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Comment Sick People Drink Less (Score 1) 470

by Virtualetters (#33427634) Attached to: 3 Drinks a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
I think it is worthwhile considering why people abstain from drinking. Long-term abstention is typically not motivated solely, or even in part, by some moral compass but rather by contraindications. Given the number of potential drug interactions, symptom-exacerbating effects and bodily stresses, stresses which people with life-shortening conditions typically cannot handle well, alcohol is probably not removed from otherwise healthy individuals. This is no different from the observation that people that buy treadmills are fatter than the average. Do treadmills make people fat?
Power

US Navy Tries To Turn Seawater Into Jet Fuel 402

Posted by samzenpus from the ocean-in-the-tank dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "New Scientist reports that, faced with global warming and potential oil shortages, the US Navy is experimenting with making jet fuel from seawater by processing seawater into unsaturated short-chain hydrocarbons that with further refining could be made into kerosene-based jet fuel. The process involves extracting carbon dioxide dissolved in the water and combining it with hydrogen — obtained by splitting water molecules using electricity — to make a hydrocarbon fuel, a variant of a chemical reaction called the Fischer-Tropsch process, which is used commercially to produce a gasoline-like hydrocarbon fuel from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen often derived from coal. The Navy team have been experimenting to find out how to steer the CO2-producing process away from producing unwanted methane by finding a different catalyst than the usual one based on cobalt. 'The idea of using CO2 as a carbon source is appealing,' says Philip Jessop, a chemist at Queen's University adding that to make a jet fuel that is properly 'green,' the energy-intensive electrolysis that produces the hydrogen will need to use a carbon-neutral energy source; and the complex multi-step process will always consume significantly more energy than the fuel it produces could yield. 'It's a lot more complicated than it at first looks.'"
Nintendo

New Super Mario Bros. Wii To Include Official "Cheat" 275

Posted by Soulskill from the i-can-wiin dept.
phlack writes "Yahoo Games has an article describing a new mode in Nintendo's upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii that will allow the player to activate a 'demo' mode to get out of a hard situation. Nintendo plans on incorporating this into future games. Is this a good idea (to help relieve frustrations) or just sanctioned cheating?" They actually patented this system as well.

Comment No NXT? (Score 4, Interesting) 57

by Virtualetters (#26507125) Attached to: The Best Robots of 2008
The engineering introduction to programming course at my university uses Lego NXT robots as a mainstay. Having played around with them, I am amazed at the flexibility. Someone with a little time and dedication could make a pretty decent version of most of the robots in each of the videos. That said, I've seen some great videos of NXT robots this year and was a little disappointed to see none of them in the list. BTW, the Big Dog video's kick moment is probably the highlight of all. I was expecting a little tap but the kicker really goes all out and I almost feel sorry for him when the robot recovers so easily.
Biotech

Bacteria To Protect Against Quakes 81

Posted by kdawson from the shake-them-cilia dept.
Roland Piquepaille writes "If you live near the sea, chances are high that your home is built over sandy soil. And if an earthquake strikes, deep and sandy soils can turn to liquid with disastrous consequences for the buildings built above them. Now, US researchers have found a way to use bacteria to steady buildings against earthquakes by turning these sandy soils into rocks. 'Starting from a sand pile, you turn it back into sandstone,' the chief researcher explained. It is already possible to inject chemicals into the ground to reinforce it, but this technique can have toxic effects on soil and water. In contrast, the use of common bacteria to 'cement' sands has no harmful effects on the environment. So far this method is limited to labs and the researchers are working on scaling their technique. Here are more references and a picture showing how unstable ground can aggravate the consequences of an earthquake."
Businesses

Is Switching Jobs Too Often a Bad Thing? 208

Posted by Cliff from the do-you-have-to-settle-somewhere-careerwise dept.
Career Hot Potato asks: "I've been out of school for little more than a year and I have only good things to say about the job market. So far, there doesn't seem to be any lack of demand for a good .NET developer. I've got to admit, though, I feel a little disloyal at this point. Several great job offers have come my way and I've taken them. My resume is starting to make me look a bit restless and it worries me. Until now I've just chalked it up to 'I'm just settling in,' but now another opportunity has been dropped into my lap. Would I be digging my own grave by taking this job? It'd be my fourth job in 16 months but each offered a promotion and a 30% to 40% raise. I know better than to put a price on job satisfaction but I'm pretty certain I'd be happy there. Is being branded as a 'hot potato' enough to keep you from switching? What's your price on this stigma?"

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