tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20931395381693689572024-03-13T21:18:46.758-07:00Glaring Health Code ViolationsYour Reccomended Daily Allowance of Science, Film, News and Pop CultureUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-43860797015990843822009-03-23T05:23:00.001-07:002009-03-23T05:24:37.087-07:00MovingHey, everyone - glaring health code violations is now at wordpress!<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://ghcv.wordpress.com/">http://ghcv.wordpress.com/</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Tell your friends!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-53871422891703993292008-12-03T21:44:00.000-08:002008-12-03T21:47:51.780-08:00Almost Killed MeHey everyone, sorry for the lack of content recently. I'm in the midst of grad school crunch time, and piled on top of the holidays, something had to give - for the last week or so, that's been this blog. I'll be posting regularly again by late next week, and once the first of the year rolls in and things settle down, regular posts and new features will be the order of the day. Hooray, The Future!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-9362484528540302232008-11-26T11:50:00.000-08:002008-11-26T12:22:36.195-08:00The First Step is Admitting You Have a ProblemWhat have I been doing instead of working on grad school admissions paperwork, like I should be? I've been building towers, bridges and simple machines from enormous, sticky, elated looking amoebas in <em><a href="http://www.2dboy.com/games.php">World of Goo</a></em>, that's what.<br /><br />My latest digital addiction, <em>World of Goo </em>is one of a recent crop of games (like iPhone app <a href="http://mac-free.com/download/Enigma.html"><em>Enigma</em></a>) that is compelling in it's simplicity. It's a sprightly puzzle game that borrows ideas from mid-90's PC puzzlers like <a href="http://www.elizium.nu/scripts/lemmings/"><em>Lemmings</em></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Machine"><em>The Incredible Machine</em></a>. Each level is essentially the same - your goal is to lead a small army of Goos, the sole inhabitants of each sprightly, garishly colored level, to a pipe that will transport them to a collection tube and open the next level. To do this, you turn a portion the legions of critters you've been entrusted with into structures, machines and simple vehicles to transport their brethren to the promised land.<br /><br />The game play is inspired with a shallow learning curve and a lot of room for mastery. A variety of tasks await solving at the hands of skills most of us haven't used since building toothpick bridges and pasta towers in middle school science classes. Laced with with whimsical dark humor and set against beautifully designed stages that call to mind Johnen Vasquez working with Doug Sirk's palette, World of Goo is simple enough to provide a few minutes of time filling puzzle fun to break up the day, but fun and challenging enough to be addictive. Though according to the substance abuse professionals at Dutch rehab center <a href="http://www.smithandjones.nl/">Smith and Jones</a>, addictive probably <a href="http://news.digitaltrends.com/news-article/18506/compulsive-young-gamers-are-not-addicts">isn't the right term</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-49137706943289301692008-11-21T16:18:00.000-08:002008-11-21T20:41:26.530-08:00The Unceasing Nightmare That Is... Winners and LosersThis week has seen significantly more winners than losers. But does that make it a good week? I'll let you be the judge of that. Submitted for your approval, this week's winners and losers, starting, as is becoming habitual, with the winners.<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/11/21/1684978.aspx">American Comedy</a></strong> - On the frozen tundra of Minnesota, former SNL scribe Al Franken continues to close the narrow gap between himself and incumbent Norm Coleman in the North Star States hotly contested senatorial race. The state mandated recount is drawing plenty of fire from <a href="http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/11/senate_recount_6.php">both sides of the aisle</a>, and this one will likely go right down to the wire. But really, whether or not Franken will make a good Senator is not the reason to root for him here. Rather, as a friend of mine pointed out, anything that keeps Al busy with something that's not writing comedy is, by default, a good thing for the world at the end of the day. So hold a good thought that every one's favorite nasally voiced progressive pulls this one out.<br /><br /><a href="http://image.motortrend.com/f/editorial/rip-evel-knievel/7911630+w349+cr1+re0+ar1/evel-knievel.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 349px; height: 457px;" src="http://image.motortrend.com/f/editorial/rip-evel-knievel/7911630+w349+cr1+re0+ar1/evel-knievel.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20081019191517data_trunc_sys.shtml">Disfigured Dudes</a> - As many of us suspected, Evel Knievel was right all along - studies at the University of Liverpool demonstrate that women looking for flings find facial scarring attractive in men. Why? Because it demonstrates high levels of testosterone, a hormone long associated with a subject's overall dudeliness. And since we already know that bones heal and pain is fleeting, can an in depth study of whether glory is, in fact, forever, be far behind? Not in a world of responsible science, it can't.<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12630217">Transplant Patients</a></strong> - Claudia Castillo Sanchez has a new lease on life thanks to a first of it's kind windpipe transplant. What's so special about this particular fleshy tube? Well, if the transplant had been done conventionally, Sanchez's body would likely have rejected the organ. But after Spanish doctors bathed the trachea in stem cells obtained from Sanchez's own cartilage, the 30 year old tuberculosis victim's body had the desired reaction; it mistook the donor trachea for Sanchez's own, and welcomed it to a happy home without complication to thanks to the staggering knuckle-draggers at budget airline <a href="http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/11/stem-cell-trach.html">Easy Jet</a>. So let's hear three cheers for a possible end to those incredibly fucking scary trachea ring microphones, everyone!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=pot-joins-the-fight-against-alzheim-2008-11-19"><strong>Stoners</strong></a> - While gingko biloba may not ward off the effects of Alzheimer's, a University of Ohio study suggests that another herb known to work wonders on the human psyche may have one more use. Indeed, far from bringing on bouts of reefer madness, marijuana, like crossword puzzles, may fight the effects of memory loss and even promote the production of new brain cells. Take that, every after school special and guidance counselor ever! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/uploads/pygmy_tarsier.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 184px; height: 151px;" src="http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/uploads/pygmy_tarsier.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=tiny-primate-rediscovered-in-indone-2008-11-19"><strong>Pygmy Tarsiers</strong></a> - If people thought that you were extinct, and it turned out... not so much? You get counted as a winner. Congratulations to the pygmy tarsier, which has suction cup fingers, can swivel it's head 180 degrees, looks like a living stuffed animal, and has not vanished from the face of the earth after all. Good on, little guys!<br /><br />And now, for this week's loser:<br /><br /><strong>The Entire Fucking Human Race</strong> – The end is nigh! Repent all ye sinners, for the time of judgment is at hand! I know sometimes it seems like everything is out to get us, but right now, it really, really seems like everything is out to get us. First of all, remember those robots in the <em>Terminator</em> flicks? Well, if IBM has it's way, <a href="http://www.technewsworld.com/story/IBM-Academics-Seek-to-Create-a-Computer-Thats-More-Like-Us-65237.html?wlc=1227326714">computers that mimic human brain patterns</a>, but, naturally, in an enhanced manner will be pulling the puppet strings of our pitiful, fleshy society sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, Antarctica continues to threaten the safety of the planet by the mere fact of it's existence. Evidence of <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081119-dark-matter-antarctica.html">dark matter</a> has been found by a helium balloon floating above Antarctica. While this may be evidence of cosmic beams, dark matter, or something else entirely, one thing is for sure - something (we don't know what) that's fairly close to the Earth is emitting particles that we've never seen before. While this isn't necessarily dangerous in itself, taken in conjunction with <a href="http://glaringhealthcodeviolations.blogspot.com/2008/11/phnglui-mglwnafh-cthulhu-rlyeh-wgahnagl.html">this</a> ill-advised trek to Antarctica's ice encrusted, unexplored mountain range, this is almost certainly evidence of a coming cosmic disaster of mind-bending, flesh rending proportions. And if we can somehow defeat legions of rubbery, betentacled star spawn and mad super-computers bent on world domination, we're all probably still doomed. That's because, a few Birkenstock clad trust-funders aside, we all eat food that's covered in pesticides. A <a href="http://foodconsumer.org/7777/8888/Agri_amp_Environ_41/111206582008_Pesticides_risky_when_used_in_combination_watch_produce_you_eat.shtml">new report</a> issued by the University of Pittsburgh warns that some common pesticides may be reasonably safe on their own, but may pose a threat to human health when even they are combined, even at low levels. So, from now on, if you can help it, it would probably be safer for you to not eat anything from anywhere, use an electronic device, or be on the same planet as Antarctica. Cheers!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-32987196191607396982008-11-20T09:50:00.000-08:002008-11-20T10:26:41.326-08:00Back With A BoomGHCV is back from a GRE induced break with the good stuff that readers come for - poop jokes. Enormous, sea bound poop jokes, like <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7727854.stm">this footage</a>, courtesy of the BBC, of a whale shark expelling food waste, caught for the first time on camera. Why no one has tried to capture video of a whale shark dropping the kids off at the world's biggest pool will remain a mystery, but researcher Mark Meekan was as excited as all get out to collect the footage. Meekan also collected a sample of stool from the world's biggest fish that he described as "scientific gold." To each their own, I guess. <br /><br />In other news pertaining to the base biological behavior of natures most perfect killing machines, researchers working with the Census of Marine Life speculate that they may have found an isolated spot in the Pacific Ocean that may serve as a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3411115/Great-white-sharks-look-for-girlfriends-in-underwater-singles-bar-scientists-believe.html">singles bar for great white sharks</a>. The spot draws young male and female sharks from the coastal waters of Mexico and California. Once there, they dive together in what scientists think may be part of a courtship ceremony.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-18276100149272044472008-11-15T23:21:00.000-08:002008-11-15T23:53:47.804-08:00Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn... or So I'm Told.I understand the urge to explore the last unexplored regions of the world. I do. And I get that exploring a huge mountain range buried underneath a sheet of ice is an exceptionally tempting scientific plum. But as anyone who knows their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_the_Mountains_of_Madness">Lovecraft</a>, this is simply not a good idea. <br /><br />Nevertheless, Robin Bell intends to do <a href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=antarctic-expedition-in-search-of-lost-mountains">just that</a>. Bell, a marine geophysicist, will lead an expedition to the Gamburtsev Mountains later this month, purportedly to "image and to understand the ice sheet and the mountain range." And I'm sure that she doesn't want to unleash a flood of repulsive ghouls from beyond the stars upon an unprepared world while she does that. But the most basic tenets of the Cthulu mythos tell us that almost nothing else can happen when well intentioned scientists go poking their noses in places feared by the Elder Things.<br /><br />Bell will keep in touch with <em>Scientific American </em>during her trip, no doubt until the team's last transmission breaks up amid blood-curdling screams and pleas for mercy. But hey, that first Shoggoth sighting is going to be pure media gold... for like ten minutes, until the awakened beasts rush free from their bleak prison at the bottom of the planet, turning the world into a charnel house where the living envy the dead. That's something, right?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-23120438775086585672008-11-14T09:38:00.000-08:002008-11-14T11:36:46.135-08:00The Further Adventures of Winners and LosersWhat's this? A recurring feature? I'm as surprised as you are. Without further ado, I present this weeks winners and losers.<br /><br />First, the winners:<br /><strong><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7726118.stm">AIDS Patients</a></strong> - A Berlin man who suffered from HIV and leukemia shows no signs of either disease after an experimental gene therapy in which he received a bone marrow transplant from an HIV resistant donor. As with any good news about treatments for terminal diseases, this news needs to be taken with a grain of salt, and the results may eventually turn out be a total fluke. But they may also be a big step toward saving a lot of lives the world over. So what's the harm in being guardedly optimistic and giving this one three cheers?<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081107071816.htm">Adolescent Thugs</a></strong> - Why are kids so cruel sometimes? Turns out, the answer may be astonishingly simple: because it feels good. A recent University of Chicago study of aggressive youths showed that, when the subjects were shown video footage of people being hurt, the parts of their brain that reacts to rewards lit up like a Christmas tree. The same results were not repeated in non-aggressive subjects, suggesting that these results do demonstrate some neurological difference rather than a 'Three Stooges effect,' in which subjects feel rewarded by watching people have a piano lid closed on their fingers because... well, it's sort of hilarious. <br /><br /><strong><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/11/09/jupiter-results-exert-strong-pull-on-cardiologists/">Astrozeneca</a></strong> - The pharmaceutical giant with the coolest name was a big winner this week when a study suggested that popular cholesterol reducing statin drugs like AZ's Crestor could dramatically lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes, even in people who don't have high cholesterol. With sites like ABC <a href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6223322&page=1">practically wetting themselves</a> over the study (which, by the way, was <a href="http://www.astrazeneca.com/pressrelease/5385.aspx">sponsored by Astrozeneca and was ended early</a>), sales are bound to skyrocket as doctors are deluged with patients demanding they be fed a drug designed to treat an ailment they don't suffer from. And if history is any teacher, these people will get it. The only question is whether the coming drastic over-prescription of statin drugs will have any negative effects. I mean, what could go <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/03/vytorin-schering-cholesterol-biz-healthcare-cx_mh_0903vytorin.html">wrong</a>?<br /><br />And now for the rest of the story - this weeks losers:<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/38587/title/Supreme_Court_lifts_restriction_on_Navy_sonar_testing">Stupid America Hating Whales</a></strong> - The Supreme Court of the United States has issued a decision this week stating that national security trumps environmental protection. National security here is represented by Navy sonar testing that was halted by a lower court earlier this year after the sonar noise was proven detrimental to the health of local whales. According to SCOTUS, though, the whales, who have been known to suffer from decompression sickness after being driven too swiftly to the surface by the cacophony produced by sonar, are on their own. The Navy, by the same token is now free to keep broadcasting the sweet sounds of pure, uncut sonar freedom into the ocean, and you can bet they're cranking those speakers this week as they train to detect the latest generation of silent running submarines almost certainly destined for our shores right now, using pods of communist gray whales for cover.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7728407.stm"><strong>Russian Churches</strong></a> - Now, I'm an avowed agnostic, if you can be such a thing. I'm also a fairly morally bankrupt guy. But even I have to draw the line somewhere, and it seems like stealing an entire church is just a bit much. I mean, really, you have to be incredibly fucking certain that there is no God to pull something like this, which is becoming more and more common throughout Russia.<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200811/s2418427.htm">The Maldives</a></strong> - And while a few Russian villages might have to invest in new churches, that really does pale in comparison to having to buy an entire new country. That's the situation that the Maldives, the lowest nation in the world, finds themselves in. With climate change pushing sea levels further and further upwards, residents of the island nation are experiencing a distinct sinking feeling. The solution - buy a new country and move the Maldives there! Not to be flippant about a serious situation, but, well... <a href="http://www.snpp.com/episodes/5F09">Simpsons did it</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-10928387365144731072008-11-14T08:54:00.000-08:002008-11-14T09:09:08.655-08:00Parliament! Fight! Parliament! Fight!Eager to prove that monks aren't the only ones who can stage an ill conceived and ultimately embarassing brawl in a completely inappropriate setting, the Ukranian Parliament erupted into a row earlier this week.<br /><br />The fight began when members of the Orange coalition tried to block Victor Yanukovich, the leader of the new parliaments majority coalition, from being named prime minister. Rather than using traditional parliamentary techniques like denying a quorum, however, Orange coalition members engaged in heckling and egg throwing before the chambers of Ukraine's upper house turned into a battle royal.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cD0XZlxKuig&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cD0XZlxKuig&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-62427094926392065992008-11-12T17:11:00.000-08:002008-11-12T18:14:32.469-08:00News Rundown: The Giant Sucking Sound, The Return of the King and a Girl's Two Best FriendsI hope you're in the mood for ominous news, because there's plenty to go around these days. But where to start? How about <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080923104410.htm">these apples</a>: a distant cluster of galaxies is moving at a regular, measurable speed independent of the expansion of the universe, leading some scientists to suspect that it is subject to the massive gravitational pull of matter beyond the observable universe. The phenomenon has been dubbed 'dark flow,' and, since it seems constant across billions of light years, there's good reason to suspect that it affects everything in the visible universe. Yes, even you. Pragmatically, this means astonishingly little, being that the effect works on a cosmic time scale, so by the time this has any effect on out galaxy, we'll all have been dead for eons.So that's something. But it does mean that the next time you have one of those days where you feel like you're being pulled inexorably towards a swirling, unknowable nether region... well, you might be onto something. <br /><br />Jarring news like this is bound to send people scrambling for comfort and tradition. Nowhere is this more clear than Russia, which continued it's <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/3448390/Vladimir-Putin-closes-in-on-presidency.html">unnerving nostalgia for tsarist times</a> this week as the nation's Duma assembly hurried to draft legislation, expected to be handily enacted into law tomorrow, that would extend the term of the Russian presidency from four to six years. This would allow Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to serve up to another twelve years as president, a move that is beginning to look like it may come sooner rather than later. Putin's official return to Russia's highest office was always a foregone conclusion, but it was generally accepted that he would allow current president Dmitry Medvedev to keep his seat warm for a full four year term. In the face of tough economic times and stressful relations with neighbors like Georgia and the international community at large, it would seem likely that the plan has changed, and some Kremlin experts expect that Putin may return to the presidency before the end of the year.<br /><br />On the other hand, science has finally mastered that most sought after of all alchemical wonders... the transmutation of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7725815.stm">tequila into diamonds</a>. Sure, you need an electron microscope to see the diamonds that are produced, but what do you really expect for a jewel that's been synthetically crafted from $3 a bottle hooch? Though considering the state of the economy at the moment, reversing the process may end up being more cost efficient and practical in not too long.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-68113216101736773462008-11-10T17:44:00.000-08:002008-11-14T09:38:35.943-08:00I'm on Standby<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/761117.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 360px;" src="http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/761117.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />After one last gasp of transmissions from Mars just over a week ago, the latest NASA probe, Phoenix, seems to have finally <a href="http://arstechnica.com/journals/science.ars/2008/11/10/nasas-phoenix-lander-stops-phoning-home-from-mars">succumbed</a> to the overwhelming cold and darkness of the approaching martian winter.<br /><br />The mission, which lasted about two months longer than anyone expected and gathered a wealth of new information on Mars' polar region, was a success by any measure, recording snowfall on Mars as well as analyzing soil and ice samples that suggest a history of liquid water on Mars. But with no sunlight to power its solar batteries, it's more than likely that Phoenix has, at this point, become a permanent part of the equally dead martian landscape, prompting the cessation of operations today by NASA officials, who, like a bad ex, will continue to call regularly, not really expecting the probe to answer.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-75739095685205845032008-11-10T14:02:00.000-08:002008-11-10T14:35:45.923-08:00Gladiators...Ready!In an apparent attempt to beat back the beast known as Hulu, MGM reached a <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i2a6531019c4147a6d63ee7eba2fde601">deal with YouTube</a> today to provide full length films and TV shows from the the MGM archives on the seminal video sharing site.<br /><br />Getting to watch TV for free on the Internet is more or less yesterday's news at this point, and this would be too, except for one thing. MGM's first addition to YouTube will be an "action programming" channel whose flagship show will be classic episodes of the original run of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gladiators">American Gladiators</a>. So for everyone who's been watching the relaunch and saying "Yeah, this is cool, but all I really want to see is Nitro freak out and absolutely wreck a dude at the end of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_&_Conquer">Breakthrough and Conquer</a>," your time is at hand. <br /><br />One more note on this happy bit of staged-violence flavored news - I don't know who is responsible for sending out the MGM press releases that all the news organizations are regurgitating that note that two classic movies to be shown on YouTube courtesy of the deal are <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054047/">The Magnificent Seven</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245803/">Bulletproof Monk</a></em>. In point of fact, that constitutes one classic movie and one absolute suckfest starring <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005405/">Stifler</a>, which has no business being mentioned in the same sentence as the greatest Western of all time.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-57873547119337214342008-11-09T21:01:00.000-08:002008-11-09T21:56:41.704-08:00Now Challenging Maxim for Bathroom Reading SupremacyHave you ever found yourself wondering just what the difference between blackwater and graywater? How to modify your ho-hum outhouse into a fabulous fossa alterna? Or are you finally ready to install your own septic system, but don't know where to start?<br /><br />Look no further than the brand new <a href="http://www.eawag.ch/organisation/abteilungen/sandec/publikationen/publications_sesp/downloads_sesp/compendium_high.pdf">Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies</a>, a free 158 page tome with more information on the staggering, gag inducing rainbow of diversity that is human waste and it's various methods of disposal than any work of literature since <a href="http://www.kanemiller.com/book.asp?sku=25"><em>Everyone Poops</em></a>. From humble holes in the ground to sophisticated sewer systems, the Compendium is the ultimate 'How-To' on sanitation technology, breaking down the pros and cons of every type of toilet, waste transportation and sewage treatment system known to mankind and providing all the knowledge you need to build one from the ground up.<br /><br />Irresistible lowbrow humor aside, the Compendium, published in part by the <a href="http://www.wsscc.org/">Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council</a> promises to be a valuable resource for engineers and planners throughout the developing world, where waterborne diseases are responsible for as many as one of every ten reported illnesses.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-56333412374667981462008-11-09T14:22:00.000-08:002008-11-09T15:19:57.006-08:00Monk! Fight! Monk! Fight!This probably isn't the most hilarious thing I've ever seen, but I'm hard pressed to come up with anything that beats it off the top of my head. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem plays host to this bench-clearing brawl between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks that would do the NHL proud.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ypPxGL62dUY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ypPxGL62dUY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />The fight started over a standing quarrel between the Greek and Armenian monks, who share an often tense responsibility for the church with four other sects. After a Greek monk apparently attempted to occupy the Edicule, which is purported to hold Christ's tomb, during the Armenian monks' celebration of the Feast of the Cross. What began as a peaceful protest swiftly degenerated into an old fashioned donnybrook - featuring the servants of God. Though to be fair, if you're going to get engaged in fisticuffs over something, who gets to hang out with Jesus is a pretty solid bone of contention.<br /><br />Will the pope be handing down suspensions and fines to the monks involved? And who's side is God on here? We may never know these answers, but one thing is for certain: as noble as living one's life in devoted and pious service to God is, the dude in the red robe missed his true calling as a cage fighter. Just sayin'.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-24116826573278420292008-11-06T11:36:00.000-08:002008-11-07T16:56:35.385-08:00Snap Judgment: Zack and Miri Make a Porno<a href="http://www.geekforcefive.com/images/uploads/zack-and-miri-make-a-porno_seth-rogen_elizabeth-banks.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 490px; height: 326px;" src="http://www.geekforcefive.com/images/uploads/zack-and-miri-make-a-porno_seth-rogen_elizabeth-banks.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1007028/">Zack and Miri Make a Porno</a></em> is the latest film from Kevin Smith, and in some ways, that's all you really need to know about it. In other words, if you like Kevin Smith movies, you'll probably like <em>Zack and Miri</em>, which stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as the quintessential Kevin Smith movie couple - a pair of lifelong friends working dead end jobs (badly) and dutifully avoiding anything resembling an adult responsibility. And naturally, they're also totally in love with each other, even though they would never admit it, and, due to being sort of putzy, convincingly don't seem to know it. <br /><br />Being a Kevin Smith movie, <em>Zack and Miri Make a Porno</em> features a cast of adults in various stages of badly arrested development swearing a lot and making dick and fart jokes. There are awkward confessions of love and long rants in which characters loudly reprimand themselves for cramming a seeming lifetime of poor decisions and fuck-uppery into only their late twenties. Since the film revolves around the titular making of a porno, there are plenty of boob shots sure to get the seal of approval from the adolescents and adolescents-at-heart (yes, myself included) who make up Smith's bread and butter audience. Then there are some more dick and fart jokes, the power gets turned off, and somebody gets their face shat on. And for the most part, it's pretty goddamned hilarious. But just below the veneer of this mostly by the numbers romantic comedy is a genuinely touching love letter to independent filmmaking and the power it has to change lives.<br /><br />It's this subtle sweetness, along with strong performances all around by a cast including porn icon Traci Lords that keeps <em>Zack and Miri Make a Porno</em> from collapsing into a goofy, scatalogical melange and keeps things rolling along for a mostly enjoyable film. That's not to say it's without problems, as evidenced by the stumbling, stereotypical portrayals of black and gay characters in the film, an especially disappointing turn of events in light of the fact that Smith has proven before, most notably in <em>Chasing Amy</em>, that he's capable of penning smart, convincing gay and black characters. It's just that he chooses not to here, and it's a loss to th film. But mostly, things stay above the board in <em>Zack and Miri</em> and audiences are left with a lowbrow, hilarious mirror image of what Michel Gondry's <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799934/"><em>Be Kind, Rewind</em></a> might have been - an homage to the beauty of filmmaking, and the capacity of creating to help us find who we are. With poop jokes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-54253685462498212772008-11-06T08:51:00.000-08:002008-11-06T10:43:03.967-08:00The Week's Other Winners and LosersIn the wake of Tuesday's historic U.S. presidential election, it would be easy to overlook the rest of the weeks news, but there were a few other big victories and notable setbacks this week. <br /><br />Let's start with the winners:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-11/dino-aged-reptile-makes-comeback">Old School Reptiles</a> - A nest of tuatara eggs was discovered in a wildlife sanctuary near Wellington, New Zealand. This marks the first evidence of wild breeding of tuataras on the main island in nearly two centuries, and could be the start of a comeback for this ancient reptile which has been on the verge of extinction since the introduction of Polynesian rats to it's habitat in the 1700's. Kudos to you, you dragon-like reptile with a scale covered third eye, and many happy returns.<br /><br /><a href="http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn15111-cloning-resurrects-longdead-mice.html">Endangered Species and Potential Woolly Mammoths</a> - Japanese scientists at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology have successfully cloned a mouse from cells that had been frozen for 16 years. While earlier similar experiments have also proven successful, this is the first time that a clone has been created from cells not chemically treated for preservation. This is one more small step forward in cloning technology that could rescue critically endangered species from extinction with just a cabinet freezer and a Hefty bag, according to Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology. It may not be glamorous, but hey, don't knock results, right?<br />Less pragmatically, it means that the future cloning of long extinct but preserved animals "is no longer science fiction," according to Teruhiko Wakayama, the project's leader. Sadly, Michael Crichton won't be around to see it. <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96689392">R.I.P.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/153373/tech_groups_applaud_fcc_white_spaces_vote.html">The Internet</a> - While Barack Obama and Democrats nationwide were busily wiping the floor with an ailing GOP, the FCC unanimously approved the opening of the existing 'white space' TV spectrum to broadband providers. The opening of the spectrum, which can deliver a more powerful, Uber-Wi-Fi signal without significantly interfering with television broadcasts, may well usher in a new generation of peer to peer wireless devices and, more importantly, provide under served rural and urban areas with affordable, reliable Internet access.<br /><br />And lest we get to full of ourselves, a reminder that even after a good week, things ain't all rainbows and kittens. Here's a small selection of the week's losers:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/30/AR2008103004749.html?hpid=topnews">The Environment, At Least in the U.S.</a> - No Longer content simply to fiddle while Rome burns, the Bush administration is spending it's waning days in power taking a flame thrower to federal environmental protections. The administration's current proposals include easing power plant emissions standards, giving a helping hand to the incredibly hazardous practice of mountaintop coal mining and, oh yeah, lowering safety standards for drinking water. So for all you liberals rejoicing in an Obama win and asking "How much damage can Bush do in less than three months?" - the answer is quite a lot, especially since the proposed rules may prove exceptionally difficult to undo. <br /><br /><a href="http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/36514">European Particle Physicists</a> - Illinois' Tevatron particle accelerator may have stolen some thunder from CERN's Large Hadron Collider when it's CDF experiment released a 70 page paper detailing a statistically significant number of experiments which suggest the presence of previously undetected fundamental particles. It's very early to think that they've actually discovered a new particle or process, especially considering that nearly a third of the experiment's 600 participants refused to sign the paper, suggesting that more testing needed to be done. But to their credit, CDF isn't making any claims - they're just presenting a set of data that's interesting, exciting, and could be a huge discovery. And could also be nothing - time will tell.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20081005200759data_trunc_sys.shtml">Fantastic Four Fans</a> - A manned trip to Mars just got a lot safer for astronauts, as researchers have used computer simulations to show that a portable magnetic field generator that could be easily worked into spacecraft design would likely protect the ship's crew from the hazardous effects of 'space weather' they would almost certainly encounter during the lengthy trip to the red planet. And while I'm all for protecting these brave explorers from bombardment by solar wind and cosmic rays, one has to wonder - who's going to save the planet from an army of long forgotten underground beasts when these folks return without super powers?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-11022115471343405842008-11-03T22:25:00.000-08:002008-11-03T22:46:55.832-08:00ICC/USF Vote Nixed - White Space To Go Ahead...Probably?It looks like rural cell phone providers will get their wish, or at least a stay of execution - a vote on a <a href="http://www.billingworld.com/articles/regulatory/fcc-cancels-divisive-icc-usf-vote.html">big revamp</a> of the structure of the telecom industry has been put off until December, when a lame duck FCC will presumably be too busy getting their resumes in order to make any big decisions.<br /><br />But despite the best efforts of strange bedfellows Dolly Parton and Axl Rose, it appears that FCC Chair Kevin Martin hasn't buckled on at least one point - the vote on whether to allow <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=94015">white space</a> between TV channels to be and used for wireless computing, a move that could mark a great leap forward in broadband accessibility, will take place tomorrow. With proof-of-concept results arriving last month that demonstrated that wireless computing could, with proper safeguards in place, take place on the 'white space' spectrum without interfering with TV or wireless microphone signals, the FCC looks poised to open the spectrum and allow comunications companies to start playing in a new sandbox. <br /><br />The upside is that higher quality internet access could be provided to underserved communities across the nation. The downside is that the wireless microphones used by NFL coaches and evangelical mega-church pastors may be adversely affected, making for more exciting, entertaining Sundays all around. Sounds like a chance worth taking.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-54273753943407582872008-11-03T20:50:00.000-08:002008-11-03T21:44:00.576-08:00Secretary in Charge of Ray Guns, Cloning, and Complaining About VistaThe American Association for the Advancement of Science has sent a <a href="http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2008/media/1031letters/letter_science_advisor_mccain.pdf">letter</a> to Senators Obama and McCain, urging whoever becomes the next President to appoint a cabinet level science adviser, and to do so by Inauguration Day. The AAAS hopes that the next President will "...seek out and rely upon sound scientific and technological advice I and <em>often</em> in the next administration." It's a stance on good science that has been profoundly lacking over the past eight years, with topics like stem cell research and climate change treated as political fodder rather than valid scientific issues.<br /><br />With McCain choosing a woman who thinks genetic testing on <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5055304.ece">fruit flies</a> is some sort of cockamamie scheme put together by the French and may not believe in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCXqKEs68Xk">dinosaurs</a>, it's no surprise that the GOP candidate has been fairly quiet on the role good science would play in shaping the policies of a McCain administration. But how would this position mesh with the Chief Technology Officer position that Obama would create in <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2008/db20081019_258155.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_telecom">his cabinet</a>? <br /><br />Poorly.<br /><br />The CTO cabinet position would be primarily an economic advisory one, concerned mainly with job creation via the expansion of broadband Internet throughout the nation, a much less holistic position than the one being urged by the AAAS. Though one of the top presumptive candidates for the position, Princeton computer science and public affairs professor Ed Felten (who has not officially been approached) assumes that the position would also act as a "cybersecurity czar" of sorts. But with it's main focus being entrepreneurial and it's technological aspects leaning heavily towards communications, the CTO isn't exactly what the AAAS had in mind. It remains to be seen if an Obama administration would be open to the addition of <strong>another</strong> new cabinet post concerned with biotech, burgeoning green energy technologies and the rest of the science world that's easily as important to both policy and economic development in the U.S., and how these advisers would interact with the heads of current bodies like the FCC and FDA.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-58259800551083423732008-10-31T18:19:00.001-07:002008-10-31T18:59:27.438-07:00R.I.P. StudsIt really sucks when national tragedies occur on days that are important to you, as my friend Scott, born on September 11, will no doubt aver. I had never really been able to share the sensation until today, when Studs Terkel died at his home in Chicago.<br /><br />Terkel was a legendary oral historian, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, the unofficial poet laureate of the working class and a tireless proponent of worker's rights. Having grown up near Chicago, Terkel was something of a hero to me, one of those grizzled old icons I wanted to be when I grew up. I kinda still do, and if you want to know why, Studs' classic Working is a good place to start,a phenomenal series of interviews with people from all walks of life. And for a much more through obit of this icon, try <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94573985">this rememberance</a> from NPR's All things Considered.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-31603812621950641592008-10-31T15:08:00.000-07:002008-10-31T17:39:14.269-07:00Dog of Yore, meet... The DOG OF TOMORROW!!!Earlier this month, the timeline for the first known dogs was pushed back more than 15,000 years with the identification of a huge, probably domesticated <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/10/17/paleolithic-dog-skull.html">dog</a> in Belgium. The specimen, which subsisted on large game animals like musk ox and horses, places the first dates of domestic dogs into the Upper Paleolithic, though some evidence suggests that this may have ultimately been an early and not wholly successful attempt at domestication, thus explaining why domesticated dogs appear and vanish in the fossil record. <br /><br />Meanwhile, it's become clear that the future of the dog may not be the <a href="http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/griffon.htm">Brussels Griffon</a>, as previously thought. It may not even be flesh and blood, if the mad thinker's at the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) have their way. In addition to changes in the <a href="http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/10/bigdog-20.html">BigDog project</a>, a robotic pack mule designed to lighten soldiers loads on long humps in treacherous terrain, the big brains at DARPA have added another <a href="http://robots.net/article/2674.html">canid inspired robot</a> to their wish list, which also includes a <a href="http://www.janes.com/defence/land_forces/news/jdw/jdw030218_1_n.shtml">stimulant</a> that can keep commando's awake in the field for days on end without any unfortunate side effects. <br /><br />The <a href="http://www.dodsbir.net/SITIS/display_topic.asp?Bookmark=34565">latest proposal</a> calls for a series of smaller, ideally autonomous robots which would operate in packs of 3-5, carrying out search and rescue missions, doing reconnassaince work and pursuing the occasional "non-cooperative human subject." <br />Those of you looking for a Christmas present that will blow poor <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGDoKWgp59s">AIBO</a> out of the water, can see BigDog in action below. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/W1czBcnX1Ww&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/W1czBcnX1Ww&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-24275715218252999922008-10-29T18:04:00.000-07:002008-10-30T22:13:58.449-07:00The Fourth Quarter DriveNews from the land of "Better Late Than Never" - as the Obama campaign concentrates on (and struggles?) to bring young and first time voters to the polls sooner rather than later, Errol Morris has launched <a href="http://www.peopleinthemiddleforobama.org/">People in the Middle for Obama</a>, a late in the day ad campaign that hopes to push remaining fence-sitters into the Democratic camp.<br /><br />The site features Errol Morris' interviews with "real people" in the center of the political spectrum, telling the filmmaker and viewers why they are voting for Barack Obama. Each interview with a self identified Democrat or Republican voter is framed by the same featureless white backdrop and simple, carousel style musical tune, displaying Morris' signature minimalist style. But content-wise, there's really not a lot new here, with voters talking about being tired of negative campaigning, scared of the state of the economy, etc. And even stylistically, these shorts pale in comparison to Morris' body of <a href="http://errolmorris.com/commercials.html">short works</a>, like <a href="http://errolmorris.com/commercials/miller/miller_mayo.html"><em>Mayo</em></a>, which was somehow overlooked for an Oscar.<br /><br />Meanwhile, not to be outdone by Errol Morris, a groups of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7699066.stm">Peruvian medicine men</a> has thrown their support behind Obama as well, the BBC reports. And while they may not be a huge constituency here in the states, if there are shamans out there practicing magic and dispelling evil spirits, it's good to know that they're on your side, right?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-71755668472935870662008-10-28T22:14:00.000-07:002008-10-28T22:57:11.884-07:00Goodnight, Sweet PrinceI always kind of wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, but that had less to do with any passion for space travel than it did with one simple fact: astronauts got all the cool toys. Pens that wrote upside down. Freeze dried everything. Tang. Adult diapers that you apparently get to take home with you. The bells and whistles that NASA supplied for it's intrepid explorers were always second to none. Case in point - <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7669286.stm">this artificial intelligence therapy program</a>. <br /><br />Created by a former astronaut who now teaches space medicine, the program combines animation, video and audio elements to recreate or summarize difficult or hazardous situations encountered by veteran astronauts. The program is meant to aid in decision making, relationship management and controlling depression in the high pressure environment of a space flight by putting trainees into tough situations and letting their choices make the situation better or worse, a method of training and therapy that should be familiar to anyone who has ever read a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure">Choose Your Own Adventure</a> book. <br /><br />The results of these tests won't be available to the public, of course, but in my heart of hearts, I like to believe that astronauts aren't that different from the rest of us, and that the first round of testing will be devoted to it's only logical use: seeing how fast you can bring the International Space Station plummeting in a fiery ball back to earth.<br /><br />And as one means of computerized therapy enters the space age, another goes the way of the dodo as JVC <a href="http://www.electronichouse.com/article/jvc_to_kill_standalone_vcrs/C157">ends production</a> of standalone VCRs, bringing an end to an era in home entertainment. Somewhere, the guy who invented Beta max is smiling grimly and snickering to himself. I shared a lot of good time with a lot of VCRs, from the first time I ever saw <em>Batman</em> to the copy of <em>Pulp Fiction</em> that played perpetually in my first apartment. And as a longtime video store clerk, I get to watch one of my few pragmatic, handyman style skills - dismantling fixing, cleaning and reassembling a VCR - be rendered obsolete before i even turn thirty. <br /><br />For hardcore VHS fans (you know you're out there) and those who are just reluctant to own copies of Con Air on two separate formats, you'll still be able to get combo players that play DVD and VHS formats. But let's face it - it's just not the same. <br /><br />I've had friends argue that VHS will never really fade out, and will instead come to fill a home entertainment niche similar to the turntable, becoming a staple in hipster pads everywhere, treasured for it's retro cool and nigh-indestructible recordings. I see where they're coming from, especially when it comes to valuing a medium that can take a beating - I've seen people take some truly heinous actions against VHS tapes, with no discernible damage to the film, something that DVDs But considering how consolidated home entertainment is becoming, from gaming consoles that double as movie players to directly streaming HD video at your fingertips, even the discreet, archaic, indie charm of the VCR may not be enough to keep it in favor forever. <br /><br />Rest well, good friend.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-49367240888880205312008-10-24T17:10:00.000-07:002008-10-24T17:40:11.149-07:00Bird Eating Spiders and and Particle Physics - Wicked Awesome<a href="http://www.cairns.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2008/10/23/birdy2usu.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 493px;" src="http://www.cairns.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2008/10/23/birdy2usu.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />First, the wicked - an unlucky Chestnut-breasted Mannikin gets snared in the web of an abnormally large <a href="http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/inverts/nephila.htm">golden orb spider</a>, which looks like something out of <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120201/">Starship Troopers</a></em>. <br />What happens next is more or less undocumented, as the spider wrestles and then <a href="http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2008/10/23/11601_local-news.html">devours the bird</a>, all caught on camera by an Australian retiree whose backyard hosted this scene of pure badassery. You can see a gallery of the rest of the pictures <a href="http://tools.cairns.com.au/photo_gallery/photo_gallery_popup.php?category_id=3825">here</a>.<br /><br />Now, the awesome. I had forgotten all about this until a friend brought it up again at work, and reminded me that it is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen. Everything a layman needs to know about particle physics, dark matter, how the Large Hadron Collider works (when it works) and what it's for, nestled in the warm bosom of five minutes of astonishingly good rap.<br />Enjoy.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/j50ZssEojtM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j50ZssEojtM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-34155304289032157302008-10-24T07:14:00.000-07:002008-10-24T07:34:05.501-07:00Hell Hath No Fury...Like a woman digitally scorned. Or at least like <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081023/ap_on_fe_st/as_japan_avatar_murder">this Japanese woman</a>, who, following her divorce in the strange and precocious online world of <a href="http://www.maplestory.com/">Maple Story</a>, used her former in-game heartthrob's password to send his avatar <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7glAsly-USE&NR=1">to the cornfield</a>. <br /><br />This is why your MMO load screen always tells you never to give out your account information. Because online, spurned lovers can blink you right out of existence, which one would have to assume they can't do in real life, being that I am still here.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-37990136006458181752008-10-23T16:29:00.000-07:002008-10-23T18:05:18.516-07:00Drugs Are Bad - And So Are Fish, ProbablyDispatches from the realm of "Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't" - quitting smoking is now officially hazardous to your health. With deaths and <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122469442058758861.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">drug reactions</a> reaching an all time quarterly high, Pfizer's stop smoking aid Chantix led the pack, with more than a 1,000 incidents attributed to it, including vivid dreams, mood swings, blackouts and traffic accidents. Chantix, which works by blocking the pleasurable effects of nicotine from reaching a smoker's brain has also been linked to suicide attempts and depression, which Pfizer executives have been eager to pass off as symptoms of smoking withdrawal, rather than fairly routine side effects of a drug that keeps pleasure from entering your brain.<br /><br />Also now bad for you - <a href="http://www.patagoniatimes.cl/content/view/669/1">Chilean farmed salmon</a>, which recently tested positive for crystal violet, and anti fungal agent that has been tenatively linked to... drumroll please ... bladder cancer! <br /><br />But more dangerous and also cooler than both the smoking and fish living their entire life spans coralled in filthy, infected tropical waters is the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/10/23/bloodhound.world.speed.record/?iref=mpstoryview">Bloodhound SSC</a>, the plans for which were presented today at London's Science Museum. If all goes right, this rocket car, powered by a jet engine, will reach speeds upwards of 1,000 miles per hour, breaking the world land speed record and setting a new bar for the very conept of awesome.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093139538169368957.post-82586704013101073732008-10-22T06:00:00.000-07:002008-10-22T06:34:10.612-07:00ExoMars Takes a StaycationWhile India's first <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7679818.stm">lunar probe</a> zips through the stratosphere toward glory, the European Space Agency's <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7677349.stm">ExoMars Rover</a> will look on jealously from the ground, which is where it will be for at least the next eight years after the mission, scheduled for 2013, was pushed back three more years. The reason behind this latest postponement is the same behind the recent dulling of ambitious projects worldwide - money, money, money.<br /><br />Since it's inception as a simple, bare bones mission to the Red Planet, the ExoMars Rover has been run through a space version of Pimp My Ride, acquiring advanced labarotory capabilities to analyze the martian environment, as well as a drill to take deeper core samples. All these bells and whistles have caused the cost of the project to balloon from an initial estimate of 650 million euros to 1.2 billion euros as of today. Italy, who has taken the lead on financing the project, has cried uncle, and since no other nation has ponied up to help the ExoMars Rover liftoff, the rover is in a holding pattern for now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0