Comment That's no spider (Score 3, Funny) 88
That's a headcrab!
3D Images Reconstructed of 300M-Year-Old Spiders 88
Hugh Pickens writes "Scientists at Imperial College London have created detailed 3D computer models of two fossilized specimens of ancient creatures called Cryptomartus hindi and Eophrynus prestvicii, closely related to modern-day spiders. The researchers created their images by using a CT scanning device, which enabled them to take 3,000 X-rays of each fossil then compile them into precise 3D models, using custom-designed software. Both spiders roamed the Earth during the Carboniferous period, 359-299 million years ago, when life was emerging from the oceans to live on land. C. hindi's front pair of legs were angled toward the front, suggesting they were used to grapple with prey, an 'ambush predator' like the modern-day crab spider, lying in wait for prey to come close. 'Our models almost bring these ancient creatures back to life and it's really exciting to be able to look at them in such detail,' says researcher Russel Garwood, adding that the technique could be used to return to fossils that have previously been analyzed by conventional means. 'Our study helps build a picture of what was happening during this period early in the history of life on land.'"
Tsunami Hit New York City Region In 300 BC 147
Hugh Pickens writes "Scientists say that sedimentary deposits from more than 20 cores in New York and New Jersey indicate a huge wave crashed into the New York City region 2,300 years ago, dumping sediment and shells across Long Island and New Jersey and casting wood debris far up the Hudson River. Steven Goodbred, an Earth scientist at Vanderbilt University, says that size and distribution of material would require a high velocity wave and strong currents to move it, and it is unlikely that short bursts produced in a storm would suffice. 'If we're wrong, it was one heck of a storm,' says Goodbred. An Atlantic tsunami is rare but not inconceivable, says Neal Driscoll, a geologist from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who is not associated with the research. The 1929 Grand Banks tsunami in Newfoundland killed more than two dozen people and snapped many transatlantic cables, and was set in motion by a submarine landslide set off by an earthquake."
Twitter Considered Harmful To Swine-Flu Panic 383
judgecorp writes "Twitter is being criticized for spreading panic about swine flu. This is not just knee-jerk Luddism 2.0: it's argued that Twitter's structure encourages ill-informed repetition, with little room for context, while older Web media use their power for good — for instance Google's Flu Trends page (which we discussed last winter), and the introduction of a Google swine flu map." On a related note, reader NewtonsLaw suggests that it might be a good idea, epidemiologically speaking, to catch the flu now vs. later.
Comment Obligatory (Score 0, Offtopic) 315
I, for one, welcome our new microbial pigfluenza overlords!
Comment Re:Browser bars make me puke... (Score 3, Informative) 180
The summary is wrong. It's not a browser add-on. It's a frame, loaded via HTML, like any other frame. It loads when you click a link on Digg.
Comment Markup Writer (Score 2, Insightful) 586
You're a markup writer. Even if you're the best, most semantic, standard following markup writer in the world, you're not a web developer. If you only know the basics of CSS and Javascript, you can hardly call yourself anything but a markup writer.
Design technologist? You're not designing anything.
UI Engineer? Sorry, you're not really engineering anything if you're only using HTML. Either that or you're writing bloated, non-semantic markup.
Front-end / Client Side Developer? If the front end is ONLY HTML (what a boring site)
Design technologist? You're not designing anything.
UI Engineer? Sorry, you're not really engineering anything if you're only using HTML. Either that or you're writing bloated, non-semantic markup.
Front-end / Client Side Developer? If the front end is ONLY HTML (what a boring site)
Comment Re:Just a Money Grab (Score 1) 119
I don't know about you, but I could always use a
Ah, so you're the guy who's always emailing me.
Adobe To Open Real-Time Messaging Protocol 108
synodinos writes "Adobe has
announced plans
to publish the Real-Time Messaging Protocol specification, which is
designed for high-performance transmission of audio, video, and data between
Adobe Flash Platform technologies. This move that has followed the opening of
the AMF spec has been
received with varying degrees of enthusiasm from the RIA community."
Comment Re:Catching Max Butler (Score 1) 313
I'm assuming this is a pseudonym? Or is he hiding abroad? Because if his real name is known, he can't be that hard to catch...
Windows 7 Leaked To Pirates By Microsoft? 236
nandemoari writes "The beta version of Windows 7 has been widely distributed through torrents and other file sharing systems. But now some commentators claim Microsoft deliberately allowed the package to get into the hands of pirates. 'I'm not being critical here, as some Microsoft Watch commenters will surely claim. It's rather smart marketing. Microsoft fills a big news void with something bloggers and journalists will write about. The suspense of stealth downloads from torrents and races to post the best screenshots first make the Windows 7 leak buzz all the more exciting. For other people, there is delight in seeing Microsoft squirm because Seven leaked early. Not that I see much squirming going on.'"
Comment Re:Mix Fun and Fair (Score 3, Insightful) 262
Dude, he's just showing a website/service he made. He's proud of it, and it sounds like it would actually be helpful in this instance. Why call him out? Just get over it.
Comment Re:Well this is obvious... (Score 5, Funny) 480
It was just a joke, sorry, I don't want anyone's shit on me :(
Comment Well this is obvious... (Score 5, Funny) 480
My Microsoft Windows desktop crashed sometime between 18:59:40 EST (GMT -5:00) and 19:00:00 EST (GMT -5:00) on Dec 31, 2008 which remarkably corresponds to within at most 20 seconds of the New Year in GMT. I have been running this same hardware non-stop for more than 5 hours and other than the occasional BSOD and Windows updates, it has not crashed more than 1 or 2 times in 174,237 seconds of cumulative uptime. Nothing other than spyware, malware, and System Idle Process were running at the time of the crash.
Is the Yellowstone Supervolcano About To Blow? 877
An anonymous reader writes "Apparently, Yellowstone National Park has been having a very unusual number of earthquakes. Many of the most recent tremors have been deeper underground, an ominous sign. Combine that with a rapid rise in elevation over the past three years, and the possibility that earthquake activity from surrounding areas could trigger such an eruption on its own, and you've got the possible warning signs of a supervolcano eruption that would wipe out half to 2/3 of the continental US, plunge global temperatures, and wipe out a very significant chunk of world food sources. Here's a little more info to make your New Year brighter!"
