Monday, September 15, 2008

Irradiation, nothing to be scared of?

by PATRICIA MAYVILLE-COX
Sep 15th 2008 @ 11:02AM

Filed under: Food, Health

The New York Times editorial page tackled the subject of irradiated foodrecently. In late August, the FDA approved the use of ionizing radiation to kill bacteria on spinach and lettuce. Sounds kind of scary, but according to the FDA, the World Health Organization, the CDC, and the AMA, irradiation is a safe way to kill deadly bugs like E. coli, salmonella and listeria. Irradiation is already approved for use in meat, poultry, spices, oysters, clams and mussels.

However, the NY Times editorial cautions that irradiation is not a "magic bullet," as the approved doses are not strong enough to kill some bugs responsible for food poisoning outbreaks, urging the development of comprehensive food safety programs.

Foods treated with irradiation need to be labeled with a radura symbol and the words "radiated" or "irradiated." However, there is a proposal before the FDA to lift that requirement.

Consumer safety groups disagree with the FDA's approval of irradiation, such as Joel Mendelson of The Center for Food Safety. In a recent letter to the WSJ, Mendelson writes that irradiation is just a "quick fix" and doesn't deal with the real problems in food safety.

In the meantime, here are 12 Raw Food Safety Tips, to help you eat your fruits and veggies a bit more safely.

Extra freezer sales going up

by PATRICIA MAYVILLE-COX
Sep 15th 2008 @ 10:30AM

Filed under: Home

Extra freezer sales are going up, up, up, according to recent sales data reported in an AP article. Across the country, people bought more than 1.1 million extra freezers during the first six months of 2008, up more than 7% from the same period last year, according to the NPD group.

The reason for the boom, according to experts cited, is the economy. People are trying to buy in bulk in order to save money, and also to conserve gas consumed in multiple trips. Almost half of U.S. households already have a freezer chest or upright freezer, separate from the standard refrigerator-freezer combo in their kitchens. Such freezers come in a wide range of prices, anywhere from $150 to $800.

Freezers, of course, consume loads of energy, so before you buy one, you want to make sure you are really going to use it. According toUmbra at Grist, it's better to have one large fridge or freezer than two. If you are going to buy an extra freezer, make sure it is going to be full most of the time. And of course, make sure you look for an Energy Star model.

I am kind of surprised that half of U.S. households already have an extra freezer. Who knew? Do you have an extra freezer, or is your current one just fine as it is?

[Via Planet Save]

10 Years of Translated Bin Laden Messages Leaked

Posted by kdawson on Monday September 15, @02:27AM

from the portraits-in-extremism dept.

DragonFire1024 lets us know that Wikileaks has obtained 10 years of messages and interviews by Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda. The documents were translated and the messages and interviews were authenticated by the US CIA."The nearly three hundred page, 'official use only' packet from 2004, translated by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service, a division of the CIA, includes interviews with bin Laden from various news agencies and also includes messages he sent directly to the US from the periods of 1994 to 2004. One message includes bin Laden's denial of having anything to do with the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania."

[+] censorship (tagging beta)

Brightest Stellar Explosion Heralds New Type Of Long-distance Astronomy

ScienceDaily (Sep. 15, 2008) — A flash of light that blinded even small telescopes six months ago was the brightest astronomical explosion ever observed - visible to the naked eye despite originating halfway across the universe.

Scientists Watch As Listener's Brain Predicts Speaker's Words

ScienceDaily (Sep. 15, 2008) — Scientists at the University of Rochester have shown for the first time that our brains automatically consider many possible words and their meanings before we've even heard the final sound of the word.

The 'Satellite Navigation' In Our Brains

ScienceDaily (Sep. 15, 2008) — Our brains contain their own navigation system much like satellite navigation ("sat-nav"), with in-built maps, grids and compasses, neuroscientist Dr Hugo Spiers told the BA Festival of Science at the University of Liverpool on September 11.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Got the e-mail that my copy of Spore shipped!

Me sooo excited even though the EULA has some problems IMHO.

News from the Japanese banking world

Following last week's news that Origami Bank had folded, we are hearing that
Sumo Bank has gone belly up, and Bonsai Bank plans to cut back some of its branches.
Karaoke Bank is up for sale, and it is (you guessed it!) going for a song.

Meanwhile, shares in Kamikaze Bank have nose-dived, and 500 back-office staff at
Karate Bank got the chop. Analysts report that there is something fishy going on at
Sushi Bank, and staff there fear they may get a raw deal.

Drunk Animals

Every Satellite Tracked In Realtime Via Google Earth

Posted by kdawson on Friday September 05, @09:12AM

from the bejeweled-coterie dept.

Matt Amato writes"With the recent discussion of the ISS having to dodge some space junk, many people's attention has once again focused on the amount of stuff in orbit around our planet. What many people don't know is that USSTRATCOM tracks and publishes a list of over 13,000 objects that they currently monitor, including active/retired satellites and debris. This data is meaningless to most people, but thanks to Analytical Graphics, it has now been made accessible free of charge to anyone with a copy of Google Earth. By grabbing the KMZ, you can not only view all objects tracked in real-time, but you can also click on them to get more information on the specific satellite, including viewing it's orbit trajectory. It's an excellent educational tool for the space-curious. Disclaimer: I not only work for Analytical Graphics, but I'm the one that wrote this tool as a demo."

Pittsburg Alzimers reaserch Center

I have meant to write this for a while, sorry it took me soo long. Apperently Pittsburg has a well respected Alzimers facility. Here is the link: http://www.adrc.pitt.edu/. Here is a link to an Alzimers Blog: http://www.alzheimersupport.com/. This has a link to a study that I saw on a PBS show about a dye test for Alzimers, here is the link to the Article: http://www.alzheimersupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/id/2230/

Seinfeld and Gates pair up for intense shoe-fitting session, cryptic advertisement

by Paul Miller, posted Sep 4th 2008 at 9:51PM

As promised, Gates and Seinfeld made their television pair-up debut tonight, in an advertisement for something or other. We were sad to see Seinfeld sans-bee suit, and Gates is lacking in Costanza-isms, but we might just be looking at a beautiful friendship here. Video is after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Bisphenol-A: Maybe not-so-safe after all

by PATRICIA MAYVILLE-COX
Sep 4th 2008 @ 9:30AM

Filed under: Health, Kids and Parenting

Two weeks ago, the FDA declared bisphenol-A, a plasticizer used in some hard plastic food containers, including some baby bottles, safe, at least in the small amounts that leak out during use.

However, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) begs to differ. The National Toxicology Program is a division of the National Institutes of Health. The National Toxicology Program has rated the chemical as a "three" or of "some concern" on a five-point scale, with five representing "very concerned."

The NTP panel looked at the chemical's effects on reproduction and development, including looking at lab animal studies. While the FDA is the regulator of chemicals in food, it says it will take the NTP findings into account when it meets again this month to discuss bisphenol-A.

What to do? Again, it's up to you. While bisphenol-A is found in many places, baby bottles might be the most disturbing. If you do need to use a baby bottle, there are plenty of bisphenol-A- free options out there. The choice is yours, for now.

[Via Daily Green]

Gallery: Breastfeeding gear ... besides the obvious

Brain Cells Observed Summoning a Memory

Posted by timothy on Friday September 05, @01:29AM

from the can-we-say-frickin'-amazing? dept.

Anti-Globalism writes"Scientists have for the first time recorded individual brain cells in the act of summoning a spontaneous memory, revealing not only where a remembered experience is registered but also, in part, how the brain is able to recreate it."

The Electronic Bastille

Posted by timothy on Friday September 05, @04:19AM

from the panoptiquonnes dept.

smooth wombat writes"Imagine a database whose aim is to centralize and analyze data on people aged 13 or above who are active in politics or labor unions, who play a significant institutional, economic, social or religious role, or who are 'likely to breach public order.' At first glance one might think the country in question is Russia or Zimbabwe but the truth is, it's a democratic nation which is implementing this database. Specifically, France. Now, with the summer break over and as the people of France return to work, there is a small but growing movement to storm this electronic Bastille. Michel Pezet, a lawyer and former member of a body charged with protecting French citizens from electronic prying, had this to say about this new data-gathering law: 'The Edvige database has no place in a democracy. There is nothing in the decree that sets limits or a framework. Whether the database is used with or without moderation depends only on orders from up high. The electronic Bastille is upon us.'"

[+] database, government, privacy, !freedom (tagging beta)

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Redesigned, Bulkier Honda Insight to Challenge Prius

Journal written by u-bend (1095729) and posted by timothy on Thursday September 04, @10:36PM

from the identical-cousins dept.

In what probably amounts to good news for consumers eyeing a hybrid for their next vehicle purchase, Honda is resurrecting the "Insight" name, this time in the form of a five-seat, Prius-like hatchback. The automaker's announcement included the tantalizing statement that the cost would be "significantly below [that of] hybrids available today," but provided no further details on pricing. Although Honda may have some trouble unseating Toyota's dominance of this particular hybrid market, hopefully the Insight's reintroduction will help to make hybrid cars even more affordable to consumers. This is also welcome news to folks like myself who, after the initial flurry of excitement when the now-retired original Insight was introduced in '99, were left scratching their heads at Honda's hybrid strategy as Toyota picked up their dropped ball and ran with it.

School bus driver circles Brooklyn for 5 hours

by JOSH LOPOSER
Sep 4th 2008 @ 3:30PM

Filed under: Cars and Transportation, Activism

Next to getting stuck in bumper to bumper traffic -- which is definitely one of the most rage-provoking ways to waste gas and spew CO2 -- the second most annoying way to burn up all of your fuel is to get lost. Not only do you feel like an idiot for not consulting a map before you set out, but you have to watch that needle on your gas gauge count down towards 'E.' Now, imagine the pressure you'd feel if you were lost for 5 hours and you were driving a bus load of school children.

That's right, after picking up about a dozen first graders and kindergartners from the Achievement First Brownsville Charter School, a Brooklyn bus driver 'got lost' and circled the borough for a grand total of 5 hours. When police finally apprehended the wayward driver, they arrested him. Not for wasting tons of diesel fuel -- though that might please some of us -- but for just being dangerously weird.

I guess we may never know what he was thinking, or why he refused to stop and get directions, but I have a well thought-out theory: he's one of these energy-waster activists, here to destroy the planet.

What Michael Jackson Should Look Like

by Mangesh - August 28, 2008 - 11:54 AM

I think this is genius. The Daily Mail has printed pics of what the Thriller-star should look like if he hadn’t taken a surgical knife to the face. Apparently, they took old pics of the famous moonwalker and used PC’s to age Michael’s mug appropriately.

Of course, my only question is why stop there when there are so many other stars to expose. If I had access to this wonderfultechnology (and enough cash on hand), I’d be commissioning a whole slew of un-botoxed, un-plastic surgeried, and definitely un-Toupeed celeb pics, and then use them to create a giant matching quiz. Link via the ever-addictive Gawker.

Secret Wii recovery mode discovered, allows backup disks to run

by Nilay Patel, posted Sep 4th 2008 at 12:24PM

Getting the Wii to run backup disks has never been quite as easy as running homebrew, but that might be about to change -- there's apparently a secret recovery mode that can be accessed with a special GameCube memory card. Not much is being revealed yet, but apparently if a "device" with a unique ID signature is present in the slot at boot, the Wii will drop into recovery mode and happily run whatever you throw at it, from backup disks to homebrew code. Hopefully we'll find out more soon -- video after the break.

[Thanks, brakken]

The Netherlands readies for rising sea levels

by JOSH LOPOSER
Sep 4th 2008 @ 11:00AM

Filed under: Local, Climate Change

In a country where 60% of the population lives below today's sea level, the prospect of rising seas has to give everyone the cold shivers. Literally translated, the Netherlands means the "low countries" and much of its land area -- about 20% -- was reclaimed by an elaborate system of dikes, levees, and those famous windmills. Now, after finally taming much of the flood dangers that have plagued its low-lying cities, global warming has to come muck it all up.

New studies show that the Netherlands are facing a 1.3 meter rising in sea level over the next century. That means the Dutch have to both build up their 350km of coastline while at the same time dredge out canals and build up dikes. In financial terms, that means they need to invest about $2.9B annually for the next few decades to have a fighting chance of keeping their cities -- which produce 65% of the nation's income -- above water.

Authorities have recommended a long term independent "Delta Fund" -- feed by natural gas income and state bonds -- to pay for the seemingly endless building project.

Gallery: Holding Back the Sea

Should IT Unionize?

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday September 04, @10:19AM

from the working-great-in-detroit dept.

snydeq writes"Sixty-hour work weeks with no overtime or comp time, a BlackBerry hitched to your belt 24/7, mandates from managers who have no clue what you actually do — all for a job that could be outsourced tomorrow. 'Is it finally time for technology workers to form a union and demand better working conditions?' InfoWorld's Dan Tynan asks. To some, the odds against IT unions are long, in large part because the 'lone gunman' culture is pervasive. Diversity of skills and job objectives is another hurdle for rallying around common goals. But that has not dissuaded several union-minded groups from cropping up across the industry as of late, Tynan reports. In the end, the best bet for IT may be a professional organization modeled after the American Bar Association or the American Medical Association, one that could give IT professionals a single voice for speaking out on issues that affects everyone — such as H-1B visa limits or tax incentives to keep IT jobs onshore."

[+] money, it (tagging beta)

Dolphin Inspired Mini-sub

What do you get the millionaire in your life who has everything? How about the Seabreacher mini-sub. Described as a dolphin-inspired cross between a jet ski and a submarine, the Seabreacher has a top speed of 45mph above the waves and 20mph below them. The two-man £30,000 craft is 15' long and its design makes it self-righting. Strangely, this doesn't come with a laser package.

Japan's solar ships

by CHRISTINA CLARK
Sep 4th 2008 @ 8:25AM

Filed under: Cars and Transportation, Alternative Energy

The open ocean seems like a good place to harvest solar power - no buildings or trees to get in the way, just lots of open sky. Nippon Yusen KK and Nippon Oil, both of Japan, are planning to do just that on top of Toyota toting cargo ships.

The companies plan to put a solar panel capable of generating 40 kilowatts of power on the 60,000 ton ship. A solar panel placed on a house generates something like 3.5 kilowatts. The panel could help to conserve 6.5% of the fuel oil the ship uses to power its diesel engines.

Developers have to work to find solutions for potential damage from salt and vibrations on board the ship. They hope to have the first panels in place by December and commercial solution available in the next three to five years.

The 6.5% savings doesn't seem like a lot, until you consider the scale of the operation. On a ship that large, a 6.5% savings on fuel oil is probably enough to run a fleet of the Toyotas it is carrying.

[Via CleanTechnica]

GOOGLE'S BRIN SAYS CHROME HEADED TO ANDROID, PROBABLY

by Thomas Ricker, posted Sep 4th 2008 at 8:05AM

As the root of our name implies, desktop browsers aren't really our thing in Engadget-land. Still, we're pretty sure that you've managed to learn about Google's new Chrome browser even without our assistance. However, when we hear Google's co-founder, Sergey Brin discussing Chrome on Android, well, we're all in. Even though neither has been released out of beta yet, Brin said that the Webkit-based Chrome browser is expected to soon supplant the Webkit-based browser in Android. "Probably a subsequent version of Android is going to pick up a lot of the Chrome stack," Brin said before adding, "My guess is we'll have 'Chrome-like' or something similar," when asked about the brand name. While we have lingering doubts about the likely stability of the initial 1.0 Android OS release, version 2.0 with Chrome is likely to be killer in every sense of the word to ~~Symbian~~Nokia, Microsoft, and Apple. Of course, we'll be first in line for the HTC Dream regardless.

[Thanks, Coral]

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