65541891
submission
sterlingda writes:
"Amazon-owned Alexa, which tracks and ranks website data, has been caught cooking the books on their data reporting, showing a dramatic / precipitous drop-off in traffic for the past month to popular conservative sites that contradict the mainstream media line of thought, while boosting the traffic report to liberal websites that tow the line. This is documented by comparing Alexa reports to Quantcast reports for same time-frame. On October 1, Alexa reported: "Alexa Increases its Global Traffic Panel", but the data seem to suggest they did far more than that, with some funky political biasing. Given this data, do you trust Alexa? What should the consequences be? Boycott Amazon.com?"
65533507
submission
sterlingda writes:
Amazon-owned Alexa, which tracks and ranks website data, has been caught cooking the books on their data reporting, showing a dramatic / precipitous drop-off in traffic for the past month to popular conservative sites that contradict the mainstream media line of thought, while boosting the traffic report to liberal websites that tow the line. This is documented by comparing Alexa reports to Quantcast reports for same time-frame. On October 1, Alexa reported: "Alexa Increases its Global Traffic Panel", but the data seem to suggest they did far more than that, with some funky political biasing. Given this data, do you trust Alexa? What should the consequences be? Boycott Amazon.com?
51254837
submission
sterlingda writes:
Proposed: By detonating a 25-km radius neutron bomb at the Fukushima plant, it would turn off the nuclear reactions taking place, while also neutralizing the radiation emitting from radioactive particles that have been emitted within that radius. NASA nuclear physicist says "not". This story has spurred some very intersting dialogue that I thought the Slashdot crowd would have fun with. Who knows, maybe even something productive could come of it.
19018090
submission
sterlingda writes:
A YouTuber named meklvin8865 uploaded a video showing the recent severe weather over the conspicuous areas of Arkansas and surrounding areas of the New Madrid Fault Line as well as where a recent animal die-off occured. The video shows some obviously man-made parallel-grid-lined radar marks in the effected areas.
13992470
submission
sterlingda writes:
As if our country isn't already galloping toward tyranny, now The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is blocking certain websites from the federal agencyââs computers, including halting access by staffers to any Internet pages that contain a âÅ"controversial opinion,â according to an internal email obtained by CBS News. The new rules came into force on July 1, and prevent TSA employees from accessing such content, though what is deemed âÅ"controversial opinionâ is not explained.
13081718
submission
sterlingda writes:
A wind-powered car has been clocked in the US traveling downwind 2.85 times faster than the 13.5 mph wind. The definitive research by Rick Cavallaro of FasterThanTheWind.org is being funded by Google and Joby Energy. The run should now settle the DWFTTW (down wind faster than the wind) debate that has been raging for some time on the Internet about whether or not such a feat was possible.
10602566
submission
sterlingda writes:
The associated press reports that Austin police arrested Omar Ramos-Lopez, 20, on Wednesday, charging him with felony breach of computer security. Ramos-Lopez used a former colleague's password to deactivate starters and set off car horns, police said. Several car owners said they had to call tow trucks and were left stranded at work or home. "He caused these customers, now victims, to miss work," Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Aguinaga said. "They didn't get paid. They had to get tow trucks. They didn't know what was going on with their vehicles."
10383430
submission
sterlingda writes:
Yesterday, Slashdot ran a story with the title "The Future of Wind Power May Be Underground". Also published yesterday was a story about the MYT(tm) Engine (Massive Yet Tiny, by Angel Labs LLC), which also has application as a pump or compressor. The company says the engine as a pump/compressor is able to combine all three key elements of pumping/compressing — pressure, volume, and flow — into one device, making it the ideal candidate for applications like pumping and retrieving pressurized air from wind turbines into underground chambers, making the storage cycle much more efficient and cost effective. Yesterday's article was about applying the MYT engine technology to geothermal energy harvesting. On May 15, 2010, Angel Labs will be demonstrating its engine to the Oregon Section of the Society of Automotive Engineers. The MYT (Massive Yet Tiny) Engine by inventor Raphial Morgado, is an award-winning internal combustion engine of new design that features multiple firings in one cycle, producing enormous torque in a small area. They claim 40 times higher power to weight ratio, low parts count, low maintenance, high mechanical efficiency, and low pollution.
10161060
submission
sterlingda writes:
Wired writer, Ryan Singel says the biggest threat to the open internet is not Chinese government hackers or greedy anti-net-neutrality ISPs, it’s Michael McConnell, the former director of national intelligence. And Infowars.com points to the cybersecurity bill (HR 4061) that has passed the U.S. House and is now in the Senate under the direction of the renown internet hater, senator Jay Rockefeller. It would pave the way for requiring that websites be registered with the Federal Government in order to operate, essentially obliterating the free speech pillar of freedom that allows for dissent. The software standardization provision (section 3.1) would require that all software would have to go through the cybersecurity panel, with oversight by NIST, which cooked the books in its report blaming fire as the cause of Building 7 of the WTC collapsing at free-fall speed on 9/11, defying the laws of physics they are supposed to champion. Watch Alex Jones and Jason Bermas discuss the various draconian aspects of the bill, reading from it and commenting [Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3]. I can't imagine any slashdotter supporting this bill if they knew its contents. How did it pass the house with such a strong margin? With your help, maybe we can stop it in the Senate.
6770484
submission
sterlingda writes:
Bruce Marshall has filed a patent for a hydrothermal system that would harness the vast energy available from deep sea hydrothermal vents in which water seeps into near-surface magma, where it is continuously heated and ejected through vents at around 750 degrees Fahrenheit. The hot water and minerals would be brought to the surface to turn turbines. The vent output is very consistent and energy dense and at very high volumes. This is a brand new, previously untouched, energy source — a discovery on the scale of man's harnessing nuclear power, but cleaner and potentially cheaper. National Geographic estimates the power of just the known worldwide vents at around 17 million megawatts, with thousands of miles of ocean still unexplored. It's difficult to estimate the quality and number of vents that are convenient enough to be practical, but Marshall believes that several thousand gigawatts of power are recoverable worldwide-- the equivalent of perhaps 1,000 or more nuclear power plants. Also, as the hydrothermal fluid rises it carries with it some of the richest ores to be found anywhere, laden with just about every metal and mineral that we mine the surface for now. Anyone have a few spare billion to help build the pilot plant?
6769932
submission
sterlingda writes:
Jack Passerello, who was involved with the invention of the first computer chip, proposes that the fractal antenna technology that is used in cell phones could be engineered to capture naturally-occurring electromagnetic waves and convert them into usable power. An engineering breakthrough would be needed, along with a multi-discipline cooperative approac, to get sufficienty coherence from the wide array of miniscule power inputs.
6769812
submission
sterlingda writes:
Mr. Ohmasa, president of Japan Techno, Inc., has devised a method of producing an unusual hydrogen-oxygen gas by using low frequency vibrations to circulate the water upon which electrolysis is run, creating a highly stable H2-O2 gas called Ohmasa gas which exhibits unusual characteristics. Also, while oxygen normally liquifies at -183 C, and hydrogen liquiefies at -253 C, Ohmasa gas liquefies at -178 C. Also, the Ohmasa gas does not escape from containers that hold oxygen but not normal hydrogen; it holds its pressure in the container, making storage and shipment feasible. Similar to Brown's Gas, one can wave their hand through the Ohmasa gas torch flame, yet that same flame will vaporize Tungsten in a second. When Ohmasa gas is burned, its emission is water vapor. Hence, with this new method, water could conceivably become the energy carrier of choice for energy produced from renewable sources such as solar and wind. Some modifications would likely need to be made to existing engines for it to work well with them, and it would require new tanks (gaseous rather than liquid), and new dispensing orifices.
