I'm curious as to why space suits were first silver colored. Wouldn't the same reasons that they are now white, have been valid reasons to make them white in the first place?
LG Lineup Leak Lists Looming Line of Android Smartphones [Leaks]
A recent LG leak has delivered not one but five upcoming Android smartphones and one Mango-equipped one. Life is good, if you're in love with LG. More »
Two Bullet Trains Collide, One Falls From Bridge [Bullet Trains]
Two bullet trains have collided over a bridge in Wenzhou, China. As a result, four carriages of the first train derailed. Two were catapulted by the force of the impact into the ground, killing at least 16 passengers. More »
Cut the Rope Is a Comic Now [Comics]
Om Nom has gone Hollywood, folks. The lovable main character in Zepto Lab's critically-acclaimed and oft-downloaded Cut the Rope iOS game is making the jump to comics. Maybe now he can get that candy all by his damn self. More »
Hey, I Made It!
UPDATE: Solved by Roger at 12:05 CDT
*Man, it’s hot in central Texas.*
Oh, hello! I hope you’ve all had a great week, and are raring to go for the weekend. I bought a new house and have been buried in the details of trying to move my stuff.
How did I get so much stuff? Anybody want to buy one of my pianos?
Anyway, I have a riddle subject for you today that I’ve thought about for a while, but never quite figured out how to present. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy it. Today we are back in the land of SciFi, so get your brain out of reality and GET YOUR GEEK ON!
This image from IAU and Sky & Telescope Magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg) some rights reserved
You want to think about an iconic character.
He’s not from around here, but he has roots reaching back to our neck of the woods.
When first pictured in a magazine, his image was altered to make it less… something.
Oh, come on... you know this one!
Talk about arrogant! He’s cooler than you, smarter than you, and he’s always right.
His character is the only one to “survive” the pilot episode.
Although he was truly lost for a while, he was never completely gone.
Remember.
Several other iconic SciFi characters are “related” to this one.
He’s been insane, in love, and enraged, but he had to be pushed to all three.
Image by Tobias R, Metoc, some rights reserved
That should do it. This should prove to be one of those fast riddles, especially for you who are familiar with SciFi. You know where to find me.
DON'T LOOK, TRUDY!
Video of the Day: Michael Munger on “Jumping the Krugman”
Michael Munger explains why deficits are future taxes, and why government jobs aren’t real jobs for the economy.
I’ve got your missing links right here (23 July 2011) | Not Exactly Rocket Science
Top picks
Every Shuttle mission, in order, set to music. Adam Rutherford’s incredible tribute to the Shuttle is moving, uplifting, at times heartbreaking, and unmissable.
Amos Zeeberg chimes in on the Shuttle with a no-holds barred take on the programme as an objective failure
A “beautiful study” on placebo and asthma shows the difference between placebos and real treatments. Great write-up by Pal MD
Jonah Lehrer riffs off one of my pieces and creates a hypothesis on why beauty exists, And David Dobbs riffs of Lehrer, with a beautiful tribute to London
“We saved a humpback whale! WOOOO!” Absolutely wonderful video.
Right under our noses, dolphins have been evolving their own healing factors. Phase 2 now complete
The US Army wants soldiers to communicate just by thinking. Synthetic telepathy could make that happen
Read Imperial College’s new analysis of the BBC’s science reporting (the actual paper and not the news reports of it, natch).
When fish fail – a wonderful blooper reel of suction-feeding fish screwing up their attacks
Tomorrow’s role models. These girls who won Google Science Fair are amazing. It started when she was 8 & tried to make blue spinach…
The Kiki/Bouba effect, or why ...
Looks Like the Spotify Hype Worked: Service Spots Itself 70,000 Paid Subscribers In One Week [Trends]
Turns out a massive marketing push works wonders for your bottom line...if you happen to be Spotify, that is, and can also deliver a much-hyped, well-designed music streaming service (I'm using mine right now!). More »
MikroScan Achieves Groundbreaking Footprint in Desktop Whole Slide Scanner for Digital Pathology
Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle via PRWeb
Vista, CA (PRWEB) July 22, 2011
Whole slide imaging (WSI) manufacturer, MikroScan Technologies, Inc., announces a breakthrough in size threshold of its ultra-small desktop whole-slide scanner, the MikroScan D2, which is designed for secondary diagnostic analysis and collaboration for digital pathology, clinical research, and education applications.
With workspace at a premium shortage in most laboratories, MikroScan has focused its design and development on instrumentation that innovates the advanced features of larger more expensive systems into smaller desktop, or "personal," scanning solutions. A few minor changes on the inside have created a stunning difference on the outside, and now the market's smallest whole-slide scanner is dramatically smaller.
The tiny desktop footprint of the MikroScan D2 is now only 11 by 13 inches (143 square inches) - a whopping 40% smaller footprint area than the previous version, which was 13 by 18 inches (234 square inches).
"It's about the size a shoe box," says Bob Goerlitz, president of MikroScan Technologies. "We've been working on these improvements for a while, and we are very excited to bring them to market. This type of design criteria has been our core value since launching the company. The goals have been simple; to provide the market with a scanner that meets the end-users' needs for features, capability, and price so the market will finally be able and willing to support and adopt cost-effective digital pathology technology."
The new, more compact MikroScan D2 still packs all the same powerful features and performance that pathologists are calling for, including excellent quality imaging, high-resolution scan speeds well under 2 minutes, and collaborative communications tools that allow remote sharing and control. The scanner is ideal for frozen section room, and cytology fine needle aspiration (FNA) cart applications.
Victor Casas, chief technology officer and applications specialist at MikroScan Technologies, said, "Nothing was sacrificed in the minor reengineering to achieve a smaller footprint. If anything, we have made further improvements to the solid design, increased overall accuracy, and enabled some features that were previously unused. The optics and imaging system are the same exceptional quality, which is a pathologist's main concern for quality medicine and diagnostic accuracy."
"The new smaller sized instrument will make a huge difference for a lot of pathology offices and laboratories where workspace is scarce," said Mr. Goerlitz. "People are quite shocked when they first see how small it is. They are even more amazed when they see first hand the superior image quality it produces and how its features, performance, and flexibility can dramatically improve their workflow and diagnostic communications, and allow end users to bridge the gap between digital slide scanning and remote telepathology. The MikroScan D2 is clearly the smallest, yet most advance scanner in its class."
Mr. Goerlitz was previously quoted, "In large facilities, our solution complements the high-throughput products on the market by filling in the 'gaps of convenience' through eliminating issues like consult travel time, lab wait time, slide shipping time, and of course MikroScan's small footprint allows easy operation from anyplace with Internet access including your desk, lab, frozen section room, or office."
About MikroScan Technologies, Inc.
MikroScan Technologies, Inc. founders have been engaged in the design, sales, and marketing of high quality laboratory instruments for more than 26 years. The company specializes in the development of cutting edge whole-slide imaging (WSI) systems and diagnostic communication tools designed for pathology, biology and research applications. With game changing technology and pricing, MikroScan products represent a leap in advancement and convenience in the evolution of WSI and digital pathology. MikroScan centers its product development on three primary criteria: 1) Speed of slide image acquisition: necessary to make scanning technology practical in scientific investigation and clinical applications. 2) High quality slide images: necessary for accurate visual or digital diagnostics and or collaboration. 3) Affordability: unprecedented economics that allows scanners on anyone's desktop or lab workstation. For further information visit: http://www.MikroScan.com
###
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebsmallest-whole-slide-scan/digital-pathology-imaging/prweb8662022.htm
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgif=/g/a/2011/07/22/prweb8662022.DTL#ixzz1SwabUfyY
bomb detection
now i m doing BE, i m searching for project idea, i tried lot, but i dnt even got a real idea about bomb detector, if anybody knows plz mail me(prems.elex@gmail.com)
Witnesses account shooting spree at Norwegian island
From Eric Dondero:
Images from the scene of the Norwegian island of Utoya.
A witness describes to the BBC in detail, the horrors of the day.
Apple > Gas, Soon [Blip]
Not in the hilarious sense, of course, but in market cap. Turns out the iPad-pumping, MacBook Air-refreshing Cupertino company is on track to surpass profit-happy Exxon Mobil as "most valuable company" if the iPhone 5 is a hit. "If." [Electronista] More »
Captain America Gets Enhancement Right | Science Not Fiction
Captain America is not a serious scientific film. Nearly every piece of technology is furious hand-waving. Vibranium? Vita-rays? Rocket-powered propellers? The cosmic cube? Awesome, yes, but not real. These, however, are narrative tools, not attempts at hard scientific prediction and therefore not something to be critiqued. What the comic-book-tech of Captain America allows for is an exploration of the ethics of enhancement. Here, more than perhaps any other fictional film I’ve seen, Captain America displays striking balance and nuance – it gets enhancement right.
Based on your knowledge of the film and/or comics, this post may contain *spoilers*, so consider yourself warned. And if you’re looking for review of why it’s a fun movie, A.O. Scott in the NYT captures my sentiments about the film perfectly: pulpy Nazi-punching goodness. Now, on to enhancement!
There are three major factors that make the enhancement of Steve Rogers and his crimson domed antithesis, the Red Skull, unique among comic book lore. The first is that Steve Rogers was deliberately enhanced by someone. There is no accident, no crisis-as-catalyst-and-crucible event, no mystic charm, and no superhuman heritage to explain or justify Rogers’ ...
Anders Behring Breivik a Populist?
Familiarity with the Nolan Chart of Political ideologies
From Eric Dondero:
Anders Behring Breivik might prove to be less of a conservative, and more of a populist.
This from FoxNews Twin Cities:
"He recently claimed that politics today was not about socialism vs. capitalism but nationalism vs. internationalism."
Blogger Doug Sanders has contacts in Norway. They have offered a rough translation of some "collective writings" on the internet of Anders Behring Breivik.
There are some references to libertarians and conservatives which could be interpreted as him expressing positive viewpoints on both groups. At one point he even mentions the US Tea Party.
However, there's also this passage which suggests that he may have been more socially conservative yet economically left-liberal, i.e. Populist.
From DougSanders.net:
The main axis is the economy and culture. They were right-wing culturally but leftwing economically. Liberals like of course to tag them as right wing as well as anti-socialists refer to them as leftextreme.
The third axis authoritarian vs liberal is inappropriate to use as a marker.
Quite bizarrely, he seems to have a knowledge of American politics, and at one point makes the statement "a Republican in the U.S. is a libertarian..." and goes on to separate European ideologies from those of America. Breivik also seems to be critical of the libertarian-leaning Norwegian Progress Party, and some in the Party who have become more moderate.
He goes on to rant against multi-culturalism, a "drug" culture, the British Tories, and oddly, the Japanese and Koreans, who he compares to "Nazis."
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the document, at one point late in the text he seems to offer praise for a philosophy of "nationalist-oriented" anarchism.
Editor's note - The strongest of cautions on these very early findings. They could turn out to be complete fabrications. If so, we shall report a follow-up.
What Name Would You Pick for Pluto’s Newly-Discovered Moon?
NASA'S Hubble Discovers Another Moon Around Pluto
"The new moon is the smallest discovered around Pluto. It has an estimated diameter of 8 to 21 miles (13 to 34 km). By comparison, Charon, Pluto's largest moon, is 648 miles (1,043 km) across, and the other moons, Nix and Hydra, are in the range of 20 to 70 miles in diameter (32 to 113 km)."
Keith's note: If you had a chance to name this new moon what would you name it - and why did you pick that name? Oh yea, the IAU claims to have a monopoly on naming objects and features in our solar system - and beyond. But there is nothing legally binding to the names they decide to use. Everyone just goes along with them because ... well ... because. And who gave them this role anyways? Answer: they appoint themselves. So why can't the rest of us have a say in naming the things in our universe? The IAU is so 20th century. Its time to change this process.
What Should We Name Pluto's New Moon?, Space.com
"It's called P4 for the time being," said Trent Perrotto, public affairs officer at NASA headquarters. "It'll get a name, but it's not up to NASA to decide on it." As usual with newly discovered astronomical objects, he explained, P4's name will be subject to a tough selection process overseen by an organization called the International Astronomical Union."
Keith's note: Hmmm... then why do the Mars rover people name all the surface features that they encounter along the way? Why bother if IAU is just going to ignore the names and change them? Why not let the actual discoverers - and the people who pay for these missions - have a chance to name things - and not some self-appointed group whihc answers only to itself?
What Should We Call Pluto's New Moon?, Facebook Poll
The U.S. Debt Would Make One Sweet $114.5 Trillion Skyscraper [Charts]
Video games made him do it?
Bloody Horror shows on HBO, Showtime?
From Eric Dondero:
We are still hours and days away from finding out the true motive of the suspected Norwegian mass killer 32-year old Anders Behring Breivik. It could very well turn out to be a right-winger who hated the Labor Party. And there are strong indications that this may be the case.
But another media angle is emerging, which could be troubling for advocates of personal liberty and free speech. He seems to have been addicted to video games and horror movies.
From London Daily News (via reflector site):
[He]claims to be a fan of... bloody cinema like, “300,” and “Gladiator,” on his Facebook page.
He also claims on a page to be a fan of a young HBO vampire drama, “True Blood,” and a sequence torpedo show, “Dexter.”
On his Facebook page, Breivik describes himself as a fan of shoot-em’-up video games like “Modern Warefare 2,” as good as a anticipation epic, “World of Warcraft.”
And this odd piece of information emerging. He was a member of the Freemasons. He even appears in a Facebook post in full Freemason dress.
There is also news breaking of a possible second suspect.
Time lapse: Journey through canyons | Bad Astronomy
I love astronomy (duh), I love geology, and I love meteorology, so if you combine all three in a high-definition time lapse video, well, I’ll love it:
Very pretty! It’s by someone who goes by the name Metron, who also has a pretty cool video of lava flowing from Kilauea.
I like watching the stars move in sweeping arcs in these videos. So that’s why at about three minutes in, when the video shows a wall off hoodoos* with the stars over it, I was baffled for about two seconds when I noticed one wasn’t moving. I wondered if it was a piece of dust on my screen… then I smiled sheepishly when I figured out just which star it was.
Just goes to show you, sometimes you have to focus on the big picture.
Tip o’ the lens cap to Tim Deem.
* I bet most of my readers didn’t know those wind-eroded towers that look like minarets are called that! The more you know.
Related posts:
- Time lapsed: the Moon plunges into shadow
- Time lapse video: from North Carolina to the galactic center
- Gorgeous Milky ...
New Vaccine Curbs Heroin Addiction in Rats | 80beats
What’s the News: Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute have now created a vaccine that prevents a heroin high in rats. The vaccine, detailed in a recent study in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, stimulates antibodies that can stop not only heroin but also its derivative psychoactive compounds from reaching the brain.
How the Heck:
Developing a vaccine for heroin addiction has been a goal of research for some time, but a major issue has been that the drug quickly metabolizes into 6-acetylmorphine, morphine, and the much less active 3-monoacetylmorphine, so any vaccine must work against all four of the compounds.
This research team solved the problem by creating a drug cocktail that slowly degrades in the body, all the while exposing the immune system to the different psychoactive metabolites of heroin. They also created a control vaccine that only targeted morphine.
When the researchers injected several booster shots of the dynamic vaccine into ...
Which Beaches are Safest? The Beaches with Lifeguards on Duty.
Clearwater Beach lifeguards in tower 3 watch over the beach near Pier 60. USLA (United States Lifesaving Association) has calculated the chance that a person will drown while attending a beach protected by USLA affiliated lifeguards at 1 in 18 million (.0000055%). This is based on the last ten years of reports from USLA affiliated [...]