Comment Re:A few suspect emails do not destroy millions... (Score 1) 736
Agreed, I just meant that science generally has a lot to lose. Not that the hours put in proved anything.
Comment Re:Anonymous Coward (Score -1, Offtopic) 1127
Do you really forget accidental child porn on your hdd for a year ? If you do "forget it there", you belong where law says you should be at. Every normal person would delete the file after opening it.
Comment Re:ah duct tape.... (Score 2, Informative) 132
WD-40 is good stuff but for really stuck/rusty machinery, Zepreserve is better. No connection to Zep, Inc., I just work at a place that harvests and processes salt and so have to deal with a whole lot of rusty machinery.
Herschel Spectroscopy of Future Supernova 21
davecl writes "ESA's Herschel Space Telescope has released its first spectroscopic results. These include observations of VYCMa, a star 50 times as massive as the sun and soon to become a supernova, as well as a nearby galaxy, more distant colliding starburst galaxies and a comet in our own solar system. The spectra show more lines than have ever been seen in these objects in the far-infrared and will allow astronomers to work out the detailed chemistry and physics behind star and planet formation as well as the last stages of stellar evolution before VYCMa's eventual collapse into a supernova. More coverage is available at the Herschel Mission Blog, which I run."
The Psychology of Achievement In Playing Games 80
A post on Pixel Poppers looks at the psychological underpinnings of the types of challenges offered by different game genres, and the effect those challenges have on determining which players find the games entertaining. Quoting:
"To progress in an action game, the player has to improve, which is by no means guaranteed — but to progress in an RPG, the characters have to improve, which is inevitable. ... It turns out there are two different ways people respond to challenges. Some people see them as opportunities to perform — to demonstrate their talent or intellect. Others see them as opportunities to master — to improve their skill or knowledge. Say you take a person with a performance orientation ('Paul') and a person with a mastery orientation ('Matt'). Give them each an easy puzzle, and they will both do well. Paul will complete it quickly and smile proudly at how well he performed. Matt will complete it quickly and be satisfied that he has mastered the skill involved. Now give them each a difficult puzzle. Paul will jump in gamely, but it will soon become clear he cannot overcome it as impressively as he did the last one. The opportunity to show off has disappeared, and Paul will lose interest and give up. Matt, on the other hand, when stymied, will push harder. His early failure means there's still something to be learned here, and he will persevere until he does so and solves the puzzle."
Jetman Attempts Intercontinental Flight 140
Last year we ran the story of Yves Rossy and his DIY jetwings. Yves spent $190,000 and countless hours building a set of jet-powered wings which he used to cross the English Channel. Rossy's next goal is to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, from Tangier in Morocco and Tarifa on the southwestern tip of Spain. From the article: "Using a four-cylinder jet pack and carbon fibre wings spanning over 8ft, he will jump out of a plane at 6,500 ft and cruise at 130 mph until he reaches the Spanish coast, when he will parachute to earth." Update 18:57 GMT: mytrip writes: "Yves Rossy took off from Tangiers but five minutes into an expected 15-minute flight he was obliged to ditch into the wind-swept waters."
Proton Beams Sent Around the LHC 115
feldhaus writes "The BBC reports that the first beams for over one year have been successfully sent around the complete circumference of the Large Hadron Collider. Engineers do not yet have a stable circulating beam but they hope to by 0600 GMT on Saturday."
The Laptop Steering Wheel Desk 4
An anonymous reader writes "Take a look at this awesome new product on Amazon. The laptop steering wheel desk is just the thing for the person who can't be sufficiently distracted by newspapers, eating, or cell phones while they drive. The user comments and reviews are great."
Large Hadron Collider Scientist Arrested For al-Qaeda Ties 245
mindbrane writes "A scientist working as a subcontractor on a peripheral LHC project has been arrested as a terrorist. The CBC is running a story outlining the arrest of a man on Thursday in south-east France for suspected al-Qaeda links: 'CERN officials said the man, whose name has not been revealed, was working under contract with an outside institute and said he had no contact with anything that could have been used for terrorism. He had been at CERN since 2003, officials said. ... The news that someone with terrorist connections might have worked at the facility is likely to cause concern because of both the high profile of the giant physics experiment and also the technology in use, which has made some members of the public nervous.'"
Comment Pedants of the web, UNITE! (Score 1) 360
the ability to smell tyrannosaur breath. (Pedants: Look, its a joke, please don't bother pointing out the time line here, Ok?).
Actually, you were correct without the disclaimer. Just because humans didn't exist at the same time as t-rex, doesn't mean that we didn't retain genetic traits from the creatures that we evolved from. So it is entirely possible that we might have broken genes that might be good for detecting t-rex breath.
I for one, sure hope we do. I mean, we have all seen 'Jurassic Park'...
Actually, you were correct without the disclaimer. Just because humans didn't exist at the same time as t-rex, doesn't mean that we didn't retain genetic traits from the creatures that we evolved from. So it is entirely possible that we might have broken genes that might be good for detecting t-rex breath.
I for one, sure hope we do. I mean, we have all seen 'Jurassic Park'...
Comment Re:Please patent it (Score 1) 539
Except that they already are in most (well most expensive) phones. Motorola's have had them for at least the last 5 years...
Comment Re:I believe that ... (Score 1) 539
That's true, but the abusers get smarter because there are fewer of them, since the not-as-bright/knowledgeable ones get weeded out. Everyone's happy; the techies get a "challenge"; the company gets fewer warranty abuses; and no one is really conscious of the change that just took place.
Comment Re:National Energy Tax (Score 1) 874
Here's a link to the nearly 100 page draft of the study. The Preface alone should turn your stomach: http://cei.org/cei_files/fm/active/0/DOC062509-004.pdf
This is where I found it, it also has some more background: http://www.examiner.com/x-9111-SF-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2009m6d26-The-politics-if-not-the-science-is-settled-at-the-EPA-Alan-Carlin-global-warming-and-trouble
Comment National Energy Tax (Score 5, Insightful) 874
Why not call it what it is? A tax increase for the entire nation based on how much energy you use.
The EPA finally released a censored study last night that pointed out how much the EPA has been ignoring the real science of the matter. The EPA's 'endangerment' study was completely politicized.
One of the e-mails from a superior to the employee who had worked at the EPA for 35 years and wanted the study released:
"The time for such discussion of fundamental issues has passed for this round. The administrator and the administration has decided to move forward on endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision... I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office."
Look it up, you'll be disgusted as I am after hearing how many times people have said "The science is settled" to try and pass this extra tax.
