Untraceable infrared links. Backpacks full of back-up transmitters. Cloak and dagger secrecy. Hundreds of pirate radio stations broadcast in London every day, but this 20 minute documentary shows that only the tech-savviest stay a step ahead of the police. More »
A physicist at Harvard has an idea for fighting climate change that's radical in every sense of the word. He wants to pump massive amounts of microbubbles into the world's oceans, increasing their reflectivity and cooling their waters. More »
including discussions on Futurism:
Against Fashion: Clothing as Art, 1850-1930
By Radu Stern
MIT Press 2005, (cloth 2003)
ISBN: 978-0-262-69329-5
Includes contributions to the new art form by various artistic movements of the avant-garde, including Futurism.
Prosthetic Gods
By Hal Foster
MIT Press, 2006
ISBN: 978-0-262-56281-2
Exploration of thesis through works and writings of key modernists.
Not so long ago, the Purdue University solar car team was competing in the American Solar Challenge, an endurance race spanning more than 1,000 miles. The Shell Eco-marathon here in Houston is a totally different animal, however, requiring just 10 short track laps but asking the utmost in fuel efficiency. That sent the Purdue team back to the shop.
Pulsar, the team’s prototype entry here, is a scaled-down version of the long-distance Spot II. “We don’t have the nice long curvature,” team member Joe Trefilek tells me about the body design. While the motor and body size are both reduced, Shell adds the requirement that the solar entrants produce more energy than they consume.
Pulsar’s broad top covered in solar panels make it stick out like a sore thumb in the prototype category, which is mostly populated by sleek and small gas-powered cars stripped down to the bare minimum to maximize mileage. But while Pulsar is slightly less concerned with aerodynamics, it’s more at the mercy of the weather.
Before the race, Trefilek says, the team made computer maps of how shadows cast by the tall hotels and office buildings in downtown Houston would fall on the track to see how the driver might need to balance the energy load. He says the team wondered, ”Would we have to faster in the shade, and slower in the sun?” Thankfully, the sun shined steadily here this morning.
To compete head-to-head with the other energy sources, solar cars have to compare their energy use to the amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline and do the math. Trefilek says Purdue made two solid runs this morning, and while official word from Shell hasn’t come down, he says Pulsar’s on-board meter showed they’d reached the equivalent of 4,400 mpg.
This afternoon the urban concept division of cars hits the track. There are far fewer of these, because the idea is that they be much closer to a street legal car. For next year, Purdue wants to make a hybrid of their its solar cars and build something for the urban concept division.
So, sure, the iPad may just be an overgrown iPhone. But this teaser shot of Mixr, a fully-featured, multitouch DJ app, should give you a sense of just how awesome apps designed for an oversized iPhone can be. More »
So this is curious: Just a few days after screens showing iBooks Store ebook prices leaked, revealing a ton of $9.99 bestsellers, a fresh leak shows a bunch are back up to $12.99. Say what? More »
3 astronauts, lt. governor to address 'Save Space' rally, Florida Today
"Three astronauts who flew on the space shuttle will be among the featured speakers at a "Save Space" community rally April 11 at the Cocoa Expo Sports Center. During a planning meeting Friday, rally organizer and Brevard County Commissioner Robin Fisher said astronauts Jon McBride, Winston Scott and Bob Springer have agreed to be speakers. Florida Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp also is expected to speak at the event, along with various elected officials and community leaders."
Cochran and Wicker file bill to stop threat to NASA's Constellation Program, WLOX
"Mississippi Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker Friday cosponsored a measure to prohibit NASA from suspending work on the Constellation Program without justification. The Constellation Program was established in 2004 to be the human space exploration program to replace the Space Shuttle. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County is currently building rocket test stands for the Constellation Engines."
Contractors Preserving Constellation Funds To Pay for Program Closeout, Space News
"While NASA is asking Congress for $2.5 billion to shutter Constellation, agency officials say they do not know whether that money will be enough to pay for the government's closeout costs and still cover the termination expenses NASA contractors would incur as a result of having to cancel orders, vacate leases and pink-slip employees when the program is ordered shutdown. As a result, some contractors -- including Denver-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems -- are preparing to slow or stop work on Constellation in order to set aside program money to cover their own termination expenses when NASA formally issues the shutdown orders."
Dear Colleague Letter: NASA Cuts Threaten National Defense - Invitation to Important Defense Staff Briefing Next Week, Rep. Rob Bishop
"With the industry already reeling from the cumulative impacts of these large SRM program cuts and terminations, NASA has now made an ill-advised and drastic decision to propose total cancellation of the Constellation manned space flight program, which would also include termination of the Ares 1 rocket, leaving our nation without a single large-scale SRM program in full production for the first time in 50 years! That will leave the U.S. to rely solely on the Navy's D-5 missile Life Extension program, with a production rate of only one booster stack per month, as the bedrock in sustaining our nation's ability to produce large scale solid rocket motors. .... This important staff briefing will be conducted by representatives from SRM producer, ATK, as well as their suppliers and aerospace industry teammates, followed by lots of time for Q&A."
Utahns in Congress all against cuts to NASA, Salt Lake Tribune
"Bishop, whose district include Alliant Techsystems, which produces solid rocket motors and employs 3,500 people, said that Obama's budget on NASA doesn't save any money and that it would actually cost $2.5 billion to end the Constellation program. Moreover, Bishop says Obama's move hurts the country's ability to enhance its missile defenses."
Keith's note: I find it to be a little strange that the other major U.S. manufacturer of SRMs, Aerojet, is not being invited to participate in this presentation. If Rep. Bishop truly intended this event to be a discussion about national capabilities, one would assume that he'd try and get a representative set of presentations - not just one company's - the one he represents in Congress. Truth be known, this is really all about ATK and the fear of lost business in Utah - with the arm waving about national issues used as a smoke screen. As for DoD concerns, there is clearly no consensus on this issue - either way. As for the D-5, its first stage stage (a SRM) is 24 feet long whereas Aerojet's SRMs on the Atlas V are 67 feet long - so clearly someone other than ATK can make large SRMs.
Pentagon Not Yet Concerned Over NASA Changes, Aviation Week
"[Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] did mention, however, that he and other defense officials have had longstanding concerns over the space industrial base, much the same way they do for shipbuilding. Like with warships, the admiral said there is consensus that the Defense Department is paying too much for old systems when it comes to space assets."
Sen. Says Solid Rocket Motor Costs Will Double, Navy Disagrees, Defense News
"During a Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee hearing, Rear Adm. Stephen Johnson, said he expects solid rocket motor prices to rise 10 to 20 percent. He assured Vitter that 100 percent price growth is not likely. Johnson heads Navy strategic systems programs."
New NASA Policy = Higher USAF Launch Costs?, earlier post
With new Steve Jobs emails surfacing everyday, someone thought to send Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein a personal note. His chipper response is not necessarily what you'd expect from somebody who's been watching his company fall apart before his eyes. More »
In Case You Missed It. .. Who is behind the cancellation of the Constellation program?, Rep. Rob Bishop
"Last night on the Floor of the House of Representatives, Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01) voiced concerns over statements made by NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, who is apparently the leading voice in the proposal to cancel the Constellation Program, NASA's tested replacement for the retiring Space Shuttle."
Keith's note: Excuse me Rep. Bishop - but are you suggesting that "NASA's tested replacement" is the Ares 1-X launch last year? You know, the one-off rocket built out of left-over parts, another launch vehicle's guidance system, and dummy upper stages? That's right - the same one that flew a strange profile after staging and had parachute failures. Just checking. I am not certain that this one test flight can be exagerated to imply (as you clearly do) that the Constellation program has been "tested". As for your off the wall conspiracy mongering with regard to Lori Garver's imaginary cabals to undermine human spaceflight until the end of time, I guess there's always one empty seat on the bus to crazy town - right next to Sen. Vitter.
Sen. Vitter Has Been Drinking the Koolaid, earlier post
Besides the slew of large universities, there’s also a contingent of plucky high school teams competing here at the Eco-marathon. Though for some the first morning has been a struggle.
Tiny Durand High School from Wisconsin boats the only ethanol vehicle in the field. But it wasn’t the engine that kept them from completing the course. With another car on the right, Durand’s driver got too close to the inside curb on turn one and clipped it, then the other car, leaving both of them stuck.
For Durand coach Bill Rieger, it was a heartbreaker. “I want to cry right now,” he said, because the team was so close to putting results on the board. Once the car completes 10 laps, race officials make the official mileage measurements. But Durand’s #50 car completed only 7, and there are no pro-rated mesasurements. The 50 car is custom-built, so it won’t be an easy fix to get it ready for the later trial runs. “We need to find a bike shop and see if we can bend our spindles back,” Rieger says.
Hope isn’t lost: the students from Grand Rapids High School in Minnesota tell DISCOVER that despite the competition, the teams help each other out. Still, the high school students want badly to succeed, and especially out-do the college team. Grand Rapids took 7th overall last year. This year started slower for them, as their morning session run made only a single lap. But their still hopeful, saying the new gasoline engine this year could achieve 700 miles per gallon.
From Cliff Thies:
From "Before it's News," Russian Prime Minister Putin, mindful of the fall of the former Soviet Union, is warning the world against the threat of communism from the United States. Ironicly, the United States, which helped to dismantle the "Iron Curtain," is in the process of building up a new wall around its own country, and taking the first steps to disarm the Americans who might resist a communist takeover. To counter this growing danger, he has ordered a modernization of the Russian military.
Excerpt from Sorcha Faal commentary:
Putin had previously warned the United States against its planned adoption of Communism during his January, 2009 speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland upon Obama taking office, and had stated:In a chilling speech to Russian defence experts yesterday, Prime Minister Putin ordered the buildup of strategic weapons and warned that the growing threat of the expansion of American Communism is endangering the entire World and bringing the Motherland closer to war than at any time since the1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
"The concentration of surplus assets in the hands of the state is a negative aspect of anti-crisis measures in virtually every nation. In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state's role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated."
Putin in his aforementioned remarks stated that he never would have believed that the United States would take the Iron Curtain surrounding the former Soviet Union they had helped to destroy, pack it up, and the re-erect it around America, but that is exactly what they done. And if any American today wants to know what it was really like living under the tyrannical rule of the Soviet Communists they need only look around them at what their Nation is becoming, and then get very prepared for what is to come
Irwin Kula on blessings and spiritual yearnings.
Earth Hour 2010 commences tonight, charging citizens and corporations alike to turn off their lights for an hour to raise climate change awareness. The real benefit, though, is that it lets you watch the cooler version of this light-sensing video. More »
Ooh, looks like somebody's popular. If you tried to order a Wi-Fi iPad this morning, you might have noticed that the expected ship date has been bumped a week to April 12 and in-store pick-up has been nixed as an option. Seems like the first pack o' Pads have all been spoken for. Just how many is that? There's no way to be sure, but some of the most recent estimates put the number somewhere near a half a million. Yow. [9to5 Mac] More »
The Future of Smartphones: 4G and Beyond Entrepreneur Ditto for the opportunity to upload HD video to online aggregators such as YouTube and Metacafe instead of the pixilated standard-def footage that's ... |
Corey writes, “I got this tattoo as an homage to the pain of my graduate work. It’s a model of fulvic acid which is a representation of natural organic matter in the soil. I work with this molecule for my grad work and I figured I might as well get it etched into my skin so I can look at it and say, ‘Well, at least it hurt less than grad school at Cornell.’”
Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium.
UPDATE: SOLVED by Rob at 12:10 CDT
How about a nice, easy riddle to play with this Saturday? We’ve had a string of fairly hard riddles, and of course the Bonus Riddle was challenging. Here’s a nice, comfortable riddle for you to kick around for a few minutes, so let’s get right to it:
This is an object.
It is not visible to the unaided eye.
This object was predicted mathematically years before it was actually discovered.
Although we don’t know too much about this object, what we know is strange.
We have hopes of knowing much more about it in a few years.
This object has companions.
It has recently been the center of controversy.
Some scientists believe it’s not what we have always thought it is.
This object is well represented in popular fiction.
There you go… now isn’t that easy? I’m lurking, so come to the comment section and give it a shot. We’re building a list of participants for the next bonus riddle, and we’d sure like to put you on the list.
Trudy Sees a Spider
Dear All
Recently I come across an issue related to valve trim material:
As per our approved Valve Material Specification the trim material should be 11-13% Cr steel. But as per the manufacturer data sheet the trim material is ASTM A105 + Stellite. Do this material comply with 11-13% C
Wireless checkout is many a grocer's dream. It's like Amazon's one-click shopping in the real world, maximizing efficiency for the customer and cutting costs for the supermarket. A new printable RFID tag could make it a reality. More »
