Earthquake Spotting Comes to Twitter, Courtesy of USGS [Earthquakes]

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San Andreas fault fans, there's a new TED in town. The United States Geological Survey has developed the Twitter Earthquake Detection project, in an attempt to improve its handling of those natural disasters when they hit across the U.S.

The USGSted project relies firstly on an application programming interface that collates tweets with earthquake-related keywords. You know, like earthquake, quake, tremor, theearthmoveddarling, that sort of stuff. The USGS then gathers data from the quake, like magnitude, location, depth below the surface and number of tweets received.

While the Twitter Earthquake Detection project may not give the USGS any serious information on tremors, here it's all about the qualitative. The reaction and memory of someone caught in an earthquake can end up being just as useful to scientists as mere cold, hard science. [USGSted on Twitter Via ecopolitology]



CESpool: Haier Asks "Share Your Ideas," Wall-Writers Display (Lack of) Intelligence [Cespool]

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On Haier's stand at CES they're displaying some really innovative wireless TVs. Helping breed innovation amongst the stand-goers, they've also got a wall asking people to "share your ideas." Let's hope the following ideas came from Vegas locals, at least.

What, you mean like 3D TV? Did you even PAY ATTENTION when you walked through Central Hall to Haier's stand?!

I dunno, guess you're just not looking hard enough. I found a screen cleaner wipe in a condom wrapper.

I want whatever rock this person's living under, if he's never seen an iPod Shuffle in his life.

You mean you DON'T want to look like these guys?

I love that someone corrected the original writer, saying "it does exist," and then some lone rambler got all over-excited and had to exclaim "finally!!11!!!1!" on it. Class.

That's not necessarily a good thing, you know. Last year at CES, a friend of mine got flashed at in the men's loos. I've been holding on since I got here on Monday.

Actually...that's not such a bad idea.



Scientists Demand End to Mountain Decapitation; Mining Projects Advance Anyway | 80beats

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MTRMountaintop removal—the aptly-named mining practice that blasts away peaks and leaves piles of rubble—must stop, a group of researchers write this week in the journal Science. Taking an unusually political stance, a group of hydrologists, engineers and ecologists called for an immediate end to the practice.

“Until somebody can show that the water [that runs off mine sites] can be cleaned up . . . this has got to be stopped,’’ said Margaret Palmer, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science who is the study’s lead author. For now, Palmer said, “there is no evidence that things like this can be fixed” [Boston Globe]. The researchers contend that mountaintop removal destroys forests in the Appalachians and taints water through toxic runoff.

Mining companies have responded that mountaintop removal is better and safer than deep-shaft mining. And to the surprise of no one, they went on the offensive against the scientists’ paper. National Mining Association spokeswoman Carol Raulston also argues the scientists chose data selectively, ignoring water-quality information that didn’t support its theories. While they’re entitled to their opinion, she said, “they’re incorrect in saying this review of the literature points to any new conclusions” [ABC News].

While the scientists called on the Obama administration to halt all permits on mountaintop mining, the Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t gone quite that far. In September the agency put a hold on 79 new projects pending further review, but this week it approved one of those in West Virginia. The EPA doesn’t seem like it’s going to hold all the rest back, either, especially given the political touchiness involved. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said, “Our role … is to ensure that mining companies avoid environmental degradation and protect water quality so that Appalachian communities don’t have to choose between jobs and their health. Our goal is to ensure Americans living in coal country are protected from environmental, health and economic damage” [Reuters].

Related Content:
80beats: After Massive Tennessee Ash Spill, Authorities Try to Assess the Damage
80beats: Isn’t It Ironic: Green Tech Relies on Dirty Mining in China
80beats: Obama Admin. Rolls Back Bush-Era Rules on Mining & Forests
80beats: This Could Be a Find of Biblical Proportions: King Solomon’s Copper Mines

Image: Wikimedia Commons / JW Randolph


Digital Art Frame from Casio Redraws Your Photos into Something Akin to Genius [Casio]

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Digital photo frames? Errrrrrrrm, MEH. Casio's Digital Art Frame, however, I could almost write a QVC script for. It takes your own digital photos and transforms them into paintings - well, it turns them into digital images with special effects.

There are, apparently, eight art form effects, including oils, pastels and watercolors, and the frame also plays audio files and videos. But let's focus on the pictures for the moment. I reckon you wait for Digital Art Frame 2.0, which will be able to turn your pics into Van Goghs, Velazquezes, Reubens, Basquiats, Picasso, Johns and the like. Oh, and the guy who did the Dogs Playing Poker pic.

[Daily Mail]



Review: The As-Seen-on-TV Hat, an iPhone-Viewing Visor [Review]

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At least you can't see all the people around you, pointing and laughing.

Price:

$20

Design

The As-Seen-on-TV Hat (I swear to God, that's the actual name of the product) comes in a variety of colors and patterns and in both baseball-cap-style and visor. I went for the camo visor, because I'm a pretty stylish guy. Along the sides of the bill, there's a nylon guard to block out ambient light, and for your viewing pleasure, there's a magnifying glass hanging down midway along the bill. You insert your iPhone (or whatever other video-playing device you want) into a flap, where it sits at the end of the bill.

Here's how bad this product is: Not only does it ask you to stuff your iPhone into a pocket at the end of a camouflage visor, iPhones don't even fit in the pocket. Neither did my Droid, although the iPod Touch fits okay.

Oh, and it comes with a weird semicircular flap of nylon with a velcro strip that I cannot for the life of me figure out how it attaches. It's really embarrassing; that flap makes me feel like I'm too dumb to use the dumbest product I've ever seen.

Performance

The plastic window fades and distorts your video, which severely impairs the cinematic experience the As-Seen-on-TV Hat tries so very hard to provide. The magnifying glass is adjustable (you can move it closer or farther from your scared, stressed little eyes) but not removable, so you're stuck with a distorted picture that was already blurry and faded from the plastic window covering your video-playing device.

Oh, and you'll definitely go both blind and celibate if you use this too long. It's kind of a twofer that way.

Verdict

I rate this a buy if only for the name you'll make for yourself on public transit if you wear it. If you don't want to be known for your ridiculous, half-nerd half-hick headwear, it's a pass.

It's the greatest iPhone/iPod accessory ever

It's the worst iPhone/iPod accessory ever



Robot Border Guards to Patrol Future Frontiers

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From New Scientist - Online News:

If your nation's border allows unwanted visitors through and foot patrols aren't cutting it, try a network of radar, cameras, agile robots and drones. A MIGRANT makes a furtive dash across an unwalled rural section of a national border, only to

XBox Marks the Spot for Razer’s Controller and Headset [Ces2010]

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Razer, the firm that brings us all those high-end gaming peripherals, has made its first foray into the XBox market with a couple of add-ons. The Onza controller and Chimaera pro gaming headset will be available later this year.

The $50 Onza, with its swanky green trim, has Razer's Hyperesponse Technology, (blah blah fishcakes) adjustable tension analogue sticks and a multi-function button that you can program yourself to perform specific actions. Batteries not included, as they have power cords.

And then there's the Chimaera. Costing $130, it supports 5.1 channel surround sound system, and allows you to connect multiple Razer base stations via its Daisy-Chain cable system. [Techtree.com]



Top 10 Astronomy Photos of 2009

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From MAKE Magazine:

It's that time! Top 10 astronomy photos of 2009... ...astronomy is so visually appealing as well! Colorful stars, wispy, ethereal nebulae, galactic vistas sprawling out across our telescopes'¦ it's art no matter how you look at it. And our techniques for view

A pro-science article… on HuffPo??? | Bad Astronomy

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huffpologoSteven Newton, a project director for the wonderful National Center for Science Education — a group that fights creationists who want to shred the Constitution — has written a nice article about science denialism in, of all places, the Huffington Post. Generally, HuffPo is a wretched hive of scum and villainy a repository of antivax and alt-med nonsense, but it’s nice to see that some of the contributors are pro-science. Full disclosure: I wrote several astronomy articles on HuffPo, but stopped when the antivaxxers became the darlings of the site.

Newton’s article talks about how science learns, but denialists remain firm in their denial. It’s a good read.

Speaking of which, I just finished reading Michael Specter’s book Denialism. It’s an interesting look into the attitudes of people who deny obvious reality — people like antivaxxers, creationists, and so on. The book is mostly specific examples of these folks. Specter does discuss a bit why some people are denialists, and it’s mostly what you’d expect: it’s safe, it’s comforting, we have a tendency to believe pre-conceived notions and look for confirmation. I’ll note the book goes off the rails a bit in the last two chapters where he talks about genomics; it becomes more pro-genomics than a refutation of denialism. He pulls it out in the last few pages though, and all in all I’d recommend the book.

All of us — especially skeptics, but all of us — need to understand why people deny reality. In many cases the only thing these people damage are themselves. But they also vote, and cause health problems, and never forget that not only do they run for political office, they often win. Denialism is safe and comforting, and while science is more important in the long run, the denialists are getting more and sometimes better press.

We can deny that all we want, but what does that make us?


Terahertz Waves

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I have Googled, but I am looking for a reliable source of info, from someone who has access to scientific journals.

What are the specific effects of Terahertz waves on DNA or living tissue?

What is This? [Jonas Lonborg]

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Clue: It's not the world champion Conker player's special box. There's a clue in those last two words, though.

It is, my friends, a big bunch of Woodvibes - sex toys made of wood. Which is what I thought they provoked. Jonas Lonborg's creation (ingredients: aluminum, electronic gizzards, er, wood, special box which charges them up through induction) is so full of double entendres, I think I'm going to pass out from the pleasure. [Yanko]



Transformer Rating

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in trafo we have seen that rating is generally 220/34.5 KV, 33/6.9KV and 6.6/0.433KV.

34.5,6.9kv etc are no load voltage we know.

now my question is what basis 34.5KV comes from 33kv. same for 6.9kv from 6.6kv and 433v from 415v. plz reply.

Aneesh Chopra Visits CES, Gets a Slap on the Wrist [Obama]

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Yesterday, Obama's Chief Technology Officer went to Vegas to hang out with Blam, Chen, Frooch, et al. And what did he get from Consumer Electronics Association head honcho? Not a request for POTUS's cell number, but a bollocking.

A light bollocking, admittedly, but Gary Shapiro called him out on what he sees as the Government's inability to encourage tech entrepreneurship. "When it comes to innovation, there's a lot the government can do, and there's a lot they should not do," said the head of the CEA, the mooks behind the CES beanfest. "The government doesn't spur innovation or entrepreneurship. The government often gets in the way."

The CEA wants the US to facilitate the movement of skilled workers between countries such as India and China, plus a change in trade policy to allow American exports to compete with cheaper goods from elsewhere. Other little slapdowns included the $787 billion stimulus act ("panic spending") which must have had Chopra reeling.

Well, no it didn't actually. "We have to eat our own dogfood," he replied. (Really, Mr Chopra, I can't recommend it lowly enough) "Gary is right about the federal deficit. We are in an economic crisis but we are going to tackle it. We have to get it right." Right. [BBC News]



Sarkozy Goes for Google in Attempt to Claw Back Piracy Revenue [Sarkozy]

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President Sarkozy, that small man with the excellent peripheral - wife Carla Bruni - could be going for the Internet giants in order to claw back some of the revenue he claims that creatives are losing through piracy.

In his traditional new year speech outlining his plans for the next 360 or so days, Sarkozy announced plans to tax overseas search engines, Web portals and ISPs such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Aol) despite the fact that Google doesn't pay tax in la belle, fromage-y France (its european tax is paid in Ireland.) The thought behind it is that the companies should pay tax on the revenue generated by French Internet users when they click on an ad banner or sponsored link.

Despite the fact that his three-strikes law is now on the statute book, my money's on Google and the other behemoths telling Sarkozy to stick it where the Google Street View don't shine. In fact, they're probably developing plans for Google Colonoscopy. Coming to a head of state near you soon. [CNET News]