Monday, August 27, 2007

Running a spy agency in the game EVE Online

"EVE is considered by many to be a 'sandbox' MMO, and in such a place, only the ruthless survive. The list of nasty things you can do is only limited by your creativity and your capacity for cruelty." In a persistent world where all deaths are final, ruining someone's day often becomes necessary on the path to glory.
From sophistication on the economics front to this. It sounds like an intriguing game.

Ways to grow the action habit

Practical stuff like not waiting for perfect conditions.

Sky in Google Earth -- mapping the stars

For amateur astronomers, a celestial version of Google Earth.

Vertical rotation turbine design

This vertical rotation feature gives a slower speed, "which allows the turbine to capture more energy from turbulent air flow, common to urban environments. It also means quieter operation." Can realistically provide 1.2kW, three times more than what present turbines of similar size actually provide (although, they claim 1kW).

Glia cells into functional neurons

Our results are very encouraging, because the generation of correctly functional nerve cells from postnatal glia cells is an important step on the way to be able to replace functional nerve cells also after injuries in the brain.
Different from when I learned that glia cells were just structural support. Man, are we clueless when it comes to the brain.
Introduction of regulator proteins switched on neuronal protein expression.

How to get a first class seat for way less

Y-Up airfares [aka YUPP, QUPP, Z] are intentionally published by the airlines to look exactly like a coach ticket, but the seats are allocated in the first class cabin. This sneaky little trick allows corporate travelers to legitimately & inexpensively get around their "No First Class Travel" policy. Y-Up airfares are deeply discounted first class airline tickets available for travel within/between the United States and Canada. They do NOT apply to international coach, business or first class air travel.

What to do (or not) when the police pulls your car over

Advice from a former Virginia state trooper. Keep the engine running?

Recreating displaced body experience

News outlets are labelling this as out-of-body experiences, but it's not the classical disembodied view-from-above thing.

Environmentally responsible agriculture

Farming Solutions brings examples of successful, environmentally responsible farming systems to life from all over the world, illustrating how farmers can protect the environment while at the same time increasing food supply where it is most needed.
One example is an Australian who promoted a microbial-based natural nitrogen, which can product a 20% better yield of tomato crops with reduced chemical use.

Read Print -- free online books

Blake, Dostoevsky, Orwell, ... Not a huge library, but many classic names.

Lesser known sleep tips

Well, they worked for this lady. Includes limiting red wine and lowering room temp.

Scammy car dealer pwned

The customer found out about a sale price only after having purchased the car. The dealer wouldn't relent after a simple request, so the customer kicked it up a slight notch.

The truth about recycling

A review of the history, mechanics, and future of recycling.

Radioactive boy scout -- extreme science project redux?

If you remember the story, this is the guy who, as a teenager at the time, tried to build a nuclear reactor and was caught by authorities. Well, he's up to something again. This is his mugshot from a recent arrest involving the disappearance of smoke detectors (probably for the americium) from his apartment complex. Yeah, playing with ionizing particles might do that to you.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Forbes' intro to investing instruments

Short educational descriptions of twenty basic investment instruments, like REITs, insurance, convertible securities.

Trivia about the 1500s

Houses had thatched roofs -- thick straw -- piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof -- hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

Death by numbers

Just a reminder of how more spectacular and uncommon deaths catch our attention more than high-count, repetitive deaths, like malaria-stricken children and auto accidents. Resources need to be diverted appropriately.

More than Ning -- many ways to build your own web social network

Techcrunch has bothered to organize a chart of the sites where you can make your own social network like myspace and facebook, with feature breakdown like widget transportability, API availability, chat.