sunshine over a 20-year period in any given locatio
n is highly predictable, the risk isn't as big as it may appear.
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Scientists at two Swiss universities have come up with a new way of making carbon neutral fuel alongside American counterparts. They hope it can become commercially viable by the end of the decade. The technique involves splitting water and carbon dioxide inside a reactor by concentrating the power of the sun into the thermochemical cycle. Solar rays are concentrated to a strength of 1,500 suns and directed into a reactor containing a metal oxide called ceria. Water or C02 are then introduced and stripped of their oxygen by the ceria to create hydrogen and carbon monoxide – known as syngas. The syngas can then be easily turned into liquid fuels for both conventional cars and aircraft. The whole process uses only energy from the sun and vehicles would only emit as much carbon as was originally extracted from the water or CO2 to create the fuel in the first place. The next goal is to increase efficiency to levels above 15 per cent, according to Aldo Steinfeld, professor of mechanical and process engineering at ETH. "At the current low rate of efficiency, the fuel we could produce would be much more expensive than conventional fuels,” he told swissinfo.ch. “Who would pay two or three times more to refuel their car with solar gasoline rather than conventional fuel?” “But once we have reached our higher efficiency target we will be well on our way to commercialisation,” he added.
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Cedar Rapids is again hanging "crow coffins" in trees to scare away thousands of the giant, black birds that were converging on a downtown park this winter. The crows are back in force at Greene Square Park, where they hunker down in the trees at night. I
n an effort to get rid of them -- and the droppings they leave behind -- the city is hanging up a piece of crow-chasing wizardry. According to The Gazette, the crow coffin is the invention of former Cedar Rapids city veterinarian Russell Anthony. It's a b
oard with two dead crows on it. The side of the board with the dead crows is visible to the sky so the crows can see it, not to the ground where people might spot it. The boards will be placed about 10 to 15 feet below the treetops, said parks superintend
ent Daniel Gibbins. "It's definitely a different kind of method, but it seems to work," he said. Anthony said in 2006 a friend who hunted crows suggested the coffin idea after a crow he had shot remained high in the tree and other crows instantly stopped
roosting there. Anthony decided to try the crow coffin, and to his surprise, it worked. (Wonder if this would work on pidgeons, sparrows and other pest birds? - JWD)
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In one University of Illinois lab, invisibility is a matter of now you hear it, now you don’t. Led by mechanical science and engineering professor Nicholas Fang, Illinois researchers have demonstrated an acoustic cloak, a technology that renders underwate
r objects invisible to sonar and other ultrasound waves. “We are not talking about science fiction. We are talking about controlling sound waves by bending and twisting them in a designer space,” said Fang, who also is affiliated with the Beckman Institut
e for Advanced Science and Technology. “This is certainly not some trick Harry Potter is playing with.” Fang’s team describe their working prototype, capable of hiding an object from a broad range of sound waves… The cloak is made of metamaterial, a class
of artificial materials that have enhanced properties as a result of their carefully engineered structure. Fang’s team designed a two-dimensional cylindrical cloak made of 16 concentric rings of acoustic circuits structured to guide sound waves. Each rin
g has a different index of refraction, meaning that sound waves vary their speed from the outer rings to the inner ones. “Basically what you are looking at is an array of cavities that are connected by channels. The sound is going to propagate inside thos
e channels, and the cavities are designed to slow the waves down,” Fang said. “As you go further inside the rings, sound waves gain faster and faster speed.” Since speeding up requires energy, the sound waves instead propagate around the cloak’s outer rin
gs, guided by the channels in the circuits. The specially structured acoustic circuits actually bend the sound waves to wrap them around the outer layers of the cloak. The researchers tested their cloak’s ability to hide a steel cylinder. They submerged t
he cylinder in a tank with an ultrasound source on one side and a sensor array on the other, then placed the cylinder inside the cloak and watched it disappear from their sonar. Curious to see if the hidden object’s structure played a role in the cloaking
phenomenon, the researchers conducted trials with other objects of various shapes and densities. “The structure of what you’re trying to hide doesn’t matter,” Fang said. “The effect is similar. After we placed the cloaked structure around the object we w
anted to hide, the scattering or shadow effect was greatly reduced.” An advantage of the acoustic cloak is its ability to cover a broad range of sound wavelengths. The cloak offers acoustic invisibility to ultrasound waves from 40 to 80 KHz, although with
modification could theoretically be tuned to cover tens of megahertz. “This is not just a single wavelength effect. You don’t have an invisible cloak that’s showing up just by switching the frequencies slightly,” Fang said. “The geometry is not theoretic
ally scaled with wavelengths. The nice thing about the circuit element approach is that you can scale the channels down while maintaining the same wave propagation technology.”
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The same company that introduced the postage meter 90 years ago has announced it will launch a free digital mailbox in 2011 that will allow customers to pay multiple bills online without remembering more than one password. Pitney Bowes’s multi-plat
form Volly will allow consumers to receive, pay and organize all their bills with bank-like security. In addition to bill-related features like a pay calendar and reminders, customers will also have an option to opt in to catalogs and coupons from the com
panies of their choice…
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Natural water has tiny amounts of D2O molecules, deuterium and oxygen, mixed in with the dihydrogen monoxide. Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is an isotope of hydrogen that contains one proton and one neutron. In North America, typical drinking
water has a deuterium concentration of about 150 ppm, roughly equivalent to a few drops per every quart. Water with higher concentrations of D2O is known as heavy water, and it is harmful to plants and animals.
[Chris] was unhappy with the battery performance of his Rovio. It seems that he’s not alone, so he set out to reverse engineer the battery charging circuit to see if there was a fix. Boy is there, what he found is the diode above, apparently installed bac
kwards when compared to the silk screen diode symbol. Now it’s entirely possible that the silk screen is wrong and this was fixed during assembly. We think that’s unlikely because if the closer of the two diodes was supposed to have the same polarity as t
he one next to it there should have been room to install them both in exactly the same orientation. [Chris] pulled out a soldering iron and changed the diode to match the silk screen. That fixed his problem and he’s now getting better performance than he
ever has.
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Now, only 50 billion spam emails per day: Global spam e-mail levels suddenly fall. The amount of junk e-mail being sent across the globe has seen a dramatic fall in recent months. The volume of spam has dropped steadily since August, but the Christmas per
iod saw a precipitous decline. While the reasons for the decline are not fully understood, spam watchers warn the lull may not last. One possible explanation is that the spammers are simply regrouping ahead of a new campaign. / The vast majority of spam i
s sent by networks of infected computers known as botnets. One of these botnets, known as Rustock, was at its peak responsible for between 47% to 48% of all spam sent globally, said Mr Wood. "We've yet to see any evidence that spam has become a bad busine
ss to be in,” said Paul Wood. In December, Rustock was responsible for just 0.5% of global spam, he said. At the same time, two other prominent spamming botnets, Lethic and Xarvester, also went quiet. One possible explanation is that the spammers are simp
ly regrouping ahead of a new campaign. Spammers are driven entirely by profit, said Carl Leonard, a researcher at security firm Websense.
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First revealed at a Shanghai trade show last year, General Motors' EN-V ("Electric Networked Vehicle") prototype was on show thie evening at ShowStoppers, a satellite event at Las Vegas's CES trade show. Only 150cm long, it manages about 25 MPH, but GM ha
s no plans to bring it into production soon. / The General Motors concept runs on battery power for about 25 miles on a charge, with top speeds of 25 miles-per-hour. The only downside to this pint-sized vehicle is its' inability to withstand a collusion w
ith a full-sized vehicle. Cities could, however, create EN-V-only lanes, or alternatively, create enclosed areas solely used by the vehicle. There is no timeframe yet for when the EN-V will be on the market.
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Brooklyn based Becky Stern was invited to contribute to a fashion show at CES 2011, so she whipped up this jacket with a built in TV-B-Gone. Wearable tech is cool to begin with, but when that technology is performs a function you'd actually want to use, i
t's even better— and if that function is turning off TVs in public, that's like a high-tech hat trick. I'm going to try to make a version of this at the next eTextiles event at CRASHspace.
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The New York Times sums up the controversy around respected psychologist Daryl J. Bem's new paper claiming evidence for precognition. The paper was accepted for publication by the respected Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Lots of other respe
cted scientists are somewhat-respectfully pissed off about it. The paper describes nine unusual lab experiments performed over the past decade by its author, Daryl J. Bem, an emeritus professor at Cornell, testing the ability of college students to accura
tely sense random events, like whether a computer program will flash a photograph on the left or right side of its screen. The studies include more than 1,000 subjects. Some scientists say the report deserves to be published, in the name of open inquiry;
others insist that its acceptance only accentuates fundamental flaws in the evaluation and peer review of research in the social sciences. “It’s craziness, pure craziness. I can’t believe a major journal is allowing this work in,” Ray Hyman, an emeritus p
rofessor of psychology at the University Oregon and longtime critic of ESP research, said. “I think it’s just an embarrassment for the entire field.” The editor of the journal, Charles Judd, a psychologist at the University of Colorado, said the paper wen
t through the journal’s regular review process. “Four reviewers made comments on the manuscript,” he said, “and these are very trusted people.” All four decided that the paper met the journal’s editorial standards, Dr. Judd added, even though “there was n
o mechanism by which we could understand the results.”
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"Over a hundred years after the death of its author, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will be released in a censored format, removing two derogatory racial slurs: 'injun' and 'nigger.' The latter appears some 219 times in the original novel but both wil
l be replaced by the word 'slave.' An Alabama publisher named NewSouth Books will be editing and censoring the book so that schools and parents might provide their children the ability to study the classic without fear of properly addressing the torturous
history of racism and slavery in The United States of America. The Forbes Blog speculates that e-readers could provide us this service automatically. Salon admirably provides point versus counterpoint while the internet at large is in an uproar over this
seemingly large acceptance of censorship as necessary even on books a hundred years old. The legendary Samuel Langhorne Clemens himself once wrote, 'the difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter,' and now his ow
n writing shall test the truth in that today." (How pathetic, so much for free speech and language used AT THE TIME. - JWD)
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The Rebels got lucky. Han, Luke, Leia, that Nib-Nub guy who flew with Lando, all of them should have been death-starred hard in the face by the Empire -- and not just because of the Empire's superior numbers and technology. Darth Vader and his underlings
planned every last subtle detail, right down to the color of the spaceships and Vader's own robot voice, according to what science says works.
"A man awaiting trial in Pennsylvania was arrested by Federal agents on Jan. 4, and accused of exploiting a software 'glitch' within slot machines in order to win payouts. The exploit may have allowed the man to obtain more than a million dollars from cas
inos in Pennsylvania and Nevada, and officials say they are investigating to see if he used the method elsewhere. The accused stated that 'I'm being arrested federally for winning on a slot machine. Let everybody see the surveillance tapes. I pressed butt
ons on the machine on the casino. That's all I did.' Apparently, slot machine software errors are fairly common. The lesson here seems to be that casinos can deny you a slot machine win any time they wish by claiming software errors, and if you find an
error that you can exploit, you may find yourself facing Federal charges for doing so."
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It’s a nice touch to engrave a heartfelt message on a wedding band, and my couples choose to do so. But you can say a lot more with a 20 second audio message. That’s exactly what [Luke Jerram] did by etching an audio track into this ring. He uses his cust
om-built hardware to playback the message, which you can see in the video after the break. The ring is an Edison Cylinder, which works just like a modern record player except that the media is on a spinning drum (the ring) instead of a rotating disk. We w
onder if this would sound a bit better with a high-end cylinder player. While you’re on [Luke's] page you might as well take a look at his image projecting ring as well. It has a color image slide on one side and a projection lens on the other. Wacky!
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Mr Evans, the inventor, had always been uncomfortable about taking a shower and seeing his bathroom and mirror mist up. He always thought it was "crazy" to release the shower atmosphere and then attempt to get rid of it. Then one day he was waiting for hi
s glass kettle to boil when he noticed that while steam was coming out of the nozzle, there was no steam above the waterline inside the kettle. It dawned on him that steam was created only when moist hot air collided with the cooler air outside the kettle
. "Why not control the hot air?" he thought, and rushed downstairs to cut a sheet of safety glass that fitted the top of his shower. Bingo, Mr Evans had a moist-free bathroom. The dome is made of high-grade, non-porous acrylic with a flange or flat edge
that disperses moisture in the shower - Mr Evans didn't like the cold droplets that fell from his original prototype. Showerdome predicts a dome repays itself in energy savings within three years. It has no moving parts to wear out, costs nothing to run,
is unobtrusive and lasts indefinitely. Because there's no steam in the shower and moisture in the bathroom, the windows do not need to be opened, the heaters and extraction fans do not have to be run, and the mirrors don't have to be heated to remove mois
ture.
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