Monthly Archives: September 2011

Waterproofing a Video Watch

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I recently got myself a "waterproof" video watch. I have managed to get most of it water tight apart from the time adjustment crown. I know that the pressure at 4m below the surface of the water is 20 psi. How would I get the crown to resist this pressure?

SLS, Saturn V, And Ares V Color Schemes (Update)

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Keith's note: Contrary to what some websites are reporting (including this one) NASA PAO says that the white/black coloration of the SLS stages that evokes memories of the Saturn V is there for the same reason: to aid in tracking during ascent. There will be no spray-on foam on the first (or second stage ) as was the case with the Space Shuttle and Ares V - hence no orange on the SLS.

Keith's update: Well despite the official PAO response, I am now told by several people at NASA with the utmost reliability and knowledge on this issue that the depiction of the SLS in Saturn V-esque paint scheme was done at the discretion of the graphic artist to evoke memories of the Saturn V. My understanding is that they will paint it - but what it will look like no one really knows.

I guess the only way to get a straight answer on this is for someone to ask Bill Gerstenmeier - on the record.

Out of Africa’s end? | Gene Expression

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The BBC has a news report up gathering reactions to a new PLoS ONE paper, The Later Stone Age Calvaria from Iwo Eleru, Nigeria: Morphology and Chronology. This paper reports on remains found in Nigeria which date to ~13,000 years B.P. that exhibit a very archaic morphology. In other words, they may not be anatomically [...]

Sand Blowing From Floor Ducts of Home

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I have a concrete slab floor in my 26 yr old house; The metal in the floor ducts has rotted and sand is blowing through my air ducts I have vacuumed it out but it keeps blowing and getting sand in them. Searched and cannot find replacement ducts what do you do now?

KH-9 Hexagon Spy Satellite Makes a Rare Public Outing (Photos and Video)

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KH-9 Hexagon Spy Satellite Makes a Rare Public Outing (Photos and Video)

"With virtually no advance notice, the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center put a KH-9 "Hexagon" spy satellite on public display today. The display is up for one day only. Word of this display only leaked out late on Friday. No media advisories were issued (or they did not send me one). I could not get NASM officials at the exhibit to comment on the short notice or why the satellite was there. But all you had to do was go inside and see that a large party was being set up for the 50th anniversary of the National Reconnaissance Office. Reception tables and chairs were being set up under the SR-71 and Space Shuttle Enterprise. This is a little odd for a long-time Washingtonian such as myself given that the name of this organization was secret until 1992. Once secret, they now throw lavish parties."

Distinguished member of the House of Lords shines the light on Muslim Moochers

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Paki Men "milking the system" producing multiple children on the welfare rolls through polygamy

From Eric Dondero:

Baroness Flather is a Conservative Party member of the British House of Lords. She represents Windsor in the Royal County of Berkshire. Her family are originally from the Punjab province of India.

Excerpt from the UK Daily Mail, "BARONESS FLATHER: Polygamy, welfare benefits and an insidious silence" Sept. 16:

As I said in Parliament this week, there is now a growing wealth of evidence that the generosity of the welfare state encourages some Muslims from these two regions — along with plenty of white families — to produce ever larger families in order to claim extra payments and publicly-subsidised housing. And it’s something the system seems to allow too easily.

For example, a Pakistani man contracts a marriage in his native country, and then brings his wife to England to start a family. Because they have been married only under Islamic law, she isn’t legally registered by British authorities as his wife. Even so, they are able to claim child benefit for any children they have.

But the state handouts do not end there, for under Islamic Sharia law, polygamy is permissible. So a man can return to Pakistan, take another bride and then, in a repetition of the process, bring her to England where they also have children together — obtaining yet more money from the state.

Because such Islamic multiple-marriages are not recognised in Britain, the women are regarded by the welfare system as single mothers — and are therefore entitled to the full range of lone-parent payments.

As a result, several ‘families’, fathered by the same Pakistani man, can all claim benefits as they are provided for by the welfare state, which treats them as if they are not related.

She Returns!

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UPDATE:  Solved by Kristian at 1:14

YAY!  Looks like we’re back on track for the weekly riddle.  You missed me, didn’t you?  I know you did; admit it.  I apologize for the abrupt “vacation”, but it truly could not be helped.

My DSL is spotty, so it may take me a moment or two to respond to your guesses.  Hang in there.  I’m around — I’m just trapped under a pile of collapsed internet.

So, let’s get to guessing!  You’ll look to the real world to find the answer to today’s riddle, although you could also find it in fantasy and fiction.

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Early man probably knew today’s answer, but it took a while to figure out its true nature.

This shows evidence of quite a violent early life.

For some reason, this is warm where it should be cool, and cool where it should be warm.

My favorite gemstone -- the aquamarine

To us, this is a giant — but among its own kind, it’s something of a pipsqueak.

Its arrangement is very much like a cherry.

In theory, this is a place where water gets weird.

I bet when this object was a child, it got teased about its name.

Speaking of names, something around this should make you think of British playwrights.

You will have read about this in the “Cthulhu Mythos”.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot and Junior - NASA

There you have it, nice and tidy and ready for you to solve.  Remember, if it takes me a minute or two to answer, I’m just digging my way out of a smoking pile of crashed internet.  Good luck!

More Muzzie craziness in Aussie-land

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Man Ban at some events in Australian towns wins support

From the Sydney Herald-Sun, "Men banned as Muslim women win council backing" Sept. 18:

MAN bans are spreading as two more council functions are declared off-limits because it is "not appropriate" for men to mix with Muslim women.
And in a surprise twist, VCAT backed the latest bans, declaring there was no discrimination and councils no longer needed to apply for exemptions.

The Darebin City Council ban will be in force for a music concert to be held in December, while another female-only event to mark the end of Ramadan was cancelled last week.

Editor's comment - Sorry Crocidile Dundee. Better cover up that exposed chest of yours, so as not to offend the sensitivities of Muslim immigrant women.