Mah Beaches, Seychelles
The beautiful beaches of Mahe on the Seychelles. This video captures all the amazing beaches of the main island of the Seychelles, including Anse Takamaka, Anse Intendance, Anse Royale, Anse...
By: seychelles.cc
Link:
Newcastle beaches shark closure: Beaches shut for fourth day
By HELEN GREGORY and MATT CARRJan. 13, 2015, 8:46 a.m.
NEWCASTLE: A 5m shark has been spotted, leaving a question mark over when beaches will reopen.
Lifeguard Adam Metcalfe searches for the shark near the mouth of the Hunter river. Pic: Darren Pateman
Lifeguard Adam Metcalfe searches for the shark near the mouth of the Hunter river. Pic: Darren Pateman
Lifeguard Scott Hammerton on duty at Nobbys. Pic: Darren Pateman
Swimmers stranded on the sand at Nobbys on Tuesday after more shark sightings. Pic: Darren Pateman
Lifeguard Adam Metcalfe warns a kayaker about shark sightings on Tuesday. Pic: Darren Pateman
Lifeguard Scott Hammerton on duty at Nobbys. Pic: Darren Pateman
SOURCE: Newcastle Herald
RELATED CONTENT: "Bruce" the shark lingers at Warilla Beach
See the original post here:
Newcastle beaches shark closure: Beaches shut for fourth day
Lifeguard service extended in Whangamata
So many people are visiting the harbour beaches in Coromandel's Whangamata concern is held for their safety.
The lifeguard service has been urgently extended to include the wharf and harbour beaches.
"With the extended fine weather and cool on-shore breeze, upwards of 400 people per day are making their way to the harbour beaches," Thames Coromandel District Council area manager Garry Towler said.
People were enjoying the more sheltered bay and wharf jumping zones and in the last week there had been more people on the wharf beaches than the main beach, he said.
"The rise in numbers using the harbour beaches increases the risks not only to those in the water but to boaties and charter operators using the wharf as well."
The Whangamata Community Board approved a discretionary fund over the weekend to get a professional lifeguard and volunteer on site, he said.
See the original post:
Whangamata lifeguard service extended
So many people are visiting the harbour beaches in Coromandel's Whangamata, lifeguards have concerns for the public's safety.
The lifeguard service has been urgently extended to include the wharf and harbour beaches.
"With the extended fine weather and cool on-shore breeze, upwards of 400 people per day are making their way to the harbour beaches," Thames Coromandel District Council area manager Garry Towler said.
People were enjoying the more sheltered bay and wharf jumping zones and in the last week there had been more people on the wharf beaches than the main beach, he said.
"The rise in numbers using the harbour beaches increases the risks not only to those in the water but to boaties and charter operators using the wharf as well."
The Whangamata Community Board approved a discretionary fund over the weekend to get a professional lifeguard and volunteer on site, he said.
NZN
More here:
Jacksonville landfill fee dispute heats up for one beach community
A longtime landfill fee dispute between the city of Jacksonville and two Beaches communities involving hundreds of thousands of dollars might be nearing an end for one but not the other city on the shore.
The dispute is rooted in Neptune Beachs and Atlantic Beachs solid waste dumped at the citys Trail Ridge Landfill. Jacksonville asserts both Beaches municipalities owe it tipping fees under interlocal agreements. Jacksonville Beach doesnt have such an agreement.
Atlantic Beach is poised to resolve its dispute over tipping and sludge fees with Jacksonville. On Monday, the Atlantic Beach City Commission will discuss the negotiated settlement calling for it to pay $322,709 to the city. The commission could take a final vote at its Feb. 9 meeting.
The Jacksonville City Council also must approve it. The proposed settlement could be introduced to the City Council as early as Tuesday. If not then, the next opportunity would be the Jan. 27 council meeting.
Neptune Beach and the city are at an impasse. Jacksonville says it is owed about $673,965 in tipping fees by Neptune Beach from fiscal year 2011-12 through November 2014. Neptune Beach, however, says it shouldnt have to pay any past tipping fees because other Duval County municipalities dont pay them. It also says Jacksonville owes it money for animal control services.
Neither side appears willing to compromise. No talks between the two cities had been scheduled as officials on each side blame the other for failing to resolve the ongoing dispute.
Neptune Beach Mayor Harriet Pruette as well as Jacksonville City Council member Bill Gulliford, whose district includes the Beaches, accuse Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown of ignoring that community and the needs of its residents. Brown also has dragged out the tipping fee dispute, which dates back to 2011, each told the Times-Union in separate interviews.
Mayor Alvin Brown, in my opinion, regarding tipping fees has completely ignored Neptune Beach. He has not done anything , Pruette said. I might not get the resolution I would like to see. But I would certainly like to resolve where we are and get something concrete that the council could either say yes or no to. Right now, were just in limbo, Pruette said of her desire to settle the dispute.
David DeCamp, spokesman for Brown, told the Times-Union that Karen Bowling, former city chief administrative officer, as well as other senior staff and department heads have tried repeatedly to work out an agreement with Neptune Beach just as we have with Atlantic Beach.
The over-arching goal has always been to protect the countys taxpayers and make sure everyone is treated fairly over this issue, DeCamp said. The city has tried to operate transparently on this and provide them all the information we can, he said.
Read the original here:
Jacksonville landfill fee dispute heats up for one beach community
Lecture 16v3 astronomy spring 2015 Ran Sivron – Video
Lecture 16v3 astronomy spring 2015 Ran Sivron
By: ran drolleen
Go here to see the original:
Two astronomy missions back from the brink
Despite losing two of its four reaction wheels, NASAs Kepler spacecraft has found new lifeand new planetswith its K2 mission. (credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T Pyle )
For all the challenges involved in flying a space astronomy mission, from the technical issues during its development through launch, scientists want to ensure that the missions work as long as possible when (and if) they start operating. In many cases, it may be scientists only opportunity in their professional careers to carry out these observations, and use them as the basis for later missions.
Two missions in NASAs portfolio of astronomy missions, though, recently faced untimely ends, albeit for different reasons. The Kepler spacecraft ran into technical problems in 2013 when the second of four reaction wheels, used to accurately point the spacecraft at a specific region of the sky, failed. Last year, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)not a space mission per se, but an airborne observatory carrying out observations not possible from the groundwas facing cancellation by the agency as a cost-cutting measure.
Today, though, both Kepler and SOFIA have survived their brushes with programmatic death. SOFIA got mostbut not allof its funding back in the final fiscal year 2015 spending bill, enough to keep the airborne observatory flying. Kepler, meanwhile, has found success in an alternative mission, even as scientists continue to analyze the data it collected in its four-year original mission.
SOFIA was in the process of being declared operational last year when it was hit with a budgetary surprise. The Obama Administrations 2015 budget request slashed the projects budget from $87.4 million it received in 2014 to only $12.3 million. NASA said constrained budgets forced it to make the decision to cut SOFIA funding. It turned out that we had to make very difficult choices about where we go with astrophysics and planetary science and Earth science, and SOFIA happened to be what fell off the plate this time, administrator Charles Bolden said last March (see Aborted takeoff, The Space Review, March 17, 2014).
A few months later, SOFIAs fortunes were changing. The House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill in late May that largely restored the projects budget, back to $70 million. A bill under consideration (but never passed) in the Senate offered $87 million for the project. However, those involved with SOFIA had to wait until Congress passed the omnibus spending bill last month to officially be out of the woods. That bill, like the House version, provides $70 million for SOFIA.
That amount is enough to allow SOFIA to resume science observations later this month (it had been undergoing maintenance for the second half of 2014), although project officials said last week theyre still working to determine the effect the lower funding levela 20-percent cut versus 2014will have on operations.
There will be some impacts due to the cut for this year, SOFIA project scientist Pamela Marcum said at a SOFIA town hall meeting last week at the 225th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Seattle.
Marcum said the project is assuming that the 2015 funding level is a transient dip that will be restored to the earlier, higher level in future budgets. Therefore, the decisions we are making to address the budget challenge for this year should not have permanent ripple effects for the duration of the program, she said, although she did not disclose the options under discussion to implement that cut.
Read more:
Je suis Musulman; Je suis Charlie
The Grand Mosquee de Paris is a place of history. One of the largest and oldest mosques in France, it has been a symbol of the role of Muslims in French society for decades. In World War II, it functioned as a place of resistance against the Nazi occupation: French Jews were sheltered here and given forged identity papers to allow them to pass as Muslims.
In the Paris of 2015, the Grand Mosquee is once again a deeply symbolic place. Two days after the killings at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the mosque's rector called for the week's Friday prayers to become a show of unity against extremism: "Truly, Islam condemns assassination, condemns murder, condemns taking the lives of those around you."
At the Friday prayers themselves, the atmosphere was somber. Crowds of worshippers thronged outside, debating the week's events, watched anxiously by dozens of heavily armed gendarmes. Security had been drastically stepped up. Since the Charlie Hebdo murders, several French mosques have already been hit by violent attacks.
Some of those present spoke of their anger and embarrassment that their community would be associated with extremism. Noor, a 19-year-old astro-physics student, said that she was attending because she wanted to show the rest of France that there was more to Islam than violence. "In France, there is a gap in people's perception people think Islam is just war, killing people. But that's not right people are very far from being that. People like me".
Another woman walked through the crowd waving a placard with the words "Je suis Musulman, je suis Charlie" I am Muslim, I am Charlie' written on it.
Not everyone felt that way. One group of young men argued loudly that Islam was under attack, and that the cartoons in Charlie Hebdo were part of the problem. They were quickly surrounded by a scrum of TV crews and other worshippers trying to contradict them.
One topic that nearly everyone agreed on was that a backlash was on its way. Ahmed, a 39-year-old translator, said he had not left his house for a few days after the first attack out of fear of reprisals. He saw the closest parallel with United States. "From my point of view, this is no less serious than the 11th of September," he explained. "It makes me scared".
A few hours later, news of further shootouts and hostage takings in and around Paris began to emerge. The Grand Mosque's message of unity and peace has never looked more important.
From PRI's The World 2014 Public Radio International
Here is the original post:
The trippiest astronaut simulator you'll ever play
You step out from your house, onto the pink Martian frontier. An inspiring piano soundtrack underscores your every step every slow, choppy step in your heavy spacesuit. Maybe you'll jog around the landscape. Maybe you'll get in your '50s-style car and drive through the bizarre scenery. Maybe you'll be hit by lightning, flip over and drive upside down.
This is Naut, a "pay-what-you-want" astronaut simulator, and it is majestic. Made by three people Lucie Viatg, Tom Victor and Titouan Millet all part of a French game development group called Klondike, Naut is a sort of goofy, joyful take on exploration games that've been en vogue in the indie space as of late.
"Naut was made during a game jam which had the theme 'Shelter,'" Tom Victor, the game's programmer, told Polygon. "We quickly thought of a roadtrip, and the various encounters you can make along. How far would you go to reach the next house, what awaits at the end of the day? Like in many of the game jams we've done, we were a bit too ambitious, so we mostly tried to have fun with the elements we had."
Naut features truly epic co-op play, where two goofy astronauts can attempt to navigate the bizarre landscape together.
"We didn't feel the need to justify our split-screen, we simply wanted to be able to play with a friend, sit together in a car, maybe do races if you find another one, or even feel desperate when you're abandoned in the wild during the night," Said Victor. "The game's physics are completely broken, but we decided to let it that way because we found it hilarious to see our nauts flip their stupid car with such a serious and epic soundtrack in the background."
That soundtrack and the colorful visuals really sell the experience.
The music is dynamic and designed to complement every crazy situation you might find yourself in within this world. "I tried to make something melancholic," explained composer and universe designer Titouan Millet. "But at the same time kind of epic. Like, you are lost on Mars forever, far away from your home planet and your friends and family, but in the same time you are now able to run or drive through this amazing landscape, as fast as you can, as long as you want, free."
"Naut is a mix between an American roadtrip and a space odyssey," Lucie Viatg, the game's graphic designer, told us. "When we made Naut, we were in a mood to try out things and didn't really intend to stick to anything in particular. And because we wanted to have fun making Naut, the game became messed up in an enjoyable way."
"As for me, I personally wanted to make convertible cars with flashy colors and cute 'astro/cosmo/spationauts' and this is actually why the game is called that way, we didn't want to attribute our 'nauts' to any country or culture."
There's something incredibly freeing about playing Naut. It certainly feels like a quirky piece born out of experienced designers playing around at a game jam, and it is. But there's a nobility to it, underneath the goofiness, a sense that exploring this world by foot or by neon cadillac is difficult and worthwhile.
Visit link:
Criteo Live London – October, 2014 – 03-Artificial Intelligence and the Personal Touch – Video
Criteo Live London - October, 2014 - 03-Artificial Intelligence and the Personal Touch
Artificial intelligence and the personal touch by Romain Niccoli Co-founder and CTO, Criteo It may seem counter-intuitive, but AI really can build brand loyalty by delivering a tailored message...
By: CriteoOfficial
View post:
Criteo Live London - October, 2014 - 03-Artificial Intelligence and the Personal Touch - Video
Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk sign open letter on AI dangers
Letter says there is a 'broad consensus' that AI is making good progress Areasbenefitingfrom AI research include driverless cars and robot motion But in the short term, it warns AI may put millions of people out of work In the long term, robots could become far more intelligent than humans Elon Musk has previously linked the development of autonomous, thinking machines to 'summoning the demon'
By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com
Published: 14:08 EST, 12 January 2015 | Updated: 14:47 EST, 12 January 2015
Artificial Intelligence has been described as a threat that could be 'more dangerous than nukes'.
Now a group of scientists and entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, have signed an open letter promising to ensure AI research benefits humanity.
The letter warns that without safeguards on intelligent machines, mankind could be heading for a dark future.
A group of scientists and entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking (pictured), have signed an open letter promising to ensure AI research benefits humanity.
The document, drafted by the Future of Life Institute, said scientists should seek to head off risks that could wipe out mankind.
The authors say there is a 'broad consensus' that AI research is making good progress and would have a growing impact on society.
It highlights speech recognition, image analysis, driverless cars, translation and robot motion as having benefited from the research.
View post:
Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk sign open letter on AI dangers
Experts including Elon Musk call for research to avoid AI 'pitfalls'
Do we need more research to avoid a Terminator scenario? Photograph: ABSOLUTE FILM ARCHIVE
More than 150 artificial intelligence researchers have signed an open letter calling for future research in the field to focus on maximising the social benefit of AI, rather than simply making it more capable.
The signatories, which include researchers from Oxford, Cambridge, MIT and Harvard as well as staff at Google, Amazon and IBM, celebrate progress in the field, but warn that potential pitfalls must be avoided.
The potential benefits [of AI research] are huge, since everything that civilisation has to offer is a product of human intelligence; we cannot predict what we might achieve when this intelligence is magnified by the tools AI may provide, but the eradication of disease and poverty are not unfathomable, the letter reads.
Because of the great potential of AI, it is important to research how to reap its benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls.
The group highlights a number of priorities for AI research which can help navigate the murky waters of the new technology.
In the short term, they argue that focus should fall on three areas: the economic effects of AI, the legal and ethical consequences, and the ability to guarantee that an AI is robust, and will do what it is supposed to.
If self-driving cars cut the roughly 40,000 annual US traffic fatalities in half, the car makers might get not 20,000 thank-you notes, but 20,000 lawsuits, marking one potential legal pitfall. And the ethical considerations involved in using AI for surveillance and warfare are also noted.
But in the long-term, the research should move away from the nitty-gritty, towards tackling more fundamental concerns presented by the field, the researchers argue including trying to prevent the risk of a runaway super-intelligent machine.
It has been argued that very general and capable AI systems operating autonomously to accomplish some task will often be subject to effects that increase the difficulty of maintaining meaningful human control, they write. Research on systems that are not subject to these effects, minimise their impact, or allow for reliable human control could be valuable in preventing undesired consequences, as could work on reliable and secure test-beds for AI systems at a variety of capability levels.
Read the original post:
Experts including Elon Musk call for research to avoid AI 'pitfalls'
Diploma in Aerospace Electronics (DASE) – Video
Diploma in Aerospace Electronics (DASE)
Description.
By: spseee
Read the rest here:
Career Spotlight: What I Do As An Aerospace Engineer
From the birth of aviation to the space age and beyond, the aerospace industry has transformed transportation, commerce and communication. Countless engineers have worked hard to literally give flight to the technologies that drive the modern world. But what does the job really entail? What is the average day for an aerospace engineer? We spoke with a veteran of the industry to learn what their work is really like.
Elizabeth Bierman is a senior project engineer at Honeywell Aerospace where she specialises in avionics and is the president of the Society of Women Engineers. She works with a wide variety of bright minds to create the technologies that guide aircraft to their destinations, is a mother of two, and also speaks on behalf of the Society of Women Engineers to promote diversity in the workplace. We asked Elizabeth how she ended up on her current career path, what her day typically entails, and more.
I got an astronaut lunch box in the 4th grade (this was fall 1985), and a few months later the Challenger space shuttle tragedy occurred. Instead of being discouraged, it sparked my interest to learn about those astronauts. I found out that three of them were aerospace engineers so I decided that is what I wanted to be too. I ended up going to Iowa State University and majoring in Aerospace Engineering! My first year was difficult. Engineering classes were a lot harder than high school and what I expected. I joined the Society of Women Engineers and this gave me a community of support to get through the challenges. Once I got into my core Aerospace Engineering classes things got better, or I just enjoyed the classes more. After my sophomore year of college, I got a co-op position with Rockwell Collins and this really solidified my love for aerospace and engineering. It was fascinating to start working on aeroplanes.
I do not have any licences as an engineer. I am a certified Program Management Professional (PMP).
I actually spend the majority of my time thinking of ways to do things better. Whether its a navigation system going on an aeroplane or how to make a project come in on budget and on time, I work to continuously improve how we work. As a customer support engineer, I have been able to travel to the job site (airport hangars) and help our customers install the navigation system into the aircraft. I also have travelled around the world to work with our airline customers to talk with them about how they can use our products better.
That I sit behind a computer all day and dont talk to people. That engineers are introverts and just want to be left alone. Young girls and boys are told in school that you have to be smart at maths and science to be an engineer. I disagree. If you like maths, science and engineering and are willing to work hard then you can get through it.
I have a lot of flexibility (I have two young daughters at home). I usually work from home on Monday and Friday and then go into the office from 7:30-3:30 on the other days. I do check email every night after the girls are in bed. Some weeks are 40 hours and others may be a little more. That is where the flexibility is nice. Sometimes I am on a call with India at 8PM at night or with Europe at 6AM, but then I am able to take some downtime in the middle of the day.
Be available when you can. Its easy for me to answer an email at 8PM at night so I can focus on the harder items first thing the next morning.
Great question, I am focused on avionics the instruments in the cockpit that help the planes navigate and manage the flight. What sets me apart from my peers is that Im always looking for new technology we can leverage and communications trends we can take part in, such as lowering the cost and weight of the navigation system used on the new Boeing 787, while added additional functionality of faster align time (using GPS). Other aerospace engineers might work on engines or space systems. But all of us are working to solve problems.
Engineers always have great ideas to make things better, but if a customer isnt willing to pay for it or see the value, then we cant do it.
See original here:
Thames picks Chromebook, RCs agnostic
The latest hot thing in computing, theyre flying out of the London-area public school boards virtual store.
Almost 1,000 Chromebooks at $250 a pop have been sold since the fall, a favourite among teachers who use them for collaborative learning and cloud-based projects in their classrooms.
Its affordable, its mobile and it allows for flexible use within and between classrooms, said Kenji Takahashi, a learning technologies co-ordinator with the Thames Valley District school board.
The London District Catholic board, on the other hand, is practicing device agnosticism.
It doesnt matter what the device is as long as it does what you want it to do, said Catholic school board superintendent John Mombourquette.
Most Catholic schools use iPads or iPad minis, Surface tablets or Microsoft-compatible tablets with Windows installed.
The Thames Valley board made the Chromebooks which blend tablet and laptop technology available for teachers and schools to buy for class use in the fall.
Since then, 895 have been sold.
Chromebooks are so named because they dont have any software and operate in the cloud on the Google-owned Chrome browser, using apps and online tools.
Theyre a great way to augment whats on the cloud, said Takashashi, who works with schools to help with their technology use.
Visit link:
Thames picks Chromebook, RCs agnostic
The Specimen-Teaser – Video
The Specimen-Teaser
Official Teaser trailer for The Specimen. Current planned platforms: Wii U eShop PC (steam) -Hyper Galaxy Studios Abducted from your home planet by a highly intelligent race obsessed with...
By: Hyper Galaxy Studios
Go here to see the original:
The Specimen-Teaser - Video
Hubble Telescope Catches an Amazing New View of ‘Pillars of Creation’ – Video
Hubble Telescope Catches an Amazing New View of #39;Pillars of Creation #39;
A fresh look at the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula 6500 light-years from Earth. Discovered 20 years ago. The new image was taken in 2015 to ...
By: Margin Walker
Here is the original post:
Hubble Telescope Catches an Amazing New View of 'Pillars of Creation' - Video
Hubble Telescope’s Huge New View of the Andromeda Galaxy | Video – Video
Hubble Telescope #39;s Huge New View of the Andromeda Galaxy | Video
More space news and info at: http://www.coconutsciencelab.com - the Hubble Space Telescope has captured the sharpest image ever taken of the Andromeda galaxy...
By: CoconutScienceLab
More:
Hubble Telescope's Huge New View of the Andromeda Galaxy | Video - Video
Hubble telescope top secret photos nasa – Video
Hubble telescope top secret photos nasa
I believe the pope of Rome is Antichrist (Daniel 7:7-27,2Thessalonians 2:1-12,2Peter 2:1-22,1John 2:18-25, Revelation 13:1-9) and Rome #39;Mystery Babylon the G...
By: Danyal Aram
Read the rest here:
Hubble's High-Definition Panoramic View Of The Andromeda Galaxy
The largest NASA Hubble Space Telescope image ever assembled, this sweeping view of a portion of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) is the sharpest large composite image ever taken of our galactic neighbor. Though the galaxy is over 2 million light-years away, the Hubble telescope is powerful enough to resolve individual stars in a 61,000-light-year-long section of the galaxy's pancake-shaped disk. It's like photographing a beach and resolving individual grains of sand. And, there are lots of stars in this sweeping view over 100 million, with some of them in thousands of star clusters seen embedded in the disk. This ambitious photographic cartography of the Andromeda galaxy represents a new benchmark for precision studies of large spiral galaxies which dominate the universe's population of over 100 billion galaxies. Never before have astronomers been able to see individual stars over a major portion of an external spiral galaxy. Most of the stars in the universe live inside such majestic star cities, and this is the first data that reveal populations of stars in context to their home galaxy.
The panorama is the product of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) program. Images were obtained from viewing the galaxy in near-ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths, using the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide Field Camera 3 aboard Hubble. This view shows the galaxy in its natural visible-light color, as photographed with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in red and blue filters July 2010 through October 2013.
Follow this link:
Hubble's High-Definition Panoramic View Of The Andromeda Galaxy