Climate Skeptic Funded By Oil and Coal Companies

Posted by timothy on Thursday June 30, @02:11PM 

from the not-that-I-can-recall-at-this-time-sir-no dept.

Honken writes with a report from The Guardian that"'One of the world's most prominent scientific figures to be sceptical about climate change has admitted to being paid more than $1m in the past decade by major US oil and coal companies.' This somewhat contradicts that [Harvard researcher Willie] Soon in a 2003 US senate hearing said that he had 'not knowingly been hired by, nor employed by, nor received grants from any organisation that had taken advocacy positions with respect to the Kyoto protocol or the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.'"

Why Do We Share Stories, News and Information With Others?

ScienceDaily (June 30, 2011) — People often share stories, news, and information with the people around them. We forward online articles to our friends, share stories with our co-workers at the water cooler, and pass along rumors to our neighbors. Such social transmission has been going on for thousands of years, and the advent of social technologies like texting, Facebook, and other social media sites has only made it faster and easier to share content with others. But why is certain content shared more than others and what drives people to share?

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Did the Chinese Military Use Top Gun Footage?

has the People's Liberation Army signed up Goose and Maverick? Chinese bloggers are accusing state broadcaster CCTV of using re-purposed footage from the 1986 film Top Gun for a story on a recent air force drill.' Is it just me or are communist nations very skilled at embarrassing themselves?"

Assange Handed Sydney Peace Medal

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday May 12, @12:59AM 

from the love-or-hate dept.

hihihihi writes"WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been awarded the Sydney Peace Foundation's Gold Medal for 'exceptional courage in the pursuit of human rights.' It is only the fourth time in the organization's 14-year history that the prize for extraordinary achievement in promoting peace with justice has been given out. Previous winners are Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Japanese Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda. Foundation director Professor Stuart Rees accused the Australian government of demonizing Mr Assange and aiding US efforts to behave like a totalitarian state."

Don't Show, Don't Tell? Direct Instruction Can Thwart Independent Exploration

ScienceDaily (June 30, 2011) — Suppose someone showed you a novel gadget and told you, "Here's how it works," while demonstrating a single function, such as pushing a button. What would you do when they handed it to you?
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A Solar-Powered 3D Printer Prints Glass From Sand

Posted by Unknown Lamer on Tuesday June 28, @03:41PM 

from the print-your-dishes-off-the-grid dept.

Tx-0 writes in with a story in Colossal Art & Design. From the article:"Industrial designer and tinkerer Markus Kayser spent the better part of a year building and experimenting with two fantastic devices that harness the sun's power in some of the world's harshest climates. The first he calls a Sun Cutter, a low-tech light cutter that uses a large ball lens to focus the sun's rays onto a surface that's moved by a cam-guided system. ... Next, Kayser began to examine the process of 3D printing. Merging two of the deserts most abundant resources, nearly unlimited quantities of sand and sun, he created the Solar Sinter, a device that melts sand to create 3D objects out of glass."

Fidgeting Your Way to Fitness

ScienceDaily (June 28, 2011) — Walking to the photocopier and fidgeting at your desk are contributing more to your cardiorespiratory fitness than you might think.

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The Enterprise Is Wrong, Not Mozilla

Posted by CmdrTaco on Tuesday June 28, @11:40AM 

from the beam-me-up-snotty dept.

There's been a lot of noise about Mozilla's new rapid release leading to conflict with Enterprise users. Kethinov found an Ars article that points out that"Now that Mozilla has released Firefox 5, version 4, just three months old, is no longer supported. Enterprise customers aren't very pleased with this decision, and are claiming it makes their testing burden impossible. We're not convinced: we think Mozilla's decision is the right one for the Web itself.'"

Happy Tau Day

The actual site had an interesting argument about why Tau is right and Pi is wrong.


Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday June 28, @10:48AM 

from the look-how-round-it-is dept.

Forget about Pi Day, today we celebrate something twice as good: Tau Day. For far too long, Pi has been the bride and Tau has been the bridesmaid. As Michael Hartl points out in The Tau Manifesto, "Pi is a confusing and unnatural choice for the circle constant." He is giving a talk at the California Institute of Technology based on the Manifesto, with pie served at the end. "Twice as many as you might expect," he says.

Surprising Drop in Physicians' Willingness to Accept Patients With Insurance, U.S. Study Finds

ScienceDaily (June 27, 2011) — As required under the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, millions of people will soon be added to the ranks of the insured. However, this rapid expansion of coverage is colliding with a different, potentially problematic trend that could end up hampering access to health care.

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Brain Rhythm Associated With Learning Also Linked to Running Speed, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (June 24, 2011) — Rhythms in the brain that are associated with learning become stronger as the body moves faster, UCLA neurophysicists report in a new study.

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New Solar Cell: Engineers Crack Full-Spectrum Solar Challenge

ScienceDaily (June 26, 2011) — In a paper published in Nature Photonics, U of T Engineering researchers report a new solar cell that may pave the way to inexpensive coatings that efficiently convert the sun's rays to electricity.

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Video: Intriguing BioShock Infinite Tears Up the Shooter Rulebook

Don't be fooled by the franchise. The only thing BioShock Infinite shares with its predecessor is a captivating aura of mystery.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/8Ozor8guZwo/

Sunspot Drop Won't Cause Global Cooling

News that solar activity might fizzle for a few decades has prompted talk of a new "Little Ice Age," even a quick fix for global warming. But that??s just not going to happen.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/WT3bSzuv7mg/

Scientists study orca ears, employ lasers to create hyper-sensitive underwater microphone

By Brian Heater  posted Jun 27th 2011 5:13AM

There are plenty of reasons to want to monitor what's going on in the ocean, from whale migration, to the recent stylistic resurgence of hot crustacean bands. There are certain inherent difficulties, however, in creating a powerful underwater microphone, namely all of that water you've got to contend with. A team of scientists has taken cues from the design of orca ears, in order to develop a powerful microphone that can work far beneath the waves. The researchers developed membranes 25 times thinner than plastic wrap, which fluctuate as sound is made. In order to operate at extreme depths, however, the microphone must fill with water to maintain a consistent pressure. So, how does one monitor the minute movements of a membrane hampered by the presence of water? Lasers, of course! The hydrophone can capture a 160-decibel range of sounds and operate at depths of 11,000 meters, where the pressure is around 1,100 times what we're used to on earth. So if the orcas themselves ever master the laser, at least we'll be able to hear them coming.