Kit Eaton - 3-D TV--a fad or the future? Apple's vote is for "future". The company's just won a patent on a glasses-free 3-D TV system that's so advanced it sounds like sci-fi. And not necessarily in a good way.
Apple applied for this patent back in 2006, but unlike much of the patent speculation that surrounds one of the world's most successful (and most sued) companies, this one has just been granted by the USPTO.
Forget some of the clunky implementations of 3-D tech -- the ones which require you to either wear glasses or sit in one of several sweet viewing spots. Apple's system relies upon a combined projector/screen/camera system to create its glasses-free imagery. Two separate images are beamed onto the textured pixels of a special screen, one for each eye of the viewer. The 3-D image can then be reconstructed, autostereographically, in the viewer's brain with no need for glasses.
But Apple's system uses a camera to detect the facial position of viewers, and a dynamic projection system that's capable of beaming different images at the right angle so that each viewer receives a different 3-D effect. The result, according to Apple, is a "realistic holographic" visual experience, and also allows for 3-D "user input" via the camera--perhaps akin to MS's Kinect. ...
via Apple Wins Patent for Glasses-Free 3-D TV | Fast Company.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Apple Wins Patent for Glasses-Free 3-D TV
Apple Wins Patent for Glasses-Free 3-D TV
Kit Eaton - 3-D TV--a fad or the future? Apple's vote is for "future". The company's just won a patent on a glasses-free 3-D TV system that's so advanced it sounds like sci-fi. And not necessarily in a good way.
Apple applied for this patent back in 2006, but unlike much of the patent speculation that surrounds one of the world's most successful (and most sued) companies, this one has just been granted by the USPTO.
Forget some of the clunky implementations of 3-D tech -- the ones which require you to either wear glasses or sit in one of several sweet viewing spots. Apple's system relies upon a combined projector/screen/camera system to create its glasses-free imagery. Two separate images are beamed onto the textured pixels of a special screen, one for each eye of the viewer. The 3-D image can then be reconstructed, autostereographically, in the viewer's brain with no need for glasses.
But Apple's system uses a camera to detect the facial position of viewers, and a dynamic projection system that's capable of beaming different images at the right angle so that each viewer receives a different 3-D effect. The result, according to Apple, is a "realistic holographic" visual experience, and also allows for 3-D "user input" via the camera--perhaps akin to MS's Kinect. ...
via Apple Wins Patent for Glasses-Free 3-D TV | Fast Company.
E.T. found? Rumors swirl
Artist conception - ARSENIC LIFE-FORM
Researchers have hypothesized that in alien organisms arsenic could successfully fill the biochemical role that phosphorus plays for known life-forms. Arsenic is poisonous to us because it mimics phosphorus so well; similarly, phosphorus would be poisonous to an arsenic-based organism.
John Roach writes:Rumors and speculation are swirling on the Internet about the subject of a news conference to be carried live at 2 p.m. ET Thursday on NASA TV "to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. ...
Among those speakers is Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a researcher at the U.S. Geological Survey who says she's concentrating on "arsenic biogeochemistry, cyanobacteria, novel uses for as yet undescribed metalloenzymes and of course, arsenic-based life!" ...
Blogger Jason Kottke put all those pieces together and speculated that Thursday's announcement would be about the discovery of life on Saturn's moon Titan. But that suggestion was shot down as false in a Twitter post from The Atlantic Monthly's senior editor and science blogger Alexis Madrigal.
Will the secret survive until Thursday? Back in August, NASA let information slip out an hour before the embargo lifted on a report in the journal Science about the discovery of two giant planets in constantly changing orbits. In that instance, NASA made its news release and other information about the discovery publicly available. Going even further back, to 1996, there's the famous case of the Mars meteorite study that leaked out in advance of publication in Science.
What do you think has been found? ...
via Cosmic Log - E.T. found? (False) rumors swirl.
E.T. found? Rumors swirl
Researchers have hypothesized that in alien organisms arsenic could successfully fill the biochemical role that phosphorus plays for known life-forms. Arsenic is poisonous to us because it mimics phosphorus so well; similarly, phosphorus would be poisonous to an arsenic-based organism.
John Roach writes:Rumors and speculation are swirling on the Internet about the subject of a news conference to be carried live at 2 p.m. ET Thursday on NASA TV "to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. ...
Among those speakers is Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a researcher at the U.S. Geological Survey who says she's concentrating on "arsenic biogeochemistry, cyanobacteria, novel uses for as yet undescribed metalloenzymes and of course, arsenic-based life!" ...
Blogger Jason Kottke put all those pieces together and speculated that Thursday's announcement would be about the discovery of life on Saturn's moon Titan. But that suggestion was shot down as false in a Twitter post from The Atlantic Monthly's senior editor and science blogger Alexis Madrigal.
Will the secret survive until Thursday? Back in August, NASA let information slip out an hour before the embargo lifted on a report in the journal Science about the discovery of two giant planets in constantly changing orbits. In that instance, NASA made its news release and other information about the discovery publicly available. Going even further back, to 1996, there's the famous case of the Mars meteorite study that leaked out in advance of publication in Science.
What do you think has been found? ...
via Cosmic Log - E.T. found? (False) rumors swirl.
Groups Vow to Fight Gov't Takedowns of Websites
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the operator of Torrent-finder.com have separately vowed to fight domain-name seizures by two U.S. agencies in recent days.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Monday that they have obtained court orders to seize the domain names and shut down 82 websites suspected of trafficking in copyright-infringing materials, including music, movies, sunglasses and handbags.
But representatives of the EFF and the Center for Democracy and Technology, two digital rights groups, questioned whether the domain-name seizures are legal. In some cases, the sites shut down had discussion forums that should enjoy free-speech protections under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, said Peter Eckersley, an EFF staff attorney.
Some of the websites had "huge amounts of user commentary, virtually millions of posts worth of discussion," Eckersley said. "We'll be looking into that and seeing whether there are any legal steps that can be taken to help these websites."
One such site taken down was Torrent-finder.com, a search engine for BitTorrent files operating since 2005. Operator Waleed GadElKareem of Alexandria, Egypt, promised to fight the domain-name seizure, even though he had his website operating at Torrent-finder.info on Monday.
"My domain was seized without any previous complaint or court notice to me or to the domain registrar GoDaddy," he wrote in an e-mail. "I still have my server running in USA with a new domain ... because they are 100 percent sure I am not doing anything wrong."
GadElKareem questioned the legality of the DOJ and ICE shutting down a search engine. "I only open other search engines in iframes, so I do not host or link to any illegal contents," he said. "These actions are not responsible or legal." ...
via Groups Vow to Fight Gov't Takedowns of Websites - PCWorld Business Center.
Groups Vow to Fight Gov't Takedowns of Websites
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Monday that they have obtained court orders to seize the domain names and shut down 82 websites suspected of trafficking in copyright-infringing materials, including music, movies, sunglasses and handbags.
But representatives of the EFF and the Center for Democracy and Technology, two digital rights groups, questioned whether the domain-name seizures are legal. In some cases, the sites shut down had discussion forums that should enjoy free-speech protections under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, said Peter Eckersley, an EFF staff attorney.
Some of the websites had "huge amounts of user commentary, virtually millions of posts worth of discussion," Eckersley said. "We'll be looking into that and seeing whether there are any legal steps that can be taken to help these websites."
One such site taken down was Torrent-finder.com, a search engine for BitTorrent files operating since 2005. Operator Waleed GadElKareem of Alexandria, Egypt, promised to fight the domain-name seizure, even though he had his website operating at Torrent-finder.info on Monday.
"My domain was seized without any previous complaint or court notice to me or to the domain registrar GoDaddy," he wrote in an e-mail. "I still have my server running in USA with a new domain ... because they are 100 percent sure I am not doing anything wrong."
GadElKareem questioned the legality of the DOJ and ICE shutting down a search engine. "I only open other search engines in iframes, so I do not host or link to any illegal contents," he said. "These actions are not responsible or legal." ...
via Groups Vow to Fight Gov't Takedowns of Websites - PCWorld Business Center.
Microsoft files tactile touch screen patent
Microsoft has filed a patent application covering a technique for creating a tactile touch screen that changes its shape to make a textured surface, circumventing the need for a traditional keyboard.
The system relies on tiny pixel-shaped plastic cells that protrude from the screen's surface when cued by different wavelengths of ultra violet light directed from below the screen. The wavelengths turn on and off as the user touches the screen's surface and light is reflected off the fingers to sensors below.
While other attempts at tactile screens give only the illusion of texture, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft's approach is to create real texture, according to New Scientist, which reported on Monday the company's patent application.
The system would allow users to type on a screen without looking and could also help those with limited vision to feel braille.
The innovation is designed for Microsoft's table-sized computing display called the Surface, which is used in schools and businesses, but the potential exists for it to be transferred to mobile devices such as phones and tablets. ...
via CBC News - Technology & Science - Microsoft files tactile touch screen patent.
Microsoft files tactile touch screen patent
The system relies on tiny pixel-shaped plastic cells that protrude from the screen's surface when cued by different wavelengths of ultra violet light directed from below the screen. The wavelengths turn on and off as the user touches the screen's surface and light is reflected off the fingers to sensors below.
While other attempts at tactile screens give only the illusion of texture, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft's approach is to create real texture, according to New Scientist, which reported on Monday the company's patent application.
The system would allow users to type on a screen without looking and could also help those with limited vision to feel braille.
The innovation is designed for Microsoft's table-sized computing display called the Surface, which is used in schools and businesses, but the potential exists for it to be transferred to mobile devices such as phones and tablets. ...
via CBC News - Technology & Science - Microsoft files tactile touch screen patent.
UFO Hacker Wikileaked
While governments around the world have been busily condemning the latest round of document releases by Wikileaks, there have been other facets which have escaped the news spotlight thus far. For instance, one of the leaked documents mentions the extradition case of Gary 'UFO Hacker' McKinnnon, and makes clear that even the Prime Minister had approached the U.S. about keeping McKinnon in England.
The leaked document dates to October 2009, and is an internal document from the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton - described as a 'scenesetter' for her upcoming visit to meet with then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The document mentions that Brown had already approached the Ambassador about the McKinnon case in August, and so was likely to bring it up again during Secretary Clinton's visit:
-- Gary McKinnon Extradition Case -
The PM will likely raise with the Secretary (as he has with the Ambassador) the extradition case of Gary McKinnon. McKinnon is a 43-year old computer hacker with Asperger's Syndrome who is wanted for prosecution in the U.S.; he is accused of hacking into U.S. government systems in 2001 and 2002. McKinnon has gained enormous popular sympathy in his appeal against extradition; the UK's final decision is pending. The case has also caused public criticism of the U.S.-UK extradition treaty. In August, PM Brown, in a one-on-one meeting with the Ambassador, proposed a deal: that McKinnon plead guilty, make a statement of contrition, but serve any sentence of incarceration in the UK. Brown cited deep public concern that McKinnon, with his medical condition, would commit suicide or suffer injury in imprisoned in a U.S. facility. ...
via UFO Hacker Wikileaked | TDG - Science, Magick, Myth and History.
UFO Hacker Wikileaked
The leaked document dates to October 2009, and is an internal document from the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton - described as a 'scenesetter' for her upcoming visit to meet with then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The document mentions that Brown had already approached the Ambassador about the McKinnon case in August, and so was likely to bring it up again during Secretary Clinton's visit:
-- Gary McKinnon Extradition Case -
The PM will likely raise with the Secretary (as he has with the Ambassador) the extradition case of Gary McKinnon. McKinnon is a 43-year old computer hacker with Asperger's Syndrome who is wanted for prosecution in the U.S.; he is accused of hacking into U.S. government systems in 2001 and 2002. McKinnon has gained enormous popular sympathy in his appeal against extradition; the UK's final decision is pending. The case has also caused public criticism of the U.S.-UK extradition treaty. In August, PM Brown, in a one-on-one meeting with the Ambassador, proposed a deal: that McKinnon plead guilty, make a statement of contrition, but serve any sentence of incarceration in the UK. Brown cited deep public concern that McKinnon, with his medical condition, would commit suicide or suffer injury in imprisoned in a U.S. facility. ...
via UFO Hacker Wikileaked | TDG - Science, Magick, Myth and History.
Cell Phones May Recall Your Memories Thanks to NFC
The promise of using your phone as a digital wallet, thanks to small wireless chips called RFID tags, has grabbed the attention of the entire payment-processing industry. The premise is simple: Wave your RFID-equipped phone near a payment terminal to complete a financial transaction. In practice, the logistics of near-field communications (NFC) are still being worked out, with different standards and methods. But XtremeSignPost, a biotechnology firm in Davis, Calif., is betting that wireless mobile commerce will take root. ...
interesting tidbit from the press release: “XtremeSignPost links memories in the form of videos, photos, and audio files to RFID-tagged products.”
Linked memories sounds far-fetched and futuristic, but the concept isn’t beyond the realm of possibility, if you equate memories with user-generated content such as images and videos captured with a mobile phone. XtremeSignPost calls this the “Internet of Experiences.” Take the example of a video recorded during a fishing trip in Fiji: By associating the visual “memory” with an RFID-tagged fishing lure used on the excursion, a phone swipe near the lure would recall and playback the experience. ... XtremeSignPost plans to leverage the technology for targeted advertising ...
RFID and near-field communications technology still isn’t mainstream, but it has been gathering momentum as analysts predict mobile payments will top $633 billion by 2015. Visa began to test wireless payment solutions in August, and wireless carriers in the U.S. are banding together to create their own mobile commerce system called ISIS.
via Cell Phones May Recall Your Memories Thanks to NFC: Tech News «.
Cell Phones May Recall Your Memories Thanks to NFC
interesting tidbit from the press release: “XtremeSignPost links memories in the form of videos, photos, and audio files to RFID-tagged products.”
Linked memories sounds far-fetched and futuristic, but the concept isn’t beyond the realm of possibility, if you equate memories with user-generated content such as images and videos captured with a mobile phone. XtremeSignPost calls this the “Internet of Experiences.” Take the example of a video recorded during a fishing trip in Fiji: By associating the visual “memory” with an RFID-tagged fishing lure used on the excursion, a phone swipe near the lure would recall and playback the experience. ... XtremeSignPost plans to leverage the technology for targeted advertising ...
RFID and near-field communications technology still isn’t mainstream, but it has been gathering momentum as analysts predict mobile payments will top $633 billion by 2015. Visa began to test wireless payment solutions in August, and wireless carriers in the U.S. are banding together to create their own mobile commerce system called ISIS.
via Cell Phones May Recall Your Memories Thanks to NFC: Tech News «.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Dark Jupiter May Haunt Edge of Solar System
Lisa Grossman - A century of comet data suggests a dark, Jupiter-sized object is lurking at the solar system’s outer edge and hurling chunks of ice and dust toward Earth.
“We’ve accumulated 10 years’ more data, double the comets we viewed to test this hypothesis,” said planetary scientist John Matese of the University of Louisiana. “Only now should we be able to falsify or verify that you could have a Jupiter-mass object out there.”
In 1999, Matese and colleague Daniel Whitmire suggested the sun has a hidden companion that boots icy bodies from the Oort Cloud, a spherical haze of comets at the solar system’s fringes, into the inner solar system where we can see them.
In a new analysis of observations dating back to 1898, Matese and Whitmire confirm their original idea: About 20 percent of the comets visible from Earth were sent by a dark, distant planet.
This idea was a reaction to an earlier notion that a dim brown-dwarf or red-dwarf star, ominously dubbed Nemesis, has pummeled the Earth with deadly comet showers every 30 million years or so. Later research suggested that mass extinctions on Earth don’t line up with the Nemesis predictions, so many astronomers now think that object doesn’t exist.
“But we began to ask, what kind of an object could you hope to infer from the present data that we are seeing?” Matese said. “What could possibly tickle [comets'] orbits and make them come very close to the sun so we could see them?”
Rather than a malevolent death star, a smaller and more benign companion called Tyche (Nemesis’ good sister in Greek mythology) could send comets streaming from the Oort Cloud toward Earth.
... After examining the orbits of more than 100 comets in the Minor Planet Center database, the researchers concluded that 80 percent of comets born in the Oort Cloud were pushed out by the galaxy’s gravity. The remaining 20 percent, however, needed a nudge from a distant object about 1.4 times the mass of Jupiter. ...
via Dark Jupiter May Haunt Edge of Solar System | Wired Science | Wired.com.
Dark Jupiter May Haunt Edge of Solar System
Lisa Grossman - A century of comet data suggests a dark, Jupiter-sized object is lurking at the solar system’s outer edge and hurling chunks of ice and dust toward Earth.
“We’ve accumulated 10 years’ more data, double the comets we viewed to test this hypothesis,” said planetary scientist John Matese of the University of Louisiana. “Only now should we be able to falsify or verify that you could have a Jupiter-mass object out there.”
In 1999, Matese and colleague Daniel Whitmire suggested the sun has a hidden companion that boots icy bodies from the Oort Cloud, a spherical haze of comets at the solar system’s fringes, into the inner solar system where we can see them.
In a new analysis of observations dating back to 1898, Matese and Whitmire confirm their original idea: About 20 percent of the comets visible from Earth were sent by a dark, distant planet.
This idea was a reaction to an earlier notion that a dim brown-dwarf or red-dwarf star, ominously dubbed Nemesis, has pummeled the Earth with deadly comet showers every 30 million years or so. Later research suggested that mass extinctions on Earth don’t line up with the Nemesis predictions, so many astronomers now think that object doesn’t exist.
“But we began to ask, what kind of an object could you hope to infer from the present data that we are seeing?” Matese said. “What could possibly tickle [comets'] orbits and make them come very close to the sun so we could see them?”
Rather than a malevolent death star, a smaller and more benign companion called Tyche (Nemesis’ good sister in Greek mythology) could send comets streaming from the Oort Cloud toward Earth.
... After examining the orbits of more than 100 comets in the Minor Planet Center database, the researchers concluded that 80 percent of comets born in the Oort Cloud were pushed out by the galaxy’s gravity. The remaining 20 percent, however, needed a nudge from a distant object about 1.4 times the mass of Jupiter. ...
via Dark Jupiter May Haunt Edge of Solar System | Wired Science | Wired.com.
Study: Vikings May Have Taken a Native American to Iceland
Lisa Abend - Pity poor Leif Ericsson. The Viking explorer may well have been the first European to reach the Americas, but it is a certain Genoan sailor who gets all the glory. Thanks to evidence that has until now consisted only of bare archeological remains and a bunch of Icelandic legends, Ericsson has long been treated as a footnote in American history: no holiday, no state capitals named after him, no little ditty to remind you of the date of his voyage. But a group of Icelandic and Spanish scientists studying one mysterious genetic sequence — and one woman who's been dead 1,000 years — may soon change that.
Ten years ago, Agnar Helgason, a scientist at Iceland's deCODE Genetics, began investigating the origin of the Icelandic population. Most of the people he tested carried genetic links to either Scandinavians or people from the British Isles. But a small group of Icelanders — roughly 350 in total — carried a lineage known as C1, usually seen only in Asians and Native Americans. "We figured it was a recent arrival from Asia," says Helgason. "But we discovered a much deeper story than we expected."
Study: Vikings May Have Taken a Native American to Iceland
Ten years ago, Agnar Helgason, a scientist at Iceland's deCODE Genetics, began investigating the origin of the Icelandic population. Most of the people he tested carried genetic links to either Scandinavians or people from the British Isles. But a small group of Icelanders — roughly 350 in total — carried a lineage known as C1, usually seen only in Asians and Native Americans. "We figured it was a recent arrival from Asia," says Helgason. "But we discovered a much deeper story than we expected."
Study suggests that being too clean can make people sick
... Young people who are overexposed to antibacterial soaps containing triclosan may suffer more allergies, and exposure to higher levels of Bisphenol A among adults may negatively influence the immune system, a new University of Michigan School of Public Health study suggests.Triclosan is a chemical compound widely used in products such as antibacterial soaps, toothpaste, pens, diaper bags and medical devices. Bisphenol A BPA is found in many plastics and, for example, as a protective lining in food cans.
Both of these chemicals are in a class of environmental toxicants called endocrine-disrupting compounds EDCs, which are believed to negatively impact human health by mimicking or affecting hormones.Using data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, U-M researchers compared urinary BPA and triclosan with cytomegalovirus CMV antibody levels and diagnosis of allergies or hay fever in a sample of U.S. adults and children over age 6. Allergy and hay fever diagnosis and CMV antibodies were used as two separate markers of immune alterations. ...
"We found that people over age 18 with higher levels of BPA exposure had higher CMV antibody levels, which suggests their cell-mediated immune system may not be functioning properly," said Erin Rees Clayton, research investigator at the U-M School of Public Health and first author on the paper.
Researchers also found that people age 18 and under with higher levels of triclosan were more likely to report diagnosis of allergies and hay fever.
There is growing concern among the scientific community and consumer groups that these EDCs are dangerous to humans at lower levels than previously thought.
"The triclosan findings in the younger age groups may support the 'hygiene hypothesis,' which maintains living in very clean and hygienic environments may impact our exposure to micro-organisms that are beneficial for development of the immune system," said Allison Aiello, associate professor at the U-M School of Public Health and principal investigator on the study. ...
via Study suggests that being too clean can make people sick.
Study suggests that being too clean can make people sick
Both of these chemicals are in a class of environmental toxicants called endocrine-disrupting compounds EDCs, which are believed to negatively impact human health by mimicking or affecting hormones.Using data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, U-M researchers compared urinary BPA and triclosan with cytomegalovirus CMV antibody levels and diagnosis of allergies or hay fever in a sample of U.S. adults and children over age 6. Allergy and hay fever diagnosis and CMV antibodies were used as two separate markers of immune alterations. ...
"We found that people over age 18 with higher levels of BPA exposure had higher CMV antibody levels, which suggests their cell-mediated immune system may not be functioning properly," said Erin Rees Clayton, research investigator at the U-M School of Public Health and first author on the paper.
Researchers also found that people age 18 and under with higher levels of triclosan were more likely to report diagnosis of allergies and hay fever.
There is growing concern among the scientific community and consumer groups that these EDCs are dangerous to humans at lower levels than previously thought.
"The triclosan findings in the younger age groups may support the 'hygiene hypothesis,' which maintains living in very clean and hygienic environments may impact our exposure to micro-organisms that are beneficial for development of the immune system," said Allison Aiello, associate professor at the U-M School of Public Health and principal investigator on the study. ...
via Study suggests that being too clean can make people sick.
Mystery boom still confounding officials
A tremendous boom that shattered the quiet of a Friday night in rural west Georgia continues to defy explanation.
Residents of Carroll, Douglas and Haralson counties heard it, and officials in all three counties tried to find what caused it.
They're still trying.
Douglas County Communication Director Wes Tallon said "911 calls lit up" the switchboard after the 9:45 p.m. noise rattled windows across a large area of west Georgia.
"There was no catastrophe, we know that," Tallon told the AJC Saturday morning.
Tallon, who lives in East Douglas, did not hear the blast. But plenty of people in the western area of the county, and in Carroll and Haralson counties farther to the west, did hear it.
Villa Rica authorities dispatched several police and fire units to the Mirror Lake subdivision when the sound was first reported, but they found no damage or even smoke.
"People all over the city heard the boom, but we couldn't find anything," a police department receptionist said late Friday.
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City had no natural explanation for it. And there were no obvious signs of damage on the ground.
An amateur astronomer who has published several books about sky-watching said one could probably rule out a natural phenomenon such as a meteorite.
"A really big meteor can make a sonic boom, but if it did it would make a big flash of light," ...
Bergen checked with radar installations in the area at the request of the AJC and confirmed that there were no logs of military flights around the time of the boom Friday night. And there shouldn't have been, anyway. ...
via Mystery boom still confounding officials | ajc.com.
Mystery boom still confounding officials
Residents of Carroll, Douglas and Haralson counties heard it, and officials in all three counties tried to find what caused it.
They're still trying.
Douglas County Communication Director Wes Tallon said "911 calls lit up" the switchboard after the 9:45 p.m. noise rattled windows across a large area of west Georgia.
"There was no catastrophe, we know that," Tallon told the AJC Saturday morning.
Tallon, who lives in East Douglas, did not hear the blast. But plenty of people in the western area of the county, and in Carroll and Haralson counties farther to the west, did hear it.
Villa Rica authorities dispatched several police and fire units to the Mirror Lake subdivision when the sound was first reported, but they found no damage or even smoke.
"People all over the city heard the boom, but we couldn't find anything," a police department receptionist said late Friday.
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City had no natural explanation for it. And there were no obvious signs of damage on the ground.
An amateur astronomer who has published several books about sky-watching said one could probably rule out a natural phenomenon such as a meteorite.
"A really big meteor can make a sonic boom, but if it did it would make a big flash of light," ...
Bergen checked with radar installations in the area at the request of the AJC and confirmed that there were no logs of military flights around the time of the boom Friday night. And there shouldn't have been, anyway. ...
via Mystery boom still confounding officials | ajc.com.
Croatian teenager wakes from coma speaking fluent German
The girl, from the southern town of Knin, had only just started studying German at school and had been reading German books and watching German TV to become better, but was by no means fluent, according to her parents.
Since waking up from her 24 hourcoma however, she has been unable to speak Croatian, but is able to communicate perfectly in German.
Doctors at Split's KB Hospital claim that the case is so unusual, various experts have examined the girl as they try to find out what triggered the change.
Hospital director Dujomir Marasovic said: "You never know when recovering from such a trauma how the brain will react. Obviously we have some theories although at the moment we are limited in what we can say because we have to respect the privacy of the patient."
Psychiatric expert Dr Mijo Milas added: "In earlier times this would have been referred to as a miracle, we prefer to think that there must be a logical explanation – its just that we haven't found it yet.
"There are references to cases where people who have been seriously ill and perhaps in a coma have woken up being able to speak other languages – sometimes even the Biblical languages such as that spoken in old Babylon or Egypt – at the moment though any speculation would remain just that – speculation – so it's better to continue tests until we actually know something." ...
via Croatian teenager wakes from coma speaking fluent German - Telegraph.
Croatian teenager wakes from coma speaking fluent German
Since waking up from her 24 hourcoma however, she has been unable to speak Croatian, but is able to communicate perfectly in German.
Doctors at Split's KB Hospital claim that the case is so unusual, various experts have examined the girl as they try to find out what triggered the change.
Hospital director Dujomir Marasovic said: "You never know when recovering from such a trauma how the brain will react. Obviously we have some theories although at the moment we are limited in what we can say because we have to respect the privacy of the patient."
Psychiatric expert Dr Mijo Milas added: "In earlier times this would have been referred to as a miracle, we prefer to think that there must be a logical explanation – its just that we haven't found it yet.
"There are references to cases where people who have been seriously ill and perhaps in a coma have woken up being able to speak other languages – sometimes even the Biblical languages such as that spoken in old Babylon or Egypt – at the moment though any speculation would remain just that – speculation – so it's better to continue tests until we actually know something." ...
via Croatian teenager wakes from coma speaking fluent German - Telegraph.
Eyeless cave fish among new species discovered in eastern Papua
Eyeless cave fish and a frog that carries its offspring on its back are among the new species a team of scientists have discovered in Indonesia's eastern Papua region.
... "This is, to our knowledge, the first cave fish that has been discovered in Papua," Mr Pouyaud said.
The team's archaeologists were "overwhelmed" by cave paintings and tools made of shell which provided further evidence of the ancient migration of people from Asia to the Australian continent some 40,000 years ago, he said.
The research was "the first step" in an ongoing project to study the region's biodiversity in conjunction with the Indonesian maritime affairs ministry and Institute of Sciences.
via Eyeless cave fish among new species discovered in eastern Papua - Telegraph.
Eyeless cave fish among new species discovered in eastern Papua
... "This is, to our knowledge, the first cave fish that has been discovered in Papua," Mr Pouyaud said.
The team's archaeologists were "overwhelmed" by cave paintings and tools made of shell which provided further evidence of the ancient migration of people from Asia to the Australian continent some 40,000 years ago, he said.
The research was "the first step" in an ongoing project to study the region's biodiversity in conjunction with the Indonesian maritime affairs ministry and Institute of Sciences.
via Eyeless cave fish among new species discovered in eastern Papua - Telegraph.
Hiccups: A Consequence of Having Evolved
The first air-breathing fish and amphibians extracted oxygen using gills when in the water and primitive lungs when on land—and to do so, they had to be able to close the glottis, or entryway to the lungs, when underwater. Importantly, the entryway (or glottis) to the lungs could be closed. When underwater, the animals pushed water past their gills while simultaneously pushing the glottis down. We descendants of these animals were left with vestiges of their history, including the hiccup. In hiccupping, we use ancient muscles to quickly close the glottis while sucking in (albeit air, not water). Hiccups no longer serve a function, but they persist without causing us harm—aside from frustration and occasional embarrassment. One of the reasons it is so difficult to stop hiccupping is that the entire process is controlled by a part of our brain that evolved long before consciousness, and so try as you might, you cannot think hiccups away. ...
via The Top Ten Daily Consequences of Having Evolved | Science & Nature | Smithsonian Magazine.
Christians never get the hiccups. They didn't evolve from air-breathing fish like the rest of us. ;-)
Hiccups: A Consequence of Having Evolved
via The Top Ten Daily Consequences of Having Evolved | Science & Nature | Smithsonian Magazine.
Christians never get the hiccups. They didn't evolve from air-breathing fish like the rest of us. ;-)
Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice – now for humans
Ian Sample - Harvard scientists were surprised that they saw a dramatic reversal, not just a slowing down, of the ageing in mice. Now they believe they might be able to regenerate human organs
Scientists claim to be a step closer to reversing the ageing process after rejuvenating worn out organs in elderly mice. The experimental treatment developed by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, turned weak and feeble old mice into healthy animals by regenerating their aged bodies.
The surprise recovery of the animals has raised hopes among scientists that it may be possible to achieve a similar feat in humans – or at least to slow down the ageing process.
... The Harvard group focused on a process called telomere shortening. Most cells in the body contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, which carry our DNA. At the ends of each chromosome is a protective cap called a telomere. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres are snipped shorter, until eventually they stop working and the cell dies or goes into a suspended state called "senescence". The process is behind much of the wear and tear associated with ageing.
At Harvard, they bred genetically manipulated mice that lacked an enzyme called telomerase that stops telomeres getting shorter. Without the enzyme, the mice aged prematurely and suffered ailments, including a poor sense of smell, smaller brain size, infertility and damaged intestines and spleens. But when DePinho gave the mice injections to reactivate the enzyme, it repaired the damaged tissues and reversed the signs of ageing.
"These were severely aged animals, but after a month of treatment they showed a substantial restoration, including the growth of new neurons in their brains," said DePinho.
Repeating the trick in humans will be more difficult. Mice make telomerase throughout their lives, but the enzyme is switched off in adult humans, an evolutionary compromise that stops cells growing out of control and turning into cancer. Raising levels of telomerase in people might slow the ageing process, but it makes the risk of cancer soar. ...
via Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice – now for humans | Science | The Guardian.
Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice – now for humans
Scientists claim to be a step closer to reversing the ageing process after rejuvenating worn out organs in elderly mice. The experimental treatment developed by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, turned weak and feeble old mice into healthy animals by regenerating their aged bodies.
The surprise recovery of the animals has raised hopes among scientists that it may be possible to achieve a similar feat in humans – or at least to slow down the ageing process.
... The Harvard group focused on a process called telomere shortening. Most cells in the body contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, which carry our DNA. At the ends of each chromosome is a protective cap called a telomere. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres are snipped shorter, until eventually they stop working and the cell dies or goes into a suspended state called "senescence". The process is behind much of the wear and tear associated with ageing.
At Harvard, they bred genetically manipulated mice that lacked an enzyme called telomerase that stops telomeres getting shorter. Without the enzyme, the mice aged prematurely and suffered ailments, including a poor sense of smell, smaller brain size, infertility and damaged intestines and spleens. But when DePinho gave the mice injections to reactivate the enzyme, it repaired the damaged tissues and reversed the signs of ageing.
"These were severely aged animals, but after a month of treatment they showed a substantial restoration, including the growth of new neurons in their brains," said DePinho.
Repeating the trick in humans will be more difficult. Mice make telomerase throughout their lives, but the enzyme is switched off in adult humans, an evolutionary compromise that stops cells growing out of control and turning into cancer. Raising levels of telomerase in people might slow the ageing process, but it makes the risk of cancer soar. ...
via Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice – now for humans | Science | The Guardian.
Nuclear Holocaust Really Is The Sum Of All Fears
Ed Grabianowski - The specter of nuclear holocaust has haunted humanity for more than 60 years now. Here are some of the reasons that a nuclear nightmare is the worst one of all.
Last month I wrote about five times we almost nuked ourselves by accident. I received more emails in response to that article than anything I've ever written – they ranged from people thanking me, to lengthy descriptions of other nuclear incidents that readers had experienced through working in the military or the nuclear power industry. I'll admit there were a few irate readers who felt I had needlessly denigrated the nuclear reactor crews, and one justifiably angry Russian.
But mostly, people were scared. The outpouring of pathos stunned me, but also got me thinking. Why did these stories about nuclear disasters touch people's nerves like this? Why are we still so scared of nuclear incidents, with the Cold War over and nuclear power safer today than ever? Here are some of the reasons why we'll probably always be haunted by the specter of nuclear holocaust.
1. It really is that bad.
If we look at nuclear weapons only in terms of their sheer explosive force, they are still the most terrifying weapons ever constructed. The Hiroshima bomb exploded with a force of about 13 kilotons of TNT. Basically, it incinerated a city. The H-bombs developed in the next decade were roughly 1,000 times more powerful. Just…let that sink in for a moment. 1,000 times as powerful. Comic book super villains would blush and turn away at the thought of such a weapon. It's almost incomprehensible. The only word I can think of that even approaches describing what a doomsday weapon of that magnitude is like is, "Absurd." We can vaporize hundreds of thousands of humans in an instant. We have conceived of and successfully developed that ability. ...
via Nuclear Holocaust Really Is The Sum Of All Fears.
Plan H:
Step 1 (about 100 years) Build underground cities, store food and water and fuel and all the best humanity has to offer. Take plenty of seeds, animals, plants, etc.
Step 2 (14 days) Nuke war. Radiation doses of 800 rems or more are always fatal. Death occurs from 2 to 14 days.
Step 3 (wait 1 year) Disease ravages the survivors. Starvation is now the major cause of death. Food production among survivors is 2% compared to the previous year. World population is cut in half, now 3.3 Billion.
Step 4 (wait 2 more years) The soot is nearly gone from the atmosphere after three years.
More here. If you are one of the survivors who can read .pdf's, you may like this library which includes basics of machines, farm devices, blacksmithery and some other things that will be needed.
I hope I never see Firefox replaced by Foxfire.
Nuclear Holocaust Really Is The Sum Of All Fears
Last month I wrote about five times we almost nuked ourselves by accident. I received more emails in response to that article than anything I've ever written – they ranged from people thanking me, to lengthy descriptions of other nuclear incidents that readers had experienced through working in the military or the nuclear power industry. I'll admit there were a few irate readers who felt I had needlessly denigrated the nuclear reactor crews, and one justifiably angry Russian.
But mostly, people were scared. The outpouring of pathos stunned me, but also got me thinking. Why did these stories about nuclear disasters touch people's nerves like this? Why are we still so scared of nuclear incidents, with the Cold War over and nuclear power safer today than ever? Here are some of the reasons why we'll probably always be haunted by the specter of nuclear holocaust.
1. It really is that bad.
If we look at nuclear weapons only in terms of their sheer explosive force, they are still the most terrifying weapons ever constructed. The Hiroshima bomb exploded with a force of about 13 kilotons of TNT. Basically, it incinerated a city. The H-bombs developed in the next decade were roughly 1,000 times more powerful. Just…let that sink in for a moment. 1,000 times as powerful. Comic book super villains would blush and turn away at the thought of such a weapon. It's almost incomprehensible. The only word I can think of that even approaches describing what a doomsday weapon of that magnitude is like is, "Absurd." We can vaporize hundreds of thousands of humans in an instant. We have conceived of and successfully developed that ability. ...
via Nuclear Holocaust Really Is The Sum Of All Fears.
Plan H:
Step 1 (about 100 years) Build underground cities, store food and water and fuel and all the best humanity has to offer. Take plenty of seeds, animals, plants, etc.
Step 2 (14 days) Nuke war. Radiation doses of 800 rems or more are always fatal. Death occurs from 2 to 14 days.
Step 3 (wait 1 year) Disease ravages the survivors. Starvation is now the major cause of death. Food production among survivors is 2% compared to the previous year. World population is cut in half, now 3.3 Billion.
Step 4 (wait 2 more years) The soot is nearly gone from the atmosphere after three years.
More here. If you are one of the survivors who can read .pdf's, you may like this library which includes basics of machines, farm devices, blacksmithery and some other things that will be needed.
I hope I never see Firefox replaced by Foxfire.
US embassy cables leak sparks global diplomatic crisis
David Leigh - US embassy cables leak sparks global diplomatic crisis
• More than 250,000 dispatches reveal US foreign strategies
• Diplomats ordered to spy on allies as well as enemies
• Saudi king urged Washington to bomb Iran
The United States was catapulted into a worldwide diplomatic crisis today, with the leaking to the Guardian and other international media of more than 250,000 classified cables from its embassies, many sent as recently as February this year.
At the start of a series of daily extracts from the US embassy cables – many designated "secret" – the Guardian can disclose that Arab leaders are privately urging an air strike on Iran and that US officials have been instructed to spy on the UN leadership.
These two revelations alone would be likely to reverberate around the world. But the secret dispatches, which were obtained by WikiLeaks, the whistleblowers' website, also reveal Washington's evaluation of many other highly sensitive international issues.
These include a shift in relations between China and North Korea, high-level concerns over Pakistan's growing instability, and details of clandestine US efforts to combat al-Qaida in Yemen.
Among scores of disclosures that are likely to cause uproar, the cables detail:
• Grave fears in Washington and London over the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, with officials warning that as the country faces economic collapse, government employees could smuggle out enough nuclear material for terrorists to build a bomb.
• Inappropriate remarks by Prince Andrew about a UK law enforcement agency and a foreign country.
• Suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government, with one cable alleging that vice-president Zia Massoud was carrying $52m in cash when he was stopped during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. Massoud denies taking money out of Afghanistan.
• How the hacker attacks which forced Google to quit China in January were orchestrated by a senior member of the Politburo who typed his own name into the global version of the search engine and found articles criticising him personally.
• Allegations that Russia and its intelligence agencies are using mafia bosses to carry out criminal operations, with one cable reporting that the relationship is so close that the country has become a "virtual mafia state".
• The extraordinarily close relationship between Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, which is causing intense US suspicion. Cables detail allegations of "lavish gifts", lucrative energy contracts and the use by Berlusconi of a "shadowy" Russian-speaking Italiango-between.
• Devastating criticism of the UK's military operations in Afghanistan by US commanders, the Afghan president and local officials in Helmand. The dispatches reveal particular contempt for the failure to impose security around Sangin – the town which has claimed more British lives than any other in the country.
The US has particularly intimate dealings with Britain, and some of the dispatches from the London embassy in Grosvenor Square will make uncomfortable reading in Whitehall and Westminster. They range from political criticisms of David Cameron to requests for specific intelligence about individual MPs.
The cables contain specific allegations of corruption, as well as harsh criticism by US embassy staff of their host governments, from Caribbean islands to China and Russia. The material includes a reference to Putin as an "alpha-dog" and Hamid Karzai as being "driven by paranoia", while Angela Merkel allegedly "avoids risk and is rarely creative". There is also a comparison between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Adolf Hitler.
The cables names Saudi donors as the biggest financiers of terror groups, and provide an extraordinarily detailed account of an agreement between Washington and Yemen to cover up the use of US planes to bomb al-Qaida targets. One cable records that during a meeting in January with General David Petraeus, then US commander in the Middle East, Yemeni president Abdullah Saleh said: "We'll continue saying they are our bombs, not yours."
Other revelations include a description of a near "environmental disaster" last year over a rogue shipment of enriched uranium, technical details of secret US-Russian nuclear missile negotiations in Geneva, and a profile of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, who they say is accompanied everywhere by a "voluptuous blonde" Ukrainian nurse.
Clinton led a frantic damage limitation exercise this weekend as Washington prepared foreign governments for the revelations, contacting leaders in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, France and Afghanistan.
US ambassadors in other capitals were instructed to brief their hosts in advance of the release of unflattering pen-portraits or nakedly frank accounts of transactions with the US which they had thought would be kept quiet. Washington now faces a difficult task in convincing contacts around the world that any future conversations will remain confidential.
As the cables were published, the White House released a statement condemning their release. "Such disclosures put at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals, and people around the world who come to the US for assistance in promoting democracy and open government. By releasing stolen and classified documents, WikiLeaks has put at risk not only the cause of human rights but also the lives and work of these individuals." ...
via US embassy cables leak sparks global diplomatic crisis | World news | The Guardian.
Woah.
US embassy cables leak sparks global diplomatic crisis
• More than 250,000 dispatches reveal US foreign strategies
• Diplomats ordered to spy on allies as well as enemies
• Saudi king urged Washington to bomb Iran
The United States was catapulted into a worldwide diplomatic crisis today, with the leaking to the Guardian and other international media of more than 250,000 classified cables from its embassies, many sent as recently as February this year.
At the start of a series of daily extracts from the US embassy cables – many designated "secret" – the Guardian can disclose that Arab leaders are privately urging an air strike on Iran and that US officials have been instructed to spy on the UN leadership.
These two revelations alone would be likely to reverberate around the world. But the secret dispatches, which were obtained by WikiLeaks, the whistleblowers' website, also reveal Washington's evaluation of many other highly sensitive international issues.
These include a shift in relations between China and North Korea, high-level concerns over Pakistan's growing instability, and details of clandestine US efforts to combat al-Qaida in Yemen.
Among scores of disclosures that are likely to cause uproar, the cables detail:
• Grave fears in Washington and London over the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, with officials warning that as the country faces economic collapse, government employees could smuggle out enough nuclear material for terrorists to build a bomb.
• Inappropriate remarks by Prince Andrew about a UK law enforcement agency and a foreign country.
• Suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government, with one cable alleging that vice-president Zia Massoud was carrying $52m in cash when he was stopped during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. Massoud denies taking money out of Afghanistan.
• How the hacker attacks which forced Google to quit China in January were orchestrated by a senior member of the Politburo who typed his own name into the global version of the search engine and found articles criticising him personally.
• Allegations that Russia and its intelligence agencies are using mafia bosses to carry out criminal operations, with one cable reporting that the relationship is so close that the country has become a "virtual mafia state".
• The extraordinarily close relationship between Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, which is causing intense US suspicion. Cables detail allegations of "lavish gifts", lucrative energy contracts and the use by Berlusconi of a "shadowy" Russian-speaking Italiango-between.
• Devastating criticism of the UK's military operations in Afghanistan by US commanders, the Afghan president and local officials in Helmand. The dispatches reveal particular contempt for the failure to impose security around Sangin – the town which has claimed more British lives than any other in the country.
The US has particularly intimate dealings with Britain, and some of the dispatches from the London embassy in Grosvenor Square will make uncomfortable reading in Whitehall and Westminster. They range from political criticisms of David Cameron to requests for specific intelligence about individual MPs.
The cables contain specific allegations of corruption, as well as harsh criticism by US embassy staff of their host governments, from Caribbean islands to China and Russia. The material includes a reference to Putin as an "alpha-dog" and Hamid Karzai as being "driven by paranoia", while Angela Merkel allegedly "avoids risk and is rarely creative". There is also a comparison between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Adolf Hitler.
The cables names Saudi donors as the biggest financiers of terror groups, and provide an extraordinarily detailed account of an agreement between Washington and Yemen to cover up the use of US planes to bomb al-Qaida targets. One cable records that during a meeting in January with General David Petraeus, then US commander in the Middle East, Yemeni president Abdullah Saleh said: "We'll continue saying they are our bombs, not yours."
Other revelations include a description of a near "environmental disaster" last year over a rogue shipment of enriched uranium, technical details of secret US-Russian nuclear missile negotiations in Geneva, and a profile of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, who they say is accompanied everywhere by a "voluptuous blonde" Ukrainian nurse.
Clinton led a frantic damage limitation exercise this weekend as Washington prepared foreign governments for the revelations, contacting leaders in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, France and Afghanistan.
US ambassadors in other capitals were instructed to brief their hosts in advance of the release of unflattering pen-portraits or nakedly frank accounts of transactions with the US which they had thought would be kept quiet. Washington now faces a difficult task in convincing contacts around the world that any future conversations will remain confidential.
As the cables were published, the White House released a statement condemning their release. "Such disclosures put at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals, and people around the world who come to the US for assistance in promoting democracy and open government. By releasing stolen and classified documents, WikiLeaks has put at risk not only the cause of human rights but also the lives and work of these individuals." ...
via US embassy cables leak sparks global diplomatic crisis | World news | The Guardian.
Woah.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Leslie Nielsen dies at 84
[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcKJdmXbBBc]
The Canada native, who seemed perfectly cast as a handsome leading man when he came to Hollywood in the 1950s, had career-changing roles in the 'Airplane!' and 'Naked Gun' comedies.
via Leslie Nielsen dies at 84; serious actor became a comic star - latimes.com.
Some of his "Airplane" type stuff is zero funny to me, but even in that movie there are some things that crack me up. Nielsen had great moments and he made so many people laugh. RIP.
Photo by Paramount Pictures – © 1988
Leslie Nielsen was raised in Tulita (formerly Fort Norman), Northwest Territories. His father was a mountie and a strict disciplinarian. His mother was Welsh. Leslie studied at the Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto before moving on to New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. His acting career started at a much earlier age when he was forced to lie to his father in order to avoid severe punishment... - imdbPersonal Quotes
Doing nothing is very hard to do . . . you never know when you're finished.
The reason they call it 'golf' is that all the other four-letter words were used up.
Leslie Nielsen dies at 84
[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcKJdmXbBBc]
The Canada native, who seemed perfectly cast as a handsome leading man when he came to Hollywood in the 1950s, had career-changing roles in the 'Airplane!' and 'Naked Gun' comedies.
via Leslie Nielsen dies at 84; serious actor became a comic star - latimes.com.
Some of his "Airplane" type stuff is zero funny to me, but even in that movie there are some things that crack me up. Nielsen had great moments and he made so many people laugh. RIP.
Photo by Paramount Pictures – © 1988
Leslie Nielsen was raised in Tulita (formerly Fort Norman), Northwest Territories. His father was a mountie and a strict disciplinarian. His mother was Welsh. Leslie studied at the Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto before moving on to New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. His acting career started at a much earlier age when he was forced to lie to his father in order to avoid severe punishment... - imdbPersonal Quotes
Doing nothing is very hard to do . . . you never know when you're finished.
The reason they call it 'golf' is that all the other four-letter words were used up.
Woman in Spain now Owns the Sun
A woman that says she's taking advantage of international law has staked a claim on the sun.
You know that big red ball of fire in the sky that heats you up on a hot day and appears useless but still keeps you alive on a cold one? Yeah, the Sun? Well, that 4.5 billion year old star now has a new owner, and it isn't god, so get ready for a huge increase in your heating bill. Angeles Duran of Spain, 49, recently filed for and was granted what she says is legal ownership of the Sun.
The U.N.'s Outer Space Treaty states that "outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." Duran says this means that countries cannot claim celestial bodies, but individuals are still free to do so. She apparently registered ownership of the Sun with a local notary public and is now in possession of an official document that states she is the "owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometres."Duran's claim is similar to one made decades ago. Dennis Hope did the same thing as Duran in 1980, but with the Moon. Hope has actually earned money off of his claim by selling acres of land on the Moon to rubes, generating millions of dollars, though it might not be as easy for Duran to do the same thing. Who the hell wants to own something that'll burn you from millions of miles away? Neither claim is officially recognized by the U.N.
via The Escapist : News : Woman Claims to Own the Sun.
My favorite comment so far comes from ATS:
reply posted on 26-11-2010 @ 04:54 PM by ENGLISH BOB
I think she'll regret it when the skin cancer lawsuits come rolling in. ... I think she might also be liable for providing everyone with health and safety info as regards her sun, and possibly providing everyone with free sunblock.
With great power comes great responsibility. The cancer lawsuits may be dwarfed by this: Some believe her Sun will eventually swell up and eat the earth. In response to a question, Would our Sun really eat the Earth, Brandon on Metafilter had this reply:
The sun is big. It eats whatever it wants. If it wants to get bigger (and it will, all young suns are like that), then it'll pull the inner planets into it without breaking sweat. ... We are the sun's bitch.
She may be able to fend this one off, however, since an astronomer disagrees that her sun will eat us. Reason: As stars get bigger when becoming red giants, they experience a rapid loss of mass. According to Astronomy Professor Richard W. Pogge, almost 46% of the Sun's original mass will be gone and in response, the remaining planets will move away. Venus to 1.22 AU and Earth to 1.69 AU. One AU is the current average distance of the Earth from the sun. Well, formally, an AU is ...
"the radius of an unperturbed circular orbit a massless body would revolve about the sun in 2*(pi)/k days (i.e., 365.2568983.... days), where k is defined as the Gaussian constant exactly equal to 0.01720209895. Since an AU is based on radius of a circular orbit, one AU is actually slightly less than the average distance between the Earth and the Sun (approximately 150 million km or 93 million miles)." (NASA)
The important point is that the Earth and Venus will not be engulfed after all.
Ironic that it is a woman named "Angeles" who legally owns the sun god of many names: Horus, RA, Helios, Titan, Apollo, Svarog, Mitra, Sol Invictus, and "the light of the world". Here is the baseball card for our middle aged sun, often considered a god among the other stars.
Age: 4.55 Billion Years Mass: 1 Msun = 1.99x1033 g Radius: 1 Rsun = 700,000 km Luminosity: 1 Lsun = 3.83x1026 Watts Temperature: 5779 K Fuel Supply: 50% of the core Hydrogen has been consumed.
Woman in Spain now Owns the Sun
You know that big red ball of fire in the sky that heats you up on a hot day and appears useless but still keeps you alive on a cold one? Yeah, the Sun? Well, that 4.5 billion year old star now has a new owner, and it isn't god, so get ready for a huge increase in your heating bill. Angeles Duran of Spain, 49, recently filed for and was granted what she says is legal ownership of the Sun.
The U.N.'s Outer Space Treaty states that "outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." Duran says this means that countries cannot claim celestial bodies, but individuals are still free to do so. She apparently registered ownership of the Sun with a local notary public and is now in possession of an official document that states she is the "owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometres."
via The Escapist : News : Woman Claims to Own the Sun.
My favorite comment so far comes from ATS:
reply posted on 26-11-2010 @ 04:54 PM by ENGLISH BOB
I think she'll regret it when the skin cancer lawsuits come rolling in. ... I think she might also be liable for providing everyone with health and safety info as regards her sun, and possibly providing everyone with free sunblock.
With great power comes great responsibility. The cancer lawsuits may be dwarfed by this: Some believe her Sun will eventually swell up and eat the earth. In response to a question, Would our Sun really eat the Earth, Brandon on Metafilter had this reply:
The sun is big. It eats whatever it wants. If it wants to get bigger (and it will, all young suns are like that), then it'll pull the inner planets into it without breaking sweat. ... We are the sun's bitch.
She may be able to fend this one off, however, since an astronomer disagrees that her sun will eat us. Reason: As stars get bigger when becoming red giants, they experience a rapid loss of mass. According to Astronomy Professor Richard W. Pogge, almost 46% of the Sun's original mass will be gone and in response, the remaining planets will move away. Venus to 1.22 AU and Earth to 1.69 AU. One AU is the current average distance of the Earth from the sun. Well, formally, an AU is ...
"the radius of an unperturbed circular orbit a massless body would revolve about the sun in 2*(pi)/k days (i.e., 365.2568983.... days), where k is defined as the Gaussian constant exactly equal to 0.01720209895. Since an AU is based on radius of a circular orbit, one AU is actually slightly less than the average distance between the Earth and the Sun (approximately 150 million km or 93 million miles)." (NASA)
The important point is that the Earth and Venus will not be engulfed after all.
Ironic that it is a woman named "Angeles" who legally owns the sun god of many names: Horus, RA, Helios, Titan, Apollo, Svarog, Mitra, Sol Invictus, and "the light of the world". Here is the baseball card for our middle aged sun, often considered a god among the other stars.
Age: 4.55 Billion Years Mass: 1 Msun = 1.99x1033 g Radius: 1 Rsun = 700,000 km Luminosity: 1 Lsun = 3.83x1026 Watts Temperature: 5779 K Fuel Supply: 50% of the core Hydrogen has been consumed.
Consciousness, what is it?
The reason there is so much debate about it, is that consciousness is not just one thing.
It is an umbrella term that people use to refer to a variety of mental phenomena.
I've found the following to be the best umbrella definition: Consciousness is what it is like to have your particular mental model of yourself.
via Consciousness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
It is an umbrella term that people use to refer to a variety of mental phenomena.
I've found the following to be the best umbrella definition: Consciousness is what it is like to have your particular mental model of yourself.
via Consciousness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
US warns Wikileaks' Assange on possible leak
The US has written to the founder of whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange, urging him not release a batch of diplomatic files.
The release of classified state department documents is against US law and will put "countless" lives at risk, the letter warns.
Wikileaks says it is set to unveil a new set of documents, bigger than past releases on Afghanistan and Iraq.
Mr Assange has said the US authorities are afraid of being held to account.
The latest leak is expected to include documents covering US dealings and diplomats' confidential views of countries including Australia, Britain, Canada, Israel, Russia and Turkey.
"The material that we are about to release covers essentially every major issue in every country in the world," Mr Assange told reporters by video link.
A journalist with Britain's Guardian newspaper, which has been working with Wikileaks on publishing the files, said they would include an unflattering US assessment of UK PM David Cameron. ...
via BBC News - US warns Wikileaks' Assange on possible leak.
US warns Wikileaks' Assange on possible leak
The release of classified state department documents is against US law and will put "countless" lives at risk, the letter warns.
Wikileaks says it is set to unveil a new set of documents, bigger than past releases on Afghanistan and Iraq.
Mr Assange has said the US authorities are afraid of being held to account.
The latest leak is expected to include documents covering US dealings and diplomats' confidential views of countries including Australia, Britain, Canada, Israel, Russia and Turkey.
"The material that we are about to release covers essentially every major issue in every country in the world," Mr Assange told reporters by video link.
A journalist with Britain's Guardian newspaper, which has been working with Wikileaks on publishing the files, said they would include an unflattering US assessment of UK PM David Cameron. ...
via BBC News - US warns Wikileaks' Assange on possible leak.
India's Ambani hosts party for 'world's priciest home'
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani has hosted a lavish house-warming for his new 27-storey residence, believed to be the world's most expensive home.
About 80 people attended the party in Mumbai on Friday, reported the Times of India. One guest described the house as "the Taj Mahal of the 21st Century".
Mr Ambani, said to be India's richest man, moved into the house last month with his wife and three children.
Reports suggest the residence is worth more than $1bn (£630m).
The skyscraper in Mumbai (Bombay), which overlooks sprawling slums, is said to have a cinema, swimming pools and a helicopter pad, and is named "Antilia" after a mythical Atlantic island.
Local newspapers said the house would require 600 members of staff to maintain it, and according to the Times of India, the first electricity bill, for September, is costing Mr Ambani 7m rupees (£98,000).
The house has sparked some controversy, with anti-poverty campaigners underlining the contrast between the luxury of the house and the plight of those who live in Mumbai's slums, which house about half of the city's 18 million people. ...
via BBC News - India's Ambani hosts party for 'world's priciest home'.
I dislike this design. It looks like a super slum.
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