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Comment What about the associated microfauna? (Score 1) 302

Biologists have relatively recently come to understand the complexity, abundance and importance of the mammalian microbiome; for example, it is estimated that bacteria alone (only one component of our microbiome) far outnumber human cells. Given that mammoths are long extinct, their associated microfauna are likely absent from the word as well. Doesn't sound promising for maintaining healthy animals...

Comment Re:new scientist (Score 1) 337

I second the suggestion. New Scientist is awesome - it covers every science subject under (and well beyond) the sun, and does so in a manner that is technologically sophisticated, yet well within the reach of any reasonably well-educated reader. The weekly print version is admittedly a bit expensive (especially for those not in the U.K.), but much of the content is covered for free at their website (www.newscientist.com).

Comment Re:Last time I went to Radio Shack regularly... (Score 1) 413

That mirrors my experience. As a kid i shopped there so often for components that they'd memorized my name, address & phone number (back then RS required you to supply these; some BS about warrant/return requirements). Years later, it became apparent that the place was populated with sales driods working on commission, who knew *nothing* whatsoever about electronics :/

Comment Re:So, what if I have a car with bluetooth receive (Score 1) 1065

There is another important aspect to this that you missed: audio bandwidth.

Cellphones are designed with a high level of compression (so that a single tower can handle numerous calls simultaneously); to accomplish this, the audio is seriously degraded (massive loss of highs and lows). As a result, your brain is working much harder (although it's subconscious, so you don't notice) to pick out what is being said, rendering your ability to concentrate on other tasks far more difficult than you realize. It doesn't matter whether or not you're using a hands-free set; it is significantly more distracting than listening to a higher fidelity source, like someone sitting ne

Comment Privacy is *not* the whole story (Score 1) 160

If FaceBook was up front about its privacy policy, i'd be fine with them sharing information...but the fact is, they pulled a bait-and-switch by first promising privacy, then significantly altering the terms of the agreement under which i'd signed up to allow for wholesale sharing of my information. It's this underhandedness that i, and many others, abhor.

They're also blatantly dishonest. I've been getting notices that say "your friend X recommends you befriend Y", but i've confirmed that these messages are generated by a FaceBook algorithm, NOT submitted by the person whom they say.

If it weren't the only way to know what my family members are up to, i'd swear off FaceBook in a heartbeat...come to think of it, i might anyway...

Comment 150-in-one kits (Score 1) 301

I learned electronics starting as a young kid when i obtained one of those "150-in-1" (or 100-in-one or 200-in-1) kits with an assortment of components on a board with spring connectors, to which you run wires according to directions in the manual. The one i had (probably Radio Shack) had cartoon characters of electron characters that explained the theory behind the circuitry you were wiring up. No need to solder, no need to dig through parts bins, but great for learning the theory behind a variety of circuit types (alarms, radios, high voltage generators, etc.).

There are tons of these type kits out there - as well as kits to build individual devices (also great learning experiences, and you wind up with a useful piece of equipment) - check the links at http://www.lutins.org/lists/electronics.html If you *are* thinking of building a single-device kit, i highly recommend the Midnight Science Ultra-RX1, an ultrasonic listening device available from http://www.midnightscience.com/ultra-kits.html. The kit is built in three sections, with instructions on how to do some troubleshooting-type testing after each section. When you're done, you'll have a device that allows you to listen in on ultrasonic emanations (bugs, bats, etc.) - mine works *way* better than i ever expected!

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