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Comment Results are in (Score 1) 119

Methane detection by SAM is negative. There is either no methane or a negligible amount right now. This could change over time, but I'm betting the claims of methane detection from Earth will eventually be blamed on noise and we'll find no methane on Mars over time.

Comment Re:I'd go. (Score 1) 540

Even if you're qualified, you certainly should not go on a one-way trip to Mars. I believe the rule of the cowboy should be applied when selecting participants in such a journey. First and foremost, eligible candidates should NOT have living family, especially children and/or a spouse. These types of ties are major problems. Candidates should probably also possess an naval or air force background (like astronauts did in the 1960's) as this type of training prepares one for the type of rigorous mental challenges such a trip is sure to present. A science background would help but I would not think it particularly necessary. Scientific equipment training should satisfactorily compensate for the lack of a science background somewhat (teach them to use the equipment and send the data back here). I honestly hope we're able to explore Mars further using robots before we send a manned mission there. My fear is that men will contaminate Mars before we've (adequately) ruled out the possibility of native life.
United States

Submission + - Feds raid legal marijuana shops in Montana (missoulian.com) 1

nekad writes: "The feds have set a dangerous precedent by executing a coordinated statewide raid of legal marijuana clinics in Montana. These raids come on the heels of a bill that would have repealed medical marijuana in the state narrowly failing. The timing of these raids is suspicious obviously, leading to speculation that some state officials may have helped the FBI coordinate the raids.

Given Montana's rocky relationship with federal policy (rejecting RealID for instance), this probably won't be taken lightly. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds."

Sci-Fi

Submission + - What Would an Interstellar Spaceship Look Like? (discovery.com)

astroengine writes: "Considering the vast distances and epic time scales, what would an interstellar spacecraft, or starship, actually look like? Forget your warp drives and hyperspace, the Tau Zero Foundation and the British Interplanetary Society have teamed up to put a design to the nuclear pulse propelled vehicle. But the sci-fi isn't far away, there's one configuration that resembles Discovery One from "2001: A Space Odyssey.""
Space

Submission + - Possible new planet "about to be discovered" (dailymail.co.uk) 1

nekad writes: From the article "Scientists believe they may have found a new planet in the far reaches of the solar system, up to four times the mass of Jupiter". They've already named the planet "Tyche" despite not having been discovered yet (if it even exists).
Piracy

Sony Gets Nasty With PSBreak Buyers 246

YokimaSun writes "The war between hackers and Sony over the PlayStation 3 has now taken an even more sinister turn, with Sony going after not just shops but actual buyers of the PSBreak dongle, threatening them with fines of many thousands of Euros and forcing them to sign cease-and-desist letters. It seems Sony will use any means necessary to thwart both homebrew and piracy on the PS3."
Programming

When Rewriting an App Actually Makes Sense 289

vlangber writes "Joel Spolsky wrote a famous blog post back in 2000 called 'Things You Should Never Do, Part I,' where he wrote the following: '[T]he single worst strategic mistake that any software company can make: They decided to rewrite the code from scratch.' Here is a story about a software company that decided to rewrite their application from scratch, and their experiences from that process."

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