Comment Re:Don't do this at home (Score 2, Funny) 300
Simple. We give the MITM attackers the power to certify the certifiers. That way we have a system of checks and balances.
Submission + - Addonics Just Fixed Your Broken iPod (hothardware.com)
MojoKid writes: "Two new products just hit the market that could possibly benefit iPod uses in
more than a few ways. The first product from Addonics is
a 1.8" ZIF to 2.5" IDE hard drive converter that gives users the ability to connect an iPod hard drive to virtually any PC, as long as it has an IDE port. If you've got a dead iPod that's still loaded with files, this adapter will allow you to gain access to all of those files that would otherwise be lost. The second product is a 1.8" ZIF to Compact Flash (CF) Adapter. This little tool allows users to
connect virtually any Compact Flash card to an iPod's internal connector, in lieu of its original hard drive. Should you have a hard drive based iPod with a bum HD, this adapter could not only be used to fix it, but to convert it to a more durable flash-based unit as well."
Calculating the Date of Easter 336
The God Plays Dice blog has an entertaining post on how the date of Easter is calculated. Wikipedia has all the messy details of course, but the blog makes a good introduction to the topic. "Easter is the date of the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21... [T]he cycle of Easter dates repeat themselves every 5,700,000 years. The cycle of epacts (which encode the date of the full moon) in the Julian calendar repeat every nineteen years. There are two corrections made to the epact, each of which depend[s] only on the century; one repeats (modulo 30, which is what matters) every 120 centuries, the other every 375 centuries, so the [p]air of them repeat every 300,000 years. The days of the week are on a 400-year cycle, which doesn't matter because that's a factor of 300,000. So the Easter cycle has length the least common multiple of 19 and 300,000, which is 5,700,000 [years]."
Submission + - SPAM: Printing organs on demand?
Roland Piquepaille writes: "Every year, pharmaceutical companies invest many millions of dollars to test drugs that will never reach market while the number of patients waiting for organ transplants continues to increase. Would it be possible to create human tissues to help to solve both problems? A research team from the University of Missouri in Columbia (MU) thinks so. According to Nature, the researchers have created functional blood vessels and cardiac tissue, using a 'printer' that dispenses cells instead of ink. This has been done before with the help of 'scaffolds.' But this team didn't use them. Instead, it was able to print various structures from scratch. This might be a brilliant and promising step towards printing organs on demand. But read more for additional details and references, including a picture showing how this novel technology works."
Submission + - SPAM: Progressive Automotive X-PRIZE gets the Green Flag
WirePosted writes: "The X-PRIZE Foundation announces a $10 million competition, sponsored by Progressive Insurance, for production-ready, super-efficient, 100 miles per gallon (or equivalent) cars that are also low in carbon dioxide emissions."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Submission + - SPAM: Presence of salt on Mars adds new evidence for pos
WirePosted writes: "NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter discovered about two hundred different spots on the southern portion of the planet Mars where chloride minerals exist, which is a part of salts (sodium chloride). Salt deposits indicate the possible presence of water at some point in Mars' history."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Submission + - SPAM: It's the cow flatulence, stupid
coondoggie writes: "Cars and industry in general are obviously the prime contributors to greenhouse gas emissions but farm animal flatulence is right up there.
Up to 60% of global methane pollution is placed at their hooves, say researchers looking to curb the problem at the Rowett Research Institute in Scotland. Institute researchers a cure needs to be found because the average cow contributes as much to global warming as a family car that travels 12,000 miles and that methane is 24 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. Methane is said to contribute as much as 18% towards the global warming. Rowett Research Institute scientists are experimenting with adding fumaric acid to animal feed to reduce ruminant wind. Fumaric acid is a chemical that traps hydrogen produced by their digestive systems and stops it being turned into methane. Results of trials in lambs have far exceeded expectations, cutting the volume of methane by up to 70%. But cows have proved more stubborn.
[spam URL stripped]"
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Submission + - SPAM: Abracadabra! Whoosh! The rings of Saturn disappear
WirePosted writes: "Is a magician making Saturn's rings disappear? Actually, we are experiencing a "plane ring crossing.". The rings are appearing edge-on to Earthlings so they look to almost disappear. Such an event makes for a good time to view Saturn from your backyard telescope."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Submission + - SPAM: Google climbs aboard search for ET planets
WirePosted writes: "No stranger to the science of mapping and organising the world's vast volumes of data, search kingpin Google has joined an MIT project to map the heavens from a satellite and search for planets like Earth. Researchers claim the project could rapidly discover hundreds of planets similar to Earth, something which has eluded scientists until now."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Submission + - Church of Scientology violates Federal Law (rapidshare.com) 5
FreedomToThink writes: "This is a very long story I'm sure the editors will have fun with, but I couldn't see how to cut it down at all.
On the eve of the Ides of March protest, from the source of the recent 'Anonymous' submitted CCHR leak on wikileaks, comes this message
Included was yet another PDF this time including yet more emails leaked from a Church of Scientology front group.
Vote Rigging?
Lunch with your preferred Presidential candidates for a high price?
From the head of the "Non Proffit" CCHR Bruce Wiseman
Currently, the law prohibits political campaign activity by charities and churches by defining a 501(c)(3) organization as one "which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."
An OCMB (Operation Clambake Message Board)regular adds :
Apologies in advance as the Enturbulation servers will not be up to a slashdotting so the Coral Cache link is here Enturbulation Discussion (already cached for you)
ANYONE CAN REPORT TAX FRAUD DIRECTLY TO THE IRS : http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=106778,00.html It does require that you print out and mail in an actual hardcopy, but it does not require you to identify yourself.
Just a casual user passing on a message from the Enturbulation forum, this is already out there, there's no reason to attack the messenger."
On the eve of the Ides of March protest, from the source of the recent 'Anonymous' submitted CCHR leak on wikileaks, comes this message
"Dear $cientology,You attempt injunctions.I respond.Shall we continue the game? Much Love, DEEP CLAM"
Included was yet another PDF this time including yet more emails leaked from a Church of Scientology front group.
Vote Rigging?
From: "Mike Kaplan" <mkaplan@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Subject: Fw: RE-ELECT FRANK HIBBARD, MAYOR OF CLEARWATER
Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2008 11:53:07 -0400
See below. Everyone in Clearwater MUST vote. Every vote will be needed to be
sure Hibbard gets re-elected. The alternative is Rita Garvey who is an SP.
— Original Message —
From: Shelly <mailto:shelly.bauer@Earthlink.net> Bauer
To: Shelly Bauer <mailto:shelly.bauer@earthlink.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2008 8:09 AM
Subject: RE-ELECT FRANK HIBBARD, MAYOR OF CLEARWATER
DO YOUR PART
RE-ELECT FRANK HIBBARD
MAYOR OF CLEARWATER
VOTE!!!
JANUARY 29TH
TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED!
Lunch with your preferred Presidential candidates for a high price?
ONE SEAT LEFT
I have arranged a private one-hour luncheon with Ron Paul on 11/28 in St.
Pete when he will be in town for the CNN/YouTube Republican debate.
This luncheon is reserved for $1000+ donors to Ron Paul's presidential
campaign. 19 people so far have paid and confirmed and will have the honor
and pleasure of having lunch and communicating with Ron Paul directly.
From the head of the "Non Proffit" CCHR Bruce Wiseman
Go the the HELP committee website. The link is here.
http://help.senate.gov/About.html
Here you will see the names of the Committee members on the left hand
side
of the page. Please go to the individual websites of the Republican =
members
(this will take just a bit of leg work on your part by putting their =
name
into Google) and calling their office or sending a fax to them (email is =
the
least effective) stating your opposition to S. 1375 The Mother's Act.
Currently, the law prohibits political campaign activity by charities and churches by defining a 501(c)(3) organization as one "which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."
An OCMB (Operation Clambake Message Board)regular adds
I downloaded myself a copy and started looking through them. I found an interesting one on pages 47-48.
http://rapidshare.com/files/99292051/CCHRLeak3.pdf.html
Karin Pouw of OSA of CofS writes a message.
It's forwarded by Michael Genung. He's the guy who runs ACSR, Association for Citizens Sociel Reform. http://www.citizensforsocialreform.org/ ["CSR Background and Philosopy: CSR was founded in 2001 by a group of Scientologists and other like-minded individuals concerned with the escalating social ills in society. CSR's purpose is to work with in the field of public policy to bring about more effective and humane solutions to these social ills of illiteracy, criminality substance abuse and general decay of character."]
Then it's forwarded by Doyle Mills, of LEAF fame (Letters to the Editor Attack Force).
Then it's forwarded by Mary C. (possibly one of two Mary C's I'm thinking of, but unsure).
Then it's forwarded by Mike Kaplan, another person who runs an email list and forwards CCHR type stuff to CofS members.
If that ain't stringing a line from the CofS to CCHR and the CofS front group ("grassroots") movements, then I don't know what is!
Apologies in advance as the Enturbulation servers will not be up to a slashdotting so the Coral Cache link is here Enturbulation Discussion (already cached for you)
ANYONE CAN REPORT TAX FRAUD DIRECTLY TO THE IRS : http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=106778,00.html It does require that you print out and mail in an actual hardcopy, but it does not require you to identify yourself.
Just a casual user passing on a message from the Enturbulation forum, this is already out there, there's no reason to attack the messenger."
Spacecraft to Fly Through Geyser Plumes On Saturn Moon 80
Riding with Robots writes "Today the robotic Saturn probe Cassini will make its closest buzz ever over the surface of the enigmatic ice moon Enceladus, whose surprising giant water geysers hint at a hidden ocean of liquid water. The spacecraft will fly right through the tops of the geyser plumes in order to sample the material that originated beneath the surface. NASA is offering a video, interactive guide and image gallery in advance of the event."
Submission + - South Korea Grounds Astronaut for Overenthusiasm
Reservoir Hill writes: "With less than a month to go before the start of a mission to the International Space Station, the South Korean government, which is financing the cost of the $27 million trip, decided to replace Ko San, a 30-year-old computer engineer, with Yi So-yeon, a female bioengineering student, following a recommendation from Russia's Federal Space Agency. The Russian agency told South Korea last week that Mr. Ko had committed "repeated breaches of training protocol," such as taking training manuals out of the space training center without permission, said Lee Sang-mok, a senior official at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Paik Hong-yul, head the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said Mr. Ko made "mistakes out of his over enthusiasm in training." Women's groups welcomed Ms. Yi's selection as a major step toward elevating the status of women in South Korea. "This is good news for South Korean women, especially those engaged in science and technology," said Kim Ji-young, a university professor who leads the Korea Federation of Women's Science and Technology Associations. "She can be a role model and encourage Korean women who want to enter science and technology, where women have faced bigger walls in finding jobs than men.""
Physicists Store, Retrieve a "Squeezed Vacuum" 106
An anonymous reader sends us to the site of Science Magazine for news that will interest those who have followed experiments to slow and stop light. Research groups in Canada and Japan have succeeded separately in storing a special kind of vacuum — a "squeezed vacuum" — in a puff of gas and then retrieving it a split second later. Such experiments might lead to advances in quantum encryption. At the very least they will help to illuminate the boundary between quantum and classical realms.
