Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Superguns Helped Defeat the Spanish Armada

Posted by kdawson on Wednesday February 25, @04:38AM

from the nobody-expects-the-spanish-armada dept.

Hugh Pickens writes"With the discovery last year of the first wreck of an Elizabethan fighting ship off Alderney in the Channel Islands, thought to date from around 1592, marine archaeologists are revising their ideas on how the English defeated the Spanish Armada. Replicas of two cannon recovered from the Alderney wreck were recreated in a modern foundry, and tests carried out showed that the Elizabethans were throwing shot at almost the speed of sound. Elizabeth's 'supergun,' although relatively small, could hit a target a mile away. At a ship-to-ship fighting distance of about 100 yards, the ball would have sufficient punch to penetrate the oak planks of a galleon, travel across the deck, and emerge out the other side. Tests on cannon recovered from the Alderney wreck also suggest that the ship carried guns of uniform size, firing standard ammunition. 'Elizabeth's navy created the first ever set of uniform cannon, capable of firing the same size shot in a deadly barrage,' says marine archaeologist Mensun Bound from Oxford University, adding that that navy had worked out that a lot of small guns, all the same, all firing at once, were more effective than a few big guns. '[Elizabeth's] navy made a giant leap forward in the way men fought at sea, years ahead of England's enemies, and which was still being used to devastating effect by Nelson 200 years later.'"

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Sweet Potato Biscuits

These combine two of my favorite things: biscuits and sweet potatoes. Very moist and flavorful and so easy to make, especially if you already have one lonely leftover sweet potato laying around. I recommend doubling this recipe for a family.

Sweet Potato Biscuits
makes 8-10 biscuits

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
dash ground nutmeg
1/2 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
1/3 cup milk
3 T. oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl. In another bowl, combine the sweet potato, milk and oil. Add potato mixture to the flour and stir just until blended. Turn out onto a floured surface and pat into a rectangle. Cut into 8-10 squares/rectangles and place biscuits on a baking sheet, a little bit apart. Bake for 11-14 minutes or until bottoms are browned and the biscuits spring back when pressed gently.

Quick Homemade Cheese

Ivory's Totally Yummy Soft Cheese

1/2 Gallon Whole Milk (Goat or Cow)
1/4 cup white vinegar or 1/4 cup Lemon juice
Salt to taste

1. Put milk into stainless steel pot and heat over medium until between 190 and 200 degrees.

2. Slowly stir in vinegar or lemon. Remove from heat and allow to curdle and cool until it's not too hot to touch.

3. Pour cheese into cloth lined bowl. Pull together the 4 corners of cloth and twist around a spoon. Hang dripping cheese for a few hours.

(BTW, it's not touching the bottom of the bowl. It just looks that way.)

4. Salt to taste and check consistency. I like a fairly hard cheese, so I hang it in the fridge overnight. That's about the max.

5. Untie, (add any garlic or herbs or more salt, if you like) place in airtight container, and chill. Depending on how long you hung it, it should be about 12-16 oz of cheese.

Enjoy!!

Do Experiences Or Material Goods Make Us Happier?

ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2009) — Should I spend money on a vacation or a new computer? Will an experience or an object make me happier? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says it depends on different factors, including how materialistic you are.

How To Rack Up $28,000 In Roaming Without Leaving the US

Comments:60

Posted by timothy on Tuesday February 24, @10:36AM
from the seasick-yet-still-docked dept.

pmbasehore writes "While waiting for his cruise ship to depart, a man decided to use his AT&T wireless card and Slingbox account to watch the Bears vs. Lions football game. When he got his bill, he was slammed with $28,067.31 in 'International Roaming' charges, even though he never left American soil. The bill was finally dropped to $290.65, but only after the media got involved." He might have left the soil (the story says he was already aboard the ship), but shouldn't the dock count?

Drug Improves Memory In Alzheimer's Disease, Animal Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2009) — A drug used in a type of hereditary metabolic disorder improved the memory of laboratory animals with Alzheimer’s disease. The results of the project, developed by researchers of the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra have been published in the journalNeuropsychopharmacology.

Biofuels Boom Could Fuel Rainforest Destruction, Researcher Warns

ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2009) — Farmers across the tropics might raze forests to plant biofuel crops, according to new research by Holly Gibbs, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment.

Windows 3.1 running on Nokia N95 is both awesome and depressing

by Thomas Ricker, posted Feb 24th 2009 at 3:27AM

If these screenshots are to be believed, then an ironic hacker has successfully installed Windows 3.1 onto a Nokia N95 handset. Marchin-PRV used DOSBox to emulate the x86-class processor on the Symbian handset in order to install Microsoft's 1992 OS. Totally useless, yes... and totally badazz.

First Evidence of Supernovae Found In Ice Cores

Posted by kdawson on Monday February 23, @09:44PM

from the hot-and-the-cold-of-it dept.

KentuckyFC writes"Supernovae in our part of the Milky Way ought to have a significant impact on the atmosphere. In particular, the intense gamma-ray burst would ionize oxygen and nitrogen in the mid to upper atmosphere, increasing the levels of nitrogen oxide there by an order of magnitude or so. Now a team of Japanese researchers has found the first evidence of a supernova's impact on the atmosphere in an ice core taken from Dome Fuji in Antarctica. The team examined ice that was laid down in the 11th century and found three nitrogen oxide spikes, two of which correspond to well known supernovae: one event in 1006 AD and another in 1054 AD, which was the birth of the Crab Nebula (abstract). Both were widely reported by Chinese and Arabic astronomers at the time. The third spike is unexplained, but the team suggests it may have been caused by a supernova visible only from the southern hemisphere or one that was obscured by interstellar dust."

Monday, February 23, 2009

A Real Bill Gates Rant

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday February 23, @09:08AM

from the well-that's-not-so-bad dept.

lou ibmix XI submitted an email written by Bill Gates a few years ago and turned over to the feds as part of the government anti trust case. Great quotes like 'Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable?' and 'The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind.' We like to think of him as an abstract, but I think this is interesting stuff. Also, this might seem familiar. Oops.

Microsoft Asks For a Refund From Laid-Off Workers

Posted by timothy on Sunday February 22, @06:50PM

from the sorry-for-any-inconvenience dept.

An anonymous reader writes"The large print giveth, the small print taketh away. Microsoft, which recently laid off 1400 employees, is now claiming that some of those lucky schmoes were inadvertently overpaid on their severance package. A letter from the company, which was subsequently circulated on the internet, states: 'We ask that you repay the overpayment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to you.' Microsoft has confirmed the authenticity of the letter, but it's not known what the amounts in question are, or how many of the 1400 were affected."

Friday, February 20, 2009

Sicilian Mafia Getting into the Wind Power Biz?

by JOSH LOPOSER
Feb 20th 2009 @ 10:30AM

Filed under: News, Alternative Energy

Italian police escort a suspected mafia boss through a crowd

Are Sicilian mobsters going green? According to reports coming out of Southern Italy, it appears that they're doing the damnedest to muscle, bribe and cheat their way into the wind power business. Italian investigators have made a string of arrests relating to a proposed Sicilian wind farm project in which officials were allegedly bribed with luxury cars and cash in exchange for awarding the contract to a mafia-backed company.

In some ways, I guess wind farms seem like a great business for the mob. Like their current favorite -- the waste management biz -- huge contracts are doled out by less-than-perfect officials, and all crime bosses have to do is hire some people who know what they're doing and watch the money roll in. The only trick is securing the contracts. Apparently, red flags were raised when the mafia stole a rival bid from Mazara de Vallo's municipal vault, then submitted a contract obviously based on the stolen version. I know this sounds like something out of unimaginative Mario Puzo rip-off novel, but I'm not making this up.

[via CleanTechnica]

Spaceplane Concept Receives Euro Funding

Posted by samzenpus on Friday February 20, @04:15AM

from the space-plane-race dept.

draevil writes"BBC News reports that the novel "Skylon" spaceplane design of British firm Reaction Engines has received funding to proceed with its proof-of-concept design for an air-breathing rocket engine. If successful the Sabre rocket engine will be able to take the Skylon with 12 tonnes of cargo from a runway, to orbit and then back to that runway without the need for disposable components or a piggy-back ride on a larger aircraft. Should the design prove viable then it could see first use within ten years."

Do Video Games Cost Too Much?

Posted by Soulskill on Friday February 20, @06:02AM

from the depends-how-the-pirate-bay-trial-goes-right dept.

Valve's Gabe Newell gave the keynote address at this year's Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain (DICE) Summit about the cost of games, the effect of piracy, and how to reach new players. Valve undertook an experiment recently to test how price affected the sales of their popular survival-horror FPS, Left 4 Dead. They Reduced the price by 50% on Steam, which "resulted in a 3000% increase in sales of the game, posting overall sales that beat the title's original launch performance." They also tested various other price drops over the holidays, seeing spikes in sales that corresponded well to the size of the discount. This will undoubtedly add to the speculation that game prices have risen too high for the current economic climate. G4TV ran a live blog of Newell's presentation, providing a few more details.

Indoor Plants Can Reduce Formaldehyde Levels

ScienceDaily (Feb. 20, 2009) — The toxic gas formaldehyde is contained in building materials including carpeting, curtains, plywood, and adhesives. As it is emitted from these sources, it deteriorates the air quality, which can lead to "multiple chemical sensitivity" and "sick building syndrome", medical conditions with symptoms such as allergies, asthma, and headaches. The prevalence of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOC) is greater in new construction.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Systolic And Diastolic Blood Pressures Together More Useful For Predicting Cardiovascular Risk

ScienceDaily (Feb. 19, 2009) — Individuals with diastolic blood pressure under 70 mm Hg coupled with an elevated systolic blood pressure may have a greater risk of heart attack and stroke than indicated by the systolic blood pressure values alone, according to a UC Irvine study.

Science Suggests Access To Nature Is Essential To Human Health

ScienceDaily (Feb. 19, 2009) — Elderly adults tend to live longer if their homes are near a park or other green space, regardless of their social or economic status. College students do better on cognitive tests when their dorm windows view natural settings. Children with ADHD have fewer symptoms after outdoor activities in lush environments. Residents of public housing complexes report better family interactions when they live near trees.

Judge Dismisses Google Street View Case

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday February 18, @07:19PM

from the never-go-against-the-google dept.

angry tapir writes"A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania family against Google after the company took and posted images of the outside of their house in its Maps service. The lawsuit, filed in April 2008, drew attention because it sought to challenge Google's right to take street-level photos for its Maps' Street View feature. Judge Amy Reynolds Hay from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, granted Google's request for dismissing the lawsuit because "the plaintiffs have failed to state a claim under any count.""

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Surfing The Net Helps Seniors Cope With Pain

ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2009) — Surfing the Internet could provide significant relief for seniors with chronic pain, according to new research reported inThe Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Oops! Wal-Mart Misplaces Radioactive Gas

by KELLY LEAHY
Feb 17th 2009 @ 12:40PM

Filed under: News

Something strange is going on at Wal-Mart. It started with a few stores reporting missing exit signs which led to an audit of all 4,500 U.S. and Puerto Rico stores. What was discovered was that more than 15,800 exit signs are unexplicably missing. This wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact that Wal-Mart's exit signs contain tritium, a radioactive gas.

Though tritium is not hazardous externally, it can easily be ingested and bonds easily with water. Low levels are considered safe but ingesting 5% of the tritium in one of these signs is the equivelant of 208 years of natural background radiation.

In addition to glow-in-the-dark exit signs, Tritium is also used to make nuclear weapons. 15,800 signs could not only infect a water source but create a large explosion. It might be time for Wal-Mart to take a look at their record keeping and consider using non-nuclear store fixtures from here on out.

Student Satirist Gets 3 Months; the Judge, Likely More

Posted by timothy on Tuesday February 17, @10:22AM

from the but-everyone-else-in-pa-is-clean dept.

ponraul writes"When Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., 58, sentenced Hillary Transue, 17, on a harassment charge stemming from a MySpace parody of her high school's assistant principal, Hillary expected to be let off with a stern lecture; instead, the Wilkes-Barre, PA area teen got three months in a commercially operated juvenile detention center. In a reversal of fortune, Ciavarella and his colleague, Judge Conahan, 56, find themselves trying to plea-bargain an 87-month sentence in Federal correctional facilities relating to a kick-back scheme that netted the pair $2.6 Million and PA Child Care 5000 inmates."True poetic justice would be for these corrupt, callous judges to serve their sentences in the same kind of environment to which they were happy to dispatch juvenile defendants.

Buying Experiences, Not Possessions, Leads To Greater Happiness

ScienceDaily (Feb. 17, 2009) — Can money make us happy if we spend it on the right purchases? A new psychology study suggests that buying life experiences rather than material possessions leads to greater happiness for both the consumer and those around them.

Loneliness Affects How The Brain Operates

ScienceDaily (Feb. 17, 2009) — Social isolation affects how people behave as well as how their brains operate, a study at the University of Chicago shows.

Jet Pack Runs For Hours On Water

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday February 17, @05:11AM

from the got-your-back dept.

Ponca City, We love you writes"Jet packs have been around for half a century, but there's always been one problem: they run out of fuel in around 30 seconds. Now a German company has taken the standard jet pack design, run a fat yellow hose out the back, and connected it to a small unmanned boat that houses an engine, pump, and fuel tank and sends pressurized water up the hose, where it's shot out by two nozzles just behind the wearer's shoulders. Called the JetLev-Flyer, the design purportedly can reach a height of 15 meters, a speed of 72 kph, and a range of 300 kilometers based on four hours of flying time. A digital fly-by-wire system is used to control the throttle. Future designs may achieve higher altitudes, higher top speeds, and extended range, and even travel below the water's surface. The American manufacturers claim it is 'amazingly easy to learn and operate' andthey're taking orders now at $130,000 each."

Earth-Like Planets In Our Neighborhood

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday February 17, @02:11AM

from the known-space dept.

goran72 sends in a story out of the Chicago AAAS meeting contending that Earth-like planets with life-sustaining conditions may be spinning around stars in our galactic neighborhood — we just haven't found them yet."'So I think there is a very good chance that we will find some Earth-like planets within 10, 20 or 30 light years of the Sun,' astrophysicist [Alan Boss]... told his AAAS colleagues meeting here since Thursday. ... The images from those new planets, he added, should identify 'light from their atmosphere and tell us if they have perhaps methane and oxygen. That will be pretty strong proof they are not only habitable but actually are inhabited. I am not talking about a planet with intelligence on it. I simply say if you have a habitable world. ... Sitting there, with the right temperature with water for a billion years, something is going to come out of it. At least we will have microbes,' said Boss."