Strange facts about Isaac Newton
He was into alchemy and obsessed with the Bible.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Having more children a status symbol for more affluent?
Well, that's silly. Having more kids, i.e. DNA copies, is the end goal of signalling status. If we could imagine how displaying status this way could garner more resources per child, or possibly attract yet another mate, then we would have a theory.
The blogger is confident that longer term, there will be no population crash since there will only be children happy people left passing on their children happy genes.
Spock people search engine has opened to the public
A search just for people. Sure, it crawls the web for results, but you can also manage your own identity.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Power strip space saver
Like a mini-extension for when an AC adapter is blocking up a socket on your power bar. Three bucks.
230+ tools for running a business online
Managing all your HR, marketing, payroll, snailmail, etc. needs.
Drawing gallery of furoshiki: Japanese wrapping techniques
With larger square wrapping cloths. To carry boxes, bottles, something long, something flat, and watermelons.
Drugs affecting spider web patterns: photo gallery
Back in the sixties, they got various drugs into spiders and checked out the webs they weaved.
This is caffeine vs. LSD.
Genes strongly influence choice of friends
Studied 1800 males twins and how deviant their friends were. The influence gets stronger over time as one gains more power over one's life choices.
Rok It Science's Boom Borda motorized skateboard
A skateboard with a 400W motor controlled by a handheld radio remote. Range of 15 miles.
Data visualization: modern approaches
Some wild graphs and ways to see a database. Also see TED video below.
TED talk: Hans Rosling on generalizations about developing regions
This was initially posted elsewhere to highlight the stat presentation software that animates graphs through time. However, the content itself is interesting in pointing out how our view of the developing world is not granular/specific enough -- affects policy.
10 foods you may not be eating, but should
Including less conventional stuff like guava and pomegranate juice.
Reduce sunlight heat with water inside window
The innovation? A 1cm slot through which the water circulates on the inside to absorb the heat of the sunbeams. May save up to 70% on air conditioning.
PostSecret - anonymous submission of postcard
Saw an interview with the guy who runs the blog. Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, people submit a homemade postcard with some secret observation or confession.
Direct link for this particular card. The site doesn't seem to provide archive access.
Aerogel - now for pollution control and carrying energy
... they had created a new form of aerogel capable of sopping up heavy metals, particularly mercury. It could eventually be used to purify contaminated water. There are efforts to make all sorts of new products from the stuff: rocket fuels, catalytic converters for cars, cell-phone batteries.Another article noting its insulating and armor capabilities.
Microsoft Works to become a free, ad-funded product
Free online productivity services like Zoho, Open Office and Google have forced Microsoft to respond. I don't know whether it can read Word, Excel or PowerPoint files.
Subconscious running the show
Yeah, you think you control yourself. How behavior is influenced subconsciously by external forces (deliberately for science in this case). First line from article:
In a recent experiment, psychologists at Yale altered people’s judgments of a stranger by handing them a cup of coffee [iced or hot].
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Orgoo -- webmail and all IM replacement
The key difference between Orgoo and the major Internet webmail services is that it also integrates instant messaging from all major providers.
How to bypass your IT department's oppressive measures
Workarounds. If any IT readers have any other suggestions, please enlighten us.
Meta-analysis may make things more confusing
What with possible publication bias (null hypothesis fulfilled is pretty boring) or rare sourcing of actual raw data, how is one supposed to know what's right?
Redefining free will
Bloody hell. If anybody can explain to me the positions of these physicists, please write me or leave a comment or something.
Settling on what the New Testament should be -- the beginning of a single Christianity
Whoa. Well... Hmm... Let's preface this with a consideration of literal truth that describes sensate life versus truth of the human psyche as described by metaphor in art and myth narrative. Therefore we have movies "based" on true stories taking license with facts to convey an emotional reality, or a cubist painting that doesn't help inform one of historical fact.
Well, there is the type of myth that addresses this psyche truth in different life experiences and the steps involved. Thus, the story of Sleeping Beauty doesn't have to have literally happened with its specific names and circumstances to exhibit a certain type of truth that occurs in human experience. In this wise, the story of Jesus doesn't have to have happened historically to exhibit a certain type of truth.
The picture portrayed by this article is from various sources. Supposedly, the First Council of Nicaea was actually constituted of pagan representatives as well as sundry Jesus followers. Constantine hadn't converted; he was no longer willing to brook the discord among the various religions across the empire. Eventually, he mixed together a figure from the West and one from the East, and got somebody to cobble together New Testimonies that had elements from all the known religions (mostly from Persian Mithraism, Constantine's religion).
Disagree? Well, how does anyone come to know what he or she knows? What does it mean to "know" some fact as such?
Financial reasons for using Mac OS
For legit customers, there's the lower licensing fees. Technically, there's less malware to worry about, and multi-OS capability. Yeah, it's an idea.
Duct tape more effective than cryotherapy for warts
Never had this problem myself, but for those interested:
At the end of the sixth day, the patients removed the duct tape, soaked the wart in water, and gently debrided it with an emery board or pumice stone. The tape was left off overnight, then re-applied for another six days.
Music moves brain to pay attention
An evolutionary point to music?
... listening to music could be a way that the brain sharpens its ability to anticipate events and sustain attention.
The research team showed that music engages the areas of the brain involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating the event in memory. Peak brain activity occurred during a short period of silence between musical movements—when seemingly nothing was happening.
Speed up your bitTorrent
Just a few tips, but I didn't know anything about ports or TCP connections 'til this.
FBI can listen to you through your cell phone, even if it's off
They can activate the microphone. Lock 'em out by taking out the battery.
StreetAdvisor -- real-life advice on neighborhoods
For those interested in buying real estate or just renting:
... provides a real-life “insider” view that provides users the ability to learn and share vital details about where they live, including noise levels, traffic, neighbors, entertainment, and public services in a similar way to travel review sites. Recommendations and negative experiences about local businesses, entertainment and services will also be supported.
Waymarking -- sharing interesting points of travel
Coordinates, map, photo and description for fairly specific objects, monuments or buildings. Good for the GPS-equipped crowd, I suppose.
A waymark is a physical location on the planet marked by coordinates (latitude/longitude)and contains unique information defined within its waymark category. An outdoor maze waymark category, for example, could contain information like price of admission and days of operation, while a blogger waymark category may contain an option for the type of blog.
Victum Tablet 27 -- rugged 10" tablet PC
Possible to port to a larger VGA display. Up to 1 GB memory, which is okay. If they could just increase the CPU power, I think I would actually get one.
Use reflective emergency blankets to cool your place
As pointed out in the comments section, this is a radiant barrier. You can get commercially manufactured rolls of similar stuff (bubble-, foam-, fiberglass-backed) for $0.20-$0.28/sq ft.
Differential emotional recall with particular gene variant based on ethnicity
The researchers found that, in both groups, people carrying the ADRA2B gene variant [for noradrenaline receptor] were "substantially more likely" to remember both positive and negative pictures than people with other forms of the gene. Neutral images were recalled to the same degree by people with and without the variant.
However, Rwandans with the variant had far higher recall of negative emotional events than the Europeans who carried it – and this was unrelated to whether or not they suffered from post traumatic stress disorder.
So what else is involved? Maybe interaction with other genes? I don't know anything about his field. The blog author asks a couple of intriguing questions regarding consequences to culture.
WWI U.K. propaganda posters
This is the funniest one. Who would fall for this?
The others are more conventional.
Billshare -- app for those who share bills
Create receipts to divide shared expenses. Track spending habits with detailed statistics. Email alerts keep you updated on amounts owed.
Rare-earth magnets repel sharks
... the magnets overload a shark's ampullae of Lorenzini, small vesicles and pores around the head that form part of a subcutaneous sensory network ...However,
Hermann cautions that the magnets appear to have an effective range of only 10 inches. Also, you'd need to align the magnetic poles outward and keep the magnets from clicking together, and once you had the necessary 10 to 20 pounds of magnets all over your body, you'd sink. So, at a cost of about $5 a magnet, you could theoretically turn yourself into a $400 shark-safe anchor at the bottom of the sea.Also, some pheromone-based sunblock/repellent lotion.
Rameniac
Some ramen-crazy guy is willing to educate you in the ways of restaurants and store-bought instant in Japan.
Brain-injured man speaks after six years
Occasional signs of consciousness, communicating with slight eye and thumb movements. Then deep brain stimulation with implanted electrodes:
They turned the electrodes on and off over six months to test their effect ... now has them on throughout the day.Now, walking, chewing, swallowing.
Popular bargain hunting sites
Including sites I haven't heard of: FatWallet.com, BensBargains.net, CouponCabin.com, ...
Decent step towards flexible display
Other than head-mounted displays, scrolling or flexible displays will bring portable computing/connection to everyone's pocket -- 7" screens without the bulk. The development here gets around the heat problem they've been having with OLEDs up to now.
17th kid born to Arkansas couple
From the premise that not having kids is selfish (admittedly an older view), this couple has to be some of the most generous people out there.
Scientists breed world's first schizoid mouse
Well, since this is new, we can only hope that it models well. It's too bad that so much medical innovation depends upon this kind of cruelty.
Birth control pill FDA-approved to rid of periods
The title link will take you to an article in which you hear reactions of how unnatural it is not to have regular menses.
Here is a 2000 New Yorker -- long! -- piece about the arbitrary inclusion (based on his beliefs rather than any hard science) of the placebo week by the creator of the Pill. In section 2 in the article, an anthropologist visiting a preindustrial village in Mali noticed that women were pregnant a lot, not menstruating. She posits that frequent menses for most of a woman's reproductive stretch is actually evolutionarily abnormal/unhealthy -- not absurd considering the cancer risk to ovaries (damage to wall) and endometrium (estrogen stimulating growth) during ovulation.
The article wraps up tracking development of a pill that mimics low-hormone menopause rather than high-hormone pregnancy, not the one above that's just hitting market.
USB fragrance oil drive
In my introduction to gaming in internet cafes, they had an electric automatic deoderizer that dispensed a pleasant citrus smell that helped keep me alert, I think. This USB solution could help keep your productivity up, provided you use the right scent.
Molecular gastronomy in Chicago
Saw some cooking show that visits restaurants and one of the linked article's mentions, Alinea, was showcased. Truly amazing looking, very scientific, artistic, experimental -- not just intuitive home cooking. About $500 for the full meal.
Monday, August 06, 2007
BitLet -- online bitTorrent; no client download
If you're at a computer that doesn't have a client installed. Has a code generator so that you can offer a torrent download from your site to those without a client on their computer.
Six foods that prevent disease
I would add organic green tea (not the supplements), golden flax, and turmeric (for neuroprotection in particular).
Teq AV/IT's WID110 makes any display wireless
As long as your display can understand VGA, stream 1280 X 768 wirelessly via this receiver.
Top 10 things NOT to do if you are arrested
Without warrant, don't let them in, and don't go out yourself. Even if arrested and outside, don't allow them in. Otherwise, don't talk and don't run.
MIT finds molecular key for fear
They noticed that some kinase called Cdk5 was at higher levels in the hippocampus (storing memory) in maintaining fear.
"Remarkably, inhibiting Cdk5 facilitated extinction of learned fear in mice," Tsai said. "This data points to a promising therapeutic avenue to treat emotional disorders and raises hope for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or phobia."
100+ resources to making money online
Advertising, revenue-sharing, paid social media, paid to write, ...
Yannick Puig's animation of "I lived on the Moon"
Very decent, soothing music video in cut-out style animation. A little trippy. Slow load for me.
"I lived on the Moon" by Yannick Puig (june2007)
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British army leaves Northern Ireland
History made. I'm convinced that it's broad improving economic times that diverts the intensity of people's attention away from identity politics.
Cannabis use increases risk of psychosis
Chance is small to start off, so the 40% increase is still not that significant overall. But tell that to the vulnerable population.
Diogenes of Sinope
Stories and alleged quotes of the torch/lantern guy: "And," replied Diogenes, "If you knew how to wash vegetables, you wouldn't have to pay court to kings."Diogenes was knee deep in a stream washing vegetables. Coming up to him, Plato said, "My good Diogenes, if you knew how to pay court to kings, you wouldn't have to wash vegetables."
Emergency radio beacon wristband for disasters
Russian company giving away design to whoever wants to produce this. It doubles as USB flash drive for day-to-day use.
They're saying that within 30 minutes, one has a 50% chance of surviving under rubble. At three hours, that drops to 10%.
Laser printers pollute office air
Study for fine particulates that can get deep into the lung. No pattern of make or model (most of the printers tested were HP, though) for high emitters.
Detailed examination of some high emitters revealed some statistically weak influences that may be confounding factors. The age of the toner cartridge had an influence on both amounts of particulates produced and their average size. Page coverage also played a role, as the jump between a print that covered five percent of the page to one that covered 50 percent roughly doubled emissions.
Curious expeditions -- some weird stuff to check out when travelling abroad
Can get macabre at times, like St. Catherine of Siena's mummified head, or the child eater statue in Bern. Certainly that off-the-beaten path feel, though.
Predict the weather without a forecast
By looking at and even smelling flora, fauna, knowing clouds.
101 frightening ice cream flavors from around the world
Mostly vegetable (stout beer!), seafood (oyster!), or meat (pit viper!), but also there's also some natural Viagra flavor.
I can't believe this guy found the time to compile this list, though.
Google transit
Map and schedule data from simple address and time input. Not many cities at the moment, unless you live in Japan.
Variability in response to peer pressure seen in degree of connections between brain regions
Degree of susceptibility to peer pressure was determined by questionnaire for these 10-year-olds. Then using functional imaging while flashing angry faces and hand movements:
They found that the brains of all children showed activity in regions important for planning and extracting information about social cues from movement, but the connectivity between these regions was stronger in children who were marked as less vulnerable to peer influence. These children were also found to have more activity in the prefrontal cortex, an area important for decision making and inhibition of socially inappropriate behavior.
WasH20 -- Haier's detergentless clothes washer
Break up water and "stains on the linens are 'attracted and retained by ions of OH-, while the clothes are sterilized by the H+ ions ...'"
Humans beat poker bot ... barely
Unlike chess, different strategies or dispositions were applied for each subsequent game of Heads Up Limit Hold 'Em.
YouDeparted.com -- online lockbox of info for when you die
Template for:
- Assets, liabilities, insurance, wills and estate plans.
- Locations + copies of essential documents.
- All of your online account information.
- Private messages with pictures, audio, and videos.
- Funeral arrangements, people to contact.
Global warming concerns blown up from a bad reading of a study?
At one point, the guy points out that temps have been going down for the past three years. Then he goes on about how warming has more to do with sun cycles than human activity.
Anyways, if true, he tracks an interesting history of screwy interpretation and a meme running away.
Death bonds
"Life settlements" are arrangements that offer people the chance to sell their policies to investors, who keep paying the premiums until the sellers die and then collect the payout. For the investors it's a ghoulish actuarial gamble: The quicker the death, the more profit is reaped.It's still new enough to be not-so-regulated.
94 free apps that are better than purchased
Best anti-rootkit, IP blocker, media converter, compression tool, ...
A brain implant to prevent epileptic seizures
A chip detects the seizure and sends out an electrical current before it gets out of control. Of course, for something this invasive, it's more a last option.
$163 000, gem-studded, platinum Hello Kitty
Well, if this doesn't impress that fine Northeast Asian babe you like, I don't know what will.
Also, if you're bothered that your cat doesn't look enough like Hello Kitty, get a hat.
Just how did this begin, anyway?
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