The Sims vs. Al Quaeda An interesting LA Times article about the effort to create computer simulations of everything from small unit battlefield tactics to large societies. Where’s Hari Seldon…
An interesting LA Times article about the effort to create computer simulations of everything from small unit battlefield tactics to large societies. Where’s Hari Seldon when you need him?
(Via InstaPundit)
China is the home of the rapidly dwindling population of giant pandas. A very, very few zoos and wildlife programs outsode of the PRC have been allowed to borrow some…
China is the home of the rapidly dwindling population of giant pandas.
A very, very few zoos and wildlife programs outsode of the PRC have been allowed to borrow some pandas (read: rent for 6-7 figure sums per year), because they are such a valuable, rare creatures, symbols of the great nation which is China, that they must only be allowed in the custody of those few institutions who will respect them appropriately.
So why, during a Daily Show bit on “Pandas: Why Do They Hate Us?,” were they able to show footage of trained pandas in a Beijing circus doing things like riding little cars, sliding down slides, putting basketballs into baskets, etc.?
Wait, don’t tell me …
Being someone who (a) enjoys voicing his opinion, and (b) is married to a statistician, I feel an ethical obligation to respond to phone and web-based surveys. Even when I…
Being someone who (a) enjoys voicing his opinion, and (b) is married to a statistician, I feel an ethical obligation to respond to phone and web-based surveys. Even when I don’t know what I’m talking about (which is not always clearly the case when the basic survey subject starts).
No other grand point here — just that I think that if someone really wants to know my opinion on something, to try and determine where public opinion is, I have a duty to provide it. Because if I don’t, then my position is that much less represented, which means that poll-happy politicos and other decision-makers may make decisions as if my position has less support than it really does.
Now, surveys that turn out to be sales pitches — those really torque me off, since I’ve invested time in something because of an ethical duty that turns out to be a fraud. I tend to get testy in such circumstances.
When does your birthdate appear in the ever-decimalizing wonder that is the value Pi? Now you can find out. Well, if you were born today (11/01/01), you’d show up starting…
When does your birthdate appear in the ever-decimalizing wonder that is the value Pi? Now you can find out.
Well, if you were born today (11/01/01), you’d show up starting at the 288804th decimal place of Pi.
My birthday shows up at the 50574th place … if you’re really interested in looking it up.
(Via Boing Boing)
Viewers of the Game Show Network have seen a confused woman trying to figure out the capitol of Tuvalu. Internet enthusiasts know that Tuvalu’s major export was their “.tv” top-level…
Viewers of the Game Show Network have seen a confused woman trying to figure out the capitol of Tuvalu.
Internet enthusiasts know that Tuvalu’s major export was their “.tv” top-level domain name.
And now a new distinction. It appears that Tuvalu is the first country to fall prey to global warming.
(Via Boing Boing)
Not only does it make you smarter and more physically adept, but caffeine’s also the key to curing headaches! They found that 58 per cent of those who took either…
Not only does it make you smarter and more physically adept, but caffeine’s also the key to curing headaches!
They found that 58 per cent of those who took either caffeine or ibuprofen alone reported complete pain relief from a headache – and the caffeine-takers typically experienced relief about half an hour faster. The caffeine dose was equivalent to that in a large mug of coffee, says Seymour Diamond, who led the study.
[…]After 90 minutes, pain began to recur in the caffeine-only group. However, drinking a second cup of coffee could probably prolong the analgesia, Diamond says.
This is, of course, old news to the makers of pain relievers laced with caffeine (Excedrin, I believe, is this way), but now we have Science to stand behind such claims.
None of this explains, of course, the frequent headaches I get at the office, even though I heavily self-medicate with coffee. But that’s just another mystery for Science to figure out.
(Via Blather, which, for my money, is one of the most attractive and soothing-looking sites out there. And he didn’t even pay me to say that.)
First coffee, now chocolate It’s been a good day for news that things I like like me, too. Researchers report that chocolate can help delay the progress of cardiovascular disease….
First coffee, now chocolate
It’s been a good day for news that things I like like me, too. Researchers report that chocolate can help delay the progress of cardiovascular disease.
So that means I can eat lots of pizza, too!
(Via Trance Gemini)
The rest of the story Typically intriguing info from the JimFormation site. He doesn’t post often, but he posts long….
Typically intriguing info from the JimFormation site. He doesn’t post often, but he posts long.
Make mine a Vente! Science says downing coffee is good for you! Or at least it makes you sharper, smarter (and, clearly, more attractive to women)! (Or men, if that’s…
Science says downing coffee is good for you! Or at least it makes you sharper, smarter (and, clearly, more attractive to women)! (Or men, if that’s your preference!)
The report, by the [National Academy of Science]’s Institute of Medicine, found that 100 to 600 mg of caffeine, the equivalent of one to six cups of coffee, can help “maintain cognitive performance,” especially in times of sleep deprivation.
“Specifically, it can be used in maintaining speed of reactions and visual and auditory vigilance, which in military operations could be a life or death situation,” according to the report.
Coffee for Life! Coffee for Victory!
(Via Blather)
I mentioned the other day how folks are eschewing risky air travel for safer ground transportation on vacation. From a Health & Safety message sent around to all our employees:…
I mentioned the other day how folks are eschewing risky air travel for safer ground transportation on vacation.
From a Health & Safety message sent around to all our employees:
October was selected by over 40 national safety organization and government agencies for the Zero Traffic Fatalities campaign called “Put the Brakes on Fatalities” because it is among the peak months for traffic fatalities. October 9, 1999 was the most dangerous day of 1999 to be on the road with 207 people dying in traffic fatalities.
In 1999, motor vehicle crashes caused a total of 41,300 deaths and 5 million injuries. Substandard road conditions and run off the road crashes are a factor in about one-third of all traffic fatalities. About 77% of all fatal crashes occur on two-lane roads while only 14% of fatal crashes occur on roads with more than four lanes. Widening lanes and paved shoulders, rumble strips, and traffic separation barriers have proven to effectively reduce crashes.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States for people ages 6-33. Motor vehicle crashes are a greater threat to life than crime. In 1999, there was one murder every 34 minutes but a vehicle fatality every 13 minutes. We not be able to prevent the murders but we can prevent traffic fatalities by paying more attention to driving safely every time we sit in the driver’s seat.
Remember that, even including 9-11, only about 300 Americans have died in plane crashes so far this year.
Styrofoam. I mean, think of it. I can pour scalding hot water into this disposable cup, and not only will it sit there indefinitely without leaking, it doesn’t even get…
Styrofoam.
I mean, think of it. I can pour scalding hot water into this disposable cup, and not only will it sit there indefinitely without leaking, it doesn’t even get hot.
Sure, it’s a polution problem. And given my druthers, I’d rather drink out of a real cup than a styrofoam one, any day.
But it’s still pretty amazing.
Anthrax Sanity At last someone notes, in calm tones, that the media have no clothes on this one. Not to mention that, “Why are we panicking over a single anthrax…
At last someone notes, in calm tones, that the media have no clothes on this one.
Not to mention that, “Why are we panicking over a single anthrax death even as 20,000 of us die annually because we refuse to get flu vaccinations?”
(Link via InstaPundit)
“Reverend Toop, meet Jedi Master Dag Winru” Based on an e-mail campaign, enough folks in the UK census listed “Jedi Knight” as the religion to get it listed on the…
“Reverend Toop, meet Jedi Master Dag Winru”
Based on an e-mail campaign, enough folks in the UK census listed “Jedi Knight” as the religion to get it listed on the Official List of Religions for the census.
On the one hand, I think that’s pretty funny. And cool.
On the other hand, the curmudgeonly history guy in me frowns. (“Hey, you kids! Get off my lawn!”) And what will the genealogists do a century hence …?
(Link via Doyce)
Military readiness vs. the environment Should the military be required to act in accord with environmental laws? An interesting article, especially since the company I work for (and the office…
Military readiness vs. the environment
Should the military be required to act in accord with environmental laws?
An interesting article, especially since the company I work for (and the office I’m in) does quite a bit of work with the DoD and DoE in cleaning up military bases and energy research sites, some of which are mentioned (Hanford, MMR), some of which aren’t.
My two cents:
The military (and Energy Dept.) are required to clean up any sites that they close before turning them over to the public. This has delayed the pay-off from base closures all across the nation, since these places are incredibly dirty. The stories I could tell you. Sheesh.
Certainly there are things that the military should do to ameliorate polution that they produce, short-term and long-term. Dirtying the water table. Take steps to fix it. Releasing toxic gasses? Stop it, now. These are things that can be done that have immediate short-term benefits and very few impacts on military training and preparedness.
On the other hand, the nature of military needs requires some adjustments. Areas that are designated as military reservations should be exempt from the Endangered Species Act. That just puts too high of a crimp into one national priority for the sake of another. And there are long-term pollutants (unexploded ordinance comes to mind) that, practically speaking, cannot be cleaned up until base closure.
It’s a tangled web, that’s for sure. The only thing I’m sure of is that we can’t let either side of the equation get carte blanche. Both the military and the environment are too important to sacrifice one on the altar of the other.
Not in the face! Not in the face! Face recognition software evidently sucks chunks, to put it mildly. Not in terms of threats to privacy, but in terms of actual…
Not in the face! Not in the face!
Face recognition software evidently sucks chunks, to put it mildly. Not in terms of threats to privacy, but in terms of actual ability to do the job. It’s not a threat to our civil liberties (yet), just a threat to our pocketbooks and our safety. The Register tells all.
“Beam me up, Scotty.” Fun news article on still more quantum teleportation advances. Anything that Einstein referred to as “spooky” has got to be fun. (via Xkot)…
Fun news article on still more quantum teleportation advances.
Anything that Einstein referred to as “spooky” has got to be fun.
(via Xkot)
The World’s Funniest Joke After the previous two posts, let’s try something a bit lighter. A scientist in Glasgow has begun a quest for the funniest joke on the Internet,…
After the previous two posts, let’s try something a bit lighter. A scientist in Glasgow has begun a quest for the funniest joke on the Internet, and how that answer might vary based on gender, age, or origin.
You can read more about it at the Reuters/CNN story above, or go straight to the site which has been set up for the research.
At last, science tries to research something useful.