20.8.05
local6.com - News - Drug Suspect's Pet Squirrel Attacks Officer
local6.com - News - Drug Suspect's Pet Squirrel Attacks Officer: "A police officer in Massachusetts was treated at a hospital after a drug suspect's squirrel attacked him during an attempted arrest, according to a Local 6 News report."
18.8.05
CNN.com - Bored on the phone? Beware the Jerk-O-Meter - Aug 12, 2005
CNN.com - Bored on the phone? Beware the Jerk-O-Meter - Aug 12, 2005: "CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP) -- Ever wonder if that spouse, friend or co-worker on the other end of the phone is really paying attention? The 'Jerk-O-Meter' may hold the answer.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing software for cell phones that would analyze speech patterns and voice tones to rate people -- on a scale of 0 to 100 percent -- on how engaged they are in a conversation."
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing software for cell phones that would analyze speech patterns and voice tones to rate people -- on a scale of 0 to 100 percent -- on how engaged they are in a conversation."
16.8.05
Guardian | How Bush would gain from war with Iran
Guardian | How Bush would gain from war with Iran: "President Bush has reminded us that he is prepared to take military action to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. On Israeli television this weekend, he declared that 'all options are on the table' if Tehran doesn't comply with international demands.
In private his officials deride EU and UN diplomacy with Iran. US officials have been preparing pre-emptive war since Bush marked Iran out as a member of the 'axis of evil' back in 2002. Once again, this war is likely to have British support.
A plausible spin could be that America and Britain must act where the international community has failed, and that their action is the responsible alternative to an Israeli attack. The conventional wisdom is that, even if diplomacy fails, the US is so bogged down in Iraq that it could not take on Iran. However, this misunderstands the capabilities and intentions of the Bush administration.
America's devastating air power is not committed in Iraq. Just 120 B52, B1 and B2 bombers could hit 5,000 targets in a single mission. Thousands of other warplanes and missiles are available. The army and marines are heavily committed in Iraq, but enough forces could be found to secure coastal oilfields and to conduct raids into Iran.
A US attack is unlikely to be confined to the suspected WMD locations or to involve a ground invasion to occupy the country. The strikes would probably be intended to destroy military, political and (oil excepted) economic infrastructure. A disabled Iran could be further paralysed by civil war. Tehran alleges US support for separatists in the large Azeri population of the north-west, and fighting is increasing in Iranian Kurdistan."
In private his officials deride EU and UN diplomacy with Iran. US officials have been preparing pre-emptive war since Bush marked Iran out as a member of the 'axis of evil' back in 2002. Once again, this war is likely to have British support.
A plausible spin could be that America and Britain must act where the international community has failed, and that their action is the responsible alternative to an Israeli attack. The conventional wisdom is that, even if diplomacy fails, the US is so bogged down in Iraq that it could not take on Iran. However, this misunderstands the capabilities and intentions of the Bush administration.
America's devastating air power is not committed in Iraq. Just 120 B52, B1 and B2 bombers could hit 5,000 targets in a single mission. Thousands of other warplanes and missiles are available. The army and marines are heavily committed in Iraq, but enough forces could be found to secure coastal oilfields and to conduct raids into Iran.
A US attack is unlikely to be confined to the suspected WMD locations or to involve a ground invasion to occupy the country. The strikes would probably be intended to destroy military, political and (oil excepted) economic infrastructure. A disabled Iran could be further paralysed by civil war. Tehran alleges US support for separatists in the large Azeri population of the north-west, and fighting is increasing in Iranian Kurdistan."
Shrinking Detroit has 12,000 abandoned homes - Yahoo! News
Shrinking Detroit has 12,000 abandoned homes - Yahoo! News: "DETROIT, United States (AFP) - Rats or lead poisoning. When it comes to the threats from the broken down house next door, Dorothy Bates isn't sure which is worse.
'When it's lightening and thundering you can hear the bricks just falling,' the 40-year-old nurse said as she looked at the smashed windows and garbage-strewn porch. 'If you call and ask (the city) about it they say they don't have the funds to tear it down.'
There are more than 12,000 abandoned homes in the Detroit area, a byproduct of decades of layoffs at the city's auto plants and white flight to the suburbs. And despite scores of attempts by government and civic leaders to set the city straight, the automobile capitol of the world seems trapped in a vicious cycle of urban decay."
'When it's lightening and thundering you can hear the bricks just falling,' the 40-year-old nurse said as she looked at the smashed windows and garbage-strewn porch. 'If you call and ask (the city) about it they say they don't have the funds to tear it down.'
There are more than 12,000 abandoned homes in the Detroit area, a byproduct of decades of layoffs at the city's auto plants and white flight to the suburbs. And despite scores of attempts by government and civic leaders to set the city straight, the automobile capitol of the world seems trapped in a vicious cycle of urban decay."
Sky News : iPod Licensing Lapse Lets In Microsoft
Sky News : iPod Licensing Lapse Lets In Microsoft: "Computer firm Apple may have to pay Microsoft $6 for each iPod it sells after a huge licensing lapse.
Lawyers at Bill Gates' firm filed a patent for technology behind the hugely successful digital music player two months before Apple.
The US Patent Office has ruled that Microsoft has the right to charge competitors a licence fee for each iPod sold.
Furious, Apple has said it will appeal the decision but at the moment it looks as though the firm will be paying a high price for the success of its product."
Lawyers at Bill Gates' firm filed a patent for technology behind the hugely successful digital music player two months before Apple.
The US Patent Office has ruled that Microsoft has the right to charge competitors a licence fee for each iPod sold.
Furious, Apple has said it will appeal the decision but at the moment it looks as though the firm will be paying a high price for the success of its product."
15.8.05
Researchers Think They've Got the Incas' Numbers - Los Angeles Times
Researchers Think They've Got the Incas' Numbers - Los Angeles Times: "Two Harvard University researchers believe they have uncovered the meaning of a group of Incan khipus, cryptic assemblages of string and knots that were used by the South American civilization for record-keeping and perhaps even as a written language.
Researchers have long known that some knot patterns represented a specific number. Archeologist Gary Urton and mathematician Carrie Brezine report today in the journal Science that computer analysis of 21 khipus showed how individual strings were combined into multilayered collections that were used as a kind of ledger.
The ledger could then be used to transfer data and instructions between regional centers and the Incan capital, Cusco.
'What we see is information moving vertically,' Urton said."
Researchers have long known that some knot patterns represented a specific number. Archeologist Gary Urton and mathematician Carrie Brezine report today in the journal Science that computer analysis of 21 khipus showed how individual strings were combined into multilayered collections that were used as a kind of ledger.
The ledger could then be used to transfer data and instructions between regional centers and the Incan capital, Cusco.
'What we see is information moving vertically,' Urton said."
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Scientists aim for lab-grown meat
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Scientists aim for lab-grown meat: "An international research team has proposed new techniques that may lead to the mass production of meat reared not on the farm, but in the laboratory.
Developments in tissue engineering mean that cells taken from animals could be grown directly into meat in a laboratory, the researchers say.
Scientists believe the technology already exists to directly grow processed meat like a chicken nugget.
The technology could benefit both humans and the environment.
'With a single cell, you could theoretically produce the world's annual meat supply. And you could do it in a way that's better for the environment and human health.
'In the long term, this is a very feasible idea,' said Jason Matheny of the University of Maryland, part of the team whose research has been published in the Tissue Engineering journal.
Growing the meat without the animal could reduce the need to keep millions of animals in cramped conditions and would lessen the damage caused by the meat production to the environment.
Laboratory-grown meat could also be healthier, proponents say."
Developments in tissue engineering mean that cells taken from animals could be grown directly into meat in a laboratory, the researchers say.
Scientists believe the technology already exists to directly grow processed meat like a chicken nugget.
The technology could benefit both humans and the environment.
'With a single cell, you could theoretically produce the world's annual meat supply. And you could do it in a way that's better for the environment and human health.
'In the long term, this is a very feasible idea,' said Jason Matheny of the University of Maryland, part of the team whose research has been published in the Tissue Engineering journal.
Growing the meat without the animal could reduce the need to keep millions of animals in cramped conditions and would lessen the damage caused by the meat production to the environment.
Laboratory-grown meat could also be healthier, proponents say."
NewsNet5.com - Irresistible - Kids Get To Keep $98,000 They Found
NewsNet5.com - Irresistible - Kids Get To Keep $98,000 They Found: "BOULDER, Colo. -- Three Boulder County children split more than $98,000 after finding the cash in a field last February and turning it in.
The children were walking through a field on Feb. 14 when they came across a duffel bag filled with stacks of bills. The bag appeared to have been left in the field for some time and the bills were wet and moldy.
The children took the money home and then turned it in to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, which said it could have been drug money, but finally determined it was not related to any current case."
The children were walking through a field on Feb. 14 when they came across a duffel bag filled with stacks of bills. The bag appeared to have been left in the field for some time and the bills were wet and moldy.
The children took the money home and then turned it in to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, which said it could have been drug money, but finally determined it was not related to any current case."
14.8.05
Experimental Hybrid Cars Get Up to 250 Mpg - Yahoo! News
Experimental Hybrid Cars Get Up to 250 Mpg - Yahoo! News: "CORTE MADERA, Calif. - Politicians and automakers say a car that can both reduce greenhouse gases and free America from its reliance on foreign oil is years or even decades away. Ron Gremban says such a car is parked in his garage.
It looks like a typical Toyota Prius hybrid, but in the trunk sits an 80-miles-per-gallon secret — a stack of 18 brick-sized batteries that boosts the car's high mileage with an extra electrical charge so it can burn even less fuel.
Gremban, an electrical engineer and committed environmentalist, spent several months and $3,000 tinkering with his car."
It looks like a typical Toyota Prius hybrid, but in the trunk sits an 80-miles-per-gallon secret — a stack of 18 brick-sized batteries that boosts the car's high mileage with an extra electrical charge so it can burn even less fuel.
Gremban, an electrical engineer and committed environmentalist, spent several months and $3,000 tinkering with his car."
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