Ancient Egyptians built Pyramids with concrete blocks, scientists say - World - Times Online: "Pyramids were built with concrete rather than rocks, scientists claim
Charles Bremner, Paris
# Method used only at higher levels
# Blocks set using a limestone slurry
How the Egyptians really built a Pyramid
The Ancient Egyptians built their great Pyramids by pouring concrete into blocks high on the site rather than hauling up giant stones, according to a new Franco-American study."
2.12.06
1.12.06
Nintendo says Wii on track to meet targets�|�Tech&Sci�|�Technology�|�Reuters.com
Nintendo says Wii on track to meet targets�|�Tech&Sci�|�Technology�|�Reuters.com: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nintendo Co. Ltd. is on track to meet its target of selling 4 million units of its Wii game console globally by the end of the year, with the potential for exceeding that goal limited only by manufacturing constraints, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said on Wednesday.
'All systems are go for reaching the 4-million target we have in our financials by December 31,' he said at the Reuters Media Summit in New York. 'We will sell everything we make so now it's simply a manufacturing thing.'"
'All systems are go for reaching the 4-million target we have in our financials by December 31,' he said at the Reuters Media Summit in New York. 'We will sell everything we make so now it's simply a manufacturing thing.'"
Wired News: Nike IPod = Surveillance
Wired News: Nike IPod = Surveillance: "The Nike iPod gives runners real-time updates about the speed and length of their workouts via a small RFID device that fits into the soles of Nike shoes, and broadcasts workout data to a small receiver plugged into an iPod Nano.
While this setup sounds convenient and cool, it didn't sit well with Scott Saponas, a computer science graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle. After enjoying his Nike iPod for a few months, Saponas began to suspect there might be other, more nefarious uses for the gear.
He brought his concerns to University of Washington computer science professor Yoshi Kohno and fellow graduate students Carl Hartung and Jonathan Lester. After just a few weeks of tinkering, the four researchers discovered that the Nike iPod is, as Kohno put it, 'an easy surveillance device.'"
While this setup sounds convenient and cool, it didn't sit well with Scott Saponas, a computer science graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle. After enjoying his Nike iPod for a few months, Saponas began to suspect there might be other, more nefarious uses for the gear.
He brought his concerns to University of Washington computer science professor Yoshi Kohno and fellow graduate students Carl Hartung and Jonathan Lester. After just a few weeks of tinkering, the four researchers discovered that the Nike iPod is, as Kohno put it, 'an easy surveillance device.'"
30.11.06
RIAA wants the Internet shut down
RIAA wants the Internet shut down: "ONE OF THE lawyers involved in defending cases bought against people by the RIAA claims that if the music industry wins a crucial case, the Internet will have to be switched off."
29.11.06
Brain takes less effort to recognize strong brands�|�Tech&Sci�|�Science�|�Reuters.com
Brain takes less effort to recognize strong brands - Reuters.com: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People's brains respond more easily to well-recognized brands, and have a tougher time reacting to less famous ones, regardless of the product involved, German researchers report."
Women talk three times as much as men, says study | the Daily Mail
Women talk three times as much as men, says study | the Daily Mail: "It is something one half of the population has long suspected - and the other half always vocally denied. Women really do talk more than men.
In fact, women talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking up 20,000 words in a day - 13,000 more than the average man."
In fact, women talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking up 20,000 words in a day - 13,000 more than the average man."
BBspot - MPAA Lobbying for Home Theater Regulations
BBspot - MPAA Lobbying for Home Theater Regulations: "'Just because you buy a DVD to watch at home doesn't give you the right to invite friends over to watch it too. That's a violation of copyright and denies us the revenue that would be generated from DVD sales to your friends,' said Glickman. 'Ideally we expect each viewer to have their own copy of the DVD, but we realize that isn't always feasible. "
EETimes.com - Emerging technology sees through clothing
EETimes.com - Emerging technology sees through clothing: "SAN FRANCISCO — Security in airports and other sensitive areas may get a huge boost, thanks to a technology under development that is straight out of science fiction, said to be capable of looking through clothing to detect weapons and other dangerous items. But privacy advocates—and shy people—may have cause for alarm."
Battle of the boxes: PlayStation 3 vs Wii : Moneyweb
Battle of the boxes: PlayStation 3 vs Wii : Moneyweb: "Test of new game systems finds cheaper, simpler Wii to be more exciting and fun."
1.5.06
The Seattle Times: Microsoft's one-day stock plunge: enough to buy all of Costco
The Seattle Times: Microsoft's one-day stock plunge: enough to buy all of Costco: "Microsoft's stock took its biggest one-day fall in more than five years Friday, shaving about $32 billion off the company's market value."
Colbert Lampoons Bush at White House Correspondents Dinner-- President Not Amused?
Colbert Lampoons Bush at White House Correspondents Dinner-- President Not Amused?: "WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face—“and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
Turning to the war, he declared, 'I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.'
He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and that he had brought ' Valerie Plame.' Then, worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, 'Uh, I mean... he brought Joseph Wilson's wife.' He might have 'dodged the bullet,' he said, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't there.
Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face. He advised the crowd, 'if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A. will be right over with a cocktail. '
Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, 'When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday - no matter what happened Tuesday.'
Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides of the story — the president’s side and the vice president’s side.' In another slap at the news channel, he said: 'I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the No Fact Zone. Fox News, I own the copyright on that term.'
He also reflected on the alleged good old days for the president, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
Addressing the reporters, he said, 'Let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know--fiction.'
He claimed that the Secret Service name for Bush's new press secretary is 'Snow Job.'
Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he had to run from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.
As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately. "
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face—“and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
Turning to the war, he declared, 'I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.'
He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and that he had brought ' Valerie Plame.' Then, worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, 'Uh, I mean... he brought Joseph Wilson's wife.' He might have 'dodged the bullet,' he said, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't there.
Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face. He advised the crowd, 'if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A. will be right over with a cocktail. '
Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, 'When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday - no matter what happened Tuesday.'
Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides of the story — the president’s side and the vice president’s side.' In another slap at the news channel, he said: 'I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the No Fact Zone. Fox News, I own the copyright on that term.'
He also reflected on the alleged good old days for the president, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
Addressing the reporters, he said, 'Let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know--fiction.'
He claimed that the Secret Service name for Bush's new press secretary is 'Snow Job.'
Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he had to run from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.
As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately. "
29.4.06
CNN.com - FDA says no�to medical marijuana - Apr 21, 2006
CNN.com - FDA says no�to medical marijuana - Apr 21, 2006: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it does not support the use of marijuana for medical purposes."
CNN.com - Mexico set to legalize personal amounts of pot, cocaine, heroin - Apr 28, 2006
CNN.com - Mexico set to legalize personal amounts of pot, cocaine, heroin - Apr 28, 2006: "Excerpts from changes approved Friday by Mexico's Senate to the country's Federal Penal Code:
Article 478: No criminal prosecution will be brought against:
I. Any person in possession of medications which contain substances classified as narcotics ... when these medications, in their nature and amounts, are those necessary for the treatment of the individual or persons in his custody or care.
II. Any drug addict or consumer who is found in possession of a narcotic for personal use.
Article 474: (Defines a 'consumer' as):
Any person who consumes or uses psychotropic or narcotic substances, and who does not exhibit any symptoms of addiction."
Article 478: No criminal prosecution will be brought against:
I. Any person in possession of medications which contain substances classified as narcotics ... when these medications, in their nature and amounts, are those necessary for the treatment of the individual or persons in his custody or care.
II. Any drug addict or consumer who is found in possession of a narcotic for personal use.
Article 474: (Defines a 'consumer' as):
Any person who consumes or uses psychotropic or narcotic substances, and who does not exhibit any symptoms of addiction."
27.4.06
Technology Review: Emerging Technologies and their Impact
Technology Review: Emerging Technologies and their Impact: "Now Prism Solar Technologies of Stone Ridge, NY, has developed a proof-of-concept solar module that uses holograms to concentrate light, possibly cutting the cost of solar modules by as much as 75 percent, making them competitive with electricity generated from fossil fuels."
Copperfield fools robbers - People - Entertainment - smh.com.au
Copperfield fools robbers - People - Entertainment - smh.com.au: "Illusionist David Copperfield has magically escaped getting robbed.
After his show at a West Palm Beach, Florida, performing arts centre on Sunday Copperfield was walking with two female assistants back to their tour bus when four armed teenagers pulled up in a black car and demanded the group's belongings, according to police.
An assistant handed over $US400 from her pockets while the other gave up her purse with euro200, $US100, her passport, plane tickets and a mobile phone.
Copperfield said he turned his pockets inside out to reveal nothing in them, even though he was carrying his passport, wallet and mobile phone.
'Call it reverse pick-pocketing,' Copperfield told The Palm Beach Post."
After his show at a West Palm Beach, Florida, performing arts centre on Sunday Copperfield was walking with two female assistants back to their tour bus when four armed teenagers pulled up in a black car and demanded the group's belongings, according to police.
An assistant handed over $US400 from her pockets while the other gave up her purse with euro200, $US100, her passport, plane tickets and a mobile phone.
Copperfield said he turned his pockets inside out to reveal nothing in them, even though he was carrying his passport, wallet and mobile phone.
'Call it reverse pick-pocketing,' Copperfield told The Palm Beach Post."
26.4.06
Telegraph | News | Bach works were written by his second wife, claims academic
Telegraph | News | Bach works were written by his second wife, claims academic: "Bach works were written by his second wife, claims academic
Famous works attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach were not penned by the great composer but by his second wife, researchers believe.
A study by an academic who has spent more than 30 years looking at Bach's work claims that Anna Magdalena Bach, traditionally believed to be Bach's musical copyist, actually wrote some of his best-loved works, including his Six Cello Suites.
Martin Jarvis, a professor at Charles Darwin University School of Music in Darwin and the conductor of the city's symphony orchestra, said that 'a number of books would need to be rewritten' after presenting his findings to a Bach symposium last week.
The findings have been described as 'highly important' by Bach scholars and will be published in a doctorate, later this year.
Prof Jarvis, who is originally from Wales, used police forensic science techniques to scrutinise manuscripts he believed to be written by Anna Magdalena."
Famous works attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach were not penned by the great composer but by his second wife, researchers believe.
A study by an academic who has spent more than 30 years looking at Bach's work claims that Anna Magdalena Bach, traditionally believed to be Bach's musical copyist, actually wrote some of his best-loved works, including his Six Cello Suites.
Martin Jarvis, a professor at Charles Darwin University School of Music in Darwin and the conductor of the city's symphony orchestra, said that 'a number of books would need to be rewritten' after presenting his findings to a Bach symposium last week.
The findings have been described as 'highly important' by Bach scholars and will be published in a doctorate, later this year.
Prof Jarvis, who is originally from Wales, used police forensic science techniques to scrutinise manuscripts he believed to be written by Anna Magdalena."
25.4.06
Newsvine - Iran to Let Women Go to Soccer Games
Newsvine - Iran to Let Women Go to Soccer Games: "TEHRAN, IRAN — Iranian women will be allowed to attend soccer matches for first time since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran's president said in a decree posted on his Web site Monday.
Women would sit in separate section of the stands, away from the usually raucous male fans.
'The presence of families and women will improve soccer-watching manners, and promote a healthy atmosphere,' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said. 'They will be allocated some of the best stands in stadiums,' he added."
Women would sit in separate section of the stands, away from the usually raucous male fans.
'The presence of families and women will improve soccer-watching manners, and promote a healthy atmosphere,' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said. 'They will be allocated some of the best stands in stadiums,' he added."
Comic book gives graphic account of 9/11 atrocities - World - Times Online
Comic book gives graphic account of 9/11 atrocities - World - Times Online: "THE official report on the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, already a surprise bestseller, is to burst into colour as a comic book.
Two veteran American comic-book artists, who are more accustomed to working with superheroes, have turned the meticulously detailed 500-page bestselling government document into 144 pages of cartoons. The book, due out in September, illustrates the fate of the four hijacked planes, according to the timeline laid out by the 9/11 commission set up by Congress."
Two veteran American comic-book artists, who are more accustomed to working with superheroes, have turned the meticulously detailed 500-page bestselling government document into 144 pages of cartoons. The book, due out in September, illustrates the fate of the four hijacked planes, according to the timeline laid out by the 9/11 commission set up by Congress."
22.4.06
Iran, Russia reach 'basic' uranium deal - Mideast/N. Africa - MSNBC.com
Iran, Russia reach 'basic' uranium deal - Mideast/N. Africa - MSNBC.com: "TEHRAN, Iran - Iran’s envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Saturday the Islamic republic had reached a “basic deal” with the Kremlin to form a joint uranium enrichment venture on Russian territory, state-run television reported."
18.4.06
CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character - Yahoo! News
CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character - Yahoo! News: "Office Depot CEO Steve Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an upscale French restaurant in Denver.
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The purple sorbet in cut glass he was serving tumbled onto the expensive white gown of an obviously rich and important woman. 'I watched in slow motion ruining her dress for the evening,' Odland says. 'I thought I would be shot on sight.'
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can't get the stain out of his mind, nor the woman's kind reaction. She was startled, regained composure and, in a reassuring voice, told the teenage Odland, 'It's OK. It wasn't your fault.' When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.
Odland isn't the only CEO to have made this discovery. Rather, it seems to be one of those rare laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up. It's hard to get a dozen CEOs to agree about anything, but all interviewed agree with the Waiter Rule.
They acknowledge that CEOs live in a Lake Wobegon world where every dinner or lunch partner is above average in their deference. How others treat the CEO says nothing, they say. But how others treat the waiter is like a magical window into the soul.
And beware of anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like, 'I could buy this place and fire you,' or 'I know the owner and I could have you fired.' Those who say such things have revealed more about their character than about their wealth and power.
Whoever came up with the waiter observation 'is bang spot on,' says BMW North America President Tom Purves, a native of Scotland, a citizen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, who lives in New York City with his Norwegian wife, Hilde, and works for a German company. That makes him qualified to speak on different cultures, and he says the waiter theory is true everywhere.
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He wrote a booklet of 33 short leadership observations called Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management. Raytheon has given away 250,000 of the books.
Among those 33 rules is only one that Swanson says never fails: 'A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person.'"
ADVERTISEMENT
The purple sorbet in cut glass he was serving tumbled onto the expensive white gown of an obviously rich and important woman. 'I watched in slow motion ruining her dress for the evening,' Odland says. 'I thought I would be shot on sight.'
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can't get the stain out of his mind, nor the woman's kind reaction. She was startled, regained composure and, in a reassuring voice, told the teenage Odland, 'It's OK. It wasn't your fault.' When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.
Odland isn't the only CEO to have made this discovery. Rather, it seems to be one of those rare laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up. It's hard to get a dozen CEOs to agree about anything, but all interviewed agree with the Waiter Rule.
They acknowledge that CEOs live in a Lake Wobegon world where every dinner or lunch partner is above average in their deference. How others treat the CEO says nothing, they say. But how others treat the waiter is like a magical window into the soul.
And beware of anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like, 'I could buy this place and fire you,' or 'I know the owner and I could have you fired.' Those who say such things have revealed more about their character than about their wealth and power.
Whoever came up with the waiter observation 'is bang spot on,' says BMW North America President Tom Purves, a native of Scotland, a citizen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, who lives in New York City with his Norwegian wife, Hilde, and works for a German company. That makes him qualified to speak on different cultures, and he says the waiter theory is true everywhere.
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He wrote a booklet of 33 short leadership observations called Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management. Raytheon has given away 250,000 of the books.
Among those 33 rules is only one that Swanson says never fails: 'A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person.'"
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