Comment Re:I could use this... (Score 1) 346
If it weren't for the mention of a Cisco cert, I would have been puzzled by the placement of squirrels before girlfriend...
and in the same list with "watching grass grow"
Submission + - The Top Scientific Stories of 2007
ahab_2001 writes: "The journal Science has put up its annual "Breakthrough of the Year" list of the top-ten scientific accomplishments for 2007. Leading the list are studies of human genetic variation, and a flood of new discoveries that point toward a future of genomic medicine and even "personal genomics" — with all of the potential issues of ethics and privacy that entails. Runners-up include advances in cellular and structural biology, astrophysics, physics, immunology, synthetic chemistry, neuroscience, and computer science. In addition to the articles from the journal, there's a video on human genetic variation and a podcast as well."
Submission + - Vista SP1: 48167 Days and 23 Hours Remaining (theregister.co.uk) 1
It's Worth the Wait! writes: "For those hoping that SP1 would speed Vista up, The Register has bad news. SP1 still hasn't fixed the file access problems and they have screenshots of Vista saying that copying 108 items totaling 168 MB will take 48167 days."
Submission + - Scientists invent GREEN food that cooks itself! (blogspot.com)
hydra writes: "A group of scientists in a Florida have claimed they have invented a low energy polymer which once injected into food, cooks it from the inside. Apparently six of the scientists dined on a three course meal at the weekend which was cooked entirely by using the cunning formula. The scientists intend to launch a website soon where they will sell 100 polymer pellets for $5.00. Their site will feature a full length video of how a sausage can be cooked in 10 minutes, once injected with a polymer pellet. This patented technology has enormous applications in other areas of science, not to mention potential reduction in green house gases when consumers stop using ovens, barbecues and microwaves. Now that's real innovation!"
Submission + - Cosmic explosion detonates in empty space (newscientist.com)
mlimber writes: According to an article in NewScientist, "Astronomers are puzzling over a powerful cosmic explosion that seems to have detonated in a region of empty space, far away from any nearby galaxy." The leading theory is that the explosion was a star exploding in the gas trail that is yanked out of a galaxy when it passes or begins merging with another. Said the lead author of the study, "Even if the galaxies have stopped forming stars, in the tidal tails you can trigger new episodes of star formation [not to mention detonation]," and indeed the authors have identified two candidate galaxies that give weight to their theory.
Submission + - "Oops!" Those dumb mistakes we've all mad 9
theotherbastard writes: I've recently made the step up from Desktop Support to Systems Administration and in my first month on the job I made a change to a server that knocked one of our customer call centers offline for nearly 4 hours. It was the simple mistake of changing the duplex settings on 2 NIC's on 1 server. Needless to say I've learned my lesson on when and how to make even the smallest change to our sensitive systems. Another thing I've learned is that everyone on my team has a story about their first days supporting servers and the disastrous mistakes they've made. I'm curious what stories some fellow /.er's have.
Submission + - BBC reports an active glacier is found on Mars
ddelmonte writes: "Showing an image from the High Resolution Stereo Camera aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft, a new image shows a perspective view of a possible glacial feature located in Deuteronilus Mensae. The full story including quotes from the ESA scientists is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7151190.stm"
Submission + - How to really bury a mainframe (networkworld.com)
coondoggie writes: "Some users have gone to great lengths to dispose of their mainframe but few have gone this far. On November 21, 2007, the University of Manitoba said goodbye to its beloved 47-year-old IBM 650 mainframe Betelgeuse by holding a New Orleans style jazz funeral. In case you were wondering what an IBM 650's specifications were, according to this Columbia University site, the 650's CPU was 5ft by 3ft by 6ft and weighed 1,966 lbs, and rented for $3200 per month. The power unit was 5x3x6 and weighed 2,972 pounds. The card reader/punch weighed 1,295 pounds and rented for $550/month. The memory was a rotating magnetic drum with 2000 word (10 digits and sign) capacity and random access time of 2.496 ms. For an additional $1,500/month you could add magnetic core memory of 60 words with access time of .096ms. Big Blue sold some 2,000 of the mainframes making it one of the first successfully mass-produced computers.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/23123"
Submission + - Cold patch found in the cosmic background (arxivblog.com)
KentuckyFC writes: "Astronomers have found a cold spot in the cosmic microwave background radiation. This patch is huge: in terms of angular size, it's several times bigger than moon. And it represents a significant puzzle because no current scenario for the origin of the universe can explain it. For the moment theorists are just struggling to understand its properties (abstract on the physics arxiv)."
Submission + - Catch the Meteor Show Tonight
Reservoir Hill writes: "Many meteor showers tend to disappoint, but the annual Geminid shower which peaks tonight, is expected to be a great one with forecasters predicting one or two shooting stars per minute during the peak hours. The moon is near its new phase, so skies will be dark. Meteors could start showing up anytime after dark this evening, low on the eastern horizon but a better display should begin after 10 pm local time, when the constellation Gemini, from which the meteors emanate, rises higher into the Eastern sky. By 2 am local time Gemini is directly overhead, and meteors will streak outward in all directions like spokes on a wheel. Here's some tips: Turn off all lights, indoors and out, dress warmer than you think necessary, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness, lie back on a lounge chair or blanket and scan as much of the sky as possible, and don't use binoculars or telescopes — meteors move too fast. If you live in the city, get out of town — city lights will overpower most of the meteors. "At first you might not see very many meteors — but be patient," said NASA astronomer Bill Cooke. "The show really heats up after midnight and by dawn on Friday.""
Submission + - The setup behind Microsoft.com (technet.com) 1
Toreo asesino writes: Jeff Alexander gives an insight into how some of the main websites in Microsoft are run (www.microsoft.com and update.microsoft.com). Interesting details include having no firewall, having to manage 650Gb of IIS logs every day, and the use of their yet unreleased Windows Server 2008 in a production environment.
http://blogs.technet.com/jeffa36/archive/2007/12/13/microsoft-com-what-s-the-story.aspx
Submission + - Parts of the galactic halo rotate "backwards&# (space.com)
xPsi writes: "Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, researchers have recently discovered that the galactic halo has two distinct components which rotate in opposite directions. From the article 'The main galactic disk, home to our sun, rotates at an average speed of 500,000 mph. Surrounding the disk is what's now called the inner halo. It orbits in the same direction at about 50,000 mph. The outer halo, a sparsely populated region, spins in the opposite direction at roughly 100,000 mph.' This discovery provides some insight into how galaxies, ours in particular, are formed."
Submission + - Opera files antitrust complaint against Microsoft (opera.com)
citizenkeller writes: "Opera has filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft in the EU. From their press release: "The complaint describes how Microsoft is abusing its dominant position by tying its browser, Internet Explorer, to the Windows operating system and by hindering interoperability by not following accepted Web standards. Opera has requested the Commission to take the necessary actions to compel Microsoft to give consumers a real choice and to support open Web standards in Internet Explorer.""
Submission + - Saturn's rings are ancient (nasa.gov)
gardenermike writes: "Analysis of data from the Cassini probe suggests that Saturn's rings may be billions of years old, rather than the previously surmised millions.
Previous research suggested that the rings were young, because of the lack of dark dust accumulation on their surfaces. However, the latest data suggests that the ring surfaces are even younger than previously thought, meaning, ironically, that the rings themselves are much older: they are not static enough to collect dust, but rather are continuously recycling material, with clumps continuously forming and disintegrating."
Previous research suggested that the rings were young, because of the lack of dark dust accumulation on their surfaces. However, the latest data suggests that the ring surfaces are even younger than previously thought, meaning, ironically, that the rings themselves are much older: they are not static enough to collect dust, but rather are continuously recycling material, with clumps continuously forming and disintegrating."
Submission + - Terry Pratchett has early onset Alzheimer's
JaJ_D writes: According to Paul Kidby's website, Terry Pratchet has been diagonsed with early onset Alzheimer's.
From the site:
would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news. I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's, which lay behind this year's phantom "stroke".
Jaj
From the site:
would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news. I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's, which lay behind this year's phantom "stroke".
Jaj
