“At first glance, the object discovered on 22 February in the constellation Bootes resembled an ordinary supernova. But it kept growing brighter for much too long, and its spectrum was abnormal.” (New Scientist)
Daily Archives: 25 Jun 06
The phone booth returns sans phone
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“Just in time for his return to the silver screen, Superman’s trusty phone booth is back. Only this time, there’s a bit more room for his biceps.
Because the pay phone itself is gone, today’s booths are BYOC — bring your own cellphone. In an effort to appease patrons and etiquette police, restaurants, bars, movie theaters and libraries are carving out spaces to separate yakkers from other customers.” (USA Today) |
![//images.usatoday.com/tech/_photos/2006/06/19/cellbooth.jpg' cannot be displayed]](https://i0.wp.com/images.usatoday.com/tech/_photos/2006/06/19/cellbooth.jpg "Up, up and away...") |
What do butterflies do when it rains?
![//www.7art-screensavers.com/screens/3d-amazing-butterfly/3d-amazing-butterfly-03.jpg' cannot be displayed]](https://i0.wp.com/www.7art-screensavers.com/screens/3d-amazing-butterfly/3d-amazing-butterfly-03.jpg "Pummelled by bowling balls...") |
“Michael Raupp, professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, offers this answer.
Imagine a monarch butterfly searching for nectar or a mate in a meadow on a humid afternoon in July. Suddenly, a fast-moving thunderstorm approaches, bringing gusty winds and large raindrops. For the monarch and other butterflies this is not a trivial matter. An average monarch weighs roughly 500 milligrams; large raindrops have a mass of 70 milligrams or more. A raindrop this size striking a monarch would be equivalent to you or I being pelted by water balloons with twice the mass of bowling balls….” (Scientific American) |
Martian Life:
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The NASA Cover-Up? “NASA has always denied that its Viking spacecraft discovered Life on Mars in 1976. But the truth may be very different…” (First Science)
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![//imagiware.com/puzzle/images/mars.gif' cannot be displayed]](https://i0.wp.com/imagiware.com/puzzle/images/mars.gif "It's Alive?") |
Black Sun in Denmark
“During spring in Denmark, at approximately one half an hour before sunset, flocks of more than a million European starlings (sturnus vulgaris) gather from all corners to join in the incredible formations shown above. This phenomenon is called Black Sun (in Denmark), and can be witnessed in early spring throughout the marshlands of western Denmark, from March through to the middle of April.” (Earth Science Picture of the Day thanks to walker)
After Londonistan
“Culturally and politically (and theologically and gastronomically), London ranks among the capitals of the Muslim world and is certainly its chief point of contact with the United States and the rest of the West. Since last July 7, when four young British Muslims used backpack bombs to take their own lives and those of 52 others on London’s public-transport system, getting information out of the city’s various Muslim communities has become a desperate preoccupation of British law enforcement.” (New York Times Magazine)
War’s Iraqi Death Toll Tops 50,000
“Higher than the U.S. estimate but thought to be undercounted, the tally is [proportionally] equivalent to 570,000 Americans killed in three years.” (LA Times)
Administration Responds to North Korea Missile Stunt With Missile Defense Stunt
![//www.ak-prepared.com/dmva/images/Missile%20Defense%20-%201387b.jpg' cannot be displayed]](https://i0.wp.com/www.ak-prepared.com/dmva/images/Missile%20Defense%20-%201387b.jpg "billion-dollar boondoggle buffoonery") |
A U.S. missile defense system that hasn’t worked in ‘test’ mode had its status changed to ‘operational’ to match the North Korean grandstanding and protect the missile defense budget line. Everyone talking about the controversial proposal to take out the North Korean missile site (albeit with a Cruise missile, not the anti-missile sytem) has focused on whether or not it would goad the North Koreans into a fullscale war. However, another concern is that the preemptive strike fails, making further fools of the US foreign policy shapers and casting the value of the US protective umbrella over our East Asian allies into question. |
Sweet smell of snobbery
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“Like wine, luxury chocolate now has connoisseurs who tout its ‘mouthfeel’ and ‘terroir.’ …But surely there’s something, well, bittersweet, about a world that can’t bring itself to sin without an intellectual excuse…” (Salon)
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![//www.bbc.co.uk/food/images/recipes/chocolate_300x193.jpg' cannot be displayed]](https://i0.wp.com/www.bbc.co.uk/food/images/recipes/chocolate_300x193.jpg "love...") |
Americans’ circle of close friends shrinking
“Americans are more socially isolated than they were 20 years ago, separated by work, commuting and the single life, researchers reported on Friday.
Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said they had ‘zero’ close friends with whom to discuss personal matters. More than 50 percent named two or fewer confidants, most often immediate family members, the researchers said.” (Yahoo! News)
Not that more is necessarily better…
Storm? Leave Cell Phone Inside
![//www.moonraker.com.au/techni/lightning.jpg' cannot be displayed]](https://i0.wp.com/www.moonraker.com.au/techni/lightning.jpg "once is enough...") |
“People should not use mobile phones outdoors during thunderstorms because of the risk of being struck by lightning, doctors said on Friday.
They reported the case of a 15-year-old girl who was using her phone in a park when she was hit during a storm. Although she was revived, she suffered persistent health problems and was using a wheelchair a year after the accident.” (Wired News) I am not sure I can take this warning, which is all over the net this week, at face value. It brings to mind all the discussion about not using your cell phone at a gas station because of the risk of sparking, which seems at least remotely plausible. In contrast, the operative principle in the current warning, if it is credible at all, would seem to be “leave your cell phone home.” If a cell phone is going to attract a lightning strike, it would seem to be an issue of whether it is on your person at all rather than whether you were operating it to make a call or not. (Although, on second thought, could there be an effect from its relative height when you have it up to your face during a call rather than stored in your pocket, your waist or wherever?) But I digress; more important, do cell phones inherently attract lightning strikes at all? If there are any readers out there who are telecommunication engineers, earth scientists or physicists, maybe you can comment on whether carrying a device with an antenna makes one inherently more of a target for lightning, or whether the cell phone use of the unfortunate young woman mentioned in the article was “correlation, not causation.” |
And: Cell phone signals excite brain: study: “Cell phone emissions excite the part of the brain cortex nearest to the phone, but it is not clear if these effects are harmful, Italian researchers reported on Monday.
Their study, published in the Annals of Neurology, adds to a growing body of research about mobile phones, their possible effects on the brain, and whether there is any link to cancer.” (Yahoo! News)
Patriotic Acts
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US army officer refuses deployment to Iraq: “A young US army officer could face court martial after refusing to obey orders to prepare for deployment to
Iraq, claiming the war is illegal, his supporters said. Lieutenant Ehren Watada, 28, was confined to his base of Fort Lewis, in the northwest state of Washington, and restricted from communications with anyone outside but his lawyer, according to people in Watada’s support committee. They said he was the first US military officer to refuse orders to go to Iraq. Watada’s mother Carolyn Ho called his refusal an ‘act of patriotism.’ ‘As an officer, he believes it is his duty to disobey illegal orders,’ she told AFP, adding that they had argued over his decision and that he was influenced by questions about the US government’s reasons for invading Iraq.” (Yahoo! News) As I have said before, news of war resisters should be publicized as broadly as possible so that others know it is happening. Lt. Watada deserves our support. |
![//us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/afp/20060623/capt.sge.jpv06.230606015425.photo00.photo.default-341x512.jpg?x=180&y=270&sig=fCY.uut9gMj6u6woXR6KzA--' cannot be displayed]](https://i0.wp.com/us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/afp/20060623/capt.sge.jpv06.230606015425.photo00.photo.default-341x512.jpg "Lt. Ehren Watada, American hero") |
After Londonistan
“Culturally and politically (and theologically and gastronomically), London ranks among the capitals of the Muslim world and is certainly its chief point of contact with the United States and the rest of the West. Since last July 7, when four young British Muslims used backpack bombs to take their own lives and those of 52 others on London’s public-transport system, getting information out of the city’s various Muslim communities has become a desperate preoccupation of British law enforcement.” (New York Times Magazine)
