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The Military

Boeing Delivers Massive Ordnance Penetrator 381

Posted by Soulskill from the mopping-up dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "In an age of drones and lightweight weaponry, the U.S. Air Force's purchase of the first batch of 30,000-pound bombs designed to pulverize underground enemy hide-outs highlights the military's need to go after hard and deeply buried targets. The weapon's explosive power is 10 times greater than its bunker-buster predecessor, the BLU-109 and it is nearly five tons heavier than the 22,600-pound GBU-43 MOAB surface bomb, sometimes called the 'mother of all bombs.' 'Our past test experience has shown that 2,000-pound penetrators carrying 500 pounds of high explosive are relatively ineffective against tunnels, even when skipped directly into the tunnel entrance,' says a 2004 Pentagon report on the Future Strategic Strike Force. 'Instead, several thousand pounds of high explosives coupled to the tunnel are needed to blow down blast doors and propagate a lethal air blast throughout a typical tunnel complex' (PDF). Experts note that the military disclosed delivery of the new bunker-busting bomb less than a week after a United Nations agency warned that Iran was secretly working to develop a nuclear weapon and is known to have hidden nuclear complexes that are fortified with steel and concrete, and buried under mountains. 'Heck of a coincidence, isn't it?' says John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org."

Comment Re:Programmer != Engineer, idiot. (Score 1) 422

by PowerVegetable (#37883854) Attached to: Career Advice: Don't Call Yourself a Programmer

"Retards" with college degrees who call themselves engineers are only breaking a rule in countries (like Canada) where "engineer" is a protected term. For countries (like the US) where engineer just means "someone who has training and responsibility in an engineering role", you're being a pompous ass. Your title does not make you a better problem solver.

I know a few senior retired chemical engineers that don't have college degrees in engineering, because they got their start in an apprentice program years and years ago. They did good work as engineers and problem solvers, and the lack of a cert labeling them as officially-minted and approved by the ABCDEF certification board doesn't make them any less qualified.

A trade group camping on a title and claiming legal ownership of it doesn't make them better at their job. And for what it's worth, train operators have a legit claim on the phrase "engineer" that predates any of our modern professions.
Television

The Next Phase of Intelligent TVs Will Observe You 294

Posted by samzenpus from the unseen-mechanized-eye dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Japan based NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories (STRL) is testing an interface which observes TV viewers, determines their interest and provides information related to the TV program in accordance with the way they are watching it. UTAN (user technology assisted navigation) TV viewing interface, as it is called, has a camera mounted on the TV which photographs the viewer and estimates the viewer's degrees of interest, concentration, etc. The information is processed by a tablet PC and recommended information is shown to the viewer. It is possible to show individual interests as well, in case there are multiple viewers."
Space

Air Force Wants Commercial Spacecraft 70

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i-want-a-hug dept.
coondoggie writes "The US Air Force is preparing to take a long look at how commercial space technology can help it better operate in the cosmos. The Air Force today said it will host a space test program meeting next week ahead of expected contract offerings, or Broad Agency Announcements looking to recruit commercial space providers."
Democrats

Senator Wants to Tax Internet Shopping 705

Posted by CmdrTaco from the diapers-are-expensive dept.
tripleevenfall writes "A Democratic senator is preparing to introduce legislation that aims to end the golden era of tax-free Internet shopping. The proposal — expected to be made public soon after Tax Day — would rewrite the ground rules for Internet and mail order sales by eliminating the ability of Americans to shop at Web sites like Amazon.com and Overstock.com without paying state sales taxes."
Government

Interpol Wants a Global Identity Card System 349

Posted by CmdrTaco from the yeah-good-luck-with-that dept.
Orome1 writes "The head of INTERPOL has emphasized the need for a globally verifiable electronic identity card (e-ID) system for migrant workers at an international forum on citizen ID projects, e-passports, and border control management. INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said: "At a time when global migration is reaching record levels, there is a need for governments to put in place systems at the national level that would permit the identity of migrants and their documents to be verified internationally via INTERPOL." Issuing migrant workers e-ID cards in a globally verifiable format will also reduce corruption and enable cardholders to be eligible for electronic remittance schemes that will foster greater economic development and prosperity in INTERPOL member countries."
Privacy

Terror Arrest Used As Fodder To Fund Real ID Act 212

Posted by samzenpus from the excuses-excuses-excuses dept.
BeatTheChip writes "There's been a lot of buzz in recent days concerning the deadline to deliver on the federal Real ID Act. Congress is looking for corners to cut. One tactic is to attach emergency policy to the Real ID in order to sustain funding for its development by authoring members in Congress. In an effort to link the two, Rep. Lamar Smith and others asked DHS to increase enforcement of the Real ID Act over a terror suspect apprehended by lawful means."
Crime

Court Rules Dungeons and Dragons Threatens Prison Security 353

Posted by samzenpus from the but-I-want-to-cast-magic-missile dept.
KermodeBear writes "Dungeons and Dragons — originally Satan's Game — has now been found to encourage gang-like behavior. In a finding by a three judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, D&D 'can mimic the organization of gangs and lead to the actual development thereof.' From the ruling: 'during D&D games, one player is denoted the "Dungeon Master." 'The Dungeon Master is tasked with giving directions to other players, which Muraski testified mimics the organization of a gang.'"
Medicine

Engineer Designs His Own Heart Valve Implant 151

Posted by samzenpus from the when-you-want-something-done-right dept.
nametaken writes "In 2000, Tal Golesworthy, a British engineer, was told that he suffers from Marfan syndrome, a disorder of the connective tissue that often causes rupturing of the aorta. The only solution then available was the pairing of a mechanical valve and a highly risky blood thinner. To an engineer like Golesworthy, that just wasn't good enough. So he constructed his own implant that does the job better than the existing solution--and became the first patient to try it."

Comment Who has the upper hand? (Score 1) 997

by PowerVegetable (#34874108) Attached to: Are 10-11 Hour Programming Days Feasible?

Most of the posts so far are of the "you have the upper hand; demand compensation or bail" variety. While this is reasonably sound advice, it all comes down to your current situation. I'd say:

if you're comfortable changing jobs and potentially moving to a new city {

          Propose that you deserve a share in the company, and as a fallback refuse the overtime.

          if that conversation gets adversarial {
                Smile, agree to do your best, and look for a new job.

          } else {
                sweet. You got what you want, make sure its a project you're willing to love and put your heart into it.

          }

} else {
      Suck it up, you're stuck where you are until you find your confidence and feel comfortable with the nuclear solution.
}
Science

Russian Team Prepares To Penetrate Lake Vostok 237

Posted by Soulskill from the in-soviet-russia,-lake-uhh-nevermind dept.
Lanxon writes "Lake Vostok, which has been sealed off from the world for 14 million years, is about to be penetrated by a Russian drill bit. The lake, which lies four kilometers below the icy surface of Antarctica, is unique in that it's been completely isolated from the other 150 subglacial lakes on the continent for such a long time. It's also oligotropic, meaning that it's supersaturated with oxygen — levels of the element are 50 times higher than those found in most typical freshwater lakes."

Comment Symbol of Soviet Power? (Score 1) 226

by PowerVegetable (#33721840) Attached to: Soviet Shuttle Buran Found In a Junk Heap
I'm not sure I'd call Buran a symbol of Soviet power. If i remember correctly, it never had a manned flight and the only fully completed orbiter got just one unmanned flight.

Sure, a complete unmanned demonstration of a return-to-earth spaceship is impressive, but I'd hardly call this thing a "symbol" of anything outside of the Soviet Union's passion for the me-too copycat Space Race.

If I were nominating symbols of the Soviet space program, I'd go with Mir, Sputnik, Venera, Soyuz, Progress, the Proton rocket - all groundbreaking projects and far more important than Buran.
Image

Today's Children Are Officially Potty Mouths 449

Posted by samzenpus from the kids-say-the-#@^*est-things dept.
tetrahedrassface writes "When the Sociolinguistics Symposium met earlier this month swearing scholar Timothy Jay revealed that an increase in child swearing is directly related to an increase in adult swearing. It seems that vulgarity is increasing as pop culture continues to popularize vulgarities. The blame lies with media, public figures, politicians, but mostly ourselves. From the article: 'Children as young as two are now dropping f-bombs, with researchers reporting that more kids are using profanity — and at earlier ages — than has been recorded in at least three decades.'"
Transportation

Airbus Planning Transparent Planes 488

Posted by Soulskill from the or-should-i-just-punch-up-'clear' dept.
goG writes "European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has come up with the idea to build a passenger flight with a completely transparent fuselage. The central body of the aircraft will allow passengers to the see the stars above and city lights below. 'The planes of the future will offer an unparalleled, unobstructed view of the wonders of the five continents — where you will be able see the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower through the transparent floor of the aircraft,' Airbus said while unveiling the concept 'The Future By Airbus' earlier this year."
Biotech

Deleting Certain Gene Makes Mice Smarter 259

Posted by Soulskill from the break-out-the-ribonucleic-scissors dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Deleting a certain gene in mice can make them smarter by unlocking a mysterious region of the brain considered to be relatively inflexible, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found. Mice with a disabled RGS14 gene are able to remember objects they'd explored and learn to navigate mazes better than regular mice, suggesting that RGS14's presence limits some forms of learning and memory."

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