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Comment Obligatory xkcd (Score 4, Interesting) 507

http://xkcd.com/756/ Mildly related to the summary (the secret hovering remark from this particular comic): "News networks giving a greater voice to viewers because the social web is so popular are like a chef on the Titanic who, seeing the looming iceberg and fleeing customers, figures ice is the future and starts making snow cones."
Science

Submission + - MIT geniuses show off latest inventions (silicon.com)

pinkgadget27 writes: the latest article in a great content package going behind the scenes at MIT university's Media Labs to see what the researchers are getting up to. There's pictures of some great gadgetry, showing off everything from fluffy robots to cars that can fold up and drive sideways! There's also technology to help people with prosthetic limbs and exoskeletons to try on for size!
Space

15-Year-Old Student Discovers New Pulsar 103

For the second time in as many years, a student has made a discovery while participating in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC), a joint program between the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and West Virginia University designed to get students and teachers involved in analyzing data from the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). This time it was high school sophomore Shay Bloxton, who discovered a brand new pulsar. "For Bloxton, the pulsar discovery may be only her first in a scientific career. 'Participating in the PSC has definitely encouraged me to pursue my dream of being an astrophysicist,' she said, adding that she hopes to attend West Virginia University to study astrophysics. Late last year, another West Virginia student, from South Harrison High School, Lucas Bolyard, discovered a pulsar-like object called a rotating radio transient. His discovery also came through participation in the PSC."
Image

Facebook Master Password Was "Chuck Norris" 319

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "A Facebook employee has given a tell-all interview with some very interesting things about Facebook's internals. Especially interesting are all the things relating to Facebook privacy. Basically, you don't have any. Nearly everything you've ever done on the site is recorded into a database. While they fire employees for snooping, more than a few have done it. There's an internal system to let them log into anyone's profile, though they have to be able to defend their reason for doing so. And they used to have a master password that could log into any Facebook profile: 'Chuck Norris.' Bruce Schneier might be jealous of that one."
Space

Submission + - A Hyper-Velocity Impact in the Asteroid Belt? (discovery.com)

astroengine writes: Astronomers have spotted something rather odd in the asteroid belt. It looks like a comet, but it's got a circular orbit, similar to an asteroid. Whether it's an asteroid or a comet, it has a long comet-like tail, suggesting something is being vented into space. Some experts think it could be a very rare comet/asteroid hybrid being heated by the sun, but there's an even more exciting possibility: It could be the first ever observation of two asteroids colliding in the asteroid belt.

Comment Re:I have seen the lecture you are referring too. (Score 1) 502

Buddhism also "gives you a text or other teachings that must be questioned, that must be doubted, that must be tested, that has flaws because it's holy and that you can improve " Just saying! Although one can argue that Buddhism is not a religion too. And in the context of the world's major religions, Christianity, Islam and "Jewish"(?), it is not.

Comment Re:I have seen the lecture you are referring too. (Score 1) 502

Buddhism also "gives you a text or other teachings that must not be questioned, that must not be doubted, that must not be tested, that has no flaws because it's holy and that you cannot improve because it's been taught by God or some other holy being." Just saying! Although one can argue that Buddhism is not a religion too. And in the context of the world's major religions, Christianity, Islam and "Jewish"(?), it is not.

Comment Re:What's wrong with this data? (Score 2, Interesting) 319

When looking for fraud, Silver was not looking at the poll numbers but the raw data numbers themselves (essentially hundreds of thousands of numbers , if not millions). Out of all the raw numbers, when analyzed there should not be any distribution. But the numbers were slanted towards 6 & 8 suggesting (proving perhaps) tampering. There's plenty of sound theory in this. Just look it up.

Comment Re:Competitive advantage (Score 1) 442

Since the Director of Marketing was the one who said this, it makes sense only if Linux has a negative connotation attached to it (they probably had some verifiable data for this so called "commercial stigma". Personally though, I don't think people are THAT afraid of the unknown but I am just an engineer and I am most probably wrong in my thoughts regarding this.

Comment Nor Cal - San francisco (Score 1) 451

I live in San Francisco the town that Mark Twain declared " The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco". It is true. There are no seasons here. The average weather all year is slightly unclear yet pleasant, mid 60's with maybe 10% of the day left for sunshine and the rest is just like your homely wife: Ok to be with but easily forgettable and could be better.

Submission + - SPAM: The most happy city in the world

springna writes: Ever since Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared in the 1933 film Flying Down to Rio, the world has been fascinated with Rio de Janeiro. Popular perception of the city is infused with images of starry-eyed youngsters dancing into the dusk, backed by imposing mountains and dark sea.

That view has propelled Rio to the top of our list of the world's happiest cities. Famous for its annual Carnaval festival (starting Feb. 13 next year), the second-largest metropolis in South America finished first among 50 cities in a recent survey conducted by policy advisor Simon Anholt and market researcher GfK Custom Research North America.

Next on the list is the top city from Down Under: Sydney, Australia. Known for balmy weather, friendly locals and an iconic opera house, Sydney fared well in Anholt's survey because of its association with a popular brand--Australia.

Rounding out the top five are third-ranked Barcelona, Spain, which Anholt calls "the classic Mediterranean city"; fourth-ranked Amsterdam, Netherlands, because Anholt's young respondents "know you can smoke dope in the bars"; and Melbourne, Australia, which makes the list simply because it's in Australia.

Happiness is difficult to quantify, and Anholt acknowledges that his data is less an indicator of where local populations are happiest than a reflection of respondents' thinking about where they could imagine themselves happy.

The French historian Fernand Braudel wrote that " Happiness, whether in business or private life, leaves very little trace in history." But a perception of happiness leaves a strong trace on the balance sheets of cities that depend on conventions, tourism and an influx of talent.

Comment Re:Laptop yes. Desktop never. (Score 1) 352

Is it possible that a decade from now, just like the guy who said there's room for only 7 - 10 personal computers (i forget the exact number or who said it) in the world back in the 60s or the physicist who declared in late 19th century that whatever needs to be solved has been solved, your posting about touch screens being a "fun" idea will be moot. Granted there will always be keyboards just like there are tape players or vinyl records right now. But that is not what we are talking about. All your concerns might seem rather cute and quaint in 5 years (or even less time).

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