View Full Version : The Golgotarium
Hello all - welcome to the place where i keep my mental-drawls and echoing halls of free-falling brain-balls (yes, it's my own little ego-page with pretentious-sage trappings :)).
Thought i'd celebrate my 1002nd post by, erm, being late for my 1000th-post-celebratory-jiggle. So, if you can wiggle between the obscene dreams and consciousness streams (that are all in need of a clean) you're most welcome to pow-wow here by the cow-shower and the old cherub-endower. (please don't glower - the relentless rhyme is my most innocent crime - tho it makes my bean-counter run off and cower for ages at a time)
Right! Sense! Non! Left by the wire-fence is the secret recipe for understanding my baobob tree desirous of infinity. Dip in, have a swim, and i hope you'll see....
This thread hopefully won't be just about me. Coz i want your thoughts on the on-marching cohorts of the diffuse and the singular - those real brain-tinglers - the things that make one plus one equal three (well, 2.1 actually, is the most recent mind-spree, but it don't rhyme easily).
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I thought i'd post some random things i find interesting on this thread. Let's start with today's announcement in a murky Murdoch paper.
-Put in marvellously graphic reality for my mono-browed cousins and me, this is what they said:
"The Universe is shaped like a football" (Metro - a free london newspaper) [i.e. it's more or less spherical my dear holistic housemates from across the sea. A soccer-ball-shape, if you must ;) - or "a solid composed of 12 pentagons, a dodecahedron" to be precise]
Dr Jeffrey Weeks and team have apparently claimed the universe is spherical-ish, not infinite. (although were you to reach one extremity you'd suddenly find yourself "coming back in through the other face". This is what gives "the illusion of the universe endlessly repeating itself".) They used data from a probe that mapped radiation left over from the start of time to reach this conclusion. Dontcha just love 'em :)
Tho dammit - this means i struggled with the idea of infinity when a young'un, finding myself visualising the world repeatedly shrinking, and then falling off my stool in a final semi-blacking-out moment, all for nothing. I wonder if some of our abstract scientific tendancies are encouraged by "thought experiments" like this - i.e. purely abstract ones that are entirely counter-intuitive.
Anyway, must toddle off now. The next posts will be ten lines at most - and that's a promise (and for me, something of a boast ;) :))
Have fun with the mind-ball now y'all. (Are we just a molecule in a cup-of-tea squall??)
Sexy Celebrity
10-09-03, 05:49 PM
I become in need of electro-shock therapy just reading that.
I become in need of electro-shock therapy just reading that.
Apparently you can use a version of that to shut down half your brain. Then you could read it either in Logical-yet-denial-linked-left-hemisphere mode, or Random-yet-rounded-right-hemisphere mode. Funny old world (or is it a football. ;) Oh! Wait! I forgot.....)
CLARIFICATION FOR COUSINS ACROSS VARIOUS OCEANS:
By football ball they mean "soccer ball" (urgh *cringe cringe* i feel dirty. I said the S word. And now i have to go and edit it into the first post. Bler.)
The latest broadcast allegedly by Saddam has him claiming he'd seen the recent game between Spurs and Everton football teams on Sky. And that they were both rubbish! It's blatently some pre-recorded nonsense - Spurs won 3-0 with some phenomenal goal-scoring :) - The man deserves to be dead! ;)
(can't believe my team is getting cussed by a terrorised ghost!)
Alright, to move away from football....did you know...
There is reason to believe the SARS corona virus may have originated in a genetic-engineering experiment. Corona viruses are popular for experiments - with all forms affecting the major mammals having been identified. Attempts to modify them have only succeed in altering the ends of the DNA chain, but not the centre.
Interestingly enough, the SARS corona-virus appears to be a cow-corona virus whose ends have been altered (at least, the central section is recognisable, but the ends of the chain are "novel")
You reap not just what you sow, but what you blow out yer nose too eh? There's a sticky problem :rolleyes:
Sir Toose
10-13-03, 07:21 PM
All right.
Because you intrigue me... well, at least the sentient statements that you make in between the 'stream of consciousness' posts do... I'm going to ask you a series of questions here ... game?
very well yon knight. Question away. Tho i won't answer questions about electricity fetishes or my feelings for soup.
I wanna a straight jacket........
:D
I wanna a straight jacket........
:D
If it's for me you'll need a curly one ;)
............I was thinking more along the lines of one jacket.................for both of us to share.......
and yes..............at the same time......... :D
btw...............are you an Aquarius............. :rolleyes:
............I was thinking more along the lines of one jacket.................for both of us to share.......
and yes..............at the same time......... :D
btw...............are you an Aquarius............. :rolleyes:
I'm a horny old capricornian i'm afraid ;) - still, a bit of controlled craziness eh? Hmm *ponder ponder* should i bring a bit?
Ok, deranged fact of the day:
Only 1 million English Anglicans actually go to church (there are allegedly 26 million of them) - in fact we're getting so lax that African missionaries have started arriving to convert us back to pious ways.
I just love that :)
Sir Toose
10-15-03, 09:50 AM
Question #1:
Tell me of the first memorable occasion in your life. Something you reflect on still. I'm certain everyone has some such event before age 10. Tell me why it still comes to mind.
Question #1:
Tell me of the first memorable occasion in your life. Something you reflect on still. I'm certain everyone has some such event before age 10. Tell me why it still comes to mind.
Wellawellawella. Fortunately i blabbled something on the baby-pic thread about this. Here y'go.....
i'm almost always beaming like a loon in my babby pics. I have this totally surreal memory tho which might explain it a bit. I'm sure i've back edited this - but this is what i remember happening when i was six.... I was remembering a time when i'd been in the bath [to me it seemed like just the other day], and i was wondering why the bath water had been so low. In the memory, I was chewing on ("my") wooden fish, and then something caught my attention (everything was blurry round the edges, like i could only really absorb info right in the middle of my view, not periphary stuff) - it was the familiar looking black-n-silver camera (i.e. familiar to my six year old memory as a camera, i dare say), sported by my pa, with my ma behind his shoulder grinning at me like a loon ;) And her face just meant "goodness" to me at that time. That's the word that my six-year-old head gave me to describe it. I smiled coz i'd seen goodness.
In this six-year-old memory i now/still have access to (the other one has been reworked to death really. I have vague glimpses/grasps of the blurriness around the vision and my ma's face, but that's about it. When i try to thinking about it i get the actual photo more than anything)... i then saw the photo in question, and was flipped out to realise that it was a memory from so far before (i.e. at about ten months old). Now, it would make more sense if the photo triggered the memory, and i then came out of the reverie and then looked at the photo again and twigged. That's more likely what happened.
Either way, memories eh? Funny old world ;)
[a shorter memory i can recount is one from some equally non-verbal stage of development when i remember my pa coming home, and obviously being tired, and yet equally obviously making an effort, and succeeding, to pay a lot of attention to me. It's a nice memory. I think i might just have been on the cusp of understanding certain concepts/words etc - but i definitely wasn't speaking)
Was this all a test to see if i'm self-absorbed? It worked ;)
This silly factoid for the day/night comes in the form of a question.
What do you think the term "adventitious presence" would mean when applied by those pillars of honesty and beneficiousness known as Monsanto?
It means "unintended GE [Genetic Engineering] contamination" i.e. GM crops crossbreeding and ****ing things up. (whether it be industrial chemical producing plants crossbreeding with food ones, or the destruction of biodivirsity, or tolerance for pest/herbicides and/or antibiotics being spread amongst plants/gut-bacteria etc, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc)
Cor, you could almost believe they were a profit obsessed bunch of consumer-n-farmer screwing, life-degrading, outright lying con-merchants [and anyone who doubts this please contact me for ample proof ;)]
Do your budgies keep dropping dead? Well stop cooking them those crispy seed snacks, because...
non-stick frying pans release emissions when used that are deadly to birds
Now you know ;)
More bestial frolics afoot. Did you know....
"You can map your microwave's standing waves by filling a flat tray with marshmallows. A pattern of toasted and untoasted marshmallows will appear post-zapping."
This is the comment following a "Science Frontiers" article-ette on ants' strange fascination for electrical equipment. This extends to ants entering and surviving microwave ovens. Apparently they stand between the "standing waves". Cunning buggers. Wonder what they get out of it. Aside from marshmallows ;)
MyRobotSuit
11-17-03, 04:21 AM
If you had to sleep with one Beatle (dead or alive), which would it be ? No sexual antics included, just getting through the night.
Let's just say the *fate of mankind rests on you decision.
*e.g if there were four corners of the world each controlled by an individual Beatle (dead or alive) and you didn't choose correctly, there could be hell to pay.
If you had to sleep with one Beatle (dead or alive), which would it be ?
http://www.cyberbeach.net/~narbonne/george.gif
Is this some sort of Beatles version of Risk? I'd risk Ringo (so long as he sleeps moustache-away). Sharing a bed with dead john would be too icky ;)
EDIT: Silly fact for the day, from Science Frontiers again:
Knismesis and Gargalesis aren't the scientific names for sneezing and gargling. They're too types of "tickling" sensation. The first you can do to yourself, with the light strokes of a feather, or it can be caused by an insect on your skin etc.
But the second is most baffling. It's the tickling sensation we all know about, that is normally uncomfortable, but also makes us laugh. But have you noticed you can't tickle yourself in this way? Nobody knows why any of this is the case. One possible adaptive explanation is that it encourages friendly "rough-housing" which helps development of combat skills etc. Aside from that the scientisits are stumped.
Damn.
Here's a breaking "freaky" one. I really really hate this kind of thing.
"US scientists have produced a wholly artificial virus using a method they claim could lead to new lifeforms."
"These synthetic organisms - on the scale of bacteria - could be engineered to produce clean energy or mop up pollution, the researchers say."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3268259.stm
HAH i say. What about addressing energy-efficiency and sustainable energy-production instead [i.e. NOT the planned hydrogen technologies for a start, with their global-warming effects, and other contingent potential problems]? - Nah, let's go for a tenuous quick fix with huge potential for uncontrolled mutation and horrific side-effects. Yeah, that sounds better :rolleyes:
This is the first completely generated virus - i.e. constructed from component DNA parts, not altering an existing structure. Even more likely to have adverse reactions in the wider world then. Marvellous. Can't wait for them to start trying to release it into the environment in the years to come. I'm sure it'll work marvellously, like all the carcinogenic, neuro-disrupting and generally ****ed up quick-fixes before it. Anyone care to name a quick-fix that hasn't had serious and over-shadowing side-effects of a destructive nature? [i.e. not DDT, any of the other Persistant Organic Pollutants, or comparable things like Brominant Flame Retardants [sp], or any of the pesticides and herbicides we currently use and ingest regularly] I'd be interested to hear of one [of a bio-chemical nature], but i think you'll struggle. I'm sure they exist. There must be ONE of the bleeding 80,000 novel chemicals out there that actually works in harmony with its environment. I guess. :rolleyes: [ps - predictions are that there'll be 120,000 novel chemicals out and about by around 2020 i believe. Can't wait. Maybe one of them will accidently counter-act the massive drop in sperm-count or rise in cancer in the "advanced"/industrialised world. We can but hope. Or, we can insist our governments work on the practical and feasible approaches that exist, rather than creating new problems to fix old ones. "We" pay the bill after all, either way.)
Ah, thought i might lighten the mood after that astringent repent about GE insanity (and contigent chemical radicallity. Okay, the rhyming's interfering now isn't it ;))
Just checked on the bizarre bazaar of scientific weirdness again that is SF, and stumbled across this...
http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf123/sf123p15.htm
It's about sound resonance at ancient sites, but it reminded me of a science-programme i saw which touched on this and much more. Suffice to say....
Many ancient sites around the world seem to be designed to resonate and amplify certain soundwaves. This may not seem that special until you think about it like this...
-Why did the makers of Stonehenge lug huge amounts of "foreign" stone to that site over great distances? Could it be that it contains the right resonant qualities? [please note that the inward facing sides have been planed and re-shaped, whereas the exteriors have not] Whatever the case - Stonehenge, like so many other sites, amplifies a certain type of sound [theories include rhythmic drum beats and/or male baritone voices as the creators of this original sound/frequency]. This sound can even have bizarre effects on the human body (Notice how cars/buses DON'T vibrate your eyeballs, or other parts of your anatomy, coz they're designed not to. But test models did. The idea is that this self-reinforcing soundwave leaves people feeling slightly disorientated/different, and they would have interpreted this spiritually)].
-Many many other ancient british sites have the same properties [and indeed, theorists have stretched things as far as to suggest that wave-form-like etchings on the Barrow in Ireland etc could demonstrate an appreciation of the effect of vibrations on matter - i.e. vibration "shapes" can be "observed" through liquids for example - or even potentially in dancing dust motes as equinox light filters down the Barrows entrance, some say (stretching it further still ;)]
-Also notice that native-american sites, painted using a hallicinagenic [and poisonous] paint sprayed onto specific slabs (probably during religious rites) also bear this sound resonance properties [with the potential connection of spirtual-leaders chanting and using the resonance factor to impress/hold sway over followers etc].
Either way, whether you believe it or not, the resonance-phenomenon seems to exist globally.
Was that hippyish yet scientific enough for y'all? (hmm, is "y'all" the correct term to use for the occasional lost web-surfer stumbling across this me-wonders? Bah, enough pedantry ;))
Damn.
"US scientists have produced a wholly artificial virus using a method they claim could lead to new lifeforms."
"These synthetic organisms - on the scale of bacteria - could be engineered to produce clean energy or mop up pollution, the researchers say."
That sounds fantastic, then they can produce a bacteria to eat the polluted one's, and so on................ :rolleyes:
That sounds fantastic, then they can produce a bacteria to eat the polluted one's, and so on................ :rolleyes:
Sure. And coz they're so light we'll be able to send them all out into space when they're done eh? ;) Can't fail :rolleyes:
[why are we both looking heavenwards - we're both athiest-mysticy types aren't we? :)]
[why are we both looking heavenwards - we're both athiest-mysticy types aren't we? :)]
Yes we are :D, this :rolleyes: is my attempt at OH YEAH. :D
Yes we are :D, this :rolleyes: is my attempt at OH YEAH. :D
Heheheh, cool. Thought i was beginning to read your smilies right ;)
Well, talking of "containment", as we sort of were...Here's a special little something the US security forces wanted to have during Bush's visit to Britain:
-a mini-gun
Which would be good for mowing down people, and not much else. Here's one manufacturer's description: 'Due to the small calibre of the round, the mini-gun can be used practically anywhere. This is especially helpful during peacekeeping deployments.'
Lovely. Crowd control :rolleyes: [EDIT: I wonder what the description on grenades reads like these days? "Highly portable, ever accessible, let the Shrapnel5000 clear away your peacekeeping problems" :rolleyes: ]
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1086397,00.html
sunfrog
11-21-03, 11:48 AM
Hahaha!
Hi Golgot!
Hahaha!
Hi Golgot!
Aha, another baffling blip on the weirdometer ;) Hello again Sunny :) [but you laugh like a mini-gun. Stop scaring me ;)]
Ok, here's the weird "fact" for the week (I'll get to my doubts in a mo ;))
Judi Roberts of Sarasota suffered a stroke and ended up speaking with an English accent
Poor darlin has found herself snubbed and shunned, and now even has agrophobia! She says she's from whichever english town people think/guess she's from. She even changed her name to Tiffany Noell to avoid embarrassment for her family!
And that's where my problems with this start. I mean, Tiffany Noell? That doesn't sound very English ;) - and, as much as i can imagine how idiots would shun someone for this type of surreal change, i do wonder how english she sounds. I mean, she could sound like someone gargling jello in the bath while a pitbull bounced on her stomach and you guys'd believe it was a british accent ;)
EDIT: Wow, she does sound vaguely english (tho i'd ask her where the hell she's from too - as not all the elements are consistant) - you can see/hear here here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3235934.stm
sunfrog
11-29-03, 07:56 PM
We've ostracized Madonna for having a British accent too. I saw this lady on the news. Pretty weird. We love your posh accents, what can we say? It's because we grew up with cartoon mice, monkeys, and beatles, and it's fun to do. Watch this. Aye! What's oll da fuss? :)
We've ostracized Madonna for having a British accent too. I saw this lady on the news. Pretty weird. We love your posh accents, what can we say? It's because we grew up with cartoon mice, monkeys, and beatles, and it's fun to do. Watch this. Aye! What's oll da fuss? :)
Erm, very nice sunny :rolleyes: ;)
Is it coz madonna's got a "common" accent then? Actually, that woman does sound a bit like her "beau" Guy Richie, who has what we call a "mockney" accent i.e. a pretty over-the-top/false "cockney"/london accent. So if she spoke like the queen, would she be alright again? ;)
sunfrog
11-30-03, 09:58 PM
No, if she spoke like the Queen it would be worse. She's putting on airs! She should talk with her bland American accent.
Garrett
11-30-03, 10:27 PM
If your name was Francine and China was non-existant, what would you put in it's place?
sunfrog
12-01-03, 12:04 AM
Have you ever worn a coconut bra?
If your name was Francine and China was non-existant, what would you put in it's place?
Would i have to be called Francine to decide? I'd sound like a washing detergent made of powdered-France. Erm, i'd put a huge country full of holistically minded inward-looking buddist types :) - the world needs balance ;). Failing that (and considering any messy populace-foddering dictatorships that might arise), i'd put a large donut for obese children to feed on ;) [or maybe an "Organically"-fed, precautionarily-technilogical utopia. Hmm, decisions, decisions]
Have you ever worn a coconut bra?
Only on my head.
Garrett
12-02-03, 05:17 PM
Would i have to be called Francine to decide? I'd sound like a washing detergent made of powdered-France. Erm, i'd put a huge country full of holistically minded inward-looking buddist types :) - the world needs balance ;). Failing that (and considering any messy populace-foddering dictatorships that might arise), i'd put a large donut for obese children to feed on ;) [or maybe an "Organically"-fed, precautionarily-technilogical utopia. Hmm, decisions, decisions]
I like that.....the donut one anyway.
Hey Gollygosh, I haven't seen you around much, I miss you. :bawling:
Heheheh - woa, Nebs, your new avatar is giving me flashbacks ;)
hey, we shared some be-abused-by-django time didn't we? :)
Thanks for reminding me about this thread tho - I should add some more of the far-flung bizarreness i've stumbled across (and there's so much out there!). How about this for a start...
Creationists and scientists are at it again the US. A book on sale in the grand canyon is annoying scientists because it claims that the canyon was caused by the biblical flood, and hence can only be a few thousand years old (the book's been placed in the natural sciences section of the park bookstore). Now, I know that there's lots of geological evidence for past floods, so i guess the geologists are trying to assert, in the first place, that these floods didn't affect the formation of the canyon. (the age thing just goes on and on though - has anyone ever got a creationist to explain dinosaurs - and the way they are conspicuously absent from the bible? I'd love to hear that explanation :))
According to a group called PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) a group of annoyed scientists saw their detailed deconstruction of the books scientific failings blocked from publication by the washington based National Park Service.
Oh, aren't those creationists funny. Well, when they're not in the Whitehouse ;)
Hey Gollygosh, I haven't seen you around much, I miss you. :bawling:
I second the motion about Nebs new Avatar. This would go over well at a trance party :) :yup:
Heheheh - woa, Nebs, your new avatar is giving me flashbacks ;)Pretty recent ones, I'd wager. ;)
(the age thing just goes on and on though - has anyone ever got a creationist to explain dinosaurs - and the way they are conspicuously absent from the bible? I'd love to hear that explanation :))No explanation is necessary, to be frank. The Bible doesn't mention chipmunks, either. It isn't an encyclopedia. It does, however, mention "leviathon" -- some have interpreted this to refer to some sort of dinosaur, though perhaps they simply were not around in the area in which the story generally takes place. Plenty of possible explanations, though obviously it's more easily dismissed if you're dealing with someone who is willing to accept some symbolism in The Good Book.
Pretty recent ones, I'd wager. ;)
No explanation is necessary, to be frank. The Bible doesn't mention chipmunks, either. It isn't an encyclopedia. It does, however, mention "leviathon" -- some have interpreted this to refer to some sort of dinosaur, though perhaps they simply were not around in the area in which the story generally takes place. Plenty of possible explanations, though obviously it's more easily dismissed if you're dealing with someone who is willing to accept some symbolism in The Good Book.
Yeah, fair play, many explanations are possible for their absence from the bible. But, i was under the impression that areas which can contain fossilised bone records etc in every continent have dinosaur remains (and these are considered the tip of the iceberg of course, because so much is not preserved or found). Of course, I may be wrong about this.
As for dealing with people who (thank goodness) interpret the book in a more symbolic than literal way for much of it, they're the only ones i feel i can communicate with ;) - although i imagine only those who interpret it completely literally can strongly believe in the "we-counted-all-the-generations-and-therefore-figured-out-how-old-the-earth-is" technique, which this canyon theory must employ it seems to me.
Yeah, fair play, many explanations are possible for their absence from the bible. But, i was under the impression that areas which can contain fossilised bone records etc in every continent have dinosaur remains (and these are considered the tip of the iceberg of course, because so much is not preserved or found). Of course, I may be wrong about this.
As for dealing with people who (thank goodness) interpret the book in a more symbolic than literal way for much of it, they're the only ones i feel i can communicate with ;) - although i imagine only those who interpret it completely literally can strongly believe in the "we-counted-all-the-generations-and-therefore-figured-out-how-old-the-earth-is" technique, which this canyon theory must employ it seems to me.That's a good point; if you ask me, any reasonable person, religious or not, would do well to remain highly skeptical of any claim about the earth's age. I'll risk sounding anti-science by saying that I think we are far too quick to jump to these sorts of conclusions. I don't for a moment believe that we have the capability to accurately determine how old something is. Not yet. Carbon dating, for example, assumes a consistent level of carbon decay. But obviously, you can't simulate or reproduce that, and we haven't been observing such things anywhere near long enough to have more than a passing idea of what we're claiming as fact, in my opinion.
Naturally, this makes me sound as if I cannot believe in anything I cannot understand, but I do think it's fair to say that we don't know half of what is now considered "common knowledge." Hell, all of science comes down to trial, error, and then theory. And I think many modern scientists are jumping to conclusions too quickly and easily, rather than admitting ignorance. They've sure got the motivation to, seeing as how funders prefer breakthroughs.
I think that a lot of what we think we know now will, just as it has been in the past, prove to be inaccurate down the line. As a result, I remain as skeptical of a scientist who tells me the Earth is 65 billion years old as I do of a creationist who says it's 6,000.
Oh I agree completely that any scientist that says he knows how old the earth is - or any that insist that their measuring techniques are so accurate as to be as good as absolutely correct - are not worth listening too. I'm with you on distrusting both camps on that count. (I've read a fair bit on the inaccuracies of carbon-dating too, for example. And I always love the hypothosizing and over-blown claims with which some scientists decorate either scientifically undateable artifacts [the pyramids for example ;) - oh how I love the "science" of history ;)] ..or new measurement tools).
The scientists I respect the most are the ones who see their investigations and conclusions as part of an extending journey for greater understanding (always being fully open to re-interpretation, and careful with application of current "facts" and techniques). And the religious believers I respect the most are those who see their faith as being equally fluid in interpretation over time, and who would never claim to have God's absolute knowledge etc (i.e. who are equally careful about how they interpret and apply the teachings of their faith).
Having said all that though - it seems that the scientists are not so much asserting that they know the exact origins of the canyon - more that they have multiple reasons to believe the creationists reasoning is flawed. However, if I find out they're asserting that they know the precise details of its formation, I'll say they're blindly worshipping the god of science, and i'll be the first to take the piss ;) (there's plenty of it goes on: Blind science worship - and on a smaller level - me taking the piss ;))
LordSlaytan
01-12-04, 05:08 PM
And I think many modern scientists are jumping to conclusions too quickly and easily, rather than admitting ignorance.
It has always been, and always will be, that way within the scientific community. Pure speculation and conjecture won't get you the next grant as easily as (supposed) proof.
Heheheh - woa, Nebs, your new avatar is giving me flashbacks ;)
hey, we shared some be-abused-by-django time didn't we? :)
Oh great that was the effect I was going for, back to the acid days of youth :rolleyes:
I don't count "be-abused-by-daggy" as quality time. ;D
Glad to see you back in full form. :D
Oh great that was the effect I was going for, back to the acid days of youth :rolleyes:
I don't count "be-abused-by-daggy" as quality time. ;D
Glad to see you back in full form. :D
Heheheh. Daggy. Nother good one for him :) - Ah, just having your avatar flicker over my brow has relaxed me from daggy-tension to good ole reflective pretention again ;)
Now surely you have some bizarre browsings you can share on this thread? Some ley-line into the sublime? The science behind limes? The reason why some people always rhyme? :rolleyes: (no really, i need to know that one ;))
Come, share those weird and wonderful facts :)
It has always been, and always will be, that way within the scientific community. Pure speculation and conjecture won't get you the next grant as easily as (supposed) proof.
Ah, there's still the occasional pocket of old school "science-for-discovery's-sake", which believes even discovering you know nothing is something ;)
But you're right, scientist survival relies on results that their society appreciates - and the trends in scientific communities for immediate-profit-or-nothing are growing in worrying ways. Almost all government funding is now allocated to Brit Unis on the basis of potential-for-industrial/commerical-application. And the Syngenta/Novatis buy-up of near the entire biology department in Berkeley was just sick. (then going on to pillory a report which pointed out a flaw in GM etc of course). And as for the fact that even respectable journals like Nature are being duped by Pharmaceutical companies writing in-house and inaccurate appraisals of their products, and then paying or duping scientists into putting their names to them - dodgy as ****.
Tis all fairly foolish - stats are useless if people fiddle the "z-factors" to get them to seem more attractive. (and when those stats relate to fatalities, boy is it time to worry. I'm serious - this stuff can happen when researchers/profs profit is tied to their discoveries).
And the most foolish thing of all is that....so many of the greatest discoveries have come about (often accidently) when scientists had the freedom to experiment and explore. (The guys trying to get hydrogen technology to work will probably just end up making a better type of toothbrush ;))
LordSlaytan
01-12-04, 07:59 PM
Ah, there's still the occasional pocket of old school "science-for-discovery's-sake", which believes even discovering you know nothing is something ;)
Of course. I didn't mean to apply that all scientists were giving answers that might be less accurate for their grants sake. That is, accepting the first answer and making it law, just to force a paycheck. Their are many scientists that aren't under that pressure as well, private funding and all. There is always the "old school passing" that comes into play as well. Sometimes when a new discovery is found, it is "pooh-poohed" by the scientific community because it flies in the face of an entire generation, sometimes centuries worth of generations, popular belief. When the end of a generation begins to die off, more modern theories begin to be taken more seriously. Science is very much a battle of ego.
And the most foolish thing of all is that....so many of the greatest discoveries have come about (often accidentally) when scientists had the freedom to experiment and explore. (The guys trying to get hydrogen technology to work will probably just end up making a better type of toothbrush ;))
True. Scientists looking at finding an antidote for a tropical dragonfly poison can stumble across a future medicine that helps people with tourettes to not tremor as much. Sometimes they find something that can heal millions, or add years to lives, or to slow wrinkling. There is no boundary out there that can't possibly be breached for all we know, yet we still bind the scientific community to beg for their supper. Too bad kids don't know a Nobel Prize winners name before a famous athlete’s.
Sometimes when a new discovery is found, it is "pooh-poohed" by the scientific community because it flies in the face of an entire generation, sometimes centuries worth of generations, popular belief. When the end of a generation begins to die off, more modern theories begin to be taken more seriously. Science is very much a battle of ego.
Sure, and a social battle too - whether it be in the scientific community, or the wider world, like you're saying. I would definitely like to see the scientific community partially protected from one of these problems - the normal competitive structure of life. I'd like the most inspired of them to be allowed to follow their most fanciful dreams to see where they lead (to be the rare and fragile creatures that can only exist protected by corral, as one author put it ;)). [altho, to flip to an opposite perspective, I'm also aware of a negative trend in this approach - i.e. the so-what-if-i've-invented-a-bug-that-kills-all-humans/-it's-not-my-fault-how-society-uses-it approach. There are some areas where, the more our power grows, the more I'd like to see some social-care imposed)
It's interesting tho, this contrast between the pushing back of boundaries on one hand, and the limitations of human minds and habits on the other (i.e. how much can we either accept new ideas/technology, or apply them responsably). Continued development in both areas seems to be necessary for stable evolution IMO.
One thing i've become very interested in is how mentally equipped we are to deal with technological advances. (And greed plays it's part in that too - i.e. misapplication of gene-knowledge [as it stands, which from my perspective, is at a woefully low level for us to be messing with the stuff the way we are]).
One of the aspects in the mix is our ability to deal with changing information - both individually and socially (and the greed-aspect provides it's own unique version of this again - i.e. - the way modern biotechs refuse to accept certain information that basically invalidates their appraoch - i.e. everything from information that's been around for 50 years, to the latest facinating insights into how our genes seem to shuffle and adapt in multiple ways [in some cases because of environmental stimulae. As one guy I've been reading recently put it - the argument shouldn't be "nature vs nurture", "rather nature via nurture" - which is an interesting way of trying to bridge what are two quite ingrained camps quite often])
Anyways, b4 i go ballistic, and muddle too many themes together....i'll stop. ;)
Altho, i think i'll add this last note. I think you're right that there is enormous potential for science to discover things that we never dreamed were possible - but i'm becoming more and more convinced that mentalities must match these advances for them to be applied responsably - from those that apply them scientifically, to those who regulate them empirically, and us who use them in the home willy-nilly ;).
Heheheh. Daggy. Nother good one for him :) - Ah, just having your avatar flicker over my brow has relaxed me from daggy-tension to good ole reflective pretention again ;)
Now surely you have some bizarre browsings you can share on this thread? Some ley-line into the sublime? The science behind limes? The reason why some people always rhyme? :rolleyes: (no really, i need to know that one ;))
Come, share those weird and wonderful facts :)
Ummmmmm Errrrrrrr I have started a compost bin, doing my bit for the garbage tips of the world, is that sublime enough :D
Might be subloam? (groan :rolleyes: ) Yeah, good on you. We're having trouble with ours coz rats keep living in it. I once laughed at a local council competition that offered a compost-heap-bin as a prize. Now i'm gonna enter every bizarre local government quiz i can if it means i can get a bin with no bottom. :)
I sort of thought this could be a place for the scientific-y curious factoids, or just weird info about people n places. (as it is it's just turned into another place for me to ramble ;)).
Oh well, how about this little bit of weirdness:
A microbial geneticist called Cambel did something rather cruel to some E.coli bacteria. He removed the gene which allows them to break down lactose (i.e. gain nutrition from it). Then he surrounded them with loads of lactose, and a small amount of "minimal nutrient" which could just about keep them alive. When the minimal nutrient was used up, mutant colonies began to appear that could metabolise the lactose.
In other words, the bacteria had mutated to survive.
See, our environment can affect our genes (and quite radically in times of adversity), as much as our genes can affect how we express ourselves in our environment.
Later studies found 31 different forms of mutation to achieve the same end in different strains of the bacteria. And a similar capacity has been found in other highly-studied lifeforms i.e. yeast and fruitflys. Odds on that humans can do it too (and in fact, a comparable bit of genetic-fluidity was found in people suffering from Fanconi anaemia - key gene sections underwent what can be called "frameshift" mutation, caused by the "insertion" and "deletion" of genetic base-pairs to re-structure the genome. The result was the production of proteins that did the same job as the ones that damaged genes had stopped producing.)
Enough. There's so much mad stuff being discovered and re-analysed in this area. Tis complexiscious.
Might be subloam? (groan :rolleyes: ) Yeah, good on you. We're having trouble with ours coz rats keep living in it. I once laughed at a local council competition that offered a compost-heap-bin as a prize. Now i'm gonna enter every bizarre local government quiz i can if it means i can get a bin with no bottom. :)
I have the bottomless one, my brother gave me a brand new one when he moved, he had never used it, don't hate :laugh:
Cool, just searched the web for my name. I'm....
...this light-fed autonymous robot...
http://www.robot-maker.com/images/golavdr.gif
http://www.robot-maker.com/golgot.htm
...a randomly-named photo of weirdly be-eared wood...
http://www.clipgate.com/aimg/600425517
...and an industrial laundry service in the Check Republic, amongst other things.:)
http://www.golgot.cz/ban_laun.gif
Cool, just searched the web for my name. I'm....
...and an industrial laundry service in the Check Republic, amongst other things.:)
http://www.golgot.cz/ban_laun.gif
Oh great I will just be over to drop off my washing. http://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage09/3.gif :D
Hey, we provide a damn good service (will that be tumble or soak madam?)
Soak please, then we can go out for pizza after, http://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage11/16.gif
Fugitive
02-14-04, 09:02 AM
That was actually a very interesting thing, Golgs. I'd never thought of searching for my own name. I came up with some science professor I think... or some equally bloody boring thing.
Incidentally, where did you get the name "Golgot" from anyway? Is that your real name? If not, how did you come up with it?
That was actually a very interesting thing, Golgs. I'd never thought of searching for my own name. I came up with some science professor I think... or some equally bloody boring thing.
You've got a rampant, if educated, name there ;). (Mind you, mine turns up a lot on french forums and weird hacking sites it seems. Must mean something i guess. I just dunno what).
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But now, back to the weirdness that is the big ole wide world...
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There are two acredited creators of the tv, altho only one of them really deserves the name (but they're both fascinatingly odd)
The scatty inventor John Logie Baird invented the mechanical tv. He'd already blacked-out a large part of Glasgow while trying to make diamonds, created various useless items, and some useful insulated socks, before he came up with an idea for a mechanical tv.
After the idea struck him he hurried off and bought a coffin, a hat-box, a wooden box with sealing wax and "bobbins" inside, some knitting needles, some glue and a bike lamp. Imagine he must have had some form of electrical relay stuff too at home tho - coz he then sent the first ever electrically-transmitted image - of a cross.
The amount of light he pumped through his later machines to transmit the first moving images of human faces once involved a participants hair catching on fire.
Fourteen-year-old Philo T Farnsworth on the other hand, with only a few years of reading science mags behind him, looked at some furrowed fields and realised that electrons could be scanned if they could be arranged in a line. (and then freaked out his chemistry teacher by writing his theories up on his blackboard).
He went on to develope the first cathode-ray tubes (amongst other things), and basically invented/made possible the first electronic television - the predecesor of the one that we watch today.
Of course, even tho Farnsworth's invention won out, a company called RCA patented their own version of his invention, and made all the money (Marconi did the same thing to Logie).
Guess those guys were making the money when the Nazis were the first to realise the propoganda potential of tv, and putting them in all their community centres. Funny old world eh?
Very cool info. Good work as usual Gol :yup:
_S
Very cool info. Good work as usual Gol :yup:
_S
Cheers Seds (I was mis-spelling Philo's name for a while tho - shame on me :blush: ;))
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Look out! Your DVD player contains arsenic! (Well, metal arsenide actually, but arsenic is used in the process to make the laser).
So, erm, don't try any DIY laser surgery with it, alright?
Caitlyn
03-06-04, 11:23 PM
Interesting stuff GG... thanks... :)
US Patent Application number 4150505 = "Bird Trap and Cat Feeder".
Says it all really :rolleyes:
US Patent Application number 4150505 = "Bird Trap and Cat Feeder".
Says it all really :rolleyes:
:rotfl:
:rotfl:
I got that from New Scientist - so it seems to be the genuine (never-should-have-been-dreamed-up) article.
This however, i got from the Times, and i've no idea what to make of it...
Jail reprieve
A drug smuggler caught leaving Jamaica with 16kg of marijuana has escaped a jail sentence after claiming to be a hermaphrodite. Jonathon Featherstone, 18, of Tottenham, North London was given a six month suspended sentence and fined £2,800.
This however, i got from the Times, and i've no idea what to make of it...
Well I am with you on this :rolleyes: maybe the court thought he/she had enough problems to deal with ;)
Maybe s/he got damaged when they tried to use this Victorian vibrator...?
http://images.thisislondon.co.uk/v2/life%26style/vibrator30sPA240304_450x300.jpg
It was originally develped to treat "hysteria" in women, and soon became a popular household item ;). (although it may have annoyed doctors of the time, as they previously treated symptoms by massaging the area causing the "hysteria" ;))
lordy lordy.
"in depth" article here...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1176457,00.html
Here's an excerpt from a letter written to Arthur C. Clarke concerning the real meaning of 2001
"What is the meaning behind the epidemic? Does the pink furniture reveal anything about the 3rd monolith and it's emitting a pink colour when it first approaches the ship? Does this have anything to do with a shy expression? Does the alcohol offered by the Russians have anything to do with French kissing and saliva?"
bluebottle
03-27-04, 08:59 PM
Dr Jeffrey Weeks and team have apparently claimed the universe is spherical-ish, not infinite. (although were you to reach one extremity you'd suddenly find yourself "coming back in through the other face". This is what gives "the illusion of the universe endlessly repeating itself".
It's really not that difficult to understand, the universe is finite, but unbounded much like the surface of a sphere or a Moebius strip.
It's really not that difficult to understand, the universe is finite, but unbounded much like the surface of a sphere or a Moebius strip.
Well, i hope they start teaching that in schools, that's all i can say ;)
And the fun continues. Another boundary-confounding bounce against the limits of our knowledge has been undertaken by a certain Martin Bojowald.
When he looked at the Big Bang using the "loop quantum gravity" theory (the one that thinks of the universes' building blocks as tiny loops, as opposed to tiny strings) he found...
not a beginning at all, but rather a portal to a universe that came before, a universe that, as it turned out, was completely inside out.
I think i better stop there.
But i swear to God (or the reversible physical anomaly of your choice) that i'm not making any of this up :) Life's weird enough ;)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT: Who'd of thought you could represent time with the volume of a loop 10-35 metres in diameter. Funny old world. Funny old brain. (That's my new refrain ;))
Here's a simply delightful man at the Homeland & Global Security Summit, trying to sell his simply vital and exceptionally useful device...
"The money's not flowing yet like we anticipated, but we're only scratching the surface right now," [grr]said Thomas Frizzle, who was marketing a mobile phone capable of detecting radioactive fallout. The $6,000 phone goes nicely with a smart $600 wristwatch that reports both time and the wearer's current radiation exposure
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1079420132261&p=1012571727085
Yay! When you wake up after dreaming you can tickle yourself!
"Tickle machine is dream come true"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8122-1063689,00.html [this site'll be accessible for a while. After that search for "Mark Blagrove of Swansea University" perhaps]
This may not sound like much, but it extends knowledge in two interesting areas:
1) We can't tickle ourselves, only others can do it. (As mentioned above in this thread, the best explanation so far is that it's a "play" mechanism that allows us to rough-house in a friendly, "educational" way with others)
2) Dreaming seems to involve a mental state where the role and influence of the ego/"self" is greatly reduced. (Jung guessed that dreaming is a time when our "Id"/unconscious gets to explore all the things we observed throughout the day, but that our ego wouldn't allow us to consider, or even countenance/admit-exists. There's ample evidence that this form of denial is vital to both the formation of our individual personalities, and the classically-logical/rationalising constructs involved in this process)
But cool. For a while after waking, you're not aware that you're "you" ;) (which begs the question, who's scratching your...head? :))
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And another Yay (but a sarcastic one this time ;)). Help may have arrived for the logical, scientific justification for God.
A physicist has come up with a probability equation that suggests there's a 67% chance that God exists.
http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/long022604.html
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/sciences/story/0,12243,1164894,00.html
I'd say he's a touch biased (and he agrees in many ways - but then, he's a whimsical man. Still, his personal assessment of God's existence is that there's a 95% probability. He puts the extra 28% down to faith ;))
Interestingly enough, it seems that... some of Unwin's most ferocious critics have been proponents of Intelligent Design, demanding to know why it is absent from Unwin's equations
Unwin comes up with this intriguing conclusion, according to the first article...
The author looks at the arguments and concludes that religion and science best occupy separate planes.
"To plagiarize and adapt from the best," Unwin writes, "render unto the physical world those things that are physical and render unto God those things that are God's."
Course, he'll have had some harsh criticism from non-God believers like myself too (but perhaps slightly less frothing ones, it seems ;) :)).
I'd take issue with some of his criteria for a start. Like the idea that charitable acts, and "goodness" generally, can't be explained within a godless world or rationalised within a godless mindset
Heigh ho - i've got my own beef with the formulation and application of probability wave-forms anyway. I guess this guy Unwin isn't from the "precautionary" school of assessment. But he's certainly from the humility side when drawing assertions, and for that he gets my respect :)
Just thought my fellow lay people might like to know that M-theory, (which involves microscopic p-dimensional membranes, known as p-branes, inhabiting an 11-dimensional universe) unifies the 5 superstring theories.
It also provides the theory of "brane-world"
Thank goodness for all them brains working on the branes. Where would we be without them? :) (well...we'd be surer of how many dimensions there were for a start ;)).
This has got to be the best name ever for an obstructionist amendment...
The DeLay-Doolittle Amendment.
(It's designed to postpone campaign finance reforms. Specifically the Shays-Meehan reform bill, which seeks to address the undeclared funding for campaign/partisan "issues ads" - and indeed the nature of the ads themselves)
I think the aim of Campaign Finance Reform is noble, but perhaps unrealistic. I'm having trouble seeing a way in which we can the sorts of gaping loopholes MoveOn.org and the like are strolling through without imposing unreasonable restrictions on free speech.
I would guess, however, that current laws have made some progress on the matter. Whether we can do much more, however, I just don't know.
I think the aim of Campaign Finance Reform is noble, but perhaps unrealistic. I'm having trouble seeing a way in which we can the sorts of gaping loopholes MoveOn.org and the like are strolling through without imposing unreasonable restrictions on free speech.
I would guess, however, that current laws have made some progress on the matter. Whether we can do much more, however, I just don't know.
I'm not fully up on the whole affair, coz things are a bit tamer over here.
(There's a nominal level of "transparency" - which means when we do pester, persistantly, we can just about find out what political sponsership hasn't been declared that should have been etc. And on the advertising score, things are limited to party political broadcasts and then partisan billboards.)
But it seems like there are two main issues here:
1) Funding. It needs to be declared.
2) Partisan adverts that pose as apolitical discussions.
Are MoveOn an affiliated group? I thought they were stand-alone/independant - a publically funded pressure group? As such, they seem a touch distinct from a corporation or pressure group funding/influencing a political party.
Either way, from what little i know about them, they seem to nail their politics to the mast.
If i'm right about the details, i don't fully see how groups like them would be affected by this proposed bill. Groups like that aren't claiming to be apolitical. I can see how the "public" funding part might cause problems, but they still appear to be a distinct from party-affiliated publicity etc.
Ok, this info comes from a random guy writing to a science mag. It must be true... ;)
New Scientist vol 160 issue 2155 - 10 October 1998, page 54
Paul Davies suggests that earthly life may have originated on Mars ("Survivors from Mars", 12 September, p 24). In the absence of all external time cues, the human daily cycle settles at a length of 24.9 hours—notably similar to the length of a day on Mars. This would appear to support the notion that we may be the last Martians.
Gabriel Packard Redhill, Surrey
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3745749.stm
Volcanic eruptions in Iceland probably caused an unusual rise in deaths in England [and across Europe] during the summer of 1783
One...account from Lincoln published in Gentleman's Magazine, July 1783, reads: "A thick, hot vapour had for several days before filled up the valley... so that both the Sun and Moon appeared like heated brick-bars."
Well, they better keep using their leaky lava for geothermal/hydrogen energy-formation these days, that's all i'm saying ;)
Here's a fun fact that biologist Jack Cohen and physicist Ian Stewart use to puncture the "science" of astrology. They are intrigued, first of all, by the astrologists' belief that it's only at the moment of birth that the planets' influence first registers. And yet...
The gravitational attraction exerted by a single doctor at a distance of 6 inches is roughly twice that of Jupiter at its closest point to the earth
Well, these guys get a bit peeved that scientific experts like astronomers, who predict eclipses with absolute regularity, get less reverence and attention that the average horoscope-hack in a tabloid.
But if i was to play devils advocate, and ponder the "science" of astrology some more...i would wonder whether planets could block incoming "cosmic rays" etc, which could be extra-influential during our formative acclimatisations to the world. Not that i think practitioners of the astrological "art" could register that influence. Just a thought. :)
Gotta love the way all things seem to have a gravitational field and all tho. :) (I've heard that when you drop a tennis ball, the earth rises up to meet it in an imperceptible way. No idea if it's true tho :) ;))
Ah, bless the bbc. Here's some bizarre pop-science from their web pages...
Sport:
'Elite' sportsmen are more likely to have abnormally long ring fingers it seems, (possibly because of a greater response or exposure to testosterone during gestation).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/1193034.stm
Movies:
The X-Men isn't all mutated movie magic it seems. They may even have been under-estimating what a real-life Magneto could do...
Most materials are 'diamagnetic', meaning that they are always repelled by either of the magnetic poles. Water is slightly diamagnetic so it's also repelled by strong magnetic fields.
Since animals are mostly water, scientists have found that if they use a strong enough magnetic field, they could levitate a live frog – and it doesn't hurt the frog at all.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/superheroes/xmen.shtml
I imagine it hurt the frog's pride at the very least tho ;)
And there's more... i think i may have mentioned this abomination before, but it's worth a repeat...
Unfortunately, it's very difficult to farm spiders for their silk because they tend to eat each other. So scientists have tried a variety of different methods to produce the silk without arachnid help. One of the more successful relies on stealing the spider's silk gene and putting it into something more friendly – like a goat.
Spider-Goats
In an unlikely coupling, genetic engineers have now bred goats that have spider silk genes inside them. By doing this, they can harvest the silk proteins from the goat's milk (silky milk, anyone?). The silk gene was just one of 70,000 that make up the DNA blueprint for building a normal goat.
In adult female goats, the silk gene is activated only while the animal is producing milk. One goat can produce about 7g of silk per day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/superheroes/spiderman.shtml
Just so, so, so wrong. Let's just hope the goats don't start eating each other at least :rolleyes:
Ah, bless the bbc. Here's some bizarre pop-science from their web pages...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/superheroes/spiderman.shtml
Just so, so, so wrong. Let's just hope the goats don't start eating each other at least :rolleyes:
WTF do we need poor goats to produce silk for :eek:
WTF do we need poor goats to produce silk for :eek:
Lummee, Nebs, you nearly swore! ;)
It must be because too many people boycotted goat's cheese after France opposed the war in Iraq. They had to find a new use for the goats. Now you see what happens when you invade other countries! You end up with goats full of web proteins. It shouldn't happen to a dog (altho they might be next. Six nipples).
Ach, i guess it really works like this...
silk = commodity that sells well.
Goat = mutatable.
Money = happy goat mutators.
(any unforseen effects of the mutation = someone else's problem, apparently :rolleyes: )
silk = commodity that sells well.
Goat = mutatable.
Money = happy goat mutators.
(any unforseen effects of the mutation = someone else's problem, apparently :rolleyes: )
Poor little goats :bawling:
My, my, there's just so much going on...
Here's a lovely little haul of the more bizarre goings-on charted in the latest New Scientist...
Some dogs can predict when a child will have an epileptic seizure, a new study has revealed...
Nine of the 60 dogs in the study (15 per cent) were able to predict a seizure by licking, whimpering, or standing next to the child.... they predicted 80 per cent of seizures, with no false reports.
Scientists experimenting with stem-cell technology have grown mice teeth inside a mouse's kidney. Erm, hooray?
The US has finally come out looking good in a study of resource consumption (not coz of good practice tho ;)). Comparing the amount of biological resources consumed with the amount created through photosynthesis etc leaves the US looking pretty good...
Western Europe consumes 72 per cent of what it produces; east Asia consumes 63 per cent; and south Asia consumes a record 80 per cent.
By comparison, in North America photosynthesis produces 6.7 billion tonnes of carbon a year 9 times as much as western Europe but its people consume some 1.6 billion tonnes, only 3 times as much as western Europeans. The result is that North Americans consume a relatively modest 24 per cent of their net primary productivity which is close to the global mean.
Aspirin and paracetamol apparently lower male libido - through things called COX inhibitors. ;) [the cartoon accompanying this is class - a couple in bed, with the woman saying to her fella: "I've got a headache, could you take some aspirin?"]
Oh, and on a final fun note, one reader suggests that new technology, which allowed old records and wax cylinders to be read without harming them, could have another use. An old thought-experi-mentalist who went by the name of Daedalus suggested in the sixties that plasterers who worked on the Pyramids might have left traces of their conversation in the plaster. Ah, if only it were so ;)
More New Scientist snippets...
Barcode me - 26 June - p32
From an article about attempts to develop a "tricorder"-style system that could tell the difference between every individual type of animal
By most estimates, the 1.7 million species recognised or named to date represent barely one in five of Earth's total
unsurprisingly, there were plenty of problems...
His initial test runs turned up several glaringly misplaced organisms ladybird beetles classified as wasps, arthropods stuck in with molluscs, and the like
---
Psychic Birds (or what?) - 26 June 2004 - p48
Some thoughts from the Darwinian bird-lover Selous, who was fascinated by the seeming telepathy exibited by birds in mass-flights
"Our minds (however great) are but a part of nature," he opined. So if people could do something, most likely other creatures could too, at least a bit, he reasoned.
...
He watched rooks suddenly rising from a field "like a leaping up of black flame, so instantaneous and unanimous was it"
He was derided and ostracised for his preference for field work over "killing birds and staring at their dried skins", and for his more curious theories.
And yet...
Much of what Selous observed remains unexplained today. ...As thousands of starlings leave their winter roosts at dawn, their pattern of departure is so coordinated that it produces a telltale image on a radar screen concentric ripples radiating from the roost at roughly 3-minute intervals. Stand near the roost, and you can hear the birds bickering and singing, louder and louder, until suddenly they all go silent. A few seconds later, singing recommences for about 3 minutes, then the sudden silence again. As the pattern is repeated the birds begin to leave in bursts, during the silences, producing "ring angels" picked up by radar.
And what fascinated him is fascinating still. One of the most beautiful sights i've ever seen is the starling "dance" performed at dusk above the abandoned western pier on Brighton beach.
---
Constants stay put for now - 26 June 2004, page 15
The constant debate over whether the "universal constants" are constant goes on... Specifically, the "fine structure constant" called "alpha", which...
dictates the strength of the interaction between an electron and a photon, and governs a host of physical processes, from how the Sun burns to the "inflation" of the Universe immediately after the big bang. A changing alpha has implications for the constancy of the speed of light, and would revolutionise traditional physics.
The evidence which suggested it was different near the time of the big bang has taken a knock, but may still bounce back. Which is more consistant, consistancy or change...? The debate goes on... ;)
Yet more New Scientist snippets...
---
"It's not new physics - nothing new has to be discovered, nothing new has to be invented from scratch."
Bradley C. Edwards, of the Institute for Scientific Research in Fairmont, West Virginia, on building elevators within 15 years that could reach space on cables made of carbon nanotubes (WashingtonTimes.com, 28 June)
---
In theory, they should be dead...
New Scientist vol 183 issue 2454 - 03 July 2004, page 14
Stem cells show three of the major signs of cellular self-destruction (apoptosis). Yet they don't self-destruct - far from it. One theory knocked about by the researcher who discovered this is that the process of self-renewal may have evolved alongside that of cell death.
---
Not too hot, not too cold
New Scientist vol 183 issue 2454 - 03 July 2004, page 16
Competition can lead to cooperation... variety can lead to consistancy...
HONEYBEES from different fathers try to keep their nest at different temperatures. But this competition helps stabilise the temperature of the colony.
---
Universal constants now inconstant again
If the speed of light can change...
New Scientist vol 183 issue 2454 - 03 July 2004, page 6
A scientist analysing the world's only natural nuclear reactor, in Oklo in Gabon, has found a new type of evidence that suggests the "alpha" constant was different in the past (and in the more recent past too, 2 billion years ago, rather than 12)
So, light might have been faster in the past, and some bizarre theories are suddenly looking stronger again (like ones that break the laws of conservation of energy, and versions of string theory that suggest extra dimensions change the constants of nature at some places of space-time. Hooray ;))
---
An audit of war and occupation
New Scientist vol 183 issue 2454 - 03 July 2004, page 8
Here's just a few of these intriguing numbers...
1000 - Radiation sources capable of being made into dirty bombs still unaccounted for in Iraq (highest estimate). Many were used in hospitals and factories, and 400 were stored at the Tuwaitha nuclear research centre, outside Baghdad. (International Atomic Energy Agency)
55 BILLION - The sum (in US dollars) required over the next four years to restore public services in Iraq, according to a World Bank estimate. This includes $1.6 billion for health, $6.8 billion for water and sanitation and $12 billion for electricity. (Medact, London)
1.4 MILLION - Litres of clean water delivered in bottles or plastic containers by aid agencies across Iraq every day because public services have failed or supplies are polluted.(USAID)
0 - Number of nuclear weapons, explosives, or active programs to develop nuclear weapons found (International Atomic Energy agency)
[NB - ditto for tonnes of chemical weapons discovered - predictions were 3,850 tonnes].
Unknown - Amount of depleted-uranium armour-piercing munitions fired by US forces during conflict and occuptation. The UN Environment Programme has not been able to enter Iraq to guage the risk posed.
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Leeches have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for medicinal use
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That's enough for now ;)
Equilibrium
07-05-04, 05:33 PM
interesting...
Very interesting indeed. It seems to me that a lot of this would be a bit more mainstream.
I wrote a paper on the consistancy of light for my physics class, and theres a lot to it. I had this crazy theory involving black holes and the speed of light- it really warps my mind.
I had this crazy theory involving black holes and the speed of light- it really warps my mind.
My eyes glaze over when my husband starts to talk black holes etc :dizzy:
angelwingsdevil
07-07-04, 10:20 AM
Anything envolving the universe is almost impossible, I find, for the human brain to comprend. The universe is supossedly endless. But how can anything go on forever? Everything we know of is contained. Everything has a beginning and an end, as if boxed. It is difficult for me to think of anything as being endless, except for time, which we have wrapped up into neat little package.
except for time, which we have wrapped up into neat little package.
"Most people think of time as a river, moving indefinetley in one direction. But i know now that time is an Ocean in a Storm-"
"Most people think of time as a river, moving indefinetley in one direction. But i know now that time is an Ocean in a Storm-"
Hmm, could go for space too...:)
Anything envolving the universe is almost impossible, I find, for the human brain to comprend. The universe is supossedly endless. But how can anything go on forever? Everything we know of is contained. Everything has a beginning and an end, as if boxed. It is difficult for me to think of anything as being endless, except for time, which we have wrapped up into neat little package.
Yeah, the very concept of infinity tripped me out completely when i was introduced to it as a kid. There's still the possibility that there's no such thing as "infinity" though - that if anything it merely represents how we cope with point where our knowledge ends. Mind you.... even if the universe is "finite" i.e. it wraps in on itself, or some such thing... there's still the question of what's "outside"... ;)
. Mind you.... even if the universe is "finite" i.e. it wraps in on itself, or some such thing... there's still the question of what's "outside"... ;)
:dizzy:
Well there was always the question of what holds the earth up. An old woman would reply "Turtle. The Earth rests on the shell of a turtle." Okay, then whats beneath the turtle? "Its turtles all the way down."
Perhaps its 'turtles' all the way out, too. :D
Well there was always the question of what holds the earth up. An old woman would reply "Turtle. The Earth rests on the shell of a turtle." Okay, then whats beneath the turtle? "Its turtles all the way down."
Perhaps its 'turtles' all the way out, too. :D
A very old Chinese women would anyway ;)
Nice one. Always loved that old to-infinity rationalisation. I kind of like the comparison with the God-above thing of monotheistic religions too - everything stops with God i.e. he represents the infinite - and yet, "he" has become so anthropormorphised (what with us being made in his image etc supposedly) that it's tempting to ask 'Who made God?', and in terms of the metaphor of a big bearded man, the answer should be "It's Gods all the way up" ;).
Funny how silly things can get if you build a theory-of-everything on one thing ;). But of course, 'rationally', you can't argue against the "God" one on that front, coz although God = a-theory-of-everything, everything = God. It's only when people start saying that "everything" says you shouldn't work on Sundays that there's something to discuss ;).
EDIT:
Did that make sense Nebs?? :)
it's tempting to ask 'Who made God?',
Well, who did. :goof:
Equilibrium
07-09-04, 01:29 PM
Well, who did. :goof:
He's always been there. I know its hard to comprehend, but thats why hes god. And if we were to udnerstand everything about god and what he can do, then we wouldn't feel the need to worship him now would we.
He's always been there. I know its hard to comprehend, but thats why hes god. And if we were to udnerstand everything about god and what he can do, then we wouldn't feel the need to worship him now would we.
How d'you know He's a he? And if He's not a he, why not call Him "It"? (And if we could understand everything about Him, surely we'd worship him even more?) And, and, and... (the questions pertaining to a representation of everything can just go on forever ;))
No matter what you believe, there pretty much has to be a first cause; a force or thing that was there of its own accord, and didn't need anything to create it. Seeing as how this cannot be reconciled with our knowledge of physics, it seems reasonable to me that a God of some sort would be the first thing, given his/her/its inherent nature to stand outside of the laws of physics to begin with.
Any non-supernatural explanation for the origin of the Universe will find itself unavoidably incomplete, holding out for further scientific breakthroughs to make sense of the situation. The logic of a necessary "first cause" is pretty straightforward, so I doubt the error is there. Either we're wholly ignorant of some very major issues related to the way matter can behave, or else there's something out there that isn't playing by our physical rules.
How d'you know He's a he? And if He's not a he, why not call Him "It"?Depends on what you believe. If you believe in The Bible, you believe God refers to Himself in a masculine sense, in which case it seems odd to refer to Him as "It."
It's possible, of course, that it's all made-up and the use of "He" represents our desire to anthropomorphize such things, as you mentioned earlier. Then again, it's possible that rather than ascribing God with humanlike characteristics, God ascribed Godlike characteristics to humans. It's a wash, in my mind.
Equilibrium
07-09-04, 01:57 PM
Depends on what you believe. If you believe in The Bible, you believe God refers to Himself in a masculine sense, in which case it seems odd to refer to Him as "It."
It's possible, of course, that it's all made-up and the use of "He" represents our desire to anthropomorphize such things, as you mentioned earlier. Then again, it's possible that rather than ascribing God with humanlike characteristics, God ascribed Godlike characteristics to humans. It's a wash, in my mind.
Yea, thats what I was thinking too. I say he because I don't know, I could very well say she also but not just stick with one of them.
No matter what you believe, there pretty much has to be a first cause; a force or thing that was there of its own accord, and didn't need anything to create it.
Well, the universe could be infinite across time of course i.e. if it always existed it would have no starting point, no "cause". Some quantum theories have projected how such a system of constant existence might work.
Seeing as how this cannot be reconciled with our knowledge of physics, it seems reasonable to me that a God of some sort would be the first thing, given his/her/its inherent nature to stand outside of the laws of physics to begin with.
Two interesting statements here...
1) That a single cause for the universe cannot be reconciled with current physics theory/data.
But that's what the predominant big-bang argument posits - a singularity, a starting point with no precedent.
2) That God inherently stands outside the laws of physics.
By that do you mean the laws that we've created to understand the physics of the universe? Or the "underlying" laws of the universe? (which our 'laws' will never fully represent, methinks).
I'm intrigued by your apparent desire for God to exist "outside" of all physical things, as it were. Some believers say that God exists in everything - that God is everything - in which case it would be strange to say that he has no part of him that exists in the "physical world". And even if he's just a distant creator figure, who is so "otherly" that he bears no relation to the physical world,it seems peculiar that he can interact with it. (You can just say, well, he's so "otherly" he can do that, and that's ok, for a pure belief, but my suspicion is that there's a desire here to ally him with "the unknowable". That's even finer ;). It just doesn't make Him seperate from the Universe)
Mostly, i'm just interested in why you feel it has to be that he's is made of some otherly "non-physical God-stuff", as it were. Personally i reckon you might as well call a thing a thing. If God exists, He's a thing. He'd just happen to be made of very magical and wonderful stuff, or be amazingly all-encompassing in nature, or what have you.
(Incidently, your doing that tautological thing again of justifying an aspect of "what God's like" by saying "God's like that" [how do you know??]. i.e you said God-exists-"outside"-the-universe, therefore it's logical that he existed before the universe [i.e. he was "outside" it already].)
Any non-supernatural explanation for the origin of the Universe will find itself unavoidably incomplete, holding out for further scientific breakthroughs to make sense of the situation.
Oh i absolutely agree - and indeed, even the Big Bang theory is a massive leap of faith. But that's because all science theories which try and cover that much ground are relying on something "supernatural", in the sense of "something-beyond-nature-as-we-currently-understand-it". They're mini-religions. It's just that the scientist's involved call them theories (that they just happen to really really want to believe in ;)).
The logic of a necessary "first cause" is pretty straightforward, so I doubt the error is there. Either we're wholly ignorant of some very major issues related to the way matter can behave, or else there's something out there that isn't playing by our physical rules.
Well, we certainly are ignorant of ways in which matter can behave, and we damn-near-as-certainly always will be, if only coz of the limitations of our abilities to percieve and understand. But what we do "know" already suggests that the physical world acts in very different ways in the same physical space (as it were ;)). From the quantum level of micro-"molecular" interaction, to the Newtonian/Einsteinian theories of "larger" physical interaction, there are huge contradictions/differences.
I'm happy for there to be a "God physics" going on at the same time, that we can't percieve, that is both part of all that and different too, but it seems peculiar to say it has no "physical" aspects. To me, that seems tantamount to saying it doesn't exist ;)
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On one hand what we're talking about here is the logical validation of "God". I don't believe such a thing is possible.
On the other hand, we're talking about belief. As Donny Rumsfeld would put it, there are many unknown unknowables. And that to me is fine, and and an intriguing part of what it means to be human. It doesn't nescessitate the existance of a God. It's more of a reminder that the Universe will always work in mysterious ways, and we might as well have fun unravelling the mysteries we can in the parts of it we can understand. Those type of things need no logical justification to me - what needs justification is the human element - how we as humans-of-the-universe interact with the Universe. (We can determine its sex later ;))
Depends on what you believe. If you believe in The Bible, you believe God refers to Himself in a masculine sense, in which case it seems odd to refer to Him as "It."
It's possible, of course, that it's all made-up and the use of "He" represents our desire to anthropomorphize such things, as you mentioned earlier. Then again, it's possible that rather than ascribing God with humanlike characteristics, God ascribed Godlike characteristics to humans. It's a wash, in my mind.
Sorry, it's all awash in your mind, or you wash the hands of that debate coz we can't know? ;)
I could go down all sorts of facetious lines of inquiry, of course, asking: If he's one distinct sex, doesn't that suggest he should have a mate? Is he going out with some jail-bait 15-billion-year-old Goddess on the sly?
But i wont (ask any more than those...;))
You could also argue that God appears in human literature in very human-appreciable forms coz he wanted to communicate himself better etc. That would even lend itself better to justifiying his "maleness" - i.e. it was males who were the rule-makers at the time etc.
But from my humble little human perspective, it still looks far more "probable" that we added human aspects to natural phenomenon (including the broad mass-unconscious behaviour of society). But hey, like you say, who knows :)
Still gonna do work-like things on a Sunday tho, whatever the Big Man says ;).
2) God inherently stands outside the laws of physics.
I wrote a paper on tachyonic metaphysics earlier this year. (A tachyon is any particle traveling faster than the speed of light.)
After a enough research to make Stephen Hawking get up and dance, i began to craft a theory that through the use of tachyonic metaphysics,(or rather, metaphysics in general,) we can fully explain everything that effects the world, (microphysics, newtonian physics, the cosmos). This is a simple enough theory, and im not bold enough to say i was the first to think of it. I took it a step further, however, and decided to see if i could begin to use metaphysics to explain ghosts, angels, magic, and even the works of God.
I have no reservations regaurding the awesome power of a superior being that should be loved and worshiped. Continuing on...
As most physicists know, a particle traveling the speed of light has no mass. Similarly, a particle not moving would have a greater mass. Therefore, the faster something goes, the less mass it has. Considering that a tachyon, (which, by the way, is still a theoretical particle, first proposed by einstein.) considering that tachyons travel faster than the speed of light, they must have a negative mass as well. Therefore, these tachyons exsist in a theoretical existance parrallel to ours, and yet, these particles can still effect our world. A completley undetectable particle holding sway in our world.....sound farmiliar, perhaps?
God's everywhere, he's just moving really quickly? ;)
Intriguing stuff man. I guess in theory then there could be a whole world of "anti-mass" stuff going on in the same 4 dimensions we occupy and we'd never know. I thought light-speed was considered the "speed limit" of the universe tho? Or perhaps that's just the universe as we know it? :)
There has been a lot of controversy recently over light's speed as the maximum. But considering that any particle traveling faster than the speed of light would be undetectable, of course people would assume there is no faster speed. :)
SamsoniteDelilah
07-15-04, 08:29 PM
a few thoughts on old topics...
...But if i was to play devils advocate, and ponder the "science" of astrology some more...i would wonder whether planets could block incoming "cosmic rays" etc, which could be extra-influential during our formative acclimatisations to the world. Not that i think practitioners of the astrological "art" could register that influence. Just a thought. :)
That's a very inventive and somewhat pragmatic thought, and I'm totally stealing it, the next time I get into a debate with some physics guy about astrology. :up:
Scientists experimenting with stem-cell technology have grown mice teeth inside a mouse's kidney. Erm, hooray?If you ever have a kidney stone, you'll be praying to grow teeth to crunch it with.
Equilibrium
07-16-04, 05:24 AM
There has been a lot of controversy recently over light's speed as the maximum. But considering that any particle traveling faster than the speed of light would be undetectable, of course people would assume there is no faster speed. :)
I wonder if you would send me that paper, Zeiken. It sounds extremely intiguing. If you do not have it anymore, can you please ela borate and go into more detail?
If you ever have a kidney stone, you'll be praying to grow teeth to crunch it with.
Ohhh yes :eek:
I wonder if you would send me that paper, Zeiken. It sounds extremely intiguing. If you do not have it anymore, can you please ela borate and go into more detail?
Well that post was basically saying that something exists that we cant see. These Tachyons have always been considered impossibble by most, simply because no one has ever found a particle faster than the speed of light. That feat, in itself is impossibble considering that those super-speed Tachyons are undetectable. (At least by current technology, and until we can create a negative-mass scale, we wont find them.)
I'll look around for the paper, i might have to scan it in. Its a good 16 pages though, so make sure your ready. :D
Well, while we're waiting for that frisky bit of physics, here are some other bizarre going on to get our kidneys around...
'rain theft'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1261459,00.html
Areas of oh-so-arid China are battling over rain-resources, and the regular use of cloud-seeding is causing some big arguments.
[China has] water resources of only 2,200 cubic metres a person a year - less than a quarter of the global average
I guess water squabbles there and elsewhere are going to be as big an issue as energy-resources over the coming years, if not bigger.
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Did Saddam try to get uranium from Niger? - The UK still says yes, US and UN still say no.
One of the many curious things to come out of the mild-mannered Butler report investigating the 'processes' involved in intelligence-failures.
UN nuclear watchdog challenges Britain to reveal Niger intelligence
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=541511
Governments are bound by UN resolutions to submit to the IAEA any information concerning illegal Iraqi weapons. Lord Butler said Britain had "further intelligence from additional sources" in 2002 that Iraqi officials visited Niger in early 1999 to buy uranium ore. "There was disagreement as to whether a sale had been agreed and uranium shipped," he added....
...He said the forged documents were not available to the British government at the time, and they did not undermine the Government's case.
[B]IAEA officials have expressed frustration that Lord Butler's team appeared more willing to share information with the press than with the UN body charged with investigating Iraq's nuclear programme.
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Fossils from forgotten time amaze
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3898605.stm
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40387000/jpg/_40387689_ediac_science_203.jpg
The 560-575-million-year-old specimens from Canada, of marine organisms called rangeomorphs, are preserved in three dimensions, Science magazine reports...
...Dr Narbonne believes rangeomorphs are a single biological group, which can neither be classified as animals nor as plants.
They back up some of the ideas about how complex life may have evolved, especially the idea of 'fractal' construction (along carbon-based lines etc).
Fractal patterns of early life revealed
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996162
They also support ideas about diversity explosions around the time when the 'Snowball Earth' theory says huge environmental stresses wiped out huge numbers of lifeforms, but laid open the way for both rigorous and diversly experimental lifeforms to emerge.
Although of course, just to keep things interesting, new data has cast doubt on one aspect of the 'Snowball Earth' theory, ie the idea that the whole world was frozen over.
'Snowball Earth' theory meltedhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1857545.stm
Rangeomorphs.....organisms considered neither animal nor plant...
Somehow i just cant wrap my mind around that concept. What exactly did they use to classify animal or plant? i mean, it sure looked like a plant, but im no botanist.
And i am embarrased to admit that i was not farmiliar with this 'Snowball Theory'. I am now, of course, after it was basically shot down. It definetley makes a lot more sense to have at lease a little oceanic refuge for a little marine life. Pretty farfetched to think that the entire globe was covered in ice. Down to the Mid/Lower US is totally believeable, however.
Oh- and that rain thing- all i have to say is that whole idea might make a pretty decent post-apoc movie, someday.
Equilibrium
07-18-04, 01:26 AM
Well that post was basically saying that something exists that we cant see. These Tachyons have always been considered impossibble by most, simply because no one has ever found a particle faster than the speed of light. That feat, in itself is impossibble considering that those super-speed Tachyons are undetectable. (At least by current technology, and until we can create a negative-mass scale, we wont find them.)
I'll look around for the paper, i might have to scan it in. Its a good 16 pages though, so make sure your ready. :D
im ready
And i am embarrased to admit that i was not farmiliar with this 'Snowball Theory'. I am now, of course, after it was basically shot down. It definetley makes a lot more sense to have at lease a little oceanic refuge for a little marine life. Pretty farfetched to think that the entire globe was covered in ice. Down to the Mid/Lower US is totally believeable, however.
The most interesting aspect of the 'snowball' theory hasn't been shot down - that of population explosions and diversity following on from mass-annihilation.
The most interesting aspect of the 'snowball' theory hasn't been shot down - that of population explosions and diversity following on from mass-annihilation.
Yeah, but those aspects can be found in a lot of theories, not just the snowball theory. I mean, the big bang was a population explosion, and in my eyes, pretty friggin diverse afterwards. Actually, if your one to believe in the expanding/contracting universe theory- it would be pretty much the same. :)
Yeah, but those aspects can be found in a lot of theories, not just the snowball theory. I mean, the big bang was a population explosion, and in my eyes, pretty friggin diverse afterwards. Actually, if your one to believe in the expanding/contracting universe theory- it would be pretty much the same. :)
With the any of the infinitely-extending/repeating universe theories, yeah, they'd be pretty similar (except that there still wouldn't be continuous 'entities' that could continue to develop through each 'tough'/new environment. Or at least, not that we know of ;))
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US states sue power companies over global warminghttp://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996194
Ahhhh, that's the right state of mind for States that mind what's going on. :)
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A Welsh village is changing its name from Llanfynydd to Llanhyfryddawelllehynafolybarcudprindanfygythiad in protest at a proposed windfarm.The new name means: "a quiet beautiful village, a historic place with rare kite under threat from wretched blades".
Unfortunately (from a comedy point of view) they're only keeping the name for a week.
US states sue power companies over global warminghttp://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996194
I agree that its a little rediculous- but if the states win, these companies will have to reduce their emissions by 3 percent per year for 10 years. Thats 30 percent, (Hooray for math!) in ten years, which sounds pretty good overall.
Garrett
07-23-04, 01:04 AM
Hi, Golgot! How's life been treating ya?
Hi, Golgot! How's life been treating ya?
Cool man. Not sleeping enough. Spending too much time looking at screens. The normal ;)
I agree that its a little rediculous- but if the states win, these companies will have to reduce their emissions by 3 percent per year for 10 years. Thats 30 percent, (Hooray for math!) in ten years, which sounds pretty good overall.
Oh i wasn't saying it's ridiculous, i was saying it'll hopefully turn out well. If the Bush-admin isn't prepared to act responsably, then it's good to know that certain states are.
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Bees trap man at sea
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=14457392&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=bees-trap-man-at-sea-name_page.html
The IRA 'Chief of Staff', Tom ‘Slab’ Murphy, found a cunning way to aid his terrorist ways. Like many IRA activists, he used/uses smuggling to fund his activities. His canny trick was to build an extention on to his farm, so that it straddled the border between The Republic of Ireland and N.Ireland. Not only does this help him to smuggle everything from oil to pigs over the border, he can also avoid arrest by simply moving from his living room to his kitchen, or vice versa, depending on which police force is trying to arrest him!
Source: 'Underworld Rich List: Smugglers' BBC2
SamsoniteDelilah
07-25-04, 04:10 PM
The IRA 'Chief of Staff', Tom ?Slab? Murphy, found a cunning way to aid his terrorist ways. Like many IRA activists, he used/uses smuggling to fund his activities. His canny trick was to build an extention on to his farm, so that it straddled the border between The Republic of Ireland and N.Ireland. Not only does this help him to smuggle everything from oil to pigs over the border, he can also avoid arrest by simply moving from his living room to his kitchen, or vice versa, depending on which police force is trying to arrest him!
Source: 'Underworld Rich List: Smugglers' BBC2
egads... I misread that, at first, as "...built an extension onto his arm." Thought you were going to go into the ease of circumventing security for the orthopeadically affected. :p ... which is almost less silly than the observance of the Cirque de Loophole you describe above.
Equilibrium
07-25-04, 04:14 PM
The IRA 'Chief of Staff', Tom ‘Slab’ Murphy, found a cunning way to aid his terrorist ways. Like many IRA activists, he used/uses smuggling to fund his activities. His canny trick was to build an extention on to his farm, so that it straddled the border between The Republic of Ireland and N.Ireland. Not only does this help him to smuggle everything from oil to pigs over the border, he can also avoid arrest by simply moving from his living room to his kitchen, or vice versa, depending on which police force is trying to arrest him!
Source: 'Underworld Rich List: Smugglers' BBC2
Thats easy to counter, just have both police forces trying to arrest him at the same time.
Thats easy to counter, just have both police forces trying to arrest him at the same time.
Yeah, can't quite fathom why they never did that. Possibly he was only breaking the law on one side with any one particular action, or possibly the Irish police just didn't want to co-ordinate with the Brit army/the RUC (N Irish police) etc [it's worth noting that Murphy held massive sway over his local area].
First off, it seems that Microsoft have patented us... :rolleyes:
Microsoft recently revealed that it holds a patent for using the human body as a data network, for connecting a number of wearable devices.
So i'm thinking, if i'm wearing a pair of earphones, i'm breaking their patent yeah? :rolleyes:
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But if you want to use your body as an electrostatic 'key', look no further than the article that furnished the above quote...
Skin used to transmit key data
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996247&lpos=home2
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Earth's gravity affected by Amazon water level
New Scientist vol 183 issue 2458 - 31 July 2004, page 14
The Amazon basin covers 5 million square kilometres. To measure changes in the amount of water in the basin, researchers... turned to GRACE - a pair of identical satellites... When there is more mass below, due to greater levels of water for instance, the increased gravity pulls the satellites closer to Earth
So when the basin 'ebbs', it exerts more gravitational pull.
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Now, how about some slightly dubious 'pieces of information' from the late great Douglas Adams...
The trans-siberian railways has one kink in its otherwise straight line. Allegedly, this is because... when the Tsar drew the railway line on the map, he used a ruler with a nick in it
(I found this BBC story carrying a slightly different version, and suggesting it wasn't true too. Boooo. ;))
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/1617755.stm )
Branwell Bronte allegedly died standing up, leaning on a mantlepiece, just to prove it could be done
(can't find any info on this, other than that he was a drunkard opium addict. He could've died diagonally for all i know)
Young sloths sometimes grab their own arms or legs in the belief that they are tree limbs, and so fall to the ground.
(Couldn't find anything at all on this - but Adam's favourite book/venture was an investigation into disappearing wildlife called Last Chance to See, so it's possible he observed something like this on his travels, or came across experts who told him about it)
Young sloths sometimes grab their own arms or legs in the belief that they are tree limbs, and so fall to the ground.
:laugh:
A Scottish academic has been expelled from Belarus, either because of his democracy-fostering activities...or because he has voiced the following theory with increasing certainty and volume...
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=908022004
Flowers believes he may have infuriated the regime by claiming publicly that the Soviet Union used rockets or aircraft to seed radioactive clouds to rain artificially over Belarus shortly after the Chernobyl reactor exploded in neighbouring Ukraine in 1986. "In the last two years I became blunter in voicing that opinion," he said.
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And to keep up the Eastern European theme...
According to the (not very reliable) London Metro, Romanian trading laws can't prevent witches from selling coloured water as magic potions, as they don't apply to the supernatural. They also claim there are 2,000 or so registered witches in Romania, and it's a taxable profession.
As soon as i can verify any of this, believe me i will ;)
Equilibrium
08-10-04, 08:29 PM
A Scottish academic has been expelled from Belarus, either because of his democracy-fostering activities...or because he has voiced the following theory with increasing certainty and volume...
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=908022004
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And to keep up the Eastern European theme...
According to the (not very reliable) London Metro, Romanian trading laws can't prevent witches from selling coloured water as magic potions, as they don't apply to the supernatural. They also claim there are 2,000 or so registered witches in Romania, and it's a taxable profession.
As soon as i can verify any of this, believe me i will ;)
Interesting..So I'm legal in Romania..hmm
2,000 registered witches. thats incredible.
i wonder if theres any real witchhunters out there.
Agent 0 Zero
08-11-04, 12:08 AM
2,000 registered witches. thats incredible.
i wonder if theres any real witchhunters out there.
probaly
Agent 0 Zero
08-11-04, 12:10 AM
there is that hole if aliens exsist, and zombies
Caitlyn
08-11-04, 10:58 AM
2,000 registered witches. thats incredible.
i wonder if theres any real witchhunters out there.
Depends on your definition of "witch hunter" ... there have been numerous people (men & women) accused of witchcraft and beaten, stoned, or hacked to pieces by mobs in places like Africa, New Guinea, India, Malaysia, and Mexico since 2000... I believe the last one I read about happened in December of 2003 in India...
there is that hole if aliens exsist, and zombies
Witches don't have to be 'supernatural' mate - just masters of psychology normally ;). (oh, and both the disease ebola and a certain paralysing fish product/gland used by voodoo practitioners can produce a zombie-like effect i believe. There's science behind the superstitions sometimes :). As for aliens flying into the arctic or what have you... i haven't talked to my relatives recently, but i hear they prefer holidaying in the Canary Isles this time of year ;) :rolleyes: )
SamsoniteDelilah
08-11-04, 04:57 PM
Witches don't have to be 'supernatural' mate - just masters of psychology normally ;).
Ain't.
It.
The.
Truth.
Depends on your definition of "witch hunter" ... there have been numerous people (men & women) accused of witchcraft and beaten, stoned, or hacked to pieces by mobs in places like Africa, New Guinea, India, Malaysia, and Mexico since 2000... I believe the last one I read about happened in December of 2003 in India...
its like salem all over again...
might make a pretty interesting movie.
Equilibrium
08-11-04, 09:30 PM
its like salem all over again...
might make a pretty interesting movie.
They don't use the 'float' test though, lol. :p
Some old-old news from Romania (well, it's from 2003, and concerns the beginning of life)
Romanian biologist Mircea Sanduloviciu discovered that the atmosphere of early earth probably contained gaseous plasma blobs which could grow, replicate and communicate (the traditional requirements for biological cells).
Although these may not have played a part in the formation of life on earth, they could have acted as successful building-blocks for life on other planets.
MyRobotSuit
08-15-04, 06:53 PM
Groovy, but what is God made from? Coca-Cola?
Groovy, but what is God made from? Coca-Cola?
I've consulted the angels of science, and they gave me this cryptic answer:
"Does not compute"
However, i may be able to tell you which brown-dyed beverage S/He/It might prefer...
New Scientist vol 183 issue 2458 - 31 July 2004, page 36
Neuroimaging expert Read Montague from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, scanned people's brains using fMRI as they blindly drank either Coke or Pepsi and reported which tasted best. He found that a region called the ventral putamen within the striatum lit up most strongly when people drank their favourite soda. This area is known to be associated with seeking reward. More people preferred Pepsi, just as the decades-old challenge said.
But when people were told which soda they were drinking, their preferences changed: more people chose Coke. And this time the brain area that showed most activity was the medial prefrontal cortex, a spot associated with higher cognitive processes. The results - which Montague hopes to publish soon - showed that people make decisions based on their memories or impressions of a particular soda, as well as taste. In the advertising world, this "brand recognition" is one of the most sought-after qualities advertisers attempt to engender.
So it's not always the product quality that is the honey to our inner bee, it's often the social packaging we see.
Those naughty image-pushing media-junkies (personally i just drinking sugary tea ;))
MyRobotSuit
08-16-04, 07:04 PM
ah, I'm a tea drinker (minus the sugar).
Some iteresting points there, especially when I'm been reading No Logo by Naomi Klein. I'd go for coke by brand, although I can taste no difference. Damn marketing.
Did you know there's a God TV channel now?
Did you know there's a God TV channel now?
Cool. What are the ads like? (or are they just selling the Lord? That would be scandalous!)
"Thou shalt not go anywhere, GodTV will be right back. "
First space test for solar sailing
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996261
The Japanese Institute of Space Astronautical Science has become the first space agency to successfully deploy a craft powered by solar sails (now it just remains to see if it works ;))
A physicist from Cornell Uni has suggested that the whole theory of solar sails is flawed, but its proponents are hoping he's got his quantum calculations wrong.
http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/9999/99996261F1.JPG
---
In other nearly-news...
A craft designed to test one of Einstein's fundamental (and, of course, bizarre) claims is in orbit and nearly ready to begin...
[It] will measure how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth, and, more profoundly, how the Earth's rotation drags space-time around with it. These effects, though small for the Earth, have far-reaching implications for the nature of matter and the structure of the Universe.
http://einstein.stanford.edu/
Some things to absorb ;)....
Did you know...
The water in the Olympic swimming pool would irrigate enough crops to to feed only one person for a year.
If you think energy resources are gonna be a problem in humanity's future, it ain't got nothing on water. Hydrologists have just realised they've over-estimated the extent to which water can be used more efficiently in irrigation. Basically, they've realised that water which is ineffeciently used now [2/3rds of it] isn't actually "lost" (therefore, they can't use it more efficiently in the future, as they thought). It goes into ground water and rivers/streams etc and refills the already over-used underground water reserves. That 'lost' 2/3rds is already serving an important role, for the most part.
(source: New Scientist, editorial, issue 2461)
---
There are two worrying trends in food producation as far as water goes:
1) Over-production of cattle
New Scientist vol 181 issue 2438 - 13 March 2004, page 19
It takes 500 litres [of water] to raise a kilo of potatoes; 900 for a kilo of wheat; nearly 2000 for rice or soya; 3500 for a kilo of chicken; and a staggering 100,000 litres for a kilo of beef.
New Scientist - The true cost of meat
Americans each chomp their way through an astounding 100 kilos of meat every year - that's a medium steak per person per day.
In terms of total meat consumption, the average American male consumes twice what the US Department of Agriculture recommends, and the average American woman consumes about 1.6 times. Way above even the high meat-eating countries of Europe.
Critics of factory farming like Robert Lawrence also suggest that this may be behind phenomenon like a literal loss of stature in the US.
Americans were once the tallest and leanest people in the world and now we are collectively getting shorter too.
He feels that the over-emphasis on meat has unbalanced the national diet and could be contributing to this trend.
2) Over-dependance on intensive farming and its short-term gains
One of the many reasons intensively-farmed crops are destructive (and Organic systems are better in the long-term ;)) is because they destroy soil quality and make the crops more susceptible to both drought and flooding [2 things we can expect more of in terms of climate change].
(Source - 'Organic Outperforms Conventional in Climate Extremes' - Institute of Science in Society - http://www.i-sis.org.uk/ )
If we want to have enough food and water for our children to live healthily, we need to address our current approach to both.
Some things to absorb ;)....
If we want to have enough food and water for our children to live healthily, we need to address our current approach to both.
I am trying :yup:
AboveTheClouds
08-22-04, 12:35 AM
I can absorb water through my eyelash.....(No.. I forgot to take my dexadrine today :D)
Slap my bum and adopt my apricots, it's a downpour...
Meat-eaters soak up the world's water
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1288630,00.html
More evidence for those that care ;)
Slap my bum and adopt my apricots, it's a downpour...
Meat-eaters soak up the world's water ;)
See, i am doing my bit, I haven't eaten meat for most of my life. :up:
Here's an intriguing little investigation into 'trust' (and its importance for economics and society. It also supports my favourite theory of life being about Competition-and-Cooperation in balance ;)).
The Animal Urge
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/a9104a3a-f88f-11d8-8b09-00000e2511c8.html
There are three main strands here:
-Trust brings benefits [it's the personal benefits that drive our trusting actions, but there are wider social benefits too].
Here's a little psychologists game that demonstrates this:
Person A is given a sum of money and is told he can keep it, in which case the game ends immediately, or he can give some or all of it to Person B, in the hope that the amount of money will increase. If A does give some money to B, then the game facilitator increases the amount in the course of the transaction. B, knowing what A did, can either pocket the money, thereby ending the game, or he can reciprocate, even though there is no guarantee his partner in the game will share the profit.
The game tests whether we are willing to trust others even though this involves risking the loss of what we have in hand. The results of thousands of these games show that roughly half of the participants choose to send some money and three-quarters send some back [so trust breeds trust ;)]
-The weird thing is that there's a strong relationship between a 'reward' hormone called Oxytocin and how trusting both individuals and societies are likely to be. It's a habit that can be predicted to an extent by looking at levels of this hormone.
levels of a particular hormone, oxytocin, in our bodies strongly predict how much we are willing to trust others....
A lot of the variables that predict high trust also predict higher general oxytocin levels across the world. For example, breast- feeding tends to raise oxytocin levels in mothers and is a vital part of the bonding process between them and their infants, and there is an association between how much breast-feeding there is in a society and its overall levels of trust.
-Now that could all be dubious, but, whatever the process, this last strand is where the social/nurture side really kicks in:
"Classical" economists predict that in economic transactions between strangers, where one has to make decisions based on a forecast of another's response, the optimal level of trust should be zero...
Steve Knack, a senior economist in the World Bank's Development Research Group, argues that trust is one of the most powerful factors affecting a country's economic health. Where trust is low, individuals and organisations are wary of engaging in financial transactions...
The World Values Survey, based at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has since the 1980s asked people in countries around the world questions such as: "Do you think strangers can generally be trusted?" The positive response rate varies from about 65 per cent in Norway to about 5 per cent in Brazil. Countries where trust is lower than a critical level of about 30 per cent, as with much of South America and Africa, are at risk of remaining in a suspicion- locked poverty trap.
One of the most surprising results from the survey is that the more religious a society is the less trusting it seems to be [Hmm, religion as a social-mechanism for controlling behaviour maybe? Who'd have thunk it ;)]
Anyway, that was such a lovely mixture of life-affirming examples of cooperation's robustness, and bizarre social outcomes, that i couldn't resist posting it.
---
Just read loads more stuff on water probs and what can, can't and shouldn't be done about it, but i can't be bothered to post it now ;)
Scientific jokes that have a serious purpose
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/a193b794-1345-11d9-b869-00000e2511c8.html
It's that time of year again. Time for the Ig Nobel awards.
These awards for scientific investigations that "first makes people laugh, then makes them think" originally started out, in 1991, as "an award for achievements that cannot or should not be reproduced". Now the idea is that you try and sift the pointless research from that which is actually meaningful (and just appears to be absurd at first glance coz their approach or discoveries are so surprising)
This article looks at awards for observing homosexual necrophilia in ducks and inventing a computer program that detects when a cat is walking on your keyboard.
Here are some this years winners (not listed in the web version):
The biology prize is for an international collaboration on how herring communicate by farting. The literature prize was awarded for the preservation of nudist history, engineering for "patenting the combover" and psychology for showing concentrating on one thing means it is all too easy to overlook anything else - "even a man in a gorilla suit".
This last one must be about the experiment which required a bunch of student researchers to count the number of passes during a basketball game. During the game a man in a gorilla suit ran across the middle of the court. At the end of the game the students were asked whether they saw the gorilla. Around half of them hadn't! (Well, i got this from a CSI epsiode, but it seems to tally pretty well ;)).
This article looks at awards for observing homosexual necrophilia in ducks .
:eek: :laugh: :laugh: :eek:
This last one must be about the experiment which required a bunch of student researchers to count the number of passes during a basketball game. During the game a man in a gorilla suit ran across the middle of the court. At the end of the game the students were asked whether they saw the gorilla. Around half of them hadn't! (Well, i got this from a CSI epsiode, but it seems to tally pretty well ;)).
damn monkeys...
Ahh, how about some slightly Swedish-themed strangeness...
Researchers in Sweden and Milwaukee have found that women who have been obese throughout life were very likely to have lost brain tissue.
The extent of brain atrophy closely followed increases in the body mass index (BMI), the measurement of obesity. A rise of one point on the scale increased the risk of brain atrophy by between 13 and 16 per cent
I'm sure there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that men are just as atrophied ;).
Also in that article...
[A] $50-million reward is being put up by Robert Bigelow, the reclusive owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain, who heroically inherited a defunct Nasa programme to build inflatable space stations. The Bigelow booty will go to whoever can build, by January 2010, a crew-carrying spaceship capable of docking with these inflatables, being built by Bigelow Aerospace. The eccentric Las Vegas businessman also demonstrates his commitment to science by funding the investigation of alleged cattle mutilation by aliens.
The article also looks at a study which suggests that we always talk more respectfully of the dead - especially if we think their ghost might be around.
But back to Sweden...
Congressman Lantos [described] for the president how the Swedish Army might be an ideal candidate to anchor a small peacekeeping force on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Sweden has a well-trained force of about 25,000. The president looked at him appraisingly, several people in the room recall.
"I don't know why you're talking about Sweden," Bush said. "They're the neutral one. They don't have an army."
Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: "Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. They're the ones that are historically neutral, without an army." Then Lantos mentioned, in a gracious aside, that the Swiss do have a tough national guard to protect the country in the event of invasion.
Bush held to his view. "No, no, it's Sweden that has no army."
The room went silent, until someone changed the subject.
I mainly posted that for Piddzilla's amusment ;).
Tho it comes from a very intriguing article examining Bush's apparent faith-before-proof approach to government.
Here's a seemingly-accurate transcript of the original article. Tis a great read...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/101704A.shtml
And here are some more concrete examples of disturbingly blinkered i'm-right-coz-i'm-right thinking by Bu****es (taken from The Observors edited version of the same article)...
"Mr. President," finally said, "How can you be so sure when you know you don't know the facts? [about Iraq]"
Biden said that Bush stood up and put his hand on the senator's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts."
Not utterly worrying on its own... but when you add this in......
In the summer of 2002, a senior advisor to Bush told me that guys like me were "in what we call [B]the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality - judiciously, as you will - we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
In other words, if they believe/want it enough, they think it'll happen. They kinda think they're God.
If that isn't mighty peculiar, i don't know what is.
(whoops, seem to have left the Swedish theme drift away ;)).
EDIT: Ahh, felt that Bushie-belief point deserved a thread of its own anyway...
http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=218436#post218436
Good stuff in here :yup:
_Cheers
SamsoniteDelilah
12-06-04, 09:04 PM
Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: "Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. They're the ones that are historically neutral, without an army." Then Lantos mentioned, in a gracious aside, that the Swiss do have a tough national guard to protect the country in the event of invasion.
Bush held to his view. "No, no, it's Sweden that has no army."
The room went silent, until someone changed the subject.
Clearly, someone's brain has atrophied.
I mainly posted that for Piddzilla's amusment ;).
What about me and my atrophied brain :bawling:
What about me and my atrophied brain :bawling:
Ahhh, at least you don't smoke Nebbles. Us smokers are about "1%" down brain-mass wise, they're now saying. I think only obese smokers (with a lobotomy fetish) really need to worry bout all this stuff ;).
---
Now, if we were 1930's New Zealanders, then we'd be in trouble...
In 1931, the peace and quiet of the New Zealand countryside was shattered by a terrifying new phenomenon: suddenly and apparently at random, men's trousers began to explode. Some pairs detonated on the washing line, others as they dried in front of the fire. More seriously, some were occupied when they started to smoulder. At first there were just a few isolated reports, but soon the nation was in the grip of an epidemic of exploding trousers.
Turns out it was a particularly volatile pesticide, sodium chlorate, that was to blame (it gets a wee bit flammable when combined with organic materials like cotton you see. Have your self a ciggie and... weeeee :rolleyes: ).
They were using it to tackle an artificially-introduced 'weed', the noxious plant called Ragwort. Turns out carefully introducing ragwort-eating insects has been a better modern solution by far.
(Now, if only you guys could train your dogs to kill the cane toads, rather than chewing them to get high, all would be well ;))
(Now, if only you guys could train your dogs to kill the cane toads, rather than chewing them to get high, all would be well ;))
That would be a good thing, :yup: I wonder what the Cane toad poison is doing to peoples brains :rolleyes:
exploding trousers......i think i have an idea...
exploding trousers......i think i have an idea...
Hey young man, don't you go making explosions in your trousers! That's immoral!
---
While attempting to tackle human allergies to cats a team in California have managed to "stifle cat allergy in mice".
Those wee mices can sleep soundly now ;).
[source: New Scientist - April 2 - Half human, half cat chimera puts brake on allergy]
blibblobblib
04-07-05, 09:20 AM
Nice to see you back Golly, where ya been? whatcha doin? Who ya seein? Where ya been?.....etc.
Nice to see you back Golly, where ya been? whatcha doin? Who ya seein? Where ya been?.....etc.
Hey blibs :). I just been dangling round in dial-up hell, writing the odd drunken and dishevelled PM, flicking through all papers strewn around my 'relxing' afternoon tube. Stuff like that ;).
But now i've posted again, i feel duty bound to link to some thing strange and swell (**** man, i think may vocab's been yankified - Ah well, if it helps with the rhyming... ;))
Try the links on this link to see an octopus walking on two legs...
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7194
Or alternatively, become a Pointergeist (the baffled voice is mine - this is a prototype, which i think gains my mate funding if it gets through the first round)...
http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/samw/pointergeist.html
Ah, that'll do for now. My phonebill's bigger than an elephant made of krill.
Take it easy man...
blibblobblib
04-07-05, 10:10 PM
Ahh dial-up, the devils internet. Come on Golly, sort it out, this is the 23rd century don't ya know...i think.
That pointergeist is fun. I think the victim may be playing GTA San Andreas...this shows i play it too much me thinkst.
Ahh dial-up, the devils internet. Come on Golly, sort it out, this is the 23rd century don't ya know...i think.
That pointergeist is fun. I think the victim may be playing GTA San Andreas...this shows i play it too much me thinkst.
He's playing my GTA, the cheeky no-and-no. And that proves, quite indubitably, that you can't possibly play it all the time, coz it's mine i tell you, mine! (actually, i got bored of it a while ago, thank god. You can have it ;))
I'm all broadbanded up again, and i can see those walking octopi at last. That 'coconut' one is class. I hope to bring more springs of insane well-beingness to this page sometime soon. And to blabble nonsense on the forums immediately, possibly to the tune of Black Beauty...
According to the New Scientist article Kicking up a Storm… During the Vietnam war the US military flew 2,600 cloud-seeding flights to…
…extend the monsoon season over south-east Asia, thereby increasing the amount of mud on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and flooding critical routes between what were then North Vietnam and South Vietnam
And lo, they made more monsoon and mud (though whether it was effective or not was in doubt).
Could that be true? I checked. It is too…
Thanks to the forward-thinking ‘Air Force 2025’ project, designed to assess how to maintain US air superiority up to and beyond that date, there are a couple of most informative reports on the web. Here’s a bizarre little academic summary of investigations so far, that confirms that that past weather jape took place…
"The Army After Next * How Will We Test?" - WEATHER MODIFICATION
http://www.dtc.army.mil/tts/1997/proceed/abarnes/index.html
Ho Chi Minh Trail Muddying: Project POPEYE was conducted from Udorn, Thailand from 1967 to 1972 to create rain over parts of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the rainy southwest monsoon seasons.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The current state of this speculative science is detailed in a bombastic Department of Defence report that the New Scientist article highlights...
Nine years ago the US air force commissioned a report entitled Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the weather in 2025. The report concludes, "Over the course of the next century, the weather will be our most powerful weapon. Weather modification can provide battlespace dominance to a degree never before imagined. By 2025 it will be in the realm of possibility."
And lo! It’s not some strange mirage. It exists too – just another fine branch of the Air Force 2025 view to the future…
Weather as a Force Multiplier - Owning the Weather in 2025
http://www.au.af.mil/au/2025/volume3/chap15/v3c15-1.htm#Contents
Some fun weather-weapons on the cards are...
Storms
The desirability to modify storms to support military objectives is the most aggressive and controversial type of weather-modification. The damage caused by storms is indeed horrendous. For instance, a tropical storm has an energy equal to 10,000 one-megaton hydrogen bombs, and in 1992 Hurricane Andrew totally destroyed Homestead AFB, Florida, caused the evacuation of most military aircraft in the southeastern US, and resulted in $15.5 billion of damage. However, as one would expect based on a storm's energy level, current scientific literature indicates that there are definite physical limits on mankind's ability to modify storm systems. By taking this into account along with political, environmental, economic, legal, and moral considerations, we will confine our analysis of storms to localized thunderstorms and thus do not consider major storm systems such as hurricanes or intense low-pressure systems.
Lightening [O my Lord! :eek: ;)]
One area of storm research that would significantly benefit military operations is lightning modification. Most research efforts are being conducted to develop techniques to lessen the occurrence or hazards associated with lightning. This is important research for military operations and resource protection, but some offensive military benefit could be obtained by doing research on increasing the potential and intensity of lightning. Concepts to explore include increasing the basic efficiency of the thunderstorm, stimulating the triggering mechanism that initiates the bolt, and triggering lightning such as that which struck Apollo 12 in 1968. Possible mechanisms to investigate would be ways to modify the electropotential characteristics over certain targets to induce lightning strikes on the desired targets as the storm passes over their location.
Artificial [Intelligence] Weather
Nanotechnology also offers possibilities for creating simulated weather. A cloud, or several clouds, of microscopic computer particles, all communicating with each other and with a larger control system could provide tremendous capability. Interconnected, atmospherically buoyant, and having navigation capability in three dimensions, such clouds could be designed to have a wide-range of properties. They might exclusively block optical sensors or could adjust to become impermeable to other surveillance methods. They could also provide an atmospheric electrical potential difference, which otherwise might not exist, to achieve precisely aimed and timed lightning strikes. Even if power levels achieved were insufficient to be an effective strike weapon, the potential for psychological operations in many situations could be fantastic.
Not to worry though - only 2 1/2 of the 6 requisite technologies currently exist to allow all this to happen. We can only really: cause rain, dissapate or cause fog, and do some basic things with nanotechnology at the moment. Storm control and other fun stunts may well come along over the next 30 years or so tho...
Coz... we're in a Weather Race here y'know...
The lessons of history indicate a real weather-modification capability will eventually exist despite the risk. The drive exists. People have always wanted to control the weather and their desire will compel them to collectively and continuously pursue their goal. The motivation exists. The potential benefits and power are extremely lucrative and alluring for those who have the resources to develop it. This combination of drive, motivation, and resources will eventually produce the technology. History also teaches that we cannot afford to be without a weather-modification capability once the technology is developed and used by others. Even if we have no intention of using it, others will. To call upon the atomic weapon analogy again, we need to be able to deter or counter their capability with our own. Therefore, the weather and intelligence communities must keep abreast of the actions of others.
I leave you with a darling little summary of the military joys weather-control could bring
[altho the it doesn't highlight something that the report's Conclusion touches on - the idea of using weather to benefit crops etc, at the inevitable expense of other regions. But they'd never do that, now would they... ;)]
On a lighter note, or at least a flightier one, how about this little executive toy…
FIRST we had cockroaches with electrode implants that allowed them to be remotely controlled. Now flies have been genetically engineered to respond to light…
In flies where "giant fibre" neurons contain the UV-sensitive molecules, for instance, the light stimulates escape behaviours such as jumping or flapping wings.
From issue 2495 of New Scientist magazine, 16 April 2005, page 18
On a lighter note, or at least a flightier one, how about this little executive toy…
:laugh:
Ahh, it seems things have moved on since 1996. A recent article in New Scientist suggests that the weather-moving mavericks at the US Air Force may have a new tool at their disposal.
Yes, quake all ye mortals, for scientists can now make lightening! (Although admittedly, they can only bring it crashing down around their own ears at the moment - bless their cotton socks ;))
'Thunderbolts from Space' - Issue 2498 of New Scientist magazine, 07 May 2005, page 30
Dwyer, Uman and colleagues set out to test the theory a different way. They triggered lightning themselves by sending rockets up into storm clouds, which, says Uman, has some advantages over waiting for a natural strike."
Yes, indeed, although at the end of the day...
"Nobody understands what's going on here. You have a lot of people guessing, but we are really clueless. After a couple of hundred years, it's actually quite embarrassing," says Joe Dwyer, who studies lightning at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.
One thing they think they have fathomed though is that a lot of lightening strikes may be set off by cosmic rays.
So, good thing the Air Force has fallen out of love with big space lasers and now prefers dropping heavy bits of metal from space, eh?...
Bush likely to back weapons in space
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1487110,00.html
The "Rods from God" scheme would aim tungsten, titanium or uranium cylinders at targets on the ground from a position in low earth orbit. By the time they hit the earth they would be travelling at around 7,500mph , with the impact of a small nuclear warhead.
You've gotta love their playful ways with WMDs eh? So creative. (Now, what was that NASA budget for again? Mars? Oh, you jester you ;))
---
But enough about the Air Forces of nature. How about some more unnatural selection instead?...
Another slight 'hoo-haa' has blown up over GM produce -namely the leaked Monsanto tests that show rats fed high amounts of one of their products had damaged and reduced organs etc. This study of theirs, which had good control groups, mimicks the findings of the unfairly hounded specialist Dr Puztai, an ex-GM fan who found similar results during his tests on GM potatoes.
The rampantly GM-challenging Independent produced this interesting list of lone scientists who turned out to be right after decades of aggressive obstruction by government and industry:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=640402
Professor Derek Bryce-Smith of Reading University was ridiculed and marginalised for decades after warning of the dangers of lead in petrol in the 1950s - but it is now being phased out all over the world. The now much honoured Alice Stewart came under similar attack for first warning of the hazards of radiation to the unborn child. And I well remember one of Britain's top officials solemnly informing me a quarter of a century ago that Dr Irving Selikoff, who did more than anyone to sound the alarm on asbestos - now one of the main causes of premature death in Britain - was "evil".
Is Puztai right? Hard to tell - the government and industry refuse to try and replicate his experiments. Apparently it would be 'immoral'. How quaint ;)
Another slight 'hoo-haa' has blown up over GM produce -namely the leaked Monsanto tests that show rats fed high amounts of one of their products had damaged and reduced organs etc.
poor little rats :(
Ah, more fun and larks with fruit flies. According to the results of yet another bizarre experiment on these innocuous insects, a group of scientists are suggesting that forming lasting memories could shorten lifespan...
'The burden of a lasting memory' - New Scientist magazine, 28 May 2005, page 16
When fruit flies form lasting memories, their neurons must make new proteins. Now Frederic Mery and Tadeusz Kawecki at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland have shown that this extra work takes its toll on the flies' ability to survive...
...[bizarre and cruel experiement here]...
...When the flies were subsequently deprived of food and water, the group that had learned the link died an average of 4 hours, or 20 per cent, earlier than the others.
But on the bright side, maybe there are lots of people wandering around who are actually immortal... they've just forgotten ;)
SamsoniteDelilah
05-27-05, 05:14 PM
...forming lasting memories could shorten lifespan... Awesome! Do you have any other articles that will make me feel better about leading a shallow existance? :D
But on the bright side, maybe there are lots of people wandering around who are actually immortal... they've just forgotten ;)
:laugh:
Ever wanted to see a man in a dubious sweater jamming on his clarinet with a thrush? Well now you can...
http://www.whybirdssing.com/laughingthrush.mov
That is so cute, I love it :yup:
Tacitus
09-20-05, 07:31 AM
Ever wanted to see a man in a dubious sweater jamming on his clarinet with a thrush? Well now you can...
http://www.whybirdssing.com/laughingthrush.mov
Now, I've been out with a few Goth birds in my time....but that one's been too heavy with the black eye makeup....
Now, I've been out with a few Goth birds in my time....but that one's been too heavy with the black eye makeup....
Hey, she can hold a tune. And she's got great plumage :)
Are you saying she's 'bakku shan'?
('A girl who looks as though she might be pretty when seen from behind, but isn't when seen from the front')
Well, at least you didn't accuse her of being 'nakhur'
('A camel that won't give milk until her nostrils have been tickled')
It's black eyes and flirtaciousness all round, in the world of international linguage...
melikee:) (http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/features/article315207.ece)
KOSHATNIK [Russian]
'A dealer in stolen cats'
MAHJ [Persian]
'Looking beautiful after having a disease'
GRILAGEM [Brazilian Portuguese]
'The practice of putting a live cricket into a box of newly faked documents, until the insect's excrement makes the paper look convincingly old'
CALACALA [Tulu, India]
'The action of children wading through water as they play'
It's all sweet (except the excrement bits ;))
And they even have time for nigh-on film referencee bits too...
"Tsuji-giri, a Japanese word from samurai days meaning, 'to try out a new sword on a passer-by' (thanks a bunch, Toshiro)"
:)
Oh yes, you always knew it was true. You can influence your computer with your mind!
To a "statistically significant" extent...
Mind May Affect Machines (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68216,00.html)
That's right, never swear at your plastic pal - give it kind words of encouragement instead.
But be careful though. If you're a bloke you can apparently have a small but focused effect. If you're a lass, you can have a powerful but uncontrolled effect.
And if you're a couple, you can have seven times the effect :) (if you're using your willpower in unison that is ;))
According to the New Scientist article 'Are you seeing what I am seeing?' [27 August 2005]...
Chinese and American people literally see the world differently. While Americans focus on central objects in images, the Chinese pay more attention to the background.
This conclusion was reached by measuring the eye movements of 42 students. That's a pretty small sample, but the article also sites some other intriguing studies...
A similar investigation reported that Japanese viewers give an object's context greater importance. [They took longer to recognise an object when it was placed in a new environment - compared to US students presumably]
Language use also reflects this trend. Western children learn nouns more easily,while Korean and Chinese children show a preference for verbs [which relate objects to each other].
Another study compared the way American and Japanese mothers spoke to their children. The US mums would say something like: 'Look Billy, a truck. It's shiny and has wheels' - whereas the Japanese mum would be more contextual: 'I push the truck to you and you push it to me. When you throw it at the wall, the wall says "ouch".'
It's all intriguing - and in no way derogatory to my mind (altho i may not be seeing the bigger picture ;)).
As the head of the first study says: 'Understanding that there is a real difference in the way people think should form the basis of respect.'
Caitlyn
10-20-05, 11:18 AM
Interesting article… especially the difference in what the mothers said to their children… from what I can remember, mine made comments similar to what the Japanese mother said…
Interesting article… especially the difference in what the mothers said to their children… from what I can remember, mine made comments similar to what the Japanese mother said…
Cool. Always good to have 'exception proves the rule' diversity ;). Is your mum on your Irish or your Native side?
I think my (play)schooling leaned more towards the 'object description' thing. I've got no real memories of what my ma said. I think maybe a bit of both. I do remember that she snapped or hid various noisy toys ;). (But hey, she's Aussie, and hence a bit wild :))
---
Ok, i've been rooting through some more heavy-duty stuff recently, but here's some light and fluffy factualisations...
Grasshoppers brainwashed into suicide by a worm
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/mg18725164.600.html
Oh, well, ok, not that fluffy ;).
This one could be kind useful as a bargain-basement alien-effect for no-budget filmmakers tho. Skip to the end and it gets most otherwordly...
http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=CH6-2UizHfI&search=science
Grasshoppers brainwashed into suicide by a worm
Poor little grasshoppers :(
Professor Michael Behe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Behe) has come closest to something resembling a testable theistic/scientific challenge to evolution theories with his 'irreducible complexity' conceit. But unfortunately for him, it's proved as fallible as past evo-attacks. [Check the link for a handy breakdown.]
Nebs, i can't find it at the mo, but i've got an article on a monkey that helped a bird fly that i reckon you'll like. Erm, watch this...
Goody :eek:
Yay, found it...
[New Scientist - 'The empathic ape' - 08 October 2005]For a demonstration of primate empathy consider a zoo bonobo named Kuni. When she saw a starling hit the glass of her enclosure, she picked up the stunned bird and climbed to the top of the tallest tree. She carefully unfolded its wings and spread them wide, holding one wing between the fingers of each hand, before sending the bird like a little toy airplane out towards the barrier of her enclosure. But the bird fell short of freedom and landed on the bank of the moat. Kuni climbed down and stood watch over the starling for a long time. By the end of the day, the recovered bird had flown off safely.
This natty little article points out how biological theories concerning competition ('selfish gene' etc) get far more press than ones concerning cooperation. (Possibly because of the predominance of capitalist thought, and its mistaken emphasis on competition being the primary driving-force in society and nature)
They talk up two interesting phenomenon. Zoologists call communal species like humans 'obligatorily gregarious' - we benefit by sticking together and being friendly to eachother where possible. (Well, 'duh' - but still, it's worth pointing out ;)).
They also highlight a recent discovery concerning social attachment and bonding. Although chimps are normally considered our closest 'ancestor', we're actually genetically and behaviorally closer to bonobos on the 'bonding' score. Chimps lack a DNA section that promotes more empathatic and peaceful group behaviour. Thankfully, we're fully endowed with that friendliness factor :). (Tho lord knows, you'd have trouble believing it some times ;)).
Oh, and in other news of loved-up-monkeys and selfish-money-movers...
There's been plenty of evidence emerging over the last few decades that the 'game theory' approach to people and economics is way off. That's the one that (traditionally) suggests we are purely logical and selfish in our transactions.
Here are some cooperative little beasties who were taught to trade in cucumber slices, who have added further ammunition for those combating the simplistic 'selfish only' view of how we live side by side...
[New Scientist - 'Money and monkey business' - 05 November 2005]
For two decades, primatologist Frans de Waal of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, has studied capuchins and other monkeys in laboratory experiments. Everything he has seen has convinced him that basic behaviours which are key to human economic lives - cooperation, the equal sharing of group rewards, and so on - are not limited to our species. "These behaviours probably evolved in other animals for the same reason they evolved in us," says de Waal: namely, to help ensure the function of the groups that support our existence.
Won't go into the details, but basically, the monkeys showed an innate desire for 'justice' - even turning down food in protest at other monkeys being unfairly rewarded - and they had a sense of obligation towards others who had treated them fairly in the past.
More ground-shaking news...
Those creative Scottish chappies didn't invent the haggis (Romans) or the kilt (Irish).
They did however invent the Australian national anthem.
More ground-shaking news...
Those creative Scottish chappies didn't invent the haggis (Romans) or the kilt (Irish).
They did however invent the Australian national anthem.
Do you invent a national anthem? :)
Are you saying national anthems exist already, and are just waiting to be discovered? ;).
Alright, wrong word. Maybe they inveigled it. Or inserted it. I'm not sure.
If you want something really contentious, there's always the claim that certain isolated Scottish communities 'invented' the 'Church Spiritual'/'lining out' style of music, a forerunner of Gospel music.
Here's a one-sided take on the theory (http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=961062003) by the guy who invented it ;).
I think a national Anthem is written not invented :yup:
Can you write us a new one for over here then? I'm not sure the Queen is really that gracious. She eats out of tupperware ;).
I'm not sure the Queen is really that gracious. She eats out of tupperware ;).
OMG :eek:
Jesus 'healed using cannabis'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,869273,00.html
New study suggests GM soya may damage unborn babies
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article337253.ece
That link may stop working - and i haven't done any GM-spanking for a while - so i'll add some quotes ;)...
Russian scientists added flour made from a GM soya to the diet of female rats two weeks before mating them, and continued feeding it to them during pregnancy, birth and nursing. Others were give non-GM soya or none at all. Six times as many of the offspring of those fed the modified soya were severely underweight compared to those born to the rats given normal diets. Within three weeks, 55.6 per cent of the young of the mothers given the modified soya died, against 9 per cent of the offspring of those fed the conventional soya.
The work is intriguing because it's apparently the first study to check the affect of GM products on gestation/newborns.
As the article points out, this is one of a number of recent studies which point to worrying side-effects in several GM foods:
Italian research found alterations in rat livers and pancreases, again after consumption of GM soya.
A leaked Monsanto study found that rats had under-developed kidneys and raised blood-cell-counts when fed on a diet rich in GM corn (suggesting damage to their immune systems).
Australian government research found modified peas promoted lung damage.
If you're in a country that doesn't require foodstuffs to display their GM content (and you'd like to have healthy kids one day ;)) you might wanna look into some of this - and then maybe go lobby your representatives :) (for packaging declarations of GM content, at the very least)
Turkish court fines Kurds for using letters Q and W (http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=2145562005)
Wife arrested for calling husband a lazy Walloon (http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=2156462005)
Dutch witches get tax breaks (http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=2170582005)
Caitlyn
01-09-06, 10:30 AM
Hmm… I know a few people who could benefit by moving to Holland…
Oh wait, it said witches… not… b____
;D
The volume of a woman's grey matter changes during her monthly ovulation cycle (http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg18825275.000)
I'm saying nothing.
(Except to note it's kinda sweet that they've done studies to show that 'A woman's mood and emotional state vary at different times of the month')
*runs just to be on the safe side*
I guess if anyone feels there's a balance to be redressed, or addressed even, this might do the trick...
Men happier to see injustice punished physically (http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1689837,00.html)
Curious ain't it :)
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Just coz it's fun... here's a possible future energy source... 'Sonofusion' - otherwise known as 'Bubble fusion'.
Bubble fusion makes a comeback - New Scientist - Jan 21 2006
[They] set up powerful standing waves within [a specially prepared] liquid by blasting it with sound. The standing waves caused the bubbles to grow and then collapse in a flash of light.
Unfortunately, like so many 'dream' technologies, it has a slight flaw - it requires more energy than it makes. (Oh, and only one guy has ever got any energy out of it at all i believe). Ne'er mind ;).
Hmm, intriguing results from a survey conducted in November 2005 by the Pew Initiative on Food and Technology:
Genetically modified crops: a decade of disagreement - New Scientist - January 21 2006
Almost 6 out of 10 adults in the US are unaware that GM crops exist, while only 25 per cent realise that GM foods have been on sale in the US for the past 10 years. When further informed about the pros and cons of GM foods, more than 6 out of 10 respondents said they would oppose the importation of GM crops into the US.
Ahh, consumer choice eh? ;)
In 1139 (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18925350.500.html)...
The Catholic Church's Second Lateran Council attempted to outlaw the use of the crossbow - at least between Christians. It worked for a while until the English king, Richard I, "failed to distinguish" between Saracens and the Franks and the ban fell apart.
I shouldn't laugh... but i did ;)
SamsoniteDelilah
01-26-06, 05:33 PM
Re: Jesus and pot... of course he could have used it medicinally, as could anyone predating RJ Reynolds' smear campaigns. I'm glad to hear of this sort of research being done. Kinda doubt it will be showing up on church signs, though.
Re: GM soya... Very interesting. A coworker of mine discovered radical downturns in the health of one of her patients, following his switching to soy products in his diet. I wonder if he was using GM stuff.
Re: there being a corrolation between a woman's physiogamy and her emotions... well, duh.
Re: bubble fusion... what do you think are the most economic/ecologically sound/viable energy sources, Gg?
Re: safe weapons... does anyone else think that's an oxymoron? Just checking.
Re: Jesus and pot... of course he could have used it medicinally, as could anyone predating RJ Reynolds' smear campaigns. I'm glad to hear of this sort of research being done. Kinda doubt it will be showing up on church signs, though.
Heh, i'd love to see it tho. 'Let Jesus salve your wounds' and all that ;)
Genetic Modification
Re: GM soya... Very interesting. A coworker of mine discovered radical downturns in the health of one of her patients, following his switching to soy products in his diet. I wonder if he was using GM stuff.
I think almost all US soya is GM these days. But...
It's really hard to tell whether that could be the cause. The biggest argument against GM products being detrimental to health is that there's been no blatant downturn in health across the US during the 10 years of usage. (But then again, there's been no national studies to check for broad health gains that might have covered any emerging health problems etc, to my knowledge).
On the 'precautionary' side, those studies, compounded by the unpredictable 'novelty' of GM science and the extreme difficulty of tracing ailments back to the altered products, are just a few of the reasons to be suspicious of GM products (or GE as their known your side, i believe). bacterial surrogate of the protein produced by their plants - not one from the actual plants. In other words, the product itself isn't actually tested, which is an inexcusable state of affairs really].
So, who knows, but it could be worth checking out (IE seeing whether the patient has any of the specific health probs that turned up in the lab animals)
Global Warming
Re: bubble fusion... what do you think are the most economic/ecologically sound/viable energy sources, Gg?
The way i see it at the mo...
Best:
Renewables - They're all very promising. They're not going to match demand any time soon, however, and they do require a lot of investment. micropower idea below]
Fuel Cells - With the caveat that, it depends how they're used. I love the idea of ones that get energy by processing sh*t (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18124383.000), and stuff like that tho ;).
Natural Gas - It's a fossil fuel, but it's main 'emissions' are purely down to transport costs i think.
**you can combine renewables with the 'Micropower' technique - IE household-level applications to you and me ;). With the right government incentives this could be one of the best long-term solutions. Apparently US energy providers have been quite resistant to it tho, and i think only 34 states even allow households to feed energy back into the grid.**
Not Sure:
Nuclear - It looks like we may all have to go for it. If it can be avoided tho, so much the better - the long term costs are still enormous (both financially and 'waste' wise).
Biocrops - Use of waste cooking oil is all well and good, but there are several arguments against (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1659036,00.html) the broad adoptation of biocrops which haven't really been resolved. Given the existing issues with farming, monocultures, deforestation and future water worries, it doesn't seem like a totally solid solution. Nice idea tho.
Heat Pumps - Just read about them in this (http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1694542,00.html) fairly parochial article ;). I've no idea what the pros and cons are.
Worst:
Clean Coal - It seems the coal-boys are dead set on using up all their supplies, so it's gotta happen anyway - but most of the planned tech advances can't be applied to the current generation of coal stations - so the reductions in emissions are fairly pathetic. Sequesteration is useful, but again, doesn't make a huge difference. If this new algae (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-01-10-algae-powerplants_x.htm) tech proves effective tho, that'd be marvellous.
Hydrogen - Hydrogen production requires another energy source, so it's really not solving the problem. End of story. ;)
Weapons
Re: safe weapons... does anyone else think that's an oxymoron? Just checking.
(I know this was a rhetorical question, but i can't resist adding more rhetoric ;))...
Here (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showpost.php?p=308146&postcount=232)'s a 2004 study which shows the whole gun-violence thing is a bit of a mess really - but mainly coz you can't tell how much they prevent violence and how much they exacerbate it. Heigh ho. [Move to the UK, move to the UK ;) - we only use knives :rolleyes:]
Non-lethal weapons are no less problematic tho (even when you discount their potential anti-democratic uses - IE dispersing peaceful gatherings etc). Tazers are coming in for a bit of stick at the moment (as it were ;)) - it seems there's a tendency to overuse (http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/mg18825254.900.html) them, for a start.
SamsoniteDelilah
01-26-06, 07:41 PM
By which I mean (I rush to explain), those links are awesome but they increase your posts 10-fold. :p I read 'em all, though. Some of these subjects are new to me, especially the alt fuel stuff. Very cool info.
It seems in the cases of GM products and fuels and handguns studies, that pure science has become the whore of commercialism, to the detriment of all of us. Hopefully what one of those articles suggested is true: that flawed studies are becoming more easily recognised, and better ones are on the horizon.
I'm in total agreement about the testing of GM (GE) stuff needing to be done with the actual materials. Almost bizarre that they've spread these products across the country so liberally without having actually tested it. I'mna have some questions for my FDA friend, if I run into him again - hopefully he'll still be on his first scotch. ;)
Lastly, the link to the tazer study didn't work for me, but I have read a report on (I think it was) 76 cases where people died following tazer use. I stopped reading around Case #45, because not one person's death could be squarely attributed to the use of the tazer. Around 95% of them were completely bat**** insane from using drugs. It's a bit like saying "100% of the people to swan dive off the Eiffel Tower have died, therefore climbing French structures is a health hazard."
By which I mean (I rush to explain), those links are awesome but they increase your posts 10-fold. :p I read 'em all, though. Some of these subjects are new to me, especially the alt fuel stuff. Very cool info.
You can thank OG- for the algae link. I love that one :)
But yeah, i do go a bit link-crazy in my longer posts (altho that was a shorter one ;))
It seems in the cases of GM products and fuels and handguns studies, that pure science has become the whore of commercialism, to the detriment of all of us.
There are some seeds of hope in counter-initiatives set up by the science community at the mo - such as the new journal for experimental 'failures'. But... until these things are endorsed by governing bodies as well (to the extent that they force companies to play the game too, and publish discovered failures - and stock prices be damned) - it's not enough on its own.
Almost bizarre that they've spread these products across the country so liberally without having actually tested it. I'mna have some questions for my FDA friend, if I run into him again - hopefully he'll still be on his first scotch. ;)
If i was you i'd badger my local representative to get GM labelling established, at least. FDA oversight of 'in planta' protein checking of engineered crops is totally needed as well.
Lastly, the link to the tazer study didn't work for me, but I have read a report on (I think it was) 76 cases where people died following tazer use.
It would only link to the intro anyway. The main article touches on the deaths, in that anyone who's drugged-up or drunk may be more liable to have a fatal cardiac arrhythmia when shocked. (It seems they forgot to do any prelim safety checks on drugged-up gerbils ;)).
Their main argument tho is that Tazers are slowly being over-used. IE "From being an alternative to lethal firearms they are now becoming an indiscriminate compliance tool." [Nick Lewer, who studies conflict resolution at the University of Bradford in the UK]
On the compliance front the article also looks at some new devices: a microwave heat beam and a soundwave developed by the Pentagon, and some form of sleeping pellet. (Just so long as they don't Taze anyone once they're drugged up ;))
SamsoniteDelilah
01-26-06, 09:01 PM
You can thank OG- for the algae link. I love that one :)
But yeah, i do go a bit link-crazy in my longer posts (altho that was a shorter one ;))
They're necessary if I'm going to understand your Educated Hippy-Speak. ;) Muchas gracias.
There are some seeds of hope in counter-initiatives set up by the science community at the mo - such as the new journal for experimental 'failures'. But... until these things are endorsed by governing bodies as well (to the extent that they force companies to play the game too, and publish discovered failures - and stock prices be damned) - it's not enough on its own.
This is good news. :)
If i was you i'd badger my local representative to get GM labelling established, at least. FDA oversight of 'in planta' protein checking of engineered crops is totally needed as well.
I could do that. It's likely being done pretty strongly here in CA anyway, but it sounds like a positive step. So does educating the public about the downside of the GM stuff.
It would only link to the intro anyway. The main article touches on the deaths, in that anyone who's drugged-up or drunk may be more liable to have a fatal cardiac arrhythmia when shocked. (It seems they forgot to do any prelim safety checks on drugged-up gerbils ;)).
Their main argument tho is that Tazers are slowly being over-used. IE "From being an alternative to lethal firearms they are now becoming an indiscriminate compliance tool." [Nick Lewer, who studies conflict resolution at the University of Bradford in the UK]
On the compliance front the article also looks at some new devices: a microwave heat beam and a soundwave developed by the Pentagon, and some form of sleeping pellet. (Just so long as they don't Taze anyone once they're drugged up ;))
I am wary of people who complain about tools of protection being overused by the police and security, though. There are likely many of the same people who complain about "police brutality" in cases where a person who is out of their mind forces their own injury on their way to being subdued. I'm not saying police are all angels, but I think the more tools we can give them to make their jobs as safe as possible, the better off we all are.
They're necessary if I'm going to understand your Educated Hippy-Speak. ;) Muchas gracias.
Heh. De nada ;)
I am wary of people who complain about tools of protection being overused by the police and security, though. There are likely many of the same people who complain about "police brutality" in cases where a person who is out of their mind forces their own injury on their way to being subdued. I'm not saying police are all angels, but I think the more tools we can give them to make their jobs as safe as possible, the better off we all are.
Yeah, tis true. I think any sentiments i have in that direction stem from a pretty decent doc i saw on the subject, which suggested the technology exists to stimulate 'emotions' in a crowd via a form of microwave transmission. Now that would be 'dangerous'.
SamsoniteDelilah
01-27-06, 01:56 AM
...I think any sentiments i have in that direction stem from a pretty decent doc i saw on the subject, which suggested the technology exists to stimulate 'emotions' in a crowd via a form of microwave transmission. Now that would be 'dangerous'.
:D This, on the eve of Mozart's birthday.
How timely you are, Gg.
For this, you get the full raspberry ---> :p (http://members.shaw.ca/hieraco/Tongue_files/casper.jpg)
That kitty reminds me of Gene Simmons
Oh lord no - let there never be a cat wearing make-up! (hats (http://www.mycathatesyou.com/images/cats/2005/09/galahad.jpg), yes) ;)
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In the latest news... 'Opera sheep' produce world's finest wool ( http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-01-26T072429Z_01_SYD157142_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-AUSTRALIA-WOOL.XML)
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There is a gene called ‘killer of prune’.
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That is all.
Aphids (http://www.soybeans.umn.edu/images2/insects/aphid_main.jpg) are so speedy at reproducing that females can become pregnant before they are even born! (Via a process called parthenogenesis). Just one of these wee pests can produce about 1.5mil offspring in a single summer. Huzzah!
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Yay, intriguing epigenetic news (honest), which happens to back up my less-meat-is-better worldview ;)
Red meat over-consumption increases bowel cancer risk (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4662934.stm)
Soya and certain greens protect against cancer-promoting mutations (http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,,1704978,00.html)
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A curious batch of facts-n-accusations...
Occupiers' spin hides Iraqi views (http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1704737,00.html)
I am glad I don't eat meat :yup:
Complex decisions 'best left to the unconscious mind' (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1711859,00.html)
Tas should read this. It explains how to influence car-buyers ;)
http://bestsmileys.com/thinking/1.gif
Ophelia
02-18-06, 07:53 AM
"I sit on things and rely on my gut."
It is quite amazing I find that in alot of ways our gut instincts turn out to be quite right. Even in my job (nursing) in the environment I am working in, where everything is 'calculated', I was always told throughout my training, that even though the figures for a patient may be adding up and they are seemingly doing well...if I have a feeling or 'gut' instinct that all is not well, I should always act on it and inform the Doctor or sister. These feelings are always taken into serious consideration.
An interesting read.
"I sit on things and rely on my gut."
It is quite amazing I find that in alot of ways our gut instincts turn out to be quite right. Even in my job (nursing) in the environment I am working in, where everything is 'calculated', I was always told throughout my training, that even though the figures for a patient may be adding up and they are seemingly doing well...if I have a feeling or 'gut' instinct that all is not well, I should always act on it and inform the Doctor or sister. These feelings are always taken into serious consideration.
An interesting read.
Cool :). That's definitely the way it should be. It's an old 'adage', but rationalism and our inner-sphinx have both got a big part to play. (Oh wait, i think i've just made a new adage ;))
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Ok, I could talk here about the genuinely dangerous and unsustainable nature of our agriculture systems - (concerning reliance on finite ‘fossil’ water, over-use of nitrogen, and ‘destabilising’ soil-erosion). [Please don't ask for details, coz i'll give 'em ;)]...
I could also point out how modern ‘Organic’ methods tackle most of these probs… But...
Nah. How bout some fun stuff instead :) …
Blind helped to ‘see’ via their tongue! (http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20010901/bob14.asp)
Too cool :)
There’s some great anecdotal stuff from this out on the web too. Like how one woman was amazed to see a ‘dancing’ candle flame for the first time, which she’d assumed would be huge (as she’d only known flames previously by the heat they give off).
(I can’t help thinking that the tongue ‘retainer’ the team want to create might cause problems tho… with speech ;))
Human skull has ‘evolved’ over last 650 years (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4643312.stm)
A recent study, comparing mediaeval skulls with modern ones has shown numerous distinct differences. Our ancestors had ‘more prominent’ features, but a smaller cranial vault. It seems we may have developed greater mental capacities in the intervening 7 centuries or so. Hard to believe sometimes tho…
Spanish woman declared dead for 12 years (http://www.guardian.co.uk/spain/article/0,,1706793,00.html)
History's pranksters... (http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5543675)
In 1203/04 the blind octogenarian Doge Dandolo took the assembled Crusaders on a wild goose chase, during which they sacked the Christian 'capital' of the east, Constantinople.
Towards the end of WW2 a British bomber dropped a decoy wooden bomb on a decoy wooden factory set up by the Germans.
I like the road digging one, Golly :laugh:
Those crazy students ;). Pricey prank tho!
Did you see this as well in the original article?
The fans were told that, when held up, the bits would spell “Go Harvard”.
http://www.economist.com/images/20051224/5205PP1.jpg
:D
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Iranians united... by their hatred of the scheming Brits (http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1720810,00.html)
What to do when the sun heats up, a billion years from now?
Move the earth to a wider orbit (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1154784.stm)*
I'm so glad people are thinking ahead :rolleyes:
*Apparently it only weighs 5.972 sextillion tonnes. All you need is a handy asteriod (and a giant slingshot?) ;)
MyRobotSuit
03-01-06, 07:22 PM
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/howard685cantvguide.gif
Dammit! I can't rep Ron Howard's ginger moustache!
For this, the world looses a Del point
http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/8895/delpoint2im.gif -DP
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EDIT
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I've learnt something intriguing about my bank...
We do work in a poo powered pyramid (http://www.smile.co.uk/servlet/Satellite?cid=1028557503795&pagename=Smile%2FPage%2FsmView&c=Page&loc=l)
Well, it had to happen...
Pentagon develops brain implants to turn sharks into military spies (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article348700.ece)
(I reckon the chipmunks will be next)
http://www.smiliemania.de/smilie132/00001818.gif
Thank goodness for M15 and their Commie-hunts. They've kept the UK safe from subversives like...
UB40 and 'mad' Harold Wilson (http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article349555.ece)
Arr thank goodness for MI5 :rolleyes:
Have you turned pirate Nebbs? Careful, they don't look kindly on that kind of behaviour ;)
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And now...
The incendiary bats and pigeon-guided missiles of WWII (http://historynet.com/ahi/blbatnbirdbomber/index.html)
The bats were an alternative to nuclear strikes, dontcha know.
No I am not a http://bestsmileys.com/pirate/2.gif but i am thinking of having my own Kamikaze http://bestsmileys.com/bat/1.gif :laugh:
I wouldn't wanna empty out its litter tray ;)
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Can-a-day soft drink habit puts a stone a year on teenagers (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2072059,00.html)
(As in 6.4kg, not a large rock)
Yes, now you too can hawk your cack on the interweb, as long as it's written...
Www.lulu.com offers the charming service of printing your book, so long as someone wants to buy it. I particularly liked the look of...
Dances With Marmots
Sticking To Israel: Israeli Society Through Bumper Stickers
Ueki no Te Ire: The Japanese Art of Giant Bonsai
(Not to mention the thrillers The Hardt Dilemma and Side Effects May Include: Death)
Oh yes, and Goodbye to Kitty ('A children's storybook about a dead cat')
http://www.lulu.com/author/display_thumbnail.php?fCID=144833&fSize=detail_&1141804135
Can-a-day soft drink habit puts a stone a year on teenagers (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2072059,00.html)
Thats it I am giving up soft drink I am sticking to http://bestsmileys.com/drinking/2.gif ;D
The universe explained?...
"It's like we're living inside a giant dark energy star" (http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg18925423.600.html)
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The word lunacy comes from the idea that the moon (luna) makes people go mental. Apparently you could plead lunacy in court, on the grounds of diminished responsability, if you commited a crime during the full moon.
If there's any truth to this olde-phenomenon, it could be down to our past passtime of hunting by moonlight. Or it could be good olde-fashioned nonsense ;)
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The 'health' section of a contract i just filled in had a weird category:
"skin complains"
In August 2000, a shower of sprats, dead but conveniently still fresh, fell from the skies onto the English port of Great Yarmouth just after a thunderstorm. A torrent of live toads pelted a Mexican town in June 1997. And in 2001, 50 tonnes of alien life forms rained down from the clouds over India.
Or at least, that's the possibilty explored in the New Scientist article It's Raining Aliens [4 March 2006]
Red rain that fell over India during a period of 2 months has got experts baffled. There's a general consensus that a meteor airburst at around that time was the most likely cause. No local phenomenon can explain the persistant redness, nor the strange DNA-free blood-cell-shaped particles found in recovered samples.
There are two theories vying to explain how the necessary 50 tonnes of 'red particles' were mixed with the rain. Either...
a) A huge flock of migrating bats were massacred as the meteor broke up.
b) The meteor contained some strange alien form of life. Which is red.
The problem with the bat-theory is that there should be a lot of left-over wings around the place too. And also, blood cells shouldn't survive for long, unless in maintained in water containing exactly the same salt-levels.
The problem with the alien-theory is, it's nuts ;). But it might just explain what the strange particles are...
They might be part of the physically-possible but never-proved theory known as panspermia. The 'fertilisation' of planets by other planets.
Who knows... it could explain the sudden explosions of life on earth, and Jerry Springer, all in one shot ;)
Richard Feynman's 1965 Nobel prize speech
"The work I have done has already been adequately rewarded and recognized. Imagination reaches out repeatedly trying to achieve some higher level of understanding, until suddenly I find myself momentarily alone before one new corner of nature's pattern of beauty and true majesty revealed. That was my reward.
Then, having fashioned tools to make access easier to the new level, I see these tools used by other men straining their imaginations against further mysteries beyond. There, are my votes of recognition.
Then comes the Prize, and the deluge of messages. Reports of fathers turning excitedly with newspapers in hand to wives; of daughters running up and down the apartment house ringing neighbors' door bells with news; victorious cries of "I told you so" by those having no technical knowledge—their successful prediction being based on faith alone; from friends, from relatives, from students, from former teachers, from scientific colleagues, from total strangers; formal commendations, silly jokes, parties, presents; a multitude of messages in a multitude of forms.
But, in each I saw the same two common elements. I saw in each, joy; and I saw affection (you see, whatever modesty I may have had has been completely swept away in recent days).
The Prize was a signal to permit them to express, and me to learn about, their feelings. Each joy, though transient thrill, repeated in so many places amounts to a considerable sum of human happiness. And, each note of affection released thus one upon another has permitted me to realize a depth of love for my friends and acquaintances, which I had never felt so poignantly before.
For this, I thank Alfred Nobel and the many who worked so hard to carry out his wishes in this particular way.
And so, you Swedish people, with your honors, and your trumpets, and your king—forgive me. For I understand at last—such things provide entrance to the heart. Used by a wise and peaceful people they can generate good feeling, even love, among men, even in lands far beyond your own. For that lesson, I thank you."
I want me one of these...
The Photophone (http://vickipedia.livejournal.com/2461.html)
PHO'TOPHONE is the name of a comparatively simple apparatus which may be said to achieve the feat of transmitting articulate speech to a distance along a beam of light...
...When the apparatus is used, a strong beam of light is concentrated by a lens in the plane mirror; the speaker directs his voice against the back of this mirror, which is thrown into vibrations corresponding with those of the voice.
Alriiight, the party religion...
Shinto Sun Myth (http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/amaterasu_sun.html&edu=high)
Amaterasu was the Sun goddess according to the oldest Japanese religion called Shinto. Shinto means "the way of the gods." Amaterasu was born from the left eye of the primeval being Izanagi. When her brother Susanowo treated her badly, she hid in the cave of heaven, closing the entrance with an enormous stone.
Thus, darkness surrounded the world, and evil spirits left their hiding places, causing destruction and grief everywhere. In despair, a conference of the gods decided to induce Amaterasu to come out of the cave by arousing her curiosity. The gods organized a cheerful party.
They put a big mirror in front of the cave and beautiful jewels on a tree. Uzume, the goddess of laughter, began an exotic dance accompanied by loud music. Hearing the music and the laughter, Amaterasu could not restrain her curiosity and gave a prudent look outside to see what was going on.
As soon as she saw what was there, she was so fascinated by her own brilliant reflection in the mirror that she came out of the cave. Finally, the light covered and colored the world.
Ophelia
03-16-06, 12:42 AM
Alriiight, the party religion...
Shinto Sun Myth (http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/amaterasu_sun.html&edu=high)
That is beautiful, thank you for posting it. It brought a little colour into my night.
Shinto Sun Myth (http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/amaterasu_sun.html&edu=high)
I often get distracted by mirrors too...its a dirty trick i tell ya!
No worries phelia, and hallo there Zeik :)
(my advice would be to stop emitting light incidently ;))
Moon affects deadly radon levels in homes (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/thisweek/story/0,,1731709,00.html)
What next? :eek: and i thought the full moon only affected Werewolf's :yup:
I once heard that the moon is made of cheese. Any validity to that, Golgoticus?
That's what they'd have us believe. It's actually made of compressed werewolves ;)
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'Stored odours' nail China felons (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4812396.stm)
Is it a moth? Is it a dragonfly? No, it's a Pentagon spy (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4808342.stm)
The Pentagon's defence scientists want to create an army of cyber-insects that can be remotely controlled to check out explosives and send transmissions.
A similar scheme aimed at manipulating wasps failed when they flew off to feed and mate.
:laugh:
Trust me, just go down to the 'superb lyrebird', click on the audio file of its uncanny imitations of Aussie forest-life, wait, and then be amazed...
http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/songs/
Yes, it can imitate the-cutting-down-of-trees-by-chainsaws :):(:indifferent:
And Nebbs, i dread to think what would happen if the Pentagon ever got hold of it ;)
I wish this site was less family-friendly.
Then i could repeat Dylan Moran's 'Monster' appraisals of gentialia. It involved kitten heads and Enya emissions. It was special.
(And his 'regime change' make-over show was something else n'all ;))
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In more recent news, water swishes in a certain way when near your genes, guiding proteins so that they 'dock' with the mother node. It's yet another wee 'epigenetic' example of how there's more to DNA than just DNA :)
Sourcery: 'The Quantum Elixir' - New Scientist 8 April
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