linnorm - Slashdot User

Submission + - Why Russian Space Images Look Different From NASA? (gizmodo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 30, 2011 @02:10PM

An anonymous reader writes: The Russians have published two amazing photos of Earth using their new Elektro-L satellite, in 30,000km high orbit around the equator. The quality is stunning, and they look quite different from NASA's Earth images. But why are they different? And are they better than NASA's?

Submission + - Should we expect accountability from journalists? (badscience.net)

Submitted by

Fjodor42

on Wednesday March 30, 2011 @01:09PM

Fjodor42 writes: "Why is it we don't expect journalists to mention their primary sources, when this practice is sure to make you fail miserably in even the most basic levels of academic endeavor (high school for certain, don't know about earlier steps)?
The article mentions three outrageous examples of distortion of facts, but I'm fairly sure that there are more of those kind, than there are of factually sound articles around..."

Submission + - Plastic Made from Fruit Rivals Kevlar in Strength (inhabitat.com) 2

Submitted by jldailey618 on Wednesday March 30, 2011 @12:24PM

jldailey618 writes: A group of scientists from Sao Paulo State University developed a way to use the nanocellulose fibers from bananas, pineapples, and other fruits to create incredibly strong, lightweight plastics. The plastic is up to four times stronger and 30 percent lighter than petroleum-based plastics, and it rivals Kevlar — the material used in bullet proof vests — in strength.

Submission + - Could thorium make nuclear power safe? (theweek.com) 2

Submitted by

Jetrel

on Wednesday March 30, 2011 @12:29AM

Jetrel writes: "With the recent events in Japan nuclear power is getting a lot of bad press lately about it's potential dangers. Looking forward to possible replacements I ran across this article and thought what better group to put in the mix about debates on alternative energy sources. So can the world have cheap nuclear power without Japan-level risks by swapping thorium for uranium, some scientists claim. Is that too good to be true?"

Comment Niche Interpretation? (Score 1) 473

by linnorm on Wednesday November 24, 2010 @09:37AM (#34330276) Attached to: Xbox Live Enforcement — No Swastika Logo

Indeed, my twitter stream was filled with people stating that Xbox LIVE should equally ban the star of David, the Christian cross, and yes I am not kidding, the infinity symbol because under various niche interpretations of those symbols, they are as evil as the swastika symbol and I should apply ethical relativism to all symbols on Xbox LIVE to respect all viewpoints because of the United States First Amendment.

Since when is the KKK's use of the Christian cross a "niche interpretation"?

Offline Book "Lending" Costs US Publishers Nearly $1 Trillion 494

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday January 19, 2010 @02:07PM from the oh-the-humanity dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from a tongue-in-cheek blog post which puts publisher worries about ebook piracy into perspective: "Hot on the heels of the story in Publisher's Weekly that 'publishers could be losing out on as much $3 billion to online book piracy' comes a sudden realization of a much larger threat to the viability of the book industry. Apparently, over 2 billion books were 'loaned' last year by a cabal of organizations found in nearly every American city and town. Using the same advanced projective mathematics used in the study cited by Publishers Weekly, Go To Hellman has computed that publishers could be losing sales opportunities totaling over $100 billion per year, losses which extend back to at least the year 2000. ... From what we've been able to piece together, the book 'lending' takes place in 'libraries.' On entering one of these dens, patrons may view a dazzling array of books, periodicals, even CDs and DVDs, all available to anyone willing to disclose valuable personal information in exchange for a 'card.' But there is an ominous silence pervading these ersatz sanctuaries, enforced by the stern demeanor of staff and the glares of other patrons. Although there's no admission charge and it doesn't cost anything to borrow a book, there's always the threat of an onerous overdue bill for the hapless borrower who forgets to continue the cycle of not paying for copyrighted material."

Comment Re:Slashdotted (Score 3, Funny) 149

by linnorm on Monday February 16, 2009 @12:44PM (#26873549) Attached to: Earth Under Threat From Dark Comets

Such materials, especially in ultra-low gravity environments (so preventing the collapse of complicated micro-strucutres), are incredibly black, making the comet harder to see than a black cat in a coal cellar. At night with no torch.

How much more black could they be?

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